“In a rightful and accurate look at sin, we see that sin is actually a disease that needs curing… and it’s an epidemic that destroys the soul and the whole person slowly and methodically. In scripture we read that all sin leads to death. And that is true. It is like a dark and heavy shroud that chokes out the light of illumination and separates us from God. In the parable of Lazarus and the Rich man, we see that there is a chasm affixed between those in Hades and those who rested in the Bosom of Abraham. This chasm is the physical representation of the great and giant wound that sin causes in the very fabric of creation. It was impossible for the condemned rich man to cross over to those on the other side and neither would those on the other side cross over to those who receive the just fruits of their sinfulness in Hades. It’s all about the separation. It is a woundedness that begs for healing. It’s actually killing us from within, for as the soul goes, the body is soon to follow… I know… Some will say that its the physical act that is sinful… Jesus corrected those who thought just that when he expounded the fact that adultery began in the heart and even imagined lustful acts were as bad as doing them physically. Sin is an affliction of the soul. Thus the fact remains that it is borne out in the thoughts and in the desires of the heart.”

(Fr. Benedict  of Ascension Monastery in Resaca, GA)

***Now and then we include a particularly thought provoking or inspiring excerpt not from one of our regular ‘Elders’***