Glory to God For All Things

Writing about his experiences in praying for the sick, the Elder Sophrony writes: It is still not clear to me why less intense prayer on my part might occasionally cause the illness to take a favorable turn, whereas at other times more profound supplication brought no visible improvement. From On Prayer He says later that […]

Abba Agathon said, “If someone who is angry were to raise the dead, God would remain displeased with the anger.” Sayings of the Desert Fathers The most difficult part of our Christian life is found within us – our inner life. It is certainly the case that many of the outward things we do – […]

From Fr. Sophrony’s book On Prayer: [The author recounts his arrival in France from the Holy Mountain.] In france, having arrive from Greece, I met with the sort of people I had become unfamiliar with during my twenty-two years on the Holy Mountain-especially during the latter period when I was spiritual confessor to several hundred […]

[Youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/v/kU9YeOQm3Y0&hl=en&fs=1″>]

Dimitru Staniloae, the great Romanian Theologian, offers an excellent introduction to the passions as understood in Orthodox Christianity. The following excerpt is from his Orthodox Spirituality, which I highly recommend. The passions represent the lowest level to which human nature can fall. Both their Greek name, pathi, as well as the Latin, passiones, show that […]

  After communion in an Orthodox Liturgy, the priest prays the “Prayer Behind the Ambo,” a prayer offered from the midst of the Church (more or less). It gives thanks for all that God has done for us, and asks blessings on His people. I particularly love the phrase that asks, “Sanctify those that love […]

This article first appeared last March. It seems to bear reprinting at least for a fuller discussion of the passions. I have mentioned the role that the passions play in our consumer culture. I would like to write in greater depth about that phenomenon. It permeates our culture – and yet, strangely, I do not […]

I have no intention in this posting to preach to those who struggle with gluttony, or, more likely, just feel guilty most of the time when they think of their weight, etc. Orthodoxy is not a weight-loss program. However, this passage offers wonderful insight into the struggle with the passions. It is quoted from Fr. […]

I am a “child” of the 60’s, which means I was born in the early 50’s and spent my youth and late adolescence in the thrall of all that was swirling around in our culture in the late 60’s and early 70’s. My experience is probably similar to that of many of my generation – […]