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Now Lay Aside All Earthly Cares
Read more: Now Lay Aside All Earthly CaresThis youtube video has the music of Tchaikovsky’s Cherubimic Hymn. Let us who mystically represent the Cherubim and sing the thrice holy hymn to life-creating Trinity, now lay aside all earthly cares that we may receive the King of All who comes mystically upborne by the angelic hosts. Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.
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A Day at a Time
Read more: A Day at a TimeOne of my favorite books, for many years, has been Solzhenitsyn’s One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich: A Novel. It’s hard at first thought to say what draws me to the book (I’ve probably read it ten times). It makes occasional remarks that are religious but it would not be described as an […]
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The One Thing Needful
Read more: The One Thing NeedfulHaving spent half of the last week at Sts. Mary and Martha Monastery, it is unavoidable to think about these Holy Myrrhbearers. Among those who were the first witnesses of Christ’s resurrection, these Myrrhbearing women are perhaps better known for their conversations with Christ when he visited in their home and at the time of […]
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Why is Love so difficult?
Read more: Why is Love so difficult?As I’ve noted, I’m on retreat with about 15 youth at a monastery. Our topic has been freedom and love – the two most important things necessary in our journey to become fully what God has created us to be. It’s not a complicated subject. “Everybody’s in favor of love,” Fr. Thomas Hopko says. What […]
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On the Shoulders of Giants
Read more: On the Shoulders of GiantsOne of the peculiar things (though not really) about the Orthodox Church in America (and by this I mean all the jurisdictions) is the fact that in a little over 200 years on this continent, we have been blessed by the showing forth of many saints. And not only have saints been shown forth, but many […]
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From a Monastery in the Deep South
Read more: From a Monastery in the Deep SouthI am leading a retreat with young teens this week. All prayers are welcome. This is my evening break time to read comments and relax a moment. My thanks to my wife for checking on comments during the day and clearing the spam. The joy is to be with youth and to here their voices […]
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The Level of Difficulty
Read more: The Level of DifficultyIn the past weeks and months I have posts entitled, “How hard is it?” “How much is enough?” “How Much is Too Little?” “What is at Stake?” In all of these I have pointed towards the maximum as the standard by which we live the Christian faith – even if we cannot live at the […]
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Music from Heaven
Read more: Music from HeavenI thought all might enjoy this singing from Russia, written by Chesnikov, it is marked by his love of Basso Profundo. I think of it as praising God from the very bottom of your feet.
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On Hope in God alone and on Confidence in Him
Read more: On Hope in God alone and on Confidence in HimAlthough, as we have said, it is very important not to rely on our own efforts in this unseen warfare, at the same time, if we merely give up hope of ourselves and despair of ourselves without having found another support, we are certain to flee immediately from the battlefield or to be overcome and […]
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A Prayer Request
Read more: A Prayer RequestI was deeply embarrassed when I came home this evening, checked the web site and found that a flagrant piece of filth had managed to slip through the various screenings and post itself on my site. I apologize to any who may have seen it before I was able to remove it. I will continue […]
Manfred, Matthew, I think it’s not incorrect to say that “Christendom” has breathed its last breath in Western Europe…but that’s…