The Meeting / 2/15 February 2009–The Feast of the Meeting of the Lord and Sunday of the Prodigal Son

Today is an unusual day.  On this day, two liturgical cycles come together, and we hear two marvelous Gospel readings about the Meeting of man and God.  In a certain sense, this Meeting contains the meaning of religion.  If we choose to derive the word “religion” from the Latin re-ligāre—“to re-tie,” then the break which began when Adam hid himself from God (Gen. 3:10), ended when the son “arose and came to his father.”  And God, “while [the son] was yet at a distance, … saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20).  God Himself comes to us, embraces us in the state in which He finds us, restores in us the robe of righteousness (Isa. 61:10), and leads us home Himself.

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God, Be Merciful To Us, Sinners

Russian: Неделя мытаря и фарисея

Today, we begin the beautiful cycle of services from the Lenten Triodion.  The word “triodion” means “three songs,” but really there are many odes in this book—all of them are offered for our spiritual benefit.  The Holy Church is preparing us for Great Lent.  Like any journey that is to be successful, the journey of Lent must be undertaken with proper resolve, commitment, and preparation.  And this is why we do not just begin Lent one day, but take time to prepare for it; not merely waiting, but actively preparing our hearts, minds, and bodies for this journey to Pascha.

The Sovereignty of God

Among the Western thinkers of the Cold War Era, Iris Murdoch (Jean Iris Murdoch, 1919-1999) holds a very special place of honor and distinction.  It is not the fact that she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire,—there have been scores of distinguished women before and after Murdoch; and in 1987, she was one of nine.  Nor was it that she was truly intelligent, for although the truly intelligent may be more rare these days than the Dames Commander, they nonetheless abound even among Murdoch’s contemporaries.  What sets Murdoch apart is the rarest quality of all—honesty, primarily with herself, which cannot but captivate and humble her reader.

Interview on Church Etiquette

Emmy Louvaris asks questions about church etiquette for the Orthodox Christian Network.

On Consumerism in Church

Russian: http://osergii.wordpress.com/

People like that say one thing, but something else is in their heart; on their tongue it is, “Lord, have mercy!” but inside, “Have me excused.”

St. Theophan the Recluse

In Christianity, we constantly use familial themes: we call each other “brother” and “sister,” we call upon God as “Father,” we get together and partake from one Cup, after each service we sit down for a meal at the common table, we are taught to care for each other as one would for family…  but do we adhere to these teachings?  Do we think of our Church as our home, of God as our Father and of each other as a brother or a sister?  Quite the opposite often appears to be true.  In this age of individualized consumerism, we often treat our Church as a spiritual “supermarket.”  We properly recognize that the Church offers us treasures, but instead of communing we consume.

The Parallel Slavonic-English Text of the Liturgy is Now Available in Coil Binding