Gladsome Light Dialogues - An Orthodox Blog » Christian Virtues

Setting a good beginning

Fr. Vasile — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 23:08:35 +0000

As the New Year is just around the corner, for many people also comes the time for setting their New Year resolutions. This year I will reach my ideal weight, this year I’ll take better care of my health, this year I’ll finish the college that I always wanted and so on. The first weeks of the year the gyms are full of enthusiastic first time athletes, the grocery stores have record sales for diet foods and the pharmacies sell years worth of nicotine patches. But the statistics show however that only 8% of people are successful in achieving their resolutions. So come February the gym crowds vanish, the excitement fades away and life goes back to its Continue reading

Lent as transforming expectation

Fr. Vasile — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 04:05:04 +0000

But we all, with our face having been unveiled, having beheld the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are being changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Lord Spirit. (2Co 3:18) Coming back home the other day, I observed with great joy that some trees on my street started to blossom. I was immediately moved to think: the winter is over, spring is here! All the cold weather, all the snow and the ice is gone. But, the thought continued, if we won't pass through winter we couldn’t appreciate spring in its fullness. One the most beautiful celebrations in Japan is the cherry blossom festival. People gather from afar to be Continue reading

Turn the other Cheek – From the Desert Fathers

Fr. Vasile — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 19:43:01 +0000

The daughter of a certain rich man in Alexandria was suddenly seized by a wicked spirit and was tormented severely. Her father spent much money in order to make her well. But fruitlessly. The condition of the young girl became worse all the time. Somehow the Father learned that a hermit, who lived alone up on a mountain, had the gift from God to cast out demons. He was told, however, that the hermit was so humble that he would never agree to perform such a cure. So the nobleman had to find some other pretext by which to get him to his home. One day the hermit went down to the city to sell Continue reading

Running our lives in circles

Fr. Vasile — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 20:24:54 +0000

The miracle of healing of the ten lepers, is generally perceived as an exposition of the importance of gratitude in our lives. There is however another aspect I would like to stress today. The essential piece for its understanding lays in Christ’s words addressed to the cured Samaritan returning to offer his gratitude for the healing: And He said unto him, Arise, go your way: your faith has made you whole” (Luke 17:19) The other nine, ungrateful, lepers did not hear the same words, save a bitter reproof from Christ. They were not called “whole”, like the Samaritan, because they lacked a crucial virtue the Samaritan exhibited: faith. Without faith, which is recognizing and trusting the power of Continue reading

Work hard – Pray hard – Changing the paradigm

Fr. Vasile — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 22:27:20 +0000

The slogan “Work hard, play hard” has been in iconic standard for corporate culture for years. It initially meant to be as involved in your daily work as you are in your extra-curricular activities, but was rapidly transformed into a great excuse for irrational and destructive behavior in the after hours like alcohol abuse, recreational drugs, heavy partying etc. More so the idea has infiltrated from the initial corporate environment to our homes rendering even our everyday life into a two dimensional universe of work and play; everything we do falls into one of these two buckets. The Holy Grail of a happy life becomes therefore finding the balance between carrier and leisure. A plethora of Continue reading

Learn from me – A Nativity reflection on the humility of Christ

Fr. Vasile — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 04:29:23 +0000

I recently found this quote on humility from Elder Paisios from Sihla (A skete in the North of Romania close to the Sihastria Monastery where Elder Cleopas lived) "It's best for a man to become a clay vessel, which is useful to all people and for all kinds of daily work, for food, water, and so on. But golden vessels are put in safes and locked up in cupboards. For fear of thieves they are seldom used, maybe only once a year. A clay vessel has its daily use and service to man. So also is a humble man who does not seek honors and rank. He remains insignificant even amid men of lower rank, but he benefits, counsels, and Continue reading

The Akathyst of the Holy Martyr Menas the Wonderworker

Fr. Vasile — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:09:29 +0000

The shrine of St. Menas used to be for the Ancient Eastern Orthodox world what Lourdes is for Roman Catholics, a place where thousands of pilgrims would bring their prayers in distress and receive the grace of God in return, through the intercessions of the Holy Martyr. Though the Shrine of Saint Menas was one of the most popular pilgrimage sites of the early Middle Ages, it fell into oblivion over the centuries with the Muslim occupation and was even believed by many scholars to be a myth. Following its discovery in 1905, the ruins of the fabled city of St. Menas were placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979 as one of the five most historically important Continue reading

Fasting and the revelation of our shortcomings

Fr. Vasile — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 03:41:10 +0000

Most of the Orthodox people have a hard time fasting. Every beginner realizes sooner rather than later that fasting is difficult, and the discipline of the stomach is not easy to master. The struggle of fast has however another curious secondary effect: the amplification of all our other shortcomings. When we fail in fasting we feel guilty and unworthy. Continue reading

The struggle of prayer – a short practical guide

Fr. Vasile — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:19:16 +0000

If you ask anyone in church about prayer they will most likely us a descriptor like: a pleasant experience, a conversation with God, a link with the absolute or other general terms, all positive in nature. Things are different however when, during Confession, a Father Confessor asks the same question. He will most likely hear more about lack of time, loss of focus, procrastination and struggle in general. The truth is that prayer is easier said than done. Continue reading

How to live an ecological life in Christ

Fr. Vasile — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:50:23 +0000

Raising awareness of our spiritual footprint

There is a lot of talking these days about the environment and the impact our civilization will have on the planet for generations to come. A lot of damage has already been done and we are here now Continue reading