Comments on: Advice Orthodox Can Heed — Abp. Timothy Dolan: A Good Time to Revive Your Faith

By: cynthia curran

cynthia curran — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 02:51:07 +0000

Its nuts what the Roman Catholic Church goes thru in our Country. I read protestants that accuse the Roman Catholic Church of killing millions during the middle ages and early modern times. Even some of the historical events were truce like the Cathars which were a gnostic group, a lot of its was exaggerative. Now, I for one do not like exaggerative history of countries or nations sins or that Roman Catholic Civilzation was the worst.

By: Harry Coin

Harry Coin — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:50:10 +0000

And yet, and yet… I think it might be fair to classify these remarks as case of blaming various attributes of ‘the times’ for the relatively poor performance of the particular groups offering the remarks. Perhaps these remarks are more by way of deflection from glaring inner misdoing and misjudgement?

Why? Not three hours before reading these remarks today’s news offered commentary about how evangelical groups are a key element of support propelling candidates they feel reflect their views to near parity with those who outspend their candidates $4, $5 and $10 dollars to $1. How similar faith based and other groups using the ballot box removed supreme court judges who go further than not just freeing consenting adults to live how they prefer but also to impose the requirement upon everyone who does not agree to support it with their taxed money directly and otherwise through activity of civil authority.

There are tremendous centers of Christian energy all over this country, perhaps long overdue is a hard look at what the faith calls for our church to proceed from ‘glory to glory’ in our modern converging world of historically unparalleled wealth and health. A poor person in the USA would be thought quite rich indeed in Gospel times. I personally know a family where the mother lives in a fashion that most Christians would find morally and socially very very far indeed from good sense and even basic responsibility. In the old days this person and probably her kids (from different dads) would be in prison or would have long since starved to death. Instead she gets money for her own food and her kids food, free extensive medical interventions including major orthopedic surgery costing around $120,000, free education for her kids, and she gets to shack up with various as she deems wise giving account to nobody. She certainly means to show up for a GED class, and has meant so to do for a many years now. And she can move from apartment to apartment or trailer being evicted after several months each. Heat, air conditioning, running hot and cold water, trash pickup. The poor. Now, how to inspire such to up their moral game? That’s the question.

By: Pete

Pete — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:23:34 +0000

Saint John Chrysostom: “In matters of piety, freedom from oppression is the worst form of persecution. It is worse than any other persecution. No one understands or senses this danger because safety gives birth to carelessness. It weakens the soul and lulls it to sleep, and the devil destroys sleeping men.”

This is no new idea from Cardinal Dolan. Nevertheless, it is an interesting spiritual obstacle to manuever around to say we must teach and preach Christ and His statutes, while being willing to suffer and die in the face of hard opposition–without whining, but rather with joy.

At OCF College Conference at Antiochian Village three years ago, Metropolitan Jonah told us during his keynote that he expected that one day he would be imprisoned for his faith. Back then, it was a somewhat sombre thing to consider from my perspective. Now that we see things moving three steps closer and one stap away from total secular inundation, what a frighteningly glorious day that would [will] be. How would [will] it feel to know you hold to the True Faith, a faith that leads to prison in the United States of America, itself?

The paradox of preaching to the very end while enduring patiently for a crown of martyrdom is still just so hard to totally conceptualize, even with such being so clearly displayed in the lives of the Saints.