“Liturgy is not a rigid thing to be repeated unconsciously. It is an expression of the human need to talk to the Lord, and to thank Him for His grace. Liturgy is spirit and life running through the veins of the body of the Church, and nurturing all its members. It revives the Church, the […]

“When the Lord cried: ‘Lazarus!’ the man awoke and lived. The Lord knows the name of each of us. If Adam knew the name of each on of God’s creatures, how could God not know each of us by name? Oh, sweet and life-giving voice of the only Lover of mankind! That voice can make […]

“The commemoration of Christ’s saving Passion is at hand, and the new, great spiritual Passover, which is the reward for dispassion and the prelude of the world to come. Lazarus proclaims it in advance by coming back from the depths of Hades and rising from the dead on the fourth day just by voice and […]

When the mind and heart are united in prayer and the soul’s thoughts are not dispersed, the heart is warmed by spiritual warmth in which the light of Christ shines, making the whole inner man peaceful and joyous. St. Seraphim of Sarov

“In each of our lives Jesus comes as the Bread of Life – to be eaten, to be consumed by us. This is how He loves us. Then Jesus comes in our human life as the hungry one, the other, hoping to be fed with the Bread of our life, our hearts by loving, and […]

Were we simple like children, the Lord would show us His paradise, and we would behold Him in the glory of the Cherubim and Seraphim, and of all the heavenly host, and the Saints, but we are not humble, and therefore we torment ourselves and those we live among. St. Siloun the Athonite

“Where shall I begin to weep for the actions of my wretched life? What first-fruit shall I offer, O Christ, in this my lamentation? But in Thy compassion grant me forgiveness of sins. Come, wretched soul, with thy flesh to the Creator of all. Make confession to Him, and abstain henceforth from thy past brutishness; […]

“Peace in our souls is impossible unless we beg the Lord with all our hearts to give us love for all men. The Lord knew if we did not love our enemies, we should have no peace of soul, and so He gave us the Commandment, ‘Love your enemies.’ Unless we love our enemies, we […]

In the aftermath of yesterday’s murderous attack in Boston, let us recall the prayers we make at Great Compline. Asking the intercessions of the Mother of God and all the saints we pray in this manner, “Make our prayer acceptable” “Shelter us in the shelter of thy wings” “Drive away from us every enemy and […]

There can be no rest on earth for those who desire to be saved. St. Ephraim the Syrian