virtue

Mother's Day coincided this year with the reading from the conclusion to the gospel of Mark. The Gospel of Mark presents to us the tension of fear versus faith, calling us to step out of our natural fear into a faith grounded in the Resurrection which, as Fr. Paul so beautifully reminded us, makes all things new, all things possible. I was a bit derailed from this message early on ...

I was thinking this morning of the Greek "unity of virtues." Virtually all of the early texts which discuss church order emphasize the importance of virtue, the all presbyters, including the presiding-presbyter are models of virtue.... Any division of male and female into "modes" challenges the essential unity of the virtues in love (the highest of unified Christian virtues), and undermines the ability of women and men to become fully and lovingly human.