Orthodixie

Thanks to Pay Pal Tech Support, the online purchase button (in the side margin) is back in operation for signed copies of
One Flew Over the Onion Dome.

Now … as you were.

Orthodox Hierarchs Meeting in Chicago

List of participating bishops.

A bleak forecast.

If you’ve ever read Gone With the Wind you might tire of folks saying, “No … but I’ve seen the movie!” The book reads like literature, the movie reeks like Hollywood. Sure, you could do worse with your Blockbuster dollar, but there’s really no comparison between the two. In similar fashion, for the younger crowd, think of Harry Potter the books and HP the movies. Hands down, case closed. If you don’t like these examples, think of your own (till you get the picture).

Now comes The Nativity Story.

I’ve mentioned the forthcoming movie before (and here). As with The Da Vinci Code movie, I’ve been invited to participate in this movie’s “Christian” promotion. Here the PR plug:

The Nativity Story is based on the greatest story ever told. But as familiar as audiences may be with the story, they have never seen it on the big screen. This is the first time in over 50 years that a biblical story has been released by a major motion picture studio. The filmmakers … are Christian and New Line Cinema sincerely wants to make a film that is historically and biblically accurate. To that end, numerous Catholic and Protestant experts and scholars have read the script and are acting as consultants on this film.

For one, I’d hope the Catholic experts would object and say that Joseph looks, oh, about a generation younger than he should! Since they’re making him young and handsome, I shudder to think of what else might lie ahead.

From the Protestant Balcony: “But, Fr Joseph, where do you get off on claiming that Joseph was an old man?”

Fr Joseph: “The same place I get Sunday as the day of worship and knowledge of Peter being crucified upside down!”

But, I digress …

Was Tradition even considered? I doubt it. After all, it’s just a movie. When it’s ended, tomorrow’s just another day.

She said: “What a pathetic thing the Holy Spirit must be, in Father Hallinan’s view, that it has only enough power to sway the odd female here and there — and has such weak and occasional influence over the Magisterium.”

He said: I hear the devil does a mean Holy Spirit impression.

It is said … THAT.

The following (on Galatians 6:2-10) is taken from the September 27th edition of DYNAMIS:

First, we are to “bear one another’s burdens” (vs. 2). How contrary this Apostolic rule is to the modern heresy of self-fulfillment, a way of life that minimizes a need for Church and Faith in the Lord, promoting instead independence, with minimal reference to anyone else. True apostolic Faith, of course, knows Christ in the Church, in that close-bonded family (see Gal. 4:28) in which we are children of one Father and brethren to one another (Gal. 3:28; 4:6).

Second, “each one [is to] examine his own work” and not to compare himself continually to others (Gal. 6:4). Foremost, we are accountable to Christ and to our Father, as the Holy Spirit reveals the will of God to us. In Christianity, which binds our lives to our brethren, always there is a temptation to judge ourselves by the standard of others around us, rather than to struggle toward the goal which the Lord has established for us: “Therefore you shall be perfect just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Mt. 5:48). Each one stands before his Master (Rom. 14:4). We are presumptive if we take up God’s role as Judge – either of ourselves or of others.

Third, as each of us is to examine himself, so also “each one shall bear his own load” (Gal. 6:5). Let us not be burdens to others, as long as we are capable. Our Master has assigned to each one his own tasks and burdens in life. Others should not have to support us needlessly.

Fourth, concerning the case of those who serve the entire Church full-time, such as Pastors and teachers, the Apostle ordains, “Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches” (vs. 6). Those who feed their brethren the “bread of the word” depend on the rest for their “daily bread.” The exchange is fair and just.

Fifth, a godly harvest does not come to those who fail to sow, cultivate, and labor. What if some workers come late in the day and are paid handsomely along with us (Mt. 20:1-15)? We are to fight against weariness “while doing good,” and “if we do not lose heart,” but persevere in the tasks assigned to us, God Himself promises, “we shall reap” (Gal. 6:9).

Sixth, “let us do good to all” (vs. 10). God does not hold us accountable for every human need in this world by this command. Rather, He sweeps away all human criteria for giving help. The Apostle’s meaning in saying “to all” is the point made in the parable of the Good Samaritan. The one we are to help is the one we find on the road. He is our neighbor (Lk. 10:29).

Finally, given the kinship we have in Christ with our brethren in the Church, our first obligation in helping is to assist “those who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:10).

O Lord, by Thy grace, may we not stand idle nor apart from the harvest while it is day.

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