Category: Repentance

A Generous Repentance

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 7 Leave a Comment on %s
I have learned over time to expect cultural expressions of the Orthodox faith that are mentioned nowhere in books and articles. Many of these surround major life events and their sacraments: Baptism, Marriage, Funerals. And so I was not surprised when the family of a recently deceased Romanian in my community called me for help giving away his clothes. I was told that it needed to be done before the end ofā€¦

The Erotic Language of Prayer

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 46 Leave a Comment on %s
The very heart of true prayer is desire, love. In the language of the Fathers this desire is called eros. Modern usage has corrupted the meaning of ā€œeroticā€ to only mean sexual desire – but it is a profound word, without substitute in the language of the Church. I offer a quote from Dr. Timothy Patitsas of Holy Cross in Brookline: By eros we mean the love that makes us forget ourselvesā€¦

Legal Problems

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 62 Leave a Comment on %s
I find almost nothing as useless when thinking about God or the human condition as legal imagery. Indeed, it is worse than useless – it leads only to wrong conclusions and even produces the wrong questions. That some language within the Scriptures lends itself to legal imagery is undeniable – although modern legal thought bears almost no resemblance to the thoughts surrounding the Law (Torah) in the Old Testament. Legal language isā€¦

Naked And Unashamed

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 55 Leave a Comment on %s
The deepest and most primitive emotion of the human being is that of shame. It is the feeling that something is wrong with us. This should be distinguished from the feeling that we have done something wrong (that is called guilt). Shame is the feeling that we are something wrong. It is the first emotion ascribed to Adam and Eve as they hide in their shame. Shame makes us want to hideā€¦

If We Confess Our Sins

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 61 Leave a Comment on %s
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.Ā (1Jo 1:9) Confession is treated as one of the sacraments (mysteries) of the faith. In most cases it is done with a priest, within the confines of the canonical discipline of the Church. But what makes a good confession? I have written here recently that sin is not a ā€œlegalā€ problem.ā€¦

A Modern Lent

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 53 Leave a Comment on %s
Few things are as difficult in the modern world as fasting. It is not simply the action of changing our eating habits that we find problematic – itā€™s the whole concept of fasting and what it truly entails. It comes from another world. We understand dieting – changing how we eat in order to improve how we look or how we feel. But changing how we eat in order to know Godā€¦

Singing and Dancing through Great Lent

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 40 Leave a Comment on %s
I grew up in a rural American Protestant culture. In many ways there was a level of piety that was beneficial. Godā€™s name, particularly the name of Christ, was held in great reverence.Ā  Stores closed on Sundays ā€“ and if many people used the afternoon for recreation ā€“ most used the morning to attend Church. The knowledge of Scripture, though somewhat superficial, was still widespread. The first psalms I memorized were inā€¦

Forgiveness – Do We Know What We’re Doing?

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 25 Leave a Comment on %s
The first service of Great Lent in the Orthodox Church is “Forgiveness Vespers,” served on the eve of Monday of the First Week. There is nothing unusual about the service itself – other than the “rite of forgiveness” appended to it. In this, the priest and the faithful ask forgiveness of one another. Often this is done with mutual prostrations. Each asks the forgiveness of the other. The rite can take time,ā€¦

With Envy and Justice for All

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 51 Leave a Comment on %s
We use many words and concepts in our daily lives without bothering to consider their true content. In my experience, few words are less examined than “justice.” It is a word that is foundational in the modern world with deep roots in religious tradition. Most people would agree that the desire for justice is virtually innate in human beings. However, it has a dark side of which very few seem to beā€¦

The Demons of our Time

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 24 Leave a Comment on %s
In 1872, Dostoevsky published his novel, The Demons [Š‘ŠµŃŃ‹]. It demonstrated in a microcosm, the insanity that lay within the revolutionary movements of 19th century Russia. That insanity broke upon the world in 1917 and has remained present with us, in one form or another, ever since. The madness that he describes takes place in a small town, away from the great capitals of Russia. It involves a relatively small cast ofā€¦