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The Physician of Attention
How St. Isaac Heals the Scattered Heart Before He Teaches It to Pray “This is the rule of life that is chaste and pleasing to God…” — Isaac the Syrian, Homily 17 Synopsis of Tonight’s Group on The Ascetical Homilies of St. Isaac the Syrian Homily 17 paragraphs 1-4 This passage can easily be misunderstood as a catalogue of monastic etiquette or a list of ancient customs that no longer matter. Yet St. Isaac is doing something far deeper. As we noted earlier, he is acting first
Father Charbel Abernethy
Jul 83 min read
The Hedgehog of the Heart
On Inner Composure and the Gathering of the Mind in Prayer “The mind should be withdrawn from wandering and should be gathered together into the briefest possible formula of prayer.” St. John Cassian, Conferences Prayer does not begin with many words. It begins with gathering. St. John Cassian understood the human mind with an honesty that few spiritual writers dare to express. He saw how the thoughts scatter like birds startled from a field. They fly in every direction. Memo
Father Charbel Abernethy
Mar 43 min read
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