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Sixty Years and the Sound of a Rooster - Part II
Warming at Another Fire “When they had kindled a fire of coals there… Peter stood with them, and warmed himself.” John 18:18 You would think at sixty a man would know the difference between warmth and fire. The rooster has already crowed once in my life. It crowed when I realized how much of my priesthood was constructed out of activity. It crowed when the doors closed, when requests were denied, when the scaffolding of identity began to fall. It crowed when I saw how often I
Father Charbel Abernethy
5 days ago4 min read
When God Takes Your Child for Himself
The Hidden Calling and Grace Given to the Parents of a Monk “When the parents of a monk humbly accept the will of God for their child, then they and he serve only one desire: to do that which is pleasing to the Lord. Then peace will reign in their hearts.” Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou ⸻ There is a moment when the parents of a monk must make their own offering. It is not made in a monastery. It is made in the hidden chamber of the heart. Until this moment, they believed th
Father Charbel Abernethy
Feb 144 min read
The Pressure That Comes Disguised as Good
On Guarding the Cell When Nothing Appears to Be Wrong “Go, sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.” Abba Moses the Black ⸻ There are pressures that come from sin. These are easy to recognize. And there are pressures that come from good things. These are the ones that destroy the solitary. No demon needs to persuade the solitary to commit obvious sin. He only needs to persuade him to leave the cell for reasons that appear justified. To counsel someone. To he
Father Charbel Abernethy
Feb 134 min read
To Become a Fool and Live
A Reckoning with the Ego at the Edge of the Living Tradition “Such renunciation appears intolerable, insane even, to the self willed but the man who is not afraid to become a fool has found true life and true wisdom.” St. Sophrony of Essex Christianity, when you draw near to it, is not reasonable. It is not tidy. It does not fit inside the categories we use to manage our lives, protect our reputations, or justify our instincts. It is a scandal. The God who reveals Himself in
Father Charbel Abernethy
Jan 263 min read
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