In explaining why he hired the president of Goldman Sachs for the US Secretary of Commerce, not only did Donald Trump say it was because he did not want a poor person (who would understand the problems of the economy) in office, but also it is because he prefers the rich. That is, Trump suggested [Read More…]
Love Hopes For All As It Works For All
June 21, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Ralph Martin’s Will Many Be Saved? systematized the basic criticism many have had concerning modern theologians who have hoped that many, if not all, might end up saved. Hans Urs von Balthasar and Karl Rahner are central to Martin’s book, where he believes their theological opinions, even if they end up not being heretical, have [Read More…]
In Silence, Love Remains
June 20, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Silence. In our active, daily lives, we should find time to slow down and embrace silence. We should silence our minds. We should try to throw out all thoughts, all self-centered perceptions, all engagement in and of the world which holds to ourselves as the center of our being. If we want to experience the [Read More…]
Book Review: Pavel Florensky: Early Religious Writings
June 19, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Pavel Florensky. Early Religious Writings: 1903 – 1909. Trans. Boris Jakim (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdman’s Publications, 2017),228 +xiii pages. Pavel Florensky, perhaps the most poetic and beautiful theological stylist of the Russian Silver Age, has within the last couple decades become much more known and recognized for his greatness by a Western audience. [Read More…]
Do Not Become Like A Fish Out Of Water
June 16, 2017 by Leave a Comment
He also said, “Just as fish die if they stay too long out of water, so the monks who loiter outside their cells or pass their time with men of the world lose the intensity of inner peace. So like a fish going towards the sea, we must hurry to reach our cell, for fear [Read More…]
On The Sacrament of Chrismation (Confirmation) Conclusion
June 14, 2017 by Leave a Comment
This is the fourth and last post on a series exploring the sacrament of chrismation. Click here for Part One, here for Part Two, and here for Part Three. St. Seraphim of Sarov famously stated that the goal of the Christian life should be the acquisition of the Holy Spirit. Now, since they are given [Read More…]
On The Sacrament of Chrismation (Confirmation) Part Three
June 12, 2017 by Leave a Comment
This is the third post on a series exploring the sacrament of chrismation. Click here for Part One and here for Part Two. We are meant to be incorporated into the body of Christ, and so live in the life of Christ, even as we are to find our life to be spiritualized, to be [Read More…]
All Saints
June 9, 2017 by Leave a Comment
The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we knew him not. He preached the way, the truth, and the life, and we knew him not. The Word was taken captive, placed upon the cross, and was executed as an enemy of the state, as an enemy of the powers that be in the [Read More…]
I Have Published A Book: The Eschatological Judgment of Christ
June 7, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Years ago, when I was chrismated and became a Byzantine Catholic, a friend of mine sent me a copy of Balthasar’s Presence and Thought: An Essay on the Religious Philosophy of Gregory of Nyssa as a gift to commemorate the event. When I read it, I was not impressed; it did not engage me where [Read More…]
On The Sacrament of Chrismation (Confirmation) Part Two
June 6, 2017 by Leave a Comment
This is the second post of a series discussing the sacrament of confirmation. Click here to read part one. Scripture talks about those who have received the Holy Spirit, that is, those who have been anointed or sealed by the Spirit. When reading such texts, we must not consider the word “sealed” as being merely [Read More…]
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