Archive for March 2022

It is nine months until Christmas! That must mean today is the Feast of the Annunciation of the Theotokos by the Archangel Gabriel. The Feast is known in Greek as Ευαγγελισμός της Θεοτόκου, which translates to the Good News of the Theotokos. What Good News, you ask? The Good News that God has chosen to…

Today is the Forefeast of the Annunciation, the day on which the Church glances ahead to the Feast tomorrow, so it is no surprise the readings today remind us of salvation. Noah and his family had the Lord as their salvation from the flood, and we have Him as our salvation from eternal torment if…

Let’s face it. In contemporary America, we are surrounded a society that most times is in direct conflict with our Orthodox way of life. The constant preoccupation with sex, violence and unimpeded selfishness, and all seem a bit daunting. In fact, now that we are placing extra emphasis on prayer, fasting, almsgiving, worship and the like,…

You’ve heard me mention before that trusting in God is like approaching a closed door. You pray that God’s will be done, and if the door opens you enter. If the door is locked, you accept that it is God’s will for it to be locked. Once through the door, you think you have reached…

When we leave our house, we enter a world that has many masters. We know them as work, pleasure, family, friends, school, greed, etc. These are the daily networks in which we find ourselves. No matter how old we are, at least one of these masters lord over our daily lives. There is only one…

Today, throughout the United States a movie is showing that many Orthodox Christians will attend. The movie, “Man of God,” is about the life of St Nektarios of Aegina in Greece. The movie has been sold out in most every location and is only being shown today. I suspect it will show again, but many…

As Christ traveled from town to town many sick and suffering were brought to Him for healing. Once in Capernaum Jesus was speaking at a home filled to capacity by listeners when four men arrived carrying their paralyzed friend. The house was so full of people the four men couldn’t even get in the door…

It can be hard enough to live the Orthodox Christian life in our secular and pluralistic world. From the moment you leave your home for work, school or errands, you are confronted with nonstop temptation and, on a good day, people who are indifferent toward your way of life. On a ‘not so good day’…

The war in Ukraine is raging while nations debate and strategize how to save a people under siege. That part is not new in the history of humanity, unfortunately. While it is true that humanity has been at war against itself since Cain murdered Abel, God has never once taken His eye off our salvation.…

I wrote yesterday about the need for work, not just for the Great Fast, but for life in general and the spiritual life in particular. Today, I will double down on the idea of constant effort needed to reach our goal of salvation. While salvation is a gift from God, the gift can only be received through…