My Bible reading from Psalms was Psalm 103 yesterday. Absolutely a gift to read and contemplate: “Bless the Lord O my soul, And all that is within me bless his holy name…For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us…”
The commenter noted that though David might not have known the shape of the earth, the Holy Spirit who inspired the Psalm does (and did). And that when traveling east, we can’t get to west, we just keep going east…an amazing though about God’ infinite mercy and lovingkindness to us.
A wonderful psalm that God will separate us from our sins. What a relief! So how come I keep on sinning? Well, the "easy" stuff has been fixed. It's those "tougher than dirt" sins that are so hard to get rid of. Sometimes, as Lewis said, you just have to give our inability to "be ye perfect as the Father in Heaven is perfect" and God and trust that He's "on it." I can't wait for my resurrection body as the earthly "original" model is starting to break down, slowly but surely.
Oh, thank you William. I like "Far from the Madding Crowd" so much. It's so true to life, wouldn't you say? Here's my summary of it to my kids: first Bathsheba did a DUMB thing (as a joke), which drove Boldwood over the edge; then she fell into passion (Frank), then she had her heart broken (Frank's rejection and death), then she finally wised up and recognized that Gabriel was her only worthy true love and savior. Gabriel is like a stand-in for Christ--he kept saving her through all her follies, made early overatures, was rejected, but finally, she wakes up and realizes his value and how she cannot live without him. Happy ending. Ta-da. And I like every version of "Far from the Madding Crowd," but the best is probably the one with Julie Christie, Terrance Stamp, etc.
Since you have the money and time have you ever done an Alaskan orthodox pilgrimage? It would be a fascinating experience. Perhaps even book material Dreher does travel writing.
I love this post today. Thank you. I think we’re all in need of the reminder of the Risen Christ and pay attention to what it means in the life of loving one another. I too often get distracted and forget what matters the most.
I've always thought the traditional Eastern salutation of Christ Is Risen! with its response Truly He Is Risen! to be superior to our bland Happy Easter. But to cover all bases, I send along both greetings to you, Rod.
You know, I was doing some research on the Shroud of Turin not long ago, and it's a mindboggling artifact. As a scientist who investigated the mysterious relic said, it would take a bigger miracle for the cloth to be fake than genuine.
Indeed, all evidence points to only one explanation: a colossal burst of energy, enough to incinerate the city of Jerusalem but confined to an impossibly tiny area, imprinted the negative flash image of a crucified man not only corresponding in every detail to the biblical account of the passion of Christ but also medically accurate -- pierce wounds in the wrists and so forth -- in ways that no medieval forger could possibly have understood. Beyond that, the idea that a photographically negative image would have been precisely generated by an artist centuries before the invention of photography is preposterous on its face.
Anyway, it is truly providential that in an age of defection, doubt, and despair, there should emerge incredible physical evidence testifying to the miraculous truth at the center of our faith. "He is not here. He goes before you into Galilee." And far beyond...
Amen, but just to give a bit of credit to the West, "He is risen indeed" is a part of many Western liturgies...
The Shroud of Turin was one of the things that helped move Charles Murray from being a somewhat unreflective atheist to a tentative Christian, I think...
Yes, we used to say "Christ is Risen -- He is risen indeed!" back in the 60's when I was a little Baptist kid! I've been Orthodox for 31 years now, and I'm still reminded of that every Easter.
Yes, it is astonishing to learn about recent studies of the Shroud. I moved from “a pious object of devotion” to absolute believer. What does it mean that all these facts are being revealed now? What does it mean that we are now aware of the hitherto unknown reflections in the Virgin of Guadalupe’s eyes on the tilma?
Back many years ago, I think in the 70s, maybe early 80s, Rolling Stone magazine had a long piece about the Shroud which reported and seemed to accept the scientific finding that the image was created by “a burst of radiant energy from a corpse.” I still remember that wording. Very strange place for such a story. IIRC they speculated about Jesus as some kind of magician.
One of the things Sasse said really stuck with me. In this passage, he is telling Douthat about what he wishes he had done differently in life, and what wishes everybody knew:
There’s so many times when we optimize around things that are not nearly as important as more family thickness. Boy, I wish we lived down the block from my folks.
Christ is risen!!!
He is risen indeed!
Happy Easter, Rod.
Christ is Risen indeed!
Yes, I followed Rod from The American Conservative to this Substack for the spirituality.
Hristos înviat! Adevǎrat a inviat!
Romanian to English translation: Christ is risen! Truly He is risen!
Amen. Alleluia!
Spot on!
After mass, we are heading out to celebrate Easter with my Romanian Ortho cousins!
Christos anesti Rod, have you ever heard tht Paschal Troprion sung to an Appalachian melody?
https://youtu.be/ZLAV_X5EwGk?si=VyjhRD0OTYKqraCF
AI says: "Christos Anesti" translates to "Christ is Risen" in Greek
Amen. Alleluia!
That is MARVELOUS!
Christos Anesti!
https://brianhoward.substack.com/p/he-is-not-here?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
We're the fortunate ones, the beneficiaries, the "first to know.'
My Bible reading from Psalms was Psalm 103 yesterday. Absolutely a gift to read and contemplate: “Bless the Lord O my soul, And all that is within me bless his holy name…For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us…”
The commenter noted that though David might not have known the shape of the earth, the Holy Spirit who inspired the Psalm does (and did). And that when traveling east, we can’t get to west, we just keep going east…an amazing though about God’ infinite mercy and lovingkindness to us.
Christ is Risen indeed.
A wonderful psalm that God will separate us from our sins. What a relief! So how come I keep on sinning? Well, the "easy" stuff has been fixed. It's those "tougher than dirt" sins that are so hard to get rid of. Sometimes, as Lewis said, you just have to give our inability to "be ye perfect as the Father in Heaven is perfect" and God and trust that He's "on it." I can't wait for my resurrection body as the earthly "original" model is starting to break down, slowly but surely.
Too true. As Paul said, who can separate me from the body of this sin? The analogy is similar to carrying around a dead body with one.
God’s grace is sufficient even for us sinners.
Χριστός ανέστη!
Christós anésti!
Christ is risen!
Praise God! May there be World Peace! May Christ's light shine all over the world today. May all men and women be brought to the Lord's table.
Happy and Blessed Easter, Rod!
Christ is Risen! Cristo Ressuscitou!
Is the first Easter the most significant event in human history?
There is a work in progress arguing that this is so:
https://jrcsmc.substack.com/p/the-most-significant-event-in-history
Yes it is the most significant event in human history, but Christ's birth and the annuciation are close seconds and thirds.
As Thomas Hardy once wrote:
“Though a good deal is too strange to be believed, nothing is too strange to have happened”
Oh, thank you William. I like "Far from the Madding Crowd" so much. It's so true to life, wouldn't you say? Here's my summary of it to my kids: first Bathsheba did a DUMB thing (as a joke), which drove Boldwood over the edge; then she fell into passion (Frank), then she had her heart broken (Frank's rejection and death), then she finally wised up and recognized that Gabriel was her only worthy true love and savior. Gabriel is like a stand-in for Christ--he kept saving her through all her follies, made early overatures, was rejected, but finally, she wakes up and realizes his value and how she cannot live without him. Happy ending. Ta-da. And I like every version of "Far from the Madding Crowd," but the best is probably the one with Julie Christie, Terrance Stamp, etc.
Since you have the money and time have you ever done an Alaskan orthodox pilgrimage? It would be a fascinating experience. Perhaps even book material Dreher does travel writing.
Not a given that he has the money.
He’s single. He can work on a fishing boat.
Happy Pascha to Rod and all of our Orthodox Brethren
I love this post today. Thank you. I think we’re all in need of the reminder of the Risen Christ and pay attention to what it means in the life of loving one another. I too often get distracted and forget what matters the most.
I've always thought the traditional Eastern salutation of Christ Is Risen! with its response Truly He Is Risen! to be superior to our bland Happy Easter. But to cover all bases, I send along both greetings to you, Rod.
You know, I was doing some research on the Shroud of Turin not long ago, and it's a mindboggling artifact. As a scientist who investigated the mysterious relic said, it would take a bigger miracle for the cloth to be fake than genuine.
Indeed, all evidence points to only one explanation: a colossal burst of energy, enough to incinerate the city of Jerusalem but confined to an impossibly tiny area, imprinted the negative flash image of a crucified man not only corresponding in every detail to the biblical account of the passion of Christ but also medically accurate -- pierce wounds in the wrists and so forth -- in ways that no medieval forger could possibly have understood. Beyond that, the idea that a photographically negative image would have been precisely generated by an artist centuries before the invention of photography is preposterous on its face.
Anyway, it is truly providential that in an age of defection, doubt, and despair, there should emerge incredible physical evidence testifying to the miraculous truth at the center of our faith. "He is not here. He goes before you into Galilee." And far beyond...
Amen, but just to give a bit of credit to the West, "He is risen indeed" is a part of many Western liturgies...
The Shroud of Turin was one of the things that helped move Charles Murray from being a somewhat unreflective atheist to a tentative Christian, I think...
Yes, we used to say "Christ is Risen -- He is risen indeed!" back in the 60's when I was a little Baptist kid! I've been Orthodox for 31 years now, and I'm still reminded of that every Easter.
Yes, it is astonishing to learn about recent studies of the Shroud. I moved from “a pious object of devotion” to absolute believer. What does it mean that all these facts are being revealed now? What does it mean that we are now aware of the hitherto unknown reflections in the Virgin of Guadalupe’s eyes on the tilma?
I hear "Christ is risen" in Protestant churches far more than happy easter.
Back many years ago, I think in the 70s, maybe early 80s, Rolling Stone magazine had a long piece about the Shroud which reported and seemed to accept the scientific finding that the image was created by “a burst of radiant energy from a corpse.” I still remember that wording. Very strange place for such a story. IIRC they speculated about Jesus as some kind of magician.
One of the things Sasse said really stuck with me. In this passage, he is telling Douthat about what he wishes he had done differently in life, and what wishes everybody knew:
There’s so many times when we optimize around things that are not nearly as important as more family thickness. Boy, I wish we lived down the block from my folks.
Ain't That The Truth!
I grew closer to my parents by living a modest distance away (90 minutes to 2 hrs).
If I had lived in the same neighborhood as my parents, I think that it would been increasingly difficult for all of us.
YMMV or it may be the same.
Rod you are a wandering soul in the wilderness, but that’s where God found Moses and many other prophets. Seek the good, the true, and the beautiful.
So long as he's not a wandering star...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T0cRt8efsQ&list=RD8T0cRt8efsQ&start_radio=1
This is more Rod’s speed I think: https://youtu.be/-jYk5u9vKfA?si=OkBE-1sJ3YBMiwds