Tag: St. Maximus the Confessor

Transformation, Conformation, Shame and Sexual Desire

· Fr. Michael Gillis 4 Leave a Comment on %s
When I first began visiting the monastery, after I had developed something of a friendship with the monks, I asked the brothers if they experienced any particular problems repressing their sexual urges.  They told me that they do not repress, but redirect.  That is, the desire and longing that, in the world, is generally expressed in sexual longing, they turn toward God as the One they long for most. When they told…

The Folly and Necessity of Rationalizing the Supra-rational

· Fr. Michael Gillis 2 Leave a Comment on %s
Several years ago I was leading a book study on St. Theophan the Recluse’ The Spiritual Life and How To Be Attuned To It.  I had read the book at least twice before this study, so I was going through it a third time as I prepared for my talks. As I read, I was excited to discover that I seemed to be understanding his broader ideas and not getting so lost…

Reforestation and The Healing Of The Soul

· Fr. Michael Gillis 4 Leave a Comment on %s
It’s August first, 14 degrees (57f) and raining: Welcome to my world. Actually it is a beautiful day, if you wear a little more than a tee shirt and if you’re somewhat at peace with yourself.  A lot of our life is like this.  On days that we expect sun and good times, it rains–sometimes it rains for days on end and it seems as if we will never see the sun…

Deeds, Disposition and Humility

· Fr. Michael Gillis 4 Leave a Comment on %s
…[Christ] honours obedience by His actions, and experiences it by suffering.  Just as in our case, the mere disposition is an unsatisfactory thing unless we give it practical effect—for deeds are the proof of dispositions.  We may perhaps also make the not invalid assumption that He tests our obedience by the art of His philanthropy, and measures all our sufferings against His own, so that He is able to understand our condition…