God is not a Prosecutor, but a Physician The Scriptures, the works of the Early Church Fathers, and the liturgical texts of the Church, all attest to the fact that the Ancient Church did not teach that Christ’s Incarnation was intended to be a propitiation of divine righteousness. Rather, Christ
Category: The Morning Offering
Suffering is Meant to be Salvific The Lord does not allow anything beyond our power of endurance, to afflict us. Whenever difficulties come our way, we only sin if we are unwilling to endure. Suffering is meant to be salvific, for the Holy Apostle Paul tells us, “God is faithful
Why We Orthodox Christians Face East in Our Worship We Orthodox Christians collectively worship facing east. Together with our bishops and priests, we all stand before the Lord in the direction of the east. Our priests are sort of like captains of a ship, looking towards the ocean and leading
We tell ourselves we’ll do it tomorrow We all have times when we procrastinate. There is a story of a young monk who confessed to his elder that he was always struggling with procrastination. His elder told him it was his lack of faith which made it impossible for him
Avoiding Hypocrisy in Our Journey to God It is very easy to live our lives in hypocrisy if we are not mindful of the pitfalls of the spiritual life. We can become Pharisees without even noticing, if we let our Christianity be artificially lived. Living our lives as though we
The Gifts of the Lord Abound If we are attentive to all the Lord does for us, we will endure those times when our prayers seem to go unanswered. That God is not always giving us just what we think we need, in no way means he does not hear
Egoism of Worldly Educated People One of the great saints of our age, Saint Paisios of Mt. Athos, said people who are filled with egoism and pride because of their education, “resemble satellites that orbit in the sky, giving one the impression that they are stars. If, however, you observe
The Importance of Staying Connected With Family It is always sad to lose a family member in death, but it is also sad that it often takes a funeral to bring together relatives who’ve not seen each other in years. It is from this perspective that I realize I, as