We all have an Esau. Individuals, communities, parishes, religious orders, nations, you, and me - we all have an Esau. I am not talking about a literal Esau but a symbolic and metaphorical Esau. That does not mean, however, that Esau is not real. He is absolutely real. Esau is the face of our past guilts and regrets. Esau is the temptation to believe that we are not enough and we need to be someone or something else. Esau is our fear of the future. Esau is the one with whom we wrestle in the depths of our soul to discover our true name and identity, and to find the blessing that is uniquely ours.
Tag: Abba Poeman
Lent with the Desert Fathers: How Should One Fast?
A Word from the Desert “Abba Joseph asked Abba Poeman: ‘How should one fast?’ And Abba Poeman said: ‘For my part I think it is better that one should eat every day, but only a little, so as not to…
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Abba Poeman on Silence
Abba Poeman said... A man may seem to be silent, but if his heart is condemning others he is babbling ceaselessly. But there may be another who talks from morning till night and yet he is truly silent; that is,…
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The Season of Advent – Holy Waiting and Watching
A new liturgical year begins this coming Sunday, November 29, 2009, with the First Sunday of Advent. The Season of Advent consists of the four Sundays before Christmas. The liturgical color for Advent is purple or sometimes blue. We will…
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Interrupting the Silence 