prayer Archives - Page 11 of 14

Metropolitan Kallistos: The Theologian’s Task is Never Complete

11/04/2015

By Seraphim Danckaert In a recent ceremony, Ss. Cyril and Methodius Theological Institute for Post-Graduate Studies in Russia bestowed a doctorate honoris causa on His Eminence Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia. The Metropolitan took the occasion as an opportunity to reflect on the nature of Orthodox theology. He also discussed his sources of inspiration, both among modern Orthodox theologians and among the Holy Fathers. After mentioning several figures, His Eminence described two key lessons from St. Gregory

ON THE AVOIDANCE OF EXTRAVAGANCE

11/02/2015

It is a known fact that a person who practises the piano too zealously gets cramp in his hands, and a too diligent writer exposes himself to writer’s cramp. Dejected and downcast, the musician or author, just now so full of hope, must break off his work; in idleness he is exposed to many evil influences. From this example you should take warning. Fasting, obedience, self-discipline, watchfulness, prayer all make up the constituent parts necessary

Meditation and Worship (Part I)

10/30/2015

MEDITATION AND PRAYER are often confused, but there is no danger in this confusion if meditation develops into prayer; only when prayer degenerates into meditation. Meditation primarily means thinking, even when God is the object of our thoughts. If as a result we gradually go deeper into a sense of worship and adoration, if the presence of God grows so powerful that we become aware of being with God, and if gradually, out of meditation

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

ON FASTING

10/08/2015

Fasting, neither above nor below your ability, will help you in your vigil. One should not ponder divine matters on a full stomach, say the ascetics. For the well-fed, even the most superficial secrets of the Trinity lie hidden. Christ Himself set the example with His long fast; when He drove out the devil He had fasted for forty days. Are we better than He? Behold, angels came and ministered unto him (Matthew 4:11). They

Conversations with Abba Isaac: Kung Fu and the Way of the Ant

09/30/2015

By Father Micah Hirschy As was the case with many young men who grew up during the 80’s and 90’s, I went through a period of deep fascination with Kung-Fu movies. There was something intrinsically appealing about a story where a young man could spend a few days with a Kung-Fu master or read an ancient scroll and henceforth become invincible and able to battle evil! I also loved that the Kung-Fu Masters gave their Art really

Saint Isaac the Syrian: Work by Day

09/29/2015

Work by day After the morning Office, when he sat down to read the Bible he became like a man enraptured: with every verse he read he would fall many times on his face, and at many of the phrases he would raise his hands to heaven and glorify God many times over. He was about forty years old, his food was sparse, and in temperament he was dry and warm. Because he used to

The Desert Fathers and Mothers

08/24/2015

The men and women who fled to the desert emphasized lifestyle practice, an alternative to empire and its economy, psychologically astute methods of prayer, and a very simple (some would say naïve) spirituality of transformation into Christ. The desert communities grew out of informal gatherings of monastic monks, functioning much like families. A good number also became hermits to mine the deep mystery of their inner experience. This movement paralleled the monastic pattern in Hinduism

Thomas Merton: Thoughts in Solitude (Part II)

08/21/2015

Every spiritual director knows that it is a difficult and subtle matter to determine just what is the borderline between interior idleness and the faint, unperceived beginnings of passive contemplation. But in practice, at the present time, there has been quite enough said about passive contemplation to give lazy people a chance to claim the privilege of “praying by doing nothing.” There is no such thing as a prayer in which “nothing is done” or

Saint Silouan the Athonite and His Relevance Today, Part VIII

07/01/2015

By Harry Boosalis Be assured that troubling and sinful thoughts will assail everyone making any sort of spiritual progress—especially if there is any progress in prayer—and this is even more true the further one advances. The important point is not to become dejected, and not to allow these troubling thoughts to destroy our inner peace, and thus hinder our pursuit of prayer. St. Silouan teaches, “Should an intrusive thought approach, there is no cause to

Tags

Metropolitan Kallistos: The Theologian’s Task is Never Complete

ON THE AVOIDANCE OF EXTRAVAGANCE

Meditation and Worship (Part I)

Shaping Life Spiritually (Part I)

ON FASTING

Conversations with Abba Isaac: Kung Fu and the Way of the Ant

Saint Isaac the Syrian: Work by Day

The Desert Fathers and Mothers

Thomas Merton: Thoughts in Solitude (Part II)

Saint Silouan the Athonite and His Relevance Today, Part VIII

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