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The Imperfect Lady, our Mother, the Church

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. Yesterday, I answered a note from a person who asked me about the Church, and it... [Read more]

St. John of Kronstadt on confession

Since we are approaching Lent, let’s keep working on the idea of confession, but from a better author than I. How does one prepare oneself for confession? Listed below is one resource from St. John of Kronstadt. As you read it, realize that he has taken a standard confession format, but expanded it widely. He has turned into more than a simple confession into something that calls us to reflect... [Read more]

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Internetmonk on confession

As we are preparing for Lent, the first thing we should often think about is personal confession. Below is an article from Internetmonk on some self-examination he did. This post was originally published by him in 2008. ==== Some Christians love to talk about the sins of Obama or gays or the mainstream media, but get really animated when I suggest we need to talk about our own, even if they are listed... [Read more]

service

Christian charity–some practical lessons

The below is from Matushka Ann. I do not know who she is. This was sent to me by email, but it rings rather true. ===== How do we give alms? What should we do when we are offended? And more specifically, how can or should we help our monastic institutions, our own parish, our neighbor? I can only pass along what I’ve heard from others, and seen others do. But we have an obligation to share the... [Read more]

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Danny Glover says global warming caused earthquake, Huffington Post takes him on

Forty-eight hours ago, Father Orthoduck apologized for Pat Robertson’s remarks concerning a curse being the cause of the Haiti earthquake. One of the readers lamented that he was about to go to a convention where he would get lambasted for those comments by people who love to put down Christianity. Another reader commented that he could simply answer with Danny Glover’s rant that blamed... [Read more]

Tell it again, Sam, uhm, Pete, uhm, whomever

The slightly grubby man–rarely, if ever, a woman–comes up to you with the story above. And, you have heard it before more than once. It is one of the oldest stories used by panhandlers. It is repeated over and over because it is one of the more successful stories. In fact, Father Orthoduck has heard the exact same story in Spanish in Peru in the southern Andean mountains! Father Orthoduck... [Read more]

On decisions and memories

We have a tendency, when we talk about decisions, to talk mostly about bad decisions and mistaken decisions. Rarely do we talk about good decisions. And, even more rarely do we talk about good decisions that are very difficult to make. What do I mean by good, but incredibly difficult decisions? Yesterday, I was talking with my mother-in-law. She commented on some doubts that she had about bringing... [Read more]

On honor among soldiers

Bad news for some of you. We are taking a one day break from Nixon and China. [Somehow I doubt that it is bad news for many of you.] I saw a show last night that portrayed a reality that many non-soldiers have trouble understanding. The show portrayed an encounter between an American veteran of Guadacanal and Iwo Jima and a Japanese veteran of Guadacanal. It paralleled encounters that have already... [Read more]

A question from Michigan

Blue Water Bridge, Port Huron, MI The post below comes from a friend of mine, Father Orthohippo. You may answer his question either here or there. We are long-time friends and read each other’s blogs. Despair is becoming much more wide spread here in the north. In St. Clair county, Michigan (population 164,000) last week, we had two incidents of murder-suicide by out of work fathers shooting... [Read more]

Patrick Kennedy and freedom of choice

From the Associated Press yesterday: By RAY HENRY, Associated Press Writer Ray Henry, Associated Press Writer 43 mins ago PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin has banned Rep. Patrick Kennedy from receiving Communion, the central sacrament of the church, in Rhode Island because of the congressman’s support for abortion rights, Kennedy said in a newspaper interview published... [Read more]

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