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Daily Meditations

Hesychasm, Sweet Repose

10/23/2015

Hesychasm, a contemplative prayer of rest, has its roots in the desert fathers and mothers as well as the Eastern Orthodox tradition. Bishop Kallistos Ware, drawing from John Climacus (AD 525-606) writes: “The hesychast, in the true sense of the word, is not someone who has journeyed outwardly into the desert, but someone who has embarked upon the journey inwards into his own heart; not someone who cuts himself off physically from others, shutting the

7 Holy Youths “Seven Sleepers” of Ephesus

10/22/2015

The Seven Youths of Ephesus: Maximilian, Iamblicus, Martinian, John, Dionysius, Exacustodianus (Constantine) and Antoninus, lived in the third century. St Maximilian was the son of the Ephesus city administrator, and the other six youths were sons of illustrious citizens of Ephesus. The youths were friends from childhood, and all were in military service together. When the emperor Decius (249-251) arrived in Ephesus, he commanded all the citizens to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods. Torture

The Winter of Beauty (Part I)

10/21/2015

For many people today, remote as they are from a Christianity which seems to them just talk and moralizing, life attains a religious intensity only when they experience beauty: a song pulsating to the rhythm of the blood, struck up by an adolescent to his own guitar accompaniment; a mountain in winter, when the world is transformed by snow, and light seems to radiate gently from the earth; a face, seen in such close-up that

Solitude of Heart

10/20/2015

The word solitude can be misleading. It suggests being alone by yourself in an isolated place. When we think about solitaries, our mind easily evokes images of monks or hermits who live in remote places secluded from the noise of the busy world. In fact, the words solitude and solitary are derived from the Latin word solus, which means alone, and during the ages many men and women who wanted to live a spiritual life

GALLERY OF LIGHT

10/19/2015

This light itself is one, and all those who see it and love it are one. -St. Augustine The center of our soul is difficult to define. It’s hard enough just to believe in it. -St. Teresa of Avila Because it is not I who look but I who am being looked through, Gloria. -R. S. Thomas People visit the Academy in Florence mostly to see Michelangelo’s David. The postcards and the photographs in coffee-table

The Soul (Part I)

10/16/2015

I must Address the Problems and the Secrets of my Soul Now that I am old, at the end of my life, I recognize my duty to dedicate myself to the soul’s study. In fact, I have a soul that is intelligent, immortal and sacred, in which I am the image of my Creator, and in this soul I attain to his likeness, which is the taste of the dignity of reason. It seems to

REAL PEACE (Part I)

10/15/2015

It was past eight when we finished dinner. I was eager to resume our discussion because I wasn’t certain whether we would be able to go over the entire Pauline list of spiritual fruits before Fr. Maximos’s departure the next day. Playing the role of unofficial coordinator, I asked the guests to take their teacups and move back into the living room so that we could continue the conversation. “The next fruit of the Spirit

Do Not Judge: Causes and Types of Criticism (Part I)

10/14/2015

Christ told us not to judge our fellows so as not to be judged by Him. Subsequently, He pointed out the root from which the vice of condemning others grows, saying: Why do you see the speck that is in someone else’s eye but do not consider the beam that is in your own eye? How can you tell someone, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye;’ and behold, there is a beam in

Why Were Human Beings Created?

10/13/2015

By Father Stanley Harakas Q: I have asked many persons this question, but I have as yet not received a satisfactory answer. Maybe there is no answer. The question is, “Why was humanity created by God?” I know the “how” and the “circumstances,” but not the “why.”  – D.A.C., Augusta, GA. A. One way of answering your question would be to say simply, we have no direct revelation on the subject in the Bible, and so

Shaping Life Spiritually (Part I)

10/12/2015

It is important to the monks to provide a concrete structure for their day and their spiritual exercises. At first glance that seems to be a superficial matter. In reality it decides whether life is going to succeed or not. A healthy spirituality needs a healthy way of life. “Father Poimen used to say, ‘We found three bodily experiences with Father Pambo: daily fasting till evening, silence, and a great deal of manual labor.’” With

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