Wonderful writing, Father. Are there further readings on the lives of Sts. Joachim and Ann you would recommend?
As an aside, I read the commencement address you linked as well. It was a large helping of secular thinking around, I think, the idea of communion being necessary in life, although the speaker never used the word. At the end it was noted that the writer/speaker committed suicide. I think that points to the necessity of the mystery we enter into in Christ. A pale imitation, no matter how highly held, simply falls well short of Life. Just my thoughts.
That's an interesting question about the lives of Sts. Joachim and Anna. Much of what we know from Holy Tradition is reflected in the Protoevangelium of James -- not a book of canonical Scripture of course, but nevertheless it has been widely read within the Orthodox Church.
Other than that text, I am not familiar with anything other than the usual sources, such as the Synaxarion, Great Collection of the Lives of the Saints, etc.
Regarding David Foster Wallace -- what a tragic story. Apparently he tried twice to convert to Catholicism, but ultimately just could not bring himself to accept the infallability of the Pope. If only he had found Orthodoxy! As it is, he is an unquestionably brilliant example of a somewhat common pattern in the modern world: someone who can insightfully diagnose many of the greatest spiritual illnesses facing mankind, and yet who cannot actually offer the cure for those illnesses -- which is Christ alone. His own fate all too painfully illustrates this, as you yourself pointed out.
Nevertheless I think it can be helpful to read some of these thinkers (in moderation, of course), if only to recognize that there are still those in the secular world who are truly struggling to grapple with spiritual truth, and who desperately need us Orthodox Christians to offer as pure a witness as possible to the answers their hearts so long for.
Good words Fr., I was received into The Church on this feast! I've since served in the altar; I examine all the gifts from God I have, and nothing compares to being in His church.
Thank you for these salvific words, Father.
Wonderful writing, Father. Are there further readings on the lives of Sts. Joachim and Ann you would recommend?
As an aside, I read the commencement address you linked as well. It was a large helping of secular thinking around, I think, the idea of communion being necessary in life, although the speaker never used the word. At the end it was noted that the writer/speaker committed suicide. I think that points to the necessity of the mystery we enter into in Christ. A pale imitation, no matter how highly held, simply falls well short of Life. Just my thoughts.
That's an interesting question about the lives of Sts. Joachim and Anna. Much of what we know from Holy Tradition is reflected in the Protoevangelium of James -- not a book of canonical Scripture of course, but nevertheless it has been widely read within the Orthodox Church.
Other than that text, I am not familiar with anything other than the usual sources, such as the Synaxarion, Great Collection of the Lives of the Saints, etc.
Regarding David Foster Wallace -- what a tragic story. Apparently he tried twice to convert to Catholicism, but ultimately just could not bring himself to accept the infallability of the Pope. If only he had found Orthodoxy! As it is, he is an unquestionably brilliant example of a somewhat common pattern in the modern world: someone who can insightfully diagnose many of the greatest spiritual illnesses facing mankind, and yet who cannot actually offer the cure for those illnesses -- which is Christ alone. His own fate all too painfully illustrates this, as you yourself pointed out.
Nevertheless I think it can be helpful to read some of these thinkers (in moderation, of course), if only to recognize that there are still those in the secular world who are truly struggling to grapple with spiritual truth, and who desperately need us Orthodox Christians to offer as pure a witness as possible to the answers their hearts so long for.
Good words Fr., I was received into The Church on this feast! I've since served in the altar; I examine all the gifts from God I have, and nothing compares to being in His church.
Amen!