Salvation is not arithmetic. It is worked out in the secret chamber of the heart, in silent tears, in invisible changes which no metric system can measure. It is really not something that we can achieve by our various acts … Continue reading
Category Archives: The Spirituality Of the Christian East
As the Eastern Church understands God, the Lord of love does not impose Himself on us. Neither may we storm heaven’s gates. Like any loving and mutual relationship, this one can only be freely entered. The Lord has made His … Continue reading
Eastern spirituality really stresses the fact that God wants sons and daughters, not slaves. St. Paul speaks about “sonship by grace.” God respects the free will of His children, as clearly seen in Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son. We … Continue reading
A very important word in Eastern Christian spirituality is the word synergy. Eastern Christian theologians use this New Testament Greek word synergy to express the biblical teaching that God does not force His grace upon us, but, rather, guides and … Continue reading
In the last issue I suggested that it can be difficult for some people to meet God through the formal religious ritual which is ours during our communal prayer. That is why I have suggested that we truly come to … Continue reading
There is yet another form of prayer that is recognized in the Eastern Church, it is called the Many-to-One Prayer. We must always remember that on our Spiritual Journey – the Journey of Life – we are not isolated individuals, … Continue reading
In the last issue of this article I presented one way to reach out to God by the use of Prayer of the Heart or Mental Prayer. While this kind of prayer is simple, the complication of our lives makes … Continue reading
Prayer, as one might expect, is at the heart of Eastern Spirituality. I have shared, over the past several weeks, different types of prayer. There is another form of one-to-one prayer that is called Prayer of the Heart. It is … Continue reading
In the last issue of this article I suggested that one form of prayer that we might use is memorized prayer (i.e., those prayers that we learned very early in our lives). There are, however, other types of prayer. Spontaneous … Continue reading
This article is dedicated to helping my readers develop their spiritual lives. One of the possible approaches is to reach out to God through prayer. As I suggested, there are several forms of personal prayer. One is reciting prayers that … Continue reading