The Life Giving Springs

St. Theodoros the Great Ascetic 82

The Philokalia

Volume 2

St. Theodoros The Great Ascetic

A Century of Spiritual Texts #82

pg. 32

Homily - St. John Climacus

Homily by Fr. Deacon Edward Kleinguetl

Parish Retreat Mission NO. 4 - The Fruit of Silence

CONFERENCE NO. 4

The Foundation for The Art of Spiritual Life

 

  “My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn.”

(Psalm 51:19)

 

May the Lord direct our steps according to his holy will.

 

 

Parish Retreat Mission NO. 3 - The Fruit of Silence

Presenter: Fr. Deacon Edward Kleinguetl

 

CONFERENCE NO. 3

Introduction to the Jesus Prayer

 

 “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you …”

(Acts 3:6)

“His name is living. It gives new life to those who cry out with it to the source of Life, the Lord Jesus Christ.”[1]

(St. Ignatius Brianchaninov)

“This is a prayer from the depth of the heart, especially when man feels that no other person can help him, but only the Most Merciful God Almighty.” [2]

(Patriarch Daniel of Romania)

 

 

Opening Gospel Passage: Dependence on God

Matt. 6:19-34

‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.’

‘The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.

‘No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.’

‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your lifespan? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wildflowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?

‘So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.’

‘But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

 

The Jesus Prayer

The Jesus Prayer is a simple, yet powerful tool for assisting us in achieving interior stillness. It places Jesus at the center of our lives. This is an overview of the most common form of the prayer:

Breathing[1]	Prayer	Observation
Inhale	Lord, Jesus Christ[2]	A profession of faith: Acknowledging Jesus as Lord, the center of our lives and as the Son of God.
Exhale	Son of God
Inhale	Have mercy on me	A desire for repentance and reconciliation: Acknowledging who we are (“a sinner”) and our request of Jesus (“have mercy on me”). In addition, the prayer is grounded in humility, the foundation for attaining all the other virtues. Humility is part of the movement away from self, surrendering self-will to the Divine will.
Exhale	A sinner

 

 

[1]Some Spiritual Fathers would advise their disciples that the prayer is said on a single breath: (Inhale) “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God”; (exhale) “have mercy on me, a sinner.” Either is acceptable, as long as the prayer itself becomes as natural as breathing. To some, this two-breath approach more readily adapts to a natural breathing pattern. Ultimately, it is up to the practitioner to decide what is better.

[2]Acts 4:12: “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”

 

[1]Brianchaninov, The Refuge, 202.

[2]Iftimiu, “30 Quotes.”

Parish Retreat Mission NO. 2 - The Fruit of Silence

Presenter: Fr. Deacon Edward Kleinguetl

CONFERENCE NO. 2

Historical Development of Our Tradition

 

 “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you …”

(Acts 3:6)

“His name is living. It gives new life to those who cry out with it to the source of Life, the Lord Jesus Christ.”[1]

(St. Ignatius Brianchaninov)

“This is a prayer from the depth of the heart, especially when man feels that no other person can help him, but only the Most Merciful God Almighty.” [2]

(Patriarch Daniel of Romania)

 

 

Opening Gospel Passage: Dependence on God

John 16:23-24

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. John.

Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

The Gospel of the Lord.

 

[1]Brianchaninov, The Refuge, 202.

[2]Aurelian Iftimiu, “30 Quotes from Patriarch Daniel on Prayer,” Basilica News Agency, online edition (January 19, 2022). Quote about the Jesus Prayer.

Parish Retreat Mission NO. 1 - The Fruit of Silence

Presenter: Fr. Deacon Edward Kleinguetl

 

The Jesus Prayer as a Foundation to

The Art of Spiritual Life

 

CONFERENCE NO. 1-A

Why Focus on Prayer?

 

“Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.”

(Rom. 12:2)

“It is time for us to become a spiritual people again.”

(Matthew Kelly)

 

Opening Scripture Reading: Appearance on the Road to Emmaus

Luke 24:13-35

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke.

Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. He asked them, ‘What are you discussing as you walk along?’ They stopped, looking downcast.

One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, ‘Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?’

And he replied to them, ‘What sort of things?’

They said to him, ‘The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.”

And he said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures.

As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, ‘Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.’ So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.

With that their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?’

So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them, who were saying, ‘The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!’ Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

The Gospel of the Lord

 

 

Homily - Wisdom from Elder Arsenie on Confession

Eternity in the Moment

Elder Arsenie Papacioc

https://www.holycross.org/products/eternity-in-the-moment-the-life-and-wisdom-of-elder-arsenie-papacioc?srsltid=AfmBOopdMK7oO-ss86r0g4WsDq86i7HBQ1jcA1HxAP3vgCb1gK5oPPD5

 

 

"His teachings were full of examples inspired from his personal life, from his observations of all creation, perceived through spiritual eyes. He turned many events that might seem ordinary into parables, pointing to truths of eternal value. For example, once, while he was visiting some relatives, he witnessed the first steps of his eight-month-old niece. He used this incident to describe the unsteady, yet certain, steps of every Christian on the path to repentance. He would compare a mother's excited, attentive, and joyous gaze with God's care for everyone who follows Him."

 

 

Homily - On Confession 4 - Father Confessor

Homily - Feastday Annunciation of the Theotokos

Lk 1-24-38

St. Theodoros the Great Ascetic 81

The Philokalia

Volume 2

St. Theodoros The Great Ascetic

A Century of Spiritual Texts #81

pg. 32

Homily - Sunday of Veneration of the Cross 2025

Homily - Story from St. Ignatius Brianchaninov on Confession

From the Book: The Forgotten Medicine by Archimandrite Seraphim Aleksiev

https://www.sainthermanmonastery.com/The-Forgotten-Medicine-p/fm.htm

 

The distinguished Russian writer of spiritual books, St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, tells of the following event concerning the power and consequences of true Confession:

 

"In the area of Vologda, Russia, there is a big village Kubenskoe, which has several parishes. One of the parish priests fell ill, and, approaching his end, he saw his bed surrounded by demons who were getting ready to seize his soul and snatch it to hell. Then three angels appeared. One of them stood by the bed and began to argue for his soul with the most repulsive of the demons, who was holding an open book where all the sins of the priest were recorded. In the meantime, the other parish priest came to confess and give Communion to his fellow-priest. The Confession began. The ill man, directing his frightened eyes towards the demons' book, told of his sins with self-denial, as if he were casting them out of himself. And what did he see? He saw clearly that when he told of some sin, this sin disappeared from the book: the writing was erased and only a blank spot was left. In this way, through his Confession, he erased all of his sins from the demons' book and was healed quickly. He spent the rest of his days in deep repentance, and for their edification he told his neighbors about his vision, the proof of which was his miraculous healing.