Fr. Thomas Colyandro

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 and St. Maria...

Written on the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001 I. The morning the words ran out I made my living with words. I was trained as a journalist. I spent years in public affairs and crisis communication for energy and chemical companies, writing the sentences that get said when something has gone badly wrong. I studied how disputes are negotiated and how public arguments are framed. By the autumn of 2001 I was in Houston, teaching and advising at a graduate school of theology, still writing,...

The Fathers describe how demons sow evil thoughts. What's truly frightening is that someone near us Can do their bidding using a human voice. At the table, On the phone, In the pew beside us During times of sadness and dread Even moments of joy and laughter. But the absolute worst comes when we are at our weakest. Their words become our thoughts. Their sounds become our cries. Their actions lead us into temptation. They accomplish this by watching and waiting Until that very moment when we...