By Father Stephen Freeman, May 11, 2018 Our culture changes things. One of its myths is that changing things results in a better world. And so we endure unending advertisements for the newest, the latest, and the improved. Very few things, apart from medications, are tested for their consequences. As such, we are a society in perpetual experiment. It reminds me of a local joke. The last words of a redneck … “Hold my beer.
By Stephen Freeman This week, the Church moves from the feast of Christmas to the feast of Theophany – the celebration of the Baptism of Christ. The intent of this feast is not to celebrate a succession of historical events (the Baptism of Christ is at least 30 years later than His birth). Rather this feast takes us into the depths of the mystery of Christ and His salvation of the world. Many Christians, reading the gospel accounts of
By Father Stephen Freeman, June 4, 2015 The idea that certain realities are “social constructs” is in the process of becoming mainstreamed with its popularization in the culture’s discussion of sex and gender-related issues. The argument is that various aspects of reality are only perceived in a certain manner because of a social agreement – a sort of collective prejudice. We see and we label because we have been taught to see and to label. And what can be
Here is how things stand so far. We have observed the five most important virtues through which the fathers in the Conferences teach us to establish the purity of heart that is the go al of Christian life. These are detachment, discernment, discretion, balance, and humility. We have observed that the fathers taught Christians to practice these virtues in order to guide them to their proper telos, which is the kingdom of God. We have
Charity, then, is the natural outgrowth of a soul pursuing love over and against anger. When we are committed to love, we do good. Yet, charity is about more than the one giving it. The exercise of charity and good works is one of the most important means by which we take responsibility for the anger and brokenness of other people, and seek to guide them, and not just ourselves, toward genuine love in accordance
Perhaps the most obvious spiritual opportunity offered to us by society is that of performing good works. This opportunity is, in fact, so obvious that we will only devote a very short section to it here, and thus the length of this section is in inverse proportion to the significance of charity and good works in the Christian life. As for the subject, we will pay particular attention to acts of charity, taken as a
By Stephen Freeman This week, the Church moves from the feast of Christmas to the feast of Theophany – the celebration of the Baptism of Christ. The intent of this feast is not to celebrate a succession of historical events (the Baptism of Christ is at least 30 years later than His birth). Rather this feast takes us into the depths of the mystery of Christ and His salvation of the world. Many Christians, reading the gospel accounts of
Here is how things stand so far. We have observed the five most important virtues through which the fathers in the Conferences teach us to establish the purity of heart that is the go al of Christian life. These are detachment, discernment, discretion, balance, and humility. We have observed that the fathers taught Christians to practice these virtues in order to guide them to their proper telos, which is the kingdom of God. We have
Theoria, often translated as “contemplation,” is a critical concept for most of the ancient fathers of the Church, and it is important for us to talk about it right away. Coming into true contemplation, theoria, is, according to the Conferences, the essential purpose of a monk’s life. According to Abba Moses, theoria is a state of mind in which the monk contemplates “only the vision of God.”41 We may thus define it as the transcendent
But with the coming of the Creator to the world, with the holy mystery of Baptism “as many as have been baptized in Christ have put on Christ”. 4 And as many as have put on Christ have also put on the “mind of Christ” on that joyous day. But volition, sin, passions and the devil darken and pollute the nous, and turn it from the Immortal and Eternal Creator to perishable and transcient creation.
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