St. Dymphna's Hermitage of the Holy Name

10/26/2025

"Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand."

The fascinating secret of the Gospel is that every act of repentance, every time we drag some part of our souls before the Lord for healing, it is in fact the Lord reconciling the world unto Himself (2 Corinthians 5:19).

06/11/2019

It is an easy thing for us, as modern Christians, to see Jesus as "the Light of the World", as indeed he is.

What causes us far more consternation is when we remember that he *also* called US the Light of the World.

05/18/2019

Congratulations & Many Blessings to the newly consecrated Bishop Sean Anderson, cfc; and the newly ordained Deacon Victor Manuel and Deaconess Tamera Walker.

May the Lord bless you all in your service to His holy Church!

Axios! Axios! Axios!

Mar Gabriel

05/08/2019

It must be properly understood;

The reception of the Sacraments is an Act of Faith, not the works of the flesh. This Faith, being in Christ, is therefore living and not dead, a fruit meet for salvation.

04/12/2019

Self-centered spirituality will not ever prepare you for Heaven. Constantly stressing about what your experience will be when you get there; if your beloved book, turtle, or freind will be there with you; or worse, putting parameters around what it "must" have or who it "must not" include will never allow you entrance into the glory that is offered to you.

If you really want to get there, and be comfortable with being there, your only focus can be God. Heaven is not about a reunion with your childhood pet; it's about being with God!

God is the only orient in Heaven; aligning yourself to any other vision is to miss out on what is being offered, and as a result of failing to prepare, the Fires of Love that will grant you eternal life will also burn and torment you instead of give you comfort and joy.

This is the difference between Heaven and Hell; where do we reciprocate Love? Every commandment, every chastisement, is to show you the Path. Even our love of Neighbor is meant to teach us how to love God, and direct us to Him, not distract us with indulging our own designs.

03/08/2019

02/04/2019

Thoughts on Salvation

"Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!"

The "good news" of the Christ's teaching is that the sovereignty of God is here, and through the work of Christ, is complete. Death has been overthrown by the Resurrection, and the Powers have been dethroned, opening the Way of the Lord. It is our teaching that the scriptures and traditions of the Church affirm that the work of salvation is the work of God, as accomplished by Christ, and are complete in His holy action. In other words, salvation is of God and by God, and no other. Not Angels, saints, or ourselves have the power to save us or effect salvation. As a consequence, there is no program of action that we can undertake to earn, buy, or otherwise obtain for ourselves the condition of "being saved"; that comes exclusively through the action of God, especially as revealed by Christ.

This salvation is universal in that it affects and is offered to all of humanity; those who were, who are, and who are yet to come. It is universal in that it had effects on the very metaphysical, or as the scriptures often put it - heavenly, reality in which we exist. We are not owned by either Death nor the Powers that had claim on us from the results of our sin; we have been redeemed and won from our captors and slavers by Christ on the Cross and in his Resurrection. It is not, however, universal in the sense that Christ will force everyone to eventually accept the truth of their salvation. Such things can only be known in the culmination of time at the Age of ages; while we are yet in Time, it would be presumptuous for us to assert the finality of things we are instructed to hope for as they unfold. We can neither condemn to hell those who refuse Christ in our eyes, nor can we guarantee another's place in Heaven; Christ alone will reveal that in the fullness of time.

Likewise the universality and totality of the Salvation of God is, naturally, opposed to errors of certain speculative conclusions that God wills inescapably the salvation of some, and the damnation of the rest of his Human children. Were such the case, Christ would have no Commandment to give us, nor instructions for his disciples to continue to propagate though the centuries. The scriptures are fairly clear on the matter; God wills the salvation of all (1 Timothy 2:4), but also that not everyone will accept this Grace in Time. Yet, commands Christ gave to us; traditions have been continued for our edification and growth in relationship to God; all the while affirming the nature of Salvation as being of the Lord. One does not "earn" salvation by being a church member, or by simply following the Commandments of scripture; such things do not produce salvation, but rather indicate the acceptance of salvation and desire to be in relationship with God.

To borrow the familiar biblical story; we were cast out of Eden, and a Cherubim with a flaming sword was set at the gate of Eden to ensure we did not return in our state of corruption (see Genesis 3:24). Then Christ worked his Work, and at his resurrection, he went to the Gate of Eden, and retired the undefeatable Cherubim from the Gate, unlocked it's unbreakable chains, and threw open its immovable doors, and called to us and said "Enter sister; enter brother!". But still the question remains before the open Way…

Will you enter?

All that is necessary to Salvation has been accomplished in Christ, and is revealed to you in the two arms of the Church; scripture and tradition. Christ bids you welcome. Come and see with us what we can do in the freedom bought for us by Christ, revealing the Glory of the Lord. Let us work together to see where the Way of Life takes us as we tread upon the waves of the abyss and scale mountains into the Presence of the Lord.

+G

01/29/2019

The Church must be welcoming to sinners, otherwise it would be devoid of humanity. It cannot, however, be affirming of or celebrate that sin.

As those wiser than I have said, the Church is a hospital, and people go to hospitals for treatment, for healing and rest. They do not go there to be injured more, to be fed the same venom they are seeking relief from.

A cancer patient is not told by their doctors "wow, that's wonderful! You have cancer! Here, drink this and we'll get you some more!"

Why would a spiritual hospital do the same? Sure, it might make you "happy" temporarily, but the spiritual sickness will continue, and indeed find a deeper root thanks to the malformed ministrations of the blind priest. Instead of salvation, you find only the gates of hell in such a place.

Yes, sinners must be welcomed, and provided a space to reorient themselves to the spiritual path. They must be guided. They must be taught. And yes, they must confront their sin and their inclinations towards it (whatever it is).

No one is beyond the Grace and grasp of Our Lord; save it be those who fail to seek it.

04/03/2018

Happy Easter to all! May the Lord's resurrection fill you with love and the hope of your own.

Sometimes I am asked about why I put an emphasis on the "Celtic" spirit of things. My answer is that, in these times of abstraction and philosophical detatchment, it's important to be reminded of the physical nature of the Gospel; and that the Christian faith is built upon a physical existence, and not a disembodied spirituality whose goal is the abandonment of physicality. The expression of the Christian faith as it comes to us from "celtic" sources is firmly grounded in this orthodox awareness, that the physical world is an important part, inextricable, of our spiritual life.

There is no room for gnostic dualism and graceless transmigration into pointless "bodily shells" to be discarded when used up in orthodox Christianity, nor in celtic speculations even at their most "woolly-headed" expressions. The Incarnation and specific physical resurrection, not only of Christ but all, are cornerstones of the Faith which are often subtley discarded even in my own studies and ruminations.

Celtic Christianity is an important return to the ancient orthodox Christianity of old sorely needed in these "post-modern" times as it regards the physical Creation and it's place in our spiritual lives.

+Gabriel