Preparing Our Soul for Christ

When we prepare our home for an important visitor, we spend time and effort preparing the house. We clean the house and cook and make sure everything is just right for the important visitor. When it comes to welcoming Christ into our soul, what are we doing to prepare for His visit? Do we clean…

Read More

Money and the Church

Nobody ever likes to hear about money in Church, but when the Gospel boldly speaks about money, as it does in Matthew 25.14-31, we cannot ignore the relationship that money has with our salvation. According to the Parable of the Talents, how we use (or do not use) the money which God has given to…

Read More

Loving and Humble

In the story of the Canaanite Woman in Matthew 15.21-28, heard both in the Holy Unction service and the Seventeenth Sunday of Matthew, is more for our healing than for her daughter. Christ, knowing her deep faith and humility, allows us to witness her devotion in the face of her pain and suffering. Her begging…

Read More

No Better than Anyone Else

As the period known as the Triodion begins, marking the beginning of the ten-week journey to Pascha, the Church reminds us that we should not spend our life justifying ourselves to ourselves. In order to be justified by God, we must humbly accept that we are sinners and that we are no better than anyone…

Read More

Depart in Peace

A beautiful cross sign at a church

Jerusalem is the City of Peace, and today is the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple. For me the connection is a profound one. As Saint Symeon had spent his life desiring to see Christ, I have spent my life with the “someday it would be nice to visit the Holy…

Read More

A Fitting End

Today is our final day in the Holy Land, but it was no less filled with inspiration and memories. Our first stop today set the tone for the completion of our journey. We ascended the mountain with God and venerated what is believed to be the very spot from Our Lord and Savior Ascended into…

Read More