Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Arise, O Lord, Thou and the Ark of Thy holiness
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The Nativity of the Theotokos, September 8 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. In the Book of Exodus, after the Hebrew people left the land of Egypt, they wandered in the desert for some forty years before they finally came to the Promised Land. During this time, they met with God on…
Praying in the Rain
"Go and Learn What This Means..."
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Twice in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6 to the Pharisees, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice” (9:13 and 12:7). The full quote from Hosea goes like this: For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. In the context of the prophecy of Hosea, the knowledge of God does not refer to merely a mental or even a heart knowledge. The knowledge of…
Glory to God for All Things
It's All in the Family
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Fr. Thomas Hopko has observed on occasion that many times saints of the Church are found in “clusters,” particularly in clusters of a single family. Thus it is that within St. Basil the Great’s family, his brothers, Gregory of Nyssa and Simeon, as well as his sister Macrina, and his mother are all saints of the Church (did I leave any out?). At one point, during the history of Orthodox Britain, there…
Praying in the Rain
Still Thinking About Money
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In 2 Corinthians we see St. Paul walking a tight rope. St. Paul spends a good deal of the first part of the letter saying that he does not “peddle” the Word of God, he is not commending himself, and he sincerely preaches the Gospel; yet in many respects, 2 Corinthians could be read basically as a fund raising letter. The letter reveals the awkward position “bondservants” (slaves) of the Church–ministers–find themselves…
Praying in the Rain
The Poor
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In the discussion of a previous post, someone brought up a quotation by St. John Chrysostom found in the Orthodox Study Bible (Matthew 26: 6-13). St. John’s commentary concerns the anointing of Jesus by a woman in Bethany before His death, and the disciples’ indignant response to the waste. St. John comments that the disciples were not wrong “in principle.” He goes on to say, “If anyone had asked Christ before the…
Glory to God for All Things
The Secular Man and the Christian Man
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Many Orthodox writers have spoken about the nature of the secular world, the defining form of modernity. I take here an opportunity to make a small comparison between the secular man and the Christian. The secular man may believe that there is a God, but he also believes that the situation and outcome of the world are dependent upon the actions of human beings. The Christian man believes that there is a…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Priorities and Practicalities
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The following is a recycled post from my previous weblog, originally posted in October of 2008. In a conversation I had recently, I was struck by how religious fervor is so often given over to nearly everything but religion. In this particular discussion, my interlocutor was greatly concerned about people who had no health insurance, because of a frequent interaction with such people, some…
Praying in the Rain
All We Lepers Ten
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When Jesus heals ten lepers, only one, a foreigner, returns to give thanks in a loud voice, falling at Jesus’ feet. Jesus says to him, “arise, go your way, your faith has made you well.” A long time ago, someone explained to me that this meant that while all were healed of the disease of leprosy, only the one who returned to give thanks was restored completely. That is, the body of…
Glory to God for All Things
A Culture of Remembrance
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America is torn in a debate at present over the building of a Mosque at Ground Zero, the former location of the Twin Towers in New York, destroyed by an act of terrorism. At the same time, an Orthodox Church that was crushed by the falling towers has been ignored by New York authorities. It is a painful time, full of the anger and recriminations that seem to accompany all political discourse…
Glory to God for All Things
Compassion
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The Elder speaks on the circumstance of being harmed by a brother in Christ: If it is necessary to grieve at all, then we should grieve for the loss of that person who has harmed us, not for the loss of our possessions. For, that person has done injustice to himself by being cast out of the heavenly kingdom. ‘Wrongdoers shal not inherit the kingdom of God’ (1 Cor. 6:9). As for…
Praying in the Rain
The Work of God
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Glory to God for All Things
Treasure in a Box
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Suppose you had a great treasure and placed it in a box – locked tight – and kept the key to yourself. Others could desire the great treasure. The treasure could be given to them – though still in the locked box. Suppose, as well, that the content of the treasure is described in writings of those who have seen the treasure. But the box is locked. And now lets add about…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
"Foundations of the Orthodox Faith" series fully online
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My Foundations of the Orthodox Faith series is now fully online at Ancient Faith Radio. This series represents an attempt at a sort of catechism—approaching the faith from four foundational angles: the revelation of God to man, authority in the spiritual life, worship, and morality. As with most of my work, I attempted to keep these talks fairly free of religious jargon, approaching the…
Praying in the Rain
Slaves, Victors and Forgiveness
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St. Nikolai of Zica (Velimirovich) in his Akathist to Jesus the Conqueror of Death (Ikos four) says, “For a slave, the most difficult act is to forgive; but for a victor, the act of forgiving is already part of his victory.” It may be particularly difficult for a slave to forgive because she is still suffering under the oppressions of the very one she needs to forgive. The victor, on the other…
Praying in the Rain
Fr. Gregory and Working With Your Hands
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Over the past few years I have had the privilege to get to know and spend time with an Orthodox hermit. Fr. Gregory and I don’t always see eye to eye, but over the years his prayers and the wisdom of his words have worked on me.* His words are making more and more sense me. One of the words Fr. Gregory often gives young men and women who are looking for…
Glory to God for All Things
Fellowship and the Tower of Babel
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I had an occasion last week to be confronted by a Protestant fundamentalist “street preacher.” Wearing a cassock and a cross in public clearly identifies me as a priest (though in this part of the world most people know nothing of Orthodox priests). It also makes you a target for some who want to have arguments about religion. Thus, last week, while doing work on the local university campus, I was approached…
Praying in the Rain
The Tongs Revisited
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In response to my blog entry called The Tongs, someone has asked me if, as a convert to Orthodoxy, I had a hard time at the beginning praying to the Theotokos. The answer is yes. In my whole-life confession the week before I was received into the Holy Orthodox faith, I confessed to the priest that I had a hard time praying to the Theotokos. I told him that I had no…
Praying in the Rain
The Feeling of Triumph, Mixed
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I have an odd mix of feelings when I read the first few verses of Psalm 97 (LXX): Sing unto the Lord a new song, for the Lord has done wondrous things. His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for Him. The Lord has made known His salvation; in the sight of the nations He has revealed His righteousness. My first feeling when reading these verses is somewhat along the line…
Glory to God for All Things
To Walk in the Light
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If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have communion with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. For a variety of reasons, my thoughts have been drawn increasingly to the imagery within Scripture of darkness and light. It is powerful imagery that, for me, echoes the inner, existential experience of the Christian life. To walk in the light is to walk in…
Praying in the Rain
The Tongs
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When Jesus’ disciples asked him why he spoke in parables, Jesus did not say so that it would be easy for simple people to understand Him. Actually, Jesus said the opposite. He said, “so that in seeing they may not perceive and in hearing they may not understand.” No wonder I don’t get it. Jesus intentionally spoke so that he would not be easily understood. Perceiving and understanding is not a mere…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Discerning the One Thing Needful
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Holy Dormition, August 15, 2010 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Silence… is something that our culture wants to avoid at all costs. Some of us look for it on vacation. But on our way to that vacation, we make sure that we’re well insulated with noise, whether it’s blaring from the…
Praying in the Rain
The Rage Monster, the Cage, the Counter and the Offering
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Most people who know me now would never guess that I have an “anger problem.” At moments of sudden pain or disappointment (i.e. physical or emotional pain), a surge of adrenaline rushes through my body, and with satanic force, a clear picture appears in my mind of something (or someone) to hit, break, throw or kick. In my late teens and twenties I learned to keep the rage monster in its cage. …
Glory to God for All Things
Icons in a Literal World
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I wrote this reflection nearly a year ago. Today I found my mind wandering back to the topic – searching beyond what I could see to what is unseen and yet more real. I have become increasingly convinced that the “literal” world we see is deeply distorted by our own self-deception. It is not a problem with the nature of creation – but rather the distortion of our own falsely constructed existence.…
Glory to God for All Things
Knowing the Personal God
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The word personal has a commonplace meaning in English. If I have personal knowledge of an event, it means that I was actually there and saw what took place. Personal knowledge of another person, means that we have actually met, spent time together and shared information. Difficulty arises when this commonplace use of the phrase is mistaken for its theological meaning. The word person, is pretty much a Christian invention, or certainly comes to…
Praying in the Rain
Soy on Wednesdays
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It really is a small thing and feels somewhat exaggerated even to call it “fasting.” But it is fasting, it is going without. It is even strict fasting, but it certainly isn’t harsh. A small no. A limit that I do not set but that I submit to. I anticipate it as I wait for the coffee to brew: the sharp taste of soy instead of the smooth sweetness of cream. …
Praying in the Rain
A Unique Monastic
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In the Preface to the English edition of St. Nikolai (Velimirovich) of Zica’s Akathist to Jesus Conqueror of Death, the following comment is made: “The foremost calling of a monastic is to be unique–unique in how one witnesses to the risen Christ.” Unique? A monastic? And yet, I have heard this saying before. Those of us not in a monastic setting are deluged from infancy by the presumptions of individualism which drive…
Glory to God for All Things
The Quiet Work of God
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Now Moses built an altar and called its name The-Lord-My-Refuge; for with a secret hand the Lord wars with Amalek from generation to generation  (Exodus 17:16 LXX). After a number of decades as a Christian pastor, I am convinced that most of what God does in our lives and in our world remains hidden. I have many thoughts as to why this is so – but that it is so, I have…
