Daily Spirituality Archives — Page 9 of 10

Do We Preach “Orthodoxy”… or Christ?

June 3, 2015May 31, 2017 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

In her review of Kyriakos Markides’s Gifts of the Desert, Frederica Mathewes-Green says she had a hard time finding Jesus in the book: Markides’ previous book, “The Mountain of Silence” (2001), was read eagerly by those interested in Orthodox spirituality, chiefly because he had faithfully transcribed taped conversations with a monk trained on Mt. Athos, Father Maximos. Though Markides himself seemed not wholly on…

The Power of Resurrection

April 11, 2015April 29, 2019 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

I wanted to offer a few words as Orthodox Christians around the world are experiencing Paschal joy, rippling across the time zones with shouts of exultation in the glory of Christ’s rising from death. I’m not sure why, but this year in particular I have strongly felt a sense of the pervasiveness of the power of the resurrection of Jesus. Perhaps it is because…

Don’t Blog Angry

March 30, 2015 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

One of my favorite moments in the film “Groundhog Day” is when Bill Murray says to Punxsatawney Phil “Don’t drive angry.” I was reminded of that today when I was thinking about what to write for my daily blog post. Why? Because this has not been my day. I won’t go into the details, but this has been one of those days when every…

Lenten Evangelism #8: Renunciation of the World and Evangelism

March 22, 2015March 22, 2015 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

Sunday of St. John of the Ladder, March 22, 2015 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. What does a sixth century monk living on Mount Sinai have to teach us about evangelism? That is the question I asked as I pondered the continuation of our series on…

Demons are Real. So are Angels.

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

The other day, I wrote that many of us are usually ready for Lent to be over at about this time. And I must admit that that includes me. Today I was reminded of all that again, when a snowstorm on the last day of winter interfered with an event important to me as well as a beautiful church service I’d planned to celebrate…

“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…

“God will make him a saint for you”: On Rigidity

March 10, 2015March 10, 2015 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

I spent the day yesterday at St. Tikhon’s with some of my fellow clergy from the Lehigh Valley Orthodox Clergy Brotherhood, and we shared a beautiful day of brotherhood as guests of the monastery. In one of our conversations, one of the priests was relating time he had spent with a holy elder in Greece (who is still living, though not in good health),…

Is Orthodoxy “Christianity, Only Tougher”?

February 28, 2015May 31, 2021 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

Particularly during this season of Great Lent with all its fasting and services and so forth, Orthodox Christians who live in a multi-religious society may be tempted to think or say something like what you see in this image here: “Orthodoxy: Christianity. Only Tougher.” On its face, there is of course a lot of truth to that characterization. Being a faithful Orthodox Christian is…