PHILOKALIA MINISTRIES

A Dialogue with St. Charbel on the Solitude Where Only God Remains “My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God.” — Psalm 83:3 (LXX) The disciple found Charbel outside the hermitage before dawn. The saint was gathering fallen branches. Disciple: Father, may I ask you something? Charbel: Ask. Disciple: When the abbot permitted you to come here, he warned the brothers not to think of it as a reward. Charbel: Yes. Disciple: Why? Charbel picked up another branch. Charbe

A dialogue with Abba Arsenius on hiddenness, usefulness, and the one thing needful “Arsenius, flee from men, and you will be saved.” — The Sayings of the Desert Fathers The disciple came to Arsenius after sunset. The old man was sitting outside his cell. The disciple bowed and remained standing. After a long while Arsenius said: ARSENIUS: Why have you come? DISCIPLE: Because I do not know what I am supposed to become. Arsenius looked toward the desert. ARSENIUS: Who told you

Abiding in Christ when there is nothing left to hold “Trust in the Lord for ever, for the Lord is an everlasting rock.” — Isaiah 26:4 There comes a time when prayer is no longer chiefly something we say. It becomes where we stand. The Name of Jesus ceases to be one devotion among others, one practice among many, and becomes the place where the heart abides when it no longer knows where else to go. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me. Perhaps this is why the Name m

The Name Above Every Name: The Revelation of Christ in the Heart The Jesus Prayer and the Life of Communion I am grateful to share that The Name Above Every Name: The Jesus Prayer and the Life of Communion is now available, the second volume in a series exploring the wisdom of the Christian desert and the recovery of the inner life. The first book, The Monastic Heart and the Future of the Church: Recovering the Inner Kingdom in an Age of Fragmentation, began with a conviction

The Jesus Prayer begins not with our search for God, but with the discovery that He has already drawn near. “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” — Philippians 2:10 There comes a moment in the life of prayer when the Name of Jesus begins to mean something different to us. At first, perhaps, we simply say it. “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.” We repeat the words because we have been taught that the Jesus Pray

When the Name of Jesus Becomes the Place Where the Heart Abides “You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake; but he who endures to the end will be saved.” — Matthew 10:22 There is something almost frightening in the simplicity with which the Lord speaks these words. He does not tell His disciples that they will be misunderstood because they have failed to explain themselves adequately. He does not suggest that hostility will disappear if they become sufficiently winsome,

The Jesus Prayer and the revelation of Christ in the heart There are certain books that one writes over many years without ever intending to write them. They emerge slowly through prayer, countless hours with the Scriptures, the Desert Fathers, and the wisdom of the saints. More than anything, they arise from the hidden work of God in the heart. I am grateful that The Monastic Heart and the Future of the Church has now begun its journey into the hands of readers throughout th