One ancient heresy which was common among those who read Scripture very simply, very literally, and sometimes finds itself manifest to this day, is the belief that God has a material body, and with that body, looks like us, or rather, we, in our bodies, resemble God’s physical form. Those who hold this belief say this is what it means to be made in God’s image and likeness. We were made to resemble God, having a body like God’s body,... Read more
We are not to worship creation, but the Creator. This does not mean we are to ignore the good of creation, nor, especially, to disrespect it. We are not worshiping creation if we look to the world we see, realize its importance for our temporal existence, and do what we can to make sure it remains in good shape. Protecting the environment, taking care of the earth and all its inhabitants, is what we should all be doing. If we... Read more
I woke up to hear the news which everyone will be hearing today: Pope Francis has passed away this morning (Bright Monday). The first thing I did was pray for him, for him to have a blessed repose and that his memory be eternal. After that, I thought about how he pushed himself over the last few days, wondering if he knew if this would be the last time he would celebrate Easter with us. I suspect he did. I... Read more
Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Every year, it is the Byzantine tradition to have St. John Chrysostom’s Easter Sermon read during the Paschal service; this allows the faithful to hear the way Chrysostom explains that everyone is called by Christ to share in the joy and grace and glory of the resurrection for themselves. Christ’s work, Christ’s accomplishment in his death and resurrection is universal. No one, no matter how sinful, no matter how barbarous or cruel they... Read more
Too many people have an overly-physical conception of the eucharist, and because of it, they misunderstand the technical vocabulary the Western tradition has developed to explain it. That is, when they hear someone talking about the substance of the eucharist, they understand the term substance in an entirely physical fashion. Theologically, substance is to be understood as the metaphysical essence or the underlying reality of a thing; when saying the substance of the eucharist is Christ, it is saying the... Read more
Intrinsic evil is a term which is often misunderstood as indicating something is essentially (and so absolutely) evil. The reason this is wrong is because evil is not natural, and so, has no real essence or substance of its own. Nothing can be essentially evil. There is nothing which is absolutely evil. Existence is good, which means, everything which exists, has some good in it because of its existence. Evil works to counter the good, to deny some proper good;... Read more
In the Byzantine tradition, Lent is over. Holy Week is a time all unto its own. The last day of Lent was the Friday before Palm Sunday. Then comes Lazarus Saturday, the celebration which commemorates when Jesus brought Lazarus back to life (which can be said to be a resuscitation, not a resurrection, because, in Christian theology, a resurrection is more than just coming back to life). Then comes Palm Sunday which leads us to Holy Week. Holy week was... Read more
It’s easy to shout, Jesus, or Christ, is king. It is another thing to live your life as if you actually believed it. It is easy to say Christ is king, especially if you think you can gain some political or social advantage by doing so. It is easy to play to religious crowds, making them think you are one of them by saying good, pious words. But Jesus will not be fooled. It is no good to say Christ... Read more
Paul explained that there are three theological virtues, those of faith, hope and love, with love being the greatest of the three. Love (caritas, which can sometimes be described as or translated as charity) is greater than knowledge, even if both are goods which we should cultivate in our lives. Knowledge should help us to love better, not less. We certainly should not seek knowledge so as to make ourselves look better than others, hoping to get the praise of... Read more
We are created beings, which means, we have a beginning and possibly, an end. We have limits to our being. We seek eternal life, infinite existence, but, it is beyond our potential. Does that mean eternal life is impossible for us? No. We might not be able to possess it, to attain it through the potential we have been given at the time of our creation, but we can be possessed by it, that is, have it flow in and... Read more
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