The Forgotten Way

Passion 237 Killing

Killing is to murder which stems from anger, hatred, and remembrance of wrongs. 

Passion 236 Warfare

Warfare is a hostile conflict between competing enemies.

Passion 235 Conspiracy

A conspiracy is an agreement between two or more people to commit an unlawful or harmful act.

St. George Men's Group at St. Nicholas Parish- Struggling to Keep the First Things First

A rule for life helps us to maintain consistency in our daily spiritual struggle and pulls us back from distraction. 

Passion 234 Reprehensible Collusion

Reprehensible collusion is a secret agreement between two or more parties to deceive and mislead others.

Passion 233 Disorderliness

Disorderliness is to do things in a random and chaotic manner.

Saturday Afternoon at St. John's Skete- Cunning Compliments

The hidden snares of compliments sometimes draw blood. 

Passion 232 Insubordination

Insubordination is the explicit refusal to follow a supervisor's instructions and the direct challenge to authority. 

Passion 231 Excessive Love of Order

Excessive love order is a false notion of obedience and control that stems from self-reliance and a lack of faith.

Passion 230 License of tongue

License of tongue is excessive talkativeness.

Passion 229 Flute playing

Flute playing is to make music with a flute or a pipe.

Passion 228 Revelry

Revelry is excessive and indulgent eating, drinking, and partying.

Passion 227 Improper Songs

Improper songs are songs and music that incite the passions rather than lift the heart and mind to God.

Passion 226 Clapping

Clapping is an act of applause and praise made by striking the hands together.

Passion 225 Immodest Dancing

Immodest dancing is indecent, improper, and leads to lust. 

Saturday Afternoon at St. John's Skete- All I Want for Christmas Is...

All I really want is to be able to do a metany by the time evening prayer rolls around on Christmas night, so we pre-examined the potential spiritual pitfalls heading into the Nativity. 

Passion 224 Joking

Joking is to say or do something to provoke laughter.

Passion 223 Laughter

Laughter is a show of emotion of joy or scorn with a chuckle or explosive vocal sound.

Passion 222 Feigned affection

Feigned affection is an insincere display of love or care. 

Passion 221 Sordidness

Sordidness is morally filthy and wretched. 

Passion 220 Pollution

Pollution is defilement and corruption.

Passion 219 Uncleanliness

Uncleanliness is a state of moral and spiritual impurity.

Passion 218 Incest

Incest is a sexual relationship between close family members.

Saturday Afternoon at St. John's Skete-Formed From the Womb

The modern elders encouraging and guiding us to preserve Baptismal grace.

Passion 217 A Stained Soul

A stained soul is a soul that is sick with sin and in need of repentance. 

Passion 216 Wantonness

Wantonness is unrestrained and reckless indulgence characterized by a lack of self-control.

Passion 215 Defilement

Defilement is to be stained with sin.

Passion 214 Bestiality

Bestiality is the carnal relations of a human with an animal.

Passion 213 Sodomy

Sodomy is a non-procreative sexual act.

Passion 212 Adultery

Adultery is a sexual relationship between a married person and person outside of the marriage. 

Saturday Afternoon at St. John's Skete- Detachment from Our Detachment

We cannot allow ourselves to become attached to secondary goods and disciplines. Our primary aim is purity of heart and union with Christ.

Passion 211 Pimping

Pimping is controlling and profiting from prostitutes. 

Passion 210 Masturbation

Masturbation is a solitary sin of impurity.

Passion 209 Burning Lust

Burning lust is an intense desire for carnal pleasure.

Passion 208 Unbridled Desire

Unbridled desire is lustful attraction and lack of purity.

Passion 207 Effeminacy

Effeminacy describes a man who is unwilling to suffer, who is delicate, and loves to pamper his body.

Passion 206 Using foul language

Using foul language is using crass, uncouth, blasphemous, and vulgar speech. 

Passion 205 Venery

Venery is sexual indulgence.

Saturday Afternoon at St. John's Skete- Not Angry Just Cleaning

Striving to overcome laziness and irritability in our work with diligence and interior peace. 

Passion 204 Self-indulgence

Self-indulgence is the gratification of our appetites, desires, and whims. 

Passion 203 Mindless enjoyment

Mindless enjoyment is preferring temporal pleasure to the Cross of Christ.

Passion 202 Slackness

Slackness is listlessness and laziness.

Passion 201 Uselessness

Uselessness is failing to fulfill your duties according to God's will.

Passion 200 Drunkenness

Drunkenness is the state of being intoxicated by excessive alcohol consumption.

Passion 199 Heavy Drinking

Heavy drinking is consuming excessive alcohol.

Passion 198 Fantasy

Fantasy is the appearance of something that does not exist in reality. 

Saturday Afternoon at St. John's Skete- Fanning the Fragile Flame of Zeal

Zeal and fire can be extinguished by adding too much too soon. 

Passion 197 Excessive sleep

Excessive sleep is indulging our body with more rest than is good for our soul.

Passion 196 Drowsiness of Soul

Drowsiness of soul is a lack of watchful attentiveness to the thoughts that try to enter into our heart.

Passion 195 Dull-wittedness

Dull-wittedness is being mentally slow. It is a lack of keenness in our understanding. 

Passion 194 Disobedience part 2

Obedience is not achieved through coercion but by growth in sanctity.  

Passion 194 Disobedience part 1

Disobedience is the refusal to follow a command from a lawful authority.

Passion 193 Frivolity

Frivolity is a lack of serious. Frivolity is a waste of time in silliness and lightheartedness.

Passion 192 Impassionedness

Impassionedness is being tied to the habits that keep us from purity of heart.

Passion 191 Attraction to What is Fleeting

Attraction to what is fleeting is being preoccupied with the passing and temporal concerns of the world.

St. Anne Women's Group at St. Nicholas Parish- Friends of Anger

Anger often comes along with a bad friend that makes our anger feel justified. 

Saturday Afternoon at St. John's Skete- Burned at the End

The spiritual struggle lasts until we are in the coffin. 

Passion 190 Mental Blindness

Mental blindness is spiritual ignorance and darkness.

Passion 189 Obtuseness

Obtuseness is lacking a sharpness and quickness of the mind. It is a soul that is becoming insensible. 

Passion 188 Obfuscation of Thoughts

Obfuscation of thoughts is to have disorganized thoughts that are unclear and confused. 

Passion 187 Impudence

Impudence is having a rude boldness and disregard for others. 

Passion 186 Shamelessness

Shamelessness is being insensitive to disgrace and embarrassment caused by our sin.  

Passion 185 Harshness (#2)

Harshness is the impatience with the faults, imperfections, and limitations with our neighbor and is shown in our abruptness of manner and speech towards them.

St. Anne Women's Group at St. Nicholas Parish- Material Concerns

What are the worldly cares you have refused to set aside. 

Saturday Afternoon at St. John's Skete- Is the Fire Really Out?

The flames of the passions can flare up long after we thought the fire of sin was out.

Passion 184 Covenant breaking

Covenant breaking is to violate a solemn vow. 

Passion 183 Implacability

Implacability is having strong opinions or feelings that are difficult to change.

Passion 182 Heartlessness

Heartlessness is showing a lack of sympathy or consideration for our neighbor. 

Passion 181 Throttle

To throttle is to choke or strangle. 

Passion 180 Hanging

Hanging is the act of suspending a person by the neck resulting in asphyxiation. 

St. George Men's Group at St. Nicholas Parish- Remembrance of death

Remembering your death is more important in choosing a spouse than most people consider. 

Passion 179 Making sport of others

Making sport of others is to ridicule, insult, and laugh at our neighbor's for enjoyment.

Passion 178 Flogging

Flogging is to beat with a whip or a rod; it is to scourge. 

Passion 177 Disdain Of One's Neighbor

Disdain of one's neighbor is the feeling that someone is unworthy of consideration or respect.

Saturday Afternoon at St. John's Skete- The Curse of the Salami

St. Isaac the Syrian says, "For a man can never complete the work of repentance."  

Passion 176 Betwitchment

Bewitchment is casting a magic spell or curse on someone. 

Passion 175 Oppression

Oppression is being weighed down in body, mind, or soul.

Passion 174 Exploitation

Exploitation is the unfair use of someone to gain a benefit.

Passion 173 Derision

Derision is to use ridicule or scorn to show contempt. 

Passion 172 Mockery

Mockery is insulting and contemptuous speech. It is derision. 

Passion 171 Vilification

Vilification is the making of false statements that damage another person's reputation. 

Passion 170 Jesting

Jesting is something done for amusement and joking. 

Saturday Afternoon at St. John's Skete- Finder's Keepers?

St. Augustine teaches, "If you have found and not restored you have stolen."

Passion 169 Indecency

Indecency is being morally offensive, improper, or vulgar in our conduct. 

Passion 168 Envy

Envy is a sense of deprivation, sadness, and feeling discontent about the excellence or success of another person. 

Passion 167 Strife

Strife is angry and bitter conflict. 

Passion 166 Jealousy

Jealousy is a longing and sadness for what our neighbor has.

Passion 165 Rapine

Rapine is the violent seizure of someone's property. 

Passion 164 Theft

Theft is the unlawful taking of property that belongs to another.

Passion 163 Acceptance of Bribes

Acceptance of bribes is the receiving of money or gifts for an action that violates our duty.

Saturday Afternoon at St. John's Skete- Race Day

"Do you not know that those who run in a race all run but one receives the prize, run in such a way that you may obtain it." 1 Corinthians 9:24 

Passion 162 Laxity

Laxity is a lack of strictness, rigor, and attention.

Passion 161 Breaking fasts

Breaking fasts is to prematurely relax a fast by eating early, eating more, or eating foods that were to be abstained from.

Passion 160 Matricide

Matricide is to kill one's mother.

Passion 159 Patricide

Patricide is the killing of one's father.

Passion 158 Partiality

Partiality is treating people differently based on the external standards like wealth, power, and status.

Passion 157 Hatred of one's brothers

Hatred of one's brothers is to have contempt or dislike for those we should be closest to.

Passion 156 Lack of Compassion

A lack of compassion is to be unaware of our neighbor's suffering and fail to try to alleviate it.

Saturday Afternoon at St. John's Skete- The forerunner

"There is an evil spirit, called the forerunner, who assails us as soon as we awake from sleep and defiles our first thought." - St. John Climacus

Passion 155 Oathtaking

Oathtaking is to solemnly swear and needs to be avoided if done falsely or without a grave cause.