HOLY SILENCE

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

Each week I send a short reflection to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. Read: "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in you" (Romans 8:1). Ponder: As we fast approach Great Lent, Holy Week, and Pascha, it may seem odd to be told to start thinking about Pentecost. But it makes perfect sense. First, it is important

"My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end, nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me

When I wake up in the morning, I experience In equal amounts, Hope and dread. The hope comes from the Expansiveness of the Eternal and the Depths of the Divine, both of which Comfortably make a home in the depths of my soul. The dread comes from the Depraved diabolism and the Maleficent machinations that Perniciously taunt me through the windows of my soul. The former is a pure gift given Despite my sin Separate from my failures and Filled with forgiveness. The latter is an o

Each week I send a short email to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. If you have a question or a prayer request, please reach out here . Read : "It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life." (John 6:63). Ponder: In John 6:56, Jesus declared that "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him." Some of the disciples, like many people today, either did not understa

We talk a lot about praying, but why do we do it? Prayer Brings Us Close to the Holy Spirit "Virtues are formed by prayer. Prayer preserves temperance, suppresses anger, restrains pride and envy, draws down the Holy Spirit into the soul and raises man to heaven" (St Ephraim the Syrian, in Moore, Orthodox Prayer , p. 22). Prayer Keeps Us Steady "Hold on to the staff of prayer and you will not fall. And even a fall will not be fatal, since prayer is a devout, persistent coercin

Evil entices the world, but God has given us everything we need to live in joy and hope and understanding. In other words, there is more to life than the temptations of demons and the difficulties we face. So, have faith, seek healing, and live in the love of the Lord.

Intercede for me and pray for my spiritual sons and daughters so that we may have a stable foundation of deep prayer and a ministry of healing the afflicted. Please keep me close so that I may have strength to walk with everyone who comes for confession and spiritual guidance. "Thomas, the faithful servant and disciple of Christ, filled with divine grace, cried out from the depth of his love: 'You are my Lord and my God!'" (Kontakion — Tone 4). Icon depicting the Theotokos gi

Each week I send a short email to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. If you have a question or a prayer request,...

This homily was given on the Feast of the Repose of St. John who is known as the Apostle, Evangelist, Theologian, and the Divine. He...