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Words as Icons
Read more: Words as IconsCreation has a sacramental purpose: it reveals God. For from the first making of the world, those things of God which the eye is unable to see, that is, his eternal power and existence, are fully made clear, he having given the knowledge of them through the things which he has made (Rom. 1:20) This […]
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Taking My Mental Shoes Off
Read more: Taking My Mental Shoes OffI approach spirituality as a social scientist who believes that whether or not God exists, spirituality is a deep part of human nature, shaped by natural selection and cultural evolution, and central to human flourishing and self-transcendence. – Jon Haidt The above quote is a sentiment that I see more and more often these days. It […]
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Rest for Your Soul
Read more: Rest for Your SoulIf…then… Among the most alluring ideas in our lives are the notions of cause and effect, performance and award. Nothing seems more soothing than the simple promise that doing one thing leads to the reward of the other. It is predictable, subject to control, clearly delineates the rules of reward and punishment and makes obvious […]
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The Good That Lies Within
Read more: The Good That Lies WithinThere is this famous quote from Alexander Solzhenitsyn: The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either — but right through every human heart — and through all human hearts. This line shifts. Inside us, it oscillates with the years. And even within hearts overwhelmed by […]
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A Law for All Seasons
Read more: A Law for All SeasonsFrom the screenplay of A Man for all Seasons: William Roper: So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law! Sir Thomas More: Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil? William Roper: Yes, I’d cut down every law in England to do that! Sir […]
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Screwtape and the Wisdom of a Four-Year-Old Boy
Read more: Screwtape and the Wisdom of a Four-Year-Old BoyWhen my son was four, he wrote a prayer to St. Michael. We had placed a small statue of St. Michael on his chest-of-drawers. It was classic: St. Michael in Roman soldier’s outfit with a drawn sword, and the devil beneath his foot. It seemed to have made a strong impression on my son. His […]
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Theophany – Showing the World to be the World
Read more: Theophany – Showing the World to be the WorldI was standing beside the Jordan River, somewhere along its trek through Israel. I was with a group of pilgrims led by Met. Kallistos Ware gathered for the Great Blessing of the Waters. Somehow, it seemed that I was the only priest who had brought an epitrachelion (stole), so I loaned it to the Metropolitan […]
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The Calendar Is Not On Your Phone
Read more: The Calendar Is Not On Your PhoneTwice-a-year, my mind wanders into a bit of a panic when we move the clocks forward or backward and hour. I’ve had the “time-change” explained to me ever so many times, but I still find myself having to think, “Is it ‘fall back’ or ‘fall forwards,’ etc.” for it is completely reasonable to do either. […]
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Hiding in Plain Sight
Read more: Hiding in Plain SightIn the time of their visitation they will shine forth, and will run like sparks through the stubble. (Wisdom 3:7) ____ The story is told of St. Macarius that he was falsely accused of fathering a child by a young woman in the village. After being beaten and humiliated by the people there, he returned […]
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PS Matthew, perhaps more to your point, even in times when I realized I had done something I was very…
Matthew asked: Might repentance be the need to turn away from my own shame and guilt toward the open arms…
Matthew, Language in describing these things can be so problematic! We say (in a particular Orthodox Prayer) that God is…
“the fundamental character of our relationship with God: Salvation is communion. Sin is an enduring shame.” I really like this,…
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Thanks Janine and Fr. Stephen. For so long I have had such a toxic view of God. This blog is…