The Spiritual Struggle

"I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish." - Galatians 5:16-17

Constant spiritual struggle is what is promised to all Christians who seek perfection in Christ.  As St. Anthony the Great said to Abba Poemen, "This is the great work of man: to take the blame for his own sins before God and to expect temptation to his last breath."  We are to earnestly contend for the Faith by engaging in constant, interior warfare.  In this fourth conference Abba Daniel, who was made a priest by Abba Paphnutius, elaborates on this struggle between the flesh and the spirit by explaining (1) the struggle's environment, (2) the definitions of "the flesh" and "the spirit", (3) the will's role in spiritual warfare, and (4) the states of the soul.

The Semantron

My favorite instrument used to call Christians to prayer is the semantron or talanton.  I never thought hitting a piece of wood could be so beautiful.  Listen to it here.  You can also buy a great children's book, which includes a CD, here.  With an audio file you can even program the semantron to sound for the hours on your laptop or cellular phone.

Pop (The Priest)

A film about an Orthodox priest during WWII in German occupied Russia.  You can read a summary and review of the film here.