Philokalia Ministries

Exploring the beauty of mercy, the discussion reveals how comforting God's image through our kindness brings Him joy. Illness is framed as a divine remedy, awakening the spirit and preventing sloth. The importance of sharing resources with the needy is emphasized, highlighting the honor in giving freely. Trials are seen as necessary lessons for growth, demonstrating that God's delays teach us about our own shortcomings. Ultimately, suffering is depicted not as punishment, but as a path to deeper communion with the divine.

Explore the transformative power of trust and mercy through the lives of saints. Learn how Saint Spyridon’s gentle confrontation led a deceitful shipowner to repentance without anger. Discover Saint Evthymios' radical hospitality as he forgives and cares for thieves, demonstrating that mercy can restore lives. The discussion emphasizes the importance of seeing material goods as common and embracing radical Christian love over cultural vengeance. Tune in for insights on embodying charity and fostering a spirit of forgiveness.

St. Isaac writes with the clarity of one who has walked through the fire of trial and found the peace that follows surrender. His words do not flatter the soul or soften the edges of the truth. They are meant to awaken us to the living reality of divine love. He shows that what we call faith must be tested, and what we call trust must be purified, until both rest entirely in God. He begins with the martyrs who endured every torment that flesh can bear. They suffered, he says, through a “secret strength” that came from God. Their pain did not prove divine absence but revealed divine nearness. The angels themselves appeared to them, not as symbols but as real presences sent to encourage and to shame the cruelty of their persecutors. The endurance of the martyrs becomes the measure of faith. Where human nature reaches its limit, divine power begins to act. Their calm in suffering, their peace under torture, proclaim that the providence of God surrounds those who love Him even when the world rages. St. Isaac then turns to the ascetics and hermits who made the desert a dwelling place of angels. These men and women renounced the world not in bitterness but in longing. They exchanged earthly things for heavenly communion. The angels, seeing in them kindred souls, visited them continually. They taught them, guided them, strengthened them when hunger or sickness overcame their bodies. They brought them bread, healed their wounds, foretold their deaths. The desert became a city where heaven and earth met in silence. For those who abandoned the noise of the world, the unseen world became near and familiar. This leads St. Isaac to the heart of his teaching. If we truly believe that God provides for us, why do we remain anxious? Anxiety is born of unbelief. To trust in ourselves is to live in misery, but to cast our care upon the Lord is to enter into peace. The one who has surrendered everything to God walks through life with a restful mind. He is not careless but free. His rest is not laziness but confidence born of faith. Isaac describes the path to this inner freedom. The soul must learn non-possessiveness, for without it the mind is filled with turmoil. She must learn stillness of the senses, for without stillness there is no peace of heart. She must endure temptations, for without them there is no wisdom. She must read and meditate, for without this she gains no refinement of thought. She must experience the protection of God in struggle, for without that experience she cannot hope in Him with boldness. Only when she has tasted the sufferings of Christ consciously can she have communion with Him. Finally, Isaac defines the true servant of God as one who has become poor for His sake and compassionate toward all. Such a person mortifies even natural desires so that nothing distracts from love. To give to the poor is to entrust one’s life to God’s care. To become poor for His sake is to discover inexhaustible treasure. Here St. Isaac’s realism becomes luminous. He is not describing a harsh ideal but the hidden logic of divine love. God draws near to those who entrust themselves wholly to Him. Angels surround those who choose the path of surrender. The heart that abandons anxiety finds itself upheld by grace. This is the holy folly of trust. It is the wisdom of those who live as though God alone is enough and who discover in that surrender a peace that cannot be taken away. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:04:28 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Page 158 paragraph 12 00:07:21 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Philokaliaministries.blogspot.com 00:08:29 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Page 158 paragraph 12 00:09:17 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: http://Philokaliaministries.blogspot.com 00:12:11 Janine: Congrats and best wishes! REN and Max 00:13:46 Janine: Yes… would love to see the pictures! 00:13:53 Thomas: This may be a strange questions, but Is Natalia Tapsak (formally Wohar) sound familiar 00:14:30 Thomas: She was my Sunday school teacher and changed at my church for a few years until she got married 00:14:52 Thomas: We were at her wedding and stayed at her church for a few nights when I was up there for baseball 00:16:02 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 158, paragraph # 12, first on page 00:31:46 Jessica McHale: Living alone, l do get lonely at times, and when I do, I ask my guardian angel to pray to the Lord with me. It's always consoling. 00:36:52 David Swiderski, WI: St. Jose Escriva used to greet the guardian angels of others first then the person. Once I heard this I find myself thinking of it sometimes with difficult people. The other thing he said is don't say this person bothers me but he sanctifies me. I have found a lot of sanctification in companies over the years. I used to joke about it but now I believe it to be true. 00:37:35 Jessica McHale: Reacted to "St. Jose Escriva u..." with ❤️ 00:39:41 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 159, # 16, second full paragraph on page 00:44:34 Anthony: Take a person like George Bailey (It's a Wonderful Life). He had a lifetime of failing expectations and then acute disappointment.  A person can really be driven to distraction and become blinded to God's Providence. 00:45:53 Thomas: What does this look like in the world, not taking pains to provide for yourself separately, because in the prayer it says “ bless us o Lord and these Thy gifts” clearly to a hermit what they find and are given are the gifts of God but how can we know when we have exceeded what God has given us and are now taking pains to provide for ourselves 01:06:51 Erick Chastain: Is there a paradox of less tiredness after vigils, even? 01:09:59 Rick Visser: In the night "Rouse yourself and cry out! Holy, Holy, Holy are You O God." 01:11:37 Thomas: It feels like if we are able to remember death when we would think that we don’t have time to sleep so we should pray before we die 01:15:17 Thomas: Wouldn’t the story of Lazarus and the rich man come into play here 01:19:43 Vanessa Nunez: I can really relate to what we are talking about 😂😂 I’m trying to decide between pursuing social work or psychology. After facing some health challenges, I’ve felt this sudden urge to make the most of life and not waste any time with the blessing of healing God has given me. Because of that, I’ve been overcompensating taking on two jobs and volunteering to give back as much as I can but it’s left me feeling unsettled, like I’m constantly moving without real direction. I keep praying and asking God to show me His will, because I truly want to follow His path instead of my own. I spend time in prayer and vigil adoration, trying to listen for His guidance, but even with all of that, I still feel lost. I know He has a plan for me, but it’s hard to understand when it’s my will vs his. 01:24:54 Art iPhone: Thank you Father.  Send pics Ren and congrats to you both!! 01:24:55 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you ☺️ 01:24:57 Rick Visser: Thank you, Father. I will pray for you as I know you pray for us. 01:24:59 Elizabeth Richards: Amen 01:25:21 David Swiderski, WI: Thank you father, God bless you and your mother. 01:25:25 Jessica McHale: Many prayers for you all!  Thank you!!!! 01:25:31 Deiren: Thank you Father 01:25:50 Rebecca Thérèse: It's an hour later in the UK next week 01:25:53 Janine: Prayers for you

Explore the transformative power of divine love through the stories of saints like Libertinus, who embody humility and sacrifice by turning injustice into opportunities for mercy. Witness how Saint Marcian's silent acts of charity pierce the conscience of a wrongdoer, demonstrating the strength of hidden goodness. Delve into the importance of humility in spiritual formation, contrasting it with modern self-focused mindsets. Father David emphasizes practical responses to charity, advocating for personal engagement in acts of kindness that resonate deeply.

In this section of Homily Five, St. Isaac draws deeply from the ancient well of ascetical wisdom, weaving together the practical counsel of St. Ephraim with his own luminous vision of divine providence. His teaching moves with precision from the diagnosis of sin to the healing of the soul, from the vigilance of self-knowledge to the vision of God’s mercy revealed through trial. St. Ephraim’s words set the tone: every spiritual illness must be treated by its proper remedy. One cannot overcome a vice through random struggle or general good intentions, but only by applying a medicine suited to the disease. Just as heat is not fought with more heat, so envy, pride, and wrath are not healed through self-will or argument, but through the contrary virtues: humility, patience, and mercy. For St. Isaac, this is the beginning of ascetic discernment. The wise man learns to recognize the first stirrings of passion, and “plucks it up while it is still small,” knowing that what begins as a passing thought can quickly become a tyrant ruling the soul. Negligence is the mother of bondage. From this root teaching springs one of St. Isaac’s central themes: the blessedness of patient endurance. The one who can suffer wrong with joy, though he has the means to defend himself, has entered into the mystery of the Cross. To bear insult without resentment, to be accused unjustly and respond with humility—these, he says, are the highest forms of virtue, admired even by the angels. Such endurance is not weakness but divine strength, the quiet radiance of faith proven by trial. Here we find the echo of the Beatitudes and of the Apostle’s words, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” St. Isaac then warns against a subtler danger: self-confidence. “Do not believe yourself to be strong until you are tempted and find yourself superior to change.” Virtue untested is unproven. To imagine oneself firm before temptation is to invite a fall, for pride blinds the soul to its own frailty. True strength is born only from humility, the knowledge of one’s dependence upon God. Likewise, knowledge itself can become a snare when it is not rooted in meekness. A “meek tongue” and “sweet lips” reveal a heart governed by peace rather than pride. Those who do not boast of their struggles or their gifts are preserved from shame, while those who glory in their works are permitted to stumble, that humility may be learned through experience. The culmination of this passage is the vision of divine providence, which St. Isaac presents not as an abstract doctrine but as an experience granted to the purified heart. God’s care, he says, surrounds all, yet it is seen only by those who have cleansed themselves of sin and fixed their gaze upon Him. In times of trial, when the soul stands for the truth, this providence becomes radiant and tangible—as though seen with bodily eyes. God reveals Himself most clearly in suffering, granting His servants courage and consolation. As He strengthened Jacob, Joshua, the Three Youths, and Peter, so too He anoints all who endure affliction for His sake. In these paragraphs, St. Isaac sketches the entire map of the ascetical path. The soul begins with vigilance, pulling up the roots of passion before they grow. It advances through endurance, learning the joy hidden in unjust suffering. It is tested in humility, discovering that self-reliance is the greatest enemy. And finally, it arrives at the vision of providence, seeing that all things—even trials and delays—are instruments of divine love. The warfare is inward, but the victory is divine. The heart that ceases to rely on itself learns to rest in God, and the eyes once blinded by passion come to behold His mercy shining through every storm. This is the medicine of the soul and the peace of those who have learned the wisdom of the Cross. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:01:25 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: www.philokaliaministries.blogspot.com 00:02:00 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 156, last line on page, # 8 00:08:00 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: http://www.philokaliaministries.blogspot.com 00:10:33 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 156, last line on page, # 8 00:14:57 jonathan: Would it be fine to just print out a picture of an Icon? Want to make a prayer corner back home. 00:15:23 Jessica McHale: Father, I love this line from your blog post today: “The night is not absence but mystery, not an ending but the quiet preparation for dawn.”  These words help to bring holiness to my rest and to the sometimes challenging night vigils. Thank you! 00:15:42 Adam Paige: Replying to "Would it be fine to …" Bless the printer with holy water first 😉 00:17:38 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 156, last line on page, # 8 00:22:21 Ryan Ngeve: Father does that mean we should completely ignore other passions and focus on the most important one until it is uprooted and then move to the next? 00:24:44 Eleana: Father how to be certain that is not scruples? 00:26:58 Adam Paige: Replying to "Father does that mea…" Saint Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain: “The virtues must be acquired one by one in order, and not all of them together, so that they do not become burdensome and difficult, but easy and light, as St. Isaac said. The virtues must be acquired one by one, for the sake of being helpful and harmless. St. Isaac said, "Each virtue is the mother of the next one. But if you leave the mother who gives birth to each virtue and you seek after the daughters before you acquire their mother, those virtues will prove to be vipers in your soul. And if you do not put them away from yourself, you will surely die." (Handbook of Spiritual Counsel p. 183 “The Virtues Must Be Acquired in Order”) 00:27:59 Eleana: Replying to "Father does that mea..." Tx. 00:30:10 David Swiderski, WI: I am not sure this is wise counsel but a spiritual director I had in Spain mentioned. How much time to do spend praying to God and how much time do you think about things that lead to vice. First focus on leveling the field to allow grace to enter and second tackle one by one the thoughts that lead you away from focusing on God. Now that I read the fathers I think quite a bit about this . 00:31:41 Vanessa Nunez: How can you reduce anxiety of letting go of control and trust in the lord to be in control of one’s life. 00:33:32 Lilly: Novena of surrender 00:33:42 Jessica McHale: Reacted to "Novena of surrender" with ❤️ 00:36:21 David Swiderski, WI: Jesus I trust in you, please teach me your ways today. That is an arrow prayer that helped me. The other is the complete serenity prayer by Reinhod I find amazing but most only know the beginning. Living one day at a time, Enjoying one moment at a time, Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, Taking, as He did, This sinful world as it is, Not as I would have it, Trusting that He will make all things right, If I surrender to His will, That I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy with Him forever in the next. 00:37:04 Vanessa Nunez: Reacted to "Novena of surrender" with ❤️ 00:37:09 Vanessa Nunez: Reacted to "Jesus I trust in you…" with ❤️ 00:37:17 Jessica McHale: Reacted to "Jesus I trust in y..." with ❤️ 00:46:31 Lilly: What is Meekness? 00:48:09 Rick Visser: Is it boasting to rejoice in what small progress we find in ourselves? 00:50:03 Elijah Majak: Father, is there ever an appropriate time or situation to defend ourselves/speak up or should we just be silent against all  unfair treatment ? 00:51:16 Ryan Ngeve: Reacted to "Saint Nicodemos of t…" with ❤️ 00:51:35 Ryan Ngeve: Replying to "Father does that mea…" Thanks Adam 00:58:40 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 157, last full paragraph, # 11 01:03:51 Ryan Ngeve: Father what does Abba Isaac mean by “acquire sweet lips” 01:04:18 David Swiderski, WI: I have been thinking a lot about what you said about Abba Isaac the strong. Each night I feel lacking seeing the sun set in the west but each morning I look to the east and see the saints and angels. 01:06:21 David Swiderski, WI: Moses yes 01:06:24 David Swiderski, WI: Sorry 01:06:40 Jessica McHale: Reacted to "I have been thinki..." with ❤️ 01:06:52 jonathan: I always struggled with the idea of always being soft with people. The Apostles could have a very sharp tongue at times, especially Paul.  Even Christ at times would call people vipers and fools. So how do we balance gentleness, with firmness. 01:09:00 Gwen’s iPhone: Gotta love Peter 01:12:49 Larry Ruggiero: Meekness is the pre emergent to the crab grass 01:15:04 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 158, first paragraph, # 12 01:15:28 Julie: Thankyou God bless Father 01:16:11 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you☺️ 01:16:15 Jessica McHale: Thank you! Many prayers!   Prayers for you all! 01:16:22 cameron: Thank you Fr 01:16:22 David Swiderski, WI: Thank you father. Always praying for you the steroids and your mom!

Dive into profound teachings on mercy, justice, and the true lightness of God's commandments. Explore how our attachments can weigh us down, contrasting worldly attachments with the eternal horizon of the Kingdom. The gem-engraver parable challenges us to reflect on spiritual priorities, while the importance of mourning for others' spiritual loss is emphasized. Father David urges a shift from fear-driven actions to a faith-based response in the face of adversity, reminding us that love trumps material concerns.

St. Isaac speaks with a stark honesty that strips away every illusion about the spiritual life. To choose the good is to summon the battle. Every true beginning draws the adversary’s attention. God allows this not to crush the soul but to test its resolve and to purify its love. Without that fire, virtue remains unproven and fragile. The one who doubts that God is his helper collapses under his own shadow. Fear itself becomes the enemy. Such a person starves amid plenty and drowns in calm waters, undone not by external trials but by the absence of trust. St. Isaac’s words expose this inner poverty: faith without endurance is only sentiment. The steadfast heart, confident in God, is revealed in trial and shines before friend and foe alike. The commandments are not burdens but treasures. They conceal the presence of the Lord Himself. The one who carries them within finds God as chamberlain, waking and sleeping. Fear of sin becomes illumination, and even darkness turns transparent. The soul that trembles at evil walks with light before and within, guided by mercy that steadies every faltering step. St. Isaac ends with a fierce precision. There is no substitution in repentance. What is lost must be restored by the same means through which it was forfeited. God will not take a pearl for a penny, nor alms in place of purity. Greed is uprooted only by mercy, not by any other virtue. He will not be deceived by offerings that leave corruption untouched. This is the hard edge of Isaac’s wisdom: grace demands truth. The path to God is not through sentiment or display but through the narrow way where every false comfort is stripped away, and only the tested heart endures. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:05:26 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Homily 5 paragraph 4 page 155 00:05:41 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Philokaliaministries.blogspot.com 00:07:39 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Homily 5 paragraph 4 page 155 00:13:14 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 155, last paragraph, 4 00:14:30 Una: Nice! 00:17:20 Una: I like the way Anthony puts it: be prepared to be knocked around 00:17:20 Una: I like the way Anthony puts it: be prepared to be knocked around 00:17:33 Anthony: Reacted to I like the way Antho... with "❤️" 00:17:47 Anthony: Replying to "I like the way Antho..."   Thanks :) 00:25:07 Rick Visser: My despondency becomes so great that I cannot move. What am I to do? 00:25:38 Maureen Cunningham: how would you explain the difference between Grace  & Mercy. 00:26:27 Maureen Cunningham: When I have despondency . I put on Bach 00:29:24 Jessica McHale: There is a very short but tremendously helpful book called "Trustful surrender to divine providence: the secret of peace and happiness" (it's so short more like a pamphlet) but it helps so greatly with despondency. I read it every time I feel this struggle with trusting in God in every single tiny thing. 00:30:34 Barbara: The Church/grace is the spiritual hospital. 00:32:19 Anthony: It might be that our passion is the pride of scrupulosity that is revealed by falling to another passion and masked by that passion (a red herring). 00:33:48 Eleana: St. Claude La Colombière, Fr. Jean Baptiste Saint-Jure 00:34:00 Jessica McHale: yes, by Father Jean Baptiste Saint-Jure (the author of the book I mentioned) 00:35:52 Anthony: This is a remedy for the terror of mortal sin. 00:40:23 Ryan Ngeve: Father to what degree is engaging in thoughts that lead to despondency harmful to someone. And if it is how are we supposed to avoid engaging in such thoughts 00:45:55 David Swiderski, WI: I find this prayer helpful in challenging times. At one point in my life I felt great despondency having lost everything I had, living in a country I did not want to live in and largely being alone barely surviving. After a time I realized I only had belief and needed to work on actual faith. 00:46:41 Jessica McHale: Reacted to "Mobile-Litany-of-T..." with ❤️ 00:47:10 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 156, first paragraph, #5 00:50:31 Jessica McHale: Psalm 119 -- i love it 00:53:29 Maureen Cunningham: Kind of like bad acting verse when a person capture the character of the person he playing 01:00:12 Myles Davidson: Lead Kindly Light by Cardinal Newman https://spiritualdirection.com/2012/04/01/lead-kindly-light 01:01:08 Anthony: Here is a Tolkein digression: Frodo is given a gift to light him in the darkness (which I think is Marian "grace,") but it's such a generous gift that even his friend Sam can wield it in need.  The gift of Mary is a kind of kindly light when all is dark. 01:01:29 Ben: Reacted to "Here is a Tolkein di..." with 👍 01:02:53 Jessica McHale: Reacted to "Here is a Tolkein ..." with ❤️ 01:03:33 Jessica McHale: Reacted to "Lead Kindly Light ..." with 👍 01:09:09 Nypaver Clan: My dad used to always tell us, “Give until it hurts.” 01:09:24 Jessica McHale: Reacted to "My dad used to alw..." with ❤️ 01:12:23 Myles Davidson: I came across a book years ago (can’t remember the name) filled with stories of people who went through the Great Depression who said they were the best years of their life, due to the strong community spirit and acts of charity that bonded people 01:15:44 Lee Graham: Awesome group. Thank you. 01:15:50 Catherine Opie: Perfect for me as I am a complete beginner 🙏🏻 01:15:55 Jessica McHale: Thank YOU!!! 01:16:34 Jessica McHale: Prayers for you all!!! 01:16:36 Christopher Berry: Thank you, Father! 01:16:38 Art iPhone: Thank you Father! Good night all. 01:16:39 Elizabeth Richards: And with your spirit 01:16:40 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂 01:16:40 Bob Čihák, AZ: Bless you, Father. 01:16:50 Catherine Opie: God bless 01:16:52 David Swiderski, WI: Thank you Father may God bless you and your mother 01:17:00 Maureen Cunningham: Thank you

The teaching of the Fathers on vengeance and anger does not allow us to linger in the comfortable ambiguities of human justice. It tears at the fabric of self-justification. Their words bring us face to face with the scandal of divine love—the Cross as the only standard by which we are to measure our dealings with others. The heart that desires retribution, or even to “set things right,” cannot bear the full light of that Cross without trembling. St. Diadochus unmasks the subtle ways we clothe self-interest in piety. We say we fear becoming “a cause of sin” for those who wrong us, but in truth we simply wish to protect our possessions, our security, our image of control. Once we let go of blessing and guarding the heart, we begin to move toward the vestibules of the law courts; our concern for righteousness becomes indistinguishable from the world’s hunger for vindication. To stand before such courts is already to have abandoned the tribunal of mercy. The law of God cannot be kept by means of the laws of men, because mercy does not seek the restoration of things but of persons. The one who endures injustice praying for his oppressor becomes an image of the Crucified, who desired not the return of what was taken from Him but the return of those who took it. Abba Isaac pushes the wound even deeper: to fight over what gives comfort after renouncing the world is blindness. The one for whom the world has died accepts insults with joy, not because they are pleasant, but because they reveal how little of the old self remains to defend. It is not the act of being wronged that kills the soul, but the refusal to see in it a call to die before death. Only those who have lost every hope of worldly consolation can bear this pain without resentment. Such poverty of spirit is rare, but in it the mind shines with tranquil radiance. The Gerontikon illustrates the same wisdom through living examples. Blessed Zosimas warns the generous Dionysia that zeal to avenge an insult can destroy every virtue she possesses. Her almsgiving, though abundant, is nothing if it is not shaped by meekness. To lose composure over a trifling thing is to become a slave of that thing; even a needle or a book can master the heart that has not been freed. The true servant of God has one Master alone. All these sayings converge on the Cross. There, vengeance dies and love is revealed in its purest form. Christ prays for His murderers, not from sentiment but from truth; He alone sees that their real torment is not what they do to Him, but what they do to themselves. The disciple who bears wrongs without retaliation participates in this same divine sight. He no longer divides the world into victims and oppressors, but into the healed and the unhealed. To forgive is to choose the side of healing. To live by this ethos is to live cruciformly. It is to judge nothing and no one, to accept every wound as a summons to prayer, and to see in every thief a brother whose salvation God has entrusted to our mercy. The Cross does not destroy reason; it stretches it until it becomes translucent with grace. In that light, vengeance appears not only impossible but absurd. Only love remains—terrible, meek, and eternal. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:02:23 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Philokaliaministries.blogspot.com 00:10:43 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Page 289 Hypothesis XXXVII 00:11:44 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: https://philokaliaministries.blogspot.com 00:14:16 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: https://philokaliaministries.blogspot.com 00:18:17 Anthony: THEY SHOULD TEACH THIS IN LAW SCHOOL. 00:18:40 Myles Davidson: Reacted to "THEY SHOULD TEACH TH..." with 😁 00:26:43 Rick Visser: So there a positive way of stopping others in order to reduce their sin and move toward repentence. 00:27:55 Anthony: Orthodox canon law, such as it is, is a collection called The Rudder, so I'm told. 00:28:47 Rick Visser: So there is a positive way of stopping others in order to reduce their sin and move toward repentence. 00:34:55 Rick Visser: How about agitation and grief for the state of our world today? 00:35:36 Jessica McHale: I love that line, but it is hard to do. 00:36:15 Rick Visser: How about agitation and grief for the state of our world today? Perhaps these are  a function of compassion. 00:40:26 Anthony: In the last few days, I read a Psalm that said multiple times words to the effect: "do not fret over evil." I took it as not ignoring evil, but recognizing it and referring it to God. 00:43:06 Anthony: Psalm 37 00:46:40 Sharon: There is much division within families, sometimes, over inheritance. When these troubles arise, it seems like the response should be passivity. Turning to God and allow the person desiring everything for oneself to take it, to have it? 00:50:07 Jessica McHale: I've experienced in a few different capacities. I have given what others wanted, without question, thnking "if your brother asks you to walk a mile, walk two" in a way. But some people call me a door mat for it. Is there a balance? 00:53:06 Jessica McHale: that gives me great peace, thank you 00:55:02 Rick Visser: Reacted to "that gives me great ..." with ❤️ 00:57:20 Rick Visser: Supernatural virtue. 01:01:22 Jessica McHale: that IS beautiful! 01:03:44 Rick Visser: Christ's doormat is right below the cross. 01:03:58 Jessica McHale: Reacted to "Christ's doormat i..." with ❤️ 01:13:23 Jessica McHale: It might be worse with women, lol! 01:14:28 Rick Visser: Humility is the reservoir of all the virtues. 01:14:28 Catherine Opie: I had somethinghappen to me. My father gave me a piece of land we used to camp on during holidays which I love and was planning to share with one of my brothers who lives overseas as a holiday retreat place. He became very jealous and demanded my father also give it to him even though he had never been there before and had no attachment to it. I decided I did not want to fight with my brother over this land and told my Dad  to let my brother have it and I would not. Eventually my brother decided that actually he did not want it and my Dad contacted me again to see if I did. So now it is mine to look after anyway. And I have not fallen out with my brother over it. This took over a decade to play out. It made me realise we do not know what gifts will be given upon letting go. 01:15:41 Rick Visser: Reacted to "I had somethinghappe..." with ❤️ 01:15:43 Jessica McHale: Reacted to "I had somethinghap..." with ❤️ 01:15:44 carolnypaver: Reacted to "I had somethinghappe..." with ❤️ 01:15:54 Sharon: Reacted to "I had somethinghappe..." with ❤️ 01:16:52 Rick Visser: My prayers are with you everyday. 01:16:58 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: https://philokaliaministries.blogspot.com 01:17:40 carolnypaver: It works! 01:17:48 Catherine Opie: 🙏🏻 01:18:20 Jessica McHale: Many prayers for you!  ...and thank you again! 01:18:27 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you🙂 01:18:36 Janine: Praying for you Father..thank you 01:18:40 cameron: Great. Thank you. 01:18:42 Sharon: Thank you! So nice to be here again 01:18:46 Julie: God bless

The discussion centers around the transformative power of renunciation in drawing closer to God. St. Isaac emphasizes that true communion requires us to shed distractions and embrace stillness. It’s highlighted that whether in monasteries or everyday life, communion isn't just for monks; it's a universal calling. A personal testimony showcases the beauty of nightly vigils and the sweetness that prayer brings. The conversation also touches on the necessity of dying to worldly attachments to make way for spiritual life and grace.

Abba Mark's teachings challenge our notions of justice by guiding us to the spiritual law of Christ. The discussion contrasts worldly vengeance with the deeper call to forgive and endure wrongs. It emphasizes that holding onto resentment is more damaging than the original offense. Embracing affliction as our own leads to true mercy and compassion. The importance of prayer for our wrongdoers is highlighted as a means to defeat spiritual negativity. Ultimately, true courage lies in meekness and the understanding that God alone judges.