Monthly Archives: June 2017

“One is redeemed by grace and not by works and by faith one is justified, not by one’s way of life”

Posted on 30 June 2017 by Fr Aidan Kimel

We are justified by what is from God and not by what is ours. We inherit heaven by what is from Him and not by what is ours. It is said: Man is not justified before God by his works; and … Continue reading →

Posted in Isaac the Syrian | 12 Comments

“If you don’t get enough deep sleep during the night, expect prayer time to become nap time”

Posted on 29 June 2017 by Fr Aidan Kimel

If dealing with distractions is not bad enough, few things can be as defeating as battling sleep; perhaps not deep REM sleep, just the gentle dozing that keeps the head bobbing up and down. This is one of those areas … Continue reading →

Posted in Spirituality | 3 Comments

‘We may go off to retreat houses or enter a monastery, but unless we quieten the world of inner chatter, we never enter”

Posted on 28 June 2017 by Fr Aidan Kimel

Though addressing monks in his own monastery, St. Hesychios speaks to all of us on the contemplative path when he says, “One who has renounced such things as marriage, possessions and other worldly pursuits is outwardly a monk, but may … Continue reading →

Posted in Spirituality | 1 Comment

“The Center encompasses all things, even as it indwells all things, the way the sea fills the membrane of the sponge that makes its home in the sea”

Posted on 27 June 2017 by Fr Aidan Kimel

Contemplation is the soul’s Copernican revolution. Copernicus did not invent a heliocentric universe. He simply discovered what had always been the case. The sun never did revolve around the earth. The revolution was the integrating glimpse of the truth of … Continue reading →

Posted in Spirituality | 2 Comments

The Cosmic Dance that is Holy Trinity

Posted on 26 June 2017 by Fr Aidan Kimel

After his harrowing battle with the Un-man and his rebirth in the bowels of Perelandra, Elwin Ransom finds his way to a hidden “valley pure rose-red, with ten or twelve of the glowing peaks about it, and in the centre … Continue reading →

Posted in Inklings & Company | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

“Have you thanked God for this failure already?”

Posted on 25 June 2017 by Fr Aidan Kimel
Posted in Spirituality | 3 Comments

“The Mountain is on fire these hours, the devil groans, truly the monks are deified”

Posted on 22 June 2017 by Fr Aidan Kimel

I went out and I sat on a rock. It was getting dark. The soft roar of the sea could be heard from afar. All the sweetness of eternity came into my disturbed soul. Boundless calm. I felt the presence … Continue reading →

Posted in Spirituality | Comments Off on “The Mountain is on fire these hours, the devil groans, truly the monks are deified”

Interceding for Others with the Jesus Prayer

Posted on 22 June 2017 by Fr Aidan Kimel

H: Indeed, father, we have not said anything up to now about saying the Jesus prayer for others. How can one use the prayer for this purpose? There is so much misfortune in the world, so much is wrong, there is … Continue reading →

Posted in Spirituality | 3 Comments