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A good example of love in action

Just yesterday I received the following e-mail from a person who has posted on this blog: . . . I have been reading & enjoying your blog & have recently commented on the Anabaptist church. I have noticed that you have written often about the Immigration laws that are being introduced in Arizona. My church here in Americus GA has just started working with the Alterna community in La Grange... [Read more]

Pithless Thoughts, $40.00, and moist eyes

Normally I do not port someone else’s blog post to my blog. But, I am porting this one because it is such a good example of how the Desert Fathers used to give. It comes from the blog of Pithless Thoughts, and I hope that he will not mind my porting it here. So, please go over to his blog and comment on the post that follows: 40 Bucks for Jesus I finished up the stuff on “Difficult Client’s”... [Read more]

Sin in the Church should not be a surprise to anyone

Yesterday I had a couple of people over to my house, along with two grandchildren. We were setting up a Christmas tree, having some hot chocolate, and generally having some Advent fun. Well, some questions started coming my way. One of them was whether the Orthodox Church had ever engaged in sin as serious as the current Roman Catholic paedophile scandal. Sadly, my answer was, “yes.” If... [Read more]

On the necessity for swift and decisive pastoral discipline of priests

Sadly, the following story was recently posted on the online version of the American Bar Association Journal (ABA Journal): A Catholic priest already facing criminal sexual-assault charges in a Texas has been re-arrested and jailed in lieu of $700,000 bail in Dallas County after allegedly seeking a contract hit on the claimed victim, who is also a witness in a related civil case. Father John Fiala,... [Read more]

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Orthodoxy and Alcoholics Anonymous

The same nun about whom I wrote yesterday commented to me that many priests do not know how to deal with people with addictions. In particular, she commented to me about dealing with alcoholism. She mentioned, in particular, the group Alcoholics Anonymous as being a very helpful group. Alcoholics Anonymous has always had trouble with some priests and some Protestant pastors. There is a tendency among... [Read more]

Anorexia and Orthodox fasting rules

Recently I received an e-mail from an Orthodox nun which said in part: I have also discovered, through speaking with people with eating disorders, that priests tend to know very little in that area as well. It is difficult for someone with a tendency to anorexia to fast in a moderate way. In yesterday’s post, I wrote on the Orthodox fasting rules. But, mother is correct. Many do not know about... [Read more]

Some thoughts on Thanksgiving and Ebenezer Scrooge

Today is a day when we stop to thank God for what he has given us over the last year. It is a day steeped in cultural symbols and celebrations. But, it is a day that is fast fading as a family day in favor of the Ebenezer Scrooges that are so in vogue right now. And, sadly, many Christians in this country are pushing that train all the way to the station without even realizing that they are doing it.... [Read more]

Death and “till we meet”

Till we meet, till we meet, Till we meet at Jesus’ feet; Till we meet, till we meet, God be with you till we meet again. So goes the refrain from an old hymn. Whenever I counsel someone on death’s doorstep, it leaves me thinking for a couple of days. Today, I found myself remembering this old hymn. It is a wonderful hymn, and if it is not Celtic, it ought to be. I found myself thinking... [Read more]

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To escort someone out

Yesterday I received one of those phone calls that are much more frequent in stories than they are in reality, but they do come every so often. That phone call is the late night phone call that asks you to go to the bedside of someone who is in imminent danger of death. And, it was in a nearby city. So, I went and prayed with the daughter for her mother. I did not arrive home until after midnight,... [Read more]

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God’s grace to parents

I got a sad and humorous chuckle when I read the cartoon above. I agree with grandma in the cartoon a little more than I agree with mom. I do not see myself as a great parent. I will still, in my darkest moments, look back and wonder how many things I could have done different to raise our children better, to be a better husband, to be a better father. No, I do not live my life in those thoughts.... [Read more]