PHILOKALIA MINISTRIES

Vigil, perseverance, and the hidden formation of a heart capable of wonder “He cried out, being overcome with joy and not able to endure the heat of the flame, for he could not contain himself.” — St. Isaac the Syrian, Homily 21 Synopsis of Tonight’s Group on The Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian Homily 20 paragraphs 9-12 and Homily 21 paragraphs 1-6 There is something extraordinarily beautiful in St. Isaac’s teaching on vigil because he never allows the ascetical li

When the Heart is Broken and God Draws Near “A heart that is broken and humbled, God will not despise.” ⸻ A man begins in need. Not in strength. Not in clarity. Not in light. He begins in the knowledge that he cannot sustain himself. That something is lacking. That without help from above he will collapse inward upon his own poverty. So he prays. Not once, but many times. Not with ease, but with insistence. He multiplies prayers because he feels his need multiplying within hi