Bože! A Grace Catholic Project
Festal Messages
Theophany & The Cloak of Noise
We live in a world of noise. We are surrounded by noise created, projected by others. We make and project our own noise. Years ago, when the Walkman was the iPod of the moment, I had an anthropology professor who talked about wanting to do a study on the effect of the Walkman. He wondered [...]
Celebrating Initiation Into the Mystery
When you enlightened all things at the time of your manifestation, the sea of unbelief ebbed away and the Jordan reversed its course, flowing uphill and carrying us to Paradise. The feast of the Theophany is not just our celebration of the revelation of the Trinity, it is also a celebration of our initiation into [...]
Feast of the Dormition
Today we commemorate the falling asleep of the Theotokos – or perhaps more correctly the “apotheosis” of the Theotokos. I use “apotheosis” knowing well that it is a term often associated with Greek and Roman Paganism, however many aspects of the traditional Dormition narraitve paralells imagery of such apotheosis “narratives” as that of Antoninus Pius [...]
Theophany 2009
For God had to manifest himself in a new way – this is how one of the Fathers describes the incarnation. Theophany has come – the manifestation of the Trinity, and of Christ’s purpose in the World. God has come to us in a new way a physical way, one that demonstrates his inexorable solidarity [...]
God Is With Us – Realigning Our Understanding of the Incarnation
You will name him Immanuel – which means “God with us”. Curiously the name of the herald of the Good news, Gabriel also means “God with us”. Yet, too often, the model of the mechanics of the Incarnation received is one of misery, shame, and blood sacrifice to a twisted angry deity. Salvation, in this [...]
A Pre-Christmas Paradox?
At yesterday’s Liturgy we commemorated the Ancestors of Christ – all those who through faithfulness and wisdom contribute to our understanding the whole story of the immanent Incarnation and our salvation. They have taught us, and we now invite them to join with us in our joyful expectation of the coming Incarnation. Yesterday’s Gospel – [...]
St. Nicholas of Myra
Saturday (6 Dec) we celebrated the feast of St. Nicholas of Myra. For me, this is the “beginning” of the Nativity season. This is the day that we decorate the house – the tree though, does not go up until Christmas Eve – small gifts are given, and we enjoy a good meal with family [...]
Saint’s A’ Leaping!
So, at breakfast this morning we fell into the topic of today being 29 Feb – i.e. a leap year. I’ve seen a few humorous articles in the paper about it in the past week or so but gave it very little thought. Until this morning . . . As we were musing over it [...]
Feast: Entrance of the Theotokos Into the Temple
One of the bigger feasts (it lasts a week) and like many Marian feasts; the Feast of the Presentation is rooted in the 2nd century apocryphal Protoevangelion also known as the Infancy Gospel of James. As early as Origen this text has been treated as being “canonical by tradition” rather than having been included in [...]
Christ Is Risen!
Pascha is as much a call to action as it is a dance of victory. Today, we celebrate the victory of Christ, our champion, who has freed us from the oppression and despair of Death. Unable to achieve victory on our own, Life himself became incarnate, and did battle with Death, on our behalf. Many [...]
Moments of Liminality – Palm Sunday 07
Jesus entry into Jerusalem is not merely the fulfilment of the prophecies of Zephaniah and Zechariah – nor is this procession purely symbolic, an Adventus if you like. The entry into Jerusalem is the commencement of the last phase of God’s campaign to save his people. This next week, is a time of liminality; that [...]
Lazarus Saturday
O Lord, wishing to give to your disciples an assurance of your resurrection, you came to the tomb of Lazarus and called to him by name. Then was Sheol despoiled, and released the one that had been four days dead, as he called upon you: ‘O blessed Lord, glory be to you’.– stichera, vespers Parallel [...]
We Venerate Your Cross O Christ. . .
That one extended his hand towards the tree and harvested Death; this one stretched out his hands on the cross and embraced the world; and he declares in the gospels: “when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” – Proklos of Constantinople Hom. 2.3 Many of you reading this [...]
Second Sunday of Lent – Gregory of Palamas: Spirituality & Our Bodies
It is easy to forget that Christian theology is not merely the realm of academics; that it is necessarily balanced by the experience of the community. I have often heard our faith described as a dry collection of dictums that must be followed precisely if one is to both avoid condemnation from within, and be [...]
Three Heirarchs – A Feast of Teaching
Today’s feast is a celebration of the teaching office of our faith. According to legend, the feast was introduced in the 12th century after a dispute broke out in Constantinople over which of the great teachers of the fourth century was more authoritative: Chrysostom, Basil, or Gregory. The writings and example of all three are [...]
Feast of the Nativity 2006:This Train Terminates Here. All Change Please! All Change!
Gospel: Mt. 2.1-12 The Incarnation is ostensibly about change, which when you think about it is not an idea we often associate with God. When St. Athanasius, writing in the fourth century, describes the need for the incarnation, he argues that God made himself available to us in many ways, but we were not successful [...]
Synaxis of the Theotokos 2006
Gospel: Mt. 2.13-23 Today we celebrate the oldest feast dedicated to Mary; yet the reading does not strongly to point to the Theotokos, and her role in the emergence of our faith. This is not entirely surprising – Mary is mentioned rarely in the Gospels (though by comparison more than Joseph), and when she is, [...]
Christianity by Example: St. Nicholas, Jesus & Us
Today (6 Dec), the feast of St. Nicholas of Myra, begins the season of the Nativity. Most of us, by now, have made at least one fearful foray into the wilderness of shopping malls and shopping streets filled to bursting with grim faced fellow travellers. The annual frenzy of gift giving by compulsion has arrived [...]