Archive for November 2018

When the Gospel speaks of a wealthy man who asked Christ, “What must I do to inherit eternal life,” after hearing the young rich man admit, “All these I have done since my youth,” the Gospel goes on to remind us that we each lack one thing. We can’t get to heaven depending on ourselves…

As we approach the American celebration of Thanksgiving, each year coincidentally, the Church brings our attention to the Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke12.16-21) whose crops were so plentiful, he decided to tear down his barns to make room for larger barns rather than use his blessings to help others. Unfortunately for him, his soul…

It is easy to get distracted with the many tasks of the holiday season. Shopping, cleaning the house, cooking, remembering who to invite to dinner….all this can take it toll. We here at Be Transfigured Ministries want to make supporting our ministry simple and easy to remember. Holiday giving is an uplifting way to support…

It is easy to go through life comforted that most of our sins go hidden from the world, but we would do well to remember that our sins are never hidden from God. In his homily on Romans, St John Chrysostom points out, “In this world one man is punished while another escapes ….it is not…

Some think we must hide our Christian acts of love and mercy, but today’s Gospel (you can read the entire passage below) says otherwise. “You are the light of the world…..let your light so shine….” These words of Christ are meant as encouragement to allow our life to be an attraction for others to find…

Many Christians today bewail the treatment by members of the media or legal system, through which our rights as Americans seem to be eroding away. My blog today isn’t about politics, and I won’t even comment on whether or not our rights should or shouldn’t be taken away as faithful Orthodox Christians. Today, I invite…

It has long been taught by the Church that the condition of our heart will determine our eternal experience of God. Though we will all be in heaven, some will experience heaven as torment because of selfishness. We will not experience the joy of heaven until we get past our own ego and our own…

In the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazaros (Luke 16.19-31), Jesus tells of an opportunity for salvation that goes unnoticed by the rich man. Day after day he stepped out his door passing over his salvation, a humble poor man “desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table.…