“The man who is seriously concerned about death reduces the amount of what he has to say,  and the man who has received the gift of spiritual mourning runs from talkativeness as from a fire.” St. John Climacus

Complaining never changes a thing, but only strengthens the power of the evil that is the very basis of our complaints. When we face every bad situation with a positive response,  we empower the heart to good, by diminishing the power of negativity. By keeping a positive mindset, the sin of complaining is banished from […]

The main thing in spiritual life is to keep your heart at peace. The Lord looks into the depth of the heart, its desires and aspirations. We must remove earthly plans and desires from the heart, only then together with the Lord can we sincerely love our neighbor. Communion with God is the normal spiritual […]

The first step toward freedom from anger is to keep the lips silent when the heart is stirred; the next, to keep the thoughts silent when the soul is stirred; the last, to be totally calm when unclean winds are blowing. —   St. John Climacus

A story about grumbling I knew two farmers in Epirus. One of them was a family man who had a couple of small fields and who entrusted everything to God. He worked, as much as he could, without anxiety. He would say, “I’ll do as much as I can manage.” Occasionally, some of the hay […]

“Our Creator who are aware of the sick state of my nature, hold back from me the violence of the adversary; beat off from my limbs the upsurge of  sin; cause its heat to abate from my heart, proffer the hand of healing to my soul’s prostrate state; bind up my inner senses with the […]

“By thy holy nativity, O pure one, Joachim and Anna were delivered from the reproach of barrenness; and Adam and Eve were delivered from the corruption of death; thy people do celebrate it, having been saved from the stain of iniquity, crying unto thee, The barren doth give birth to the Theotokos, who nourisheth our […]

“The soul of the Christian needs to be refined and sensitive, to have sensibility and wings, to be constantly in flight and to live in dreams, to fly through infinity, among the stars, amidst the greatness of God, amid silence. Elder Porphyrios

St. John of Kronstadt was a great intercessor for the Russian land. He was renowned for his pious and holy life, for his multidinous miracles, for his extensive aid to the needy. While engaging in constant prayer, he placed the Divine Liturgy above all else, regarding it as an eternal great miracle, and gave himself […]

“Christ himself is joy. He is a joy that transforms you into a different person. It is a spiritual madness, but in Christ. This spiritual wine inebriates you like pure unadulterated wine. As David says, You have anointed my head with oil and your cup intoxicates me most mightily. Spiritual wine is unmixed, unadulterated, exceedingly […]