Time Eternal

No, I’m not Dead: and a sneak peek at my next book

May 9, 2019May 9, 2019 · Nicole M. Roccas

Christ is risen! I hope by now, everyone has recovered from Holy Week and Pascha and has survived the first fasting day (yesterday) after Bright Week! Things have been (and will continue to be) a little quiet around here, but I wanted to assure you all that I’m still alive! Just very quiet. The reason I’ve been keeping…

5 Ways the Divine Liturgy Connects Time, History, and Eternity (Infographic)

April 12, 2019April 11, 2019 · Nicole M. Roccas

I recently finished reading the recently updated version of Benjamin D. Williams and Harold B. Anstall’s Orthodox Worship: A Living Continuity with the Synagogue, the Temple, and the Early Church (check it out on the Ancient Faith site here). Part Church history, part explication of the liturgy, the book introduces readers to the legacy of Jewish Temple worship…

“Yes, and”: What Improv Comedy Taught Me about the Annunciation

March 25, 2019March 22, 2019 · Nicole M. Roccas 6

My husband and I recently finished the first level of improv comedy courses at The Second City Toronto training centre (where John Candy got his start, nbd). A 7-week course, it was perhaps the most terrifying, fun, and challenging things we have ever done together. Lately I’ve been reflecting on all the things it taught me, not only…

Got askesis envy? Advice from a desert monk

March 14, 2019March 14, 2019 · Nicole M. Roccas 1

In the Orthodox Church, Great Lent is enriched by the memory of the most celebrated monastics of Christian memory–St. Andrew of Crete (who got his start as a hierarch and hymnographer in a monastery near Jerusalem), St. John of the Ladder, and St. Mary of Egypt, to name a few. Surrounded by these virtuous souls, it’s easy…

Upcoming Speaking Engagements: Toronto (March 10) and Edmonton (March 16)

March 5, 2019 · Nicole M. Roccas

Hey folks! Just a quick note to let you know about some speaking engagements coming up this week. This Sunday, March 10, I’ll be giving an informal talk on Lent and despondency in Toronto (Holy Myrrhbearers Orthodox Mission). The talk will be 1pm at Trinity College with Forgiveness Vespers to follow around 2PM. Join us if you’re able!…

Despondency: The Most Temporal Passion? (Taped Lecture)

February 28, 2019 · Nicole M. Roccas 2

This past Tuesday afternoon, I had the delightful opportunity to give a guest talk at the Met. Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies at St. Michael’s College (University of Toronto). In it, I re-examined the central claim of Time and Despondency, namely the idea that despondency is somehow inextricably tied to a broken relationship to time, in…

“Utter some angry words”: Surprising Advice from Evagrius of Ponticus

February 25, 2019 · Nicole M. Roccas 6

Here’s a surprising bit of advice from a desert theologian I came to appreciate in writing Time and Despondency: When you are tempted, do not fall immediately to prayer. First utter some angry words against the [demon] who afflicts you. Evagrius, The Praktikos 42 The quotation is found nestled into the middle pages of his treatise called The Praktikos, a…

Time and Despondency: Online Lenten Reading Group

February 18, 2019 · Nicole M. Roccas 1

Hi Time Eternalites! It’s officially Triodion Season, which means Great Lent is coming! If you’re looking for a spiritually beneficial book to read AND a way to have deeper fellowship with others this Lent, I recommend joining the Lenten reading group for _Time and Despondency_! It’s open to anyone with a Facebook account who plans to read or re-read…

The Gift of Time: How I Made Meaningful, Inexpensive, and Beautiful Christmas Gifts for Everyone in my Family in Under an Hour

January 9, 2019January 4, 2019 · Nicole M. Roccas 4

Early last month, sandwiched between random crises, deadlines, and stressors, I wondered how in the heck I was going to do Christmas presents this year. My husband and I like to keep things homemade, but I hadn’t knit anything and knew I was quickly losing time to make anything. Plus, baked goods don’t really work for my side…

“When You, O Lord, Were Baptized…” (Guest Post)

January 5, 2019January 3, 2019 · Nicole M. Roccas

Christ is (almost) baptized! The new year is always an exciting time, temporally speaking, all the more so as we approach the Feast of Theophany. The Time Eternal Blogathon has more or less come to a close. Before we conclude, however, I’m sharing a guest post from one of the most loveable (and teasable) priests I know, Fr.…