I never know quite how these things work, but I awoke this morning with the tune and words of “Open to me the Gates of Repentance.” It invariably set the tone of my morning’s thought and the background for the better part of the day. It occurred to me, reflecting, that forgiveness, like repentance,…

Every human thought, every human word, is energy, a force. And if this is true where human thought and speech are concerned, how much more so is it with the Divine word, the word of Christ. When we hear Christ’s Gospel sayings, so fragrant, so gentle and sweet – ‘Blessed are the pure in heart:…

If you’ve been reading today and wondering about articles appearing and disappearing I was doing some repair caused by my own damage. I apologize particularly to Jean-Michel for misunderstanding his translation (I am still working on my French – and non-verbal signals.) The internet can be a wonderful place and confusing at times. I have…

I have written earlier that I am an ignorant man. I am now translated into Romanian and French on that very topic. Apparently my 15 minutes of fame will come as an ignorant man. That’s doubtless a good thing. But as we near the time that Orthodox Christians approach one another and ask forgiveness (Great…

Though we do well to spend time speaking of the heart it is also important that it not be somehow viewed separate from the rest of us. The heart is not only the seat of our encounter with God, it is also the place where our own evil thoughts may emanate. What comes from the…

Sometimes I sit down to write with an idea and I know that I am either getting ready to write something good, or something really bad. That is how I feel about this particularly topic. I have good feelings about it because I am writing about something that is close to my heart and which…

I had the privilege two weeks ago to be in Detroit, Michigan, together with my wife, and to speak at the Faith of Our Fathers Colloquim – an event to share Orthodoxy with with interested Anglicans and others. Those who spoke were mostly, like myself, former Episcopal priests who had been received into Orthodoxy at…

I begin teaching a class tomorrow, under the umbrella of our local community college – there are usually 40 to 50 non-Orthodox who attend these weekly classes. But my subject is “Christ and the God of the Old Testament.” From many conversations over the years I hear more confusion about the Old Testament from Christians…

Apparently like many around this part of Tennessee, I’ve been ill with a flu of sorts the last 24 hours. This is only the second time to look at the computer. I’ve had to miss several services, but pray to be able to be back at the altar tomorrow morning. I would appreciate your prayers…

In my early exposure to Orthodoxy, I became intrigued with the term, “Soul Saturday.” My family would visit a monastery not too far away for their annual pilgrimage that occured on one of the weekends of a “Soul Saturday.” This is term from popular parlance, the more proper English title of the event is a…