Category Archives: Blog

Here is some guidance on fasting.  The Eparchy’s guidance is in bold. As with everything I share, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  There are many different reasons why one may customize their fasting regimen including eating disorders and other medical realities.   Another very important and helpful teaching is to […]

Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving Remember that prayer, fasting and almsgiving are tools, given by Our Lord, to help us navigate this pilgrimage of life, but especially during the desert journeys of the fasts.  They make us aware of, and able to receive, the treasures that are offered, and to avoid the hazards that are placed […]

Today this fast is considered part of the Great Fast, a preparation period in which we enter gradually into the asceticism of the Fast. It originated, however, in the Oriental Orthodox (non-Chalcedonian) Churches and was separate from the Great Fast. It was called the fast of Nineveh, and was observed three weeks before the Great […]

On the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, we recall the reality of our daily reality. If you are anything like me, you find that during the previous day you walked away from God in some way. He let us run amuck and we are sorry for what we have done. The great news about God […]

Pride and humility are contrasted in today’s gospel parable of the Publican and the Pharisee. Pride is a defect of character few of us find easy to admit about ourselves; it is more easily perceived in somebody else. What can we do to offset such an affliction? A look at the life of Christ Himself […]

Today the Church, through the proclamation of the Gospel, reminds us that the Lord sees and values things in a way that the world cannot understand. Oftentimes, what the world sees as strength is a pitfall for those who seek the Lord; and what the world sees as weakness is an opportunity for spiritual growth. […]

O Lord, grant that with Your peace I may greet all that this day is to bring. Grant me grace to surrender myself completely to Your holy will. In every hour of this day instruct me and guide me in all things. Teach me to accept tranquility whatever tidings I may receive during this day, […]

  The OCA notes “The Veneration of the Honorable Chains of the Holy and All-Praised Apostle Peter: In about the year 42, on the orders of Herod Agrippa, the Apostle Peter was thrown into prison for preaching about Christ the Savior. In prison, he was held secure by two iron chains. During the night before […]

We’ve all heard the stats…humans are about 60% water (babies at birth are about 78% water, adult women about 55-60% and adult men about 60-65%) and the earth is about 71% water.  Water can kill, or sustain life.  The church has acknowledged the obvious  importance of water and uses it to manifest the cleansing, grave, […]

On the eighth day after His Nativity, our Lord Jesus Christ was circumcised in accordance with the Old Testament Law. All male infants underwent circumcision as a sign of God’s Covenant with the holy Forefather Abraham and his descendants [Genesis 17:10-14, Leviticus 12:3]. After this ritual, the Divine Infant was given the name Jesus, as […]