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The Consent to Reality

10/17/2022

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, September 26, 2016 Catholic philosopher, Alasdair MacIntyre (After Virtue), has presented perhaps the most cogent account of our modern cultural landscape. It is not an account of how one set of ideas gave way to another set of ideas, but how a once-upon-a-time consensus gave way to our current collection of competing truth-claims and world-views. Indeed, he demonstrates (Whose Justice, Which Rationality) that our present confusion is not primarily represented by

To Have More – Pleonexia

10/14/2022

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, September 22, 2016 Addictions are strange things. I have a friend who says that the problem with alcohol is that there “simply isn’t enough.” Non-addicts frequently misunderstand. I once heard someone say to an addict, “When you decided to go down that road…” There is very little decision within an addiction. The disease of addiction itself does the choosing. The person involved often watches helplessly as they go through the motions

Going Deeper: Part III

10/13/2022

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – Going Deeper Lecture – Part III “…the humble soul is always looking to do good. If you ever read… Elder Paisios’ discourses… You’ve heard the word ‘philotimo’ is there, it’s used very often. Philotimo is a good word to understand and to try to put into practice. What is it? It’s doing good for the sake of God. For no other

As Loved Ones Die (3)

10/13/2022

By Fr John Breck, October 2, 2008 In the preceding column I raised questions about the terribly difficult issue of euthanasia, and specifically, whether in an Orthodox Christian perspective there could ever be a morally acceptable way to hasten the death of a dying person, when that person is consumed by uncontrollable pain and suffering. Fortunately, such cases today are rare. Palliative care and medications for pain management have been developed to the point that

As Loved Ones Die (2)

10/12/2022

By Fr John Breck, October 1, 2008 “Your mother has a very strong constitution.” The nurse is right. She does have a strong constitution. Four days ago they stopped giving her food and liquids. (Along with a DNR she had insisted, “No tubes, no forced feeding!”) Since then she has been fitfully asleep or semi-comatose, her emaciated body resting uneasily in the bed. Despite the extra oxygen, her breathing has become increasingly rasping and intermittent.

As Loved Ones Die (1)

10/11/2022

By Fr John Breck, September 2, 2008 In this and the following two columns, I would like to share some thoughts on what is perhaps the most poignant and difficult experience in human relationships: the dying of someone we deeply love. These are not explorations of the mystery of death. Rather, they are attempts, fumbling but earnest, to think about the process of dying and our most appropriate response to it, from both a medical

You Don’t Mean a Thing

10/10/2022

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, September 19, 2016 There is an assumption within our contemporary world that the life we bring into this world doesn’t mean a thing, at least, not at the start. Meaning is something the individual must create for himself/herself. It is, we think, a version of freedom. We are told that if we come into this world with our meaning already established as a given, then we can never be free. Autonomy, being “self-ruled,”

Psychology as the New Sacrament

10/07/2022

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, September 13, 2016 The creation of the “two-storey universe” was an unintended consequence of the Protestant Reformation. I have recently been enjoying Brad Gregory‘s The Unintended Reformation, in which he traces the various historical currents and ideas that gave rise to the modern secular notion of the world. It is a magisterial treatment, and I recommend it to serious students of history, as well as anyone wanting to better understand our modern

Holy, Glorious Apostle Thomas

10/06/2022

Commemorated on October 6 The Holy and Glorious Apostle Thomas was born in the Galilean city of Pansada and was a fisherman. Hearing the good tidings of Jesus Christ, he left all and followed after Him. The Apostle Thomas is included in the number of the holy Twelve Apostles of the Savior. According to Holy Scripture, the holy Apostle Thomas did not believe the reports of the other disciples about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ:

Atheism and the Experience of God (2)

10/05/2022

By Fr John Breck, February 1, 2007 Those who hold that the only sure ground of knowledge is scientific inquiry and rational analysis actually represent not so much science as the heresy of “scientism,” a purely materialistic view of reality. Yet science itself debunks that approach with its acceptance of principles such as those embodied in quantum mechanics and relativity theory. In a universe where subatomic particles constantly appear and then disappear, where electrons can

Blog

To Have More – Pleonexia

Going Deeper: Part III

As Loved Ones Die (3)

As Loved Ones Die (2)

As Loved Ones Die (1)

You Don’t Mean a Thing

Psychology as the New Sacrament

Holy, Glorious Apostle Thomas

Atheism and the Experience of God (2)

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