Mt. Rainier as seen from Vashon Island Vigilantly Exercise Virtue in the Coming Year It is a tradition among Americans to make a New Year’s Resolution, pledging ourselves to positive change in the coming months. We decide we’re going to lose weight, and set the loss of a certain amount
Category: The Morning Offering
click on areal of monastery to enlarge The Call to Monasticism is all About Relationships The monastic vocation is a special calling from God that is all about relationships. It is a relationship that involves community (the monastic brotherhood), but primarily revolves around the monk’s relationship with God. Monks are
I want to greet all my readers as we begin the year 2013, with the words, “Glory to Jesus Christ, Glory to Him forever”. May this year be one of spiritual renewal for all of us, and may we use the allotted time God gives us profitably, and for His
There is no Salvation outside the Body of Christ 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
The Transitory Nature of this Life The summer before last I responded to a house fire on Vashon Island on a late Monday afternoon. The home was in a remote location and the fire fighters were hard pressed to get to the house in time to save it. They arrived
We Are Our Brothers Keeper With the fiscal cliff hanging over the nation, countless individuals are facing the very real possibility that their extended unemployment payments may be coming to an end. This means that even more individuals and families will be facing homelessness. Through no fault of their own,
Let my prayer arise as incense before Thee From Old Testament times believers have burned incense as an offering when worshiping God. The ancient temple in Jerusalem even had priests whose sole duty was to keep the censer burning twenty-four hours a day. Ancient pagan kings were often escorted with
Arrival of the Wonderworking Kursk-Root Icon Church as Hospital 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
The Church is to be led by servants, not by lords The biblical image of the bishop is that of the good shepherd who is willing to lay down his life for his flock. He is one who serves his priests and his people as a loving father, guiding his
When I was a young man I regularly went to the gym for weight lifting. A few years ago after having had a hip replaced, I decided I needed to strengthen my body in order to give support to the other hip, and fight off the arthritis that was starting