1915
Подвиг есть и в сражени, подвиг есть и в борьбе, высший подвиг в терпени, любви, и мольбе.
There are great feats in battle, there are great feats in struggle, but the greatest feats are patience, love, and supplication.
This is a postcard from the First World War (“The Great War”)… click here for the étude for this piece.
BMD
2004
Hey, people! Easter ain’t over yet! You got it… the joy lasts all week. Not only that, many people believe that the Easter season stretches into Trinity (what the Westerns call Pentecost). I don’t think that’s a church teaching, but it’s certainly a folk custom… one that I hold to, by the way. Here are some Easter cards to send my greetings to you…
BMD
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What we celebrate this week is why we’re Christians. We’re not Christians because of the Fathers. We’re not Christians because of the canons. We’re not Christians because of this or that gaseous theologian. We’re Christians because Our Lord Jesus Christ rose from the grave in his very body and flesh… as the Scriptures tell us, the first-fruits of them that sleep.
THAT’S the real deal… nothing else is. I don’t give a tinker’s damn for this or that long-winded explanation… what I care for is that Our Lord Christ rose from the dead to be with His Father and that He offers it to us too. That’s why I’m so feisty and ornery… Our Lord is worth fighting for! What did He tell us? I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father save by me… That’s for me!
Hey, priests and bishops… live up to our Lord’s words… you’ll get respect from me and from everyone else too. If you don’t… don’t be surprised if you find that no one respects you or listens to you. I have the guts to say this to your face. Christ’s resurrection is the ultimate truth… we’ve got to stop playing petty mind-games with “autocephaly” and American phyletism… our Lord expects better than that of us.
Shall the fools listen, though? I’m not holding my breath. In the meantime, hold to the feast… the Lord expects that of you. SMILE! He’s here amongst us, don’t you know!
BMD
Little did they know what was coming (they didn’t have working crystal balls back then, either)…
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Let’s see… they got married, squabbled with their spouses, baptised their kids, fretted over the bills, had snotty and loud-mouthed teens in the family, buried their dead… sounds familiar, huh? THAT’S why the Gospel remains fresh and vibrant. People have not changed one whit since the Apostolic Age (since Adam n’ Eve, actually)… and they’re not going to, any time soon or any time later. Especially beware those who come spouting California New Age Therapeutese… “times have changed”… “it’s time to move on”… “people are different now”… “you’ve got to get used to change”… those are Satan’s own words, aren’t they?
Give me that good ol’ time religion… it was good enough for baba and dede… it’s good enough for me (and you, too)! That’s what kept people’s souls alive through the long dark night… don’t forget it…
BMD
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