Late in the evening when the house is still, The quiet can feel like an absence. I have known that darkness and The prayer that comes with it. It makes the heart ache and The mind vacant. There's the Name too. It's hard to whisper in those moments Because the fear of His abandonment feels real And the desire for wisdom seems fake. I've been there. I'll bet you have, too. It makes you close your eyes and Hold your arms tightly across your waist. Eventually .... and There's alw

There is another who wears our face. He rises before us in the morning and Speaks before we have a thought. He keeps our appointments, Answers to our names, and Carries around our favorite sins like relics. The old Germanic tales said that To see your double was to see your death. Perhaps they were right. Perhaps he is the death we have been living. Saint Paul called him the old man, The self we must put off, Forged from ten thousand small consents. He is a distorted copy of

Love is the key to the life of the monastic in the desert, and just as much to the layperson in the world. St. Isaac the Syrian teaches that when silence and seclusion leave no room for active charity, it is enough before God to offer mental love, which is prayerful intercession. In other words, the Christian ideal has two sides: active mercy and contemplative stillness. Spiritual fathers and mothers may live either or both. St. John Maximovitch rescued refugees from Shanghai

He was drawn from the water, and then Drawn into fire. We remember Moses, Who fled to Midian and Found on Horeb A bush that burned Without being consumed. Light without heat, Presence without possession. He led Israel through the sea As though it were dry ground, and Climbed Nebo To die within sight of a Promised Land he would not enter. Yet he entered. On Tabor he stood beside Elias In the uncreated light, His long waiting was fulfilled in Christ, Glorified and Transfigured.

Each week I send a short reflection to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. Read : There are varying translations of Exodus 14:14, but two of them, importantly, are rendered like this: (1) "The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still ." (2) "The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent ." Ponder: The first revelation in this verse may come as a surprise to you. The Lord fights for you . That is a vital reason for the Incarna

Heavenly Father ... Through the life of St. Anthony the Great, You reveal the beauty of Complete surrender. He heard Your call, Left everything behind, and Sought You alone In the silence of the desert. Though tempted and Tested by the enemy, His heart remained fixed on You. Grant us, O Lord, Even a measure of his courage, To release our attachments To embrace simplicity, and To trust in Your provision. May his example kindle deep within us A deeper hunger for prayer and Stil

Each week I send a short reflection to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. Read: "That we may become worthy to be filled with holiness through the use of this water by the invisible revelation of the Holy Spirit, let us pray to the Lord" (from the Great Blessing of Water ). Ponder: In this petition, we are humbly acknowledging that the water blessed at Theophany acts as a type of spiritual medicine through which the Spirit sanctifies our souls and bodies.

St. Seraphim, You stood in the winter forest with Motovilov, and The light of the Spirit shone from your face like the sun. You spoke so simply: The whole aim of life is to acquire the Holy Spirit. Not knowledge about Him, Not rituals performed correctly, but Him The living God, dwelling within. Sadly, I wonder How often I have mistaken the means for the end? I have prayed as though prayer itself were the goal. I have fasted and felt virtuous. I have done good works and count

I cannot see it Hear it Smell it Taste it, or Touch it. Yet, it has never escaped my notice. An infinitely thin space, which bridges the...

The Holy Spirit communicates and each of us must listen carefully to discern what is being ‘said.’ St. Seraphim of Sarov, who is...