It scared me to death! I was convinced something was lurking in the dark in my room, and I wasn't about to shut my eyes! After all, it was only my constant vigilance and watchfulness that was keeping whatever was "out there" away from me, right? Imagine my surprise when sleep finally took me and…
Fr. Barnabas Powell
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The word “excellent” is such a wonderful word, and shouldn’t be emptied of its value by overuse or misunderstanding. Something that is truly “excellent” stands apart and suggests a standard to be aspired to and attained through diligence, admiration, and emulation. If something or someone is truly “excellent” then that is a reality to be…
The old saying is "You can pick your friends, but you're stuck with your relatives." Oh, the volumes that have been written about dysfunctional families! Family dynamics is one of the most interesting aspects of psychology to me because when I look at my own family I see a tapestry of joy, love, confusion, pain,…
"Early is on time. On Time is late. Late is unacceptable!" These were my words, but they were coming out of my daughter's mouth! She was giving a friend of her's a hard time about being late to dance practice. We don't "do" "Greek time" or "Country time" or any other ethnic excuse for being…
"Well, you should have known better!" Oh, how I hated hearing that from my mom. It was the tone in her voice as well as the words. You know the one. The tone that communicated disappointment, disapproval, AND frustration all at the same time! Oh, I HATED it! But what made things worse was she…
At a recent spiritual retreat, I was asked to conduct, I was asked how one should prepare to deal with questions about the faith when others ask about it. Usually, many of our Orthodox brothers and sisters get very nervous when somebody asks them about our Orthodox Faith.
It’s a good question, but it points to a deeper…
My daughter sits in front with me in the car many times as I drive. And she is old enough now to notice that daddy sometimes has a challenge with patience with other drivers! She’s learned my “triggers.” Well, yesterday, she looked over at me when a person in front of us didn’t move when…
One of the greatest revelations I had in my journey to Orthodox Christianity was the powerful theological truth preserved in the timeless Christian tradition of calling our clergy “father.”
You may object by telling me that Jesus commanded “Call no man ‘father'” in Matthew 23:9. And on the surface that might seem to be the end of the discussion but…
I’ve always been fascinated by philosophy and logical argument constructs. It seems to me that the ability to use one’s intellect to worship God through excellence and discipline is a very great accomplishment, one I’ve always lacked the patience and strength to fully embrace. One particular part of a philosophical argument that grabs my attention…