Athonite Flowers: Seven Contemporary Essays on the Spiritual Life

This book is seven essays by Monk Moses, a contemporary monk of Mt. Athos, the largest Eastern Orthodox Christian monastic center. The essays are titled: 1. The Community of the Desert and the Loneliness of the Word; 2. Jesus Christ: The Life of the World; 3. The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Faithful; 4. Sanctification and Holiness; 5. The Life of Prayer; 6. The Power of Prayer; 7. Ways out of Loneliness for Young People.These essays are excellent for people struggling to learn to pray and for people struggling with loneliness. They are practical and simply, not lost in strange terminology or abstract theology. Monk Moses has great familiarity with the Scripture, the saints and fathers of Orthodoxy, and other contemporary monks on Mt. Athos. His essays are inspiring and instructive for lay people. Even though he is a monk, he understands our struggles.I only gave it four stars, because I am very picky and reserve five stars for only the very, very best books (such as Kallistos Ware's The Inner Kingdom).Here are a few quotes from the essays. There is much more in the book than this, of course. I've chosen them hoping to tempt you to read the book!"Selfish love for our neighbor, a bad love of our self, approaching others to avoid our own existential questions--all intensify our loneliness until it becomes a virtual prison.""The Orthodox spiritual tradition has a legacy of holiness and, when followed authentically, exhibits a way of life that is dangerous.""Serious obstacles to prayer are too much sleep, too much food, too much talk, and luxurious living.""As there is no healthy plant without roots, there can be no life of prayer without the sacraments, especially Holy Eucharist.""The greatest tragedy, worse even than any sin, is boasting over false holiness.""When we speak of submission or obedience we do not mean a condition of slavery lacking in freedom, or a condition of fear burdened with the gloom of sterile dutifulness. The relationship of man with God in the Holy Spirit is cultivated to bloom in an atmosphere of exceptional freedom, absolute confidence, willingness and love.""A wise man of recent history has said the following words... 'I love Christ, but the Christians I do not love because they do not resemble Christ' (Ghandi). I think he is right. Many times, more than the so-called atheists, it is we Christians who denigrate the name of Christ and provoke... the blaspheming of his holy name.""Christ will leave us in our darkness if we prefer to remain there, but he will always and in every circumstance anticipate our repentance.""Christ remains unknown even to the Christians. There is an urgent need to re-evangelize the Christians. There is need for intense effort and struggle."