Saint Makarij of Optina You’re suffering from sadness? It doesn’t matter. A heart that’s full of gratitude, humility and wisdom- a heart that’s been filled with gratitude, humility and wisdom by its struggles and labors- will be richly comforted and blessed with the acquisition of serenity and joy. Source: Read more…
Saint Paisios the Athonite The world is full of pain, fear and suffering. These feelings, without any exceptions, are experienced by all humans. It’s what causes our heart to ache, our mind to go hay-wire, and our emotions to become distorted. People often wonder: How have we had to handle Read more…
Abba Dorotheos Abba Pimin was right to say that the sign of a true monk is how he reacts to temptation. According to the Wisdom of Sirach (2, 1), a monk who truly comes to work for God should prepare his soul against temptations, so that he won’t be Read more…
The bark of the Christian Church sails through troubled waters these days. Mega-scandals have assaulted Christian communities throughout the United States and the world, scandals of a grave dimension, scandals which can only be described as sin, as the pervasiveness of evil, and as the failure of Christians and their Read more…
“The fellowship of His sufferings” is, of course, the widely-known phrase written by my dear Patron St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians. I have found myself puzzled by what has seemed in the past to be a lofty and somewhat inaccessible concept. This also has come under much Read more…
I’ll be honest: I dislike winter. I weary of gunmetal gray skies. The cold exhausts me. No matter how many layers I wear, I can’t seem to get warm. Getting out of bed in the morning is a struggle. As I wait on the bus stop, the wind bites into Read more…
Sponsored By: Orthodox Christian Counseling Institute (OCCI) Join us as Fr. Chris talks with Dr. Ary Christofides, a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and the founder of Orthodox Christian Counseling Institute (OCCI), as they deconstruct the nature of suffering concerning terminally ill patients. What can we do when fear and anxiety fill us as we Read more…
Listen Now Does God suffer when we suffer? Listen as His Eminence Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia answers this question during a U.S lecture tour on aspects of Divine Compassion. In this recording, he is addressing the faithful at SS. Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church in Glenview, IL. The Read more…
Q: Why does God allow suffering? Is God either uncaring or incapable of helping? Is faith in God no longer justifiable? Does God know? Does God care? Is God a loving God? Is God blameless? Is God parental? Does part of the answer lie in the concept of Free Will, Read more…
The existence of suffering, and how to deal with it, challenges everyone. Does suffering have any meaning? Can it even be redemptive and a means of spiritual growth in Christ? In the video interview embedded above, originally aired on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1973, a journalist puts some of Read more…