Tag: religion of the heart
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The Price of the Liturgy
Having written about the temptations of secularism within modernity – even within the liturgy – I offer this as a balance for our troubled hearts. +++ “We celebrate the Liturgy together. But we must pay what this costs: each one must be concerned for the salvation of all. Our life is an endless martyrdom.” The…
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The Presence in Absence
This short post is among the first to appear on this blog – dating back to October of ’06. In the light of conversations about hiddenness – it seemed here timely to bring this back to our attention. I have written on the topic of the absence of God (or our sense of it) since…
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The Apostles’ Fast
The Orthodox year has a rhythm, much like the tide coming in and going out – only this rhythm is an undulation between seasons of fasting and seasons (or a few days) of feasting. Every week, with few exceptions, is marked by the Wednesday and Friday fast, and every celebration of the Divine Liturgy is…
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Hidden Saints
The first Sunday after Pentecost is traditionally observed as the Sunday of All Saints in the Orthodox Church – both those that are “hidden” and those who have been “revealed.” These are some thoughts on the “hidden” saints – by far the most numerous. It is surely the case that most saints are hidden. St.…
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We Have Seen
I have been on the road and out-of-town this week, visiting with my daughter and her husband in Louisiana (where I enjoyed the very kind hospitality of St. Gabriel Antiochian Orthodox Church in Lafayette). May God richly bless all of them. I post this article from a year ago – as one that I enjoy…
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Prayers by the Lake – XXIX
This xxix prayer of St. Nicholai of Zicha from Prayers by the Lake. This echoing of the prayers of Pentecost should give us all hope in our sins as we seek the merciful God. For all the sins of men I repent before You, Most Merciful Lord. Indeed, the seed of all sins flows in…
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The Beautiful God
Everything is beautiful in a person when he turns toward God, and everything is ugly when it is turned away from God. Fr. Pavel Florensky +++ Florensky is among the more intriguing Orthodox writers of the 20th century. A brilliant mathematician, as well as a priest, he refused opportunities to leave revolutionary Russia and follow…
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Do We Live In Between?
The time between the Ascension of Christ and the Day of Pentecost marked something of an “in-between” period for Christ’s disciples. They had been instructed at the time of the Ascension to remain in Jerusalem and wait “for the promise.” Ten days later the promise was fulfilled and the Holy Spirit filled the fledgling Church…
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Heavenly Minded
Years ago, I recall hearing someone complain about zealous Christians, “They are so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good.” The truth of the statement depends entirely on the understanding of heaven and earth. It is possible to pursue a version of “heaven” such that the spiritual life is undermined. It is also…
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Our Selves, Our Souls, Our Bodies – More on Faith
And here we offer and present unto Thee, O Lord, our selves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy and living sacrifice unto Thee… From Thomas Cranmer’s Eucharistic Prayer Regardless of what opinion one may have of the English reformer Thomas Cranmer’s theology, no one can deny him a central place in the…
Matthew, in western art the painter is always present, the person in the picture is a creature of the painter.…