Dispositions [eg: being open, truthful, aware] are the means to acquiring reality. Friedrich von Hugel Is the way I am – in my life, my prayer, my relationships – helping me towards a greater integration or disintegration? Prayer is a matter of intention, disposing yourself towards receiving something. Rowan Williams What matters is not what […]
It is on the level of disposition and desire that we need help most. Michael Paul Gallagher Attention animated by desire is the whole foundation of religious practices. Simone Weil The wisdom of discernment is choosing life-giving habits of the heart. Loving must be learnt by heartIf it is to be any good.It isn’t in […]
A condition of complete simplicity T.S.Eliot Whatever you find in your heart to do in following God,that do, and remain within yourself in Him. Abba Anthony I will allure her,and bring her into the wildernessand speak tenderly to her Hosea 2:14 The desert is the place of personal integrity, without masks or pretensions. All effort […]
My life is with my brother (and sister) Abba Anthony The way forward is the way to someone else. John V. Taylor Hospitality begins at home – with ourselves.Hospitality is about acceptance, of ourselves and others,and is always in the context of the immediate and the concrete. [Remember] You shall also love the stranger,For you […]
Go, sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything. Abba Moses Do not be always wanting everything to turn out as you think it should, but rather as God pleases, then you will be undisturbed and thankful in your prayer. Abba Nilus Prayer leads us straight into the heart of mystery where […]
This is a difficult country, and our home. Edwin Muir Strive with all your might to bring your interior activity into accord with God, and you will overcome exterior passions Abba Arsenius When you walk through fire you shall not be burned. Isaiah 43:2 The desert is the primal scriptural symbol of the absence of […]
Nothing can overcome us, but only humility. AmmaTheodora Hearing that a brother was to be brought before the council, he came also, carrying a leaking basket of sand. He said, “How should I judge my brother when my sins run out behind me like the sand in this basket?” Abba Moses Nothing can overcome us, […]
The desert shall rejoice and blossom. Isaiah 35:1 The hunter said, “Father, if I keep my bow always stretched it will break”. So it is with the monk; if we push ourselves beyond measure we will break: it is right for us from time to time to relax our efforts”. Abba Anthony Have you a […]
This meditation is the first in Fr Philip Carter’s series Spirituality of the desert, the series that will accompany us during Lent this year. Desert: Uninhabited, desolate; uncultivated, barren. Waterless and treeless region…. It is difficult to conceive of either Judaism or Christianity without the desert. The austerity and relentless simplicity of the desert- and […]
Fr Philip Carter offers a ministry of spirituality, with a series of meditations on some questions that we may ponder as we consider our life in God. You will find here his reflections and questions for meditation, images, music and poetry to enrich your life’s journey. Welcome back to Spirit Matters for 2024. we hope […]