Today is the anniversary of my ordination to the diaconate in November of 2009. I would be ordained to the priesthood later in March of 2010. Listen to one of the prayers of ordination: "The divine grace, which always heals that which is infirm and completes that which is lacking,...
"I say that inner beauty doesn't exist. That's something that unpretty women invented to justify themselves." OSMEL SOUSA, the longtime head of the Miss Venezuela pageant on the popularity of plastic surgery in Venezuela. This is a quote from today's NY Times talking about their article on the popular rise...
The packaging is more colorful, the content is said to be far and away so much better than the old product, and millions of dollars in advertising will be spent to convince you that this "new and improved" product is an absolute "must have" if you are going to...
"You are what you eat." So goes the the saying that has at times served as a means to get people to have better diets, and a way for philosophers to reduce the human person to merely a thinking animal, and even to theologians trying to have folks consider...
There is a saying popular in this modern age: "He who dies with the most toys, wins!" It is an apt description of a modern age that has forgotten itself. A materialistic mindset that reduces human existence to the sum total of possessions and the amount on the balance sheet...
It's absolutely uncanny how many times I've discovered the beauty and benefits of complimentary talents in couples. While it is true that the long a couple is together, the more "alike" they may become, the strongest relationships I've seen in my life are the couples that discover the treasure...
There is a story on Mount Athos, that center of Orthodox monastic wisdom for centuries, of the circular cloud that forms on a regular basis at the top of the mountain. The science is easy. The warm and humid air from the sea is forced by the curve of...
I never will forget the first time I went to the optometrist and he had to dilate my eyes for a procedure. The light in his office hurt my eyes because my eyes were letting in too much light. Amazing. Too much light hurts. But that's the nature of light. It...
As of today, there are over 22 different countries that report at least one person reading "Orthodox On Purpose." For that, I am grateful to God. Of course the US still has the most readers, but for those of you in China, Bulgaria, Greece, and other nations, welcome and...
Hollywood movie critics often speak about this or that movie making it possible for an audience to "suspend disbelief" long enough to enjoy or be entertained by the story in a movie. One of the best examples of this ability to "suspend disbelief" is the recent movie called "The Life...
