Light Streams In

The Fiery Coal that Burns the Unworthy 10.09.2023 ↓

So if I’m unworthy… why am I drawing near?

God's Providence 03.09.2023 ↓

We can be so sure that we know what we want, what we need — but truly, we have no idea.

The Infinite Temple of the Living God 11.06.2023 ↓

Is it time to go on a journey to find the Infinite Temple of the Living God? Yes. Yes, it is.

The Heart Must Break 04.06.2023 ↓

Elissa is joined by friend Lucas Postolos, as the two consider the idea that the heart must break so that God’s word can slip in.

The Empress St. Helena 21.05.2023 ↓

On St. Helena, and pilgrimage and incarnation, on the material and the spiritual, and putting our feet in the grass.

To the Pure... 14.05.2023 ↓

Thinking about making peace with our personal histories, and finding God’s providence at work all the time.

Not One Dead Remains in the Grave 23.04.2023 ↓

Elissa contemplates language — and specifically, the language of Pascha — and the amazing truths that are just sometimes too big to comprehend.

Holy Week is like the Grand Canyon 12.04.2023 ↓

We just had to bring you this little conversation with Lindsay Karant.

Pascha in the Present Tense 06.04.2023 ↓

As we enter into the one Great and Holy Pascha (the same one every year!) we find that time gets a little goofy, and the most profound paradoxes abound.

St. Mary of Egypt 29.03.2023 ↓

As we celebrate the Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt, we slow down to consider how profoundly God wants to transform us, and how our relationships change when we become the people we were meant to be.

Holy Cross 19.03.2023 ↓

Where’d you get that cross?

Now 14.03.2023 ↓

In honor of St. Gregory Palamas, we consider how his teachings speak to us in our modern, lay context — and ask how we can try to meet God in the present moment.

Devour Your Brother 05.03.2023 ↓

As we work our way through Great Lent, let’s not devour our brothers.

Humble Lent 26.02.2023 ↓

On why keeping it simple and small may be the best way to do Lent.

The Last Judgment 16.02.2023 ↓

What does it mean to be judged, and how do we prepare ourselves for it?

Pilgrims and Progress 12.02.2023 ↓

We love progress — but it does bring all sorts of unexpected and unintended consequences, even to our spiritual lives.

The Thrill of Going Deeper 05.02.2023 ↓

Like a child allowed to explore deeper waters, there’s a thrill in following Christ ever farther…

Praying for Each Other 29.01.2023 ↓

Sometimes your prayer rule comes from a spiritual father, and sometimes it comes from your friends.

Money: Where the Rubber Hits the Road 22.01.2023 ↓

Inspired by a conversation in Sunday School, Elissa muses about our attachment to money, and its relationship to the spiritual life.

Loneliness and Listening 15.01.2023 ↓

America has a loneliness crisis — what does that mean, and what can we do to help?

Out with The Old, In with The New! 04.01.2023 ↓

As the new year dawns and we approach Theophany, Elissa considers the confluence of old and new, and what that can look like as a modern American approaching Orthodoxy.

Celebrating the Incarnation 18.12.2022 ↓

Contemplating the “true meaning of Christmas” - er… Nativity.

Creation Praises You Forever 11.12.2022 ↓

Creation knows its Creator, and praises Him forever. Elissa reads through the Kontakion of the Nativity and a few Psalms, considering nature’s praises.

Let’s Agree to Disagree 04.12.2022 ↓

Elissa is joined by Katrina Bitar, Director of YES (Youth Equipped to Serve), who offers her reflections from the YES Series on Agreeing to Disagree.

Forgiveness and Monastery Walls 27.11.2022 ↓

Christ calls us to endless forgiveness, but how do we put this into action in our daily lives? And what if we don’t WANT to forgive?