Category: Heart

Love Has No History

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 72 Leave a Comment on %s
St. Nikolai Velimirovich’s Prayers by the Lake are a theological feast. St. Gregory the Theologian wrote wonderful theological poems – it is a form deeply suited to theology but too little used. I first heard this poem on a broadcast from Ancient Faith Radio – it came at a very timely moment and allowed me to see and pray. Images such as “wandering through my soul like a wayfarer in the night,”ā€¦

To Guard One’s Heart

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 44 Leave a Comment on %s
The heart is a precious thing. The term can sometimes be confusing for people reading Orthodox writings. On occasion it almost sounds synonomous with the soul. At other times, it is identified with the nous, that organ of perception by which we know God. The Scriptures use the term (especially in the Old Testament) but never clearly define what it means. Some number of the Fathers make a literal identification with theā€¦

Only Love Knows Anything

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 35 Leave a Comment on %s
  Only Love Knows Anything There’s a part of us that is wired to be careful. It senses danger and hunkers down. It looks for danger. It can easily become the dominant mode of our life. Anxiety and depression, are among the most common noises of this internal warning system. When it comes to dominate, we see the world through fear-colored glasses. In the classical language of the Church, we describe suchā€¦

When Belief Is Complicated

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 39 Leave a Comment on %s
“It’s complicated.” This statement sums up much of the modern experience. I don’tĀ think the world we encounter is actually complicated – but our experience is. Simplicity is the reflection of an inner world free of conflicts and undercurrents. The truth of the modern inner-world is that it is generally pulled in many directions. Modernity is a juncture in history – a place where many rivers meet to form one raging torrent. Theā€¦

The Glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 24 Leave a Comment on %s
For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.ā€ (2 Corinthians 4:6) I have been laboring (with some success) on a promised book regarding the nature and place of shame in the spiritual life. Central to the work is a contemplation of the faceā€¦

Healing the Heart

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 60 Leave a Comment on %s
The heart itself is but a small vessel, yet dragons are there, and there are also lions; there are poisonous beasts and all the treasures of evil. But there too is God, the angels, the life and the kingdom, the light and the apostles, the heavenly cities and the treasuries of graceā€”all things are there. (H.43.7)Ā  St. Macarius If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it wereā€¦

A Beautiful Heart – The Acquisition of Grace

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 45 Leave a Comment on %s
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Phil 4:8 +++ Some people tell me that they are scandalized because they see many things wrong in the Church. I tell them that if you ask a fly, ā€œAre there any flowers in this area?ā€ā€¦

Into the Heart of the Capitol

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 60 Leave a Comment on %s
The love of truth is similar (and related) to the love of beauty. The truth is not found through suspicion, anger, hearsay, or such things. The truth ultimately is a gift from God and strengthens the heart. It is better, when we cannot arrive at the truth because of suspicion or such, to say, “I don’t know,” than to grasp at things we suspect or imagine. The origin of conspiracy theories beginsā€¦

Hagia Sophia and the Evil Eye

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 39 Leave a Comment on %s
The opening psalm of Great Vespers sings: ā€œO Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom have You made them all!ā€ It is a line we hear so frequently in the Church that it is easy to overlook its significance. The universe of all created things does not simply exist – it exists in a manner that reveals a wisdom beyond our understanding. Nothing in modern science has diminished the wonder thatā€¦

Words for a Wounded Heart

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 85 Leave a Comment on %s
You cannot be too gentle, too kind. Shun even to appear harsh in your treatment of each other. Joy, radiant joy, streams from the face of him who gives and kindles joy in the heart of him who receives. All condemnation is from the devil. Never condemn each other… Instead of condemning others, strive to reach inner peace. Keep silent, refrain from judgment. This will raise you above the deadly arrows ofā€¦