grace Archives - Page 8 of 10

The Invitation of Grace

10/19/2016

As I shared earlier this year, the Bible is “a text in travail.” Sometimes the biblical writers catch a glimpse of God’s true character–love, mercy, and justice–and sometimes they lose sight of it. Old Testament scholar and theologian Walter Brueggemann traces the evolution of human consciousness through three sections of Hebrew Scriptures: the Torah (the five books of the Pentateuch), the Prophets, and the Wisdom literature (including Job, the Psalms, Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes).

The Law and Grace

10/04/2016

Paul’s letters to the Romans and Galatians are a tour de force on the pure meaning of grace and the serious limitations of morality and religion to lead you to God. “Cursed be the law,” Paul even says (Galatians 3:13). No wonder he has been called a “moral anarchist” by people who are still seeking any well-disguised path of “self-realization.” But it seems Christianity has paid little heed to Paul’s revolutionary message, or even to

Everything That Rises Will Converge

09/06/2016

In Romans 8:22, Paul says, “From the beginning until now, the entire creation as we know it has been groaning in one great act of giving birth.” Just this one line from Paul should be enough to justify a Christian belief in evolution. Yet to this day, the issue of evolution still divides some Christians, questioning what is rather obvious: that God creates things that create themselves. Wouldn’t this be the greatest way that God

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! The Third Thursday of Pascha: What Christ Accomplished on the Cross (The Consequences of Christ’s Redemptive Work, Part III)

05/19/2016

By Hieromonk Damascene The Consequences of Christ’s Redemptive Work, Part III The aim of the Christian life, says St. Seraphim of Sarov, is to acquire the Grace of the Holy Spirit. [31] We receive the seed of that Grace within us at Baptism. And then, through our sacramental life in the Church, through a life of prayer and virtue, practicing the commandments of Christ, we are to cultivate and nurture this seed of inward baptismal

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! The Third Tuesday of Pascha: What Christ Accomplished on the Cross (The Consequences of Christ’s Redemptive Work, Part I)

05/17/2016

By Hieromonk Damascene The Consequences of Christ’s Redemptive Work, Part I Now, having looked at how Christ redeemed us through His death on the Cross, let us turn to the saving fruits of Christ’s death. What does it mean for mankind to be ransomed from guilt, to be forgiven of sins? It means, in the words of St. John Damascene, that “the road back to the former blessedness [i.e., before the Fall] has been made

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! The Second Wednesday of Pascha: What Christ Accomplished on the Cross (The Consequences of the Fall, Part II)

05/11/2016

By Hieromonk Damascene The Consequences of the Fall, Part II We are all the inheritors of the death and corruption that entered into man’s nature at the Fall. St. Gregory Palamas says that, through Adam’s one spiritual death, both spiritual and physical death were passed onto all men. [10] This is because human nature is one: we are all of the family of Adam. Orthodoxy does not accept the idea that we are guilty of

The Third Thursday of Great Lent: Who is Unaware of the Stream? & One Heart that Seems Two

03/31/2016

Who is Unaware of the Stream? You would be a blasphemer if you were to say that every believer receives and possesses the Spirit without knowing or recognizing the fact. Yes, you would! You would be accusing Christ of lying when he said: ‘The water that I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ and again: ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.’ [John

REAL PEACE (Part IV)

02/22/2016

I mentioned that contemporary people do not believe in the reality of demons, which according to Fr. Maximos is the greatest achievement of the devil today, that he has convinced most of the world that he does not exist. As a rule, academics would dismiss such stories as taking place in people’s imaginations, without any basis in objective reality. But the experiences of the saints throughout history are filled with demonic possession and exorcisms. In

REAL PEACE (Part III)

01/25/2016

“It is important to keep in mind,” Fr. Maximos continued, “that the perfect way of approaching the other person in such situations is with prayer. It may require many years of systematic prayer for God to inform the other person’s heart that we truly love him and have nothing against him. We must take upon ourselves this responsibility and say, ‘I am to be blamed for this situation also.’ The very fact that I exist

St Maximus the Confessor

01/21/2016

Saint Maximus the Confessor was born in Constantinople around 580 and raised in a pious Christian family. He received an excellent education, studying philosophy, grammar, and rhetoric. He was well-read in the authors of antiquity and he also mastered philosophy and theology. When St Maximus entered into government service, he became first secretary (asekretis) and chief counselor to the emperor Heraclius (611-641), who was impressed by his knowledge and virtuous life. St Maximus soon realized

Tags

The Invitation of Grace

The Law and Grace

Everything That Rises Will Converge

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! The Third Thursday of Pascha: What Christ Accomplished on the Cross (The Consequences of Christ’s Redemptive Work, Part III)

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! The Third Tuesday of Pascha: What Christ Accomplished on the Cross (The Consequences of Christ’s Redemptive Work, Part I)

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! The Second Wednesday of Pascha: What Christ Accomplished on the Cross (The Consequences of the Fall, Part II)

The Third Thursday of Great Lent: Who is Unaware of the Stream? & One Heart that Seems Two

REAL PEACE (Part IV)

REAL PEACE (Part III)

St Maximus the Confessor

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