Category: Prayer

  • Travel Prayers

    I am driving through rain today (just over past Nashville – 3 hours or so away). But I’m not fond of rain. If you think of me over the day (there and back) offer a prayer for safety. It’ll be good to get back home, and out of the wet. Glory to God for all…

  • ‘Til My Last Breath

    Abba Antony told Abba Poemen, “We have one great work to accomplish. Before God, we must accept responsibility for our sins, expecting to be tempted until our last breath.” For myself, as wells as others that I know, the battle against sin and temptation is, as described by the Fathers, a battle ’til our last…

  • The Theophany in Which We Live

    The liturgical life of the Church makes a very clear link between the Nativity of Christ, the Theophany at His Baptism, and Pascha. Elements of Pascha run throughout the texts for the services of all three feasts, and even the icons echo one another. There is a recognition that at Nativity, Christ enters the “Winter…

  • Words from St. Seraphim of Sarov

    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…

  • St. John Chrysostom on the Jesus Prayer

    St. John on the Jesus Prayer: The remembrance of the name of Jesus rouses the enemy to battle. For a soul that forces itself to pray the Prayer of Jesus can find anything by this prayer, both good and evil. First it can see evil in the recesses of its own heart, and afterwards good.…

  • The Grace Given To Us

    From the writings of the Elder Sophrony: At Vespers during Lent at the Monastery of Old Russikon-on-the-Hill the Lord allowed a certain monk to see Father Abraham, a priest-monk of the strict rule, in the image of Christ. The old confessor, weaing his priestly stole, was standing hearing confessions. When the monk entered the confessional…

  • Being Formed in the Tradition

    I watched a group of linguistic-psychologists (of varying sorts) in a panel discussion the other night (CSPAN). All of them are involved in advising political campaigns. What they know about the science of language and how people actually make decisions versus how we would like to think we make decisions was staggering. Among the most…

  • Reading the Nativity Story

    I was right. I said in a sermon several days ago that my congregation should expect the usual presentations on various parts of the Christmas story, the thrust of the articles (and letters to the editor) being about how either they did not occur on a literal level or how they did occur. This goes…

  • On the Eve of the Nativity – We Sing the Royal Hours

    Come, you faithful, let us arise and behold the divine condescension from above, made manifest for us in Bethlehem; and having cleansed our minds, let us by our lives offer virtues instead of myrrh, as we faithfully prepare the entry of the Nativity with treasures of the soul, crying, ‘In the highest, glory to God…

  • Icons Will Save the World

    Standing before the icon of Christ in the front of St. John Orthodox Church, I prepare to offer my confession at the Sacrament of Forgiveness. The Holy image of the One Who Forgives comes forth to meet me, as the father comes forth to welcome home the prodigal son in the familiar gospel passage (Luke…


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Latest Comments

  1. Father, The transformative aspect in the reading of the scripture through the Orthodox tradition is an awesome truth. When I…

  2. Thank you so much for this, Dee. I will have to buy these books. This, especially, consoles me: “I’ll end…

  3. Dee, thank you for taking time to direct me to these points. I am writing a piece, hoping to tie…


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