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Suffering in a One-Storey Universe
Read more: Suffering in a One-Storey UniverseA comment on a previous post which mentioned the Biblical and patristic teaching that we should “give thanks to God for all things” has been an occasion for personal reflection – the substance of which forms this present post. For those who wrestle with the inherent difficulties of giving thanks for all things – I […]
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Whom God Would Have Us Be
Read more: Whom God Would Have Us BeWhen man stands before the throne of God, when he has fulfilled all that God has given him to fulfill, when all sins are forgiven, all joy restored, then there is nothing else for him to do but to give thanks. Eucharist (thanksgiving) is the state of perfect man. Eucharist is the life of paradise. […]
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Falling Short
Read more: Falling ShortI fail. We fail. It’s just how things are. It is not a conspiracy or the judgment of God or a universe arrayed against us – we simply fall short. At times falling short is nothing less than embarrassing. This is especially so if we have raised our own expectations as well as the expectations […]
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Believe It or Not
Read more: Believe It or NotI have to confess as I begin this post that I find myself reaching for words. I reach for words to say something I know, but which is hard to express. To believe the truth is not the same thing as having a correct opinion – indeed the two have almost nothing to do with one another. And […]
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The Boldness of Prayer
Read more: The Boldness of PrayerIn the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, at the end of the litany that precedes the Lord’s Prayer, the priest intones: And make us worthy, O Master, that with boldness and without condemnation, we may dare to call upon Thee, the heavenly God, as Father, and to say: Our Father… It is a phrase that […]
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The Fullness of All Things
Read more: The Fullness of All ThingsI am fascinated by what the Holy Tradition does with the idea of “fullness” or “fulfillment.” The Church is described as the “fullness of Him that filleth all in all” (Ephesians 1:23). And it is not unusual for Orthodox Christians to express the meaning of Orthodoxy under the rubric of “fullness”: Orthodoxy is the “fullness […]
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Why Would Anyone Want to Forgive an Enemy?
Read more: Why Would Anyone Want to Forgive an Enemy?That Christians are commanded by Christ to forgive their enemies is common knowledge. We often take this at face value – discover immediately that it is very hard (often impossible) and conclude that the commandment is an unachievable ideal. For non-Christians, forgiveness of enemies may, in some cases, be a shared ideal (most people believe […]
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Now That We’ve Come to the End of the World
Read more: Now That We’ve Come to the End of the WorldAnd although in the course of their long history Christians have much too often forgotten the meaning of the cross, and enjoyed life as if “nothing had happened,” although each one of us too often takes “time off” – we know that in the world in which Christ died, “natural life” has been brought to […]
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The End of Religion
Read more: The End of ReligionChristianity…is in a profound sense the end of all religion. In the Gospel story of the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus made this clear. “‘Sir,’ the woman said to him, ‘I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men […]
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Even If I Descend into Hell…
Read more: Even If I Descend into Hell…Charles Williams, one of C.S. Lewis’ circle of friends, once wrote a book entitled, The Descent into Hell. In it he chronicles the slow inexorable damnation of a soul. Choices made or not made – a chronicle more of spiritual ennui than of willful rebellion – it is a very sobering read. There is an […]
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Has anyone read “His Life is Mine” by Saint Sophrony? If yes, would you recommend it and can you offer…
Marianne, I read everything with caution these days. But, as far as I can see, Harrington has only engaged Camus’…
“Lou,” All language is fraught…we struggle towards the Source of language, Jesus, the Logos. May He give us words and…
Fr. Stephen — If I may remark the journey to “brokenness” is fraught. Some may say that is better than…
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Matthew, I’m not so sure I’m all that qualified to give a good recommendation, but I have read *His Life…