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The Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross

09/14/2017

The Elevation of the Venerable and Life-Creating Cross of the Lord: The pagan Roman emperors tried to completely eradicate from human memory the holy places where our Lord Jesus Christ suffered and was resurrected for mankind. The Emperor Hadrian (117-138) gave orders to cover over the ground of Golgotha and the Sepulchre of the Lord, and to build a temple of the pagan goddess Venus and a statue of Jupiter. Pagans gathered at this place

The Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part X): Theoria

09/13/2017

Theoria, often translated as “contemplation,” is a critical concept for most of the ancient fathers of the Church, and it is important for us to talk about it right away. Coming into true contemplation, theoria, is, according to the Conferences, the essential purpose of a monk’s life. According to Abba Moses, theoria is a state of mind in which the monk contemplates “only the vision of God.”41 We may thus define it as the transcendent

The Stumbling Stone

09/12/2017

The transition from the first half of life to the second half often involves a stumbling stone. In Greek the word for stumbling block is skandalon, from which the English word scandal also comes. Originally, scandal expressed how you felt about yourself when you tripped over the stone, when you were disappointed in yourself. You wondered, “Why did I do that? What’s wrong with me? What kind of person am I?” The term stumbling stone

LESSONS FROM GROUND ZERO

09/11/2017

LESSONS FROM GROUND ZERO It is a common observation for events that are sudden, shocking, and heavy events that we not only remember the event, we remember where we were when we heard about the event. Senior adults who were alive during the 1940’s not only remember the attack on Pearl Harbor, but they also remember where they were when they heard about the attack. People alive during early 1960’s not only remember the assassination

The Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos

09/08/2017

By Tenny Thomas The Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos is the first major feast of the new Church Year (Eastern Orthodox), which begins on September 1st. Why was this day selected since it is not in the Holy Scripture? History shows that St. Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, built a Church in Jerusalem, which was dedicated to the Nativity of our Lady. It was said to be consecrated on the date of

The Tradition of Being Human

09/07/2017

By Father Stephen Freeman Being human is a cultural event. No one is human by themselves and no one becomes human without the help of those around them. This is so obvious it should not need to be stated, but contemporary man often imagines himself to be his own creation. The exercise of individual freedom is exalted as the defining characteristic of our existence: “I am what I choose to be.” To suggest that most of who

he Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part IX). Virtues (Part V): Humility

09/06/2017

Balance, we have already noted, can only be attained through discretion and discernment. Yet, there is another key virtue that the monk must seek if he is going to walk the royal road according to the Conferences. This is the fifth and final virtue on our list, namely, humility, which, according to Abba Moses, is the foundational virtue lying beneath a Christian’s ability to practice discernment and discretion and thus, by extension, to live a

CAN THE PRACTICE OF CONTEMPLATION HELP WITH FORGIVENESS?

09/05/2017

The practice of contemplation, especially a maturing practice, gives great insight into one of life’s great mysteries: the mystery of how to forgive and what forgiveness means and does not mean. Because sitting in stillness on a regular basis gives us plenty of opportunity to look into our thoughts, we soon come to see that we often make a category error when it comes to forgiveness. Many people who think they are struggling to forgive

You Are Not in Control

09/04/2017

To be in control of one’s destiny, health, career, or finances seems to be an unquestionable cultural value. On a practical level it may be partially true, but not on the bigger level. Our bodies, our souls, and especially our failures, teach us this as we get older. We are clearly not in control. This is not a negative discovery, but a thrilling discovery of divine providence; being led, used, and guided; having an inner

The World as Sacrament: The Theological and Spiritual Vision of Creation: His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (Part II)

09/01/2017

Creation and the Virtue of Compassion On the sixth day of creation, God created man and woman in His divine image and likeness. Yet, what most people overlook is that the sixth day is not dedicated to the formation of Adam alone. That sixth day was shared with “living creatures of every kind; cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth.” (Gen. 1.24) This close connection between humanity and the rest of creation

Blog

The Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross

The Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part X): Theoria

The Stumbling Stone

LESSONS FROM GROUND ZERO

The Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos

The Tradition of Being Human

he Purpose and Method of Christian Life (Part IX). Virtues (Part V): Humility

CAN THE PRACTICE OF CONTEMPLATION HELP WITH FORGIVENESS?

You Are Not in Control

The World as Sacrament: The Theological and Spiritual Vision of Creation: His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (Part II)

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