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Do Not Name What God Is Doing Yet
On the Holy Poverty of a Life That Has Not Taken Shape “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was to go.” — Hebrews 11:8 There is a peculiar temptation that comes when a life begins to fall apart. We immediately begin trying to understand what God is building from the ruins. Something has ended, and almost before we have allowed ourselves to grieve it, we ask what is beg
Father Charbel Abernethy
Oct 48 min read
Only One Thing
A Dialogue with Abba Arsenius on Losing Everything but Christ “Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.” — Philippians 3:7 The disciple found Arsenius sitting outside his cell. There was nothing before him. No book. No work. No food. Only his hands resting upon his knees and the desert stretching beyond him. The disciple stood nearby. Arsenius did not look up. Disciple: Father, I have lost much. Arsenius: Not enough. The disciple was silent. The words wo
Father Charbel Abernethy
Oct 15 min read
Subjected in Hope
When everything passes away and only the promise of God remains “The creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God.” — Romans 8:21 There comes a time when we begin to understand that the ache we carry is not merely our own. Something is wrong with the world. We feel it in the body as it grows tired. We see it in those we love as strength diminishes. We experience it in friendships interrupted by death, commun
Father Charbel Abernethy
Sep 174 min read
What Has Already Been Given Cannot Be Taken
The Freedom of the Cross “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” — John 10:18 There is a freedom that comes only when we have ceased trying to keep our life. Christ reveals it from the Cross. “No one takes it from me. I lay it down of my own accord.” Those words change everything. From the outside, His life appears to be taken from Him. He is betrayed, arrested, falsely accused, stripped, mocked, condemned, and nailed to the wood. Others seem to possess
Father Charbel Abernethy
Sep 145 min read
The God Who Trembles Before the Tomb
Christ’s Tears and the Shaking of Love Before the Cost of Sin “Jesus wept.” — John 11:35 We stand today before the tomb of Lazarus, and the Gospel does not rush us past it. It makes us linger. It makes us look. It makes us listen to something we would rather avoid. Our Lord comes to the place where His friend lies dead. He knows what He is about to do. He knows He will call Lazarus forth. He knows death will not have the final word. And yet, He does not pass by the tomb untou
Father Charbel Abernethy
Mar 214 min read
When God Breaks the Ground Beneath the Monk
The Earthquake That Makes a Man an Image of Pentecost “Our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:29 ⸻ There comes a moment in the life of the monk when God no longer allows him to remain who he has been. The ground beneath his heart begins to break open. Not in feeling. Not in imagination. But in being. The spiritual earthquake begins and nothing that was built for survival can stand. This earthquake is not consolation. It is the reordering of reality. It is the collapse of th
Father Charbel Abernethy
Feb 33 min read
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