PHILOKALIA MINISTRIES

A Dialogue on the Painful Mercy of Learning to See “Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.” — 1 Corinthians 13:12 The disciple came to the elder late in the afternoon. For a long while he said nothing. Finally the elder asked, “What troubles you?” “I no longer know what is real.” The elder looked at him. “That is not always a bad beginning.” “I thought you would tell me not to doubt.” “Perhaps you are doubting the wrong things.” The disciple lowered his eyes. “F

Learning to Pray from the Wounds of Christ “I have not a mournful heart wherewith to seek Thee.” — St. Isaac the Syrian, Homily 16 This prayer of St. Isaac is unlike many of our prayers because it contains almost no demands, explanations, or arguments. It is a cry. It is the speech of one who has reached the end of himself and has finally discovered that every part of him is wounded and that only Christ Himself can heal what has been broken. The desert fathers would say that