Fr. Barnabas Powell
Michael Josephson, the founder of the Character Counts Coalition, once said "Never underestimate the power of temptation to disarm your better senses." Very true, In fact, the central message of our Orthodox Faith is the life-long reality of becoming sober and attentive.
I was recently struck by someone coming up to me to thank me for…
"Being precedes doing!" I heard the phrase and thought to myself "I'm not sure I understand what that is supposed to mean?" And, as I listened to the speaker longer, my confusion just grew.
I think what the professor was trying to say was our actions flow from who we really are. And he was trying…
What is the significance of the phrase "not made with hands?" We see this in our lesson today and we even see an Orthodox icon of the same name. You know the ikon I'm talking about. It is the ikon of the Lord's Face that the Lord sent to Abgar, the leader of the city…
Philosophy fascinates me! I don't get most of it, but it makes me feel smarter just reading about it! One particular fascination is the classic argument between Plato and Aristotle. These Greek philosophers differed in the formulation of their philosophies of being. And Raphael captured their disagreement perfectly in his masterpiece called Plato's Academy.
So,…
What confuses me most about today's societal chaos is the whole idea of "empowerment." It strikes me as so very misplaced and wrongheaded.
Now, don't get me wrong, I understand the motivation of wanting to correct a feeling of powerlessness. I'm just convinced that the current method being championed by those who keep on insisting they…
“Excellence” is a term we hear a lot in sports and in business. And that ties the word to an idea of achievement or progress.
But there is also an application of “excellence” when it comes to your relationship with God, and that has little to do with achievement or progress and everything to do with…
The great, ancient philosopher Lao Tzu said "Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power." And I would, arrogantly, add that the first step in mastering yourself is truly knowing yourself.
And that, my angels, is much more profound than what any of us might imagine.
Of…
It's never been "popular" to confront our very prideful and "autonomous" societies with the exclusive teaching that the only way to God the Father is through Jesus Christ. In fact, most societies and cultures have reacted rather badly to this message from the Christian Faith.
And yet the scriptures and the teaching of the Church are…
In 1968 The Zombies recorded a song called "Time of the Season." In it, there is a great lyric: "What's your name? Who's your daddy? Is he rich like me?" It was meant to communicate the moment in time of protest, a slap at the arrogant rich, and a move away from the hypocrisy the…