Antone Lavey, the founder of the Church of Satan in California, once described Satanism as "indulgence instead of abstinence." A fitting description of the slavery of indulging one's desires with no disciplines. And a powerful example to us of a society lost in the delusion of self-indulgence. We really...
"We have an eye witness." Well, that got his attention. You see I was helping with an investigation with a recent spate of home burglaries in the area and we had caught a suspect in one of the neighborhoods where this was happening. This young man had been very...
Here’s a long quote from C.S. Lewis’ book “The Weight of Glory” “It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now,...
After having lived through this pandemic that scared us all, the old wisdom of "wash your hands" took on a new urgency. Of course, modern medicine was completely transformed when we discovered that hygiene was key to patients surviving! Washing your hands keeps you healthy! It’s a good thing. And once...
“Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?” You can almost hear the sneer in this question to Jesus in the passage for today! And, frankly, it’s a good question. You see, as a Church, we Orthodox place a great deal of confidence in the consistent witness...
I know it is a bit “old-fashioned” and it may be hard for those of this generation to understand, but the timeless message of the Faith is that we are called to battle and tame the passions SO THAT they are our servants and never our masters! So what...
Welcome to the second day of the Dormition Fast! The wisdom of the fasting disciplines of the Church is meant to reinforce the reality that unless the faith is holistically practiced, that is it affects every aspect of your person, the real danger of compartmentalization exists! I know this...
He looked at me right in the face and said the words I will never forget: “When you’re ready to sell all you have to have this faith, then, and only then will you be ready!” Whoa, wait a minute, let’s talk about this! Everything? Yep, everything. It was a turning...
OK, let me confess something; I am not very talented when it comes to growing things. In fact, every time I've tried to plant and tend a garden, it has ended up either overrun by weeds or eaten by critters or over watered or under watered! I just don't...
My grandfather was an amazing storyteller. He was always a larger-than-life figure in my eyes as a boy and still is even as a grown man. He had this ability to mesmerize us grandkids with his stories of being a police officer in Atlanta, and the stories of his...
