{"id":4676,"date":"2016-11-25T15:30:41","date_gmt":"2016-11-25T20:30:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stmichaelarchangel.org\/?p=4676"},"modified":"2016-11-25T15:30:41","modified_gmt":"2016-11-25T20:30:41","slug":"the-spirituality-of-the-christian-east-20161127","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stmichaelarchangel.org\/?p=4676","title":{"rendered":"The Spirituality of the Christian East — 20161127"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ladder<\/a>The 27th Step on John\u2019s Ladder, STILLNESS, is probably one of the more difficult ones to achieve because of the busy lives that most of us live. Our lives are constantly filled with noise of some sort. In order to achieve this step, we will probably have to make a plan for quiet time and integrate this plan into our daily lives. Even one or two small pockets of time to retreat into solitude for ten minutes or so can help us enormously. Some are fortunate enough to work near a church, where they can go for about ten minutes during their lunch break. I have actually known people who have benefited a great deal from such an opportunity. Others may manage half an hour of solitude at home in their prayer corner or in their study every evening.
\nBut what should we do with these precious few opportunities for solitude? It is not always necessary to speak to God. But often, thoughts and concerns distract our silence. One thing we can do is give a little time to the reading of Scripture. Some like to carry a small pocket Bible with them, which they can dip into at opportune moments (on the bus or train, on their lunch break, or some other time).
\nIf we choose to read the New Testament, we should make an attempt to read it prayerfully, not inquisitively. I would first suggest that you read the epistles you rarely if never hear in church. There is one attributed to St. James, two to St. Peter, three to St. John and one to St. Jude. Try these first. I would also suggest that you don\u2019t attempt to read the entire letter all at once. Read just a few verses or a chapter and then think about what you read. Look for \u201cwords\u201d that stand out in your mind or \u201cimages\u201d that are created by the words. Then just think about them. There is a time and place to study scripture, but for the purpose of stillness, the less the better when coupled with thought or reflection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 27th Step on John\u2019s Ladder, STILLNESS, is probably one of the more difficult ones to achieve because of the busy lives that most of us live. Our lives are constantly filled with noise of some sort. In order to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-eastern-christian-spirituality-and-prayer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stmichaelarchangel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stmichaelarchangel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stmichaelarchangel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stmichaelarchangel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stmichaelarchangel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4676"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stmichaelarchangel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4677,"href":"https:\/\/stmichaelarchangel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4676\/revisions\/4677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stmichaelarchangel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stmichaelarchangel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stmichaelarchangel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}