Where the temporal and the eternal are connected We can be rich in liturgical correctness and wealthy in traditions, but if we do not have love and mercy, we are in reality bankrupt. Our Lord Himself made love and mercy the chief criterion whereby we will be judged on the
Category: The Morning Offering
Without Christ the world is devoid of hope Without Christ our world is devoid of hope, and for others to know this Christ, they must be able to see Him in us. The light of this very Christ must shine forth through the love of His Church and be made
Joy is the infallible sign of God’s presence Although we have no written evidence that Our Lord Jesus Christ laughed, I am personally convinced that he did. How could He not have shared in our humanity with perfection had he not had a sense of humor, and shared moments of
It is God Who seeks us out A child who has been adopted by loving parents knows from the outset that he is loved, because he knows they chose him. He was not simply accepted because he was conceived and born into their midst, but was sought out to become
The Church must incarnate people, not ideas or beliefs According to the Metropolitan of Thessaloniki, John Zizioulas, if the Church is truly the Church, she must incarnate Christ and manifest the Kingdom in a particular place, and as a local event. The Church, thus, “must incarnate people, not ideas or
There is no salvation outside authentic community Orthodoxy is all about community. The fierce individualism found in much of what claims to be Christianity is in opposition to the Orthodox understanding of faith. The Church as the Body of Christ is where we are united in Christ, becoming part of
The Church is NOT full of hypocrites, there is still room for more! Our Orthodox Church has always seen herself as a hospital for the soul, the place where her children can seek healing. It is within her walls that we find the medicine we need to make us holy
God’s house is entered with awe and fear We must practice reverence in the temple, whether during services or when we step into the church to light a candle and venerate the holy icons. The temple is the place set apart for the worship of the Holy Trinity and is
And do not be called teachers “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever
The importance of discovering God for oneself At the age of seventy find myself spending an increasing amount of time on area campuses, and hosting a growing number of young people making a pilgrimage to the monastery. At an age when many of my contemporaries are grandfathers, or even great