Tag: Alexander Elchaninov

• Self-denial is More than Just Saying, “No”

  March 12, 2012

  One of the traditional Lenten practices is self-denial. Often this leaves us asking the question, “What should I give up for Lent?” The answers vary – candy, bread, wine, shopping, blogging…. We endure, for God’s sake, forty days of self-denial. We give up some ordinary thing or activity and with the celebration of Easter we Read more
• Called to Perfection

  April 23, 2009

  It is divine to love those who hate. It is diabolical to hate and insult those who love. It is human to love those who love, to hate those who hate. But – “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Mt. 5:48). – Alexander Elchaninov in The Diary Read more
• Elchaninov: God’s Will is in the Present Moment

  March 17, 2009

  Our continual mistake is that we do not concentrate upon the present day, the actual hour, of our life; we live in the past or the future; we are continually expecting the coming of some special moment when our life will unfold itself in its full significance. And we do not notice that life is Read more
• Strengthening our Life in the Church

  March 16, 2009

  Our spiritual health and growth, like our physical health and growth, depend on daily exercise. The church often refers to this exercise as ascesis. Ascesis involves commitment, practice, and the remembrance of what is important. True ascesis becomes a way of daily life. Without exercise we become weak and our spirit atrophies. How can we Read more
• The Freedom of Self-Denial

  February 27, 2009

  One of the traditional Lenten practices is self-denial. Often this leaves us asking the question, “What should I give up for Lent?” The answers vary – candy, bread, wine, shopping, blogging…. We endure for God’s sake forty days of self-denial. We give up some ordinary thing or activity and with the celebration of Easter we Read more