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At the Heart of Lent
Read more: At the Heart of LentYour word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You! (Ps. 119:11) Years ago, I heard a statement from an American monk: “The contemplative need go no further than his own heart to find the source of all violence in the world.” It struck me as true then and has […]
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Get Real for Lent
Read more: Get Real for LentAccording to St. Basil, God is the “only truly Existing.” Our own existence is a gift from God who is our Creator. None of us has “self-existing” life. We exist because God sustains us in existence – in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). Sin is the rejection of this gift of […]
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The Justice of Creation
Read more: The Justice of CreationYour judgments are like the great deep, O Lord, You will save men and beasts. (Psalm 36:6) The notion of justice in Scripture is rather straightforward. It has to do with proper order and balance. The one who has much should not exploit his advantage and oppress the one who has little. In all […]
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Soul Talk
Read more: Soul TalkEverybody is familiar with the voice in their head. Sometimes it has the sound of a nagging argument, repeating, rehearsing endlessly to no good end. It can also be the voice of scolding, shaming us for some minor transgression while it consigns us to the lowest of the low. It is rarely a welcome presence […]
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Forgiveness for All the Sundays to Come
Read more: Forgiveness for All the Sundays to ComeI do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; (John17:20-21) The Elder Sophrony, together with St. Silouan, wrote about the “whole Adam.” By this, they meant all the human beings who have ever existed and those yet to come. For Silouan and Sophrony, this was […]
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A Fast of Righteousness
Read more: A Fast of RighteousnessI am often puzzled by the things theologians say about “righteousness.” First, there are a striking number of different treatments. That alone should tell anyone that we are standing on the ground of “theory” rather than knowledge when we hear pronouncements about the word. It is, of course, an important word. “Seek first the Kingdom […]
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How to Strengthen Your Lenten Prayer Life
Read more: How to Strengthen Your Lenten Prayer LifeThe traditional acts of asceticism associated with Great Lent (and the whole of the Christian life) are prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and repentance. In my experience, Orthodox faithful tend to concentrate on fasting and perhaps making a good confession. If we have weaknesses, they are found in our prayers and almsgiving. These two belong together. Christ said: […]
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Second Thoughts on Success
Read more: Second Thoughts on SuccessI have had a few emails and other notes regarding my recent articles on Providence and a non-modern spiritual life. To speak about a life that is not understood in terms of progress, but in terms of its struggles and weakness is the antithesis of the modern ideal. No matter how bad things might be, […]
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The Slow Road to Heaven – Why the Spiritual Life Doesn’t “Work”
Read more: The Slow Road to Heaven – Why the Spiritual Life Doesn’t “Work”We live in a world of practicality, a fact that has produced the marvels of technology that power us along and connect the world in its web. I have a nearly two-year-old grandson who has grasped some of this connection for many months now. He loves buttons – not the ones on your shirt – […]
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Where Is God in All of This? God in Providence
Read more: Where Is God in All of This? God in ProvidenceSomewhere along the years, I gained a useful insight about “doing nothing.” On the whole, it’s the lousiest strategy for living that can be found. We were not created to be passive creatures. Our life is a gift of a good God, but we are not called to be passive recipients. Anyone who has struggled […]
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For me real spiritual experience keeps getting smaller
Great reminder to get out of my head and back into the world. I was just watching that show (I…
Dear Fr. Stephen, thank you for this insightful post about the Orthodox view of religious experience. I had what I…
I echo Owen´s words Michael.
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Diedert, It is difficult to say what Orthodoxy would say about how to deal with religious experience. It is important…