Category: Orthodox Christianity
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May God Bless Your Day
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A Sidebar Addition
Despite maintaining a blog site – I confess to being somewhat technology-challenged. Thus my site is not normally an example of the latest design, etc. However, I just learned how to use a piece of blog technology to enhance my sidebar. I have added a “vodpod widget” – meaning there is now a small collection…
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Why Should Beauty Matter?
Reflecting on my last two posts, The Nature of Things and Our Salvation and Beauty and the Salvation of the World, I have a question: What is the nature of things such that beauty should matter? It is a commonplace in our culture to think that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” (rendering…
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The Nature of Things – And Our Salvation
Reflecting on yesterday’s post, I thought it worthwhile to share these thoughts again on the nature of our salvation. It offers a short summary of the difference between a moral and an existential understanding of the Christian faith and why the difference matters. Indeed, as I look through my writings I know this is a…
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Personal Issues
The title of this post is quite misleading – for in proper theological language – there are no “personal issues.” Our culture is quite fond of issues – both the politico-entertainment industry – and many individuals. It is a word and a phenomenon that has been baptized by the culture such that “being concerned with…
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Prayers By the Lake XXV – Prayers for the Departed
This poem is from the collection of poems by St. Nikolai Velimirovich, the great 20th century Serbian saint. The Church continues its journey through the 50 days of Pascha and will conclude the feast with the celebration of the Feast of Pentecost (Troitsa) at the end of which the Kneeling Prayers are offered where (among…
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Negative Thoughts and the Communion of Prayer
To pray for someone else means that, because of the good disposition of our heart towards him, we help him to resist the negative thoughts that he may have, and not without cause, about us. On the contrary, not to pray for someone else means that we justify by our lack of love the negative…
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The Kindness of Strangers
I am sitting in the Dallas airport, waiting for my departure time, tired and ready to return to Tennessee. As always, my time in Dallas has been largely spent in Church and has been more than I could have imagined. This year (or at least this visit) I have been increasingly aware of the “community”…
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The Price of the Liturgy
We celebrate the Liturgy together. But we must pay what this costs: each one must be concerned for the salvation of all. Our life is an endless martyrdom. The Elder Sophrony +++ The Divine Liturgy (the Holy Eucharist) is not a ritual action of the Church which we attend, as though it were some sort…
I think many of you here will be pleased to know that my niece delivered a baby boy! His name…