The Morning Offering
Tending Our Garden
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We dare not ignore the cultivation of our own garden We teeter on the edge if we let ourselves be concerned about our neighbor’s garden rather than being concerned about the cultivation of our own garden. Judging another person’s spiritual life is one of the most dangerous things we can do, for judging another distracts us from fully living a…
No Other Foundation
Where Does the Rain Come From?
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I think it was in grade eight that I first learned about the Water Cycle. According to this science lesson, the air is full of water vapour. Condensation occurs as the sun causes the water to evaporate and rise into the sky, so that the water vapour turns back into liquid water, which we see in the big, fluffy clouds floating overhead. When the water droplets in clouds combine, they become heavy…
The Morning Offering
Acquiring Holiness
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Holiness comes only to those who struggle Not an hour should pass without taking time to examine our heart, for the hour of judgement can come at any time, and we must be ready to give account to God for our life. When we practice the examination of the heart, we do so with the knowledge that there is no…
Eastern Christian Insights
We Must Offer Ourselves in Order to Live Eucharistically: Homily for the Eighth Sunday After Pentecost and the Eighth Sunday of Matthew in the Orthodox Church
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1 Corinthians 1:10-17; Matthew 14:14-22 As we face the great problems of our society and world today, it is understandable that we may feel like the disciples when the Lord said concerning the thousands of hungry people who had followed Him into the wilderness, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” Since it had been obvious to the disciples that there was no way they could provide…
Praying in the Rain
The First Two Weeks of August
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The first two weeks of August in the Holy Orthodox Church is devoted to the Mother of God, most specifically to asking the Mother of God for her help. The distinctive element of this period is the Paraklesis service. The Paraklesis service is a prayer service to to the Mother of God asking for her help and protection. The service itself is shaped like Matins, set within Compline (only the Orthodox can…
The Morning Offering
Joyfulness of Heart
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Living out every day with joyfulness of heart The renowned 19th century Russian saint, Seraphim of Sarov (1759-1833), said of himself, “I don’t know anything”. These words were remarkable coming from a hermit who was the most sought after spiritual adviser of his age, with even the Tsar seeking out his counsel. Yet Saint Seraphim recognized that he was but…
The Whole Counsel Blog
The Book of the Watchers
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What is now the first section of the Book of Enoch or 1 Enoch, comprised of the first 36 chapters, is known as the Book of the Watchers. There is not only internal evidence that this and the other portions of what is now 1 Enoch were originally separate documents recording internal traditions, but there is clear manuscript evidence that the Book of the Watchers circulated independently in Greek. The text of this portion of the Book of Enoch is known in Ethiopic, as the rest of the book, as well as through Greek fragments. Additionally, the text was found in both Greek and Aramaic among the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran. This variety of textual evidence allows us to…
Glory to God for All Things
Hagia Sophia and the Evil Eye
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The opening psalm of Great Vespers sings: “O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom have You made them all!” It is a line we hear so frequently in the Church that it is easy to overlook its significance. The universe of all created things does not simply exist – it exists in a manner that reveals a wisdom beyond our understanding. Nothing in modern science has diminished the wonder that…
Father Bill's Blog
209. Saint Panteleimon: The story of a Physician who didn't charge his Patients
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Let’s jump back to July 27, his feast day. Panteleimon, the Great Martyr and Unmercenary Healer How to pronounce Παντελεήμων? Not easy unless you’re Greek. Say “Pahn teh LEH-EE mohn” a few times slowly, and you’ll probably have it. It means “all merciful”. A “Great Martyr” (Μεγαλομάρτυς) is a martyr who has undergone dreadul tortures, has performed many miracles and is now venerated throughout the Church. (I had to look this up. I…
Faith Encouraged
Lord, Have Mercy on My Son!
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“I need to speak with your supervisor.” The customer service lady on the other end of the line could tell I was frustrated. I had already called several times to find out why what I had ordered had not been delivered. First they told me it had been delivered. Then, when they discovered they were wrong, they apologized and said it would be delivered the next day. When that didn’t happen and…
The Morning Offering
Greater Virtue
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The great virtue of forgiving others Many years ago I was dining with a monastic community, during one of my travels. I noticed a senior monk eating meat, and found myself judging him for not keeping the monastic tradition of avoiding meat. When visiting with one of the junior monks, much to my shame, I commented on how horrified I…
Raising Saints
Meditation on Transplants: How a Christian Navigates Medicine
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I received a note from a podcast listener, who heard me mention in passing on Everyday Orthodox, that my daughter received a liver transplant in 2010. I was talking about the strange moment when we received the phone call, hearing that they had an eleventh hour liver for the very sick little baby lying in a hospital bed in front of me. That moment held so much joy and relief, and so…
A Lamp for Today
Speaking the Same Thing! The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
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1 Cor 1:10-18; 2 Chronicles 30, Colossians 1 We are surrounded on all sides by a culture that values diversity, novelty, and variety. Even the dog owners on my FB page talk about the importance of not “boring” your pup with the same food every day! I remember when we first moved to Pittsburgh 18 years ago, being struck by a beer add with about 8 different beers in identical steins, so…
Faith Encouraged
The Potential Within
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I remember thinking “We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto.” It was one of those moments in our journey to Orthodoxy that caused my soul to say “Aha.” A point of enlightenment about just how profound our newfound, and ancient faith was going to be for how I thought about faith. Our catechist had just said “we get what we need many times in life by going through the door of its opposite.”…
Shepherding our Little Flock
God forgives
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Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. – Ephesians 4:31 – 32 Forgiveness is such a fundamental requirement of our Christian faith and one of the most difficult things we are charged with. It is absolutely clear in scripture and in Jesus’ teaching that forgiveness…
The Morning Offering
Fighting Polarization
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We must all learn to respect differences of opinion The cultural and spiritual warfare that is taking place in this country has served to divide many people, even pitting friends and family members against one another. Not since the Civil War have American’s been so divided. Conservatives are often seen as enemies and reactionaries by those holding to liberal views,…
Faith Encouraged
Following The Directions
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It’s true, men don’t like following direction. This came home to me the other day as I was assembling a small table for our living room. There weren’t that many pieces and the assembly “seemed” straightforward so I dove right in. That is until I had to connect the last piece. It wouldn’t work. No matter how hard I tried to figure out how to make it work, it wasn’t going to…
The Morning Offering
True Wisdom
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The energy of the mind inside the heart It has been said that humans are a microcosm of the whole universe because we have within ourselves the entire material world. Created as we were for immortality, it is our fallen nature that has separated us from that which God had intended. When we avail ourselves to the transformational healing that…
Growing the Church
From Post-Truth to Post-Nous
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A Reflection on the Incarnation (Mt. 2) One of the more positive elements of the Enlightenment was its insistence that we are free to use our minds. Immanuel Kant, for example, encouraged every individual to have the courage to use their own understanding, that is to freely apply reason publicly and in all matters. From a biblical and theological perspective, there is, of course, nothing wrong with that idea, since the mind/thinking…
Faith Encouraged
Spiritual Viruses!
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You see it in every restaurant bathroom you go to: “Employees must wash their hands before returning to work.” I’ve even seen detailed instructions in bathrooms as to how to wash one’s hands properly! In 1546 Italian physician and scholar Girolamo Fracastoro first suggested that unseen “germs” were the cause of infectious diseases, and the idea that germs caused sickness. But they couldn’t “see” the germs, so it would be years later…
The Morning Offering
The Absence of Love
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Christian morality, ethics, and liturgical services are inconceivable in the absence of love Our liturgical rites and religious traditions are of no value if we have not love and mercy. When we rise to a sincere evangelical love for others, we become God’s collaborators, for our Christian love and mercy is the most divine trait possible for the human being.…
Glory to God for All Things
Singing the Lord's Song
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In my first parish as an Anglican priest, I approached my first Midnight Mass with eager anticipation. I was trained “High Church,” with a very traditional liturgical emphasis – but I was serving in a “Low Church” parish. I was the first priest in their history to wear Eucharistic vestments as a normal practice. But it was common, even in Low Church areas, for the Midnight Mass to be “High.” Thus, I…
Faith Encouraged
The Labors That Make You Like Christ!
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There’s just no substitute for contemplation. But it seems our modern world is moving at such a break neck speed that contemplation is impossible! That’s why authentic faith is the “last, true, rebellion” and the hardest and most rewarding path to being truly human! Listen to what Abba Evagrius says “A wandering mind is made stable by reading, vigil and prayer. Flaming lust is extinguished by hunger, labor and solitude. Stirrings of…
The Morning Offering
The Orthodox Home
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Creating an Orthodox Christian environment in the home Creating a Christian home begins with the icon corner. The bright corner becomes the center for every domestic church, where the family devotions take place. This is also the family’s way of declaring to visitors that this is a Christian home, where Christ is head. Because the husband is a sort of…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
My Last Word as a Pastor
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No Other Foundation
The Despair of Elijah
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The prophet Elijah (whose feast day is July 20) is perhaps best known for his final ascent to heaven in a chariot of fire. He is also famous for being fed by a raven, and also for the dramatic contest on Mount Carmel. This last event was arguably the pinnacle of his prophetic career. Elijah served God in very dark days. Israel had always carried on a foolish and fatal dalliance with…
The Morning Offering
The Gift of Life
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And the nightmare of an all-consuming death This earthly life that we have been given has no meaning unless we see it as a workshop for the future life. We must not neglect that which is of an eternal nature, for the Creator has bestowed this life upon us as a time of preparation for eternity with Him. This is…
