“If You happen to be wounded by succumbing to some sin through weakness, or through the faulty nature of your character, do not lose heart and fall into senseless turmoil. Humble yourself and, raising your eyes to the Lord, say and feel: ‘What else could be expected of me, O Lord, weak and faulty as… Continue reading Wounded

If we look back to the early days of the Church, we are astonished at its power, especially that of the newly-founded Churches. In spite of the fact that the people were simple and ignorant of the Bible- for manuscripts were only rarely possessed by individuals- and in spite of the newness of their faith… Continue reading The Powerful Practical Path!

God is truth and life and everlasting light. The knowledge of truth is participation in truth; the knowledge of light is illumination. Man, through his loss of the knowledge of God, has lost the truth within himself, and has lost eternal life and light. He can no longer perceive anything by the passage of time… Continue reading Knowing God In Time & Knowledge

In our understanding of the Bible there exists continuity between the two Testaments. The Old Testament anticipates, announces, and points to the New Testament. The two relate to each other like promise and fulfillment. Looking from the New Testament back into the Old Testament, we recognise a number of women of importance who prefigure Mary… Continue reading Eve As A Prelude For St Mary!

The Coptic Church honors our Lady the Virgin in due honor without exaggeration, and without lessening her position. She is, in the belief of the Church, the mother of God (Theotokos in Greek), and not the mother of “Jesus” as the Nestorians had claimed and were excommunicated at the council of Ephesus due to this… Continue reading St Mary in Coptic Orthodoxy

Abba Poemen asked Abba Joseph another question saying, “What should I do when the passions attack me? Should I resist them, or let them enter?” The old man said to him, “Let them enter and fight against them.” So he returned to Scetis where he remained. Now someone from Thebes came to Scetis and said… Continue reading Dealing With Passions!

Like swimming, we are to “jump in” and just begin. There is a world of difference between thinking, or talking, about quiet prayer, and actually praying. Like beginning swimmers , we only learn by getting wet. The Fathers tell us that, often, the first thing that happens is an experience of darkness and resistance. Then,… Continue reading How Does It Work?

It is worth the effort to examine closely our own willingness to believe in the Lord Jesus as the One in Whose Name is Life. The Forerunner John challenged men to accept Jesus as God, as the One Who is above all men by nature, the living Truth of God embodied as man. This passage… Continue reading Avoiding Christ!

We say that by the providence and wisdom of God all things are so ordered in this world that nothing, whether good or evil, is utterly useless with God. But we will develop this assertion more clearly. God does not create evil; still, he does not prevent it when it is displayed by others, although… Continue reading Understanding Evil!

I was myself so entangled and constrained by the very many errors of my former life that I could not believe it possible for me to escape from them, so much was I subservient to the faults which clung to me; and in despair of improvement I cherished these evils of mine as if they… Continue reading A Personal Confession!

How blessed and marvellous are the gifts of God, beloved. Life in immortality, splendour in righteousness, truth in boldness, faith in confidence, discipline in holiness: all these are in our understanding. What, then, are the things prepared for those endure? The Creator and Father of the Ages,2 the all-holy one himself knows their number and… Continue reading The Christian Life!

Both monks and nuns came to Fr. Seraphim for counsel; among their number were abbots and abbesses. He expressed to them his thoughts concerning the obligations of a monastery superior. ”The superior of the monastery,” he said, ”should be perfect in all virtues, and the senses of his soul should be trained by long study… Continue reading The True Leader & Abott!

When asked by Geronda What Spiritual books should be read by those looking to begin their spiritual search, elder Paisios Replied First, they should read the New Testament to learn the meaning of Christ, to be shaken up a little; later they can read the Old Testament. Do you know how hard it is when… Continue reading What To Read – At The Beginning Of The Journey!

The boy knelt at his father’s knees, ‘Dear man, how do you pray?’ The old man sighed a gentle sigh, smiling in his eyes. All questions came to this. Here the great meeting place of life, and of its nature the elder spoke: ‘Beloved, prayer is life, and apart from it is only darkness. It… Continue reading Old Man, How Do You Pray?

The boy approached his father, sat and questioned, ‘Old man, why are you alone? Why your solitude?’ The elder sighed, his breath light as the sky: ‘All the world is one, beloved, kept entire in the hand of God. Solitude is an illusion, a fleeting vision; for when one is still he is never alone.

The boy approached his father, gently, ‘Old man, why do you sorrow?’ The old man softened his tears: ‘Beloved, my sorrow is my joy. Where there is no weeping, there is no rejoicing, And he who has not sorrowed has never known delight.

A boy once approached his father, ‘Old man, why do you fast?’ The father stood silent, bringing heart and mind together, and then: ‘Beloved boy, I fast to know what it is I lack. For day by day I sit in abundance, and all is well before me; I want not, I suffer not, and… Continue reading Old Man, Why Do You Fast?

One of the most difficult things to deal with as a Christian, or as human beings in general, is that of the hurt that others inflict upon us. There might be nothing like it. The reason such becomes so difficult is that, normally, our emotions and the deepest parts of us get involved. That’s because… Continue reading Dealing With Hurt!

The ascetic heart is ultimately a heart of prayer. It is this heart that yearns for communion with God Most High, and will sacrifice all the world for such union. It is the heart willing to cast aside every hindrance and sinful chain that weighs down the soul from its proper dwelling place in the… Continue reading The Ascetic Heart – Part 3

How captive are we, we fallen children, to the pleasures and passions that rule our lives. How we treasure the chains which imprison us, bestowing upon them garlands and wreathes, adorning them as friends. We sit bound by our desires, a lamentable state, yet we rejoice, for our eyes are shut fast; and as in… Continue reading The Ascetic Heart – Part 2

The ascetic mind is not one of stone, cold and darkened to the outside world. Too often, those who stand apart from the heavenly struggle see it thus, and thereby see it askew. To climb is not to descend, and to grow is not to die. Those who reject the world do so not out… Continue reading The Ascetic Heart – Part 1

What did you see? Water, certainly, but not water alone; you saw the deacons ministering there, and the bishop asking questions and hallowing. First of all, the Apostle taught you that those things are not to be considered “which we see, but the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are… Continue reading Water – The Baptism of Life!