spirituality

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Consistency

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Consistency

During my freshman year of high school, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that turned my whole world upside down. I got diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), which can affect my ability to walk, see, balance, and feel things through my body due to nerve damage. During this season of my life, I was in and out of the hospital for months on end, I struggled with my home prayer-life, I felt isolated and alone, and it seemed that I had truly hit rock-bottom. I am very much a rhythmic/routine kind of person, and this entire situation threw my life completely off balance. I had no routine, no rhythm, what felt like no community, and no end in sight. The only thing that was semi-consistent in my life was church. While I did feel isolated and shut out at times, my family made a point to take me to Liturgy every Sunday during this struggle, even when I was in a wheelchair. Yes, it was a struggle; yes, I felt invisible; but that consistency was all I had. 

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Stillness, Part II

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Stillness, Part II

It seems a bit silly for me, of all people, to be writing this blog post. After all, I am not, by nature, a particularly “still” person. I struggle with fairly severe anxiety, and my mind tends to wander towards current or potential projects whenever I’m faced with a task that seems mundane. On the other hand, that means that I have had to think a lot about ways to achieve even the tiniest bit of stillness.

Stillness

Stillness

The world we live in is loud. Nearly everywhere we go, there’s motion and sound– conversations rise and fall, and the chatter of plans and problems and priorities is ever going. While none of this is inherently wrong, I’ve come to notice how easily all this noise piles up in my heart. After a while, it starts to feel like clutter. And in the middle of it all, I find myself longing—not just for rest, but for something deeper. I long for stillness. Not just the absence of sound, but the kind of stillness that lets the soul breathe. That sacred quiet that lets me see clearly again and remember what matters most. The Church has a word for this: hesychia—holy silence. A silence not of emptiness, but of fullness. A silence in which we can finally hear God.

Focusing on Fasting

Focusing on Fasting

In the quiet moments of our busy lives, fasting invites us into a deeper communion with God. As Orthodox Christians, the sacred tradition of fasting is a journey of the soul, a practice that transforms daily routines into opportunities for spiritual growth. Through the act of fasting, we learn to find beauty in simplicity, strength in discipline, and a profound connection with our faith. Join our interns as we share some of our favorite fasting recipes, from breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks!