When I was a kid, late at night I’d lie awake in my bed and stare out the window of my room, counting the stars, listening to the wind, thinking. I had words and songs and fears running through my head. I remember, lying there, saying to myself, “stop thinking! You have to sleep!” as if there was another person upstairs in my brain operating some controls, and they just needed me…
O Lord and Master of my life! Take from me the spirit of sloth, faint-heartedness, lust of power, and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant. Yea, Lord and King! Grant me to see my own errors and not to judge my brother, for Thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen. -St. Ephrem The Syrian Every morning during the week I drop…
When the Israelites wandered in the desert they carried the Spirit of the Lord with them. Shored up on poles and trudging through the heat they would carry the Ark of the New Covenant which housed the ten commandments given to Moses. They would follow the cloud by day and the column of fire by night and when they stopped to rest, they would lay down the Ark and make camp. The…