Christ is in our midst!! He is and always will be!!

At this time of year when we are all preparing to celebrate the coming of God in the Flesh, Jesus Christ, I pause to reflect on the sad fact that there is still division among us--we who are called to be brothers and sisters in Christ.

It seems that even here, a place where we have been a group dedicated to listening and learning from each other--seeing reality as our brethren see it--we seem to back into corners and bring up all the historical polemics and attitudes that prevent us from seeing the other as brother. Often we forget that this is not a Catholic board but an Eastern Chritsian board, though by our title it might seem not to be so. We have lost many of our Orthodox brethren who used to post here in the past few years because many see a shift in the welcoming attitude that used to pervade this board. Taht is to all our shame.

I deal daily with people who have abandoned being active Christians because they have been wounded by clergy or their church communities. So I have already come here with a wound that will not heal, knowing that what we have done to the "least of My brethren" applies to us in this age as well as in those long-past times when our ancestors savaged each other.

My plea at this time is that each of us while we continue our fasting and preparing for the Feast that sums up the Faith--God became man in order that man might become like God--would reflect on how we treat each other, in our families, our communities, and here on this board.

May the Lord bless each of you, my brethren in Christ, today and always,

Bob

Amen!

Amen! x3

I am a Latin Catholic. I joined this forum because as a Latin I wanted to learn about and better understand Eastern Catholics. As a side benefit, as a Catholic I also had the opportunity of learning more about the Orthodox perspective in an environment that did not have the anti-Roman tones that seem to prevail on a lot of Orthodox sites. Over the last several months I have noticed that 1) fewer and fewer people are posting to this forum, 2) there is almost no discussion from an Orthodox perspective, 3) a narrower and narrower group of people are dominating the posts and most significantly 4) the conversation has become dominated by minutia and technicalities about the papacy and specifically Roman Catholic issues. I personally found the discussion about which hats Ukrainian priests should wear more interesting.

I would be most happy if the level of the discussion can be raised, if we can get a few more perspectives and if we have no discussion about the evils of Vatican bureaucracy or the sins of long departed saints for a couple of weeks.

Jim,

I will heartily say 'Amen' to those thoughts as well!

Many years,

Neil

Some of us remain! Jim, the comments about saints (recent or long departed) on both sides of the street are useful, in my view, because they might humble the mighty and make us all realize that none of us have clean hands; if so, we might be more charitable with our neighbor!. I know I need to be reminded on occasion!

The following Biblical quotation is at the head of this forum:

"Every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:14)


I can think of EOC and RCC saints who have followed this quotation to a letter!

johnzonaras:

Christ is Born!! Glorify Him!!

I think we get the wrong impression of saints. We get these severely sanitized versions of their biographies and they seem so far ahead of us that we sometimes think we can't make it.

But the reality of "holiness" is that it is about getting one's act together, not being perfect: becoming whole, balanced in ones' life. And getting one's act together here means that one is continuing the process of holiness--it is the "perfecting," not the perfection that God is looking at. Take St. Peter. I have been told the man had a temper. Ditto St. Nicholas. Love that story where he decked Arius. I'd love to have had that on a DVD to replay once in awhile. But you never hear that kind of stuff because we're still focused on not giving the new Christian the wrong impression.

It seems to me that the whole area of holines is about pointing at Jesus and at least keeping one's eyes focused on Him--and maybe once in awhile needing a refocus. Then it's one step forward and one back; two forward, one back; or one forward and two back--that metanoia shuffle, if you will. And sometimes falling face down and just having enough left to reach up so He can hoist one up out of the muck we fall into.

Maybe it's about not taking ourselves too seriously, too. One of my favorite stories in the Desert Fathers is about a man well known for his holy life, the father of a monastery, who tells his disciples on his deathbed that he doesn't know if he has begun to live the Christian life. He trusts the judgments of Christ, admits those judgments are not those of men, and completely surrenders to the mercy of Christ. I think he "gets it." And the storyteller says tht it is then that he is "made perfect." And then there are those who are so full of joy that they are not the dour people so often painted. Someone who can laugh at events and oneself, knowing that the Lord is in charge and won't let anything happen that is not for one's good.

Bob

Bob, Amen!