O Sun of righteousness by which the righteous beheld their own selves and became a mirror for their generations, open up within me the gate to awareness of Thee; grant me a joyful mind, one which sails above the rocks of error, so that I may reach that serene haven, as did our fathers of old who pleased Thee with their discerning lives. Sanctify me by Thy Mysteries, illumine my mind with knowledge of Thee, make Thine hope to shine... Read more

Sleepless.How to say, what to say?Same oldGospelTenth timeRound Sleepless.Where’s the wrong?Broken. PromisesJudgmentalOtherNess Sleepless.What would God have me do?SilenceWorryStruggleDarkness Sleepless.Are the bills …?Should we be …?Where’s the …?The devilSigh Sleepless.TemptationDoubtsPastThe Fallfalling Brieflyfalling Joy comes in the … FallingGlory to God.Falling Aslee … Read more

The thing about Confession is it’s natural. That is, it’s Real. Most everything else we do with our sin is false and unnatural. We punish ourselves, justify our actions, and hide. Yet, in Confession — in opening ourselves to God, the Light — we expose the hypocrisy of our double life. In truth, we’ve been living a lie. Without Confession, Absolution, and Reconciliation we live a lie before God and Man as if it were Reality. In reality, no one... Read more

Almighty God; We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United States at large. And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean... Read more

Helen was two. All you had to do was ask her. “How old are you?” “Two!” (The number of fingers accompanying this reply could vary.) In truth, being two is hard. Barring extraordinary circumstances, during the ripe old age of two you enter the World of No. Formerly, you lived in Yes World where everything you did was “Yes!” You smile. Yes!Laugh. Yes!Stop crying. Yes! Crawl. Yes! Talk. Yes!Walk. Yes!Your every move and most waking moments is utterly adorable. Yes!... Read more

I know, I know. It’s so last year. Enjoy anyway. Happy Thanksgiving! Read more

Click the above link. Interesting! Read more

We were on the way home and I was singing songs from the Liturgy. She, at the time – two years old, said, “Do it again, Dad!” I remember this, especially from my oldest daughter, particularly the Trisagion hymn: “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us!” So, between the grocery store and the house, I must have sang the Trisagion about twenty times. I laid her down for her nap and she said, “Sing ‘Twinkle, Twinkle’.”... Read more

When the holy and most pure child Mary (Mariam or Miriam in Hebrew) reached the age of three, her parents, the righteous Joachim and Anna, fulfilled the vow they had made to dedicate her to God. Going in procession with a company of maidens carrying torches, they presented their child at the Temple in Jerusalem, where Zecharias the High Priest took her under his care, blessing her with these words: The Lord has glorified thy name in every generation; it... Read more

Thanks to you, according to my counter, this site has now passed 200,000 hits since signing on with Site Meter back in 2004. It took about 20 months to hit 100,000 … and about 9 more to hit the 200,000 mark. When I bump into folks that read the blog, I find it kinda scary — like they’ve been eaves dropping and maybe, uh-oh — oh no! … what did I say? Anyway, so far so good … THANKS. Read more