Giving to worthy causes and keeping your taxes from government entitlements
In response to my post yesterday on what we can agree on about the poor, Fr. Greg made a further point about giving to the poor which I found most interesting. He said in part: This properly Christian response is not only undertaken in order to “help the poor”. It is a spiritual discipline – almsgiving- and is done, along with prayer and fasting, so as to advance the sanctification and salvation... [Read more]
Pacifism, the military and Orthodoxy
I keep receiving questions from people about the military, particularly in a time of war. As you know, I work for a Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and have a daughter who has served in Iraq. Yet, I have written about just war theology and the need to refrain as much as possible from conflict. So, rather than do another post, let me simply repost an answer from the Q&A section of the Orthodox... [Read more]
Posted by Fr. Ernesto Obregon on Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Tags: American Orthodoxy, Antiochian, Islam, OCA, sanctification
Homosexuality and the Orthodox
One of my readers asked me to speak to the issue of homosexuality and the Orthodox Church. This is one of those times that I am simply going to quote a statement by the bishops of the Orthodox Church in America: Convinced of these God-revealed truths, we offer the following affirmations and admonitions for the guidance of the faithful: Homosexuality is to be approached as the result of humanity’s... [Read more]
If this is how you treat your friends
July 1, 2011 | by Fr. Ernesto Obregon | 3 Comments
La Santa Teresa de Ávila was reputed to have said: If this is how You treat Your friends, then it is no wonder You have so few of them. I was reminded of this by a quote I read on an Internetmonk post. The author of the quote below was going through a very difficult time at the time. He has since died of cancer, but at the time he wrote: You see, I’ve been trained my whole life to think like... [Read more]
Can Catholics be good legislators in a pluralistic democracy?
As a result of the discussion on Catholic Social Doctrine, one of the readers of this blog brought up a question that has been asked before in the history this nation. Can a Roman Catholic be a member of a government in a pluralistic democracy? Actually, it really brings up the broader question of whether a Christian can be a member of government. Why did this question come up? Well, let’s look... [Read more]
tourGeorge Weigel on Catholic Social Doctrine
After my blog post on Mattingly and Catholic Social Doctrine, a friend sent a link to an article by George Weigel that was distributed by the Denver Catholic Register, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Denver. It is an extremely good article. Below are some quotes from the article, though I urge you to follow the link above and read the article for yourself. The 2012 election seems likely... [Read more]
C.S. Lewis on theosis
By now regular readers know that I am a fan of C.S. Lewis, and I was a fan of him before becoming Orthodox. In fact, I consider him one of the influences that led me to Orthodoxy, though I would not have thought of it that way before I became Orthodox. You see, it was not until I became Orthodox that I realized just how much of C.S. Lewis’ thinking reflected a more “Eastern” viewpoint,... [Read more]
Posted by Fr. Ernesto Obregon on Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Tags: Eastern Orthodoxy, pastoral, salvation, sanctification, theology
Old veterans and gentle wisdom
May 20, 2011 | by Fr. Ernesto Obregon | 3 Comments
I work the midnight shift at a VA Medical Center. When I leave in the morning by the emergency room door, there are always several veterans out there, taking a break, some of them smoking and some of them wasting some time before their appointments. As I went out today, I said hello to an old black veteran leaning on the railing. Given his age, I would wager that he was a Korea veteran. He was incredibly... [Read more]
Missions and Phronema
What does the Greek term “phronema” mean? According to the Wikipedia, “Phronema is a transliteration of [a] Greek word, . . . which has the meanings of ‘mind’, ‘spirit’, ‘thought’, ‘purpose’, ‘will’, and can have either a positive meaning (‘high spirit’, ‘resolution’, ‘pride’) or a bad... [Read more]
The pastor fell for want of a nail
Just yesterday I commented on how easy it is to begin with a small, maybe petty, sin that if ignored may lead to Satan winning a major battle. Little did I think that I would so quickly read an example of that. The quote below comes from a news story. In the wake of the dramatic Navy SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound earlier this month, it was perhaps to be expected that some expansive... [Read more]
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