By Father Lawrence Farley The Huffington Post, it seems, can always be relied upon to provide fodder for sceptics looking for a stick with which to beat the Christians. They are, of course, not alone, and poking sharp sticks in our cage seems to be on the verge of becoming a national sport. But of course one can’t always be posting news items about how the Christian Neanderthals are refusing to accept gay marriage. One
IT is important, while practicing prayer in this way, not to give the body free rein. A prayer in which the body is not distressed and the heart grieved is like an incompletely developed foetus, says St. Isaac the Syrian, for such a prayer has no soul. And it carries within it the seed of self-sufficiency and pride that makes the heart consider itself not only among the called but even among the chosen few
By Father Stanley Harakas It isn’t very often that we hear the word “integrity” in the religious language of our Greek Orthodox Church. Yet, if we scratch the surface, we will discover profound meanings that speak directly to the way we are to be and to live our Orthodox Christian life. We can start with its dictionary meanings. My Greek-English dictionary uses two words to provide the equivalent of the English word “integrity.” And both
The Fathers, by detailed study of the Bible, have demonstrated that the Fall was a truly cosmic catastrophe, eclipsing the paradisal state with a new state of universal existence. Man, the son of God, wished to kill the divine Father and take possession of Mother Earth. ‘Man,’ says Maximus the Confessor, ‘wished to lay hold on the things of God without God, before God and not according to God’s will.’ And so ‘he delivered the
By Harry Boosalis Saint Silouan offers another very practical point of advice that is most relevant for those of us struggling in contemporary society. As regards his entire teaching, this advice is directed not only toward monks, but in general to all believers who are striving to progress in prayer. He warns against the danger of outside thoughts that come from excessive reading of newspapers and ‘shoddy’ books, as well as being ‘curious to know
By Father Lawrence Farley I used to be of the opinion that for really far-out whacky stuff, you couldn’t beat Jerry Springer. You all know Jerry Springer—he was the showman who began a talk show in 1991 which within a few years became something of a voyeuristic freak-show, featuring topics like “Teenage Girls who Marry their Grandfathers,” a kind of real-life version of the Muppets’ song “I Am My Own Grandpa.” It has spawned a
PRAYER does not stop when morning devotions are over. Now it is a matter of maintaining prayer the whole day through, no matter what the day’s complications. Bishop Theophanes advises the beginner to choose a suitable short sentence of prayer from the Psalter, for example, O Lord, make haste to help me, or Create in me a clean heart, O God, or Blessed art Thou, O Lord, or some other. The Psalter offers a wide
By Father Stanley Harakas Yes, indeed, what does it mean to love God? We understand to love to mean many things. It is, in truth, as the poet says, “a many splendored thing.” The question is very real for Christians because the leader of our Faith, Jesus Christ, commanded us to love God. He said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your
With regard to acedia Evagrius gives two pieces of advice. One concerns steadfastness. We are to make up our minds and stay in our cell, simply enduring whatever is going on within us: “Just accept what the temptation brings on you. Above all, look this temptation of acedia in the eye, for it is the worst of all. But it also leads to the greatest purification of the soul. To flee or avoid such conflicts
By Harry Boosalis One of the more crucial components of our spiritual life is proper training in the development of good spiritual habits. Habit is a second nature. This is why it is imperative that we train ourselves in the ways of spiritual warfare. Saint Silouan writes, “Train yourself to cut off an intrusive thought immediately … Be at pains over this, so that you acquire the habit. The soul is a creature of habit:
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