“God sees the efforts of each Christian and knows the strength which He has given to each Christian, and asks from him accordingly.” –Elder Paisius the Athonite A requisite condition for forming a strong Christian family is for the future couple to find a good spiritual father. The spiritual father will play the role of judge, making sure that the family does not dissolve into quarreling. When the married couple finds itself in total disagreement, it will go to the... Read more

Just in case anyone actually thought that all of those people waving flags on the streets of Kiev represent authentic Ukrainian sentiments, the London Guardian informed its readers otherwise last week. In an article titled “US campaign behind the turmoil in Kiev,” the newspaper described the events of the past 10 days as “an American creation, a sophisticated and brilliantly conceived exercise in western branding and mass marketing.” In a separate article, the same paper described the whole episode as... Read more

1) “I can’t believe I ate that whole pineapple!” Tom said, dolefully. 2) “That’s the last time I’ll ever pet a lion,” Tom said, offhandedly. 3) “I’ll never sleep on the railroad tracks again!” Tom said, beside himself. 4) “That’s the third electric shock I’ve gotten this week!” Tom said, revolted. 5) “I’m never anywhere on time,” Tom related. 6) “I won’t let a flat tire get me down,” Tom said, without despair. 7) “That car you sold me has... Read more

My friend, Walt, and I moved out to Southern California in the fall of 1983. My plan was to become filthy rich and adorably famous. Walt just wanted to be a waiter. He fulfilled his goal; I did not. Anyway. His sister had a condo for sale that wasn’t moving and we lived there free of charge. We were both right out of college and owned, well, nothing. Nothing that is, but a huge collection of record albums, a powerful... Read more

The Transformation of the Mind into the Likeness of Christ by Professor George Mantzarides (School of Theology, University of Thessaloniki) “Having purified thy mind by ascetical struggles on Athos, O Gregory, thou didst live an Angelic way of life.”1 The struggle to purify one’s mind (nous) and the effort to ensure its proper orientation usually pass unnoticed in our era, or are regarded as superfluous luxuries that do not concern the simple Christian. Indeed, those motivated by the spirit of... Read more

For what it’s worth, Part 3 of the Christmas series [1, 2] shall, God willing, be posted on Monday. In the meantime, during the Net’s holiday downtime, here’s some stuff worth a while: One of my former profs, Dr Peter Toon, on WORSHIP. On the way to my Grandmother’s for Thanksgiving we saw a Baptist Church reader board that proclaimed: “There’s no Christmas without Christ.” Slippery slope, that, because … there’s no Christmas without MASS either, sic? And, coming soon... Read more

In case you haven’t heard, the woman offering the only known version of “Our Lady of the Half Eaten Grilled Cheese Sandwich” on eBay is now $28,000 richer. That pales in comparison to the $70,000 dollars the grub once brought her while gambling at a casino. Now there’s a man claiming to see the face of Jesus on a burnt fish stick. Wanna see it? Go here. God help me. In fact, after reading the comments below the above fish... Read more

For Part 1 of this series go here. One way to handle the secularization or, depending on your source, (re)paganization of the Christmas holiday is to become a reactionary. This may not be the best option, but it is a valid one. Everyone’s tempted by something. Being a reactionary has never brought me many favors, but we’re pals nonetheless. Back in 1997 our daughter came home from day care and informed us that her class wasn’t doing just one Christmas... Read more

Faithful reader, Erica, commented that the source for the story of karaoke in church is suspect. But doesn’t “Pravda” mean truth? The site is a hoot — but not recommended for the sober. Interrupting my series on Christmas, here’s some helpful hints on the Feast. A Dutch study has determined that smoke from candles and incense in church is harmful to your health — up to 20 times the carcinogens found on the street corner! Poking around the Net netted... Read more

A pagan feast was causing problems for the Faithful. Therefore the Church in Her wisdom decided to move a Feast of Faith, the Nativity of Christ, to the time of the annual pagan festivities. This is commonly referred to as the Church baptizing a holiday. For a while, at least outwardly, it was effectual. Today? Hardly. Latin reason dictates a “sacrament” to be effectual if there is 1) proper Rite, 2) proper intent, and 3) proper substance. Assuming, as this... Read more