Persecution, though never a good in and of itself, can sometimes inspire the church to change, and change for the better. When it happens, Christians should examine themselves and see if there is something which they have done, something which is not necessary for them to do, that has caused someone to react harshly against them. That is, it could be their attitude, and the way they have treated others which has caused pushback against them. Even if that is... Read more
The absolute truth, the truth which can be described as the divine reality from which all things come to be, is one. That is, God is one, indeed, the One. Nonetheless, our knowledge of the absolute truth, of the truth of God, is not as the absolute truth as it is in itself, for that truth infinitely transcends our ability to comprehend it. Our knowledge, our experience of that truth is through various ways which we are able to apprehend... Read more
When I heard Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was chosen to become pope, I, like many, was extremely surprised. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States. He is a native English speaker, whose cultural background, whose political challenges growing up, are similar to my own (with the differences being the time in which he was born). While he did not stay in the United States, because his missionary spirit, the spirit which he promoted in... Read more
Nationalism can have a few different connotations, some which are positive, and some which are not. It’s the negative ones which have taken over and become uses to represent all forms of nationalism, which is why, when reading documents in the past, we must be careful and not assume the negative kind is involved, especially if the nationalism in question is engaged in the defense and protection of one group of people from another. We can find Christians embracing both... Read more
Some of the Sundays after Pascha (until the Ascension) use events from Jesus’s ministry to reflect upon the ways Christ’s resurrection of the dead can and should affect us. This is done by having us read into the events from his ministry as representing spiritual truths, where what happens physically in the story can be said to be happening with us spiritually (if, of course, we are open to and accept Jesus’ grace). Thus, we not only learn of the... Read more
I’m a vegetarian. While I often tell people the reason why I became vegetarian was for the health benefits, and that certainly is one of the reasons, I have also had philosophical, moral, and even religious reasons which led me to live out such a life choice. Ultimately, it became a matter of following my personal conscience. The more I understood evolution, and the close relationship humanity has with the rest of the animal world, the more I realized how... Read more
The spiritual life, and with it, the spiritual needs of different people, is not “one size fits all.” This is why not everyone will be aided by the same spiritual disciplines. There will always be a pragmatic element to spirituality. This is why, when various norms disciplines established which might help the majority of the people in a particular time and place, there might be some who need to be dispensed with those norms because, instead of helping them, those... Read more
While a part of me, having watched various Christians and Catholics demonstrate ignorance of basic Christian morality as they turned to and adhered to extreme right-wing political ideals and confused them with Christian principles, is not surprised with the way so many Christians have joined themselves to the Trump agenda, another part of me continues to be shocked, confused, sad and angry with the way they embraced Trump. I think this is because I want to believe my fellow Christians... Read more
Women had an extremely important place in Christ’s ministry. Like St. Photina, the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well, they often were the ones who first proclaimed Christ to others, and then after they had done so, cast aside by the men. This is especially true in regards Christ’s resurrection from the dead. It was women who, even in his death, took care of and looked after his body, and were willing to do what was expected to show him due... Read more
When we pray the Our Father, we pray for mercy, to have our sins forgiven; but we are told to so with the willingness to forgive others as we have been forgiven, that is, to be forgiven, we must embrace the spirit of forgiveness ourselves. It is not because there is some sort of transaction going on, where God forgives us out of a debt because we have forgiven others, but rather, because we have embraced the spirit of forgiveness,... Read more
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