Morality is important for the Christian faith. Christians should seek after and engage the greatest good, which of course, is found in and with God. But to do that, they must not deny other, particular goods, for all those goods participate in and are a part of the greatest good. Denying them, rejecting them and their proper value, denies the good from which they came. This is why Christians should be doing what they can to engage and promote what... Read more
Looking back to when Pope Francis was first introduced to the world, I remember how quickly the opposition to him arose. It came from Latin America, and various so-called traditionalists who sought to have him viewed as a heretic because he did not support them in their desire to return the church to the way it was right before Vatican II. While they claim to be traditionalists, as usual with such extremists, they did not understand tradition how tradition develops... Read more
The first Sunday after Pascha reminds us that Christ’s resurrection from the dead is not merely some historical fact, a mere historical event — it is an eternal event integrates itself with history and allows us to be drawn into it and experience it ourselves. Christ is risen, and we can meet the risen Christ in a variety of ways. He has a glorified body, one which demonstrates to us what our bodies can and will be like in the... Read more
One ancient heresy which was common among those who read Scripture very simply, very literally, and sometimes finds itself manifest to this day, is the belief that God has a material body, and with that body, looks like us, or rather, we, in our bodies, resemble God’s physical form. Those who hold this belief say this is what it means to be made in God’s image and likeness. We were made to resemble God, having a body like God’s body,... Read more
We are not to worship creation, but the Creator. This does not mean we are to ignore the good of creation, nor, especially, to disrespect it. We are not worshiping creation if we look to the world we see, realize its importance for our temporal existence, and do what we can to make sure it remains in good shape. Protecting the environment, taking care of the earth and all its inhabitants, is what we should all be doing. If we... Read more
I woke up to hear the news which everyone will be hearing today: Pope Francis has passed away this morning (Bright Monday). The first thing I did was pray for him, for him to have a blessed repose and that his memory be eternal. After that, I thought about how he pushed himself over the last few days, wondering if he knew if this would be the last time he would celebrate Easter with us. I suspect he did. I... Read more
Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Every year, it is the Byzantine tradition to have St. John Chrysostom’s Easter Sermon read during the Paschal service; this allows the faithful to hear the way Chrysostom explains that everyone is called by Christ to share in the joy and grace and glory of the resurrection for themselves. Christ’s work, Christ’s accomplishment in his death and resurrection is universal. No one, no matter how sinful, no matter how barbarous or cruel they... Read more
Too many people have an overly-physical conception of the eucharist, and because of it, they misunderstand the technical vocabulary the Western tradition has developed to explain it. That is, when they hear someone talking about the substance of the eucharist, they understand the term substance in an entirely physical fashion. Theologically, substance is to be understood as the metaphysical essence or the underlying reality of a thing; when saying the substance of the eucharist is Christ, it is saying the... Read more
Intrinsic evil is a term which is often misunderstood as indicating something is essentially (and so absolutely) evil. The reason this is wrong is because evil is not natural, and so, has no real essence or substance of its own. Nothing can be essentially evil. There is nothing which is absolutely evil. Existence is good, which means, everything which exists, has some good in it because of its existence. Evil works to counter the good, to deny some proper good;... Read more
In the Byzantine tradition, Lent is over. Holy Week is a time all unto its own. The last day of Lent was the Friday before Palm Sunday. Then comes Lazarus Saturday, the celebration which commemorates when Jesus brought Lazarus back to life (which can be said to be a resuscitation, not a resurrection, because, in Christian theology, a resurrection is more than just coming back to life). Then comes Palm Sunday which leads us to Holy Week. Holy week was... Read more
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