Man, fallen from grace, departed Eden eastward—his back facing the vile serpent due west—so that his gaze might evermore be fixed on the eastern horizon from which the Sun of Righteousness would dawn, by Whom he would rise by grace.

The issue isn’t whether Wisdom can be heard, but whether the hearer accepts what she’s saying. theorthodoxscribe.substack.c…

"This love [eros] is deeply implanted within our inmost being. Unnoticed by us, it attracts the bodies of men and women to each other, because in the beginning woman came forth from man, and from man and woman other men and women proceed. Can you see now how close this union is, and how God providentially created it from a single nature? ...He made the one man Adam to be the origin of all mankind, both male and female, and made it impossible for men and women to be self-sufficient" (John Chrysostom, Sermons on Marriage and Family Life Sermon 20 on Ephesians 5:22-33). #HappyPrideMonth

Even though I'm no longer Lutheran: "The Hammer of God" by Bo Giertz. Aside from Pope Leo the Great's "Pastoral Care," it is a masterpiece in pastoral care.

The family is the first school of honor, but it’s not the only one. theorthodoxscribe.substack.c…

"Human nature is divided into male and female, and the free choice of virtue or evil is set before both equally" (Gregory of Nyssa, The Life of Moses 1.12). #HappyPrideMonth

Empathy is a human—and humane—art we have forgotten not by passive forgetfulness, but by willful neglect. theorthodoxscribe.substack.c…

A short horror story inspired by the anomaly video game genre. theorthodoxscribe.substack.c…

When you're having a long work day and your wife texts you. #blessed

Begin your day with prayer rather than the fear and anxiety of social media and the news. theorthodoxscribe.substack.c…

A poem on desiring Heaven. theorthodoxscribe.substack.c…

"How can one best show the emptiness of pride? How, indeed, but by showing nature as it is? ...Even if one would flatter our condition and greatly vaunt the human nobility, he will have to trace the pedigree of our nature to clay, and so the high quality of the proud is related to bricks" (Gregory of Nyssa, The Beatitudes Sermon 1). #HappyPrideMonth

The suffering don’t need polished theology; they need presence and prayer. theorthodoxscribe.substack.c…

"The same thing by which the devil had caused his own downfall to earth caused the miserable human race to fling itself down with him into a common ruin. There is no other evil so harmful to our nature as that which is caused by pride" (Gregory of Nyssa, The Beatitudes Sermon 1). #HappyPrideMonth

A poem on the efficacy of Baptism. theorthodoxscribe.substack.c…

"We must fear lest we who have received gifts of the Spirit and rightly would begin acting virtuously were to use that as an occasion of growing in pride and vanity before we have reached the goal of the things we hoped for" (Pseudo-Macarius, The Great Letter). #HappyPrideMonth

A mighty king entered his kingdom in triumph, having conquered the enemy of his people and delivered them from bondage. Beside his throne he placed his mother, clothing her with honor, while all the generations of the kingdom praised the great things the king had done for her. But a certain man stood in the marketplace and cried, “The woman beside the king must never be called queen! Such a title belongs to the enemy of the king, and anyone who uses it speaks satanically.” Now suppose another servant heard him and said, “There is a man in this kingdom who claims to love the king, yet he publicly reviles the king’s mother. He sees the honor she possesses only because of her son, yet he calls that honor demonic. He believes himself to be defending the king, though he insults the king’s own household and condemns those who rejoice in what the king has bestowed. What would you say of such a man?” You would surely answer, “His zeal is blind and arrogant. He should tremble before calling the king’s honor satanic, lest in insulting the mother he also offend the son.” Nate, you are the man, for no Christian worships Mary as God, nor does anyone make her a rival to Christ. She is called Queen because her Son is King, just as the mother of the Davidic king was honored as queen mother and seated at his right hand (1 Kings 2:19). The honor belongs first and entirely to Christ, and whatever dignity Mary possesses is the work of His grace. Therefore, when you call the title “Queen of Heaven” satanic, you do not merely reject a phrase. You condemn as demonic the honor Christians give to the Mother of the Lord because of her divine Son. Take care that, while imagining yourself zealous for the King, you do not become the servant who slanders His mother and calls the King’s own gift the work of His enemy.

The biggest blunder of Protestant sacramentarians is that by indefatigably searching for palpable miracles, they miss the most obvious miracle given to the Church: the Holy Eucharist. Not obvious in its appearance, but obvious in the Word spoken by the same Incarnate Word who is grasped not by sight, but by faith.

"A proud mind is a great humiliation, while humility is a great uplifting of the mind and an honor and dignity" (Pseudo-Macarius, The Fifty Spiritual Homilies 19.8). #HappyPrideMonth

Time itself belongs to God. theorthodoxscribe.substack.c…

Before I go to sleep, I wish to share something with my Orthodox friends—something that has been instrumental in my healing on my catechumen journey. Years ago, during my pre-seminary studies, I had a strange, deep yearning to physically hug Jesus. I was severely depressed, and like Paul, all I wanted was to depart and be with Him (Phil. 1:21). During this time, I had an intense dream where I was standing before Jesus. I never saw His face because I couldn't bring myself to look Him in the eye. Neither could I bring myself to grasp Him with my arms, as much as I wanted to. I could only remain on my hands and knees, crying. So all I saw were His sandaled feet and the bottom of His white robe. I wasn't expecting Him to speak, but He said, "Why are you so downcast?" I answered, "I am not worthy of You." All He said in reply was, "Follow Me." Finally, I looked up, and He was already a distance to a mountain with a cave in it. I followed Him into the cave. It was dark all around. Then suddenly, I felt myself going up, and as I looked up, I saw a light getting bigger and brighter. When I reached it, I felt an inexplicable warmth that filled me to the brim, and then I instantly woke up. I don't know how to explain that warmth. It wasn't the warmth of being too warm from summer heat, or from drinking too much wine or whiskey. It was like I was being completely changed from the inside, and it was the best feeling I ever felt. After the dream, my yearning to physically touch Jesus never went away. It's still with me. I thought maybe I'd get some satisfaction in the Lord's Supper as the Lutherans practice it (my former tradition). But it never subsided, though I had believed in the real presence and forgiveness of sins it gives. It wasn't until I first started to kiss the feet of Jesus on my Parable of the Sower icon that I finally felt my first inkling of that satisfaction. It's as Tertullian writes, "No man will love the picture of his wife without taking care of it and honoring and crowning it. The likeness partakes with the reality in the privileged honor" (The Five Books Against Marcion 5.18). And Gregory of Nyssa, "The image is so called if it keeps its resemblance to the prototype" (On the Making of Humanity 16.3). I think maybe that was the beginning of my journey into Orthodoxy, though of course I didn't know it. Because in retrospect, the more I've sought Christ—to follow Him—the more He's led me to His true Church, which is His Body. It began in small ways before I even knew what Orthodoxy was (like certain books, people, and Church Fathers), and then finally in a big way when the Lutheran Church no longer wanted me. I suppose this is a long way of saying: I understand now why we say icons are windows into Heaven, because finally, I get to reach through the veil—mysteriously—and kiss my Savior's feet. And I thus long all the more for the true Eucharist. Pax, Ricky