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The Goal of a Lesser Life
Read more: The Goal of a Lesser LifeFrom my earliest childhood, I always heard the future spoken of in superlatives: the best, the best possible, etc. There was an unspoken assumption that each human being was uniquely suited to something and that if they found that unique thing and worked at it, they could become the best at something. Some of my […]
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The Communion of Friends
Read more: The Communion of FriendsYou meet someone and like them. You slowly get to know them. Conversation and sharing, listening and learning, a picture or a reality begin to emerge. You think about them when they’re away. You’re aware that you matter to them as well. The thought of anything hurting them is painful. This is friendship. We easily reduce […]
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Amateur Christianity
Read more: Amateur ChristianityFor years, there was a term that described non-professional sports (sports played without pay). The term was “amateur,” from the Latin root for “love.” Amateurs were those who played for the “love of the game.” They played at their leisure. There is not an assumption that professionals have no love of the game – but, […]
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The Ascetic Imperative – A Matter of Communion
Read more: The Ascetic Imperative – A Matter of CommunionAmong the more interesting experiences in my life was the two years spent in a Christian commune. It was not West Coast fancy, much less connected to anything historic such as the Bruderhof. It started with two very zealous Jesus freaks (myself and a friend), an apartment, and something of a necessity thrust on us […]
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Playing with God
Read more: Playing with GodThere are things that children understand instinctively. And the things that children know and understand are worth consideration. They have much to teach us. Among the most natural things children do is play. Depending on how you define play, it is among the first activities in which we engage. It comes to dominate the lives […]
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To Know Even As We Are Known
Read more: To Know Even As We Are KnownThe Scriptures bid us to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” On its face, it is an odd statement. In a number of languages, the word for knowing is related to the word for seeing. Again, there is a sensory element (taste and see) in the acquisition of knowledge. “Adam knew his wife, […]
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Our Conciliar Existence – Love
Read more: Our Conciliar Existence – LoveWe all live in an ecumenical council. We are not all bishops summoned by an Emperor, nor are we great fathers of the Church gathered to declare the deepest wisdom. Nevertheless, we live in an ecumenical council – every minute of every day – and the same test that ever faced the luminaries of the […]
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Remembering the End
Read more: Remembering the EndOrthodox Christianity often seems inherently conservative. The unyielding place that tradition holds within its life seems ready-made for a conservative bulwark against a world all-too-ready to forget everything that is good or beautiful. There are subtle but important distinctions that make this treatment of Orthodoxy misleading and can lead to the distortion of the faith […]
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The Sacrament of All Things
Read more: The Sacrament of All ThingsHow many sacraments does the Orthodox Church have? This is a question that an inquiring 16th century European might have posed. The Catholics had seven, while the Lutherans (and some other Protestants) said there were only two. “Of course,” thought the Orthodox in struggling to answer a question that had never been spoken in the […]
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The Everything of Orthodoxy
Read more: The Everything of Orthodoxy“He can’t see the forest for the trees,” the saying goes. It’s a recognition that attention to detail can obscure an overall pattern. Of course, someone could respond by saying, “He’s so overwhelmed with the forest that he can’t see the trees.” In point of fact, human beings are hard-wired for both trees and forest, […]
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Fr. Stephen, Your article touches on a very valid and essential “misguidedness” of modern culture. If I may, I would…
Of course I knew the quote from St. Paul, and it happens that I memorized that quote from St. Macarius…
Fr. Stephen, For me the world of Winnie the Pooh is a representation of broken people interacting together the best…
I can relate, Matthew. I’m not competitive or ambitious for much of what this world defines as valuable. And it’s…
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