We have a role in our own personal creation: we have been given free will, and through it, we can develop ourselves, establishing our own personal identity. Our actions, and the reasons behind them, are important. They play a significant part in who we are, indeed, they can reveal to others who it is we have become. Obviously, much of our interior life will remain hidden, so what is revealed is partial, but it is enough to give others, and... Read more
Humanity was made for greatness; sadly, we find ourselves far from it. We have gone astray. We have and continue to act in ways which hinder our potential. We have not learned from our mistakes, as we continue to act in ways which further impede our greatness, sometimes creating bad habits which, once we realize what we have done, make it difficult for us to change our ways. While we have free will, the freedom we have been given is... Read more
We must be careful and not confuse the external form of the church, the church as it exists in the world throughout history, and the structures it uses to establish its place in the world, as being what the church is. The institutional church is important, and it needs rules to help fulfill its task, but those rules and its actions in history can be and are influenced by human conventions and cultural expectations and norms, elements which have nothing... Read more
I have been thinking about writing a new kinds of series for my blog, one which would be different in style than other things I publish on it, and today, I decided to start it. The series will be written in the first person, and it will be a much more informal presentation. I will use it to reflect on many different subject matters, from ideas or concerns going through my thoughts, to brief reviews over something I have recently... Read more
Sometimes we embrace pride thinking it cannot be a serious problem, when it develops or encourages us to do because it encourages us to do various good things with our time. How can it be so bad? Pride, and with it, vainglory, often have us do good things in order to make it look like they are not really sinful dispositions. We might, for example, help the poor, and in doing so, think we prove ourselves better than others and... Read more
It’s not what you know, but what you do which is important. Studying and learning about the truth can be good, but what use is it if it you do not put it into action? Knowing how to determine what is best to do is not the same thing as doing it. Those who naturally do what is just, even if they do not know all the reasons which could be used to prove the goodness of such actions, are... Read more
We have many stories, some more famous than others, in which saints encounter and slay dragons, with St. George being the most well-known of them all. Most of these stories should be understood to be legendary, that is, not to be entirely historical; while there might be some historical basis behind them, that historical core is used to construct a legend which engages mythic, not historical dimensions. Then, through the mythic presentation of the event, symbols are used to present... Read more
We must always be pursuing peace, especially in the midst of war: “ Great is peace, for peace is needed even at the time of war, as it is said WHEN YOU APPROACH A TOWN TO ATTACK IT, YOU SHALL OFFER IT TERMS OF PEACE (Deut. 20:10).” [1]Such peace should be authentic, one based upon reconciliation, where all sides involved in a conflict find a way to reestablish whatever justice was undermined due to war or which before it commenced,... Read more
There is a tendency for many to overlook men and their sexual sins, justifying it by saying something like “boys will be boys.” And yet, if a woman were to sin in a similar fashion, they would be looked down upon with outright contempt as she will be branded with all kinds of insults. Throughout history, men with positions of power and authority which they use to seduce and manipulate women, once they find such women no longer satisfy them,... Read more
Every year, we look to the fruits of Christ’s labor, the saints, those who, having lived by faith, became holy by grace. We look to them and the great things they have done, and then we honor them. In doing so, we honor God, for their holiness is, in part, the work of God, for God gave them the grace they needed to do wondrous things with their lives. Certainly, they were not perfect. Not everything they did was respectable.... Read more
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