Daily Meditations Archives - Page 271 of 332

Analyzing Our Thoughts and Feelings (I)

06/27/2014

The encounter with oneself that the monks sought in silence and that they saw as a prerequisite for the encounter with God is for Evagrius Ponticus primarily a meeting with the thoughts and feelings in one’s own heart. Among the desert fathers Evagrius is considered a specialist in dealing with thoughts and passions. He experienced them himself and wrote about them again and again in his books, to share his experience with others. It was

FATHER MAXIMOS: FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT (VI)

06/26/2014

If you don’t learn to carry your cross during your daily life, then you are losing the thousand opportunities that God creates for you at every moment so that you can become perfected as a human being. “The Gerontikon [a series of books about the lives of great elders] is full of examples of simple practices that have led many to become giants of virtue. Abba Agathon prayed to God, ‘Please, God, help me do

Holding the Pain

06/25/2014

Don’t get rid of the pain until you’ve learned its lessons. When you hold the pain consciously and trust fully, you are in a very special liminal space. This is a great teaching moment where you have the possibility of breaking through to a deeper level of faith and consciousness. Hold the pain of being human until God transforms you through it. And then you will be an instrument of transformation for others. As an

The Destiny of Eros: Woman, the Bearer of Spices (Part II)

06/24/2014

Every human being, man or woman, according to his or her nature, is called to a degree of virility – remember the strong women of the Bible- and also, in relation to God, a degree of femininity. Progress in the spiritual life leads men as well as women to a quasi-feminine attitude in the presence of the mystery. That is why the incarnation was accomplished through a woman, who is now at the heart of

The Destiny of Eros: Woman, the Bearer of Spices (Part I)

06/23/2014

After a long period of patriarchy, women today wish to be treated as human beings in their own right, free and responsible individuals. The leaven of the Gospel is at work, setting us free at last from the old pagan structures. But because the necessary fight for social equality has so often had to be waged against men, there is now some uncertainty about woman’s true identity, what it means to be feminine. The body,

The Lord’s Prayer (Part II)

06/20/2014

As the Jews were called by Moses to escape from the country of Egypt, to follow him in the dark night, to cross the Red Sea, so also is each individual brought into the wilderness, where a new period begins. He is free, but not yet enjoying the glory of the Promised Land, because he has taken with him, out of the land of Egypt, the soul of a slave, the habits of a slave,

Being Chosen & Being Blessed

06/19/2014

Being Chosen Jesus is taken by God or, better, chosen by God. Jesus is the Chosen One. From all eternity God has chosen his most precious Child to become the savior of the world. Being chosen expresses a special relationship, being known and loved in a unique way, being singled out. In our society our being chosen always implies that others are not chosen. But this is not true for God. God chooses his Son

CLINGING TO DISTRACTION LIKE A DOG TO A BONE (Part II)

06/18/2014

Though addressing monks in his own monastery, St. Hesychios speaks to all of us on the contemplative path when he says, “One who has renounced such things as marriage, possessions and other worldly pursuits is outwardly a monk, but may not be a monk inwardly. Only the person who has renounced obsessive thoughts is a true monk.” For Hesychios, then, a monk is not a geriatric vegetarian who mutters prayers, but any woman or man

ON THE CONQUEST OF THE WORLD

06/17/2014

ST. BASIL THE GREAT says: One cannot approach the knowledge of the truth with a disturbed heart. Therefore we must try to avoid everything that disturbs our heart, that causes forgetfulness, excitement or passion, or that awakens unrest. We must free ourselves as much as possible from all fuss and flutter and ado over vain things. Yes, when we serve the Lord we shall not be troubled about many things, but always keep in mind

The Apostles’ Fast

06/16/2014

The Orthodox year has a rhythm, much like the tide coming in and going out – only this rhythm is an undulation between seasons of fasting and seasons (or a few days) of feasting. Every week, with few exceptions, is marked by the Wednesday and Friday fast, and every celebration of the Divine Liturgy is prepared for by eating nothing after midnight until we have received the Holy Sacrament. It is a rhythm. Our modern