A Living Organism Guided by the Holy Spirit It is important that we always remember, the Holy Spirit guides the Church. The early Christians worshiped in secret places, and were not able to have formal temples, yet as the Church gained her freedom, public places of worship were built. These
Category: The Morning Offering
of the Lord The Importance of Preparing for the Divine Liturgy That the Church requires us to prepare to receive the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ, prior to the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, by saying the Pre-Communion Prayers, is a given. The Church also requires
Tending the Garden of the Heart Both my Norwegian grandfather, and my mother, were avid gardeners, so I grew up surrounded by the beauty of plants and flowers. The cottage garden is a distinct style of garden that is certainly my favorite. The use of traditional materials, in an informal
The Baumann family from Bowie, MD Will The Church Thrive into the Twenty-first Century? For Orthodoxy to thrive into the next century, we must see a return to the very roots of our faith, where the Church proclaims the Good News of Christ in all its purity, and centers herself
The priest must become like a funnel If a priest is truly to be an agent for grace, he must become like a funnel through which the Lord’s mercy can flow. That a priest has received the grace of ordination, if he does not attempt to live a life of
The Unpardonable Blasphemy of turning the Church into a National Institution With the fall of communism, some nations with a history of Orthodoxy would seek to establish the Orthodox Church as a State Church, something that history tells us can be a big mistake. When the Bolsheviks defeated Imperial Russia,
Archpriest Basil Rhodes, preaching at the monastery When the Stranger is Listening The miracle I wrote about in my blog on Saturday, was a reminder to both Father Basil and me that people around us often listen to what we are saying. When you wear your cassock, and have a
My monastic cell The Old Testament is filled with the image of God’s people being a holy people, set apart. The ancient Israelites were not like their neighbors. Their values and their faith impacted everything about them. They dressed differently than many of their neighboring pagan tribes. Their worship was
Abbot Tryphon and Archpriest Basil Rhodes While sitting in a sidewalk cafe with my friend, Archpriest Basil Rhodes, having a cup of coffee and a bite to eat, we noticed a homeless man stop behind me. The man was staring at our food, so Father Basil asked him if he
When Prayer Becomes Dry When we find ourselves struggling with prayer, and feel that it has become dry and lifeless, we are sometimes tempted to stop praying. When our prayer has become a struggle, it is good to remember that God knows our needs, and even knows what we want