Adam and Eve created enmity with each other and the world around them when they started comparing themselves to God and each other. God found out about their dis-ease when He entered the garden looking for communion. Calling out for them, Adam answered, “I heard You in the garden and I was afraid because I am naked so I hid.” [1] “Who told you, … [Read more...]
The Hidden Revelation of Epiphany and Theophany
“For behold, Magi (μάγος, plural, μάγοι, a Greek word of an earlier Persian origin) from the east arrived in Jerusalem asking ‘Where is the one born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.’” [1] Who were these mysterious foreign “wise men and kings” who journeyed to Bethlehem, seeking to worship the newborn … [Read more...]
Three Times Begotten
Christmas 2017 is almost here. So here is a riddle. How many birthdays does Jesus have? As Orthodox Christians we stand on solid bedrock when affirming the paradox that Christ has two natures, human and divine, united unconfusedly in one person. Nevertheless, the first birthday of the “only begotten Son of God, eternally begotten before all ages … [Read more...]
Re-member me in love forever Lord!
On an occasion when Jesus was in Capernaum, the city of the Apostle Peter’s family, the leaders of the local synagogue appealed to him on behalf of a certain Roman Centurion, whose servant was ill. They made their case for Jesus to intervene on the basis that the Centurion was worthy because “he loves our nation and built our synagogue.” Nothing … [Read more...]
Treasure in Earthen Vessels: Prayer and the Embodied Life
Treasure in Earthen Vessels “In the following pages, Fr. Stephen Muse provides us, not with a manual of prayer, but with an opening into the life of prayer by unveiling for us “the mystery of embodied life and the uncreated divine life.” He provides an entryway for us, as human beings with all our brokenness, weakness and fear, to dialogue … [Read more...]
Christ is in our midst…Face to Face!
This morning the angels sang. Servant of the Lord, Simon, was received into the Church after being doused three times in the Baptismal waters and sealed with Holy Chrism on his head and back, ears, nose, mouth, chest, hands and feet! His silky dark locks were shorn from four sides of his head in the mark of the cross, and a small gold cross was … [Read more...]
Orthodox Women in Healing Ministries – Annual Conference, Dormition Monastery
The Orthodox Women in the Healing Ministries celebrates 25th Years (1992 - 2017)! Orthodox Women in the Healing Ministries was founded in 1992 with the mission of providing support to Orthodox Christian women who work in the medical and healing professions. This includes doctors, nurses, therapists, social workers and the like. From its inception … [Read more...]
Resiliency!
Resiliency is the theme of the Annual Conference the Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology and Religion (OCAMPR). This year we gather at the Ukranian Cultural Center in Somerset, NJ, November 2-4. If you have never attended an OCAMPR conference you are missing a feast for the heart, mind and soul. Fellowship among Orthodox … [Read more...]
Transfigured by Love for Love
St. John the Theologian, beloved to Christ, in his first letter to the Church, pointed straight to the heart of the Gospel that unites heaven and earth when he wrote: We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of … [Read more...]
Created for a Communion of Love
It is written, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”[1] What is a “living soul”? Moreover, “What is man that Thou art mindful of him? [2] The ancient Hebrew word translated as “living soul” is nephesh. It is the same word used for all “life” brought … [Read more...]
