[Please note that I am writing about malaise, not actual depression. If you are suffering from depression, seek professional help.] Studies show that cases of depression and general malaise increase during the Christmas season. It’s a real problem, and – unless you are some sort of saint (or Vulcan) – it’s probably one you struggle […]
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.
Day Sixteen – Saint Andrew
November 30, 2013 By
The Orthodox Church takes apostolic succession very seriously; the preservation of “the faith passed on to the apostles” is maintained by the physicality of the ordination of bishops by bishops, all of who can trace the history of the ordination of the bishops who ordained them back to one or more of the apostles themselves. […]
Day Fifteen – Avarice (love of money)
November 29, 2013 By
There are two things priests can talk about that are pretty much guaranteed to either get filtered out (ignored/missed) or opposed with varying levels of indignation: sex and money. The problem is that our scriptures – and Christ Himself – spend a lot of time on that subject. This means that the Church and her […]
Day Fourteen: Giving Thanks to Our God as a Nation
November 28, 2013 By
Council of Bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA Archpastoral Message for 2013 Thanksgiving Day:We Offer Praise and Thanksgiving Once again, our nation pauses to celebrate Thanksgiving. Our tables will be spilling over with food and our homes will resonate with laughter and conversation as we gather to celebrate this special day. Thanksgiving […]
Day Thirteen – The Eucharist as Thanksgiving
November 27, 2013 By
What are you thankful for? In amongst the football, turkey, and shopping, Americans do try spend at least part of their Thanksgiving being grateful. I have a lot to be thankful for; wonderful marriage, loving wife, respectful children, beautiful family, good parish, plus the whole triangle from security on up on Maslow’s hierarchy. But […]
Day Twelve – Vestments
November 26, 2013 By
One of the things that Christians – and all humans! – are called to do is bless every moment with holiness; to “redeem the time” (1 Ephesians 5:16). One of the ways we do this is through continually prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Orthodox Christians are most familiar with this verse as it applies to the “prayer […]
Day Eleven – Turkey
November 25, 2013 By
There’s a funny thing that happens every year among the Orthodox in America around this time of year. Many Old Calendarists hop on their high horse and lord it over New Calendarists for breaking the Nativity Fast on Thanksgiving. The built-in assumption is that there is no way any Tradition-loving, Real Orthodox Christian (TM) would […]
Homily – The Good Samaritan as a Lesson of Love
November 24, 2013 By
Homily – The Good SamaritanSt. Luke 10:25-37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. The lawyer wanted to test Jesus, thinking that Jesus would condemn Himself by dismissing the Jewish Law. […]
Day Nine – The Sabbath
November 23, 2013 By
We were made to work One of the great virtues of this nation is its commitment to work hard and to work well. This virtue does not allow us to see work in purely economic terms; it isn’t just about paying the bills, providing for the family, or having enough to give freely to those […]
20131123 Vocations are for everyone!
November 23, 2013 By
What is God calling you to do? This show opens with a talk on vocations geared for everyone – vocations are not just for men in black! I follow this with a short story by Rdr. Nicholas Perkins, and finish by asnwering some mail on paleo, fasting, and the Bread of Life. Enjoy the show! […]
