tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36105925694536390222024-03-17T20:03:14.828-07:00Finding The Way To The HeartDavid Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.comBlogger404125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-4291042463966401172023-07-15T17:52:00.001-07:002024-03-12T00:16:35.842-07:00My Experiences with my Father in Christ, Fr Nicholas Letten
Fr Nicholas was my Father in Christ. I began my Orthodox catechism with him in the spring of 1997, at the Holy Apostles Mission when it was located on Overton Street in Portland,Oregon.
When he found out that I was driving 2.5 hours each way, from Tillamook, to attend services, he decided that I would stay in his guestroom every Saturday night, so I could attend the morning liturgy fully David Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-13288105280843887492021-12-03T14:54:00.010-08:002021-12-03T14:57:36.757-08:00The Day Will Come When Your Heart Will Sing the Prayer The Saint of the PrisonsThe day will come when your heart will sing the prayer;“In our discussions, he often encouraged me to say the Jesus prayer. He advised me to say this prayer using a certain technique, with my hand on my pulse, every heartbeat accompanied by a word of the prayer. I also tried to say the prayer when I was stretched out in bed andDavid Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-19794121853969268532021-07-21T21:00:00.004-07:002021-07-21T21:00:47.757-07:00The Beginning of the Spiritual Life According to St Sophrony of Essex St Sophrony of Essex"The spiritual life begins when we lose all desire to dominate others."St Sophrony of EssexDavid Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-70107775604455211912021-07-21T19:41:00.001-07:002021-07-21T19:42:34.157-07:00Restored Kazan Cathedral Consecrated by Patriarch Kirill of RussiaDavid Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-43390026895678399272021-06-06T22:30:00.004-07:002021-06-06T22:35:30.926-07:00St Silouan's Struggle by St Nikolai Velimirovic All that remains is prayer and love (On Saint Silouan the Athonite)By St Nikolai Velimirovic 2 June 2021When you go to the Holy Mountain and see the humble monks, you might think that they live a lazy life, without purpose. It may seem like this if you see things from the outside, because not many people are able to understand the terrible, unceasing warfare that’s conducted in the David Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-40627238604378798512019-12-02T01:17:00.000-08:002019-12-02T01:21:35.162-08:00"These are the Wounds I Received in the House of my Friends" Zechariah 13:6 ESV
The love Christ has for us is beyond comprehension. Listen to the Prophet Zechariah, "And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?’ he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.’ - Zechariah 13:6 ESV
St Nicholas Cabasillas explains,
"Just as human affection, when it abounds, overpowers those who love and causes them to be beside themselves, so God's David Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-91225408788819243212019-11-29T23:59:00.000-08:002019-11-30T00:05:41.550-08:00Unity of The Church, an Image of the Holy Trinity by St Sophrony of Essex
from Orthodox Synaxis
St Sophrony (Sakharov): Unity of the Church, an Image of the Holy Trinity
In this essay first published in Russian and French in 1950, the Elder Sophrony (Sakharov), then a relatively young hieromonk, argues forcefully that Orthodox ecclesiology must conform to Orthodox trinitarian theology. In striking contrast with ideas later put forward by Metropolitan John (David Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-15846723358324795982019-11-01T15:19:00.001-07:002019-11-01T15:39:59.652-07:00Loving God's Commandments because They Correspond to Our True Nature and God-given Life in Baptism
"Additionally, the commandments must in no way be thought of as obligations-much less as prohibitions or taboos of a legalistic sort-but rather as “guardrails” that prevent whoever follows them from returnin to the pit of sin, and falling back into the spiritual illnesses, namely, the passions. St Symeon the New Theologian subtly points out that it's more a matter of being kept safe by the David Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-80291379750634327212019-10-07T20:18:00.000-07:002019-10-07T21:25:20.436-07:00The Scriptures on Narcissism
"But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.For men will BE LOVERS OF SELF, lovers of money, BOASTFUL, ARROGANT, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, BRUTAL, haters of good,treacherous, reckless, CONCEITED, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,holding to a form of godliness, David Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-12464876048166486622019-01-31T20:47:00.000-08:002019-01-31T20:49:38.430-08:00Adam's Nakedness, the False Self, and Narcissism
Lent is approaching. It is a school of repentance. It gives us the opportunity and resources to deal with the problem of self love. In fact, this is so important that the first prayers we encounter at the beginning of lent are the prayers of the Canon of St Andrew of Crete. This Canon painstakingly describes our fallenness, shame and need.
The problem of malignant self love is as old as David Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-19482607824467328262019-01-10T23:16:00.001-08:002019-01-10T23:21:18.543-08:00Where was God?
This icon is available from Holy Transfiguration Monastery Store
Have you ever wandered, "Where was God when this or that horrible thing happened to me?"
Today I read the answer to this question in the life of Patriarch Joseph, the son of Jacob.
"Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison. But David Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-29218431403696715322018-12-16T15:30:00.000-08:002018-12-16T15:30:23.933-08:00Light or Darkness
) Central Nave of the Catholicon of the Great and Holy Monastery of Vatopaidi, Mount Athos, Greece
All the circumstances of our lives; past, present and future, are an opportunity to make the disposition of our hearts manifest.We must choose between light or darkness. This choice is not to be made merely by a decision of our reasoning brains but by the innermost movements of our hearts. How David Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-9844473351875567882018-11-16T19:59:00.002-08:002018-11-16T20:09:32.811-08:00Beyond Narcissism - To Behold the Face of God, by Fr Stephen Freeman
Icon of the Theotokos in the Monastery of Philotheou in Mount Athos, Greece
The article below by Fr Stephen Freeman, and available from his blog, Glory to God for All Things, is one of the most significant articles I have read lately. It is a must read. Please click on the link below to be able to read the article in its entirety.
"Perhaps the most difficult personalities encountered in David Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-13115233622099325952018-01-13T02:35:00.002-08:002018-01-13T02:35:37.211-08:00The Engraving of Christ in Man's Heart by Archimandrite Zacharias of Essex, U K.
A new book by Fr Zacharias, the disciple of Elder Sophrony of Essex
This book is available from
St Tikhon's Seminary Bookstore
From the backcover;
Table of Contents
David Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-79681626109683296482017-11-19T18:19:00.002-08:002017-11-19T18:19:14.526-08:00The Tree of Jesse Readings for Advent
Root of Jesse - 16th c. Michael Damaskinos
Icon from Uncut Mountain Supply
A great activity for the whole family during Advent is called the Tree of Jesse.
A passage from the scriptures is read every day and an ornament is placed on a tree (a real Christmas tree or an artificial one placed in the living room; or a tapestry on the wall) for each one of the stories read. David Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-21396330716678835562017-09-24T17:17:00.001-07:002017-09-24T17:20:12.704-07:00The Mystery of Man's Heart by Archimandrite Zacharias of Essex
Archimandrite Zacharias of Essex
Source
All the ordinances of the undefiled Church are offered to the world for the sole purpose of discovering the ‘deep heart’,[1] the centre of man’s hypostasis. According to the Holy Scriptures, God has fashioned every heart in a special way, and each heart is His goal, a place wherein He desires to abide that He may manifest Himself.
David Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-5326571537048882512017-09-24T14:52:00.002-07:002017-09-24T14:52:16.527-07:00On the Love of Enemies: the Teaching of St Silouan by Dr Jean Claude Larchet
St Silouan the Athonite and his disciple the Elder Sophrony- Source
Although it is natural and usual to love those who love us and to do good to those who do good to us (Mt 5:46-47; Lk 6:32-33), to love our enemies is distasteful to our nature. One can say that it isn’t in our power but is an attitude that can only be the fruit of grace, given by the Holy Spirit.
This is why David Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-66012514718576803212017-09-14T19:34:00.002-07:002017-09-14T19:34:42.571-07:00Finding the Deep Heart during Great Lent by Archimandrite Zacharias of Essex
from Pemptousia
The grace of God has gathered us together today at the heart of Great Lent in order to express to the Lord our longing for His salvation, for the acquisition of the spirit of wisdom and for understanding of His commandments.
Holy Scripture, however, warns us: ‘It is impossible for a heartless man to purchase wisdom.’[1] What is the ‘heart’ for us as Christians, and what David Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-20954526738720123802017-08-07T00:01:00.005-07:002017-08-07T00:01:48.854-07:00Experiences in Orthodox GreeceDavid Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-17873007410784950132017-07-11T02:00:00.000-07:002017-07-12T15:03:18.757-07:00The Robin and the Cross
I must have been only nine years old when I read the story of how the robin acquired its red plumage. You see, until then, the robin had hues of grey and other dark colors but no beauty. In the world of birds color is everything! The robin was alone and with no charms to find its mate.
And so, the story goes, the robin was sad as it flew over a hill called Golgotha. But suddenly the birdDavid Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-33061449821117448242017-07-09T17:19:00.001-07:002017-07-09T17:33:30.848-07:00Prayer for Enemies
Icon of Christ's betrayal by Judas which is in the Church of Panagia Dexia, Thessaloniki, Greece
Prayer for Enemies
"Lord Jesus Christ, in Your great mercy You prayed for the forgiveness of those who crucified You, and You taught us to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us. Lord, I pray that You forgive those who treat me unjustly and speak out against me, and that You David Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-58407655914339871982017-06-06T01:48:00.001-07:002017-06-06T01:51:06.215-07:00Above All Things, Guard Your Heart
"HOMILY
About guarding of the heart
"With closest custody, guard your heart, for in it are the sources of life" (Proverbs 4:23).
In the heart is the will, in the heart is love, in the heart is understanding, in the heart is the face of the All-holy and Divine Trinity. The heart is the home of the Father, the altar of the Son and the workshop of the Holy Spirit. God wants the heart: "My David Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-87866714276095980482017-02-26T15:26:00.004-08:002017-03-01T17:22:58.296-08:00What is Forgiveness?
OLGA KRASNIKOVa, Source
Myths about forgiveness
When should we forgive? Can everything be forgiven?
These questions are always raised at seminars and the answer is simple: you can forgive anything. Yet there are many myths concerning forgiveness.
Myth 1: To forgive is to forget.
Some people (this is one of the myths) argue that forgiveness means to say that “nothing happenedDavid Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-73028391341876011202017-02-15T23:01:00.002-08:002017-02-15T23:10:29.023-08:00God-forsakenness according to Elder Sophrony of Essex by Abbott Ephraim of Vatopedi, Mount Athos
from Pemptousia.com
In our presentation we will touch upon an issue which may not be readily acknowledged by those who are not initiated in the existence of divine Grace. We would actually say that it quite ‘heavy going’ as its title reveals: ‘God-forsakenness’. However, it is a particularly important, “a crucial”, element in spiritual life. When many people, perhaps most, will hear whatDavid Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3610592569453639022.post-22823788104817275462017-01-31T14:21:00.006-08:002017-01-31T14:21:44.049-08:00Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica, SerbiaDavid Robleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08235222579213199067noreply@blogger.com0