Bearing One’s Cross

This book is very helpful in learning to bear one’s cross and overcoming various obstacles along the way.  It is available for purchase at Monastery Press and Archangels Books. 

A Centurion Still Weeps

A single candle burning in the Chapel of St. Longinus (Jerusalem, April 2012)

But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. ~ John 19: 34

So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!” ~ Matthew 27: 54

Hope for Adam

Prayers left at the Chapel of Adam in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (Jerusalem, April 2012)

When everything that is human and worldly deceives us;
when all our hopes and calculations collapse;
when what draws our hearts and seems beautiful to us crumbles –
it is precisely then that, if we continue to call upon the Lord,
He will come and accomplish everything.

~ Archpriest Alexander Men

Halfway there, and just getting started…

When I had journeyed half of our life’s way,
I found myself within a shadowed forest,
for I had lost the path that does not stray.
Ah, it is hard to speak of what it was,
that savage forest, dense and difficult,
which even in recall renews my fear…

~ The Divine Comedy

My Brother, St. George

Tomb of St. George (Lod, Israel: April 2012)

Unlike most pilgrims I saw in the Holy Land, I arrived alone.  I had planned as much as possible in advance, but I still felt nervous at the outset.  I asked St. George to pray for me, to help protect me.  I consider St. George to be my brother in Christ.  When I need the extra strength, support, or courage that sometimes we get from leaning on someone’s shoulder, I turn to St. George, whom I trust adds his own prayers to my own.

The tomb of St. George is in the town of Lod, known as Lydda in the Bible – which is where St. Peter healed Aeneas the paralytic before traveling to nearby Joppa (modern day Jaffa), where he raised Tabitha from the dead.  Lod is also now the location of Ben Gurion airport, which is quite close to the site of the tomb.  So it made me very happy that the first thing I did upon arriving in the Holy Land was to go directly from the airport to the church of St. George in order to venerate the tomb and ask St. George to spread his blessings and prayers of protection over my entire pilgrimage.  (And my entire pilgrimage was really and truly blessed!) The church of St. George in Lod is adjacent to a mosque.  This is because St. George is believed to have performed so many miracles for the Muslims that they, too, venerate him there!

Demons, Exorcism, and the Paranormal

I’m sure many have now listened to the podcast aired recently on Ancient Faith Radio about this topic.  If not, it’s a very interesting interview of Father George Aquaro, who is very good at explaining spiritual concepts.  I posted some helpful talks by Father George earlier.  One of the interesting points made during this interview is the idea that the Bible asks us to ignore the occult and be aware of evil, whereas in modern Western society, people are ignoring the concept of evil and focusing on the occult, with no understanding of the dangers.  If you’d like to listen to this podcast, simply click on the link below.

Demons, Exorcism, and the Paranormal

Back to Basics: The Symbol of Faith

Christian Wilderness Training

Outside, it’s a beautiful starry night.  Everyone is out and about, walking around in different directions.  This one with his nose in a book, the other gazing up at the stars – solitary wanderers, groups of people too busy chatting to notice where they are going, preachers walking backwards in any direction so long as they can still face a crowd, and huddles of friends gathered around camp fires.  The topic of conversation:  Who was Christ?  Was He really God?  Did He rise from the dead?  Does it really matter?  Is He coming back?