Author: Fr. John Chagnon

On Empathy in the Digital Age…

~ Fr. John Chagnon ~ 1 Comment

How could this happen?  I believe American teens are in the grips of a psychological epidemic that has eroded much of their capacity to connect with genuine emotion and is, therefore, crushing their empathy.  

Having watched tens of thousands of YouTube videos with bizarre scenarios unfolding, having Tweeted thousands of senseless missives of no real importance, having watched contrived “Reality TV” programs in which people are posers in false dramas about love or lust or revenge, having texted millions of times, rather than truly connecting and having lost their real faces to the fake life stories of Facebook, they look upon the actual events of their lives with no more actual investment and actual concern and actual courage than they would look upon a fictional character in a movie.  

They are absent from their own lives and those of others.  They are floating free in a virtual world where nothing really matters other than being cool observers of their own detached existence, occasionally alighting on one another’s bodies, in sexual embraces that remind them—for an orgasmic moment—that they are actually alive and actually human.  

Wise Thoughts Before Lent…

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What then? some one will say: ‘We have been beguiled and are lost. Is there then
no salvation left? We have fallen: Is it not possible to rise again? We have been
blinded: May we not recover our sight? We have become crippled: Can we never walk
upright? In a word, we are dead: May we not rise again?’ He that woke Lazarus who
was four days dead and already stank, shall He not, O man, much more easily raise
thee who art alive? He who shed His precious blood for us, shall Himself deliver
us from sin. Let us not despair of ourselves, brethren; let us not abandon
ourselves to a hopeless condition. For it is a fearful thing not to believe in a
hope of repentance.

The Way of Life and the Way of Death…

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There are two Ways: the Way of Life and the Way of Death and the difference between these two Ways is great.

The Way of Life is this: first, you shall love the Lord God, your Creator; and second, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Do not do anything to your neighbor that you would not want done to yourself.

These words mean this: speak well of those who slander you, pray for your enemies and fast on behalf of those who work against you. For where is the merit in loving only those who love you? Even non-Christians do that! If you love those who hate you, you will have no enemies. Guard against the lust of the flesh. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other cheek as well and you will exemplify your faith. If someone compels you to go one mile, go another one as well. If someone takes your coat, give up your shirt as well. If someone tries to rob you, do not resist, even if you think you might prevail. Give help to anyone who asks of you, without looking for repayment, for it is the Father’s pleasure that we should share His gracious bounty with everyone. We are blessed when we give freely in accordance with God’s command.

The second commandment of the Lord’s Teaching is this: do not commit murder; do not commit adultery. Do not practice sexual immorality. Do not steal. Do not practice witchcraft. Do not kill an unborn child by abortion. Do not commit infanticide. Do not be greedy and envy your neighbor’s possessions. Do not commit perjury or give false testimony. Do not slander anyone or be malicious towards anyone. Do not equivocate in thought or speech. Do not be deceitful. What you say should not be false of empty but exemplified in your actions. Do not take advantage of other people or swindle them. You must resist any temptation to hypocrisy, arrogance and spitefulness. Do not hate anyone. Do not be quick-tempered. Do not be fanatical or quarrelsome. Beware of lust, for lust breeds adultery. Do not always be looking for omens or follow fortunetellers for this leads to idolatry. Have nothing to do with witchcraft, astrology or magic. Do not lie. Do not be a grumbler. Do not be over-anxious to be rich or admired, for this leads to conceit. Learn to be meek, for the meek shall inherit the earth. Practice humility and be patient, merciful, quiet and honorable, always paying attention to the things of God. Do not associate with those who are eminent in their own eyes but choose as your companions those who are humble and just. Do not create division, but bring peace among those who are divided. Make all your judgments with justice and show no partiality towards anyone. Do not turn away from those in need, but be willing to share whatever you have. Do not look upon your possessions as your own. Do not be hesitant or complain when you give. Make an offering as a ransom for your sins. Remember who the eternal Paymaster is who will give you your reward in due time. Do not fail to cherish your sons and daughters and teach them to love and revere God even while they are young. See that you do not neglect the commandments of the Lord, but keep them just as you received them, without any additions or subtractions of your own. In church, confess your sins and do not come to your prayers with a bad conscience. That is the Way of Life.

The Way of Death is this: it is completely evil and filled with destruction and damnation. Along the Way of Death is found murder, adultery, theft, sexual immorality of all kinds, idolatry, perjury, hypocrisy, duplicity, deceit, pretentiousness, arrogance, malice, greed, treachery, jealousy, obscene speech and a lack of love for God. The Way of Death is tread by those who oppose truth, love lies, show no mercy to the poor and do not know the rewards of righteousness. Gentleness and patience are beyond their conception; they care for nothing good or useful and love their empty life. They do not know God their creator. They are utterly and altogether sunk in iniquity.

Be watchful over your life! Watch out that you are not led astray from the Way of Life by those who do not know God. If you are able to carry the Lord’s yoke, your life will be full and complete.

 

– taken from an ancient Christian document called The Didache or The Teaching of the Apostles, written anonymously circa 125-150AD.

How Christians Live…

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from the Apology of St. Aristedes of Athens to the Roman emperor, Antoninus Pius, circa 150 AD

Christians know and believe in God as the Creator of heaven and earth in whom and from whom all things exist. They have learned God’s commandments and they live by them in hope of the world to come! For this reason, they do not commit adultery or engage in sexual immorality; they do not give false testimony in court or withhold someone’s deposit or envy another person’s possessions. They honor their father and mother, they are helpful to their neighbors and as judges, they make decisions with justice and mercy.

Christians do not worship idols. Anything they do not want others to do to them, they do not do to others. Christian men do not enter into illegal marriages or engage in sexual promiscuity. Out of love for their slaves and children, if they have any, they encourage them to become Christians, and if they do so, they are called brothers and sisters without distinction.

Christians do not lie. They love one another and take care of the their widows; orphans are protected from those who would harm them. They willingly share what they have with those in need. They bring strangers into their homes and welcome them as true brothers and sisters. Christians, as they are able, provide for the burial of their poor when they die. They provide help to those among them who are imprisoned or oppressed because of their faith in Christ.

When there is a person in poverty or need among them and they do not have the resources at hand to help, they will fast for two or three days in order to provide the food needed. The good works they do are not made public to impress others, but, rather, are done unnoticed so that they may hide their deeds as one who finds a treasure and hides it (Matthew 13:44)

Every morning and at all hours they give praise and thanks to God for the gifts they have received; for food and drink also they give thanks to God. This is the content of the Christian’s law and the way they live their lives.

On the Media and Faith…

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The role religion plays in America and the world has been a well-kept secret in most of the nation’s newsrooms. While reporters chase the latest stories in politics, sports, business, education and other subjects, the billions of dollars and hours Americans invest in religious activities receive minimal attention. Religion news is usually pushed into a tiny Saturday ghetto labeled “church news.”

When news events escape the church page they are often covered by reporters with little interest in religion and little education in the style and language of religious leaders and organizations. Religion has almost been ignored by radio and television. …

The major reason few American newspapers and radio and television stations cover religion is simple. Few of the people who decide what news is care about religion.

 

Read more here.

It’s a Saturday of Souls…

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the time when we remember in Liturgy those who have left this life, and among the greatest gifts of Orthodoxy was the return of people I loved who’ve traveled ahead. No longer were they gone until “some day”. No longer did they become strangers to me simply because they had gone to be with Christ. Those precious people who had walked with me in life also, in a special and unique way, continued to be my companions.

It’s as simple, really, as Moses and Elijah appearing with Jesus at the Transfiguration and speaking about what was to come. It was apparent as the rich man, who even in his lonely and doomed state, had the capacity to care for his still living brothers. It came to mind when God was called the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of the living. It was in the prayer of the martyrs around the throne, alive, awake, aware, and asking God for justice in the world that violently expelled them.

Somewhere, just beyond my vision, are those who have fallen asleep in the Lord, alive, conscious, and mystically able to remember those who are still running the race. They are the great cloud of witnesses and how could they be witnesses if they could not somehow, by the grace of God, see, understand, and remember us? No, they are not mediators, there is only one, Christ. Yet they are friends and even death cannot stop them from being my brothers and sisters in Jesus. Even death cannot keep them from praying for me and me praying for them.

Where is the sting of death, ultimately, when those who rest in Christ are so near? Where is loneliness when even those who have left us for a little while still remember as we remember? Those who loved me love me still. Those who have passed away remain my family. Those who live in the nearer presence of Christ have not forgotten me, or you, or the world. Until, and after, the day I join them I will have this gift, this comfort, a never ending Saturday of Souls.

Someone Once Said…

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“Enter into Orthodoxy walking forward and singing and not walking backward and shouting.”

I’ve been many places on my way to Orthodoxy and all of them, even the crazy ones, were a necessary part of the journey. The people who were there, the people who mentored me, who cared for me, who taught me, all of them were part of the plan. Even the mistakes I made were steps along the way. When I made it through the gates of Orthodoxy there was no reason to vilify everything that had gone before or the people who were along the path.  After all, they helped me get where I am and for that I am grateful.

So, if you’re somewhere along the way cherish each moment and each person. For the present they may not be traveling on the same road but they are now and always will be a part of your life. Its the same with the places and parishes along the way. You don’t have to prove you’re Orthodox by flinging curses on your own history. Thank God for where you are, pray for everyone, and enter the gates with joy.

Wisdom from St. John of Kronstadt…

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With death all will be taken from us, all earthly goods, riches, beauty of body and raiment, spacious dwellings, etc., but the virtue of the soul, that incorruptible raiment, shall remain with us eternally.