Category: Reflections
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Bearing Shame With Christ
Public shaming is a commonplace in our culture. Public stocks and tar-and-feathering have disappeared, but shaming itself is as up-to-date as the internet itself. I well imagine that some view the use of ridicule and derision as an inherent part of public life. Those who enjoy the accolades of crowds must be prepared to endure…
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The Modest Work of Salvation
There is something strangely quiet about the work of salvation. I can think of few things quieter than the exchange between the Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary. The entire cosmos was undergoing a radical transformation (God becoming man) while the entire interchange might have been whispered. No one noticed that anything was going on.…
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Riding the Tsunami of History
There are periods of history that fascinate me, particularly if their events can be felt in our present world. My method of study is to read multiple works with a focus on detailed accounts and only a minor amount of analysis. The past couple of years, my attention has been drawn to periods of plagues…
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The Ladder of Your Daily Life
Perhaps the most prominent ladder in our culture is the one associated with careers. It is an image of the American road to success. We begin at or near the bottom and, step by step, make our way towards the top. It is a metaphor that works well with our modern notions of hard work,…
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Hopko on the Cross of Christ
An excerpt from a commencement address at St. Vladimir’s Seminary in 2007, given by Fr. Thomas Hopko. It is deeply worthy of conversation. I first posted this back in June, 2007, when it was “new.” That which is true is always new and timeless. …I can tell you that being loved by God, and loving…
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Freedom and the Self
This past Sunday on the Orthodox Church commemorated St. Gregory Palamas – perhaps the most significant theologian and teacher of the late Byzantine period. He is particularly important when considering the nature of the Christian experience of God. Orthodoxy believes that it is truly possible to know God though He remains unknowable. The mystery of…
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St. Patrick’s Protection Against Secularism
The nature of secularism is the notion that anything at all exists apart from God – that is – that it has an independent existence. This is the very heart of modernity’s self-understanding: the world and all that is in it is self-existing and does not require God for its existence or well-being. This is…
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The Forgiveness of Children
I was sitting during our service of Forgiveness Vespers. I’m getting older and I was tired. The senior priest was leading the service and I was sitting quietly, steeling myself for the “Rite of Forgiveness” (where everyone forgives everyone) that was to follow. It takes time to do this when there are hundreds of people…
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A Modern Lent
Few things are as difficult in the modern world as fasting. It is not simply the action of changing our eating habits that we find problematic – it’s the whole concept of fasting and what it truly entails. It comes from another world. We understand dieting – changing how we eat in order to improve…
This is a very old post, and I dont know if you respond to things 14 years after you wrote…