Glory to God For All Things

March 25, 2016

You Are Not Your Sin – Part 2…the Chains that Bind

Imagine that you have been shackled with chains on your ankles. The chains are heavy, make a lot of noise, and make it impossible for you to run. You cannot successfully climb over anything or dance. The chains are heavy enough that you quickly become exhausted and are limited in the things you can do […]
Read more: You Are Not Your Sin – Part 2…the Chains that Bind
Atonement, Hell, Modernity, Orthodox Christianity, Pascha, Personhood, Reflections, Salvation
March 24, 2016

You Are Not Your Sin

Shame is powerful. Having begun writing on the topic, it is important to say more. The Tradition, particularly in the texts that discuss the spiritual life, contains many references to shame. In recent times, it has become a topic within the field of psychology and in the community surrounding recovery from drugs and alcohol. Strangely, […]
Read more: You Are Not Your Sin
Atonement, Hell, Modernity, Morality, Pascha, Reflections
March 22, 2016

Knowing the Knowledge that Transforms

“If only I had known…” These are, not infrequently, the words of an apology. They are also an explanation of why we are sometimes the way we are. Ignorance is, in the mind of the Fathers, a major cause of sin. Of course, if sin is understood in a legal/forensic framework, then ignorance would […]
Read more: Knowing the Knowledge that Transforms
Knowledge of God, Last Things, Morality, Mystical Theology, Reflections, Repentance, Salvation
March 21, 2016

The True Science of God

I had occasion this week to stand in a group of scientists. I was burying one of their own. The city I live in is a “science city,” the location of one of the primary national labs in the US. I have lived here for over 25 years. I have gotten to know many scientists. […]
Read more: The True Science of God
Asceticism, Knowledge of God, Mystical Theology, Reflections, The Journey of Faith
March 18, 2016

The Matter of our Salvation

Perhaps the most obvious thing for a visitor to an Orthodox Church are the presence and place of icons. They are literally everywhere. Some Churches are covered completely with iconography and no Orthodox Church is ever without them. That Churches are so decorated might not strike someone as unusual. After all, many Catholic Churches, particularly […]
Read more: The Matter of our Salvation
Communion, Icons, Modernity, Reflections, The Sacraments
March 15, 2016

Justice, Forgiveness and Bearing a Little Shame

This morning I read a headline in the newspaper: “We will get justice.” In the relentless cycle of the daily news, the report was of the discovery of a young woman who had been murdered. It seemed a completely appropriate response by the law officer in charge of the investigation. His words doubtless echoed the […]
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Cross, Enemies, Forgiveness, Reflections, Union with God
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 […]
Read more: Forgiveness – The Hardest Love of All
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

Matthew, Indeed.

Thank-You Father. Yes. Communion. Eucharist. Lord have mercy upon us all.

Mary Benton, and Matthew W. Mary, yes, in its chapter context, that proverb (“drink water from your own cistern”) is…

I think I must step back – Whether St. Francis is a recognized St. or not – I will always…

Hi Fr. Stephen (and other friends), I stopped in here this evening after a long absence only to find the…