Gary Neal Hansen

Theology. It's good for you.

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You are here: Home / Archives for Saints

Celebrating the Birth of Jesus with His Mother

December 30, 2016 by Gary Neal Hansen 6 Comments

During Advent I went one Wednesday night to St. George Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral in Pittsburgh. I was surprised to hear a service that was new to me: Not the ordinary Vespers, but the “Advent Paraklesis.” As in so much of Orthodox worship, the hymns carry a huge freight of theology. As always there is much […]

Filed Under: Church Year, Music, Saints, Worship Tagged With: Nativity Paraklesis, Orthodox hymns, Twelve Days of Christmas

On Memory and Creative Work (The Writer’s Inner Life)

December 19, 2016 by Gary Neal Hansen 2 Comments

Memory and creative work

These are bitter cold days in Pittsburgh where I live. At this latitude these are also short days; among the shortest of the year, with either gray gloom or low glaring winter sun. It can be hard to simply be. Add in the busyness of the ramp-up to Christmas and it can be very hard to […]

Filed Under: Monasticism, Saints, The Inner Life of the Writer

NaNoWriMo Dreams (The Writer’s Inner Life)

October 31, 2016 by Gary Neal Hansen 7 Comments

NaNoWriMo Dreams

Last week I told you I’d set myself a new writing challenge: I signed up for NaNoWriMo — that’s NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth, November, when thousands of people commit to writing a 50,000 first draft of a novel in 30 days. Well, it is October 31, so I have not written a word, but I’ve […]

Filed Under: Saints, The Inner Life of the Writer Tagged With: Desert Fathers, Dreams, Life of Antony, NaNoWriMo, Nightmares

Setting Yourself a Challenge (The Writer’s Inner Life)

October 24, 2016 by Gary Neal Hansen 7 Comments

Consider these two really odd “Sayings of the Desert Fathers.” Both are from the chapter on “Self-Control” in Benedicta Ward’s translation. They said of one hermit that he sometimes longed to eat a cucumber. So he took one and hung it in front of him where he could see it. He was not overcome by […]

Filed Under: Saints, The Inner Life of the Writer Tagged With: Desert Fathers, NaNoWriMo

Between Obscurity and Fame (The Writer’s Inner Life)

October 10, 2016 by Gary Neal Hansen 2 Comments

Obscurity and Fame

When I posted about the writer’s battle with “the demon of futility” I mentioned the frustration that can come from identifying yourself as a writer. People ask what you’ve written. They’ve never heard of it. They’ve never heard of you. In a way this is perfectly natural: A book can be a success by any reasonable […]

Filed Under: Saints, The Inner Life of the Writer Tagged With: Arsenius, Augustine, Desert Fathers, Fame, Motivations, Obscurity, Theodore

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Theology. It’s good for you.

I'm a Church historian by trade. My writing, speaking, and teaching explores the Christian past to equip today's disciples. Join me here for regular posts on the best of theology, spirituality, community, and ministry. read more…

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