Archive for March 2022

We’re just getting into the rhythm of the Great Fast, and I’m already struggling emotionally to find something to eat. My kitchen is filled with food, but still I look with agony at what I’m supposed to do for dinner. It might seem like ‘first world struggles’ but they are real, and I’m thankful for…

As we enter our annual journey of the Great Fast, the Church calls us to the high calling of forgiveness, fasting, and almsgiving. How we forgive, how we fast, and how we use our wealth, are all part of our spiritual journey to heaven. If we desire heaven, then we will make these three elements…

When I was younger, I recall reading about Henry David Thoreau, the man who lived in the wilderness outside of Boston to prove that one could live a simple life without patterns of city living, only to prove he had created his own complex system of living. I visited the Walden area where there is…

What happens when a garden is left to nature? It is overgrown with weeds. What happens when a grape vine is not pruned? It grows wild and no longer produces good fruit. What happens when a glorious building is left unattended? The weather brings it to ruin. Anything that is good must be maintained in…

As we complete the first week of the Great Fast, the Church reminds us of the truth of the Church. Christ, the Son of God, of One Essence with the Father, took on human flesh for our salvation. Because of His love for us, we had, have and will continue to have a real physical…

Today is the first Saturday of the Great Fast and the Church commemorates a miracle that took place centuries ago. It is called the miracle of the Kollya of Saint Theodore and was a result of faithful Christians being threatened by an unbeliever. Knowing the Christians were fasting for the Great Fast, Julian the Apostate…

Avoid the Curse During the Great Fast, as I have stated, we read daily Monday through Friday from the Old Testament. The readings are from three books: Isaiah, Genesis, and Proverbs. There is not a direct connection between the readings, as we have for particular feasts of the Church, but today’s readings are frighteningly connected.…

If you take the time each day to read the readings of the day, you will notice something different. If you attend services in the Church today, you will notice something different. If you noticed the calendar said “wine and oil permitted” for today’s fasting guidelines, you will definitely noticed something different. If you just…

Here we are, Day 2 of the Great Fast, and already my body is thanking me for fasting yesterday. Every year I find myself thinking, I might not ‘go back’ to eating all the junk….but then I return to my old ways only to be thankful again for another chance to fast. Just because I’m…