Jim Kushiner, editor of TOUCHSTONE, has some interesting comments on the recent meeting of the Ecumenical Patriarch & the Pope. Scroll down to July 4th. Read more

[Meditations are intended to be read sequentially, from 1 to 33.] On the Way … The blood doesn’t stain us. In fact, it seems to wash us. The fruits from the Garden are washed away by the Fruit of the Hill. The tree that we bear is our defense against the enemy, the evil one. We used to think him beautiful. We now know … better. Knowledge. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Much of the experience of... Read more

[Meditations are intended to be read sequentially, from 1 to 33.] On the Way … A new path. The Wilderness reversed? The Garden is now to our right, the Hill to our left. We have turned around. We are following. He did live. He did die. He now lives. We follow him … out of the Wilderness. We can go back to the Garden anytime. We might be found under the Tree on the Hill from time to time. He... Read more

Let us pray to the Lord. Lord, have mercy. O Lord God of hosts, O God of our salvation, O God who alone workest wonders: Do Thou look down with mercy and compassion upon Thy humble servants and, out of love for mankind, hearken and have mercy on us. Look with mercy, we pray Thee, O Lord, upon those of our sons and daughters who now serve in our Armed Forces and who in obedience to their superiors have, for... Read more

[Meditations are intended to be read sequentially, from 1 to 33.] In the Garden … We’re here only for a brief stay — just till we can clear our head and move on. In the Garden, things make sense. In the Garden, all is rational, relative. We know that the dead don’t live. We are smarter than that. Sure, we seek the truth. But truth must make sense! Truth should not — does not — contradict knowledge. Rational. The fruit... Read more

[Meditations are intended to be read sequentially, from 1 to 33.] In the Wilderness … Once again, we’re uncertain of our location. We were on the Hill, preparing to enter the Cave, when all of a sudden our surroundings became hazy — clouded judgment? A voice behind us says “Turn back! You are lost!” Ahead we hear, “Come.” “He died. He never lived ….” The familiar thoughts, doubts. We see a man dressed in white. He is very beautiful. “Whom... Read more

[Meditations are intended to be read sequentially, from 1 to 33.] Again on the Hill … “He did not die.” It was but a voice, a thought. One not invited, but present nonetheless. Of course he died … we’ve seen it. We continue to see it. It is somehow connected with love. Love for us. “It is a lie. He did not die. It is a myth. In fact, he never even lived. It is wishful thinking. Nothing more.” For... Read more

[Meditations are intended to be read sequentially, from 1 to 33.] On the Hill … An answer: “The key is not in the forgetting but in the forgiving.” “This is too hard a thing for me, Lord. In the Garden, when I forget, I am able to live! Here, when I try to forgive, it seems that a part of me dies!” Yes. Patience. Long-Suffering. Peace. These live … It seems that, on the Hill, with death there is new... Read more

This article is posted on Orthodoxy Today. While I understand the sentiments of the author — and have made similar arguments with regard to the coexistence of Islam and Christianity in the Middle East — I found a few areas of disagreement. Read more

[Meditations are intended to be read sequentially, from 1 to 33.] In the Wilderness? The Creature. What would we do? Where would we be without him? He is so full of encouragement and knowledge. We may be moving soon … to the Garden. The creature tells us that the Wilderness is actually part of the Hill. “Unless you want to die, like him, you must flee the Wilderness. You belong in the Garden. You were created for the Garden, and... Read more