When we get attacked by our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, we might feel challenged to a point of withdrawing from the life of the Church. After all, how can one see Christ clearly when priests, parishioners and posers of all sorts reflect a portrait of the evil one more than the pariah that hung on the cross? If you feel a need to withdraw when this happens, first go deeply into prayer. This can be hard to do when you're feeling challenged and especially so if you're being outwardly attacked. Meditate on the life of Christ and consider how often and by how many different people he was rejected. Without becoming arrogant, walk in the surety that if you live in and reflect the light of Christ, much the same will happen to you. Next, give way to silence. This is the hardest to do at a time when you feel isolated by God will fill you with his warmth and love. Never go it alone. Seek the protection of the Mother of God, ask for guidance from the Most Holy Spirit and reach out to friends in Christ who share your desire for a more prayerful, more respectful, and truly divine purpose in the daily life of a parish. Keep the faith by keeping in prayer. Silence truly is golden. #ContemplativePrayer #MeditativePrayer #continualprayer #JesusChrist

When the faithful become focused on the secular things in Church governance - money, power, politically-driven relationships (you know, you've seen it) - they are already shunning humility, shutting out the prayers of Liturgy, and shaming those whose life is centered in prayer and service. To put it differently, they are rejecting the stones upon which a real parish is built. Congregations don't come together, survive, grow, and thrive into the future without sincere devotion and prayer. This is true of the interior life as well. We can't stand against the powers of evil or the dastardly things that people do in parishes unless we are fed by living waters and stand on the cornerstone of Christ. For as it says in Acts 4:11, "the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.” If you find yourself in a position at home, work or church where you are being berated for your commitment to prayer and for following Christ's will in your life, remember to anchor yourself to the Cross. It is the only foundation upon which any person or parish is built. Pray for those who think they themselves are the rock. #JesusChrist #Crucifixion #Cross #StLuketheEvangelist #ParishLife

Human happiness is a fluid reality when it is based on the flittering fairies of cultural expectation and personal desire. But happiness that is based in God survives all things and carries you along when difficulties arise. Fight the power of evil and all of its degrading, humiliating, disappointing, frustrating, fear-mongering tactics with the power of the nails that drove through the arms and legs of Christ, the splinters of the wood that flayed His back, and the thorns that pierced His head. The cross is a visible sign of our stability and the source of our current and future joy. As it says in Proverbs 3:18, happiness "is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her". #Happiness #SacredScripture #Evil #JesusChrist

There are those today who preach a version of Christianity that abrogates the cross with codicils and bromides. Drawing from the well of broken Christianity, they justify themselves with the oft-repeated refrains of "once saved, always saved," "faith alone," and "scripture alone". Wittingly and irresponsibly, they convince themselves that the cross is passé, an unneeded and unwanted reminder of an ugly episode from long ago that gets in the way of their comfortable lifestyles and socially-acceptable Christianity. St. Paul reminds us 1 Corinthians 1:18-24 of our duty to preach the cross and live what it teaches. "For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’ Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." Meditate on the cross of Christ, for it is our destiny and the certain path of salvation. #SacredScripture #StPaul #MeditativePrayer #JesusChrist #Crucifixion

God waits for us to come to Him by seeking a deeper and deeper solitude. There we learn to reside in the desert of sensory deprivation, which gives way to an illuminated darkness where we experience His love, His will, and the path to eternal union with Him in eternity. Meditate continuously. #continualprayer #secretmeditation #MeditativePrayer #Trinity #Love #Stillness #luminousdarkness

Meditate on and celebrate the birth of Mary. For she is the person who, in saying "yes", showed us what it means to give our entire body, mind, and spirit to God. As it is written in one of the hymns for celebrating this feast in the Church: "Your nativity, O Virgin, Has proclaimed joy to the whole universe! The Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God, has shone from You, O Theotokos! By annulling the curse, He bestowed a blessing. By destroying death, He has granted us eternal life." In other words, Mary offered herself up to become the mother of God, who, in turn, offers Himself up for our redemption and sanctification. Think about that for a moment. She allowed herself to become the vehicle by which God was born into the world. Mary gave her life to become "the bridal chamber of the heavenly bridegroom" (as it says in another hymn of the day). Can you imagine that? Can you imagine saying to God, "‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word" (Luke 1:38). Given how little each of us gives every day to God and to each other, let us take time to meditate deep within our hearts on the one person in all of humanity who can teach us what it means to talk to God, listen to Him, and to truly do what He asks, in an act of pure love. #Theotokos #Trinity #JesusChrist #StLuketheEvangelist #MeditativePrayer #secretmeditation

Give yourself away to the Lord. Hold nothing back. Go deeper into union with Him, this is your eternity. When you pray, try using this Litany of Humility, which can be traced to the 1800s. O Jesus, meek and humble of heart! Make my heart like yours. From self-will, deliver me, O Lord. From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, O Lord. From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, O Lord. From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, O Lord. From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, O Lord. From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, O Lord. From the desire of being preferred, Deliver me, O Lord. From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, O Lord. From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, O Lord. From the desire to be understood, deliver me, O Lord. From the desire to be visited, Deliver me, O Lord. From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, O Lord From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, O Lord. From the fear of being calumniated, Deliver me, O Lord. From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, O Lord. From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, O Lord. From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, O Lord. From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, O Lord. From the fear of being abandoned, Deliver me, O Lord. From the fear of being refused, Deliver Me, O Lord. That others may be loved more than I, Lord, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be esteemed more than I, Lord, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may grow in the opinion of the world and I diminish, Lord, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be chosen and I set aside, Lord, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be praised and I unnoticed/forgotten, Lord, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be preferred before me in everything, Lord, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be seen as more holy than I, provided I am as holy as I should be, Lord, grant me the grace to desire it. At being unknown, Lord I want to rejoice. At being deprived of the perfections of body and mind, Lord, I want to rejoice. When people do not think of me, Lord, I want to rejoice. When they assign to me the meanest tasks, Lord, I want to rejoice. When they do not even deign to make use of me, Lord, I want to rejoice. When they never ask my opinion, Lord, I want to rejoice. When they leave me at the lowest place, Lord, I want to rejoice. When they never compliment me, Lord, I want to rejoice. When they blame me in season and out of season, Lord, I want to rejoice. Blessed are those who suffer persecution for your sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. #continualprayer #MeditativePrayer #humility #JesusChrist

Accountability is an important aspect of growing in deeper union with Christ. From one perspective, frequent prayer gives you more awareness of your sins and a greater strength to face them. Taking a different point of view, making a psychological and/or intellectual decision to face your bad behaviors or the negative consequences of your attitude, makes prayer all that much more possible. When we stop lying to ourselves and to God, we can actually hear more clearly what is that God needs from us; we are better able to walk down that path toward Him; and we are more prepared to help others grow as persons and servants of God. St. Paul tells us this in Galatians 6:1-5 "My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ. For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride. For all must carry their own loads." To put it more simply: face your sins; repair your relationships; go before God in joyous supplication; hear His will and follow it. #prayer #Confession #Conversion #Healing #StPaul

According to the Sacred Tradition of the Orthodox Church, at the time of her Dormition, the Theotokos was buried by the Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem. Three days later, St. Thomas the Apostle, who had been delayed and unable to attend the funeral, arrived and asked to have one last look at the Virgin Mary. When he and the other apostles arrived at Mary's Tomb, they found that her body was missing. According to some accounts, the Virgin Mary appeared at that time and gave her belt (cincture) to the Apostle Thomas. Today, there is celebrated in some places a little known feast named "The Placing of the Venerable Belt of the Most Holy Mother of God in the Constantinople Blakhernae Church." This took place twice. First, during the reign of the emperor Arcadius (395‑408). Second, during the reign of emperor Leo the Wise (886-911). In commemoration of the miraculous occurrences attributed to the belt, the Feast of the Placing of the Venerable Belt of the Most Holy Mother of God was established. Pray for the Intercession of the Mother of God. She will protect you and help to keep you on the path of Christ. #MotherofGod #Theotokos #miracles #MeditativePrayer #StThomas

St. Paul rightly instructs, "Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law" (Romans 13:8). Debt is a great scourge of the modern West. The amount of personal debt carried by individuals and families not only keeps them in a permanent state of poverty, but also, and more importantly, keeps them from discerning and living the will of God in their lives. Thus, it is vitally important that you not take on debts that you know in foresight will wrap up your entire life in useless toil. For it is not worth your eternal soul to spend your time working to appear better or richer or prettier than everyone else. Matthew explains this in 19:27-30: "Then Peter said in reply, ‘Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold,* and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first." In other words, drop your social ego, pay off debt, and give your life to serving God and God alone. When you shun what takes you from Christ, you will find that life will be freer now and more glorious in the Kingdom. #StMatthew #StPaul #Wisdom #JesusChrist #Heaven

In the hours and days that passed after the horror of the attacks on September 11, 2001, when the shock began to wear off and the fear began to set in, Americans flocked to their churches and flooded into town squares to do the thing that should always be done: pray. Seventeen years later it is important to ask the questions that should haunt us: Where have all the prayers gone? Where are the throngs of believers publicly begging God for love, forgiveness and mercy? Where is the genuine desire within the homes and communities of Christians to stand spiritually before God with an ardent desire to submit to Him? After everything that has transpired since September 11, one would think that this desire for an outpouring of prayer would be somewhere near as strong today as it was all those years ago. Since it is clear that the desire has waned, the time has come to renew our understanding of and commitment to prayer. We must re-learn why we pray, how to pray and what it means for our lives. “To pray is to stand spiritually before God in our heart in glorification, thanksgiving, supplication, and contrite penitence. Everything must be spiritual. The root of all prayer is devout fear of God; from this comes belief about God and faith in Him, submission of oneself to God, hope in God, and cleaving to Him with the feeling of love, in oblivion of all created things. When prayer is powerful, all these spiritual feelings and movements are present in the heart with corresponding vigour" (Theophan the Recluse as quoted in The Art of Prayer: An Orthodox Anthology, p. 93). Prayer is life! Prayer is union with God! #Fear #prayer #continualprayer #StTheophantheRecluse #theosis #Healing

Until you recognize that you have no wisdom, you cannot even begin to know the Holy Wisdom of Christ. #Wisdom #JesusChrist #HolySpirit