Posts Tagged ‘Holy Communion’
Holding Jesus
I love blessing babies. Holding their tiny bodies as they often stare into the dome of the Church during the blessing brings great joy. It seems we all ‘get into the game’ when a baby is around. We all want to hold the baby. Babies remind us of God’s love and promise. Today is the…
Read MoreThe Blood of Christ Saves
Throughout my years of ministry I have heard many ‘catch phrases’ about salvation. Among my favorites is about the blood of Christ. Phrases such as, ‘saved by the blood’ indicate deep faith in Christ. They also indicate an ignorance of the Scriptures. When Orthodox Christians speak about the Blood of Christ, we speak about Holy…
Read MoreChristmas Isn’t Over Just Yet
Christ is Born; Glorify Him! These words rang out across the Orthodox world yesterday. Bells rang. Christmas carols echoed through the towns. Families gathered to exchange love and gifts. Today is a different story if you pay attention. The ‘world’ has already moved on. We have not. For centuries Christians waited for Christmas to begin…
Read MoreFinal Checklist for Christmas
ONLY THREE DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS and right about now you are beginning to panic you may not finish all the things you have to accomplish before Christmas. There are only 24 hours in a day, so I decided to help you narrow down your final checklist for Christmas. Prayer, fasting, charity, and worship are the…
Read MoreThe Fruit of Repentance
The Church is always talking about bearing fruit, so today I thought I would write about the fruit of repentance. Fruit always starts with a seed which is planted, nurtured, and eventually harvested. Where is your seed of repentance? At that time, there were some present who told Jesus of the Galileans whose blood Pilate…
Read MoreLoss is Gain
It is impossible to read the writings of Saint Paul and not be convicted every time. One benefit of the daily readings of the Church is the daily reminder of how we fall short of God’s glory. Even Saint Paul admits his loss to his spiritual children. His loss is our gain. Brethren, I count…
Read MoreEpisode 460 – Do You Desire to be with God
Christ invites us, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow,” Him into heaven. As long we desire to be with God, then we can move the first phase of our journey. We must learn how to deny ourselves before we can ever follow Christ into heaven.…
Read MoreWho is Jesus?
Imagine walking down the street ‘minding your own business’ and a stranger approaches you. Something has drawn them to you. It may have been how you behaved. It may have been how you spoke. They ask, “Who is Jesus?” Do you know how you would answer? In today’s Gospel lesson we hear the crowd approach…
Read MoreThe Bible Leads to Communion
We are taught by the Church to read the Scriptures daily. The Church has helped us by creating a lectionary of ‘daily readings’ to guide us. This blog is even dedicated to posting as often as we can on the Scriptures. All the reading of the Bible is of no value if we are not…
Read MoreVespers Entrance Prayer
Vespers is the “Twelfth Hour” and therefore the service that straddles the gap between day and night. Behind us are the hours of the day. Ahead are the watches of the night. Today’s Daily Lenten Journey will feature the prayer during which we ‘enter’ into the night. In the evening, at dawn, and at midday,…
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