Virtues are the fruits that everyone is required to bring forth in his/her spiritual journey towards Christian perfection. “Every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Matt 3:10) That is what the Lord tells us about the importance of these fruits. However, before we proceed any further, …
HOLY SCRIPTURE says of the midwives who kept alive the Israelites’ male children, that through the god-fearing midwives they made themselves houses. What Does it mean they made visible houses? How can they say they acquired houses through the fear of God when we do the opposite, and learn in time, through fear of God …
The Naked Beggar and the Monk One of the Fathers went off to the city to sell his manual work, and seeing a naked beggar he was moved by compassion and gave him his own habit. The poor man went and sold it. When he heard what he had done, the old man was very …
We may at times mix between ‘monastic poverty’ and ‘real poverty’ when we read the life of a saint or consider the life of a monk or nun, however the distinction is rather valid and important to note. For the purpose of this paper, ‘monastic poverty’ describes a monk or nun’s voluntary vow of poverty, …
Saint Arsenius is one of the saints who became very famous for his weeping. It is said that his eyelashes fell due to the intensity of his weeping, and that two cavities formed on his cheeks because of his weeping. During summer he would wet the palm leaves with his tears, and he placed a …
You will be proclaimed charitable, not simply because you have refused to accept something from another person, but rather you will be recognized as a renunciant because you have given without looking back. When you distribute material goods, strive to cast pure seeds, lest instead of wheat you have tares come forth (Matt, 13: 24-30). …
Monasticism is not like you see it in movies. It is not like you read of it in books. It cannot be described in words. It can only be experienced and felt. Monasticism is a calling and you cannot walk this path unless you have been invited to it by God. But how does one …
All scripture is inspired by God and is useful, composed by the Spirit for this reason, namely, that we men, each and all of us, as if in a general hospital for souls, may select the remedy for his own condition. For, it says, “care will make the greatest sin to cease.” (Eccles10:4) Now, the …
The following is a contemplation on a psalm we all know very well and if you allow me, you may see it from a different perspective and learn something not obvious from before. The imagery in this psalm has been painted onto the walls of the catacombs in Rome and is repeated several times in …
Psalms have a prominent place in our church. In ancient times, one of the Popes of Alexandria refused to ordain one of the bishops because he hadn't memorised all the psalms by heart. It was a condition for the three ranks of priesthood (bishopric, priesthood and deacon) to recite all the psalms before their ordination. …
