Glory to God for All Things
Giving and Receiving
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In the immense cathedral which is the universe of God, each man, whether scholar or manual laborer, is called to act as the priest of his whole life – to take all that is human, and to turn it into an offering and a hymn of glory. Paul Evdokimov in Woman and the Salvation of the World +++ Abba Zosimas used to say: “We have lost our sense of balance.” Reflections, XI,…
Praying in the Rain
Saint Myron
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Most of the saints that we know about were monks. This is probably for two reasons. First, monks, in the best of circumstances, live a lifestyle that enables them to pay attention to their inner life in ways that are difficult for married people with children. Second–and I think this perhaps is more to the point than the first–for most of history only monks could read and write, and so most of…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
The God in the Bread
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Tenth Sunday after Pentecost (Lammas), August 1, 2010 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Today, let’s spend some time thinking about bread. I don’t think we have any British wheat or grain farmers here, but if you were such a person, you would probably be working right around this time of year…
The Morning Offering
Monday, August 9 / July 27
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(Church Calendar) Saints of the Day July 27 / August 9. Holy Great-martyr and Healer Panteleimon [II Tim 2:1-10; Jn 15:17-16:2]. St. Anthusa, abbess of Mantinea in Asia Minor. Blessed Nicholas Kochanov, fool-for-Christ at Novgorod. St. Ioasaph, Metropolitan of Moscow. New-Martyr Christodulus. St. Clement of Ochrida, Bishop of Greater Macedonia, and Saints Angelar, Gorazd, Nahum and Sabbas, disciples of Saints…
Praying in the Rain
The Science of Transformation
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The word in the New Testament that we translate “kingdom”–as in Kingdom of God–is interesting in that it is not a reference to the realm (the place, the geography, the property), but to the rule. That is, those who have the Kingdom of God–as in “theirs is the Kingdom of God”–are those who are ruled by God. That is the blessing of the Beatitudes: to be ruled by God. On the one…
The Morning Offering
Sunday, August 8 / July 26
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(Church Calendar) Saints of the Day July 26 / August 8. Hieromartyr Hermolaus and Martyrs Hermippus and Hermocrates at Nicomedia. Martyr Parasceve of Rome. St. Moses the Hungarian, of the Kiev Caves. (Greek Calendar: Virgin Martyr Oriozela of Reuma, disciple of St. Andrew. St. Ignatius, monk of Mt. Stirion. Martyr Appion. Virgin Martyr Jerusalem of Byzantium. St. Gerontius, founder of…
Praying in the Rain
Pierre's Happy Insanity
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Just before the Epilogue in War and Peace, the character Pierre, who has gone through the life changing experience of his suffering as a POW and his recuperation afterward, accidentally meets Natasha again, the only woman he has ever loved. Natasha is staying with Princess Marya, the sister of her fiance Andrei, who was mortally wounded in the only major battle before the capture of Moscow and who slowly dies as Natasha…
The Morning Offering
Saturday, August 7 / July 25
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(Church Calendar) Saints of the Day July 25 / August 7. Dormition of the Righteous Anna, mother of the Most Holy Theotokos [Gal 4:22-31; Lk 8:16-21]. Holy Women Olympias (Olympiada) the deaconess of Constantinople, and Virgin Eupraxia of Tabenna. St. Macarius, abbot of Sheltovod and Unzha. St. Christopher, abbot of Solvychegodsk (Vologda). Martyrs Sanctus, Maturus, Attalus, and Blandina of Lyons.…
Praying in the Rain
Happy Anniversary!
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Bonnie and I had a wonderful “Day Holiday” in Vancouver. We stayed at a very nice hotel near Stanley Park and brought our bikes to ride around. The first trip around the park at about 1:00 PM on Wednesday was terrible. There was a 5K long traffic jam of tourists and Japanese school children wobbling awkwardly along on rented bikes. I was so stressed out that when we got back to the…
The Morning Offering
Friday, August 6 / July 24
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(Church Calendar) Saints of the Day July 24 / August 6. Martyr Christina of Tyre. Holy Martyrs and Passion-bearers Boris and Gleb, in holy baptism Romanus and David. St. Polycarp, archimandrite of the Kiev Caves. New-Martyr Athanasius of Ikia. New-Martyr Theophilus of Zakynthos. Martyr Hermogenes. St. Pachomius, abbot, on the Lake, friend of St. Dionysius of Glushets (Vologda). (Greek Calendar:…
Glory to God for All Things
The Transfigured Beauty of the Crucified God
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On the Mountain Thou wast Transfigured, O Christ God, And Thy disciples beheld Thy glory as far as they could see it; So that when they would behold Thee crucified, They would understand that Thy suffering was voluntary, And would proclaim to the world, That Thou art truly the Radiance of the Father! Kontakion of the Feast of Transfiguration It is inevitably the case that no matter how much a man may write and offer…
Glory to God for All Things
Knowing God
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The knowledge of God, generally spoken of in a very experiential manner, is an absolute foundation in Orthodox theology. Nothing replaces it – no dogmatic formula – no Creed – not even Scripture – though Orthodoxy would see none of these things as separate from the knowledge of God. But the questions I have received are very apt. In a culture that is awash in “experience” what do we Orthodox mean when…
The Morning Offering
Thursday, August 5 / July 23
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(Church Calendar) Saints of the Day July 23 / August 5. Martyrs Trophimus, Theophilus, and 13 others in Lycia. Hieromartyr Apollinaris, Bishop of Ravenna. Righteous Anna (Hannah), mother of the Prophet Samuel. Commemoration of the Miraculous Appearance of the Mother of God at Pochaev, which saved the monastery from the assault of the Tatars and Turks (1675). Translation of the…
The Morning Offering
Wednesday, August 4 / July 22 (Church Calendar)
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Saints of the Day July 22 / August 4. Holy Myrrh-bearer and Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalen [I Cor 9:2-12; Jn 20:11-18]. Hieromartyr Phocas, Bishop of Sinope. Woman-martyr Marcella of Chios. St. Cornelius, monk of Pereyaslavl. Photo of the Day A shrine, near the entrance to the Monastery. Quote of the Day “If we reproach the sins of brothers, then God will…
Praying in the Rain
A reflection, not quite a poem, on the beatitudes
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Blessed are the… What does it mean to be blessed in a world of death? Jesus told us. First, let go; be poor. Receive the Kingdom of Heaven. This is where blessedness is found: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. And mourn. The world really is a sad place. And yet, not so sad that there is no comfort. We fight and lie and cheat…
Glory to God for All Things
The Mystery of the Mother of God
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The 15th of August is the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God (her death). Orthodox Christians fast for two weeks prior to this great feast and celebrate it with great solemnity. A question was recently placed by a reader about the “perpetual virginity” of Mary. I am offering this small post to address that question and to look at the place of the Most Holy Theotokos in Orthodox faith…
The Morning Offering
Tuesday, August 3 / July 21
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(Church Calendar) Saints of the Day July 21 / August 3. St. Symeon of Emesa, fool-for-Christ, and his fellow faster St. John. Prophet Ezekiel. St. Onuphrius the Silent of the Kiev Caves. St. Onesimus, recluse of the Kiev Caves. Opening of the Relics of St. Anna of Kashin. Martyr Victor of Marseilles. St. Anna, mother of St. Sava the Serbian.…
Praying in the Rain
A Little Yeast
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From Our Thoughts Determine our Lives: The Life and Teahings of Elder Thaddeus of Vitonvinica. An old lady asked elder Thaddeus what she should do so that her grandchildren might become pious. The elder answered that she should always be meek and good; let her never be angry but always happy. Let her obey everyone, since no one will obey her. Perhaps her grandchildren will not become pious, but one day they…
Praying in the Rain
Pierre Finds Peace
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In War and Peace, the character Pierre undergoes a profound transformation through suffering. Although not in the military, Pierre is taken as a POW by the French occupying Moscow in the late summer of 1812. Driven from Moscow with the fleeing French troops, Pierre survived (barely) the privation of adequate food and shelter that resulted in the death of most of the POWs and, eventually, almost all of Napoleon’s army. Pierre is…
The Morning Offering
Monday, August 2 / July 20
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(Church Calendar) Saints of the Day July 20 / August 2. Holy Glorious Prophet Elias (Elijah St. Abramius of Galich or Chukhloma Lake, disciple of St. Sergius of Radonezh. Opening of the Relics of St. Athanasius, abbot of Brest-Litovsk. New-Martyr Lydia, and with her the soldiers Alexei and Cyril (1928) Priest Philosoph Ornalsky and those with him (1918). Repose of…
The Morning Offering
Sunday, August 1 / July 19
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(Church Calendar) Fathers of the 6th Councils Saints of the Day July 19 / August 1. St. Macrina, sister of St. Basil the Great. St. Dius, abbot of Antioch. Blessed Romanus, prince of Ryazan. Opening of the Relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov Blessed Stephen, king of Serbia, and his mother St. Militsa. St. Paisius of the Kiev Caves. New-Martyr…
Glory to God for All Things
The Double Mystery of the Cross
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St. Gregory Palamas, in his Homily on the Precious and Life-Giving Cross (Homily 11), makes reference to what he calls the “double mystery” of the Cross. He cites St. Paul’s statement, “The world is crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14). The first mystery is embodied in our denial of the world – the second mystery in our denial of ourselves. The great saint also sees the Cross as…
The Morning Offering
Saturday, July 31 / 18
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(Church Calendar) Saints of the Day July 18 / 31. Martyr Emilian of Silistria in Bulgaria. Martyr Hyacinth of Amastris. St. John the Long-suffering of the Kiev Caves. St. Pambo, hermit of Egypt. St. Pambo, recluse of the Kiev Caves. St. Leontius, abbot of Karikhov (Novgorod). (Greek Calendar: Martyr Marcel. Martyrs Dasius and Maron. Saints Stephen, Archbishop of Constantinople, and…
Praying in the Rain
On Guilt and Cluelessness
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In my previous blog entry, I said that guilt functions as a red flag for the clueless. I was thinking that someone might think that “the clueless” was referring to someone other than myself. No such luck. I am often clueless and blundering into sin here and there, and it is only the crude prod of guilt that awakens me to my folly. However, having seen my drift away from attention to…
Praying in the Rain
Peace Despite Pain Overcomes Sin
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Someone has asked me to rephrase the “Overcoming Sin by Not Hiding” entry. I don’t think I can, exactly. I’ll try. Let’s start by unpacking the guilt-leading-to-sin-leading-to-guilt syndrome. Certainly guilt is necessary when it functions as a red flag for the clueless that they have so wandered from God in their heart that they are breaking the law. That is, the mind having wandered from attention to God in the heart is…
The Morning Offering
Friday, July 30 / 17
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(Church Calendar) Saints of the Day July 17 / 30. Great-Martyr Marina (Margaret) of Antioch in Pisidia. Translation of the Relics of St. Lazarus, monk of Mt. Galerius near Ephesus. St. Irenarchus, abbot of Solovki. St. Leonides Leonid), abbot of Ustnedumsk (Vologda). New-Martyrs Priests Ismael and Michael (Rozhdestvensky). (Greek Calendar: Martyrs Speratus and Veronica. St. Euphrasius of Iconopolis, Bishop). Photo…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
The Gospel's Good Soil
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In my experience, adding new members to the mission is best accomplished by keeping current members healthy. I think our mission has come to believe that ultimately it is God who plants new seeds in our mission, and that our responsibility is to provide good soil. We can get the word out there, we can advertise and announce our presence, but, generally, the folks…
