I must accuse myself, blame myself, judge myself When I see other people’s sins, I must remind myself that I don’t know whether they have made peace with God. I don’t know if the person who has sinned regrets it, but I must always remember that I am not called
On being a good father I’ll forever be grateful for the love and support I received from my father. My dad never let a day pass without assuring his two sons of his love and acceptance. Albert Parsons always imaged to his sons the importance of living an honest life,
Creating harmony out of chaos The inevitability of death is particularly difficult to face for most Americans, as we’ve become a people that eschew traditional funerals, preferring to “celebrate the life of our loved one, while disposing of the body, and banning any sign of death from the memorial service
Our life is incomplete without the Church There is a certain emptiness in trying to live the Christian life outside the life of the Church. This is because it is impossible to truly live as a Christian without the Church. The reading of the scriptures, and our commitment to prayer,
Building our endurance and confidence “Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise (Hebrews 10:35-36)” When we find ourselves caught up in what we want, or
All we need for happiness is right in front of us It is easy to resist taking care of oneself if we run at full speed as though we are the only one who can get things done. We all need to set priorities, making sure we focus on Christ
Just whose recipe is it anyway? One of the most powerful reasons for embracing Orthodoxy is to be found in the Church’s insistence that she holds to the evangelical and apostolic doctrine of the Ancient Church. In an age when everything is up for change, there is a certain security
The importance of building multigenerational ties At seventy-three years of age I find myself looking closely at our present day young people, and seeing in them, myself. Inside this old man is a young man sometimes screaming to get out. Caring so much for our young people, it is sometimes
Avoiding a compartmentalized and splintered life Our life must be lived as a whole, for we dare not live out this life as merely fractured moments in time. If we wish to be transformed by our encounter with God, every aspect of our life must flow as one river, ever
When we feel betrayed by the “dark side” of the Church For those who have experienced what has been called the “dark side” of the Church, the struggle to remain faithful to the Orthodox Faith can seem daunting. The dark side is the result of the sinful, fallen nature of