PHILOKALIA MINISTRIES

A Dialogue on Embracing the Whole Adam in Prayer “A merciful heart is a heart burning for the whole creation… for men, for birds, for animals, for demons, and for every created thing.” — Isaac the Syrian The disciple came to the elder at the hour when the desert was turning toward evening. The wind had fallen. Silence lay over the rocks like a mantle. “Father,” he said, “I have been praying the prayer you gave me.” The elder nodded. “And what did you find?” The disciple hesit

Abiding Without Illusion “Whom have I in heaven but you? Apart from you, nothing on earth can please me. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73 Grail Translation There comes a moment when the soul grows tired of feeding on dust. We chase worth in a thousand subtle ways. Not always in gross sin. Often in religious labor. In being needed. In being seen as faithful. In holding together an image of goodness that we quietl

On Obedience, Mercy, and the Freedom of Letting Go “Do not abandon what has been entrusted to you, and do not seize what has not.” — Saying in the spirit of the Desert Fathers Disciple: Father, when I loosen my grip, I fear things will fall into disorder. Arsenius: What God commands does not depend on your grip. Disciple: But there are people and works that seem to rest on me. Arsenius: If they were given to you in obedience or in mercy, you must not abandon them. What is com