“Give us help out of affliction” (Ps. 59:13). Let us seek help, not from [physical] strength, not from the well-being of the flesh. Let us not think it right to obtain aid from any of those considered notorious among men. Strength is a matter not of amassing of money, not of extent of power, not... Continue Reading →
Our Slavish Idolatry
“But now your possessions are more a part of you than the members of your own body, and separation from them is as painful as the amputation of one of your limbs. Had you clothed the naked, had you given your bread to the hungry, had your door been open to every stranger, had you... Continue Reading →
Evil is The Sickness of The Soul
We also possess natural virtues toward which there is an attraction of soul not from the teaching of men, but from nature itself. Thus, no lesson teaches us to hate disease, but we have of ourselves an aversion to suffering; so, too, a certain untaught rejection of evil exists in our soul. Every evil is... Continue Reading →
Likeness to God – Love
If you hate evil, if you are forgiving, if you do not remember yesterday’s evil, if you love your brother, if you sympathize—you have been made like God. If you forgive your enemy from the heart, you have been made like God. If you become the sort of person toward your brother, who sins against you, as God is toward you, a sinner, you have been made like God because of your good-heartedness toward your neighbor.
The Love of God
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.
God in flesh Kills the Death Therein
God is in flesh. He is not active at intervals as he was among the prophets. Instead he possesses a humanity connatural and united to himself, and restores all humanity to himself through flesh the same as ours in kind. So then, one might say, 'How did the splendour come to all by means of... Continue Reading →
Death Devours Him and Is Devoured
"He was begotten by a woman, so that He might bring all those begotten to rebirth. He was willingly crucified, so that He might take down [from the cross] those unwillingly crucified. He died willingly, so that He might raise up [from the grave] those who died involuntarily. He accepted a death that He need... Continue Reading →
On Idle Talk
"One ought to say nothing against an absent brother for the purpose of slandering him, even though what is said may be true, for that is detraction." St. Basil, Letter 22. 3. 8 This, in St. Basil's instructions to monks and lay people, is a healthy reminder for all of us
Hold God Near
"Prayer is beautiful, making distinct for the soul a notion of God. And the indwelling good is this -- holding God settled in oneself through the memory. We thus become temples of God whenever the continuity of our memory is not interrupted by earthly worries and whenever the mind is not disturbed by unforeseen passions.... Continue Reading →
A Manual of Humility
"Please, let there be no sophistical bombast in your speaking, no cloying sweetness in your singing, no proud and overbearing tone in your discussions. Instead, in everything get rid of pomposity. Be good to your friend, gentle to your servant, patient with the cocky, kind to the humbled. Console the afflicted, visit the distressed, disdain... Continue Reading →
On The Love of Enemies
"An enemy is by definition one who obstructs, ensnares, and injures others. He is therefore a sinner. We ought to love his soul by correcting him and doing everything possible to bring him to conversion. We ought to love his body too by coming to his aid with the necessities of life. That love for... Continue Reading →
Let Us Always Hold God Near
"Prayer is beautiful, making distinct for the soul a notion of God. And the indwelling good is this -- holding God settled in oneself through the memory. We thus become temples of God whenever the continuity of our memory is not interrupted by earthly worries and whenever the mind is not disturbed by unforeseen passions.... Continue Reading →
An Ancient Faith For a Modern World 