Category: Daily Spirituality

Should religion be physical?: Great Lent and Polycarp the Palpable

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Today is the beginning of Great Lent for most Orthodox Christians (a handful of Western Rite Orthodox Christians will begin with their Ash Wednesday the day after tomorrow), and I’ve decided to try my hand at doing 40 days of blogging—posting at least once a day from today through the Friday before Lazarus Saturday. This is my first post for Great Lent. Today Iā€¦

Your Own Personal Jesus: Christmas and Paul

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Sunday after the Nativity of Christ, December 28, 2014 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Christ is born! Today we continue to celebrate the Nativity of our Savior Jesus Christ. While the world may think that the Christmas season is over, for us it continues. And becauseā€¦

14 New Year’s Resolutions for Orthodox Christians

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Editorial comment: This has gotten republished more times than I can count now, mostly without asking (which, while I won’t be hounding people, should still be noted as illegal in most countries). I don’t mind too much, but I do mind that in some places (like church newsletters), it’s gotten republished either without my name on it or having altered the text and stillā€¦

On Ecstasy and Laundry: Spiritual Experience in the Orthodox Church

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost / Third Sunday of Luke, October 19, 2014 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Fourteen years ago, an American convert to Buddhism named Dr. Jack Kornfield published a book entitled After the Ecstasy, the Laundry. Although a Buddhist himself, in the work heā€¦

Suicide as “Death with Dignity”: The Power in Suffering at the End of Life

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
I recently came across this article, which tells the story of a 29-year-old young woman who has decided to end her life by her own hand rather than letting an aggressive brain tumor (the same kind that took my mother’s life) do its work. It’s suicide, but a lot of people in the Facebook comment thread where I encountered the article did not seemā€¦