Don’t Ignore the Angels

Today is the Feast of the Synaxis of the Archangel Michael and the rest of the Angels in heaven. There are countless angels serving God and interacting with us on His behalf. There are nine orders of angels in heaven. That includes a special guardian angel for each one of us. The orders of angels…

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Be Blameless When Society Is Wicked

Sometimes we like to think is was ‘easier’ to be a Christian in the past. We read the stories about Church growth and mass baptisms. We then think of today. We can’t imagine the same stories taking place today. It is so much harder to be Christian today than ‘back then.’ Brethren, as you have…

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The Household of God

Our host parish in Tarpon Springs was in the throngs of a doubleheader hurricane in the past three weeks. At one point I was forced to evacuate my home with my family for a safer place to ‘ride out the storm’ before returning home. Leaving, wondering if you will return is emotional. Returning home is…

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Don’t Twist the Saints

The devil will never stop trying to trick us away from God’s path. He fooled Eve using her ego to taste the fruit, and she died along with Adam. He fooled Judas using his ego to betray Christ, and he died. At every turn the devil uses our ego against us, always to fool us…

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Know Your Family

For many of us the very name we use is a testament to our family history. I was named after my grandfather and my son is named after my father. Our last names tell the world what family we belong to when we meet strangers. Everything we do, our family is a part of it,…

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Mind Your Business

We all like to think we are successful Christians. We all like to think we ‘know what we’re doing’ when it comes to how to live our Orthodox Christian Faith. If that weren’t bad enough, we all also like to think we ‘know better’ than other people how to be ‘good’ Orthodox Christians. The sad…

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Gift for the Future

For most Christians, at least for most Christians living in America, dwelling on the past is considered closed minded. We are taught to look to the future. Sayings such as “The youth are the future of the church,” draw our attention to the future but we cannot have a future without a past. Brethren, all…

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Hidden Blessing

We live in a society based heavily on rewards. When we excel at work, we get a raise or promotion. When we excel in sports, a trophy adorns our house. When we excel in the spiritual life, things are different. God knows our achievement but rewards us secretly. Brethren, “What no eye has seen, nor…

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Know Your Limitations

We learn it as little children. We boast about our ability way beyond the truth. It may be cute to watch little children pretend to lift an entire sofa. It isn’t so cute when adults think they can ‘handle’ more than they really can handle, especially when sin and temptation are involved. Today the Church…

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Saints for the Lost of America

Just look around and you will see them. There are many Orthodox Christians that walk through your neighborhoods, lost. I don’t mean they don’t know where they are walking. I mean they are spiritually lost, surrounded by false teachers and myriad temptations. More and more every day, the lost faithful disappear into the fabric of…

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