http://www.hitchhikersguide.org the journey forward to the ancient roots of our faith Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:15:47 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Tonight we celebrated the lamentation service of our Lord, where throughout a beautiful and ornately decorated setting, we expressed our lament of Christ's death through spoken words, through sung lamentations, and in the candlelit sanctuary processed under an icon of Christ's body representing our passing into death as did Christ ... http://www.hitchhikersguide.org/2008/04/26/almost-there-almost/ 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 ... http://www.hitchhikersguide.org/2008/03/22/he-is-risen/ 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 ... http://www.hitchhikersguide.org/2008/03/20/fighting-the-passions/ 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 ... http://www.hitchhikersguide.org/2008/03/20/holy-week/ 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 ... http://www.hitchhikersguide.org/2008/03/09/a-community-for-orthodox-arts-not-a-solo-journey/ In my previous posting, I had laid a spread of questions on the table regarding the arts and Orthodoxy and my frustration with no contemporariesVariationen von omaha poker. to look to for guidance, inspiration, and fellowship. These frustrations are accentuated by the idea that there is a fullness of ... http://www.hitchhikersguide.org/2008/03/03/the-church-is-not-a-museum-piece/ 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 ... http://www.hitchhikersguide.org/2008/03/02/coming-home-part-ii%e2%80%94good-baptist-boy/ Many people have asked me why I chose to join the Catholic church, as opposed to the Anglican church or the Eastern Orthodox. There are some very foundational reasons that I made this choice, but I want to stress at the beginning one point. I'm not trying to put down ... http://www.hitchhikersguide.org/2008/02/28/why-rome/ There has been a topic on my mind over the past several weeks as I've started on this journey towards Orthodox Christianity and into a life of theosis --- when I become Orthodox, what becomes of my artistic expressions and what is that supposed to look like within the context ... http://www.hitchhikersguide.org/2008/02/27/orthodoxy-and-culture-what-is-the-fullness-of-the-arts/ Last night we had our First Scrutiny. At it's core, the scrutinies are an exorcism. Asking for the power of God to bring us out of the power of sin and darkness and cast evil away from us. It was a neat little ceremony, and the priest delivered the prayers ... http://www.hitchhikersguide.org/2008/02/24/first-scrutiny/ At the beginning of 2006 I began my studies at a Lutheran seminary in town that was approved to train Methodist pastors. It was a seminary I had attended many, many years before and so I felt very comfortable there. I also enjoyed the fact that they had daily chapel ... http://www.hitchhikersguide.org/2008/02/18/wesley-brings-me-home/ Don't worry, I'll be continuing my story, I simply wanted to pause for a moment to talk about some of the things that are happening right now in my journey to the Catholic faith. In the Catholic church, you join by engaging in what are called the Rites of Christian Initiation ... http://www.hitchhikersguide.org/2008/02/15/various-rites/ It seems that every time I walk out of St. George Antioch Orthodox Church --- whether on a Sunday morning or at my catechumen class --- I come home with more and more books to read. And anyone who knows me well, I don't exactly finish books in a ... http://www.hitchhikersguide.org/2008/02/14/the-daily-journey-in-prayer-reading-and-meditation/ In my last post, I left off at the point in my life where I had gotten the furthest from the Lord, and surrounded myself in darkness. However, it was also about this time that a friend of mine had become very concerned for me, and had talked to my ... http://www.hitchhikersguide.org/2008/02/11/coming-home-part-i%e2%80%94the-assurance-of-salvation/ When we left the story, I had just started Seminary in 2002. I also took this time to immerse myself in the Evangelical™/Charismatic church that I was attending. Playing on worship team, sitting on staff meetings and doing a small internship. I was very firmly planting myself in the Evangelical™ ... http://www.hitchhikersguide.org/2008/02/09/rise-of-the-ancient-faith/