Just in case you’re already confused, that’s Greek for “remembrance of God.” In the practice of prayer in the Byzantine tradition, remembrance of God is really the foundation of all prayer. Often the Jesus Prayer is the principal way to do this, but remembrance of God is more fundamental than any particular form of prayer. [...]
As I continue to read Fr Walter Ciszek’s He Leadeth Me, I find more that I’d like to share with you. One of his great themes is absolute trust in God’s will, and of finding God’s will in all the circumstances of life. His insights are not those of an ivory-tower theologian, for He really [...]
Well, I couldn’t avoid it. The earth has spun sufficient times on its axis to bring us inexorably to this day. There was nothing I could do; I was unable to prevent it. Lent has begun. (In the Byzantine tradition it begins on the Monday before the R.C. Ash Wednesday, or, to be more precise, [...]
I’m not scheduled to preach this Sunday, but I’d still like to say something about what we are celebrating (if that’s the right word in this case) on the Sunday before Lent begins, as its preparation. This really is an appropriate preparation, for it situates us in our existential plight: we have been banished from [...]
The revelation of God, and the teachings of the Church which are derived from it, cannot be adopted a la carte. Everything fits together according to divine design, and you can’t add or subtract anything without somehow distorting the whole. If some structural element of a building, for example, is left out, it is likely [...]
I’m re-reading, after many years, the profound spiritual reflections of Fr Walter Ciszek, SJ, He Leadeth Me. Fr Ciszek spent 20 years in Russian concentration camps (simply because he was a Catholic priest), going through incredible crucibles of suffering, yet entering deeply into knowledge of God and himself, and being spiritually transformed. I would like [...]
Lent is just a little over a week away, so the Church is getting serious about us getting serious about Lent. That’s one reason we have the Gospel of the Last Judgment today (Mt. 25:31-46). We have to be reminded and exhorted to realize that the choices we make in this life will bear fruit [...]
Does a monk really have to write a post for Valentine’s Day? Ugh. Well, I guess I could skip it, as I usually do, but I have a one-day gap to fill before posting tomorrow’s homily. And it just happens to be Valentine’s Day. What I don’t like about this day is that it ends [...]
Sometimes you may wonder why God doesn’t seem to answer your prayers. Or maybe you wonder oftentimes why He doesn’t seem to answer them. Or maybe you have given up by now and just said, “Whatever,” but I hope not. There are still some things that may yet need to be learned. One thing that [...]
I’d like to say something in defense of fantasy. Not just any fantasy, of course, but the kind of literary fantasy that can actually get one in touch with a greater Reality than we commonly meet in our quotidian engagements and experiences. Recently I began reading C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. At this writing, I’ve [...]
