Archive for November 2021

What is it about Christmas carols that invoke so many memories? Both good and bad, the memories of Christmas seem to be interwoven with the sound of Jingle Bells and Santa Claus is coming to town, and this time of year there is no shortage of the sound of Christmas carols. I like Christmas carols, even if the…

Today is the first day of our Nativity Fast as Orthodox Christians, a fast that many in our contemporary society have forgotten. It is forty days of prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and spiritual preparation to greet the Newborn King at Christmas. It is definitely counter-culture in today’s society, since most of our friends, neighbors and co-workers…

A Cheerful Giver of Time When you think about being a cheerful giver we often think about money, and to be sure being a cheerful giver includes money. Have you ever thought about being a cheerful giver as it relates to the concept of doing good works? Not everyone has a lot of money to…

Guardian Angels Did you know at your baptism, the Church asked God to assign a guardian angel to watch over you? It is believed by the Church that each one of us has angel assigned to protect us through our life, and to remind us of when we are going astray. Some people call it…

It has become second nature to many of us lately to jump to words or even acts of violence the moment we encounter what we believe to be an injustice. If we witness behavior that we do not approve of, we immediately take to social media and blast this person or that business. It seems…

I had the pleasure yesterday of driving through Georgia, and I was blessed to witness ‘fall colors’ once again. Living in Florida for the past five years, I had forgotten what trees look like in the fall. Here in Florida the saying is, “Fall has arrived, the colors are changing on the license plates!” I…

When most people think about saints, they think about Saint Paul, Saint George, Saint Mary of Egypt, and of course the Panagia, the All-Holy Mother of God. Naturally, these are all ancient holy people whom the Church has been honoring for centuries. Their life stories have been incorporated into the life of the Church. Thinking…

It can be frustrating living as a Christian in today’s America. While we still have our freedom to come to Church for Divine Liturgy, and ‘go through the motions’ of Orthodoxy, when we leave the Church to interact with other members of society, just admitting we are Christian can cause arguments. It is what it,…

Did you ever get the feeling like your priest, and through your priest, the entire Church, is saying the same thing over and over again? Don’t you think maybe the Church would catch on that ‘we’ve heard this before’ and say something new? There is a trend in the modern society to accuse the Church…