Glory to God For All Things

March 14, 2016

Why We Forgive

There are many ways to think about forgiveness, not all of them true or helpful. It is easily the most emotionally and psychologically difficult aspect of the Christian life revealing both the power of trauma as well as the tenacity of lingering memories. The directness of Christ’s commandments (“forgive your enemies”) and the consequences of […]
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Enemies, Forgiveness, Knowledge of God, Modernity, Morality, Reflections, Union with God
March 10, 2016

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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Dostoevsky, Forgiveness, Reflections, Repentance
March 9, 2016

Forgiveness – The Hardest Love of All

I cannot think that any of my readers is a stranger to forgiveness, either the need to be forgiven or the need to forgive. The need to forgive, according to the commandment of Christ, extends well beyond those who ask for our forgiveness: we are commanded to forgive our enemies – whom I presume would […]
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Enemies, Forgiveness, Repentance
March 7, 2016

Judgment with a Mixed Bag

If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy […]
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Interpretation, Last Things, Reflections, Salvation, Scripture
March 7, 2016

Knowing Saints

There are many stories of saints in the Orthodox world, including contemporary ones. Their biographies are sometimes remarkable, sometimes not. Their stories are occasionally marked by miracles, but not always. I cannot think of a single characteristic that makes them like one another apart from their sanctity. And that quality does not make them so […]
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Personhood, Reflections, Relics, Saints, Saints and Tradition
March 2, 2016

It’s A Crying Shame

Orthodox Christians make a beginning of their Lenten discipline with the forgiving of everyone for everything (theoretically). This is expressed in the rite of forgiveness which is part of Vespers on the Sunday of Cheesefare. The ritual expression of forgiveness can easily and often be little more than a ritual. It reminds us of the […]
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Forgiveness, Knowledge of God, Mystical Theology, Orthodox Christianity, Reflections
February 29, 2016

Self-Emptying Prayer

We are told that Christ “emptied Himself” in His death on the Cross (Philippians 2:5-11). Further, we are told that this self-emptying is to be the “mind” that we ourselves have. It is possible to grasp that such self-emptying can be practiced in our dealings with others when we place them above ourselves – when […]
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Asceticism, Knowledge of God, Orthodox Christianity, Prayer, Reflections, Repentance, Union with God
February 25, 2016

The Change We Should Believe In

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2Co 3:18) Among the many losses within modern Christianity has been the place of transformation. Nineteenth-century revival movements and theology […]
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Asceticism, Morality, Reflections, Union with God
February 22, 2016

When Words Fail – The End of Morality

I can think of two experiences where words fail: before the presence of God and in the presence of deep shame. The first is too great and too wondrous for words, the second too bitter and painful. Both are essential for our humanity if it is to be lived to the fullest. They represent not […]
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Morality, Reflections, Repentance, Union with God
February 17, 2016

Feeling Like a Fool

No one wants to feel like a fool. When it happens, our faces flush, we turn our eyes away (usually towards the ground). We usually want to hide or disappear, and, just as likely the burn in our face quickly passes to the hot burn of anger. Often what follows are words or actions we […]
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C.S. Lewis, Cross, Dostoevsky, Knowledge of God, Orthodox Christianity, Reflections, Salvation, The Journey of Faith

Dee, did you get my email with links re Mat. Olga’s glorification this weekend?? Dana (Please forgive the interruption, Father…

Shannon, Your question is quite important – and it is surprising to some to learn that the Eastern Church does…

Shannon, There’s is nothing in Scripture the characterizes sacrifice as something made to pay or appease the wrath of God.…

Father, I have loved this article and the picture you share with it for many years now. It is comforting…

So if PSA is all wrong how does the church interpret Ephesians 5:2 and Isaiah 53:6? And others…