The Harmony of God: the salvific beauty of liturgy and music Fr. Anthony Perkins (Spiritually Speaking, 12/27/2015) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was […]
Homily – Virtue, Patience, and Forgiveness
December 20, 2015 By
Homily on Colossians 3:12-16[This closely follows St. John Chrysostom’s exegesis] [St. Paul just told us to put away worldly things – now he teaches us how the new man is to act] Ver. 12-13. “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with […]
Homily – The Hypocrisy of Defending Bad Habits and Rules
December 13, 2015 By
Homily – The Hypocrisy of Defending Bad Habits and RulesSt. Luke 13: 10-17 This Gospel lesson is profound, teaching us many things about the nature of healing, hypocrisy, and thanksgiving. Today I would like to focus on three of the things that it teaches us. One: We Really Should Come to Church The first has […]
The Joy of Baking Prosphora
December 11, 2015 By
I love baking phosphora. I’ve worked at it and learned what I can from my betters, but I certainly can’t claim to be great at it… so it’s all the more humbling to realize how this offering is transformed into something so glorious (a prefect metaphor for the Christian life!). Here’s my current approach. It […]
Homily Notes: 27th Sunday after Pentecost
December 6, 2015 By
Epistle. Ephesians 6:10-17. Summary: There is evil battling against us. God gives us protection – put on the full armor of God!Gospel. St. Luke 12:16-21. Summary: Get outside your comfort zone and use your gifts to the glory of God. Three points: First Point: Know Your Enemy. This is a difficult world full of very […]
On Transitions – how to leave well
December 1, 2015 By
On 13 September 2015, I served my last Divine Liturgy at St. Michael’s in Woonsocket, RI. Although in many ways the situation was ideal (it was an amicable parting; I wasn’t driven out by them or by frustration with them), it was still very difficult. I wanted to do it well, for their benefit, for […]
Personal Tribute to St. Sophia Seminary
November 30, 2015 By
I wrote this for the “Tuesday of Giving” development effort at St. Sophia’s. V. Rev. Anthony Perkins, rector of St. Mary Protection of the Holy Theotokos Cathedral, Allentown PA.Vocations Director, Associate Academic Dean, & Adjunct Professor of Spirituality at St. Sophia’s My CallingWhen I was about fourteen, I was studying the Gospel of St. […]
The Good-Idea Fairy has Run Amok
November 28, 2015 By
Full disclosure: I am a retired CW-3 (Military Intelligence, USAR). I spent most of my time post-9/11 providing intelligence support to warfighters in Afghanistan. It was important work. However, colleagues and friends would be quick to point out that I got hit pretty hard by the good idea fairy myself, most notably in being part of a […]
Homily on Unity: How to Fix the World
November 22, 2015 By
Ephesians 4:1-6. I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, […]
The Holodomor, Lazarus, and the Rich Man
November 9, 2015 By
Holodomor (dedication and blessing of the Holodomor Memorial in DC). Background info: the Holodomor (i.e. murder by starvation) was an intentional policy of the USSR under Stalin. In 1932-33, the Soviet regime killed upwards of ten million people (the number is disputed, but no one doubts that it was several million) through the forced acquisition of […]
