What are you reading?

[Owlet]

I generally avoid fiction, but I am enjoying Amor Towle's A Gentleman in Moscow. Good background for someone like me who knows very little Russian / Soviet history. No direct relevance to Orthodoxy, but the protagonist is a man of deep principles, who remains positive and appreciative of all the good that he finds in his very much reduced circumstances. I plan to finish it before the start of the Great Fast, when I shall switch to more serious reading.

 

[ed pluribus unum]

For a brief time the following books are available for free download from Amazon on Kindle:

Lies My Gov't Told Me: And the Better Future Coming

The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health

"Cause Unknown": The Epidemic of Sudden Deaths in 2021 & 2022

I have not read any of these yet but they could be interesting. The price is right, anyway.

 

[IconWriter]

I'm just starting Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy, by Fr. Andrew Steven Damick, having just finished Our Thoughts Determine our Lives: the Life and Teachings of Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica. (Excellent!).

 

[TheLearningWife]

Finally got around to getting the Family Life Spiritual Counsels IV by St. Paisios. Father Kosmas based some of his child rearing talks on this book so I’ve wanted to read it for a long time. So full of spiritual pearls, but this section spoke to me as a chronic complainer:

The more one grumbles, the more one falls into ruin

Geronda, why do people grumble and how can it be avoided? —Grumbling is caused by misery and it can be put aside by doxology (giving praise). Grumbling begets grumbling and doxology begets doxology. When someone does not grumble over a problem troubling him, but rather praises God, then the devil gets frustrated and goes off to someone else who grumbles, in order to cause everything to go even worse for him. You see, the more one grumbles, the more one falls into ruin.

Sometimes the devil deceives is and makes us unable to be pleased with anything; however, one can celebrate all things in a spiritual manner, with doxology, and secure God’s constant blessing. Look here, I know someone on Mount Athos who, if it is raining and you tell him, “It is raining again,” he will start saying, “Yes, it is always raining; we are going to rot from all the humidity.” And, if after only a little while the rain stops and you tell him, “Well, it did not rain too much after all,” he will say, “Yes, but what kind of rain was that? Everything will dry out…” You cannot say that he is crazy; it is just that he has grown accustomed to grumbling. It is strange to see a rational man thinking irrationally!

Grumbling carries a curse. It is as if someone is cursing himself, and then the wrath of God comes upon him. I knew two farmers in Epeirus. One of them was a family man who had a couple of small fields and who entrusted everything to God. He worked, as much as he could, without anxiety. He would say, “I’ll do as much as I can manage.” Occasionally, some of the hay bales would spoil in the rain because he did not gather them in time, while other bales were scattered by the wind; and yet for all things he would say, “Glory to You, O God!” and everything went well for him. The other farmer had many fields, cows, and so on, but no children. If you asked him, “How are you doing?”he would invariably respond “Forget about it; do not even ask!” He never said, “Glory to You, O God”; he was always grumbling. And so that you will see — sometimes one thing would happen to him, sometimes something else. He had everything, but he made no progress.

This is why I say that doxology is a great matter. Whether or not we taste the blessings God gives us depends on us. But how are we to taste God’s blessings, if He gives us, for example, bananas and we are thinking of whatever better things some ship-owner might be eating? How many people there are who eat only dry bread, but praise God day and night and are nurtured with heavenly sweetness! Such people acquire a spiritual sensitivity and are acquainted with the caresses of God. We do not understand these things, because our heart is caught up with filth and we are not satisfied with anything. We do not understand that happiness is in eternity and not in vanity.

 

[TheLearningWife]

For anyone who has children, Godchildren, or is looking for gift ideas, the Elder Cleopa Stories for Children by Sebastian Press is an excellent series. They are translated from Romanian, which explains why they are so good… you just cannot find books originally written this way in English. The illustrations are very classic. One of my favorite stories is in Volume 1, called For Great is the Lord. It’s about a silversmith who is tested by an emperor to see if he always says “For Great is the Lord” out of habit/for appearances or out of faith. You can read samples on their website.

 

[messaggera]

Finally got around to getting the Family Life Spiritual Counsels IV by St. Paisios.

Thank you for sharing this book @TheLearningWife . After looking over the contents will be ordering from Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville.
Shipping can be slow at times, but worth the wait, and usually comes right when needed.

Author: Elder Paisios
Form: Softcover
Pages: 307

This is the fourth volume of the series 'Spiritual Counsels of the Elder Paisios of Mount Athos'. It is divided into six thematic parts. Each part is subdivided into chapters and every chapter into sections with the appropriate subheadings; • Part 1 Supporting the Family • Part 2 Parents and their Obligations • Part 3 Children and their Obligations • Part 4 Spiritual Life • Part 5 The Trials in our Life • Part 6 Death and the Future Life.

God bless you and your loved ones.

 

[TheLearningWife]

Thank you for sharing this book @TheLearningWife . After looking over the contents will be ordering from Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville.
Shipping can be slow at times, but worth the wait, and usually comes right when needed.



God bless you and your loved ones.

That’s wonderful, may you derive much spiritual benefit from this book! There are other books in this Spiritual Counsels series, and many people recommend Wounded by Love, which is next on my list. I can’t say enough good things because the Father Kosmas child rearing talks were based off this book, and one/some from St. Porphyrios, and they changed my family’s whole life and trajectory by providing the guidance we so desperately needed.

 

[messaggera]

For anyone who has children, Godchildren, or is looking for gift ideas, the Elder Cleopa Stories for Children by Sebastian Press is an excellent series. They are translated from Romanian, which explains why they are so good… you just cannot find books originally written this way in English. The illustrations are very classic. One of my favorite stories is in Volume 1, called For Great is the Lord. It’s about a silversmith who is tested by an emperor to see if he always says “For Great is the Lord” out of habit/for appearances or out of faith. You can read samples on their website.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ @TheLearningWife .

I found an interesting book by the same author from Uncut Mountain Press:
The Truth of Our Faith Discourses from Holy Scripture on the Tenets of Christian Orthodoxy -Elder Cleopa of Romania
Thank you for sharing the book, leading to the author.

The Truth of Our Faith | Uncut Mountain Press

An Orthodox Christian publisher and translator of classic and contemporary spiritual and theological texts.

uncutmountainpress.com

OVERVIEW​

An illumined and trustworthy instructor of Christian Truth is hard to find in this age of doctrinal relativity and spiritual insensibility. Thus, when one encounters the wisdom, inspired knowledge of Scripture, and authority with which Elder Cleopa (1912–1998) speaks, it is not hard to distinguish his discerning words from the myriad of opinions bantered about by so many today. As an inheritor of two thousand years of Apostolic Tradition, trained from his youth in the ascetic struggle against the passions, a man of continual prayer and fasting, and possessing an encyclopedic knowledge of Holy Scripture and the Holy Fathers, Elder Cleopa is an exceptionally qualified guide of the Christian Faith.
In nearly one thousand references and explanations of Holy Scripture, Elder Cleopa answers the questions of inquirers on such subjects as: the presuppositions of personal salvation, the study of Holy Scripture, the veneration of icons, relics, the saints and angels, the Virgin-Mary, and the True Cross, the offering of prayer for the dead, the Second Coming of Christ, His thousand year reign, speaking in tongues, and the keeping of the Lord’s feast on Sunday instead of Saturday.
Nineteen discourses, a preface by Athonite Abbot Joseph of Xeropotamou, a brief biography of the author, over thirty photos and icons and a scriptural index make this book an ideal introduction to the truth of our Faith for every seeker of Christian Orthodoxy.

NOTES​

• 4th Edition
• Volume 1 of 2
• Preface by Archimandrite Joseph, Abbot of Xeropotamou Monastery, Mt. Athos
• Includes a short biography of the elder and a scriptural index
• Enriched with 29 photos & icons

DETAILS​

• First published: December 2000
• Length (softcover): 256 pages
• Size (softcover): 6 x 9 inches
• ISBN (softcover): 978-1-63941-000-2

Softcover
$18
Digital*
$9
https://uncutmountainpress.com/shop/author/elder-cleopa-of-romania

 

[EntWife]

For anyone who has children, Godchildren, or is looking for gift ideas, the Elder Cleopa Stories for Children by Sebastian Press is an excellent series. They are translated from Romanian, which explains why they are so good… you just cannot find books originally written this way in English. The illustrations are very classic. One of my favorite stories is in Volume 1, called For Great is the Lord. It’s about a silversmith who is tested by an emperor to see if he always says “For Great is the Lord” out of habit/for appearances or out of faith. You can read samples on their website.

I've ordered the first three, but they haven't arrived yet. I'm always looking for Orthodox books that my children might like. Thanks for recommending!

 

[Giordano Bruno]

I was recently given 'The Purpose Driven Life' (Rick Warren), by my Godmother, and it is an essential read for any Christian.

The book is filled with quotes from the Bible and excellent interpretations of them.

I'll admit, my faith has wavered as of late, but even a single page from this book has reignited my love for God.

If anyone wants I can share quotes from it like thus.

Also, I have recently been reading a fanfiction crossover using a character based on King Solomon. It does certainly explore the topic of faith and God, though I will warn you that the origin of the primary setting used is rather sinful. Though I assure you, appearances can be deceiving. It's very well written and in excess of 200,000 words long. I would highly recommend it even if you are not familiar with the source material:

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14141248/1/Pilgrimage-of-Heaven