Taking Orthodoxy Beyond the Self-Congratulatory We must guard against noticing when another parishioner seems careless in the making of the sign of the cross, while we go about demonstrating for all around us, the proper way. Making sweeping signs of the cross that are done in such a way as
Category: The Morning Offering
Serving the Great Men and Women Who Serve Us All It has been a great blessing for me to have been serving as a police and fire chaplain for the past twenty some years. My interest in chaplaincy began when I was asked by a number of inmates to serve
Living our Orthodox Faith in a Multicultural Society Orthodoxy by its very nature is a demanding religion, one that requires her faithful to fully embrace a lifestyle that is in opposition to the world about us. The many periods of fasting and the practice of standing for our services are
How can we possibly love everyone? We are instructed by Christ to love our neighbors as ourselves, and even to love our enemies. There are always individuals who come into our lives that we find difficult to like, let alone love. Given this, how do we follow the commandment of
Forever United As One With Christ The Church Fathers saw Orthodoxy as a Way of Life, rather than a religion. Although the Church has many of the same attributes as religion, this does not mean she is herself a religious institution. Rather, she is a Hospital for the Soul, wherein
The Christian Family is a Christ Centered Family Any good parent knows that he must love all his children equally. No favoritism should be displayed when raising children if we want them to know they are loved. Troubled children often get more attention from loving parents because mom and dad
Someone Who Knows the Truth but Consciously Rejects It If we do not believe that Christ’s very Body and Blood are received in the Eucharist, and if we do not believe that the Mother of God remained a virgin before and after the birth of her Son, we are a
A Time to be Grateful for All the Right Things The United States is one of the world’s few countries to have established a national day in which to give thanks to God for all He has given us. This day may have become a purely secular excuse, for some,
Helping the Vulnerable Requires Responsibility When people are hurting, and seeking professional help, they are vulnerable, and the trust they place in the professional makes them particularly open to exploitation. This is why we must have institutions and lines of authority that hold professionals accountable. We can not allow anyone who
We Must Become United As One Race It is important to understand that genetically, all humans are of but one race. Indians, Arabs, Jews, Caucasians, Africans, and Asians, are not different races, but rather, different ethnicities of the human race. God created all humans with the same physical characteristics, with