Cross Archives - Page 8 of 22

The Fifth Friday of Great Lent: The Danger and Shame of Forgiveness

04/08/2022

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, February 27, 2017 Forgiveness is so terribly hard. On a psychological level, it feels dangerous. The shame engendered by any insult or injury is our experience of vulnerability, and we instinctively react to protect ourselves. That, we must understand, is not a sin, it is an instinct that is a gift from God. The example of Christ, who did not “turn His face from the spitting and the shame,” is also

The Second Wednesday of Great Lent: On Humility and the Humble Outlook (Part 2)

03/16/2022

Published by Pemptousia Partnership, November 4, 2014 By Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi Βlessed and favoured people who are humble are meek, calm, serene, attached to virtue, opposed to evil, untroubled by any circumstance or threat. They live in the bosom of the faith, like infants in the maternal embrace of grace. They never live for themselves, because they’ve forgotten what that is. They’ve become one with the others; they become all things to everyone, in

The First Monday (Pure) of Great Lent: It’s a Crying Shame

03/07/2022

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, March 2, 2016 Orthodox Christians make a beginning of their Lenten discipline with the forgiving of everyone for everything (theoretically). This is expressed in the rite of forgiveness which is part of Vespers on the Sunday of Cheesefare. The ritual expression of forgiveness can easily and often be little more than a ritual. It reminds us of the need to forgive, but does not, on its own, achieve what it expresses.

The Answer to Anxiety and Stress

02/22/2022

By Fr. Christopher Makiej, November 4, 2019 I want to talk to you today about the answer, the solution, to worry and anxiety in your life. There are so many people stressed, anxious, worried, pessimistic about life. But the Church provides us with the answer in the Bible – Saint Paul’s letter to the Phillipians 4: 4-9. TRY TO BE JOYFUL The first answer-response to worry and anxiety is to rejoice – to seek to have some joy

The Sixteenth Day of Christmas Advent. The Apostle Andrew: The First-Called of the Twelve

11/30/2021

At the very beginning of His ministry, Christ passed by two brother-fishermen casting their nets into the Sea of Galilee. He spoke very simple words to them: Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men (Matthew 4:19). They did just this, straightaway casting aside their entire former lives. These were Simon-Peter and Andrew. Why, then, has the Apostle Andrew – whose memory we celebrate today – received the title of the “first-called”? The brothers came

Do We Believe in God?

11/05/2021

By Stephen Freeman, April 5, 2016 Belief is a strange thing. It rests like an idea in our mind. We can examine it, walk around it, argue it, and change it or reject it. But as an idea, belief really isn’t such a big thing. It is probably quite correct to say that most of the things we “believe” make no difference whatsoever. This is especially true of what most people mean when they say,

You Are Not Your Sin

10/25/2021

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, March 24, 2016 Shame is powerful. Having begun writing on the topic, it is important to say more. The Tradition, particularly in the texts that discuss the spiritual life, contains many references to shame. In recent times, it has become a topic within the field of psychology and in the community surrounding recovery from drugs and alcohol. Strangely, it has been largely neglected in spiritual writing, even among the Orthodox. I

The Matter of our Salvation

10/15/2021

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, March 18, 2016 Perhaps the most obvious thing for a visitor to an Orthodox Church are the presence and place of icons. They are literally everywhere. Some Churches are covered completely with iconography and no Orthodox Church is ever without them. That Churches are so decorated might not strike someone as unusual. After all, many Catholic Churches, particularly in Europe are highly decorated (think of the Sistine Chapel). But the difference

Self-Emptying Prayer

10/11/2021

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, February 29, 2016 We are told that Christ “emptied Himself” in His death on the Cross (Philippians 2:5-11). Further, we are told that this self-emptying is to be the “mind” that we ourselves have. It is possible to grasp that such self-emptying can be practiced in our dealings with others when we place them above ourselves – when the “other” is our greater concern. But how is this possible in prayer?

Justice, Forgiveness and Bearing a Little Shame

10/08/2021

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, March 15, 2016 This morning I read a headline in the newspaper: “We will get justice.” In the relentless cycle of the daily news, the report was of the discovery of a young woman who had been murdered. It seemed a completely appropriate response by the law officer in charge of the investigation. His words doubtless echoed the sentiments of everyone who knew the young woman. The desire for justice is

Tags

The Fifth Friday of Great Lent: The Danger and Shame of Forgiveness

The Second Wednesday of Great Lent: On Humility and the Humble Outlook (Part 2)

The First Monday (Pure) of Great Lent: It’s a Crying Shame

The Answer to Anxiety and Stress

The Sixteenth Day of Christmas Advent. The Apostle Andrew: The First-Called of the Twelve

Do We Believe in God?

You Are Not Your Sin

The Matter of our Salvation

Self-Emptying Prayer

Justice, Forgiveness and Bearing a Little Shame

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