Category: Prayer
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The Warfare of Prayer
A friend relates the story that when as a young, protestant teenager, she approached her pastor to ask about a prayer life, she was met with little or no answer. She had an instinct that there was more to prayer than she knew – but she was living in a tradition that knew little about…
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For the Love of God – the Elder Porphyrios
From the Elder Porphyrios and the book Wounded by Love. There is one thing, O Christ, that I want, one thing I desire, one thing I ask for, and that is to be with You. Let us Love Christ and let our only hope and care be for Him. Let us love Christ for His…
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Love and the True Faith
Reading more on the life and teaching of St. Silouan of Mt. Athos, I found it interesting that what he thought of as “true faith” was the manifestation of the love of God in us towards all the world. It would have been certainly the case that as an Orthodox monk, St. Silouan would have…
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Through the Prayers of Our Holy Fathers…
It is a phrase that is heard frequently in Orthodox services: “Through the prayers of our holy fathers, have mercy on us and save us!” The meaning of that phrase is enlarged and enlightened in the writings of the Elder Sophrony. The following excerpt is from his book, St. Silouan the Athonite. Prayer for the…
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What Is Good for Us?
We live in a culture that has a fairly clear idea of what is good for a human being. We have notions of the “American Dream” and other ideals. Self-help books abound, each with its own understanding of what it means to be healthy, successful, well-balanced, etc. Frequently these cultural norms run counter to the…
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We Should Not Be Distracted By Anything
Reading the Philokalia is, at best, a daunting task. Where to begin? The following is a very useful section, drawn from the writings of St. Peter of Damascus in the Philokalia. It has been edited by Fr. Thomas Hopko. I am indebted to one of his many spiritual children for this copy. We should not be…
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Love Is Before All Things
Spiritual struggle is frequently counter-intuitive – and is almost always learned from those who have walked its paths successfully before us. The following is a small passage from the teachings of the Elder Porphyrios. Its wisdom speaks for itself. If you would gain the victory in spiritual struggle, then above all things, seek to love.…
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Father Sophrony’s Prayer
A dear friend shared this with me: Fr Sophrony’s Prayer O Eternal Lord and Creator of all things, in your inscrutable goodness you have called me into this life and have given me the grace of baptism and the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit. You have instilled in me the desire to…
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Saved with Thanksgiving
Everyone capable of giving thanks is capable of salvation. Fr. Alexander Schmemann Nothing is more essential to human living than the giving of thanks. According to the Apostle Paul, it is one of the very purposes for which we were created (Romans 1:21 St. Paul here upbraids us for our failure to give thanks). Much…
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And Thus the Heart
All of these things of late: waiting, patience, the presence of God, our personhood, the Church and the Cross, all come back to the human heart. It is the place of all things of our existence. It is as St. Macarius said: The heart itself is but a small vessel, yet dragons are there, and…
Andrew, I think that when we direct our attention to Christ Crucified – only then do patience, inner stillness, love…