serving with Archbishop Theodosius of the Jerusalem Patriarchate. A blessing.
Since I’m the junior Priest (by date of ordination not age) I’m second from the left and behind.
Wise Thoughts…
The reason that fasting has an effect on the spirits of evil rests in its powerful effect on our own spirit. A body subdued by fasting brings the human spirit freedom, strength, sobriety, purity, and keen discernment.
St. Ignati Brianchaninov
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Christmas Humor…
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When the Times…
are troubled and the winds of time dry out the earth some will wither and die and some will see the moment as the challenge to send down deep roots into everything that endures and live on.
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Why Do I Work?
Well, for the money I suppose. Is that all? There are other things. The idea that I’m helping people have better lives. A kind of joy in service. The idea of my particular work allowing me to develop and share creative energies. It all matters.
I suppose that if human sin hadn’t become part of the equation there would be little that we would call “work” in the world. Perhaps a little pruning here or there or some basic gathering of edibles. Maybe building shelters. None of the nine to five and beyond that marks the world of work these days. No need of the constant competition to get our share.
Yet the world is not that way. At best we can hope that our work allows some of what is higher, better, and holy be expressed. We will sweat and push and shovel and move, each in our own way, until the end of our lives. Most of us will place ourselves in cubicles with little meaning except for paychecks and spend our years looking out the boss’ window seeking the sun.
In the end at least part of this is our own choice. The person who works only for money may be the poorest one of all.
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Sign of the Times…
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The Backlash…
What the Boomers as a generation missed (there were, of course and thankfully, many honorable individual exceptions) was the core set of values that every generation must discover to make a successful transition to real adulthood: maturity. Collectively the Boomers continued to follow ideals they associated with youth and individualism: fulfillment and “creativity” rather than endurance and commitment. Boomer spouses dropped families because relationships with spouses or children or mortgage payments no longer “fulfilled” them; Boomer society tolerated the most selfish and immature behavior in its public and cultural leaders out of the classically youthful and immature belief that intolerance and hypocrisy are greater sins than the dereliction of duty. That the greatest and most effective political leader the Baby Boom produced was William Jefferson Clinton tells you all you need to know.
Read more here…
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Hey Folks…
while all the big shots argue over the place settings at the banquet some guy named Lazarus is getting real hungry…
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Pondering…
the story of the Last Supper in John’s Gospel and came to the passage where Jesus identifies his betrayer by giving him (Judas) a piece of bread. On receiving the bread the text says that the devil entered into Judas. Later, of course, the remaining disciples would also receive bread from Jesus’ hands, but this time the bread filled them with his presence. Two breads given by the same hand with remarkably different results. Jesus grant me the bread that fills me with your life.
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On Love…
“True Christian love is not just a feeling or a pleasant disposition of the soul. It is a self-sacrificing, ceaseless, life-long act of heroism unto death. It is fiery yet dispassionate, not dependent on anything, not on being loved in return or having a kinship of blood. One no longer thinks of receiving something for oneself. One can be spat upon and reviled, and yet in this suffering there is …such a deep, profound peace that one finds it impossible to return to the lifeless state one was in before the suffering. One blesses life and all that is around one, and this blessing becomes universal. Such love can only come from God. This is the only love that Christ is truly interested in, the love He came to earth to show and teach humanity. With this love He gave up His Spirit on the Cross.”
Fr. Damascene Christensen of Platina
The Beautiful Path 