Deliverance from Jaws

The Holy Spirit has superbly described in the Psalter the war and struggle of an athlete of Christ with his own fall and with fallen spirits. The monks of early times learned the Psalter by heart, and they expressed in the words of the Spirit their prayers for their rescue from the pit of the [...]

Read Full Post »

Let us not be carried away

What is written by every holy writer is written from his spiritual level (attainment) and from his practice (experience), in conformity with his level and practice. We must pay special attention to this point. Let us not be carried away and enraptured by a book written as if with fire that tells of high states [...]

Read Full Post »

Spiritual guidance

The carnal and natural man, on hearing spiritual guidance, understands it in conformity with his state, twists and distorts it, and by following it in his distorted sense, takes a wrong course and holds to it stubbornly as a course given by holy guidance. St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov)

Read Full Post »

Sound reason

What you call sound reason we Christians take to be a reason so infirm, so darkened and so far gone astray, that there can be no healing for it except by cutting off, with the sword of faith, and renouncing all the learning that has gone into its formation. If we take it for a [...]

Read Full Post »

You must know Christ!

You reason about salvation, yet you do not know what salvation is, why men are in need of it, and finally, you do not know Christ, the only means of our salvation. … You must know Christ! You must realize that you do not know Him, that you deny Him if you acknowledge salvation possible [...]

Read Full Post »