Meditations and Sermons from Br. Kenneth of the Order of Saint Anthony the Great
This year, I was invited out to Br. Edward Aidan’s parish Holy Trinity in Houston, TX to offer the sermon for their Good Friday service. Holy Trinity is a wonderful parish, with a remarkable pair of priests directing it. I just found out that the audio for the sermon is now online. You can hear the sermon by clicking play, below. While we are now officially in Pentecost, you’ll find that the message I offered then is still just as relevant now. God’s Peace.
God’s Peace and blessings to you all! For our next lesson on the Lausiac History, I invite you to read Chapter 1: Isidore; Chapter 2: Dorotheus; Chapter 3: Potamaena; and Chapter 4: Didymus. As you read consider these questions:
Chapter 1: Isidore > What do we learn about the bodily response to asceticism as shown by Isidore? As a contemplative adept, what relationship did he have with his “enemies”? Even in the midst of other people, what was the continual focus of his attention?
Chapter 2: Dorotheus > What did Dorotheus manage to build every year? How does this model of charity relate to our own relationship to community (Religious, Parish, Secular)? In what “wells” in your life have you found “asps” that have made you run away instead of trusting in God, and doing what God has called you to do?
Chapter 3: Potamaena > This story is typical of the early martyr hagiographies, but what can it teach us as monastics in the world today? Can it relate to us at all? What are the positive and negative implications of trying to relate to these kinds of stories today?
Chapter 4: Didymus > Does Palladius believe that perfection can be attained in this life? What is the significance of Palladius pointing out Didymus’ educational background? What example does he offer for prayer? Where have you been reluctant in prayer for yourself or others?
You can find the text online here: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/palladius-lausiac.asp
I look forward to reading your responses! God’s Peace
S.C.D.
Br. Kenneth
We are starting up our weekly lessons again with lives of the desert hermits as found in the work “The Lausiac History,” written by Palladius. What is remarkable about this collection, written in the early fifth century, is that it covers monastic lives from all the major regions of the Eastern Church from Antioch down to Alexandria. Further, Palladius offer tales of those monks who both excelled and failed at their work, giving a very real view of monastic life and its difficulties. Not only that, but it is through the Lausiac History that we find a great wealth of information pertaining to female monastic during that time period.
We will be covering particular lives depicted in this History over the next several weeks, and using them for conversation and meditation. Some aspects of these lives we can appreciate and want to incorporate. We may take issue with other aspects described. We may find some very pertinent warning to our own spiritual disciplines as well.
To start, I invite you this week to read the from the Preface through the Prologue to get an idea about what Palladius was offering. Any thoughts or insights that may occur to you, I invite you to share in the comment section here. You will be able to read the text online, graciously provided by Fordham University here: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/palladius-lausiac.asp.
I look forward to reading your responses! God’s Peace.
Silentio Coram Deo,
Br. Kenneth
Wrapping up our spiritual practices from Dionysios, we now venture into apophatic terms, that is describing something by what it is not. To emphasize what you’ll here in the audio, the first step is to find terms that you definitely know God is not, like evil, etc. The next step in apophatic theology is start denying the very terms you used in cataphatic practices. The final step, which we do not cover here is to then deny the denial. But as that is a step for the more adept contemplatives, I’ll just leave you with that hint. I look forward to hearing your responses! God’s Peace.
Here is the audio for our second lesson on Dionysios in which we discuss “unlike” cataphatic terms. As with the previous lesson, I invite you to share in the comment section. God’s Peace!
For our dispersed members, here is the audio for out first lesson on Pseudo-Dionysios. For the sake of conversation, I invite you to respond through the comment section here, rather than through our usual email format.
God’s Peace and blessings to you. As we come to the close of this year’s Advent, I had the pleasure of preaching on the Theotokos. Below you will find the audio for the sermon. The lectionary readings for the day can be found HERE.
Here is the audio for the sermon I preached this past Sunday in which I wrestle with the concept of the eucharist and literal interpretation. You can find the readings for this Sunday’s lectionary HERE. Enjoy and God’s Peace!
The Order’s Alleluia Garden
