Thursday, September 27, 2018

Remembrance, heaven and the first theonoia.

Ever since my days in the monastery, when I took his name, I’ve been a devotee of St. Dismas. That classic interaction between the Crucified Christ and the Good Thief—Dismas says “Remember me when you come into your Kingdom” and Jesus responds ...
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Thursday, September 20, 2018

Where we've been so far: The Basic Teachings of Under the Influence

Under the Influence hopes to impart the equanimity of the Messiah. With the Church, Under the Influence considers Christ to be a definitive revelation. If the Church should choose to claim exclusive rights to rectitude, however, Under ...
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Thursday, September 13, 2018

Raising a Glass: Parting with Ego, Celebrating Engagement

Three years ago, when dating Jackie was new, and I lived in an apartment owned by the Eastern Rite Catholic Church next door, she and I fell into a pattern that would become the norm. It’s the “I get up at 7 to write, she sleeps till noon” pattern. ...
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Thursday, September 6, 2018

On the Doctrine of the Cross: Part 2

In last week’s post of dreadful-boring title “On the Doctrine of the Cross: Part 1,” Under the influence attempted to say what taking up our cross looks like, not in the illogical terms of Koans, not in the symbols of parables, but plainly. It was ...
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