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Sayings of the Desert Fathers

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February 2024

February 13, 2024

Engaging St. Moses The Black’s Instructions

St. Moses the Ethopian, once he escaped all forms of slavery which afflicted him, the...

January 2024

January 12, 2024

Wisdom And Silence

Most of us love attention. We love showing off. We want others to look up...

December 2023

December 22, 2023

St. Paul The Simple

It is quite common for monastic communities, Christian or otherwise, to test strangers who want...

December 19, 2023

We Are All In This World Together

While asceticism is meant to help spiritual seekers transcend normal, day to day, “worldly” experiences,...

December 12, 2023

Challenges And Temptations

We often wish the challenges we face on a daily basis would go away. We...

December 01, 2023

Silence Is Better Than Gossip

Gossip should be avoided. It often causes us to speak about things which should not...

November 2023

November 10, 2023

Confronting Our Thoughts

We constantly having all kinds of odd thoughts going through our minds, some of which...

October 2023

October 24, 2023

Virtues Without Love

The foundation of a good spiritual life is love. Those who love others will be...

August 2023

August 29, 2023

Martha And Her Wrong Intentions

Often, people misunderstand the message given in the story of Sts Mary and Martha. They...

August 08, 2023

A Sign Of The Kingdom Of God

While everyone is called to embrace some forms of self-discipline to help fight off and...

July 2023

July 28, 2023

A Life Of Prayer And A Life Of Active Charity Go Together

Many legends of magical faeries coming out at night helping poor villagers with their needs...

July 18, 2023

Apparitions, Locutions And Spiritual Deception

Prelest, that is, spiritual deception, readily tricks people who hold so much pride that they...

June 2023

June 27, 2023

Intentions Matter

We are not to judge others because we rarely have the basis to make a...

June 16, 2023

Grace Allows Us To Become Supra-Natural

Humanity, like the rest of creation, is naturally good. God saw all things and saw...

June 13, 2023

The Perfume Of Holiness

Grace, and with it, holiness, is something which spreads the more people of good will...

May 2023

May 12, 2023

Holiness Is Not Manipulative

Holiness, true holiness, is developed through acts of love, love which is given to God,...

May 02, 2023

We Must Not Blame Others For Our Sins

Sadly, more often than not, many of us do not want to take responsibility for...

April 2023

April 27, 2023

The Relationship Between Humility And Hope As Revealed To St. Antony

St. Antony the Great, though remembered in history as one of the great early monastic...

April 21, 2023

Love Everyone, Especially Those In Most Need Of Mercy And Compassion

God is no respecter of persons. God loves everyone and works, in mysterious ways, for...

March 2023

March 01, 2023

Connecting All Things Through Love

The Christian life is meant to have us take on grace, allowing it to transform...

February 2023

February 15, 2023

Charity Must Be From The Heart

So many well-off, rich people like to think themselves as being good and very charitable...

February 08, 2023

St Moses The Black And Grace

God is always offering us grace, offering us the opportunity to grow and be become...

February 01, 2023

Monasticism Is Not A Pelagian Institution

It’s easy to assume monasticism is all about works. Certainly, many monastic texts will emphasize...

January 2023

January 27, 2023

What We Can Learn From The Story Of Abba Apphy

Early monastic literature contained within it an ambivalent picture of the ecclesiastic structure of the...

January 11, 2023

Teachers Need Wisdom, Knowledge And Experience

As a society, we encourage people not only to be prideful, but also to be...

January 03, 2023

Books And Other Goods

One of the things the early desert father and mothers learned is that different people...

December 2022

December 23, 2022

Pride And Judgment

In the Systematic Collection of the Sayings of the Desert Fathers, there are many apophthegms...

December 12, 2022

Poemen, The Good Shepherd

Abba Poemen, whose name means, “shepherd,” was well regarded and remembered in the Alphabetical Sayings...

December 09, 2022

Pride And Temptation

We have been warned, many times, not to let pride get the best of us,...

December 06, 2022

To Find Peace, Let Go

We are made for greatness. We are made for righteousness. However, it is important for...

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