On the Sunday of Forgiveness, we are confronted with the reality that if we don't forgive we won't be forgiven. That's because a heart gripped by grudges, bitterness, and unforgiveness cannot receive forgiveness no matter how much it is offered by our Loving Lord. A clean heart is able to let go of past wrongs…
The purpose of the Sunday of the Last Judgement is to arrest you in your rhythm of life to remind you that there is going to be an ultimate Judgement of your life, and it will be a judgment of how your life was shaped by eternal values and how you put those values to…
The Orthodox Faith is not merely a behavioral modification philosophy but a Way of Life that transforms. The Faith teaches us that it is our desires that will determine our healing. If you allow the Faith to heal and mature your desires, you'll finally be who you are created to be. And you'll finally understand…
On this Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, we are once again invited to prepare our lives for the Arena of the Virtues called Great Lent. The whole point of this spiritual spring cleaning season is the tried and true wisdom of learning the power of humility to create virtues and the damnable disease…
The spiritual disciplines of the Faith many times lead us to moments in our lives where we are really tested so that we will know reality both internally and externally. These tests in our lives are "good" but rarely pleasant. As we approach Great Lent, let's do what we need to do to pass the…
Because when you forget your "why" you lose your way! When you lose the central truth of anything, the chances of that truth staying with you in a meaningful way reduce to zero! The Orthodox Faith touches every aspect of our everyday lives and attacks the basic weakness and spiritual sickness of self-centeredness. As we…
The answer to the Choas of life, personally and societally, is an Incarnate Christ rather than an opposing philosophy and theology. Centering my thinking, my choices, and my mindset on the Mystery of Jesus Christ. The Enfleshing of God heals the divide between the physical and the spiritual. And in so doing, Jesus offers us…
Where does our desire, across all cultures, to prepare food and celebrate with family and friends? Why does every culture have focused etiquette about formal dinners and responding to invitations? We are hard-wired to be in community. And this flows from the fact that God created us and now invites us to return to serious…
The hunger hardwired into each of us for community or intimacy AND the opposite fear of intimacy are at the root of our internal and even external conflicts in our lives. Until we understand how to tame our desires and our natural tendency to mimic others is solved in our following Christ, we will continue…
The temptation to try to weasel out of true compassion and true Christ-like living is so very common in our lives. We always run the risk of having our souls atrophy into hard-hearted souls. The only remedy for this spiritual sickness is the twin medicines of humility and attentiveness.