470. Doubting Thomas? Part Three: Not Seeking Truth

  “There is no use trying,” said Alice; “one can’t believe impossible things.” “I dare say you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”    from Alice’s Adventures […]

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469. Doubting Thomas? Part Two: Seeking Truth (or not)

As I said last Post, this week I am sorely tempted to just tell the lovely story of how Saint Thomas came to faith again, and conclude. However, I think the Apostle Thomas’ desire for the truth naturally leads us to ask some questions about the contemporary search for truth, or lack thereof, and not […]

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465. Holy Saturday Morning: Vesperal Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil

Brothers and sisters, there is a whole lot going on this morning, so pay attention. This Liturgy begins as a celebration of Christ’s victory over Satan and death “down below”, and by the middle we’re celebrating the Resurrection here on earth, even though it hasn’t happened yet, although of course it has. In the two […]

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463. Holy Friday Afternoon Vespers of Holy Saturday

The Vespers of “Taking Down from the Cross” At last! a Holy Week service (and the only one) that is “in sync” with the time of day. We’re going to cover: 1 The ceremonies, 2 The Scripture readings. Beginning with last night’s Procession of the Cross of Christ and continuing through Pascha, the ceremonies are intended to draw us […]

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464. Friday Night Matins: “The Lamentations Service”

Please get to church tonight. If you cannot, please try to find yourself a way to worship live-stream. This is much too beautiful to miss – my favorite service of the year. Is this a funeral service? Is this a resurrection service? The answers are: Yes! We stand before the bier on which Christ is […]

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