Holding on to guilt and shame There are many people who cling to memories of past sins, holding on to guilt and shame, reliving things long ago confessed, as though they happened yesterday. They struggle with regrets, often revisiting shame as though they were archeologists, digging for historical artifacts that
The black man and the Jew, are my brothers The un-Christian rhetoric and violent actions demonstrated in Charlottesville, Virginia, have demonstrated clearly the tragic climate of moral decay that has overtaken our country. The ultra left and the ultra right committed horrendous violence against one another, a scene that is
Lost in a world devoid of hope As we witness the wholesale abandonment of religious belief in our society, we are seeing a breakdown in the moral fiber that has sustained Western Culture. Painful as it is, every time I speak on area campuses, I meet countless numbers of students
The Gospel of Christ, and political extremism It is deeply disturbing to me to have witnessed the politicizing of Christianity in this nation. The conjoining of politics and faith have led to a polarization of our nation that has not been seen since just prior to the Civil War. In
Everything proceeds out of God’s mercy There is a common misconception concerning the word “mercy”, used throughout the liturgical services of the Church, as well as our private prayers, and the Jesus Prayer. It is a given that we are all sinners, but the asking for God’s mercy is not
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 Feast of Christ the All-Merciful Saviour Today our brotherhood celebrates the Patronal Feast of our monastery. Thirty-one years ago the beloved and ever memorable Archimandrite Dimitri (Egoroff) of Santa Rosa, CA tonsured Father Paul and me as Orthodox monks. Guided and inspired by Father Dimitri’s kind and prayerful spirit,
A monastic serving as a police and fire chaplain It has been a great blessing for me to have been serving as a police and fire chaplain for the past fifteen years. My interest in chaplaincy began when I was asked by a number of inmates to serve as their
The liberty of choice is either to receive or reject God’s love Orthodox Christians believe there is nothing we can do to earn salvation. It is a gift from God and one that must be freely received by us. We are free to reject God because His offer to us
And our capacity to reject the will of God According to Saint Gregory Palamas, God has given us lordship over all the earth because of our capacity for sovereignty. With this sovereignty comes the responsibility to be good stewards of that which God has given us. Saint Gregory wrote, “There