Cross Archives - Page 17 of 23

The Twenty-Fourth Day of Christmas Advent. The Morality of Christmas

12/08/2017

By Father Stephen Freeman Morality is tricky business in what is an extremely moral society. I pray my readers to be patient with me as I explain what I think is the problem. First, I will note that morality is all that is left when the most fundamental grounds of a culture have been destroyed. We indeed live in just such a time, hence the rise of a vehemence in the moral life. Second, I will suggest

The Seventh Day of Christmas Advent. The Nativity: An Icon of the Christian Family

11/21/2017

By Fr. Vasile Tudora Everyone’s favorite time of the year is the period before Christmas, when the air is filled with joy, peace and expectation. We are blessed to live in a country that looks forward to Christmas although we might seem to have lost some of its meaning along the way. We have radio stations that air carols without ceasing, exalting the season, although many of them speak about snow, jolly figures carrying gifts,

Does It Matter How I Feel?

11/10/2017

By Father Stephen Freeman It is common to hear complaints about the materialism of our modern culture. For it is certainly the case that much attention is given to “things” – whether making them, purchasing them, wearing them, or simply owning them. The modern world enjoys material wealth beyond anything ever imagined in human history. But it is a mistake to describe us as materialists. Materialism professes a certain concept of material goods. Atheist materialism,

Inner Stillness: The Language of Stillness

10/25/2017

In Living Prayer, Metropolitan Anthony Bloom wrote, “The Greek Fathers set this silence, which they called hesychia, both as the starting-point and the final achievement of prayer.” What does this silence look like? Silence is a way, a state of soul, in which all the powers of the soul and the faculties of the body are completely at peace, quiet, and recollected, perfectly alert yet free from any turmoil or agitation. 2 In the Philokalia,

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 Long Defeat and the Cross

08/22/2017

By Father Stephen Freeman Few ideas contrast as starkly to our modern myths as Tolkien’s view of history as “the long defeat.” I have been very interested in the continuing comments that struggle with the perceived pessimism of such a phrase. I have refrained from commenting at length myself, for the very reason that I wanted to do so in an article. For the nature of the long defeat that is the Christian life and

The Earth Stood Still. The Dormition of Our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary

08/15/2017

By Father Stephen Freeman Orthodox Christians commemorate the death (Dormition) of the Virgin Mary during the month of August (New Calendar, the 15th, Old Calendar, the 28th). For those for whom such feasts are foreign, it is easy to misunderstand what the Orthodox are about – and to assume that this is simply a feast to Mary because we like that sort of thing. Flippant attitudes fail to perceive the depths of the mystery of our salvation.

The Marriage of Love and Hate

07/07/2017

By Father Stephen Freeman The genius of Dostoevsky lies in the profound theological insight of his tumbled novels. They can be difficult reads for many people – particularly in our modern setting. He has “too many characters” and they “talk a lot.” His characters are complex: I was a scoundrel, and yet, I loved God… Good and evil are in a monstrous coexistence within man. So says Dmitri Karamazov. And this statement describes all of

PRAYERS OF ST. ISAAC THE SYRIAN

06/13/2017

As my soul bows to the ground I offer to you with all my bones and with all my heart the worship that befits you. O glorious God, who dwell in ineffable silence, you have built for my renewal a tabernacle of love on earth where it is your good pleasure to rest, a temple made of flesh and fashioned with the most holy oil of the sanctuary. Then you filled it with your holy

Feast of the Holy Spirit. Life in the Early Church

06/05/2017

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ”Brethren, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:37-38 For the last week of these reflections that have brought us through

Tags

The Twenty-Fourth Day of Christmas Advent. The Morality of Christmas

The Seventh Day of Christmas Advent. The Nativity: An Icon of the Christian Family

Does It Matter How I Feel?

Inner Stillness: The Language of Stillness

Suffering and a Good Death

The Long Defeat and the Cross

The Earth Stood Still. The Dormition of Our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary

The Marriage of Love and Hate

PRAYERS OF ST. ISAAC THE SYRIAN

Feast of the Holy Spirit. Life in the Early Church

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