PHILOKALIA MINISTRIES

Before the Icon of Saint John Cassian O holy Father Cassian, you came to me quietly. Not with thunder. Not with visions. Not with the noise of those who speak much and know little. You came with the desert in your hands. You opened the mouths of the ancient fathers, and from them there flowed a wisdom severe and merciful, simple and fathomless. Through you I first heard men speak who had nothing left but God. Men stripped of argument, reputation, distraction, and self-love. M