It is well known in the emerging field of epigenetics that conditions of stress, abuse, neglect and trauma in a person''s family of origin can seriously affect our physical and mental health as adults. But it also plays a significant role in our religious life. I have known more than one person who has sought refuge in the Orthodox faith only … [Read more...]
Η φωνή της Εύας [Eva’s Voice]
Have you ever felt so self-conscious or uncomfortable that you lost your voice? How did you find it again? Or been under so much pressure to perform that you froze up? Isha's Voice [Eva's Voice in the Greek Edition] is the story of a girl who experiences herself in the Great Liturgy of life without the slightest self-consciousness, vanity or … [Read more...]
Re-member me in love forever Lord!
On an occasion when Jesus was in Capernaum, the city of the Apostle Peter’s family, the leaders of the local synagogue appealed to him on behalf of a certain Roman Centurion, whose servant was ill. They made their case for Jesus to intervene on the basis that the Centurion was worthy because “he loves our nation and built our synagogue.” Nothing … [Read more...]
Treasure in Earthen Vessels: Prayer and the Embodied Life
Treasure in Earthen Vessels “In the following pages, Fr. Stephen Muse provides us, not with a manual of prayer, but with an opening into the life of prayer by unveiling for us “the mystery of embodied life and the uncreated divine life.” He provides an entryway for us, as human beings with all our brokenness, weakness and fear, to dialogue … [Read more...]
Orthodox Women in Healing Ministries – Annual Conference, Dormition Monastery
The Orthodox Women in the Healing Ministries celebrates 25th Years (1992 - 2017)! Orthodox Women in the Healing Ministries was founded in 1992 with the mission of providing support to Orthodox Christian women who work in the medical and healing professions. This includes doctors, nurses, therapists, social workers and the like. From its inception … [Read more...]
Amim’s Great Discovery… Be Yourself!
Amim, what happened to your nose? Where are your mouth and ears? Where did your fingers and hair go? St. Anthony of the desert, in response to a questioner who asked about the purpose of ascetical struggle, once summed it up as an effort "to become yourself." By this he did not mean selfishly living without regard for other people's feelings or at … [Read more...]
St. Nilus Abba-tizer: embracing involuntary suffering
Abba Nilus said, “Do not be always wanting everything to turn out as you think it should, but rather as God pleases, then you will be undisturbed and thankful in your prayer.”[1] "Undisturbed and thankful" is something we usually associate with enjoying the blessings of life--good food, good reputation, financial resources, health and the … [Read more...]
Get Real: the Shortest Path to Salvation
Serbian Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica said, “[Whoever] has the Kingdom of God within himself will imperceptibly pass it on to others. The atmosphere of heaven will radiate from us even when we keep silence or talk about ordinary things.” Of course, the great obstacle preventing me from inheriting the Kingdom of God is me; not the me that is “hid with … [Read more...]
Not By Bread Alone
So, the Lenten fast begins. What a relief! When Jesus was confronted by the devil on the Mount of Temptation, during His fasting and ascetical labors, Satan first tried to interest Him the same way he had the first humans in the garden. Through the belly. Why not? In comparison to the bodiless nature of angels, even fallen ones, human beings are … [Read more...]
“Straight Ahead With the Fathers!”
Sometimes I find myself hearing that infectious opening song --Tradition!-- in the robust voice of the beloved Tevye from the 1971 play, Fiddler on the Roof. The plaintive Jewish melody fills my inner ear, punctuated by the thump of Tevye’s boots as he stomps emphatically across the ground accentuating the solidity of his hope in his … [Read more...]
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