Category Archives: Blog

This Week’s Reflection “I told him that the soul could be freed from sinful thoughts only by guarding the mind and cleansing the heart and that this could be done by interior prayer. I added that according to the holy Fathers, one who performs saving works simply from the fear of hell follows the way […]

The three-fold apparatus that empowers the Christian to navigate the complexities of the Great Fast, and arrive eager and prepared at the Resurrection, consists of prayer, fasting, and alms-giving (Matthew 6).   Prayer reflects the Christian’s vision of the Beauty of God, true self-awareness of a failure to live according to the invitation of this Beauty, and […]

“The trouble is that we live far from ourselves and have but little wish to get any nearer to ourselves. Indeed we are running away all the time to avoid coming face to face with our real selves, and we barter the truth for trifles.” I recall being in seminary, every day we would wake […]

The devil is very good at taking things that are good and beautiful, and twisting them into something evil and ugly.  God though, is even better at untwisting them to reveal the original goodness and beauty that He gave them.  Such is the case with a feast that we will celebrate on this coming Saturday […]

One of the signs of a healthy parish is a confidence in the gifts God has given its members, and a desire to share these gifts with the wider world.  Another sign is a desire to improve the human lives of those who live within a parish’s circle of influence.  A third sign is an understanding of […]

The Proskomedia takes place before the public Divine Liturgy begins. The practical purpose of the Proskomedia is to prepare the bread and wine to be offered and sanctified at the Anaphora of the Liturgy. But there are other wonderful layers of meaning that are expressed in the Proskomedia. One major theme is the unity of […]

Christ is Baptized!   In the Jordan! In the early church, many of the feast days that we now celebrate in December and January were all celebrated together on January 6th.  That’s why this feast day is called “Theophany” or “the revelation of God” in Greek.  (“Epiphany,” the name used by our Roman Catholic brothers and […]

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 […]

St. Herman of Alaska (1756-1836), missionary to the Alaskan peoples, founded Orthodoxy among the Natives of Alaska. His celebration takes place on Dec. 13th. His celebration has become central to Orthodox Christians throughout North America during the Winter Paschal Season, perhaps because he so fully offers an image of the incarnation unto the Natives who […]

Two priests on Sundays In Father Nathan, Our Lord has gifted us with a greatly increased opportunity to receive the graces He pours out through the life and ministry of the ministerial priesthood.  Father Nathan and I  began praying about and discussing Our Lord’s Will for this double portion last week when we took a three day […]