A certain brother came to Abba Arsenius, and said to him, “My thoughts trouble me, and say, you can't fast and you are not able to labor, therefore visit the sick, which is a great commandment.” Then Abba Arsenius, after the manner of one who was well acquainted with the war of devils, said to …
“There is a man in the south of Egypt called Shenoute. Whatever he says truly comes to pass.” - St Wissa When contemplating on the lives of the saints, we soon come to realise the love of God and His saving grace which is constantly perfecting His image in us. The great St Shenouda the …
During my last retreat to the monasteries in Egypt last January and in my numerous spiritual consultations with many of the elders, the topic of the Bible and how to read it frequently came up. In fact the Bible is so central to their lives that one of the solitary elders said to me “the …
“Silence your lips that your heart may speak… Silence your heart that God may speak…” - The Spiritual Elder How I miss the silence. It was pleasant sunny winter’s day in ancient Wadi Natroun, the ancient desert abode of the Christian monks of Egypt. I was a newly ordained priest halfway through my 40 day …
According to Saint Mark the Monk (“Mark the Ascetic,” fifth/sixth century), “He who is humble in his thoughts and engaged in spiritual work, when he reads the Holy Scriptures, will apply everything to himself and not to his neighbor.” We are to look throughout Scripture for a personal application. Our question is not simply “What …
The study of inspired Scripture is the chief way of finding our duty, for in it we find both instruction about conduct and the lives of blessed men, delivered in writing, as some breathing images of godly living, for the imitation of their good works. Hence, in whatever respect each one feels himself deficient, devoting …
Aaron’s rod, in fact, is Mary. It is a type of her virginity. She conceived and bore the Son of the Most High, the Word, without human seed. Sunday Theotokia. The virginity of St. Mary is not a matter of her own private life, but rather a ‘biblical reality’, which central to our faith in …
Perhaps the single most all-encompassing text of Evagrius on abandonment is found in the Gnostikos. Its presence in that particular work shows that understanding the question is the special competence of the gnostic or teacher to whom this work is addressed. Evagrius speaks of it here to indicate that it is part of a father's …
Confession is one of the seven sacraments of the church. Despite Confession being a heavenly sacrament, there appears to be a number of people who object to the power of this sacrament and raise objections regarding the practice of this sacrament. The sacrament of confession could be summarised as “the Lord entering into man by …
Confess your sins and errors in detail, whether they are in your mind or on the paper, and be careful not to hide anything no matter how ugly or embarrassing it is, keeping in mind the advice of the apostle: " If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our …
