Getting Comfortable with Silence
Everyone in black. Precise movements. Dignity by both clergy and the people present. All the women in hats (of one
Read or listen to recent homilies, lunch hour lessons, and browse material used in our men’s and women’s groups
Everyone in black. Precise movements. Dignity by both clergy and the people present. All the women in hats (of one
The mercy of God exceeds our religious imagination. For we conceive of religion as moral behavior, deeds of justice, setting
Holy Week consists of two parts: the first four days, beginning with Palm Sunday; and the Triduum Sacrum (“holy three days”), which celebrate with particular solemnity Our Lord’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection.
However hard this past year has been, it has been necessary for our health and the health of others. We
Has the coronavirus broken you—your habit of prayer, your attendance at Mass (either in person or via livestream), and your
Love your enemies. That statement by Jesus is unique to Christianity. What is even more unique is how that statement
These past few days I’ve had on my mind, close to my heart, and in my prayers my former parishioners
Unique to the Western tradition are the “Embertide” fasts. These fasts occur quarterly, and encompass Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday for
What we are tempted to see as defeat, is really victory. What we tend to believe is the end, is
Right before Our Lord Jesus ascended into heaven, “He commanded [the disciples] not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait
Ascension Day Homily Our bodies are frail. That is why the Holy Sacraments are vital and necessary and essential to
In the nine days following Our Lord’s Ascension, the Holy Apostles and the disciples spent their time in prayer. St
The Sacraments are essential to your life. This means that they maintain not just your spiritual well-being but your entire
Pandemics, like death, can, if we let them, focus the mind. And the spirit. On what, or who, we take
For a little while we are enduring sadness and suffering. This “little while” is not chiefly about the current pandemic.
The dirt had been cleared away, and the three wooden crosses lay carelessly in their grave one on top of
There are two feasts of the Holy Cross that are celebrated in the Western Rite calendar. The one shared with
Fear paralyzed the disciples. That is why they locked themselves in the upper room. They were afraid of the same
As Our Lord Jesus Christ descends into hell, the devil says, “Who are you? You look like an ordinary human,
Christ is risen! Nothing else matters. Which is why one of our bishops once said that, “Other people would not
What we offered Our Lord, and what He graciously took from us, was the consequence of the contagion of sin.
To love someone to the end is to do whatever you must for their good, their well-being, their health, their
When we see people suffer, when we contemplate the scale of misery and grief, it seems right to feel sorry
“They forsook him and fled.” That is by far the most devastating sentence in the story of Our Lord’s Passion.
Like the perfume of the incense which clings to our clothing and to our hair, the sweet-smelling savor of the
This Holy Week is tough, but it is not unbearable. It is tough because we are not in our usual
Our Lord Jesus seems to be hiding, especially during these perplexing days. It feels like He is not hearing our
Several weeks ago when we followed Jesus out into the wilderness, we thought we knew where he was leading us.
Our present situation is part of why God became man. The primary reason, of course, is so that we might
I am sure it doesn’t feel like it, but sheltering ourselves in place can really help us—not just physically, by
We can do better at prayer. Myself included. Perhaps the reason our prayers lag, or why we find it a
Homily for Candlemas Forty (40). The number of humanity’s struggle toward perfection. Our wrestling not with flesh and blood, but
One common observation made by visitors and inquirers regarding Orthodoxy has to do with one of the main forms of
When Our Lord Jesus was eight days old, two things happened in succession. As he was circumcised, Our Lord was
One of the themes for the First Sunday in Advent is to be ‘watchful.’ In the Epistle, St Paul urges
The words that you heard Our Lord Jesus speak to the Pharisees in the Gospel (Mt 22.34-46) are both subtle
We have been led to believe that we can do whatever we want. So when someone tells us that we
The Church and the world prepare for the Lord’s Nativity in two very different ways. And these opposing preparations reveal
On All Saints Day, the Church does not celebrate all those who were baptized, particularly the faithful who are still
THE MARGINALIZED, THE OUTCAST, the different, the diseased, the stranger, the warehoused—these are the people Our Lord frequently ministers to
It certainly appears and feels like our lives are very busy. One result of this apparent busyness that I’ve noticed
For a parish that is under the patronage, and exults in the merits, of so great an Archangel, it is
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, alleluia! These words that we just said: they are so much more than
NOTE: This article is reprinted from “Holy Week in the Western Tradition” at The Orthodox West, a new website explaining Orthodox
Lent is a kind of retreat from the world. Just as Our Lord, after His baptism, retreated from the world
Let us consider this possible conversation between ourselves and the Faithful Departed, whom we commemorate this day.
Today we commemorate the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ lived in and through the nameless and numberless throng that
Where I grew up, it was customary to place in children’s bedrooms near the bed a precious picture of an
Cristo ha resucitado! Hristos a înviat! Kristus är uppstånden! Hristos Voskrese! Χριστὸς ἀνέστη! al-Masīḥ qām! Christus resurrexit! Christ is risen!
The goal is to live forever, not live for now. The goal is that we restrain our passions and our
Lent 2017 Lent begins on Wednesday, March 1. It is a season of instruction in the Christian Faith which centers
Epiphany III Matthew 8.1-13 he answer to the question is this: Because our Father knows what is both necessary and
The blessing of a home is an ancient Christian practice that helps us remember that our Christian life of faith
Let us take to heart that the Light of the World, the Light to lighten the Gentiles, the Light and
To understand what Christmas is really about, let’s imagine something. Imagine that Adam and Eve had never sinned. Imagine that
St John Baptist’s entire life was a preparation for Our Lord’s advent. In the same way, St John urged us
One of the challenges of being American is that we have been marinated in the pungent spices of individualism. We
It is felicitous that every year we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King on the last Sunday in October.
Patronal Feast of St Michael Orthodox Christian Church Children don’t really choose their parents. Parishioners don’t really choose their priests.
A fair summary of main points in yesterday’s homily: There are details in the miracle of Jesus healing the deaf
God’s almighty power is not shown chiefly in terrifying displays (like the destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah, wiping out the
The Nativity of The Blessed Virgin Mary St. Matthew 1.1-16 Dearly Beloved: Close your ears to anyone who tells you
You must be logged in to post a comment.