Philokalia Ministries

Rarely do we acknowledge the extraordinary gift that God gave to his Church in the Desert fathers. It is precisely through their “living martyrdom” - their dying to self, to sin, and to the world, that they are able to guide us through the trials and tribulations of spiritual warfare. Their perception of our vulnerabilities as human beings was very acute. Humbled over and over again and acknowledging their sin and poverty before God, they came to see the many ways that the vices manifest themselves as well as the remedies to bring healing. The spirituality that arises out of desert monasticism is not one among many. It is “the spirituality” of the church. It is a manifestation of the deepest exercise of faith. In this the desert fathers became living icons of the gospel. For this reason, it is often acknowledged that “wherever we see renewal within the life of the church, there are the desert fathers.”  Saint John Climacus draws us into where the fiercest warfare takes place – the human ego. We often seek to place the self at the center of existence and so open ourselves up to the spirit of vainglory and pride. When these take hold of us they close the door to repentance and healing. Furthermore, St. John tells us, they lead to a kind of “madness”. They distort our perception of reality. We can no longer see God or the truth about ourselves. And we see others not as the object of our love and compassion. Rather we become pitiless inquisitors and inhuman judges. Thus, it has often been said that a prideful monk has no need to be attacked by the demons because he has become a demon himself. This is true for all of us. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:05:03 FrDavid Abernethy: page 169 paragraph 40   00:25:10 Louise: Could we say that pride usually prevents people to acknowledge that they are under a spell or diabolically influenced, while it is obvious to others given the incongruence of their behaviors?   00:37:06 Anthony: It sounds then that the bad things attributed to Vatican 2 is an example of poor formation.   00:44:53 Louise: Affirmation ''therapy'' is not psychotherapy, but an obligation from the psychological boards. Otherwise, a psychologist looses his or her license.   00:45:37 Louise: This affirmation therapy applies to transgenderism.   00:46:36 sue and mark: louise, interesting.  I had not heard that.  thank you   00:48:31 David Swiderski: The book Orthodox Psychotherapy the science of the Fathers is very interesting on thsi subject.   01:04:12 David Swiderski: I loved that about Mother Teresa . A penicl in the hand of God. Not the hand not the author of what flowed through her.   01:10:07 Michael Hinckley: I always saw San Filippo as a precursor to Padre Pio   01:11:09 Anthony: When we crave entertainment like novels or movies - orvevrn news and talk radio - we open the door to the thoughts of others, to tell a story, and often the storytelling and acting makes vices into virtues. Even if it's not overt, the presentation undermines right thinking and behavior and causes future problems.   01:11:52 sue and mark: Reacted to "When we crave entert..." with 👍   01:12:22 Lee Graham: Reacted to "When we crave entert…" with 👍   01:13:07 Lee Graham: Reacted to "I loved that about M…" with ❤️   01:22:17 Rachel: That is so true!!   01:22:36 Rachel: Haha   01:23:39 Rachel: Thank you!   01:23:41 David Swiderski: Thank you Father   01:23:48 sharonfisher: And with your spirit!   01:23:50 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂   01:23:52 sue and mark: good night.  thank you   01:23:53 Cindy Moran: Thank you Father   01:23:55 Michael Hinckley: Santa Notte    

The podcast explores the indescribable virtues of humility and how it embodies the divine life. They discuss the significance of religious symbols, the joy of Saint Philip Near, and the illusion of perfection. Abba Matos talks about loving enemies and the unconditional love and forgiveness we can learn from dogs.

One of the prophets writes: “the human heart is a treacherous thing, who can endure it!“ We begin to see the truth of this statement or more accurately the truth that is behind it. The spiritual battle that we engage in with our passions and our thoughts is often dogged by a kind of diabolical intrigue. The devil is relentless and unresting. He can manipulate us in such a way that he makes us desire to put ourselves forward, to put ourselves into the light; convincing us that to do so will draw people to greater faith.    The evil one acts with a kind of patience; he will begin to work on us slowly. He begins by making us enamored with our own natural gifts and abilities. In this way he makes us unfaithful in small things; we attribute natural gifts to ourselves rather than simply being grateful for the things of God has given to us. Such infidelity grows over the course of time as well as the complexity of the evil one’s manipulation. He can begin to work on us from multiple angles, if you will. He can place scripture in our mind to do battle with the temptation of one demon, but then make us feel proud of our ability to do so.    Therefore, St. John tells us that we must begin the road to freedom from vainglory by remaining silent about ourselves and our accomplishments. We must learn to love to be dishonored. To be a Christian in this world is to be mocked and held in contempt. We must set aside our tendency to wear a mask that makes us more acceptable in the eyes of the world. We may put on the appearance of virtue yet always within the limits of what our world finds acceptable. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:24:24 susan: seeing yourself as a debtor is truth   00:24:35 Rachel: John 4"34   00:30:18 Art: I recently heard in a homily: The Gospel teaches us not to be like the Pharisee who says, ‘thank you God that I’m not like the Publican’.  But we must be careful that in our heart of hearts we’re not also saying, “Thank you God, I’m not like that Pharisee.” Vainglory can strike from any side.   00:31:02 Rachel: Reacted to "I recently heard i..." with ❤️   00:31:42 Eric Ewanco: One method of evangelization is to share from our own experience instead of preaching what one should and should not do, since no one can argue with our experience and it's a more non-threatening way to share   00:31:59 Eric Ewanco: How would we evangelize with what you said in mind?   00:44:58 Ambrose Little, OP: The text here (#34) specifically speaks of displaying virtues. It’s akin to Christ’s exhortation to not be showy when fasting, or not be showy when giving—do not let the right hand know what the left is doing. I don’t see it speaking against witnessing what God has done for us.   00:47:39 Lawrence Martone: Regarding self-revelation, there’s the point that the focus should be on God and not ourselves, when it is expressed.   00:50:00 sharonfisher: Purity in motivations.   00:51:46 Anthony: There might be another vainglory....to magnify to yourself evil mental motions and temptations and fixate on What have I done? This is also pharisaical.   00:53:51 Lawrence Martone: “Our real business is to allow God to shed His light through us, and since the light belongs to Him, He will know where to focus it and to what extent.  Our endeavor should be to make ourselves transparent so as not to eclipse His brilliance.”                                                                            Erasmo Leiva-Merikais on Matthew 5:14 ff.     It seems to me that humility, as was mentioned earlier in Step 22, is essential to this endeavor of making ourselves transparent.   01:05:17 Cindy Moran: How does what John tells us apply to being a fool for Christ...   01:07:09 Cindy Moran: You just answered me.   01:07:11 David Swiderski: The Island is a movie from 2006 that demonstrates a fool for christ   01:07:25 Rachel: I wonder if this movement towards simplifying is somewhere where we have to be led by our Lord. Since it is an abyss we cant know how to navigate our way through. We can ' think" we know what kinds of dishonor we can profit by but it seems we have to wait to be led by only seeking God's will and what He reveals to us   01:10:33 Maureen Cunningham: ThankYou   01:10:35 Lorraine Green: Thank you Father!   01:10:48 Eric Ewanco: One year anniversary of your appointment!   01:11:21 sharonfisher: And with your spirit!   01:11:22 Rachel: Thank you   01:11:24 Louise: Thank you!   01:11:25 Jeff O.: Thank you!   01:11:29 Cindy Moran: Thank you Father!!   01:11:32 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂   01:11:33 Bonnie Lewis: Thanks be to God!  Thank you Father.   01:11:39 sue and mark: Thank you Fr. Abernethy!  God bless  

Humility is above all the other virtues.” Living in the truth allows for the most important thing to emerge in a person’s life – repentance. When we see and acknowledge the nature of our actions and our thoughts and we bring them before God, it is then that He can heal us and make us whole.  The struggle to do this, however, can be great. There’s always part of us that wants to hold on to the illusion of creating our own dignity and identity. Humility compels us to acknowledge that all things begin and end with God. We certainly have our role to play in the Divine drama; however, one can have all the virtues and appear to be saintly, yet if they are lacking the virtue of humility, none of these virtues will bear fruit. If an individual is like the publican coming to the temple beating his breast and realizing that there is no virtue in him at all immediately he is justified in the eyes of God. He’s let go of the lie of the Evil One.  We cannot take for ourselves what belongs to God alone. He is life and love and truth, and it is his mercy that allows us to participate in this reality. To be humble, to see ourselves as nothing of note, cost very little but promises everything in return. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:08:27 FrDavid Abernethy: page 387   00:08:31 FrDavid Abernethy: no. 7   00:12:07 Jason: Good evening Fr and everyone   00:34:42 sharonfisher: But doesn’t opening with “How’s your prayer life?” seem like a pre-judgment that they aren’t attentive enough? “How are you doing?” can be sincere, but also allow individuals to share at their own comfort level. (Not trying to be contrary, but I maintain my own faith and am wary of coming across as holier-than-thou. Sorry, late comment to last segment.)   00:36:14 sharonfisher: I see - thank you!   01:03:43 alexandramucerino: We cannot forgive we do not first accept the injustice   01:05:26 Fr Marty, ND, 480-292-3381: Sometimes I'm quick to jump into problem-solving or project management in my life or ministry or others' lives. I'm wondering if the practice of humility would recommend that I stop and ask first, is this where God is working? It seems that I've been noticing God at work in subtle ways in my or others' lives, but not necessarily in what I think is more important or expedient. I'm wondering about humility here.   01:15:41 Lorraine Green: Thank you   01:15:46 sharonfisher: And to your spirit! Thank you !   01:15:50 Fr Marty, ND, 480-292-3381: thank you   01:15:52 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂   01:15:56 sue and mark: thank you God bless.  

Humility often eludes us not only in practice but in our ability to understand it. As always, we have to look to Christ as the standard. What we see revealed in him through the incarnation and in the Paschal mystery opens the door for us to begin to walk this same path.  Understanding comes through experience. We must be shown what humility is and be made humble through experience. So often the self seeks to place itself at the center of existence; and in our spiritual life we begin to lose sight of God. Even in the pursuit of sanctity, we can fail to see the ways that we are lacking purity of heart. We often do not desire God above all things, or make him the beginning and end of all that we do. We may toil but to no end.  Having said this, the stories from the fathers begin to reveal to us the distinctive marks of humility in a man. These stories show us why it is not only the most important virtue but also the most powerful. It overcomes all that is demonic. The more we trust solely in the grace of God, the more we abandon ourselves to his mercy and acknowledge the poverty due to our sin, the more his grace transforms us and acts through us and touches the lives of others. Humility and its perfection goes beyond truthful living or acknowledging the truth about ourselves. It is having eyes only for God. It is living in him and for him in every measure. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:06:23 FrDavid Abernethy: page 385 paragraph 6   00:06:31 FrDavid Abernethy: page 384 para 6   00:25:02 Anthony: Emphasis on kindness....sounds like something St Gabriel of Georgia said.   00:38:56 Anthony: Yes   00:38:56 Jacqulyn: Yes   00:46:31 Louise: Would the Desert Fathers agree or disagree with the following. Hating sins makes us ''relate'' to sins and instills hatred inside of us. I prefer to practice detachment from sins, as much as possible, and feel sorrow at having turned my back to God.   00:54:48 Lee Graham: As I forgive someone who hurts me, I see my sin disappear.   01:13:17 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂  

With stunning clarity, St. John Climacus begins to show us the subtlety of vainglory; how easily it draws us to focus upon the self in one fashion or another. It suggests thoughts that elevate us in our own eyes and diminishes others in our judgment.  Through vainglory we begin the movement of placing ourselves in the position of God; placing the self at the center of the spiritual life. The battle becomes ever so fierce and dangerous because at this point the focus of the demons’ attention is on our virtues. The demons make them the object of our attention. In doing so they turn us away from God who is the beginning and end of all things.  And with the self firmly planted at the center, we are easily driven to rage and wrath towards anyone who gets in our way.  In the end, St John will show us how this gives birth to pride and how it draws us into the very darkness of hell itself. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:31:16 Lawrence Martone: Fr. Abernethy,   Perhaps the opposite of this vice of vainglory and seeking prestige is the beautiful story about St. John Vianney who added his own signature to a letter of protest to the bishop from leading clerics and parishioners against his (Fr. Vianney’s) way of being a pastor.   00:38:42 Fr Marty, ND, 480-292-3381: St. John Chrysostom and St. Gregory the Theologian, also, fled the priesthood, but eventually offered the Church an extraordinary legacy. Vainglory, would you say, attacks or tries to undermine our authentic vocations?   00:52:05 Anthony: Living the spiritual life is not the same as conversations in a "salon" or on a college campus.   00:52:06 Ren Witter: 🤣🤣🤣 My favorite Philip story   00:55:35 Louise: Could we say that vainglory corresponds to the ongoing self-validation or self-degradation of the ego, the ego focusing on the ego? If I were to let myself, I could become quite exasperated at this pervasive phenomenon inside my psyche. Any thoughts, Fr.?   00:59:35 Louise: So, we ought to not fight with our vainglory, but gently turn back to loving Jesus Christ.   01:02:14 Louise: Thank you, Fr.   01:08:30 Rachel: I think vainglory can be ever so subtle. I know someone who was told by a priest they were being scrupulous in a certain matter when they tried to confess. This brought much confusion because the person knew that the sins they attempted to confess were not " serious matter" and did not need to be confessed but in their desire to fight pride and vainglory, which was the cause of their sins. The person then had to fight vainglory in another way and thatg was not to tell the priest they knew that they were not serious sins. It was more painful to be seen as scrupulous and weak minded for the person.   01:09:55 Louise: I feel compassionate with people with a narcissistic disorder of the self, an arrested psychological development, who are so often stuck in vainglory and pride. What a prison!   01:14:15 Kevin Burke: The deeper we go into John’s Vainglory examples the more it seems the same as pride to me.  Can we recap the distinction between Vainglory and pride?   01:18:13 David Swiderski: Aren't a lot of the theologians presenting vainglory by arguing about angels on a pin, filoque, how one makes the sign of the cross etc. etc.  Only I can see the truth ..... all others that don't agree with me are wrong.   01:20:22 Anthony: That's Dante 's penultimate circle of hell if memory is correct - persons who appear alive on earth but they have confirmed themselves in hell.   01:23:50 Maureen Cunningham: Thank you ,  Blessing in my prayers   01:24:30 Rachel: Thank you   01:24:32 Cindy Moran: Thank you Father!!   01:24:39 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂   01:24:43 David Swiderski: Thank you father!  

The podcast explores the importance of humility in the spiritual battle and its role in salvation. It discusses the transformative nature of humility and highlights Christ as the true standard. The essence of the spiritual life is explored, emphasizing purity of heart and deification. The importance of being patient, avoiding scrutiny, and seeking truth is discussed. Love, gentleness, and the lives of the desert fathers are examined. Different approaches to prayer and the significance of groaning are explored. The podcast concludes with a discussion on weaknesses, adult-oriented superhero movies, and a prayer and blessing.

This podcast explores the dangers of vainglory and the importance of self-awareness. It emphasizes the need to avoid vanity and embrace humility in our spiritual journey. The speakers discuss the power of God's grace and the pitfalls of seeking reputation. They also highlight the significance of valuing spiritual life over worldly accomplishments and recognizing God's goodness in all things.

The podcast explores the importance of humility in the spiritual life and shares stories from the Evergetinos, highlighting the transformative power of humility and the dangers of hypocrisy. It also discusses the significance of trusting in God's will, the difference between fulfilling obligations and genuine love, and the challenges of duty-driven individuals. The power of humility in resisting demonic influence and its role in protecting individuals from self-deception are also emphasized.

Anxiety, it has been said, is ubiquitous. We all experience it and in its many manifestations. On a purely psychological level, one can never get to the heart or source of this feeling and its accompanying isolation. Often we find ourselves desperate to free ourselves from its grip. Therefore, we either immerse ourselves in the things of this world and maintain the illusion of security or we become paralyzed by it completely.  The desert fathers including St. John Climacus, however, remind us that through the incarnation everything about what it is to be a human being has been assumed and embraced by our Lord, including this experience that often plagues our existence. Christ is the source of all healing and in and through our immersion in His life through the sacraments and prayer we begin to enter into the peace of the kingdom. We are commanded in the Scriptures not to have any anxiety at all. However, this is not simply a command but a promise of grace and strength. If we hold on to our faith in the Lord, if we truly hope in his promises, then all anxiety and fear will flee.  To call upon the name of Jesus is to flog our enemies; meaning not only the temptations that come to us from the demons, but the fears that they would insert into our minds and hearts.  To mourn over one’s sin, to acknowledge the brevity of our life, is the set aside all illusion and false security. It leads us to cling to Christ who is life and love. So often we too like the disciples are foolish and slow of heart to believe. Yet in Christ even the most improbable of things becomes possible - that in the soul dedicated to God fear and cowardice disappears. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:08:02 FrDavid Abernethy: page 163 Step 21   00:19:55 LauraLeigh: In #2, is he saying that this "old soul" should know better than to give in to cowardice?   00:23:10 Eric Ewanco: Fear is a lack of trust in God   00:23:13 Louise: Fear arises when we read a situation as a threat, while boldness arises when we read a situation as a challenge. With Christ, maybe we should see  all situations as challenges which we can face with Him.   00:24:09 Cindy Moran: Pray for me I lost my wallet today Yes I am anxious.   00:25:22 Rebecca Thérèse: I'll pray for you Cindy   00:25:26 LauraLeigh: Reacted to "I'll pray for you Ci..." with 🙏   00:25:36 LauraLeigh: Reacted to "Pray for me I lost m..." with 🙏   00:28:37 Louise: Why are even Catholics so afraid of dying? I do not understand.   00:29:42 Cindy Moran: Reacted to "I'll pray for you Ci..." with 🙏   00:31:31 David Swiderski: It is interesting I lived and traveled in very insecure areas with lots of kidnappings, random shootings/killings, widespread stealing where your car often is going in Mexico, Colombia, Brazil and I found people of amazing faith. Here were there is comfort and more lonleiness anxiety seems widespread.   00:35:45 wayne: Replying to "Pray for me I lost m..."   pray to St Anthony always helps, has worked for me   00:43:55 TFredman: Reacted to "I'll pray for you Ci..." with 🙏   00:45:36 maureencunningham: How did Moses come to Christ   00:49:28 Michael Abele: I am not afraid for my own safety, but sometimes I fear for the people I care for and protect   00:51:23 LauraLeigh: I love that. "Flog your enemies with the Name of Jesus." I'm going to remember that.   00:53:08 Lori Hatala: I think God gave me enough sense not to purposely put myself in a harmful situation. ot avoiding all but knowing what to stay away from.   00:54:40 Eric Ewanco: ChatGPT summarizes his conversion thusly: Saint Moses the Black, once a violent bandit, sought refuge among desert monks in Egypt. Impressed by their peace and patience, he converted to Christianity, became a monk, and later an abbot, renowned for his deep spirituality and wisdom. He was martyred defending his monastery.   00:55:12 LauraLeigh: Reacted to "ChatGPT summarizes h..." with ❤️   00:55:37 LauraLeigh: Replying to "ChatGPT summarizes h..."   I believe I read that he had about 70 monks under his care by the time he died.   00:55:43 Eric Ewanco: Replying to "ChatGPT summarizes h..."   yes   00:57:14 Lawrence Martone: Perhaps Ignatian “agere contra” can help us deal with fear, always trusting in Christ.   01:04:37 Michael Abele: Meant to phrase my earlier comment as a question: can the same be said about fearing for the sake of others? I suppose that can also get out of hand if we do not trust God   01:08:24 Jeff O.: Are barrenness of soul and spiritual desolation as Ignatius tends to identify it somewhat the same here? Or is he getting at something else?   01:10:28 David Swiderski: Jacobs Ladder the movie. All I saw were demons torturing and tearing at me but then I looked again and they were angels freeing me from the attachments of life.   01:11:17 Ashley Kaschl: Paragraph 9 is reminding me of the recent Gospel reading of Jesus calling Peter to walk on the water. Water generally represents chaos in scripture, something unformed or in turmoil. And I think also, if we believe wholeheartedly that we are made in the image of God, and the longer we spend in His presence, the more we are revealed as ourselves in that identity, it is almost as though overcoming temporal and animalistic fear is like passing through raging waters, to be “meeked” by the grace of God so that even our fears are rightly ordered.   01:12:53 Ashley Kaschl: Part 2: (sorry it’s long) if then, we are filled with this grace to have such a disposition as to be unmoving and freed from other fears, then we are always being filled. St. Bernard of Clairvaux says, “The man who is wise, therefore, will see his life as more like a reservoir than a canal. The canal simultaneously pours out what it receives; the reservoir retains the water till it is filled, then discharges the overflow without loss to itself. Today there are many in the Church who act like canals, the reservoirs are far too rare ... You too must learn to await this fullness before pouring out your gifts, do not try to be more generous than God.”   01:15:17 Ambrose Little, OP: (No need to read this aloud, Father): Would appreciate your prayers for my surgery tomorrow morning. It's supposed to be minor/outpatient. The post-op recovery/adaptation period is long, though. I'm optimistic for a good result. Thanks in advance!  🙏🏻🙏🏻   01:15:46 Ashley Kaschl: Reacted to "(No need to read thi…" with 🙏   01:15:52 Art: Reacted to "(No need to read thi…" with 🙏   01:15:54 Cindy Moran: Reacted to "(No need to read thi..." with 🙏   01:15:54 TFredman: Reacted to "(No need to read thi..." with 🙏   01:15:55 Eric Ewanco: Reacted to "(No need to read thi..." with 🙏   01:16:02 Brian L: Reacted to "(No need to read thi..." with 🙏   01:16:03 LauraLeigh: Reacted to "(No need to read thi..." with 🙏   01:16:10 Jeff O.: Reacted to "(No need to read thi..." with 🙏   01:17:29 LauraLeigh: Replying to "Part 2: (sorry it’s ..."   Love this. Very meaningful and helpful to me right now. ❤️   01:19:50 sue and mark: Reacted to "(No need to read thi..." with 🙏   01:21:26 LauraLeigh: Father, just a reminder to check out Protecting Veil on YT. He's run Fr. Freeman, too.   01:21:44 Ambrose Little, OP: The intro to the hours of prayer is always good when feeling afraid: God, come to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me!   01:22:11 Jeff O.: Reacted to "The intro to the hou..." with 👍   01:22:32 LauraLeigh: The only thing I stumble on is that cowardice seems to mean fear or anxiety, but I tend to think of it a little differently. Need to sit with this for a while.   01:22:47 Michael Abele: Don't angels usually open with "be not afraid" when they make an appearance? I always thought they'd be a little scary to encounter, in an awe inspiring way.   01:23:00 Ashley Kaschl: Reacted to "Don't angels usually…" with 💯   01:23:08 Barbara: Do the Eastern Fathers call upon the blood of Jesus as protection or as dissolution of fears?   01:23:43 Susan M: I THINK IT IS PS 70.1   01:23:50 Ambrose Little, OP: Replying to "Don't angels usually..."   Definitely as described by Ezekiel. 🙂   01:24:07 Ashley Kaschl: Reacted to "The intro to the hou…" with 👍   01:24:32 Ambrose Little, OP: Reacted to "I THINK IT IS PS 70...." with 👍🏻   01:24:32 Cindy Moran: Reacted to "Don't angels usually..." with 💯   01:24:40 Ashley Kaschl: Reacted to "I THINK IT IS PS 70.…" with 👍🏻   01:25:03 Audrey C. Block: Had great fears this morning; went to Sacrifice of the Mass and still great fears( poor healthx6mos plus many other challenges)sat by Jesus in the Tabernacle and begged His healp over and over, finally by 30 min fears ALL gone!   01:25:36 Rachel: Ou rparish is in a rough neighborhood. Two contrasting experiences...one, a while back during a parish event that ran late I entered the chapel forgetting the roughness of the neighborhood. Upon leaving I rralized that no other person, except Our Lord present in the Blessed Sacrament was with me.   01:26:14 Ambrose Little, OP: Ps 46:1-3 is good meditation for this, too.   01:26:18 Ashley Kaschl: Reacted to "Had great fears this…" with ❤️   01:26:25 Cindy Moran: Reacted to "Had great fears this..." with ❤️   01:26:38 Rachel: Yet, recently the same situation, I entered the chapel alone, and even with this reading in mind, but, it took all of my strength not to look over my shoulder at every small sound in the dark!   01:26:55 Ashley Kaschl: Reacted to "Ps 46:1-3 is good me…" with 🔥   01:27:45 Rachel: Reacted to "Had great fears th..." with ❤️   01:28:56 Rachel: There was no one in the chapel   01:29:04 Rachel: It was at night at dark   01:29:07 Lawrence Martone: Leiva-Merikakis has a remarkable reflection on the calming of the sea. (Mt. 8:23-27). Just one sentence: “The Savior is redeeming his disciples by making his profound serenity as God inhabit the same space as their frantic despair.”   01:29:16 Ashley Kaschl: Reacted to "Leiva-Merikakis has …" with 😍   01:29:27 Ambrose Little, OP: Replying to "Ps 46:1-3 is good me..."   God is for us a refuge and strength, a helper close at hand, in time of distress: so we shall not fear though the earth should rock, though the mountains fall into the depths of the sea, even though its waters rage and foam, even though the mountains be shaken by its waves. (Abbey Psalter)   01:29:29 Ashley Kaschl: Replying to "Leiva-Merikakis has …" LOVE him 🔥   01:29:45 Rachel: Reacted to "Leiva-Merikakis ha..." with ❤️   01:29:48 Ashley Kaschl: Reacted to "Leiva-Merikakis has …" with 🔥   01:30:04 LauraLeigh: Reacted to "Leiva-Merikakis has ..." with ❤️   01:30:10 sue and mark: Reacted to "Leiva-Merikakis has ..." with ❤️   01:30:58 Cindy Moran: I am so distraught that I almost didn't log on tonight...thank you Father & Everyone for prayers. I don't feel so overwhelmed now. Thanks be to God. Bless you all.   01:31:30 LauraLeigh: Reacted to "I am so distraught t..." with ❤️   01:31:54 Ashley Kaschl: Reacted to "I am so distraught t…" with ❤️   01:32:22 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂   01:32:34 iPhone: Thank you.  Very helpful.   01:33:03 John: Thank you, Father!   01:33:06 sue and mark: Thank you Fr. Abernethy and God bless you.  good night.   01:33:07 maureencunningham: Thanks   01:33:08 Lorraine Green: Thank you   01:33:09 Jeff O.: Thank you!   01:33:11 Rachel: Thank you all. Thank you   01:33:16 David Swiderski: Thank you father