Boredom
“It is not incorrect to describe our relationship with the passions as an addiction. The fathers described the passion-driven life as a constant swing between pain and pleasure. We experience boredom as a pain and seek to replace it with pleasure, which will only yield more pain later on. This movement, as it dominates our experience, draws us away from the opportunity to grow in noetic experience. As such, it tears us away from God other than as an entertaining idea or a con
Trials and Temptations
“Trials should be distinguished from temptations. Trials come directly from the God of Providence, while temptations come directly from the evil spirits, although they are allowed by God. Trials are neither saving nor leading to spiritual death in themselves; they are only reasons for the manifestation of human will in relation to what the Lord gives us. The purpose of temptations is spiritual death, although they disguise themselves as something harmless and even good. Tempt
Good and Evil
“An evil person is not someone who is nothing but evil, someone with no redeeming features or virtues whatsoever. An evil person is not a...
Spiritual Blindness and Deafness
“He [Gadarene Demoniac – Luke 16:19-31] is an icon of our brokenness and represents us all in many ways. He did not ask Christ to deliver...
God's Will vs Self Will
“…sin lies in the direction of the will…A person sins when he looks upon his life as if it belonged only to him…It is necessary for...
Arts
“Bad art doesn’t die thoroughly enough; that’s why it never lives completely, and why bad art is almost always eventually discarded by...
Knowing God
“Every human being who comes into this world is unique, and all are given the opportunity to know God.” (Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica) “We...
Church
“Attending church is not the same as being united to the Church. Salvation is not granted by presence in a building, but by synergy—the...
Kenosis (Self-Emptying)
“In Christian theology Jesus Christ is said to be the perfect human. This is partly why we are called to imitate him (1 Cor 11:1) if we...
Rules and Legalism
“Isn’t it amazing that everyone is taught grammar so no one writes in his own way, but according to the rules? They try to teach everyone...