In a society that gives much value to development, progress and achievement, the spiritual life becomes quite easily subject to concerns expressed in questions such as, “How far advanced am I?” “Have I matured since I started on the spiritual path?” On what level am I and how do I move to the next one?”—”When will I reach the moment of union with God and the experience of illumination or enlightenment?” Although none of these
By Father Lawrence Farley In my years as a priest and of sharing the Gospel, I have heard many reasons offered for not becoming a Christian: scandals associated with clergy, the wealth of the Church, the Crusades, the Inquisition, etc. etc. I thought I had more or less heard it all, and so was unprepared for a reason one young man offered to justify his rejection of Orthodoxy—namely, that dinosaurs were not in the Bible.
The essence of God the Trinity is love, so personal existence directed towards God can only be existence in communion. ‘By this it may be seen who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not do right is not of God, nor he who does not love his brother’ (1 John 3.10). In St Matthew’s overpowering portrayal of the Judgement, Christ says to those who are truly
Fr. Maximos then elaborated on the fruit of patience and forbearance. “The saints are fearless because they have a direct connection with God’s Spirit. Consequently, they can endure everything with peace in their hearts and without a trace of anxiety.” “I suppose that is why we hear in church that God is ‘ever present, and fills all things’… Maria commented. “Right. Only the Spirit of God can fill up a human being. You know, God
Then came the third hour (9 A.M.), when the Dormition of the Mother of God was to occur. A number of candles were burning. The holy Disciples surrounded her beautifully adorned bed, offering praise to God. She prayed in anticipation of Her demise and of the arrival of Her longed-for Son and Lord. Suddenly, the inexpressible Light of Divine Glory shone forth, before which the blazing candles paled in comparison. All who it saw took
After the Ascension of the Lord, the Mother of God remained in the care of the Apostle John the Theologian, and during his journeys, She lived at the home of his parents, near the Mount of Olives. She was a source of consolation and edification both for the Apostles and for all the believers. Conversing with them, She told them about miraculous events: the Annunciation, the seedless and undefiled Conception of Christ born of Her,
By Michael Lotti Just a few months ago, an icon of Archangel Michael on the island of Rhodes in Greece began weeping. What could this mean? The meaning of a miracle may seem obvious. Something remarkable happened, and it can only be attributed to God. It’s a miracle! Atheists, take note! But, in fact, miracles are not self-interpreting. That was the core of Jesus’ response to John the Baptist: When John, who was in prison,
Evagrius describes the second vice of lust as follows: “The demon of unchastity is concerned with greed for the body. Those who lead a life of abstinence find themselves more exposed to his assaults than others. For the demon would have them stop practicing this virtue. Anyway, so he would have them believe, it yields no profit. It is typical of this demon to play out before them impure actions, to dirty them, and finally
Is psychology more practical than spirituality? Nothing is more practical than spirituality. What can the poor psychologist do? He can only relieve the pressure. I’m a psychologist myself, and I practice psychotherapy, and I have this great conflict within me when I have to choose sometimes between psychology and spirituality. I wonder if that makes sense to anybody here. It didn’t make sense to me for many years. I’ll explain. It didn’t make sense to
To be able to say the first sentence that we have discussed – ‘Deliver us from the evil one’ – requires such a reassessment of values and such a new attitude that we can hardly begin to say it otherwise than in a cry, which is as yet unsubstantiated by an inner change in us. We feel a longing which is not yet capable of achievement; to ask God to protect us in the trial
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