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
As the Living Word, Christ condescended to become one of us, to take on the condition of our flesh in every way, and yet remained sinless. In doing so, he invites us from the darkness of sin which leads to death, to become one with Him which is Life.By accepting
On Being the Body of Christ Every time we gather together in celebration of the Divine Liturgy, we are not only commemorating an event that happened two thousand years ago, nor simply reenacting the Last Supper Christ shared with His disciples. When we come together to celebrate the Eucharist, we
As the secular calendar turns to the year 2014, I would like to greet all of you, my readers, with the words, Happy New Year! May this be a year filled with every blessing, and may peace reign in the hearts of everyone. God bless each and every one of
Can God’s Temple be Duplicated at Home? Over the years I have met people who have chosen not to join a church, choosing, rather, to “worship” at home. Some have convinced themselves church is a waste of time, and feel they can be close to God while staying home on
The Place of the Holy Virgin in our Lives The Holy Virgin is a stumbling block for many protestants looking into Orthodoxy. The idea that this woman described in the Gospels in such humble terms could be called Mother of God seems unbiblical to them. She was never called Mother
The Church’s Guide: Holy Tradition The Bible can only be understood through the Church, for the Holy Scriptures came forth from the Church. The reformers dumped the papacy only to replace that institution with themselves as the ultimate authority. Since reason and logic ruled, there was no room for the
When Ethnicity becomes a Barrier Over the years I have heard many grief stricken parents and grandparents lament the loss of their children and grandchildren from the Church. Sad as it may be, I’m not usually surprised, for over and over I’ve heard the sad truth behind this exodus from
He Who Does not Love Remains in Death There are those who fear commitment for fear of loss. They fear the other will either leave them, or be lost in death, so they remain aloof from any possible relationship. Some put on a facade of indifference, for fear of
Amy, whose love for her father (a reader of this blog) took the ferry, and walked all the way to the monastery on a Saturday when there was no bus service, to have this photo appear for her dad. Gathered Around the Hearth The recent storms hitting the Midwest and