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St Silouan: when love is in the heart

St Silouan: when love is in the heart

Oct 14, 2012

Because they do not attain to this love in their own souls it seems to them that it is an old story of bygone days.

Forgiveness is the name of love practiced among people who love poorly

Forgiveness is the name of love practiced among people who love poorly

Sep 24, 2012

The hard truth is that all people love poorly...

Saint Silouan on love for enemies

Saint Silouan on love for enemies

Jun 26, 2012

The soul cannot know peace unless she prays for her enemies. The soul that has learned from God’s grace to pray, feels love and compassion for every created thing...

Letter to a New Convert

Letter to a New Convert

Feb 13, 2012

I understand that you are on the way to becoming Orthodox. Before we go any further, there is one point I should make clear...

You see an abandoned chair on the street

You see an abandoned chair on the street

Dec 27, 2011

You think "It has the potential to be something beautiful..."

What does it mean for God to be “for” us?

What does it mean for God to be “for” us?

Dec 15, 2011

James Alison writes: Now here is the problem: if God is not a “being” in any normal sense of the word, not something that “is” within the order of everything that exists; if God is…much more like no-god-at-all than like one-of-the-gods, then in principle we have no reason at all to conceive of God as in any way either for, or against us. God really...

How do I learn to love God?

How do I learn to love God?

Jun 9, 2011

“I know with certainty that I believe in God and believe in Christ, but how does one learn to Love Him?”

Does feeling like a victim make you selfish?

Does feeling like a victim make you selfish?

Jan 22, 2010

Three experiments demonstrated that feeling wronged leads to a sense of entitlement and to selfish behavior...
 
 
 
 

Identity in communion

Identity in communion

Nov 26, 2009

The only way we can find ourselves is to deny ourselves. That’s Christ’s teaching. If you cling to yourself, you lose yourself. The unwillingness to forgive is the ultimate act of not wanting to let yourself go. You want to defend yourself, assert yourself, protect yourself. There is a consistent line through the Gospel — if you want to be the first you must will to be the last...

Genuine love

Genuine love

Nov 19, 2009

Genuine Christian love is forged against the anvil of our selfishness and possessiveness… It is important to remember that love is more than a feeling. It is active and transitive. The real test of my loving is not that I feel loving, but that the other person feels loved by me. Love is what I do to create this sense of feeling cared for.