Speculative Thinking About The Cosmos Friend or Foe? At that time, Jesus revealed himself to his disciples after he was raised from the dead (John 21:14). The theme of revelation is central to the New Testament. The problem is that precious few of us have eyes to see what is being revealed, as Jesus tells […]
Speculative Thinking About The Cosmos Last Thursday, I talked about St. Maximos the Confessor’s theology of man as a bridge, connecting not only himself to the cosmos but relating all things to God. He said that God’s Son, the Logos, is in all things as what he termed the logoi, and that all things in the cosmos […]
Comparing the Orthodox and Catholic approaches to Mary, the Mother of God Today Orthodox Christians celebrate the Feast of the Dormition (or “The Falling Asleep”) of our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos and Ever Virgin Mary, while Roman Catholics celebrate her Assumption into heaven, body and soul. Let’s compare the two approaches. Regarding the Catholic […]
Something we all do sometimes. When reflecting on Jacob’s wrestling with God yesterday, I recalled one of the so-called Terrible Sonnets, “Carrion Comfort” by the English priest Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1899), for it too concerns a wrestling match. Hopkins speaks of his struggle with despair and darkness but also, as it turns out, of his struggle with […]
A Reflection on God, Man, and Life We say, “both / and”—not “either / or”. And we do not confuse the two. We cannot know how it is that God manifests Himself this way. We only know that He does. We know that the Holy Theotokos gave birth to God without seed, being both Virgin and Mother. We know that Christ is both God and man. We know that […]
It’s about being made well! In Luke 17:12-19, ten lepers stand “afar off” from Jesus, begging Him, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Christ commands them, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” They do so, and on the way they are cured. But only one of the lepers, who happens to be a Samaritan, (a […]
Remember that day when America was all abuzz? It was April 8 last year. Everyone was talking about the solar eclipse, waiting for that magic moment and wanting to see—but how? How can one look and not be blinded? Some purchased special glasses that are thousands of times darker than sunglasses, others built themselves pinhole […]
I recall an old song by Tommy Dorsey, popular in the 1940s. You may have heard it: There are smiles that make us happyThere are smiles that make us blueThere are smiles that steal away the tear dropsAs the sun beam steal away the dew… There are indeed many kinds of smiles! But besides the […]
In Genesis 1 of the Hebrew Bible, the word טוֹב (tov) is used to describe God’s creation. In the Septuagint Greek Bible, the word καλός (kalos) is used. Both words mean “very good” and “very beautiful”. They say that everything created by God is very good and very beautiful. This has been the deep-down reality of everything and everyone in the […]
Ed Wynn had a long career in vaudeville, where he became famous as the inventor of the 11-foot pole—to be used by those who wouldn’t touch another with a 10-foot pole! Perhaps you remember him as Uncle Albert in Mary Poppins. In that film he sang “I Love to Laugh” with a fervor so contagious it caused […]
