life Archives - Page 5 of 7

The Tenth Day of Great Lent. Lent in Our Life (Part II)

03/20/2019

In regard to Lent, instead of asking fundamental questions—”What is fasting?” or “What is Lent?”—we satisfy ourselves with Lenten symbolism. In church magazines and bulletins appear recipes for “delicious Lenten dishes,” and a parish might even raise some additional money by means of a well-advertised “tasty Lenten dinner.” So much in our churches is explained symbolically as interesting, colorful, and amusing customs and traditions, as something which connects us not so much with God and

The Ninth Day of Great Lent. Lent in Our Life (Part I)

03/19/2019

We have [spoken] of the Church’s teaching about Lent as conveyed to us primarily by Lenten worship. Now these questions must be asked: How can we apply this teaching to our lives? What could be not only a nominal but a real impact of Lent on our existence? This existence (do we need to recall it) is very different from the one people led when all these services, hymns, canons, and prescriptions were composed and

The Twenty-Third Day of Christmas Advent. Anxious About Life.

12/07/2018

THEREFORE, I TELL YOU, DO NOT BE ANXIOUS ABOUT YOUR LIFE.” That is what Jesus says, but is it really possible to live without anxieties both big and small? We are anxious about children, friends, jobs, health—and the list goes on and on. We are anxious about so many things. There is unbelieving anxiety, and then there is anxiety encountered by faith. John Henry Newman said of Christian faith, “Ten thousand difficulties do not add

The Fifth Day of Christmas Advent. BIRTH: WONDER . . . ASTONISHMENT . . . ADORATION

11/19/2018

BIRTH: WONDER . . . ASTONISHMENT . . . ADORATION. There can’t be very many of us for whom the sheer fact of existence hasn’t rocked us back on our heels. We take off our sandals before the burning bush. We catch our breath at the sight of a plummeting hawk. “Thank you, God.” We find ourselves in a lavish existence in which we feel a deep sense of kinship—we belong here; we say thanks

The Problem with Going to Heaven

10/19/2018

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, March 3, 2015 “That man might become God…” On its surface this statement simply sounds blasphemous. Interpreted in a wrong manner, it would be worse than blasphemous. When read correctly, however, it is the very essence of salvation itself. “To go to heaven…” from my childhood this phrase has been used as the goal of a Christian life. But, interpreted in its most common manner, it is only a Christianized version of paganism.

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite

10/03/2018

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, (flourished c. 500), probably a Syrian monk who, known only by his pseudonym, wrote a series of Greek treatises and letters for the purpose of uniting Neoplatonic philosophy with Christian theology and mystical experience. These writings established a definite Neoplatonic trend in a large segment of medieval Christian doctrine and spirituality—especially in the Western Latin Church—that has determined facets of its religious and devotional character to the present time. Historical research has been unable to identify the author, who, having assumed the name of

The Cross. The Universal Pattern: Loss and Renewal

08/27/2018

I believe that the Mystery of the Cross is saying that the pattern of transformation is always death transformed. Death and life are two sides of one coin, and you cannot have one without the other. The theological term for this classic pattern of descent and ascent was coined by Saint Augustine as “the paschal mystery.” We now proclaim it publicly at every Eucharist as “the mystery of faith.” But why? The pattern of down and up, loss and renewal,

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Thursday of the Second Week of Pascha: Jesus Rose with His Wounds

04/19/2018

Jesus rose with His wounds; and we, too, rise with our wounds. In repentance, we are able to realize a resurrection of the heart before the final resurrection of the dead. The key to this mystery is given to us at the moment of our baptism, which offers the possibility of repentance and the foretaste of resurrection. Through baptism, we find that our resurrection through repentance is not a denial or a disparagement of our

Renewal (Bright) Wednesday. Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen!

04/11/2018

In our civilization, so rich in knowledge and in power, we can no longer offer any reply to the enigma of death. We want only to forget death. Yet it meets us again and again in the form of hatred, oppression, separation, illness, and the disappearance of persons we love. This is why the message of Easter, of Holy Pascha, resounds today with such renewed strength. God takes on human flesh, suffers, dies, and descends

Saturday of Lazarus

03/31/2018

By Archpriest Alexander Schmemann The joy that permeates and enlightens the service of Lazarus Saturday stresses one major theme: the forthcoming victory of Christ over Hades. “Hades” is the Biblical term for Death and its universal power, for inescapable darkness that swallows all life and with its shadow poisons the whole world. But now — with Lazarus’ resurrection — “death begins to tremble.” A decisive duel between Life and Death begins giving us the key to

Archive

The Tenth Day of Great Lent. Lent in Our Life (Part II)

The Ninth Day of Great Lent. Lent in Our Life (Part I)

The Twenty-Third Day of Christmas Advent. Anxious About Life.

The Fifth Day of Christmas Advent. BIRTH: WONDER . . . ASTONISHMENT . . . ADORATION

The Problem with Going to Heaven

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite

The Cross. The Universal Pattern: Loss and Renewal

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Thursday of the Second Week of Pascha: Jesus Rose with His Wounds

Renewal (Bright) Wednesday. Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen!

Saturday of Lazarus

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