PHILOKALIA MINISTRIES

“We looked for peace, but no good came; for a time of healing, but behold, terror.” — Jeremiah 14:19 There is a sorrow that can consume the heart, and there is a sorrow that can return it to God. Jeremiah does not hide the devastation before him. He does not soften it with easy words. The wound is grievous. Tears fall night and day. Peace had been hoped for, but peace did not come. Healing was expected, and instead there was terror. Yet somewhere within the lament, something

Mary Magdalene and the Wonder That Opens the Heart to the Risen Christ “Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him, ‘Rabbouni!’” — John 20:16 Among all those who sought Christ on the morning of the Resurrection, it was Mary Magdalene who remained. Peter and John ran to the tomb and departed. Mary stayed. The desert fathers would not see this merely as a detail in the narrative. They would recognize in her the steadfastness of a heart that has been wholly claimed by