humility Archives - Page 7 of 10

The Eighth Day of Christmas Advent. Fasting for Christmas

11/22/2017

By Stephen Freedman Last Wednesday, November 15, the Orthodox Church began its “Winter Lent,” the fast that prepares for the feast of the Nativity. Somewhat similar to Advent, it is the older practice, a full 40-day fast, that reminds us that Christmas, joy that it is, is a foretaste of Pascha. The Cave of Bethlehem reminds us of the Cave of Hades (icons of the Descent into Hell picture the Cave of Hades). The Babe,

The Sweet Smoke of Prayer

11/03/2017

By Father Stephen Freeman Let my prayer arise in Your sight as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Psalm 141 My parish has a fairly steady stream of visitors from outside the Orthodox experience. Among their first questions are ones concerning the use of incense. There is virtually no Orthodox service that does not include the burning of incense, with the priest or deacon making the circuit of the Church

he Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part IX). Virtues (Part V): Humility

09/06/2017

Balance, we have already noted, can only be attained through discretion and discernment. Yet, there is another key virtue that the monk must seek if he is going to walk the royal road according to the Conferences. This is the fifth and final virtue on our list, namely, humility, which, according to Abba Moses, is the foundational virtue lying beneath a Christian’s ability to practice discernment and discretion and thus, by extension, to live a

The Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part V). Virtues (Part I): Detachment

07/20/2017

According to the Conferences, to cultivate purity of heart means to live a life of Christian virtue. For the fathers, speaking about virtues is like placing the white light of purity of heart through a mental prism. Virtues are like the colors that make up the light, combining indivisibly into a single whole, but capable of being discussed on their own. Many of the fathers in the Conferences talk at length about virtues, their nature,

Palm Sunday. Fear Not Daughter of Zion-Your King is Coming on a DONKEY

04/09/2017

And Jesus found a young ass and sat upon it; as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, sitting on an ass’s colt!” His disciples did not understand this at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that this had been written of Him and had been done to Him. John 12:14-16 (Gospel of the Divine Liturgy on Palm Sunday) When you think of the word “King,”

Monday of the Prodigal Son. He Who Humbles Himself Will Be Exalted

02/06/2017

Jesus said this parable: Two men went down to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God I thank Thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up

REAL PEACE (Part VI)

06/22/2016

“So when we examine ourselves and discover that our behavior is similar to that of Christ, we can rejoice,” Fr. Maximos continued. “Otherwise we should humble ourselves. Never justify ourselves. Whoever tries to justify himself or herself will never reach metanoia.” “How does one humble oneself?” Maria wondered. “Thank God there are plenty of opportunities in our everyday life to humble ourselves! The more difficulties we have in life, the greater the opportunities for humility.”

The Fourth Thursday of Great Lent: But Why does God Put up with Evil in the World? & Why does God allow Temptation?

04/07/2016

But Why does God Put up with Evil in the World? Why does error have a free rein and why does God allow the wicked to disturb the existence of so many people? First of all, before trying to understand, we need to put ourselves in front of the incomprehensible wisdom of God. One who is firmly anchored in God does not suffer any loss, even if attacked by a thousand waves and a thousand

The Fourth Wednesday of Great Lent: Progress in Self-Knowledge & God has Created Nothing Evil

04/06/2016

Progress in Self-Knowledge I pray you, brothers and sisters: let us strive with every means at our disposal to know ourselves. Then each one of us, starting with this self-knowledge, will be able to discover what is too high for us. We need to know ourselves so well that we can say like David: ‘I am a worm and no man’ [Ps. 22:7] or like Abraham: ‘I am dust and ashes.’ [Gen. 18:7] Otherwise it

The Quarrelsome Brother

03/03/2016

The Quarrelsome Brother I once told him, “Elder, I can’t work together with this brother … he is a complainer.” “You fool, you are an egotist. Do you know that? Because of this you suffer in many ways.” “I know it Elder. I have been like this from my youth. Pray that God will give me a humble heart.” “When the heart has God-given humility it sees everything clearly. It already lives in the earthly

Tags

The Eighth Day of Christmas Advent. Fasting for Christmas

The Sweet Smoke of Prayer

he Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part IX). Virtues (Part V): Humility

The Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part V). Virtues (Part I): Detachment

Palm Sunday. Fear Not Daughter of Zion-Your King is Coming on a DONKEY

Monday of the Prodigal Son. He Who Humbles Himself Will Be Exalted

REAL PEACE (Part VI)

The Fourth Thursday of Great Lent: But Why does God Put up with Evil in the World? & Why does God allow Temptation?

The Fourth Wednesday of Great Lent: Progress in Self-Knowledge & God has Created Nothing Evil

The Quarrelsome Brother

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