by Brent Kostyniuk Both Lungs is about East and West. It is about diversity and unity in the universal Catholic Church. However, it is also about the diversity which exists in the East. That diversity leads to richness. Such diversity exists in one of the most basic aspects of Christian life – prayer. This time, […]
Category: Personal Prayer
The Jesus Prayer
by Brent Kostyniuk When Peter Pan wants to teach Wendy and the other children how to fly, one of the prerequisites is the need to think a happy thought. A happy thought, it is said, will give you wings. For me, there is a happy thought which gives wings to my spirit – it is […]
Preparation for Confession by St. John Kronstadt
I, a sinful soul, confess to our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, all of my evil acts which I have done, said or thought from baptism even unto this present day. I have not kept the vows of my baptism, but have made myself unwanted before the face of God. I have sinned before […]
Weeding the Christian Garden
Sometimes it does not seem to matter how hard we try to weed a garden, the things keep coming back. There are times, even after doing what I thought was a thorough job at pulling up weeds I would come back even a few days later, still with an aching back and hands, to discover the […]
Edging the Christian Garden
Quality edging is one of the tell-tale signs between a well tended garden and one that has been neglected. A well edged garden not only looks neater in that it has defined borders, but also has fewer weeds and grass that can creep in. The beauty on the inside of the garden is protected from […]
The Order of Repentance – A Communal Penance Service According to the Byzantine Rite
Priest: Blessed be our God at all times, now and for ever and ever. All: Amen. Glory be to You, our God, glory be to You! Heavenly King, Advocate, Spirit of Truth, Who are everywhere present and fill all things, Treasury of Blessings, Bestower of Life, come, and dwell with us; cleanse us of all […]
It Smells Like Love – A Short Story
The five bells began to ring. Their sweet notes grew in size as they floated over the snow-covered neighbourhood. A squirrel, more interested in gathering food than hibernating, stopped in its tracks to listen. The voice of the bells seemed to call for the neighbourhood to awaken from its mid-winter slumber.
Why Go To Church When I Can Pray At Home?
St. John Chrysostom answers this question briefly when he writes: They say: ‘We can pray at home.’ You are deceiving yourself, O man! Of course, one can pray at home. But it is impossible to pray there as in church, where such a multitude of hearts are uplifted to God, merging into one unanimous cry. […]
Prayer, Fasting, and Asceticism
“This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29). The last words of this Gospel passage explain its selection for reading at today’s Divine Liturgy, In the home stretch of the Great Fast we may need to be reminded that effectiveness in the Christian life demands more than occasional application. We […]
The Fathers Reaffirmed
WHAT DO FASTS, METANIES, PROSTRATIONS, and standing through long church services have to do with prayer? Isn’t prayer the conversation with God we have in our hearts? Why is Eastern Christian spirituality so physical? On the First Sunday of the Fast we proclaimed the Orthodoxy of incorporating material creation (sacred images) in our worship because […]