Homily on the Talents: What is (getting to) Heaven Like?St. Matthew 25:14-30 Main point: What do do with the riches God has given us? Multiply them! How? By investing all those riches in spiritual activities that provide a strong return on investment and having enough self-discipline not to waste them on activities that cause spiritual […]
ON THE FIRST SUNDAY of the Great Fast our Church celebrates the triumph of Orthodoxy, the victory of true Christian teaching over all perversions and distortions thereof—heresies and false teachings. On the second Sunday of the Great Fast it is as though this triumph of Orthodoxy is repeated and deepened in connection with the celebration of the memory of one of the greatest pillars of Orthodoxy, the hierarch Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica, who by his grace-bearing eloquence and the example of his highly ascetic private life put to shame the teachers of falsehood who dared reject the very essence of.Orthodoxy, the podvig of prayer and fasting, which enlightens the human mind with the light of grace and makes it a communicant of the divine glory.
Homily Notes for Pentecost: How to Acquire the Holy Spirit
June 9, 2014 By
How to acquire the Holy Spirit Come to Church and follow the Orthodox Way. A fruit of the Orthodox Way is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit. Won’t happen; can’t happen outside of Church. Look at the icon; look at the scripture It is not an individual gift, meant for our personal satisfaction. Reinforces the […]
Homily notes on the man born blind – Hope for the Hopeless
May 25, 2014 By
Homily Notes on the Man Born BlindSt. John 9:1-38 [Memorial Day weekend: self-sacrifice among soldiers, self-sacrifice in the family, self-sacrifice in the Church] Meme in a demotivational poster: It could be that [the purpose] your life is only to serve as a warning to others. How are we supposed to deal with the fact there […]
Homily Notes – Christ’s Ministry to the Samaritan Woman
May 18, 2014 By
St. John 4:5-42 This encounter gives us an account of Christ’s showing us on how to live a human life. The way He shared the faith: He has [is!] something beautiful; he shares it simply with others – not out of ego but so that there would be more healing and joy in the world. […]
Notes on Christian Meditation and Living the Good Life
May 14, 2014 By
Talk on Christian Meditation and Living the Good LifeSt. Michael UOC Ladies’ Sodality RetreatFr. Anthony Perkins, 13 May 2014 There is within us, a yearning for something better. We feel ourselves to be refugees in a land that isn’t quite right. We desire peace, joy, and growth within our own lives; but find peace to […]
From GGWB: Priests, you don’t have to like your parish either
March 29, 2014 By
In my post, “You Don’t Have to Like Your Priest”, I built on Brother Patrick’s essay to describe some of the reasons that people don’t like their Orthodox priests, making the general point that all of his foibles pale in comparison to the One Thing Needful which He serves and shares. Another dynamic of this […]
From GGWB: You Don’t have to Like Your Priest
March 19, 2014 By
A reader recommended Brother Patrick Mary Briscoe’s article “You Don’t have to Like Your priest” (published on March 7, 2014 at Dominicana) It is an excellent article and I recommend it, too. Imitation is the highest form of flattery. The following is patterned on Brother Patrick’s essay. Why do I like it? I know that my parishioners struggle […]
Homily – Saint Gregory of Palamas
March 16, 2014 By
We have arrived at the second week of Great Lent. It is like the the second lap of a hard race, one we run to win. How are we doing? The sudden aches of the first week have receded, but we struggle to find our pace. My mirror. The real mirror is the prayer we […]
Saving yourself from the damage of war
March 14, 2014 By
I am going to stay on this soapbox a bit longer because I am worried. Many people who are dear to me are following the news from Ukraine very closely, searching out every twitter feed, youtube release, live video feed, local (i.e. Ukrainian) blogger, and MSM commentary that will keep them update on what is […]
