Glory to Jesus Christ. I'm Mother Natalia, a Byzantine Catholic nun from Christ the bridegroom

monastery and this is Pines with Aquinas. I've been praying a lot recently with

Abraham and I'd like to share with you three

lessons that have come to me through him some of them a couple of years ago, and one of them just very recent, and that's the one that I'll share first.

I should be more precise in my language. These are not all three lessons from Abraham. Actually the first two are from

Abram right before he becomes Abraham and the last is from after his covenant once he goes by Abraham.

So the first of the three lessons,

like I said, just came this morning. I've been having a really difficult exchange with someone,

someone that I love very much,

and this exchange has been over email which is not ideal but it's

what we have so in this exchange the other person asked me very directly what my thoughts and feelings are about a

particular thing.

And I knew that I had to answer in truth, and I knew that they were not going to be happy to receive that truth.

And I realized that I have a lot of fear in this relationship.

Because this person that I'm talking to, this loved one,

really has the power to wound me.

They know the tender places of my heart.

They know, I've known them for many years and they know exactly what to say that's going to hit all of the

worst places.

So before sending them this email in which I shared with them the truth that I knew I needed to,

in all gentleness and all charity as much as I could, I was really just paralyzed by this fear. The image over the past few days

as I've been praying about what my response should be.

...