God's Will vs Self Will
“…we are content to say that God has no place in our lives. We think we want to be left alone to figure it out for ourselves. We have all seen how well this is working out!...Devotion to God’s will is the peaceful and restful haven in all temptations and sorrows, while reliance on one’s own powers is destructive.” (Reverend Christopher T. Metropulos, D. Min, St. Ignatius Brianchaninov) “The spiritual disease of the last times is the weakening of our will and determination. It
Prayer
“Mankind is carried away by other aspirations and goals, created for its own detriment and ruin. There are people who don’t pray at all, who don’t feel the need for it, who don’t understand the point of praying and don’t believe in the possibility of being heard by God; and many people do pray, but rarely and always reluctantly, with compulsion and difficulty. Thus, there are very few people who live by fervent, strong, sincere, noetic, and unceasing prayer, according to the
God's Nature/Our Nature
“It is very interesting that…it is only when God “empties himself” for the life of the world, that He actually takes on being. Before...
Lent
“The first evidence of Great Lent is found in the Paschal Letter 2 of Athanasius the Great (297- 372), Patriarch of Alexandria, dated to...
Fasting
“The Genesis narrative shows that the relationship between Man and God is not primarily an intellectual one (the contemplative raising of...
Love (As Christians Should Love)
“…love is to be actively expressed through tangible behavior. Hence when Saint Luke quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 [you shall love the Lord our...
Effort
“God . . . set no limits for any of us on the spiritual plane . . . We are called to eternal life in the Kingdom of our Father which is...
Satisfaction
“I have often thought that people generally have narrow interests. We want to work, to play, to love our family, to live in peace with...
Theosis/Union with God
“Our quest for communion with the everlasting God reorients our vision, directing it toward the eternal destiny of all mankind. We...
Humility, Pride, and Repentance
“…we must guard against thinking that a humble heart is easily acquired. Although we are attracted to humility, we should anticipate a...