the hitchhiker’s guide: the journey forward to the ancient roots of our faith

Tonight was the night! At the Easter Vigil tonight I was welcomed into the Roman Catholic Church! My son also took his first communion with me. It was an amazing service (even though it was over 2 hours long) and I’m not too “manly” to admit that I had tears in my eyes as I saw the Eucharist consecrated for the first time for me. I felt such a huge feeling of release and comfort as I took the Lord’s Body and Blood for the first time as a Catholic Christian.

I’m home Lord, I’m home….

Written and posted by Jamison on March 22, 2008, 10:01 pm.
Filed under: Catholicism, General Discussion, The Journey, Transformation

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We all have great intentions — I know I do anyway. I have great aspirations of maintaining strict disciplines, like a rule of prayer, fasting from certain passions, and even cultivating some of the artistic gifts I’ve been given. But the problem is that my passions (as known by the Orthodox; different from a passion for music, for example) are not passive and do not sit back and allow me to just lay my stake in the ground and claim it done. Unlike Evangelicalism™ which generally professes a transactional version of salvation — an event that happens, and then you’re saved — I am finding that maintaining and working out this gift of salvation and becoming more like God is going to be a long, slow, and arduous process, requiring much patience, faith, endurance, and above all humility.

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Written and posted by Michael on March 20, 2008, 1:29 pm.
Filed under: Culture, Daily Walk, Orthodoxy, Transformation

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This week is the culmination for me in my journey to the Catholic faith. Tonight begins the Triduum, the three holy days of the church year. It begins tonight with the commemoration of the institution of the Eucharist, then tomorrow night with a Tenebrae service where the lights are slowly extinguished. Then on Saturday night begins the Easter Vigil. This is a long (2.5 hours) service where the entire Salvation History is recounted and new members like myself are given the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Communion. I’m looking forward to this weekend, even if the services will end up being long. This is where it all comes together for me and I finally feel like I’m coming home.

Written and posted by Jamison on March 20, 2008, 12:21 pm.
Filed under: General Discussion

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This morning I was ceremonially welcomed and prayed for as a catechumen into the Orthodox karten spieletexas holdem regelnonline games kostenlos pokeronline poker anbieterpoker jetzt spielenabsolut poker bonuspoker regeln downloadpoker online gratuitopoker game onlinepoker on line gratuitopoker online legalegiocare poker onlinepoker tour gameworld poker tournamentpoker online flashstreep poker gratisgiochi online pokergiochi poker da scaricarestreap pokerpoker pc gratispoker room on lineguida poker onlinegiochi di carte pokerpoker tour ps2probabilità pokergioco poker on line gratissuper poker comforum poker on lineforum poker onlinegioco da pokeromaha poker gratispoker online gamesplay omaha pokercasino poker gratisnoble pokerpoker texanofive card studgame pokertexas holdem romagiochi on linesoftware cartegiochi poker per pcplay poker onlinesexy poker onlineworld pokereuropean poker tourregole gioco pokergiochi 7 card studtexas holdem flashgiochi gratis video poker faith; and with tears welling up in my eyes I finally felt like I was nearer and nearer to finding and coming home to where I feel God has been drawing me. And what is even more exciting to me, I am finding a few answers to questions that I have had going into this journey from the very beginning.

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Written and posted by Michael on March 9, 2008, 1:24 pm.
Filed under: Catechumen, Culture, Orthodoxy, Transformation

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In my previous posting, I had laid a spread of questions on the table regarding the arts and Orthodoxy and my frustration with no contemporaries to look to for guidance, inspiration, and fellowship. These frustrations are accentuated by the idea that there is a fullness of the arts that ought to be created, expressed, and shared with the world, a fullness that just isn’t that prevalent in America. And it’s the idea of that fullness that has put a desire in me to find answers, and God willing, be a part of the awakening of the arts in the Orthodox church in America.

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Written and posted by Michael on March 3, 2008, 2:02 pm.
Filed under: Culture, General Discussion, Orthodoxy

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Where I last left off, I had been seriously following the Lord in the Baptist church for only a few months when I dealt with a serious struggle for assurance of my salvation. Despite the Evangelical insistence on 100% assurance, I had finally come to the conclusion that I had to keep serving Christ as best I could, and trust in Him that, if I wasn’t saved, He would save me.

Over the next four years, I did this. I served the Lord in a number of ministries at church: orchestra, visitation, the high school (and afterwards, college) mid-week Bible study, etc. I was a leader in an evangelistic club my last year of high school, and was involved in the other Christian groups. When I went to college, I went to both the Baptist Student Union meetings and the Campus Crusade for Christ meetings, until finally settling in just the BSU. Based on what others said of me, it would seem I was respected in my church groups. I’ve even had it suggested to me that I should become a pastor. As those four years went on, though, I found myself moving further and further from the accepted doctrines of my church. In fact, before I graduated college, I began to be criticized for various things I said and did. (more…)

Written and posted by Matt on March 2, 2008, 2:24 pm.
Filed under: General Discussion

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