Tag: the-cross

  • Hidden Martyrdom: The Furnace of Prayer

    Hidden Martyrdom: The Furnace of Prayer

    Prayer, pastoral care, and perfection “Make the following a rule—first of all, anticipate trouble at every moment and when it comes encounter it as something expected. Secondly, when something happens that conflicts with you will and is on the point of irritating and upsetting you, hasten to bring your attention into your heart and strive…

  • Search the Scriptures

    Search the Scriptures

    Noah, the Prophet, and the Word of God “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. “I do not receive honor from men. But I know you, that…

  • Under the Paschal Light pt. iii

    Under the Paschal Light pt. iii

    The Light, Calling from the Dark Part i Part ii Liturgy brings people together where each participates in a mutual self-offering, every joy and sorrow of the week recapitulated in the eternal self-giving of Christ, caught up in His Cross and Resurrection—eros and agape—glorifying Him glorified, and partaking of His glory by the Mysteries of…

  • Under the Paschal Light pt. ii

    Under the Paschal Light pt. ii

    The Anti-Liturgy of Pessimism Last week we looked at philosophical pessimism in the West and how its assumptions infiltrate and shape the social imaginary, a term used by philosopher Charles Taylor to describe deep-seated intuitions of a people embedded within their culture. While philosophical pessimism remains a niche worldview, its presuppositions have broadly permeated the…

  • Crossing the “I”

    Crossing the “I”

    The Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross Epistle—Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:1-6 Gospel—Mark 8: 34-38; 9:1 In addition to the Gospel readings for the Lenten Fast, I have been reflecting on the Gospel of St. John. This week’s Gospel passages naturally intersect with those reflections. After a weeklong break from screens, as a form of…