The inheritance of death rather than Adam’s sin That the Orthodox Church does not accept the doctrine of original sin as espoused in the West, in no way suggests we do not need to be born anew. Orthodoxy continues the teaching of the Early Church that we inherit only the
Category: The Morning Offering
A grateful heart is fertile ground When you strive to interact with members of your family, with friends, coworkers, and all others, with respect, humility, and dignity, you lay the groundwork for the abundance of Grace needed to quicken your heart for the things of God. The soil is prepared
The lenten journey and the banishment of hell One of my favorite authors as a young man was Thomas Merton, the famous Trappist monk. In the introduction to his work New Seeds of Contemplation he wrote: “Hell was where no one has anything in common with anyone else except the
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If we are to win the battle we must focus only on our own sins When we take our eyes off our own failings, shortcomings, and sins, we notice the failings of others. As the sins of others get our attention, our focus turns away from our own struggles with
When we forget the things of God The Lenten struggle is a perfect time to do battle with the passions that create a state of unrest in our hearts. Anything that causes us to forget the goal, which is union with God, must be resisted. Saint Basil the Great tells
How we as Christian adults must shine Christ’s love into a fallen world In a way the Church Fathers did not really specifically address the subject of “bullying”, but more so spoke of the inhumane behaviour of man to man in a general sense. “Bullying” itself might be seen as
Our friends in high places We Orthodox are known for our veneration of the saints, recognizing as we do the truth that there is no separation between the Church Militant, here on earth, and the Church Triumphant, in heaven. In the Divine Services we are not gathered together alone as
Real humility is formed in our hearts when we humble ourselves before men We have a fairly clear idea of what humility is, for we’ve all met people who are truly humble. Metropolitan Laurus of blessed memory (+March 16, 2008), the saintly man who’d led the Russian Orthodox Church Outside
Anyone who opens their heart to Christ will be made whole I received an email from a man from India, questioning why there is evil in the world, and wondering how he could come to know the true God, overcome sin, and live a life in transformation. This is my