“Be pleased, O God, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me!” (Psalm 70:1). Is there another way prayer can be incorporated into a busy schedule? Too often we equate prayer with standing before an icon corner with a prayer book and reciting prayers. While this is certainly an aspect of keeping a prayer rule, there is more to … Read More
What do you do when you first get up?
In the late 1970s, I was a childcare worker at a Catholic Home that provided care for physically and emotionally disturbed children, who followed a morning routine that started with a simple limit. After waking up, before they could leave their rooms, they had to make their beds and get dressed for school. They then called for a room check. … Read More
Why Are We So Busy?
At present, I am in Saint Louis, where I am attending the 19th All-American Council of the Orthodox Church in America. Monday morning’s plenary session of the Fellowship of Orthodox Christians in America’s 92nd annual national Convention is about to begin. As its members seek to find answers as to how they can grow in their ministry to the Orthodox … Read More
“Gospel Values and Politics” – A brief reflection by Peter Bouteneff
“Gospel values do not prescribe how to shape our governments. They tell us how to live.” As committed Orthodox Christians, the decisions we make about our lives and our society are supposed to be “Gospel-based.” What does that mean in general, and what does it mean specifically with regard to our politics? Gospel values are Christ-values, and we are given … Read More
The Life Saving Confession of the Thief on the Cross
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing … Read More
Capital Punishment
In previous reflections, I alluded to inconsistencies with regard to sanctity of life issues (i.e. being pro choice/against capital punishment and vice versa). Today and next week I will address capital punishment. Here is a text from the Gospel of John, concerning the woman caught in adultery, upon which I will comment. Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in … Read More
A Fallen World
One of the difficult challenges of living in a humanistic, secular society is that there seems to be little or no understanding that we live in a “fallen” world. For the Church of course, the notion of a “fallen world” is an important tenet of our faith. The humanistic mindset acknowledges that human beings are “flawed” and that people make … Read More
Are Some Lives More Sacred Than Others?
Several weeks ago, I mentioned I that I would discuss sanctify of life issues within the context of several related questions. One of these questions was, “are some lives more sacred than others?” It is not unusual for people to take different stands on matters related to sanctify of life. For example, there are those who identify as pro-life, calling … Read More