Facing Death and Judgment
FACING DEATH AND JUDGMENT This past week I spoke with a 62 year old woman who is dying. Several months ago her doctors told her that she has six months to live due to a rare form of cancer. Of course, this woman is extremely sad at her prospects. Yet...
Sunday’s Gospel: Blessed New Year’s Resolutions
What are some New Year’s resolutions you made this year? It is now Day 3 of the New Year – are you still staying faithful to the resolutions? Why do so many people make New Year’s resolutions? Is it because we see something in our lives we...
We Can Live Through the Pain
Be Transfigured – We Can Live Through the Pain Many ask, “If God doesn’t give us more than we can handle, the why do people starve to death?” This very popular question is based upon a misunderstanding about God’s love. God doesn’t give us struggle. He allows things to run...
Heavenly Shore
“Through prayers and acts of charity for the departed, Christians demonstrate the relationship between this world and the world to come. The Church in this world and the Church in the next is one and the same – one body, one being- just as the roots of a tree, below...
Surrendering to Christ
Have you been told to “Let go and let God”? Listen as Fr. Chris speaks with Dr. Albert Rossi, a clinical psychologist who teaches courses in pastoral theology at Saint Vladimir’s Seminary. They discuss the Orthodox understanding of this famous phrase and of letting go. How do we surrender? Trying...
Throwback Thursday: Whose Sin Is It, Anyway?
http://radio.myocn.net/podcast/CRTL/On_Air/crtl071611wv.mp3 What’s the difference between being born into sin and carrying the guilt of Adam and Eve? Listen as Fr. Chris and Fr. Steven discuss this deep and often misunderstood theology of original sin, as we take you back to July 16, 2011. Fr. Steven Ritter is Pastor of St....
From “Death and Illness, Our Saving Road”
The expression that a Christian is a vessel of the Holy Spirit makes it seem as though the body is passive, but the body might rather be seen as an activation of the spirit within. In doing things that foster wellness, one is more useful for God’s purposes, which follow...
I Had Not Thought Death Had Undone So Many
When Dante makes his famous literary descent into the Inferno, he utters these now-famous words: “I had not thought death had undone so many.” Six centuries later, T.S. Eliot included this quotation in his epic poem The Waste Land; it is Eliot’s translation that I here favor. This was my...
Fr. Matthew Baker Leaves Behind Wife and Six Children: How You Can Help
Last night, an outstanding Orthodox priest died in a tragic car accident on his way home from Vespers. Fr. Matthew Baker leaves behind his wife, Katherine, and six young children: Isaac, 12; Elias, 10; George, 8; Ellie (Eleftheria), 6; Cyril, 4; and Matthew Baker Jr, 2. Please pray for them,...
Jesus was Born that He Might Die
In many European cultures, and in America too, singing and listening to carols is a well-loved Christmas tradition. And many Orthodox communities in the West have admirably incorporated some of the best of these carols into their Nativity celebrations. Often, though, for Orthodox and non-Orthodox alike, our knowledge of this...
