Glory to God for all things! My cardioversion took place on Thursday morning at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Tacoma. After two attempts, where they stopped my heart and used electric shock in an attempt to restart the heart in the correct rhythm, the cardiologist was unable to reverse my
Praying for God’s will in our lives When we consider the words of the Our Father, “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”, we must remember, as Christians, that our prayers must always be focused on the knowledge that, ultimately, we must desire that God’s will
Entering into the Silence All Orthodox Christians are aware of the importance of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, in our journey to God. These three practices are at the heart of the Great Lenten Fast. Prayer is our way of communicating with God on a daily basis, and fasting days (Wednesday
The importance of intercessory prayer in the life of a Christian When we first become aware that someone we know is suffering, we must begin to pray for them. We must pray with much sincerity, and with tears, knowing that our brother is being tormented, and is filled with despondency.
Waging war against the flesh Since the eyes and the ears are the doors of the soul, an Orthodox Christian must not leave the body without attention. Unlike the religion of Gnosticism, which teaches the separation of soul and body, with the physical world being evil and something to be
I’ll do it tomorrow We all have times when we procrastinate. There is a story of a young monk who confessed to his elder that he was always struggling with procrastination. His elder told him it was his lack of faith which made it impossible for him to see God
Christ’s resurrection destroys the permanency of death The fact that we Orthodox do not accept the doctrine of original sin as espoused in the West, does in no way suggest that we do not need to be born again (born anew). We believe, as did the Early Church Fathers, that
Cremation versus the Orthodox practice of burial The first time I ever attended a funeral service where cremation of the body of the deceased had taken place was in Portland, Oregon, many years ago. An Episcopal priest friend had died and had requested his body be cremated. Walking into the
And the need to embrace our grief We need to mourn. One of the most tremendously rewarding and challenging aspects of the priesthood is comforting people in their darkest moments of sorrow. Do not be mistaken and think that priests are exempt from the pain of those whom they try
When we are judged and maligned Within the life of the Church we sometimes see jealousy, envy, and slander taking center stage. The history of the Church is filled with sad occasions where brothers have heaped attacks on their brothers, with bishops conspiring against bishops, priests conspiring against priests, and