In homily 69, St. Isaac reminds us that temptations to sin come upon all people, even the “perfect.” Quoting freely from St. Macarius of Alexandria, St. Isaac reminds us that our inner state is rather like the weather. “There is cold, and soon after, burning heat, and then perhaps even hail, and after a little, fair weather.”  I think some of us will find this shocking, that even the perfect experience…
I have a great six-year old German Shepherd named Kota. She is intelligent, obedient, and easily bored. I can train her to do almost anything a few times. She will fetch, roll over, play dead, spin around and do all sorts of dogie tricks—three or four times. That’s it. And unless you have some really good—and I mean really good—treat for her, she just won’t chase after that ball any more. Kota…
I’m working on a project for a friend who is developing Sunday school curriculum. The project has required that I reread and paraphrase a lot of the Old Testament for reading out loud to children. It has been a good project for me, even if often I have had to make myself do it. It is not very intellectually stimulating. However, reading through the life of Joseph this morning I saw something…
Saint Paul warns Timothy twice (1 Tim. 6:11 and 2 Tim. 2:22) to flee temptation. On an external level, this fleeing takes the form of exiting yourself from the situation, like Joseph fleeing the temptation of Potiphar’s wife. This leaving the situation may have adverse consequences, as it did for for both Joseph and Potiphar’s wife. Joseph suffered losing his position and ending up in prison, but Potiphar’s wife also suffered adding…
