So then, whatever is rightly done of free choice is also in us naturally, at least, in the case of those who have not perverted their rational faculty by iniquity. The love of God is, therefore, demanded of us as a strict obligation, and for a soul to fail in this is the most unendurable of all evils.Separation and estrangement from God are more unbearable than the punishment reserved for hell and more oppressive to the sufferer than the being deprived of light is to the eye.
Show the physician your wound
"Your wounds do not surpass the Physician's skill. Have faith; tell the Physician what ails you." St. Cyril of Jeruslaem, Baptismal Catechesis 2, 6.
Psalm 151, Bright Saturday and The Resurrection
“I was small among my brethren, and youngest in my father’s house: I tended my father’s sheep. My hands formed a musical instrument, and my fingers tuned a psaltery. And who shall tell my Lord? the Lord himself, he himself hears. He sent forth his angel, and took me from my father’s sheep, and he... Continue Reading →
Palm Sunday – The Entry of The King
"The multitudes, being more obedient and yielding to the effect of the sign, went to meet the Christ, hymning Him as One Who had conquered death, and carrying palm branches. And they do not praise Him with ordinary language, but quote from the inspired Scripture that which was beautifully spoken with regard to Him; confessing... Continue Reading →
Blind to Virtue or vice
"Both the virtues and the vices render the mind blind—the former, so that it cannot see the vices, and the latter, so that it does not see the virtues." Evagrius, Praktikos chapter 62
There is no ‘start’ and ‘end’ to Prayer
"Whoever is used to praying only at such time as the knee is bent, prays very little. But whoever, even on bended knee, is distracted by any sort of wandering heart, prays not at all. And for this reason, it behoves us even before the time of prayer to be such as we would wish... Continue Reading →
Social Distancing and Acedia
For those of us who are now under the advisory to quarantine or isolate or practice social distancing, we are now finding ourselves in entirely novel territory. Where once we thought nothing of bouncing around from place to place and store to store we are now to practice some discipline about our comings and goings.... Continue Reading →
What He is, He Does
Commenting on the beginning of Psalm 106 St. Gregory of Nyssa teaches; "For he begins immediately by saying, Give thanks to the Lord,for he is good, for his mercy endures for ever (Ps 106.1).’ Exomologesis is to be understood here in the sense of thanksgiving, not in the sense of confession. He exhorts us here... Continue Reading →
Trading the Transitory for The Immortal?
"Pleasure is only a fleeting delight. Yea, pleasure quickly takes flight, and we cannot tie it down even for a few moments. For such is the destiny of human and sensible things: hardly do we possess them, and they escape us...They offer nothing solid or assured, nothing fixed or permanent. They flow away more rapidly... Continue Reading →
Cut Off the Deeds of Death
The blessed Paul wrote to the Corinthians that he always bore in his body the dying of Jesus (2 Cor 4.10), not as though he alone should make that boast, but also they and we too, and in this let us be followers of him, my brethren. And let this be the customary boast of... Continue Reading →
The Knowledge of God
"The virtues acquired are the flesh of Christ and whoever eats it will find inner freedom. The contemplation of creatures is the blood of Christ and whoever drinks it will be enlightened by Him. The knowledge of God is the breast of Christ and whoever rests on it will be a theologian."
Repentance Must be Joined to Thanksgiving
"Compunction without thanksgiving would be despair, sorrow that was not godly, while repentance without thanksgiving would be a presumptuous illusion". St. Mark the Ascetic Translation from Penthos: The Doctrine of Compunction in the Christian East Let us not forget that our repentance is not simply a deep sorrow. Sorrow without thanksgiving does not open us... Continue Reading →
An Ancient Faith For a Modern World 