On this Clean Tuesday of the first week of Great & Holy Lent, I would like to share with you three things that have helped me in the work of repentance. The first two are quotes from my favorite writers, both of which make me choke up whenever I remember them. The last is a sermon I delivered a few years back on the liturgical anniversary of this day. It speaks mostly of the Canon of St. Andrew which the Church gives us as an aid for compunction. Continue reading
Now that we Orthodox Christians have finally entered the season of Great and Holy Lent alongside of our Western brothers and sisters, it is appropriate for us all to go deeper within, repent of our sins, and seek the Lord more fervently that we may be ready to celebrate his all glorious resurrection at Great and Holy Pascha (Easter). The West celebrates Easter in only a few weeks on March 31, while we Orthodox will not break our fast until May 5, six full weeks later!
And while we are on the subject of fasting… A few weeks ago, as I was planning what to say at the start of Lent in this blog, I was thinking especially of a choice, juicy opinion that I have been nursing for some time but has never seen the light of publication or even been hinted at in my other writings. Please forgive me. Though I have just greatly tantalized your interest, I must confess that the service tonight on the Eve of Forgiveness Sunday derailed my original intent, and I must speak of something more mundane but much more fundamental. Continue reading
Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name,
And they’re always glad you came…
This theme song from the great American sit-com Cheers is more than an opening for a TV show. It is an expression for a nation overworked and undernourished by the food of community life. We all long for a place to rest where the familiar faces and time-honored routine settles around us like a warm, inviting bear hug. We long for such an experience and expect to find it in places like the church, but all too often our local church suffers from the same coldness and isolation as the world. Continue reading
Through a series of rather fortunate and providential events, I have been asked to speak at the upcoming American Chesterton Society’s National Convention. Yes, you will see little old me if you scroll down past the doctors, professors, and journalists and get to the very bottom. My first thought was, “Whew, dead last, right before everyone goes home, so maybe only the real die-hards will be left to love me no matter what I say.” But then I see that I speak right before Mass and a closing banquet. So much for winging it. Continue reading
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Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. We had the words of the unofficial creed of the US postal service in mind as we mounted sleds … Continue reading
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Nothing stirs up breathless anticipation here in New England like a coming storm. It all starts with the weatherman [ahem, I mean weather-person… this is still the northeast], that fore-runner and prophet of a time which shall bring “glad tidings … Continue reading
Besides having a compelling title, a new book I am poring over is exceedingly engaging. The ho-hum geometric cover just does not do it justice, and had I not read this great review from World magazine, I might never have made it past the cover.
Now, rather than give you, dear reader, another overview that you might read at the book’s website, I prefer to dive in to one of the funniest bits so far. Continue reading
For those of you not quite in the loop, Downton Abbey on PBS, shot in England by the BBC is a terrific television series. Season 3 premiered last Sunday and is running every Sunday on your local PBS station. Watch it!
I am always a bit ashamed in traveling to Russia and other places in the world that I come from a country where shared folk singing is not as strong as in other cultures. That is until I consider the great American and British tradition of carol singing around Christmas time. Continue reading
Three King’s Bread
I have always loved this time of year between the two Christmases (New Style and Old Style) which falls for West during the twelve days of Christmas right before Epiphany on January 6. Unlike those in America who might feel that the lights have all been extinguished and it is time to go back to business as usual, I feel like the party is just getting started and not only for the Orthodox Christians who might be known for their extensive pre- and post-festive extravaganzas.
Like Mendicant Monks... 