Blog — Page 37 of 65 — Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

Back to Greek

March 19, 2015March 20, 2015 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

It’s been fifteen years since I did formal study of Ancient Greek. I’ve been wanting to get back to it for a long time now. So on the recommendation of learned friends, I got myself a copy of Greek: An Intensive Course by Hansen and Quinn. I also pulled out my two volumes of Athenaze by Balme and Lawall. (Old notes from 1999 fell…

“Who Shall I Be at Pascha?”: The Cross at the Crossroads

March 18, 2015March 18, 2015 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

Today is exactly the halfway point between the beginning of Great Lent and the holy day of Pascha (Easter), the Feast of Feasts. It is usually right around now, three and a half weeks in, that many of us begin to be ready for Lent to be over. But the fast is only halfway through. We have two and a half weeks of Lent…

Ego Patricius peccator rusticissimus

March 17, 2015 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

My name is Patrick. I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers. This photo was taken in the summer of 2001 during a nearly month-long pilgrimage I took to Great Britain and Ireland. It was a dreary day in Downpatrick (and the photo was taken with real film! remember that stuff?), the place where St. Patrick returned to…

“Aslan is on the move”

March 16, 2015 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

I took this photo today during a brief walk with my family and posted it on Facebook. One commenter captioned it thus: Aslan is on the move. With as much suffering as has come during this Lent for me and for many in my flock, it is good to remember that Aslan is, indeed, “on the move.” Spring is coming after the winter. The…

Lenten Evangelism #7: The High Priest on the Cross

March 15, 2015March 15, 2015 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

Sunday of the Adoration of the Holy Cross, March 15, 2015 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. The cross which we adore today, the third Sunday of Lent, is most often discussed in the Orthodox tradition in terms of the conquest of death by Jesus Christ. It…

On What is Happening in the Middle East

March 14, 2015 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

My bishop recently asked me to assist him in putting together a statement on the killing of Christians in the Middle East by takfirist groups such as ISIS. Here’s an excerpt: In recent months, images and stories of Christians being killed for their faith in the Middle East have flooded our news sources and dominated our social media. We see beheadings and shootings, sometimes…

“Everyone was a saint there”: Who are we in worship?

March 13, 2015 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

In a conversation I was having with my wife yesterday, she was reflecting on the funeral of a dear friend we attended recently, especially how, surrounding the funeral services, the love people showed each other and the bereaved was so deep and palpable (she didn’t use that kind of language, but that’s my “translation”!). And then she said this: “It’s like everyone was a…

St. Gregory the Great: The Sincere and the Insincere

March 12, 2015March 12, 2015 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

Today is the feast of St. Gregory the Great (called in the East “Gregory the Dialogist”), pope of Rome. He is mostly known in the Orthodox Church for his association with the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts (with which, it is my understanding, he probably didn’t have any real connection). One of his most beautiful gifts to posterity is his work Pastoral Care…