1.
Got Love?
1 May 2012
Dear Souls - "In love did He bring the world into existence; in love does He guide it during this its temporal existence; in love is He going to bring it to that wondrous transformed state, and in love will the world be swallowed up in the great mystery of Him who has performed all these things; in love will the whole course of the governance of creation be finally compromised..." Saint Isaac the Syrian (Part II)
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2.
Got Faith?
2 May 2012
Dear Souls -
"Without faith a person cannot approach freedom of thoughts. Freedom consists in an authority over thought which comes from God; it does not allow dread of anything at all to come near the heart, or any disturbing stirring which might darken it. This is because of the great confidence which faith grants to the faithful conscience..." Saint Isaac the Syrian (Part II)
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3.
Dory Speaking Whale
3 May 2012
Dear Souls -
Faith and love set me on my way,
with anything more
I'm Dory speaking whale.
link here: Speaking Whale
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4.
Misguided Zeal
4 May 2012
Dear Souls -
From Saint Isaac the Syrian on wrong zeal:
"A zealous man never achieves peace of mind; but he who is a stranger to peace is a stranger to joy. If, as it is said, peace of mind is perfect health, and zeal is opposed to peace, then the man who has a wrong zeal is sick with a grievous disease..."
"Zeal is not reckoned among men to be a form of wisdom, but as one of the maladies of the soul, namely narrow-mindedness and deep ignorance." (Homily Fifty-One)
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5.
Simple
5 May 2012
Dear Souls -
"The home of faith is a childlike thought and a simple heart."
Saint Isaac the Syrian (Homily Fifty-Two)
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6.
Got Peace?
17 May 2012
Dear Souls -
"Be peaceful within yourself, and heaven and earth will be at peace with you." Saint Isaac the Syrian (Homily Two)
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7.
Water the Garden
18 May 2012
Dear Souls -
"Each man's desire is revealed by his works, and in whatever matters he shows his zeal, it is for those that he strives in prayer. The man who desires the greatest things does not concern himself with the lesser" Saint Isaac the Syrian (Homily Three)
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8.
A Humbleness of Spirit
22 May 2012
Dear Souls -
"Love uncouthness of speech joined with knowledge from inner experience more than to gush forth rivers of instruction from the keenness of your intellect and from a deposit of hearsay and writings of ink." Saint Isaac the Syrian (Homily Four)
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9.
Over the Rainbow
Tuesday, 5 June 2012 Dear Souls - A song today from me to you...
link here: Over the Rainbow
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10.
Beware of Fundamentalism
Sunday, 10 June 2012 Dear Souls -
Honesty.
If I'm not going to be honest, then I shouldn't write here at all. And I'm quite content hiding behind the words of Saint Isaac and the various You Tube videos which I think portray a message far better than I can scribbling words here with my keyboard.
I don't like religion; I don't like pushy church. And I'm the single most unlikely Christian blogger in cyberspace. But I believe those of us born and raised as Orthodox Christians must have a voice. And the web is a place for this voice to be heard.
So, here I am.
Fundamentalism of any sort makes my skin prickle. This is not a lesson in theology, because I'm sure you could out-scribble me on all forms of fancy theology. From a practical perspective, I see a growing movement of American Orthodox Christian Fundamentalism, and I think it stinks. It stinks like a dirty rotten trashcan full of poop (from my favorite Surfs Up clip). With all the fundamentalist religious camps already available in this country, I cannot understand why Orthodox Christians do not react against this infusion of fundamentalism into their Church. Are the signs not visible?
God is Love. He is not the chief of police. If it's not about Love, then it's not about God.
This Fundamentalist American Orthodox movement is not limited to a specific population of Orthodox Christians. It's present in anyone who follows the More is Better religious theme. More is not always better, because more is sometimes over-the-top, and distinguishing when more is in the dangerous zone is not easy for the average soul. More can catch you off guard; it shares a seat with pride. And pride is your enemy, although this is counter to our understanding of pride within the American culture. Orthodox Christianity is also called Eastern Orthodoxy, and it has Eastern tones to the Faith. America is a Western culture. The two, Eastern Orthodoxy and America, are an unnatural pairing. And when you merge them, they trend toward fundamentalism if left unchecked. Because in America more is better; it's the American way.
Maybe I should start a Less is More movement. Start small and carry a big heart.
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| Beware of Fundamentalism |
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11.
Nothing to Say
Monday, 25 June 2012
Dear Souls -
Yep. I'm still here. And I'm resisting the temptation to delete this whole site. No worries, this is not an uncommon thought for me. I honestly believe writing here is odd. But I won't delete this small awkward cyber home today; that's too impulsive.
Really, I have nothing to say...
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BY CARING
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BY HELPING
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BY GIVING
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BY PRAYING
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BY LISTENING
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BY KNOWING
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12.
Pure Soul
Tuesday, 26 June 2012
Dear Souls -
"As for souls, to the degree that they are defiled and darkened, they are neither able to see one another, nor themselves. But if they cleanse themselves and make their way back to their ancient created state, they will clearly see these three orders, that is, the order below them, the one above, and one another [in their own order]. But I do not mean to say that angels, demons, or other souls must be transformed into a bodily form so that pure souls can see them. On the contrary, they see into their very nature and their spiritual order." Saint Isaac the Syrian (Homily Twenty-Six)
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