We are called to be temples of God, that is, to have God dwell within us. When that happen, as St. Antony the Great indicated, we will be able to be good. This is because when we have God dwell within us, we are able to participate in and share in God’s goodness: “Abba Antony said: ‘A man is never good, even if he wants to be good. Unless God dwells within him: ‘There is none good but one :... Read more
Freedom and human dignity are interconnected, which is why those who promote human dignity must promote liberation for those who are oppressed. We should want everyone to enjoy the freedom which everyone naturally possesses. Everyone, by nature, is good, and that goodness reflects the divine image which is in them. God is absolutely free; those made in the image of God reflect that freedom, giving them a relative, not absolute freedom, a freedom which allows them to make of themselves... Read more
When we worship God with others, such as at a Vespers Service, or during a Divine Liturgy, we must make sure we keep ourselves properly focused, making sure we do not turn our attention to others and what they are doing. God does not need our worship; when we go, it is for ourselves. Worship should be done out of love, for then, it will help us open ourselves up to God and God’s love for us. Thus, our worship... Read more
Christ’s resurrection from the dead was more than a simple historical event. This is why it is wrong to look at it from a merely historical standpoint. Historians will not be able to say much about the event itself. To be sure, there was a historical side to it, but to limit it to a mere historical event will misunderstand the event itself. It is an eternal event. The historical aspect of it is remembered every year as we celebrate... Read more
One of the key elements which connects J.R.R. Tolkien’s personal faith with his myths is his understanding of angels and their role in world history. He believed, like many other Christians, that angels had a more direct interaction with humanity in pre-Christian times than they did after the incarnation. For, after God became human, the role angels had changed to reflect the more direct relationship humanity would have with God. As his myth took place in pre-history, long before the... Read more
St. John Chrysostom, in his famous Paschal Homily, shows us the true spirit of Easter in the way he says everyone is called to come and celebrate the joy of the resurrection. His message is one of inclusion and love, not of hate and exclusion, so that even those who might have thought they should be excluded from the Paschal feast are told they are welcomed and wanted at it: Come you all: enter into the joy of your Lord.... Read more
God created the world and saw it was good. As God is the source and foundation of every good, it would be incredulous to think that God would ever seek to have anything which is good to be utterly destroyed. The problem with sin, what makes it evil, is not that sin or evil is a substance, but rather, it seeks to corrupt and destroy that which is good. Indeed, if evil is left unchecked, if it is able to... Read more
Christ is Risen! The doctrine of the death and resurrection of Christ is not about a man who died and then was later resuscitated. Resuscitation is different from resurrection, for resuscitation brings one back from death to the kind of life they had before death, which resurrection is transformative and the one who is resurrected will never die again. In the resurrection of Christ, we have been shown that death itself has an end, that it can be and has... Read more
The cross. It had come to this. It was always coming to this, ever since he was born. The God-man, Jesus Christ, experienced murderous hatred toward himself all his life (as can be seen by the way Herod wanted the infant Jesus killed). And yet, with all that hate, he came to the world to reveal God’s love, a love which transcended such hate, because it was a love which would not allow itself to be anything but love. Jesus... Read more
On the night on which Jesus was betrayed, a betrayal which he expected and was ready for, Jesus first handed himself over to his disciples at the Last Supper, giving himself completely to them in the institution of the eucharist. Then, later, when the soldiers came to arrest him, he did not resist arrest. In all that he did that night, Jesus revealed to us some aspect of God’s love for humanity. Jesus let himself be taken, judged, condemned, and... Read more
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