Pettiness is the Enemy of Clergy Pettiness is that sickness of the heart that can lead some clergy to constantly be on the lookout for anyone who might offend them. Ready at a moments notice, they are poised to confront the offender. Such clergy build up their low self esteem
On Being Ambassadors for the Faith It was relatively late in my life when I embraced Orthodoxy. Already forty-one, I’d found myself wandering in a spiritual wasteland, knowing I was drying up, spiritually, and hoping there was something out there that would fill the void. Orthodoxy had not been in
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
Snow for Sunday morning Short Prayers used in Personal Devotion Many Church Fathers taught the use of the “arrow prayer”, deliberately short prayers for personal devotion that were easily remembered, and could communicate one’s love for God, while seeking His help. They were like arrows being shot into the air,
Lives Transformed Impart the Faith That our Orthodox Church possesses the totality of Apostolic Truth is a given, yet if in our weakness as believers, the obviousness of that Truth is invisible to others, we will have betrayed that Truth. If in our weakness we fail to be an image
We Are Our Brothers Keeper Countless fellow Americans are about to lose their extended unemployment payments. This translates into the fact that even more individuals and families will be facing homelessness. Through no fault of their own, these people are facing the likelihood they will be forced to live in
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,
Whom Do We See When We Look into the Face of Another? Our world is polarized in ways not seen in many generations. This polarization is bought closer to home because we now live in a nation that is far more cosmopolitan than in the past. Even small towns across
Tapping into the Noetic Memory of the Heart The heart does not only have a natural operation as a mere pump that circulates blood. In Orthodox patristic tradition the heart is the center of our self-awareness. Saint Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain (+1809) calls the heart a natural and supernatural
Looking Only for the Good in Others The newly glorified (canonized) Saint Paisios of the Holy Mountain said there are two types of people. There are the bees and the flies. The bees are attracted to flowers and sweet smells, whereas the flies are only attracted to dirt and stench.