Bearing the Shame of Confession
In taking the steps which you have presented to us, the most difficult thing, I think, is to overcome the fear of shame. This is what I try to do in my parish.
A Sinful girl, the Nuns and Saint Arsenios of Paros
This is from the Life of St. Arsenios of Paros (1800-1877), who is commemorated by the Orthodox Church on January 31. A very instructive story.
The Three Medicines of the Holy Unmercenaries
In accordance with the tradition of our Holy Church, we approach our saints every day, honoring their memories, bearing their names and asking for their intercessions and mediations before the throne of God. They are saved, we are sinners; they are in the Light, we are in darkness. Full of illnesses we ask the saints to heal our bodies, though more rarely to heal our souls. And the saints, compassionate as they are, being imitators of the merciful God, graciously give us what we need, assisting us, strengthening us and healing us. But we especially recommend three medicines.
“You kept the good wine till the last”. The Gift of Life
The birth of Christ restored the equality of the sexes. At the beginning of human history, a woman, Eve, was born, without female intervention, from a man, Adam, so in this rebalancing of history, a man, Christ, was born of a woman, Our Most Holy Lady, this time without male involvement. Christ brings the good tidings of the harmonious relationship between us and God and, by extension, with Himself, other people and nature. Love is restored to its place as the mystical axis of life.
What Elder Porphyrios, a Famous Monk-Priest, Says About How Parents and Teachers Need to Treat the Young
The education, says elder Porphyrios, lasts throughout life (lifelong education) and starts from fetal life, and constantly evolving. The most important educations and upbringing is the one held by the family. According to elder Porphyrios, the family is the first physical means of upbringing and educating people. In the first 5 years of human life the family with all functions – visible and hidden, conscious and unconscious – helps on shaping the personality.
The Angelic Children
He tells of a Greek priest he knows who has three sons who are like angels. One is a priest, and the others serve in the altar with their father. This is, lamentably a rare thing: for the children to grow up with the piety of their parents.
Elder Paisios: Never Say “They Will Answer to God”
In this life all people are given tests, so that we may pass to the other life, to Paradise. My thoughts tell me that the polite curse is below the spiritual base and is forbidden to Christians, because Christ did not teach us that kind of love, but rather: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Transforming Daily Activities of Life into Spiritual Lessons
We often feel as if our daily life distracts us from having thoughts of God. This is a trick of our mind that we must learn to change. Our sense take inputs from our surroundings and interpret them in terms of our well being automatically. Thus the real essence of everything we see is separated […]
Why Does It Take So Long?
So often, with great expectations, we will renew our commitment to the Orthodox Way of Life by making significant changes in our life and how we spend our time. We will increase our time in prayer, participate more regularly in services and sacraments, begin to read Scripture and the lives of the saints daily. Yet, […]
“Our Father”-The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our transgressions, as we forgive those who transgress against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the […]