When to Pray?
It is good…to pray always and not to lose heart, as the Lord says, And again the Apostle says, ‘Pray without ceasing’, (Lord Jesus Christ Have Mercy On Me) that is by night and by day and at every...
View ArticleNarratives Leading Us to Endurance and stability
An old man lived in the desert in a cell twelve miles from the water. Every time he went to draw water he toiled and said, “What good is this labor? I will go and live close to the water.” Saying this,...
View ArticleGratitude for the Lord’s Goodness
What words can adequately describe God’s gifts? They are so numerous that they defy enumeration. They are so great that any one of them demands our total gratitude in response. Yet even though we...
View ArticleOn the Lust of the Flesh
The same brother asked another old man about the same thought. And the old man said to him, "I myself have never had to fight against such a thing." And the brother was schocked at it and went to see...
View ArticleOn guarding our thoughts & heart
An old man said, "Many, tempted by bodily pleasures, do not defile their bodies but, committing fornication in thought, they are fornicators in their souls while preserving their bodies unstained. So...
View ArticleHumble yourself before the Lord
“God, for your sake humbled Himself, and you will not be humbled for your own sake?! The Lord Himself who is the Way and is God, after He came not on His own behalf but for you so that He might be an...
View ArticleHow should we pray?
Untitled document They asked abba Macarius, "How should we pray?" And the old manreplied, "There is no need to speak much in prayer; often stretchout your hands and say, "Lord, as you will and as you...
View ArticleHumility
If someone observes that his brothers are satisfied with him, let him not start boasting to himself. There are thieves all around. Remember the warning: “When you have done all that was laid on you to...
View ArticleBeing Thankful
One of the fathers related this: “Once when I was at Oxyrhyncus, some poor people came on Saturday evening to receive charity. We were lying down, and there was one of them who only had a single mat,...
View ArticleOn the subject of Discernment
A brother questioned one of the Fathers; saying; “If i happned to be overcome by sleep and miss the proper time for the Synaxix, I am afraid of what people will think and I no longer want to say the...
View ArticleSin of Lust, Blasphemy and Repentance
A brother was attacked by the demon of lust. Now it happened that he went through an Egyptian village where he saw the daughter of a priest of the pagans. He fell in love with her and said to her...
View ArticleOn The Subject of Discernment
One of the Fathers said, “If a hard-working monk lives in a place where there are no other hard-working monks, he cannot make progress: he can only struggle so as not to get worse; but if a lazy monk...
View ArticleHow to deal with the warefare which Lust arouses in us
There was an anchorite who had settled in the desert in the district of Antinoe and was progressing in virtue. Many were edified by his words and deeds. The enemy was jealous of his goodness, as he is...
View ArticleOn Truth and Love in the Writings
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, the beloved disciple of the Lord, is above all an example and a teacher of love. Love breathes through his gospel, lessons about love fill his...
View ArticleHow to Learn to Love the Lord
Last week the Holy Myrrh-bearers instructed us on love and today St. John the Theologian also instructs us concerning love. He loved the Lord more than anyone else and was loved by Him. Let us imprint...
View ArticleOne must be watchful not to judge others
A provincial priest went to visit an anchorite to offer the Eucharist for him. Now someone went to the anchorite and spoke against the priest, so when the latter came according to custom to give him...
View ArticlePrayers: St. John Chrysostom’s Hourly Prayers
1. O Lord, deprive me not of Thy heavenly blessings; 2. O Lord, deliver me from eternal torment; 3. O Lord, if I have sinned in my mind or thought, in word deed, forgive me. 4. O Lord, deliver me from...
View ArticleWarfare of Lust
It was said of an old man that he went down to Scetis, and that he still had a son who was quite small and did not know what a woman was. Now when he became a man, the demons showed him the forms of...
View ArticleDesert fathers on how to deal with the warfare which lust arouses in us
One of the old men of the Thebaid used to tell the following story: “I was the son of a pagan priest. When I was small I would sit and watch my father who often went to sacrifice to the idol. Once,...
View ArticleLust
In Lower Egypt there was an anchorite who was well-known because he dwelt in a solitary cell in the desert. Now by the power of Satan, a shameless woman who had heard of him said to some young men,...
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