The Morning Offering
Complaining
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Complaining keeps our heart from soaring to the heavens If we are always complaining about how unfairly we are treated, we will have failed in our imitation of Christ, Who was abused by His enemies unto death. We should strive to reign with Our Lord by loving our enemies and never complaining. Like Christ, we should look towards Our Heavenly…
No Other Foundation
The Dormition of the Mother of God: What Actually Happened?
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Some time ago I finished reading an excellent book on the extant literary sources for the Dormition/ Assumption narratives of the Mother of God, a magisterial work by Stephen J. Shoemaker entitled, Ancient Traditions of the Virgin Mary’s Dormition and Assumption, published by Oxford University Press. Shoemaker makes the case that the various divergent narratives about her death and glorification to paradise all appeared more or less at the same time around…
The Morning Offering
Absolute Truth
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Embracing Absolute Truth In an age when many people think truth is relative, the knowledge that there is such a thing as absolute truth, is comforting. The freedom that comes with the knowledge that we are able to embrace teachings that are a continuation of an unbroken line dating back to Apostolic times, is liberating. As Orthodox Christians, we are…
Eastern Christian Insights
Focus on Our Foundation, Not the Wind and the Waves: Homily for the Ninth Sunday After Pentecost and the Ninth Sunday of Matthew in the Orthodox Church
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1 Corinthians 3:9-17: Matthew 14:22-34 It is easy to think that we are spiritually strong and healthy when life is good and things are going our way. It is a very different matter, however, when things are falling apart and we find that we have no place to stand. Life’s challenges can make hard truths quite obvious and call into question what we had previously taken for granted about ourselves…
The Morning Offering
The First Step
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The journey to God begins with the first step The spiritual struggle that is required of us can not depend on having a spiritual father. Most Orthodox Christians do not have one, and the average parish priest is not equipped, either with the time, nor the inclination, to take on the role of spiritual father to members of his flock.…
The Whole Counsel Blog
The Book of Parables
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The second major portion of the Book of Enoch is the ‘Book of Parables’ which now constitutes 1 Enoch 37-71. This is something of a misnomer as the Book of Parables proper, composed of three ‘parables’ or visions received by Enoch, really only makes up chapters 37-59. Chapters 60-71 appear to be the incorporation of another, independent source into the Book of Parables and thence 1 Enoch. The material in chapters 60-71 is primarily designated as the Book of Noah. It is sometimes labeled as portions or fragments of a Book of Noah. It is not as simple, however, as just another book having been incorporated with all the others into 1 Enoch. Its independence is attested to by the…
Father Bill's Blog
210. The Dry Humor of Jesus - dry except for one time when it was very wet
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Humor When I first went to college, a church of my denomination sponsored a supper for us newcomers. As we ate, one guy made a cute remark. We laughed. The pastor looked at us severely and said: “Life is a serious matter. We should not make jokes about it.” We never went back. I love humor, as long as it’s clean and not mean. I’ve found it the best way to deal…
Faith Encouraged
God Heals Chaos. He Doesn't Cause It!
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Isaac Newton once said “Truth is ever to be found in simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.” How I resonate with that. Simplicity is the enemy of confusion and chaos. I’ll never forget the story of a Third world visitor to the US being overwhelmed by her first trip to an American grocery store. This precious woman broke down in tears, not at the abundance, but at the…
The Morning Offering
The Chaplain
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A monastic as a police and fire chaplain It has been a great blessing for me to have been serving as a police and fire chaplain for the past eighteen years. My interest in chaplaincy began when I was asked by a number of inmates to serve as their Orthodox chaplain in one of the state’s prisons. Spending one full…
Faith Encouraged
Do You Pray To Zeus?
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“Do you pray to Zeus?” What? Yep, the lady was serious when she found out I was a Greek Orthodox priest, she wondered if we prayed to Zeus! Holy Moly! “No, ma’am” I said. “We are lovers of Jesus Christ, and actually we are the first Christians.” She was amazed. She said “I’ve never heard of you before.” “Yes, ma’am, I know. We have to do better at letting our neighbors know…
The Morning Offering
The Holy Oblation
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The place where heaven and earth are united As a priest, I bear the awesome burden of offering the Holy Oblation before the Throne of God, on behalf of all the people whose names are submitted to the monastery, and who are Orthodox. I offer for my spiritual children, and even for the whole world. I commemorate my own beloved…
Glory to God for All Things
The Light of Christ and the Transfiguration
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My attention was drawn to the event of the Transfiguration during my college years. It was then that I first read a book on St. Seraphim of Sarov, who himself was transfigured in a famous incident in his conversation with Motivilov. There, on a snowy winter’s day, the saint shown with a brilliant light, and Motivilov felt effused with warmth and joy. It caught my attention in the most obvious way. I…
Faith Encouraged
A "Living Stone?" What Is That?
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It doesn’t make sense. Jesus says some difficult things in His teachings and the Church continues this “challenge” to our intellect. The Lord says things like “If you want to be free, be a slave.” And “If you want to live, you have to die.” And even “If you want to lead, you have to follow.” So, which is it Lord? And to that the Church confidently replies: BOTH! The truth is…
The Morning Offering
Standing in Worship
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The Orthodox practice of standing for worship Standing before God has been the only acceptable posture for Orthodox Christians from the earliest of times. We recognize that a faithful servant would never sit before his master, for the faithful are all servants of the Lord, whom we worship as we stand in our temples. The Holy Apostle Paul tells us,…
Glory to God for All Things
Messiness in the Modern World
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Salvation can be messy. I believe this with all my heart and so I state it at the outset of this article. As such, it marks me as a heretic in Modernity. I not only believe that salvation is messy – I believe that messiness is pretty much inherent to salvation. And along with that, I believe that our aversion to messiness (in all things) is a peculiar affliction of the modern…
Faith Encouraged
One Body, Many Members
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Let me state something that may be easily misunderstood, but something I am increasingly convinced has to be said and said often: Jesus Christ left us ONE THING – The Church. The Church IS the Body of Christ and is the continued Physical Presence of Jesus Christ in the earth. God has no “Plan B.” His plan to redeem humanity and see the Kingdom of God among us is The Church. Period.…
The Morning Offering
Cloud of Witnesses
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The saints are alive in Christ Jesus Vigil lights are placed before the icons of the saints, according to Saint Symeon the New Theologian, as a way of showing that without the Light, Who is Christ, the saints are nothing. It is only as the light of Christ shines on them that they become alive and resplendent. The saints show…
Faith Encouraged
So Easily Led Astray
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Alexander Solzhenitsyn once said, “We always pay dearly for chasing after what is cheap.” I wish I had learned this earlier in my life. I would have avoided some painful idolatries. But we humans are slow learners. And over and over again we come to the end of what we thought we could not live without and discover all too late that we certainly could live without it. We idolize the fantasy…
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…
