schema cat
Author: an absurd monk
… all voices sound different in solitude!
my house!
What are your top 10 travel destinations?
I do not travel – never! So I will share my favourite rooms of the house:
- Chapel/Oratory
- Library
- Bedroom
- Kitchen
- Refectory (dinning room)
- Living Room
- …
- …
- …
- Bathroom
Didache on fasting
But let not your fasts be with the hypocrites; for they fast on the second and fifth day of the week; but fast on the fourth day and the Preparation (Friday).
Chapter 8
The Book of Common Prayer has guidelines for fasting – the benchmark!?
what is existentialism?
Existentialism explained in one picture.
perfection in Jesus …
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
And how does that happen …
Therefore when thou doest thine alms …
And when thou prayest …
Moreover when ye fast …
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
And …
Asceticism is a lifestyle of simple living and self-discipline focused on abstinence, self-denial, and spiritual growth.
Jesus Prayer
What is your favorite quote?
Rather than a quote – let’s face it, this blog is full of quotes – I share with you my favourite prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner
It is called the Jesus Prayer. It has become part of life and is a presence all the time. I pray this prayer at night when I wake and during the day. It is just part of life!
adapt and evolve
It is intrinsic to ascetical theology to adapt itself to the contemporary situation, yet it can only evolve out of a living tradition with roots in the past.
English Spirituality, 13
worry
If you had to give one life-changing tip, what would it be?
I do not like giving advice to anyone. But if someone asked me for one tip?!
Worry about what is in your control! And the only person you control is you. Anything or anyone outside of that control needs to worry about themselves. You control you!
Yes I have learned that the hard way. And yes I am terrible at it. Other people make choices that are outside of my control and hence outside of my worry.
One tip only!
a skill without use
What’s a skill you consider basic, that most people don’t actually know how to do?
I am not sure if this is a skill but here it goes. I know how to praying using the Book of Common Prayer. I have used it for most my adult life so it is second nature. And not just the one but most of them! I also know how to use the Anglican Breviary and the English Missal. A skill without use.
the elder
What entitles someone to act as spiritual guide? How and by whom is he or she appointed?
To this there is a simple answer. The elder or starets is essentially a “charismatic” and prophetic figure, accredited for her or his task by the direct action of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual guides are ordained, not by human hands, but by the hand of God. They are an expression of the Church as “event” or “happening,” rather than of the Church as institution
The Spiritual Guide in Orthodox Christianity, Bishop Ware
