Category: The Morning Offering

And the Church as the Hospital for the Healing of the Soul Our Orthodox Faith defines sin as an illness that is in need of healing, not as a crime that requires punishment. The Church is a hospital for the soul whose therapists (priests) first sought therapy and then became

We Must Pass on the Gift of Love My father was a golf pro in Spokane, Washington, during my grade and early middle school years, and the country club was the center of our family’s social life. My brother, Dwayne, and I used to play an average of 18 to

We Must be Prepared for the Storms that Abound The past few days I have addressed the issue of young Orthodox Christians and their college experience, suggesting that they must be prepared to defend their faith in a challenging, secular setting. The truth is, all of us need to be

Preparing for the Challenging of Your Orthodox Faith My article titled, “The Orthodox College Student” was well received in many quarters, but I did hear from one individual who took exception to what they perceived as a desire on my part to disallow our young people from having their beliefs

The Challenge of Staying Orthodox in an Anti-Christian Environment The summer months are coming to a close and many young people will be facing the prospect of heading off to college, some for the very first time. A scripture passage comes to my mind as I think of these wonderful

Fighting off Negative Thoughts Allows Christ to Change Us Our thoughts really do have an impact on our world. Negative thoughts about family members or fellow employees change our relationships. If we dislike someone at work and allow ourselves to think poorly of them, they are likely to fulfill our

My thoughts on the Oneness of Creation There is no formal doctrine in the Orthodox Church concerning the afterlife for animals, including our pets. Those Fathers of the Church who have expressed themselves on this matter were simply expressing theological opinions that have not become universally accepted, and remain known

Manifesting God’s Love in Times of Tragedy Chaplains minister to people whose lives have been turned upside down, with the loss of a child, the death of a spouse, the trauma of a fatal car accident, or a homicide. Chaplains serve as God’s presence on murder scenes, or house fires.

Planting Seeds of Faith in the Land of My People A number of years ago while visiting Holy Cross Monastery in West Virginia, one of their young monks drove me to Pennsylvania, into the heart of Amish  country. While wandering around in a large hardware store that sold off the

We Christians are not to give ourselves over to fate The cultural and spiritual warfare that is taking place between the “Christian” West, and the Islamic Middle East, together with the extreme climate changes taking place around the world, have become a source of concern for many. Coupled with the