Nationalism can have a few different connotations, some which are positive, and some which are not. It’s the negative ones which have taken over and become uses to represent all forms of nationalism, which is why, when reading documents in the past, we must be careful and not assume the negative kind is involved, especially if the nationalism in question is engaged in the defense and protection of one group of people from another. We can find Christians embracing both... Read more
Some of the Sundays after Pascha (until the Ascension) use events from Jesus’s ministry to reflect upon the ways Christ’s resurrection of the dead can and should affect us. This is done by having us read into the events from his ministry as representing spiritual truths, where what happens physically in the story can be said to be happening with us spiritually (if, of course, we are open to and accept Jesus’ grace). Thus, we not only learn of the... Read more
I’m a vegetarian. While I often tell people the reason why I became vegetarian was for the health benefits, and that certainly is one of the reasons, I have also had philosophical, moral, and even religious reasons which led me to live out such a life choice. Ultimately, it became a matter of following my personal conscience. The more I understood evolution, and the close relationship humanity has with the rest of the animal world, the more I realized how... Read more
The spiritual life, and with it, the spiritual needs of different people, is not “one size fits all.” This is why not everyone will be aided by the same spiritual disciplines. There will always be a pragmatic element to spirituality. This is why, when various norms disciplines established which might help the majority of the people in a particular time and place, there might be some who need to be dispensed with those norms because, instead of helping them, those... Read more
While a part of me, having watched various Christians and Catholics demonstrate ignorance of basic Christian morality as they turned to and adhered to extreme right-wing political ideals and confused them with Christian principles, is not surprised with the way so many Christians have joined themselves to the Trump agenda, another part of me continues to be shocked, confused, sad and angry with the way they embraced Trump. I think this is because I want to believe my fellow Christians... Read more
Women had an extremely important place in Christ’s ministry. Like St. Photina, the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well, they often were the ones who first proclaimed Christ to others, and then after they had done so, cast aside by the men. This is especially true in regards Christ’s resurrection from the dead. It was women who, even in his death, took care of and looked after his body, and were willing to do what was expected to show him due... Read more
When we pray the Our Father, we pray for mercy, to have our sins forgiven; but we are told to so with the willingness to forgive others as we have been forgiven, that is, to be forgiven, we must embrace the spirit of forgiveness ourselves. It is not because there is some sort of transaction going on, where God forgives us out of a debt because we have forgiven others, but rather, because we have embraced the spirit of forgiveness,... Read more
Morality is important for the Christian faith. Christians should seek after and engage the greatest good, which of course, is found in and with God. But to do that, they must not deny other, particular goods, for all those goods participate in and are a part of the greatest good. Denying them, rejecting them and their proper value, denies the good from which they came. This is why Christians should be doing what they can to engage and promote what... Read more
Looking back to when Pope Francis was first introduced to the world, I remember how quickly the opposition to him arose. It came from Latin America, and various so-called traditionalists who sought to have him viewed as a heretic because he did not support them in their desire to return the church to the way it was right before Vatican II. While they claim to be traditionalists, as usual with such extremists, they did not understand tradition how tradition develops... Read more
The first Sunday after Pascha reminds us that Christ’s resurrection from the dead is not merely some historical fact, a mere historical event — it is an eternal event integrates itself with history and allows us to be drawn into it and experience it ourselves. Christ is risen, and we can meet the risen Christ in a variety of ways. He has a glorified body, one which demonstrates to us what our bodies can and will be like in the... Read more
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