Theophany comes up this week: today’s readings help us prepare. Gospel: the ministry of St. John the Baptist (St. Mark 1:1-8) Son of Zachariah and Elizabeth; a miracle child Gabriel announced: “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his […]
A Lecture on the Harmony of the Spheres (notes)
December 27, 2015 By
The Harmony of God: the salvific beauty of liturgy and music Fr. Anthony Perkins (Spiritually Speaking, 12/27/2015) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was […]
On Transitions – how to leave well
December 1, 2015 By
On 13 September 2015, I served my last Divine Liturgy at St. Michael’s in Woonsocket, RI. Although in many ways the situation was ideal (it was an amicable parting; I wasn’t driven out by them or by frustration with them), it was still very difficult. I wanted to do it well, for their benefit, for […]
The Holodomor, Lazarus, and the Rich Man
November 9, 2015 By
Holodomor (dedication and blessing of the Holodomor Memorial in DC). Background info: the Holodomor (i.e. murder by starvation) was an intentional policy of the USSR under Stalin. In 1932-33, the Soviet regime killed upwards of ten million people (the number is disputed, but no one doubts that it was several million) through the forced acquisition of […]
From the Archives: An Explanation of the (Christian) Heresy of Islam for Orthodox Believers
October 10, 2015 By
A friend of mine has been encouraging me to put something together on this for a church publication. I wanted to write so much more (e.g. presenting more of the patristic work on the subject), but time and space didn’t allow for it. I am guessing that some of the audience will find the title […]
You do NOT have to hate the west to be Orthodox!
February 3, 2015 By
The rhetoric from Moscow – to include from the Moscow Patriarchate and its daughter Churches – may be great at gathering support for Putin’s domestic and foreign policy goals, but it is dividing Orthodox Christians in the West and threatens to do serious damage to Orthodoxy’s ability to spread the Gospel here. There is no […]
Homily on Stewardship (the talents)
September 29, 2014 By
Homily on the Talents: What is (getting to) Heaven Like?St. Matthew 25:14-30 Main point: What do do with the riches God has given us? Multiply them! How? By investing all those riches in spiritual activities that provide a strong return on investment and having enough self-discipline not to waste them on activities that cause spiritual […]
From GGWB: Priests, you don’t have to like your parish either
March 29, 2014 By
In my post, “You Don’t Have to Like Your Priest”, I built on Brother Patrick’s essay to describe some of the reasons that people don’t like their Orthodox priests, making the general point that all of his foibles pale in comparison to the One Thing Needful which He serves and shares. Another dynamic of this […]
Homily – Saint Gregory of Palamas
March 16, 2014 By
We have arrived at the second week of Great Lent. It is like the the second lap of a hard race, one we run to win. How are we doing? The sudden aches of the first week have receded, but we struggle to find our pace. My mirror. The real mirror is the prayer we […]
Day Four – Paleo, Orthodoxy, and Grains
November 18, 2013 By
One of the reasons I love the paleo movement is that it challenges a status quo that is so obviously broken and dangerous. Like anarchism when it comes to modern government and economics, paleo steps outside the dominant paradigm and blasts away at its problems. We need to hear that. I also love that they […]
