“Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever.” Psalm 107:1 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, We would like to wish you and your family a blessed Thanksgiving! Amidst this difficult and challenging year, we still have so much for us to be grateful for this Thanksgiving season. Orthodox Christian […]
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From Behind the Desk to Behind Bars By Paul Politis OCPM Director of Operations Paul Politis describes his first experience visiting a jail. It was a cold and rainy Thursday morning when I met Father Nicholas Solak at St. Vladimir’s Seminary. I had traveled to the seminary to make my first visit to a jail. […]
After 15 years in federal prison—including 22 hour-a-day lockdowns at Supermax facilities—Clark Porter achieved what was once unimaginable: a scholarship to Washington University, two university degrees, a full-time position with the US District Court, and a stable family life. And that’s not even the most incredible part of the story. Fr. Stephen Powley can laugh […]
Monasteries run into various problems with the internet, but let’s not try to unravel that mess right now. Maybe another time. Right now I’d like to mention just one thing in that connection because it provides a good example of what we leave behind—or at least we should—when we commit ourselves to a life according […]
Summer certainly is a-coming in. Here at the Monastery of St. John we aren’t singing cuckoo, but we are seeing many new faces in church, the kitchen, the candle factory, the soap factory, the garden, and the living quarters. Springs the wood anew at this time of year, and springs the brotherhood anew as well, […]
Several men have asked me to be their spiritual father. Wow!—you might say—what an honor! Slow down—I would reply—I had to say no. I had to tell them that I do not have a blessing to serve as anyone’s spiritual father. I think in some cases this answer disappointed them. * Permit me a digression. […]
I love hearing about the experiences others have had in the monastic life. When I visit another monastery or when other monastics visit us, I look forward to what they have to say. It helps me understand our own life here. One such occasion came quite some time back when a couple of nuns we […]
We have some wonderful advice in the formula “Do not resent, do not react, keep inner stillness.” It works great if I stop myself in time. But what if I find myself already trapped in resentment? What then? Well, I will share with you what I know. As an old man of my acquaintance often […]
You might consider me a leading authority on the topic of resentments. No, I’m not bragging. I’ve gained my knowledge the hard way—by struggling against them, sometimes with success and sometimes not. This battle represents a big part of my spiritual life. I have the benefit, though, of living in a place where I have […]