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December 3, 2015

The Ultimate Powerlessness of Violence

In the wake of yesterday’s tragic violence in San Bernardino, let us be reminded of a powerful passage in the Holy Gospel that teaches us about the ultimate powerlessness of violence. We join our Savior as He is about to be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane by the command of the wicked Jewish leaders aided by Judas the Betrayer: “Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, – …

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November 29, 2015

The Necessity of Self-Denial

On the Third Sunday of the Coptic month of Hatour, our Mother, the Holy Church, nourished us with a passage from the Gospel according to St. Luke 14:25-35 in which our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us that the cost of being His disciple, the cost of being a Christian in this world, is a total and complete commitment to Him. This total commitment to Christ necessarily begins with self-denial, as our Savior teaches us, “And – …

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November 24, 2015

The Christian and Black Friday

Throughout the past week, my inbox has been bombarded with advertisements relating to Black Friday. There is the Black Friday sale, the pre-Black Friday sale, the early Black Friday specials, and many other advertising catchphrases that point to the same thing: discounted material goods on the day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday is not a topic that is commonly discussed among Orthodox Christians. Sadly, in the absence of the Church’s guidance on this holiday, most of – …

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November 17, 2015

The Problem of Anger

In the wake of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, I observed that the most frequent response was that of anger. President Francois Hollande, for example, vowed to destroy ISIS while the hacking cooperative Anonymous declared it would mercilessly hunt ISIS members down. It was anger that led the ISIS to attack France and now it is the French people’s turn to give in to anger and strike back, all while ISIS plots to strike – …

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November 13, 2015

The Deeper the Sorrow, the Closer to God

The unprecedented terrorist attacks against innocent civilians in Paris today have left many with anguish, fear, and shock in their hearts. In the coming weeks and months, politicians and pundits will speak at great length about what happened and what the world needs to do to address the increase of terrorism throughout the world. I do not write in order to contribute to that discussion, but instead, I echo the Russian proverb, “The deeper the – …

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