PHILOKALIA MINISTRIES

The Dismantling of the Religious Self The False Light That Feeds on Devotion O Lord Jesus Christ, Light from Light, true God from true God, You who entered the wilderness not to perform but to be obedient, not to shine before men but to love the Father in secret, We stand before You at the threshold of this retreat carrying more than we know. We bring our prayers, and also our need to be seen praying. We bring our fasting, and also our subtle hunger for approval. We bring our

The Dismantling of the Religious Self Four Lenten Reflections on Delusion, Abandonment, and the Life That Remains in God REGISTER NOW “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” John 12:24 The fathers do not speak often about religious achievement. They speak, instead, about truth. About humility. About the slow purification of the heart. Not because religion is empty, but because the human heart is complex.