Tag: Communion

The Things We Share

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 10 Leave a Comment on %s
Modern culture frequently celebrates the freedom we each enjoy – in come cases going so far as to think of human beings as discreet individuals. Of course each of us lives in his/her own body – but even as such – we live in a common world. What I do and how I live affects others whether I want it to or not. In one manner or another, we live on the…

Drawing Near to Pascha

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 17 Leave a Comment on %s
We live in a “linear” world. This is to say that we experience time and events in a sequential manner. “B” does not happen before “A”. It would be, perhaps, just as accurate to say that we live on a “flat earth.” Though we may know that the world is round, we live like it is flat. Thus we say, “The Sun rises,” rather than, “the Earth rotates,” etc. “Things fall,” rather…

The Difficult Path of Giving Thanks

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 54 Leave a Comment on %s
The mark of a soul that loves wisdom always gives thanks to God. If you have suffered evil, give thanks and it is changed to good. He has not sinned who suffered the evil but he who has done the evil. Give thanks even in disease, lack of possessions, or false accusations. It is not we who are injured but those who are the authors of them. – St. John Chrysostom +++…

You Never Pray Alone

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 61 Leave a Comment on %s
Forgive me if this offers any offense. There is a conception of what it means to be human, rooted in Medieval thought and refined in the furnace of modernity. This conception views each person as a “free moral agent.” Each of us is a unique individual. Our choices are our own and set our path for good or ill. Moral decisions may be submitted to varying forms of ethical tests. The choices…

Prayer and Communion

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 16 Leave a Comment on %s
Having posted on the topic of prayer – I thought that reposting this earlier piece on the mystery of prayer as communion would be helpful. In particular it should be helpful for understanding the larger life of prayer – which includes our communion with the saints. +++ Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God…

“A Sword Will Pierce Your Soul”

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 17 Leave a Comment on %s
The Mother of God, while bringing the Christ child to the temple, was greeted by an elderly man, the “just and devout man,” Simeon. Taking the child into his arms he spoke the well-known prophetic words of the Nunc Dimittis, “Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace….” He spoke as well of the child’s future, with dark tones that hinted at the suffering he would endure. He turned as well…

Whom God Would Have Us Be

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 36 Leave a Comment on %s
When man stands before the throne of God, when he has fulfilled all that God has given him to fulfill, when all sins are forgiven, all joy restored, then there is nothing else for him to do but to give thanks. Eucharist (thanksgiving) is the state of perfect man. Eucharist is the life of paradise. Eucharist is the only full and real response of man to God’s creation, redemption and gift of…

Silent Sentinels

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 7 Leave a Comment on %s
On October 1, the Church will celebrate the feast of the Protection of the Mother of God. Icons of this feast portray the Mother of God extending her veil over the whole Church – a graphic presentation of her prayers and maternal love. A similar love and prayer belongs to the saints of heaven, who stand as “a great cloud of witnesses,” urging the Church forward and always surrounding us with their…

Fellowship and the Tower of Babel

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 73 Leave a Comment on %s
I had an occasion last week to be confronted by a Protestant fundamentalist “street preacher.” Wearing a cassock and a cross in public clearly identifies me as a priest (though in this part of the world most people know nothing of Orthodox priests). It also makes you a target for some who want to have arguments about religion. Thus, last week, while doing work on the local university campus, I was approached…

To Walk in the Light

· Fr. Stephen Freeman 16 Leave a Comment on %s
If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have communion with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. For a variety of reasons, my thoughts have been drawn increasingly to the imagery within Scripture of darkness and light. It is powerful imagery that, for me, echoes the inner, existential experience of the Christian life. To walk in the light is to walk in…