In ancient times, wrestlers often covered their bodies with oil before entering the arena. The oil made it difficult for an opponent to take hold of them. They could still be attacked, pushed, and thrown, but they were not easily grasped. The Church Fathers used this image to describe our baptismal anointing. At baptism, we are not only washed with water; we are also anointed with Holy Muron. The priest marks our forehead, eyes, ears, mouth, heart, hands, and feet with the sa

Seeing Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey in 70mm IMAX had become an event of its own. With so few theaters offering the format, tickets vanished quickly. Even late-night screenings in New York sold out. I searched beyond the city and finally found one available seat for a Friday morning showing in Providence. I booked it immediately. So last Friday, I got up early and made the drive. The theater was packed. Homer’s poem is nearly three thousand years old, yet there we were, lea

Last Thursday, I went fishing with my friend Dr. Henry Madalian at Green Pond, New Jersey. The water was quiet, and nothing was biting for a while, but we kept casting. After some time, I asked him, “Henry, how can you remain so patient when we are not catching anything?” He smiled and said with confidence, “I feel something big is coming.” There was no movement on the surface. We could not see what was beneath the water. Yet Henry kept waiting with expectation. Then, before