Glory to God For All Things

March 5, 2017

Put Your Money to Work – It’s for Your Salvation

And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. (Luk 16:9) I recall a conversation long ago with a young, up-and-coming entrepreneur. He was a new member of the parish I was serving (Anglican). We had been speaking about […]
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Mercy, Reflections, Salvation
February 27, 2017

The Danger and Shame of Forgiveness

Forgiveness is so terribly hard. On a psychological level, it feels dangerous. The shame engendered by any insult or injury is our experience of vulnerability, and we instinctively react to protect ourselves. That, we must understand, is not a sin, it is an instinct that is a gift from God. The example of Christ, who […]
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Enemies, Forgiveness, Reflections, Repentance
February 23, 2017

Forgiveness for All the Sundays to Come

I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; (John17:20-21) The Elder Sophrony, together with St. Silouan, wrote about the “whole Adam.” By this, they meant all the human beings who have ever existed and those yet to come. They were, for them, something known […]
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Cross, Dostoevsky, Forgiveness, Reflections
February 20, 2017

Standing at the Judgment Seat of Christ

“Icons do with color what Scripture does with words.” This statement by the 7th Council aptly describes the work of an icon – but fails to do justice to the reality. Scripture, as words to be read, necessarily becomes linear – words follow words and cannot be read except in the order in which […]
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Cross, Last Things, Reflections
February 16, 2017

A Cruciform Providence

The entire mystery of the economy of our salvation consists in the self-emptying and abasement of the Son of God – St. Cyril of Alexandria Trust in the providence of God is much more than a general theory of how things are arranged in our lives and in the world. We tend to discuss the […]
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Cross, Modernity, Reflections, Thankfulness, Union with God
February 12, 2017

Providence and the Guarded Heart

Imagine that you have been sentenced to seven years in a labor camp. The Church is weak, often riddled with spies, while the state proclaims that it is building a better world through its brutal efforts. Many of the laws specifically target the Church and activities within its normal life. Already in your lifetime, you […]
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Knowledge of God, Modernity, Reflections, Secularism, Thankfulness
February 5, 2017

Honor, Subversion and the Kingdom of God

Many who read the New Testament see it as advocating for and supporting the oppressive structures of its time. They argue that it is patriarchal and pro-slavery. St. Paul’s instructions for slaves to obey their masters is thus seen as an endorsement of slavery as an institution. His admonition, though, belongs to a category of […]
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Modernity, Reflections, Secularism
February 2, 2017

Church and State Are Not Separate – They Are at War

There are ideas that are so common, so oft-repeated, that they are critically examined only with great difficulty. Among the most powerful such ideas is the concept described as the “separation of Church and State.” The history of the phrase is its own study (it’s not actually in the Constitution, much less the Bible). It […]
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Church, Culture, Modernity, Reflections, Secularism, The Church
January 30, 2017

Democratic Madness

Dostoevsky’s The Demons tells the story of a revolution within the context of a small village and a handful of personalities. The strange mix of philosophy and neurosis, crowd psychology and fashionable disdain for tradition all come together in the madness of a bloodbath. It is a 19th century Helter Skelter that presciently predicted the century to come. Our own […]
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Modernity, Reflections, Salvation, The Church, The Sacraments
January 27, 2017

Politics and the Kingdom of God

The modern project holds that the world can be improved and made better. It also holds that human beings can be improved and made better. And finally, it holds that the means of that improvement and betterment are political. Modernity began only partly as a philosophical assertion. It found its voice first, and foremost, in […]
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Modernity, Reflections, Secularism, The Church, Tradition

David, I heard a series of talks done by Fr. Maximus on this topic at a retreat for OCA clergy.…

Fayez, The prayer for the blessing of the waters is essentially the same as the prayer over the waters of…

Father bless, New Rome press announced some time ago an ambitious project to publish translations of the major works of…

A beautiful reflection Father, just I am wondering; do we consider the prayer of blessing water in Epiphany one of…

Matthew, I think the Enlightenment raised some useful questions viz. rational questioning. I think it also came up with reductionist…