Self-Sacrifice

6/18/19

Category: Spiritual Formation, Suffering

If we are to be like Christ, we must know something of self-sacrifice. To think that God will not refine us through the fires of pain and suffering, and melt away our imperfections like the dross of silver is to relegate the tao of Christianity.

Let us embrace sufferings that serve to embrace our longing to be held tightly to His bosom. He wishes us to suckle from the very breast that was pierced for our transgressions. He wishes us to walk in stride to His heartbeat as a metronome to our habitual self-sacrifice.

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Grandma’s Gift and Her Gambling Grandson

Chester Delagneau

7/31/26

Category: Short Stories, Suffering, Theology

“No more bets,” says the croupier before spinning the 21 mm ivory ball around the roulette wheel. The man with the $50,000 bet on black watches on greedily as his bleached-white teeth pounce on his nubby fingernails. The ball yawns and eventually kneels into a pocket. The roulette dealer calls it: “14, Red, Even.” Friday…

The Odyssey: Trickery and Hospitality

Chester Delagneau

7/18/26

Category: Cinema, Literature, Morality, Poetry, Psychology, Suffering

Two opposing themes stood out to me about Christopher Nolan’s cinematic portrayal of The Odyssey (and The Aeneid): trickery and hospitality. “Zeus’s Law” or the social contract of hospitality when broken was a severe offense against the gods. In the movie, we see both hosts and strangers violating this sacred Greek code—what’s supposed to be…

Mastering One’s Self

Chester Delagneau

5/6/26

Category: Cinema, Morality, Philosophy, Psychology, Science and Religion, Spiritual Formation, Theology

A sage man once said, “The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself.” –Plato, Laws I.626e When did knowledge replace wisdom, or facts replace virtues? Was it during the Enlightenment when rationality and science replaced the objective standard of divine justice and righteousness? This sounds terribly right. And it explains a lot about what’s…

Self-Sacrifice

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