The Arrow's Path

" Spiritual virtues are developed through ascetic behaviors and marriage is an ascetic behavior.  It is ascetic not because married couples are to live in Platonic marriages (though some of our saints have) but because it requires discipline and humility to remain focused on the needs and desires of the other on a day-in, day-out basis.  Marriage is ascetic because it requires work–work around one’s hearth and home, like carrying out garbage, mowing down the brush, cultivating the field, changing the oil, cooking dinner, and other such tasks.  More importantly, it is ascetic because it requires the work of listening (yes, real active listening), fruitful dialogue, and prayerful decisions. Marriage is a blessed asceticism, and one that is increasingly on the frontier as American society journeys into a malaise it has not encountered before." -Father Oliver, Frontier Orthodoxy Blog

There was a delightful segment about Icon writing from Oregon Public Broadcasting that has been floating around the internet recently. From the website blurb: "Heather MacKean is an iconographer who uses traditional painting techniques to create modern masterpieces. This former nun makes her own glue from rabbit skins and tempera from eggs, keeping with century old traditions." The clip is well worth watching and can be viewed by clicking  here . Hat Tip: Frontier Orthodoxy

I ran across a great documentary on Netflix the other day. For those who have Netflix, you can watch the whole thing online, or you can buy a copy of it at various places . The documentary came out in 2003, and originally aired on PBS. It is entitled Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Pacifist, Nazi Resistor . The documentary is about the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the patron saint of this blog. This film is a wonderful and well thought out biography on Bonhoeffer and his life from a theological perspective. I've read and studied Bonhoeffer at some length. The name of this blog is derived from his work in the classic book,  The Cost of Discipleship . I highly recommend watching the documentary. There is commentary by some very well known theologians and church leaders ranging from Archbishop Desmond Tutu to John de Gruchy to friends and students who knew Bonhoeffer personally. The official website, which I linked to above, has resources for group discussions and all sorts of other goodies. ...

Authorities were summoned to the parsonage of the Episcopal Church on Tuesday, after calls were made about suspicious activity. The Crime Scene unit was called in, after initial investigation discovered a body, face down, in the living room area of the rectory. The living area appeared to have been ransacked, with books scattered about the floor. The only witness to the incident, an 8 year old Golden Retriever, was questioned about the incident, and was quoted as only saying, "Ball! Ball! Tennis Ball!" The police psychologist on the scene believed the dog was traumatized by the apparent incident. . A major suspect in the apparent homicide of one Raggedy Anne is believed to be another resident of the building, whose name was not supplied by police for reasons of anonymity. "We believe this is a case of domestic violence stemming from a failed mafia 'cuteness' payment on behalf of the suspect in question," said the police officer at the time of the investiga...

Baptism is central to our faith, but many Christians are not really sure how to explain. They can usually describe it. It involves water, either full emersion or pouring or sometimes sprinkling water on the baptismal candidateut do you know what exactly baptism is? -that is the question for us to ponder today day. What is baptism? Far more than dipping someone in water, t he late Fr. Lazarus Moore-a deceased Russian Orthodox priest, wrote a book some years ago entitled  Baptism as Thirty Celebrations    wherein he enumerates as thirty blessings that God bestows opon us in holy baptism. He describes baptism as, "evidence that God's love holds nothing back. He showers His blessings upon us in infant baptism even before we can know Him in what is pure grace. So, what is Baptism? Baptism is passage through the Red Sea of sin. St. Augustine wrote, “Your sins are your enemies. They will follow you, but only up to the Red Sea . When you have entered (the Red Sea t...

Sounds like a great idea ...at first. " 'Before we do this, we have to somehow give the mosquitoes a competitive advantage over the disease-carrying insects,' explained Professor Michael Riehle from the University of Arizona a principle investigator on the project." I think I saw something like that on a movie once. It didn't end too well...lots of screaming and people melting.. Science Marches On... 

I have to confess that I hate All Star Games of any sport. I think they are, at best, beauty pageants and, at worst,  complete wastes of time. Last night was Major League Baseball's annual mid-season All Star Game. I think Baseball's all star game is, by far, the most pointless of any sport's. It is a charade from the beginning because the fans vote on the All Stars. Most fans I know who take the time to vote will vote not for the best players but the most popular ones, particularly the ones on the team(s) the voting fan roots for. Actual statistics and merit are completely irrelevant. A majority of people look on the ballot and vote for the names they recognize. Lesser known players in smaller venues are at a complete disadvantage, even if they are batting .400. Rosters aside, the game itself is often a farce. Tom Verducci, over on CNNSI.com , referred to it in his column today as akin to a "church league softball game." I loved that analogy on a number of le...

The Following Message was on the Rosebud Mission's Facebook wall (Hat tip: Father Tim .) Apparently they were after the copper pipes in the church.I worked at Holy Innocents with John and Judy Spruhan when I was a seminary intern one summer. It is a really nice parish on the Reservation. Some of the damage at Holy Innocents' will undoubtedly not be covered by the Insurance due to our thousand dollar deductable. Any donations would be gladly accepted, as Holy Innocents' is one of our poorest congregations (I must also add that they are vibrant and a joy to pastor). Any funds can be sent to P.O. Box 188, Mission, SD 57555, made out to "The Rosebud Episcopal Mission", Re: Holy Innocents' Robbery. Many thanks.

"After explaining the context for ministry in five political regions (Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon) and suffering hardships which drive Christians from the area, Bishop Dawani stated 'we are a people who overcome challenges with the love of Christ … Jerusalem is the city of Resurrection (where) death has been defeated and eternal life given to all who believe. We are people of hope and your commitment in keeping that hope alive is as important now as it ever was.' ” -Bishop Suheil Dawani of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, speaking to the Canadian General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada, from the June Newsletter of the Diocese of Jerusalem. More can be found here .

I have been having to play Mr. Mom the last few weeks, as my wife has been having to work full time for training for her new job. (Since I'm a priest, does that make me Father Mom? A FOM if you will?) I have come to a new found appreciate for single parents, not that I had a lack of respect for them to begin with, who themselves have to work full time jobs. This is one of the reasons my blog posts have been far too infrequent the last few days. Luckily, as a priest, I can pretty much set my own schedule. However, I am having trouble getting my mind around having to do this month after month without another co-parent or family member to help out. I don't know how some single moms (or dads) who have to work very long, set hours do it and keep their long term sanity. I always thought those parenting classes college and high schools (and now possibly middle schools) where the students have to carry around a computerized baby doll for like 24 hours to simulate what being a paren...

I sure wish they could figure out a way to calculate the number of Sundays after Pentecost that coincided with the number of the Propers in ordinary time. I know my readers who don't plan liturgies or are familiar with the Lectionary/Prayerbook have no earthly idea what I am talking about here. For example, this coming Sunday is the 7th Sunday after Pentecost, but its Proper 10 in terms of the prayers and readings from the lectionary. I can always remember one but not the other, and have to look it up everytime to make sure the bulletin is right. I suppose this is what happens with having Easter as a floating Holy Day tied to the solstice and a lectionary/proper system that is on a fixed 12-month calendar. What irritates me though is the fact that next year, it will be all different. Easter next year is extremely late, April 24th. It is very rare that Easter is after my birthday (April 21st). Thus, Pentecost falls on June 12th next year. Next year, the 7th Sunday after Pentecos...

"The issue in the question of the deity of Jesus Christ is the deity of the man Jesus. We are not dealing, then, with the divine nature considered in isolation . We must discover the contours of the divine sonship of Jesus in his human reality, which as eternal sonship precedes his historical existence on earth and must be regarded as the creative basis of his human existence. If the human history of Jesus is the revelation of his eternal sonship, we must be able to perceive the latter in the reality of the human life. The deity is not an addition to this reality. It is the reflection that the human relation of Jesus to God the Father casts on his existence, even as it also illumines the eternal being of God. Conversely, the assuming of human existence by the eternal Son is not to be seen as the adding of a nature that is alien to his deity. It is the self-created medium of his extreme self-actualization in consequence of his free self-distin...