Go West Young Man (at least for a wedding!)

The Cook Clan at the Coast – Laguna Beach Summer 2011 As many of you might have gathered from this blog, my preference for giving directional guidance in terms of ‘theology’ is to “Go East!”   Go east young and old… man, woman or child…. go way east… all the way back to Jerusalem, Antioch and [...]

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Ah dunno…

Recently after a family dinner, our two and a half-year old son, John, provided us with a laugh that still infects us even today causing all of us to grin ear to ear… Thank God for the wonderful gift of children, and the extra blessing that an unexpected child “late in life” affords to mothers and fathers, [...]

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God With Us

You must watch this video… THIS is Christmas. I am privileged to work with Living Water International, a ministry that deploys hundreds of men and women around the world.. …who work to demonstrate the love of God by helping communities acquire desperately needed clean water, and experience ‘living water’ – the gospel of Jesus Christ [...]

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Our Heritage – Education

During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.  – George Orwell OBJECTIVES 1. To ensure that all parents are able to choose education for their children from a variety of options that prepare young people to maintain and expand the blessings and responsibilities of a free society.   2. To provide [...]

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21 Years. (Glory to God)

Marriage thus has an intrinsically Eucharistic character. The couple offer themselves up to each other, give themselves to each other and are received and blessed by God in unity just as in the Eucharist the Church offers up all of creation, Christ gives himself totally and the Church enters into a blessed union with Christ [...]

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Requiem – The Gift of Rest

In the midst of all the change and upheaval in my life over the last thirty days.  Of cleaning out desks, shaking hands in farewell, hugging some, and shedding a few soulful tears of departure with others.  In the midst of my ‘new life’, one of networking, calling,  having coffee after coffee, and researching hours [...]

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Anna Is With Me Today!

Helping me with my work today is Anna Cook!  She is an amazing and beautiful girl.  Her outward beauty is only surpassed by her inward beauty.  It radiates with her love of Christ, His Church and her family.  Today is “Bring Your Child to Work Day” and it’s a bit different for me this year, [...]

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Post #100

 I began this little writing adventure, called “Anaphora” on July 29, 2008, about one month prior to the arrival of our ’mid-life’ surprise and miracle – John Patrick Cook (8/27/08)   They say that when a baby comes, the mother goes into a ‘nesting‘ mode in which she makes the house ready for the reception of this new [...]

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Parenting is…

Parenting is… Part One – trying really hard… and Part Two – not always being successful.  For an example just watch this video.  WARNING! (this video is capable of causing extreme belly laughing, to the point of tears, and is quite possibly the funniest Dad video I have ever seen – because all of us Dads have [...]

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“Happy to you!”

“Happy to you!”  Ten characters, three words, one simple sentence.  Happy to you. That’s John’s first spoken sentence, his first attempt at stringing together more than random sounds and “repeat after me” words, but actually him putting real words together to form a thought; his thought.  And when you consider all the combinations of words that he has been [...]

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Adultery

Then the Scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a  woman caught in adultery.  And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  Now Moses, in the law, commanded that such should be stoned.  But what do You say?  But Jesus stooped down and [...]

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…the least of these…

January 22 marks the 37th anniversary of death.  The national approval of a sad, reprehensible Supreme Court decision called Roe vs. Wade, that effectively made a “choice for death” for over 50 million infant children since 1973.  Let me say that again… 50 million.  Does that number not boggle your mind?  Does it not cause you to weep?  But [...]

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“…for all the good things You do…”

  As I began this new year.  A new decade.  I reminisced to about two years ago – January 14, 2008 – and the news that we were expecting a baby – a son – and expecting him very – very unexpectedly!  I remember clearly that snow- filled wintry day.  Dark, cold, winter white,  wonderful, and fretful  – a [...]

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The Bodiless Powers

On Sunday, November 8, the Church celebrates the feast of the “Synaxis of the Holy Heavenly Bodiless Powers” especially the Archangels Michael and Gabriel.  It was wonderful during the Divine Liturgy yesterday as we were singing the Thrice Holy Hymn, ”Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth…” and to really understand, and know, that we were, at that [...]

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Patron Saints

Role models are hard to come by these days.  It used to be, in days gone by, that star athletes, teachers, business executives, politicians and even Presidents set the bar of excellence for personal and moral integrity.  There was a time when our nation looked up to them and they in turn felt a privilege and [...]

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Why pray?

    Prayer is a matter of love.  Man expresses love through prayer, and if we pray, it is an indication that we love God.  If we do not pray, this indicates that we do not love God, for the measure of our prayer is the measure of our love for God.  St. Silouan identifies [...]

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Busy… (with the right things)

Once upon a time… I was young, and a pastor.  Now – I’m neither!  But for a season in my life I was called, trained, and sent to influence the world for Christ.  And as a newly graduated seminarian I was long on knowledge: dogmatics, systematics, patristics, liturgics, exegesis and the parsing of Greek and Hebrew verbs – [...]

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A Catechumen’s World – “Wuzz dat!”

I grew up in a middle class, Polish Catholic home, along with my two sisters.  To coin a familiar phrase, “It was a wonderful life!”  My mother and father married in 1960, and I came along in 1963.  What can I say about my mother (still with us), and my sainted father who departed this [...]

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…born again by Water and the Spirit…

On October 5th, 2008, one year ago today, our son John Patrick “…was baptized… he was buried with Christ…” only to rise again, from death to life! And we saw it all! One thing is certain: Orthodoxy knows what it means to Baptize, none of this sprinkling water business, or light misting with a liquid substance.  We [...]

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Life is good. God is great.

Among the sweetest things in life are being married, and raising children.  Yes, I hear you.  Believe me, I’m not trying to be an overzealous idealist here.  There are crappy, awful, tearful and stinky days, with spilled milk, dirty diapers  and skinned knees.  But among all the things that I have experienced in this world so far… the [...]

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