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Feast Day of Saint Symeon the New Theologian. Union of Christ’s Body

10/12/2017

Symeon the New Theologian (949-1022), a saint and mystic revered to this day by Eastern Christians, wrote some words that point beautifully to this “force field” that we call the Body of Christ. It is a living organism created by those who live in love, much more than any mere religious organization. Symeon describes this cosmic embodiment created by God’s grace and our response, naming the divine union that all the Bible is forever inviting

Authority: Answers without Questions

10/11/2017

By Father Stephen Freeman We imagine that life is made up of questions seeking answers. The opposite is also true: life is often made up of answers seeking questions. More troublesome than this are pseudo answers seeking questions, for the questions created by pseudo answers are inevitably pseudo questions. This, I suggest, goes far in describing the landscape of modern Christianity. For whatever the real question might be, what we see in modern Christianity cannot be the

Being Unconditional Witnesses

10/10/2017

Being Unconditional Witnesses Good news becomes bad news when it is announced without peace and joy. Anyone who proclaims the forgiving and healing love of Jesus with a bitter heart is a false witness. Jesus is the savior of the world. We are not. We are called to witness, always with our lives and sometimes with our words, to the great things God has done for us. But this witness must come from a heart

Intelligent and Heartfelt Participation

10/09/2017

What I have seen is the totality recapitulated as One, Received not in essence but by participation. It is just as if you lit a flame from a live flame: It is the entire flame you receive. –St. Symeon the New Theologian (949-1022) [1] Jesus’ rather evident message of “full and final participation”–of union with oneself, others, and God–was probably only fully enjoyed by a small minority of Christians throughout history. The Desert Fathers and

Patience (Part VII): Daily Awareness of One’s Death

10/06/2017

Abba Antony said: Therefore, my children, let us hold to the discipline, and not be careless. For we have the Lord for our co-worker in this, as it is written, God works for good with everyone who chooses the good. And in order that we not become negligent, it is good to carefully consider the Apostle’s statement: I die daily. 34 Abba Antony taught that a monk must live in such a way that the

Suffering and a Good Death

10/05/2017

By Father Stephen Freeman I read recently that people with ADD were far more likely to develop dementia in their old age. I read a few days later that people who had taken a certain medication for longer than a short period were far more likely to develop Alzheimers. I was on the medication for 12 years (and I have ADD). Such statistics are far from certainty – but they increase the chances that I

The Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part XIII): All Things Working for Salvation

10/04/2017

We conclude by presenting some assurance that what we are seeking to do as lay people—namely, to pursue purity of heart—really can be done through life in the world. We require such an assurance simply because life in the world can often seem terribly ill-suited to the pursuit of our goal and telos. For instance, we may ask, how is one to develop discretion and discernment in a world full of false teachers pulling us

Reach out to the Good in the Freedom of Love. Choosing Life.

10/03/2017

Reach out to the Good in the Freedom of Love Evil as a thing in itself does not exist. It has no being, if we think of it as completely separated from the highest Good. Nothing exists that does not participate in the Good. Evil is only a lack of Goodness, and nothing exists that is completely lacking in Goodness. Divine Providence affects every being; there is no being that is outside its influence. When

The Third Way

10/02/2017

As I explore transformation as a process of letting go of the ego’s needs and accomplishments, you may think I’m overemphasizing detachment. But when you look at Jesus on the cross, you see that Christianity also fosters attachment. Jesus tells us to love and to pay the price for loving. The heart and the soul are the first to attach to things and fall in love. When we attach, when we fall in love, we

Patience (Part VI): Patience Withstands Demonic Influences

09/29/2017

When the desert monks left the inhabited world, every monk brought parts of his or her former life with them. Memories, thoughts, fantasies, regrets, old lusts, pride, unfulfilled desires, anger, fear, unresolved conflict and a host of other remnants of the “world” were present in their cells. At the same time, they found a new “world” in the desert in the lives of other monks, visitors, local towns and villages and the rich, yet austere

Blog

Feast Day of Saint Symeon the New Theologian. Union of Christ’s Body

Authority: Answers without Questions

Being Unconditional Witnesses

Intelligent and Heartfelt Participation

Patience (Part VII): Daily Awareness of One’s Death

Suffering and a Good Death

The Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part XIII): All Things Working for Salvation

Reach out to the Good in the Freedom of Love. Choosing Life.

The Third Way

Patience (Part VI): Patience Withstands Demonic Influences

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