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Ancient Faith Blogs presents a select group of writers and thinkers who regularly post on matters of theology, culture, art, parish, and family life.
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Faith Encouraged
He Ran Away Naked
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Everybody seems to have the same dream at one time or another. For me, it was a dream where I had a big presentation in front of a large crowd and in my dream, I forgot my pants! Embarrassed and humiliated, I ran off stage wondering how I could have made such a mistake! All of us fear being humiliated and embarrassed. It’s a natural fear and it uncovers ( forgive the…
Word of the Day
A Hearing Test: Listening to the Spirit or the Antichrist? (Wed., March 3)
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The word of the day is “hear.” If you want to know the true character of a leader, look at those who are following him or her. Leaders will attract adherents who appeal to them, and over time they will mold their flocks after their teachings and example. In our reading of 1 John 3:21-4:6, the apostle contrasts those who are “of the world” and those who are “of God.” Those who are “of the world” pay attention to worldly things. Those who are “of God” are attentive to godly things. Thus, the apostle writes, “We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us” (vs. 6). The book of…
The Morning Offering
Real Humility
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Real humility is formed in our hearts when we humble ourselves before men We have a fairly clear idea of what humility is, for we’ve all met people who are truly humble. Metropolitan Laurus of blessed memory (+March 16, 2008), the saintly man who’d led the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia as her Chief Hierarch, was such a man.…
Shepherding our Little Flock
2 Parables, 2 People & 1 Vital Life Learning - Building up to Great Lent
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I absolutely love teaching. I never knew this about myself and I’m not sure how far it extends with other people’s children (although I teach 2 others in our homeschool pod and enjoy it tremendously), but I find that what I learn in and while teaching and the process of inquiry and discovery is so fullfilling. I teach my children’s Sunday school and we generally focus on the weekly gospel – although…
Faith Encouraged
LIVE Wednesday Night with Bill Mariannes
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Every Thought Captive
Freedom in Marriage
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In the prior essay on marriage and the theme of unity, we explored a bit how Saint John Chrysostom might answer the critics of marriage and family, who level against the institution of marriage the charges that it is too atomising and too alienating. We have seen from Saint John’s writings that the standard for marriage is that of a complete dissolution of ‘mine’ and ‘yours’, even at the level of the body and the breath. But how do we answer the charges we saw before, that marriage and the family are too stifling, too conformist,…
Faith Encouraged
You Are Made for Eternity!
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“By the time we got to Woodstock…” Sorry, in advance for putting that song in your head for the rest of the day. But there is one quote more from that famous Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young song I want to share: “We are stardust, we are golden, we are caught in the devil’s bargain, And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.” It turns out there is real science…
Word of the Day
Forgiving Ourselves as God Forgives Us (Tues., March 2)
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The word of the day is “condemn.” We believe that God forgives us when we turn to Him for mercy. But though we receive this forgiveness from the Lord, do we forgive ourselves? Today’s reading of 1 John 3:11-20 proclaims our Heavenly Father’s answer to those of us who cannot let go of the guilt we carry. The apostle writes, “for if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things” (vs. 20). Becoming aware of our sins is a good thing. As the story of the Prodigal Son teaches, coming to terms with our trespasses propels us on the way back to the home of our Heavenly Father. As the parable of the Publican…
The Morning Offering
The Way of Christ
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Anyone who opens their heart to Christ will be made whole I received an email from a man from India, questioning why there is evil in the world, and wondering how he could come to know the true God, overcome sin, and live a life in transformation. This is my response to him: We live in a fallen world, one…
Behind the Scenes
Universal salvation, Lent and the pandemic, and more on AFR this week
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SPECIAL PROGRAM: In times past, prayer and fasting were seen as the needed response to times of plague and tumult. How might we find a good response to the pandemic in the spiritual practices of the coming Lenten season? Listen in to this special four-part series from Fr. Barnabas Powell on Lent and the Pandemic Fallout. Listen now. LIVE SHOWS: There are 5 live shows this week! Remember, you can hear our live shows on…
Glory to God for All Things
The Mystery of "Mystery"
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Few words can be more misleading to the modern ear than the Orthodox use of the word “mystery.” It’s a fine New Testament word and is (technically) the proper name for the sacraments in Orthodoxy (though we most often say ‘sacrament’ in English). Its root meaning is that of something “hidden.” In our culture’s language, mystery is more a matter of a who-done-it or a reference to something so puzzling or beyond…
The Morning Offering
Suicide - The Morning Offering podcast
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Faith Encouraged
Learning to Trust God Even When It's Hard
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It’s a paradox. A paradox is a concept that we humans, especially we humans shaped and formed by post-Enlightenment secularism, have a hard time grasping. Paradox makes us uncomfortable. It feels like a “problem” to be “solved.” That’s why we humans stumble over paradox. You know what I mean, don’t you? It’s like what Jesus said when He taught that to save your life, you must lose it, and to be a leader, you…
Word of the Day
Hope Anticipated: The Vision of God (Mon., March 1)
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The word of the day is “hope.” There is a difference between hope and anticipation. To hope is to desire something with the expectation that you will receive it in the future. But to anticipate something is to experience what receiving it will be like in advance. A child may hope for a birthday party. But if she anticipates it, she feels as if its reality has already come. She is filled with the happiness of expectation. The Promise to God’s Children In today’s reading of 1 John 2:18-3:10, the apostle notes that the hope to be “like Christ” can be so strong that believers anticipate it in the present. Accordingly, John reveals the hope of the vision of God,…
The Morning Offering
Surrendering
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In surrendering we have victory All that we have comes down from the Father of Lights. We should not become impatient, wanting more than we are ready to receive, for the Lord knows what is best for us. He measures His giving, according to our need, sometimes delaying the things we’ve asked for. When we give ourselves over to Christ,…
The Morning Offering
The Prodigal Son (click here to watch)
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Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Eating With (and Without) the Prodigal
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Word of the Day
Reverence for the Body and the Lenten Fast (Sun., Feb. 28) Corrected
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The word of the day is “body.” Of all the gifts of God, one of the most precious and yet neglected and mistreated is the body. Yet in our reading of 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, Paul writes, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God and that you are not your own?” (vs. 19). Today the apostle promotes the attitude of reverence for the body that Christ has “bought with a price.” In the current pandemic, we have found that our bodies are vulnerable and subject to corruption, that is, to disease, growing old, and dying. Still, no matter whether we spoil or abuse our…
The Morning Offering
The Cure
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Forgiveness is the cure for judgment, anger, and resentment Our Lord Jesus Christ told us: “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you shall be forgiven (Luke 6:37).” In the Our Father, the very prayer given to His disciples after Christ was asked to teach them to pray, we…
Eastern Christian Insights
Find Restoration as a Beloved Child of God This Lent : Homily for the Sunday of the Prodigal Son in the Orthodox Church
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1 Corinthians 6:12-20; Luke 15:11-32 As we continue preparing for our Lenten journey this year, the Church directs our attention to the Parable of the Prodigal Son. This story presents profound truths both about God and about us as His beloved children who have become so enslaved to corrupt desires that we make ourselves and others miserable, becoming at times virtually unrecognizable as those who bear the…
Word of the Day
How to Come to the Knowledge of the Truth—Or Not (Sat., Feb. 27)
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The word of the day is “truth.” In matters of faith more than any other, the truth is of utmost importance. But how do we arrive at the truth? Some think that they can achieve truth by constant study. In our reading of 2 Timothy 3:1-9, the apostle teaches that those who rely on human inquiry are deluded and subject to delusion. He observes that they are “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (vs. 7). If we do a “close reading” of this verse, we can find suggestions about avoiding endless and fruitless pursuits of learning about the spiritual. At the same time, we can discover how to reach the truth of the…
The Morning Offering
Many have Contemplated Suicide
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When we put on Christ we become God’s messenger of hope The Center for Deasese Control has found that 1-in-4 18-24 yr-olds had contemplated suicide in the previous 30 days, and 80% of students have reported the pandemic has had a negative impact on their mental health. Meanwhile, substance use continues to rise. The Vashon Island Youth and Family Services…
A Healing Driven Life
Grieving the Pandemic: How to Navigate the Anniversary
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The anniversary of an event can be a funny thing. Depending upon the event associated with the anniversary, it can be either celebrated or grieved. They can be anticipated with excitement or they might be dreaded. When we have a grief response to an anniversary it is called an Anniversary Reaction. This powerful reaction can occur upon the anniversary of any painful event, especially ones where there was significant grief and loss. Not everyone experiences anniversary reactions. Some of us are more sensitive to them than others. Some of us may have minds that pay little attention to time, dates, and the time of year. Yet, for some of us, our minds are ever mindful of the onset or…
A Lamp for Today
Lighting Up the Apocalypse 3: Our Brother Communicant Shows Us the LORD
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Rev. 1:9-17; Ex 20; Daniel 7:9-14; 10:16, 19, Ezek 43:2. John, in the first eight verses of the Apocalype, has introduced us thoroughly to the Author and Subject of his vision—the LORD God, as seen in Jesus the Christ, from Whom all beginnings come, and to Whom all of creation hastens, as our goal. Now John goes on to give us a glimpse of the vision as it first came to him:…
Faith Encouraged
Grace For Every Age!
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“I wish I were older!” Those were my words to my mother when I was a teenager and longed for the “freedom” of being an adult! If I only knew then what I know now! Bills, taxes, responsibilities, ugh! Can I take it back and go back to being a teenager again, please?!? Well, of course, I can’t. At least I shouldn’t. But too many in today’s culture really have refused to…
Word of the Day
The New Commandment of Radical Love (Fri., Feb. 26)
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The word of the day is “commandment.” “Love your neighbor!” It’s an age-old commandment, repeated so often it seems almost like an old and worn-out platitude. But in today’s reading of 1 John 2:7-17, the apostle appears to contradict himself by saying that the command to love one another is new. He writes, “I am writing you no new commandment but an old commandment that you had from the beginning… Yet I am writing you a new commandment that is in Him [Christ] and you…” vs. 8). Today we talk about what makes the commandment to “love one another” radically new. The “Old” Commandment “From the beginning,” John says that the faithful have already heard the “word” of the old…
The Morning Offering
Repeat Offenders
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Our habitual and repetitive sins make us repeat offenders In the Mystery of Confession we avail ourselves before the analoy stand, upon which the holy cross and the Gospel Book rest. The priest stands in as the witness, whereas in the early Church confession was done before the whole congregation of the faithful. After we have confessed before the Lord,…