Archive for August 2022
Altar of Gold
Our host parish in Tarpon Springs is a tourist stop for the city. People arrive every from other cities and states, even other countries, to see the historical Saint Nicholas Cathedral. From the Czechoslovakian crystal chandeliers to the marble iconostasis from the 1939 World’s Fair to the stunning stained-glass windows, tourists and pilgrims stand open-mouthed…
Read MoreToday is a New Day
It is easy to get caught up in our daily struggles. We pretend to comfort ourselves by promising, “Tomorrow will be different!” Alas tomorrow rarely is different, so we become content to continue in our daily clouds. We begin to believe that we were meant to be where we are, stuck in the mud of…
Read MoreDon’t Lose Your Head
We have all done things we were not proud of when we were younger. That is the grace that is holy confession. We turn to the God and confess our sins to the Church, through the priest, and we are forgiven our sins. Sounds easy right? It is, but what happens when we try to…
Read MoreEpisode 375 – Let Go of the Past
As we learn in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18.23-35), God’s first position is to forgive the debt of our sin. We owe Him so much that we could never live long enough to repay Him. He still forgives, but there is a catch. He will only forgive us if we forgive others…
Read MoreLife Isn’t a Game
When we were children we played games like hide-and-seek. The “seeker” would count to ten and call out “ready or not, here I come” and then rush out to find those who were hiding. Once the “seeker” reached “10” there was no chance if we had not found a place to hide. Our best chance…
Read MoreLooking for Faith
Today is the Feast of Saint Phanourios, the Great Martyr. It has become tradition to pray to him when we have lost something, so that he may help us find it again. This doesn’t make him magic. It does make him special. Sometimes all it takes is a little faith. I want to share a…
Read MoreWorth the Suffering
It is human nature to look on someone who is suffering for a cause and think, “WOW! That person really believes in something. That person is even willing to die for it.” We’ve all witnessed such belief. We’ve seen people chained to trees, laying down in front of bulldozers, and even imprisoned for the sake…
Read MoreBest Kept Secret
I’ve been hearing this saying my entire life. People have been telling me that the Orthodox Church is the best kept secret in America. I think this is meant to be a compliment. I think we are supposed to be proud that we have something so special, and nobody knows about it. I think we…
Read MoreWWJD
I remember when I was younger, the trend among Christians was the phrase, “WWJD”. We wore it on t-shirts and bracelets. For a few years, everywhere you looked you could read WWJD. What Would Jesus Do. I don’t see it around so much anymore, but the challenge still holds true for me. Brethren, have this…
Read MoreHypocrites or Sinners?
It comes up all the time in conversations. The Church is full of hypocrites. I know how those people are when they leave the Church. They pretend to be so holy on Sunday. I don’t want to have anything to do with them. The normally opens the following conversation. Me: Do you know any alcoholics?…
Read More