ST TIKHON’S: North America’s Oldest Orthodox Monastery Marks Centennial. That Li’l Ol’ Mission from Texas … Fr Richard John Neuhaus on Communion & relations between East & West: “The only unity pleasing to God, and the only unity we can rightly pray for, is unity in the truth,” he said. Even if others have their doubts, Neuhaus said that the Catholic Church is committed to working toward Christian unity. He said that John Paul’s inability to reconcile with the Orthodox... Read more

On my way to work last week I was scanning the AM dial … “I do not believe that non-Christians should have babies. And I want you to hear what I’m saying tonight … I believe it would be better for that baby to die in the womb than to be born to a couple who are not Saved. Did you hear me? I want you to pay attention. It would be better for a child to die in the... Read more

What if we were held accountable for posts & comments within a classroom? All posting members — bloggers & commentators — would be required to gather periodically within an academic setting of accountability. We’d have to brush up on particular terms and their definitions in order to: (1) understand the professor’s moderation, (2) correct our own errors, and (3) grow, both personally and communally. Here are some examples: AD HOMINEM: Appealing to feelings or prejudices rather than intellect. Marked by... Read more

In “Deep Gidget”, Rabbi Marc Gellman mourns the passing of Sandra Dee, the 70s introduction of sex ala Linda Lovelace … and the separation of love and sex. Maybe most important was the spiritual con job that got women to believe that their liberation was linked to their willingness to provide acrobatic and unlimited sex to a long line of men who did not really care about them, did not want to marry them, would probably dump them for a... Read more

“Eastern Orthodox Miracle” … The monastery obviously does much good — Glory to God! — for the community. Still … curtain stains? Read more

www.jaylincoln.com In a piece called “The Goddess & the Corruption of Love“, I mentioned Hip Hop to illustrate a point. In hindsight, after reflecting on Comments on the Conciliar Press site, my point may have been better made without the word HipHop. It was superfluous. A distraction. I was hoping that a connection would develop between Goddess worship and orgies, which, historically, have been kin (as in various fertility cults). Needless to say, I’m not a fan of the HipHop,... Read more

During the February 22 episode of the NBC-TV sitcom, “Committed,” two non-Catholics are mistakenly given Holy Communion at a Catholic funeral Mass. Nate, who is Jewish, and Bowie, a Protestant, don’t know what to do with the Eucharist, so they make several failed attempts to get rid of it. For example, they try slipping it into the pocket of a priest, dropping it on a tray of cheese and crackers, etc. At one point, the priest, who is portrayed as... Read more

James writes: I guess I don’t understand why the bishop’s sexual practices are seemingly more important than his inability to uphold the fundamental truths of Christianity. And at the same time, I wonder about the apparent consistence of both issues finding union with one another. Ought we Orthodox be doing more to show conservative Anglicans a more positive way out? A way of union, rather than division? Could we do so on some official level? Read commentary H E R... Read more

Fr John Whiteford, shown here in 2001 with my son & his Godson, Basil, posted recently about his early investigation of Orthodoxy. As you can see, Fr John ended up hairy & bedecked. Back before he was a priest, I traveled to Houston to serve St Jonah‘s feast day services. Fr John picked me up wearing a cassock & cowboy boots; dark sunglasses for the glare, and a camouflage ball cap to hold the hair down while traveling with the... Read more

Saying “I love you” in today’s world, assuming youngsters still do, seems tantamount to saying “I Do” — back when young folks still did. But most don’t, at least not within the popular media, and therefore sex is deemed the be-all-end-all of relationships. The devils must laugh. Sex, sex, sex. As if we invented it. One thing’s for certain, we’ve made misuse of it. We’ve elevated sex to virtue status. Once we made sex, in and of itself, a virtue,... Read more