Gladsome Light Dialogues - An Orthodox Blog » Christ

Looking Death in the Face or The Aesthetics of Dying

Fr. Vasile — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 20:25:59 +0000

"Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?" (1Cor 15:54-55) As a parish priest one has the privilege to face all aspects of human life from birth until the final departure. In the eyes of a priest, humanity is exposed in its most glorious and most deplorable experiences. Among them one of the most challenging is death. Even writing about it is a difficult task because it is a very unpopular subject. Nobody wants to die and even more so, nobody wants to talk about it, is a taboo, a place where you just don’t want to go Continue reading

The chronicle of a social death foretold

Fr. Vasile — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 20:55:06 +0000

A friend of mine died yesterday. He made a public announcement about it and then he committed suicide. Not physically, spare the thought, but for all practical purposes he is now dead to the world. How did it happen? Well, he officially announced that he is quitting Facebook for good, and, with this, his life has ended; no one will even remember that he ever was; he has passed into the World Wide Web oblivion. He is not the only one to end like this. Today, if you do not have an electronic presence, you are a nobody to the world. If all your friends do not know what time you woke up and what you ate for breakfast Continue reading

Credo ergo sum – I believe therefore I am

Fr. Vasile — Tue, 03 May 2011 19:26:25 +0000

Last year there were rumors that the tomb of Jesus was found. The other day some claimed to have found the nails that were used to crucify Christ. More and more news like this surface today and, although most of them prove to be untrue, the people avidly read them because we, even as Christians, are not happy anymore with what the Holy Tradition has passed unto us for centuries and we want new proof for everything. We have ceased to believe in the catholicity of the Church, in the universal truth shared in the community of the ecclesia for generations and we trust more the intellect of man, despite its shortcomings, ignoring the divine Sophia, the Wisdom of God Continue reading

Loosing weight and saving your soul in the process

Fr. Vasile — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 16:59:27 +0000

There is no secret that I could loose some weight. I’ll admit it. Getting back into my ideal measurements is as much of a challenge for me as for anyone despite the claims of the insatiable industry that has developed behind this apparently simple goal. From the classical low calorie diet to the latest fashion in Hollywood dieting, we are sold out of the box, unfailing solutions that will miraculously make us loose those unsolicited extra pounds. But they all fail in most people with, of course, some notable exceptions. I always wandered why this is and couldn’t find a satisfying answer until a few days ago when I stumbled over a book written by a “diet survivor” Continue reading

Running our lives in circles

Fr. Vasile — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 20:24:54 +0000

The miracle of healing of the ten lepers, is generally perceived as an exposition of the importance of gratitude in our lives. There is however another aspect I would like to stress today. The essential piece for its understanding lays in Christ’s words addressed to the cured Samaritan returning to offer his gratitude for the healing: And He said unto him, Arise, go your way: your faith has made you whole” (Luke 17:19) The other nine, ungrateful, lepers did not hear the same words, save a bitter reproof from Christ. They were not called “whole”, like the Samaritan, because they lacked a crucial virtue the Samaritan exhibited: faith. Without faith, which is recognizing and trusting the power of Continue reading

The dividing wall of hostility – Theophany of our Lord

Fr. Vasile — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 17:05:29 +0000

Reading yesterday a Romanian Akathist Hymn dedicated to Epiphany (You can read it here in Romanian) I was moved by the following verse “Glory to you cause with Your body You broke down the dividing wall of hostility, so even us, who are far of upon the sea, will get closer to you. “ Doing a bit of biblical digging I found the corresponding scriptural context “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility” (Eph 2:13-14) From another source I found out that Continue reading

How Santa stole Christmas or Resisting the de-Christianization of Christianity

Fr. Vasile — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 21:01:11 +0000

“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” (Mt. 13:33) Christ came into the world as one of us, to change us from within. He is the leaven of a new world, and although born as a little babe, in a humble and forgotten manger he starts a chain reaction that will reach the entire earth. The apostles were the first to react to this catalyst and they were changed into something better, from humble fishermen into fishers of men, becoming themselves agents of change for the world. Through their missionary work entire populations were converted to Christianity, temples were changed into churches Continue reading

Learn from me – A Nativity reflection on the humility of Christ

Fr. Vasile — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 04:29:23 +0000

I recently found this quote on humility from Elder Paisios from Sihla (A skete in the North of Romania close to the Sihastria Monastery where Elder Cleopas lived) "It's best for a man to become a clay vessel, which is useful to all people and for all kinds of daily work, for food, water, and so on. But golden vessels are put in safes and locked up in cupboards. For fear of thieves they are seldom used, maybe only once a year. A clay vessel has its daily use and service to man. So also is a humble man who does not seek honors and rank. He remains insignificant even amid men of lower rank, but he benefits, counsels, and Continue reading

Love in times of recession

Fr. Vasile — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 05:21:03 +0000

"The LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loved you."

(Deu 23:5)

What makes our Christian religion unique is our concept of salvation. As Christians we have a Savior that loves us and in His love He comes down on Earth and saves us by

Who stole Christmas? – A consumerist Nativity story

Fr. Vasile — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:45:52 +0000

From time to time even a benign shopping session at Walmart can give you insight on the status of our society today. The other night, as part of pre-Christmas preparation, I was looking for a copy of the recent Hollywood movie "The Nativity story". After scouting for a while with no avail in the helter-skelter of the multi-media proposals, I... Continue reading