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People along with the priest worshiping in the church

Episode 413 – Think like God Thinks

As we consider our annual New Year Resolutions this year remember the message of the Gospel. “John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.” The first message of the Gospel according to Saint Mark is the message of repentance. This year, change the way you think…
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People along with the priest worshiping in the church

Episode 412 – Waiting for Christ

For generations the Jews waited for their savior. We wait for Christmas each year with great anticipation. The celebration of Christmas is the celebration of our savior. He has come so that our pain and suffering is only temporary. Let’s celebrate the great joy and gift He has given us. No more waiting. Transcript: When…
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People along with the priest worshiping in the church

Episode 411 – Desire to be with God

When God invites you, He wants you to attend by choice. He won’t force us to attend Church. His desire is that we want to be with Him in Church and in Heaven. Attending Church is not about checking off a box of obligation. We can ‘find time’ for anything we desire. God invites us…
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People along with the priest worshiping in the church

Episode 410 – Seeing God with our Hearts

You don’t have to be blind to be blind. Instead of looking at the sins of others, we need to start looking in the mirror. Unfortunately, we are blind to our sins, but insist on watching others. In the Gospel of Luke 18.35-43, we see a blind man who could see God. The crowd that…
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People along with the priest worshiping in the church

Episode 409 – The Time is Now

When we die, we will find ourselves in one of two situations. We will be in the presence of God in either situation. We will either experience His presence as comfort or torment. We will experience God’s presence either has heaven or hell. The choice will be ours, but the choice must be made now,…
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People along with the priest worshiping in the church

Episode 408 – God is all we Need

When we are surrounded and tormented by demons in our life, God has the power to the send them away. In the world there are many tempting alternatives to in which we place our trust in these times, such as the “Evil Eye”. Real power is Christ, no blue glass eye. Don’t waste your energy…
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People along with the priest worshiping in the church

Episode 407 – What We Need, Not What We Want

We all ask God for things, but God does not always give us what we want. Having wants is not necessarily a bad thing. When what we want is not what we need, we need to trust God more than we know. God may not give us what we want, but He will always give…
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People along with the priest worshiping in the church

Episode 406 – A Commandment of Love

Maybe the most difficult commandment from God is for us to love our enemies and those who do not love us in return. It takes real courage to love those who love. The Golden Rule requires Christian courage. We all need love. None of can survive without love. When we can figure this out, then…
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People along with the priest worshiping in the church

Episode 405 – Having a Spiritual Father

We are all at different stages of our spiritual journey. The Orthodox way of life can be complex and difficult to determine just is the best way to practice our Orthodox Life. We cannot just ‘pick and choose’ like a cafeteria. The Tradition of our Church is to have a spiritual father who is guiding…
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People along with the priest worshiping in the church

Episode 404 – The Power and Promise of God

Christ made a promise that everyone who believes in Christ will have eternal life. Just as He promised in the Old Testament when Moses was leading the People of God in the wilderness, God promises us that if we look at Christ on the Cross with faith, we will have eternal life. Even if we…
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People along with the priest worshiping in the church

Episode 403 – The Price of Heaven

We check the price of everything before we choose to invest our time and money. The same thing goes for heaven. We want to know how much it will cost for us to get to heaven. In the Gospel of Matthew 19.16-26 we hear that wealth stopped a rich man from following Christ into heaven.…
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People along with the priest worshiping in the church

Episode 402 – What Does Heaven Look Like?

We all want to know. We have been asking from a young age. Without thinking, too often we think we can’t know what heaven will look like. The problem is that God has already told us what to expect, every time He was asked. “The kingdom of Heaven is like…” Heaven look the same as…
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People along with the priest worshiping in the church

Episode 401 – The Light of Christ

On the Feast of Transfiguration, the Church celebrates the Light of Christ. On Mount Tabor Christ appeared as bright as the sun, but the disciples were not harmed because God protected them. God allows us to see His Light as much as we can bear. The world is competing with God by showing us images…
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People along with the priest worshiping in the church

Episode 400 – We Have a Job to Do

When Christ invited the first disciples to follow Him, He called them to a job. He called them to become fishers of men, to bring people into the Church. Today we are called by Christ to bring people to Christ. We are not just supposed to bring them into our community, but into Christ. The…
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People along with the priest worshiping in the church

Episode 399 – Living as Saints

When we accept the invitation to become saints, we must also accept the challenge of a life willing to give it all up for God. We must live the life of the Church which has been guided by the Holy Spirit since Pentecost. A life of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving is meant to help us…
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People along with the priest worshiping in the church

Episode 398 – Only God can Quench Your Thirst

The world is thirsting for God. The Feast of Pentecost celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit to guide the Church into the whole truth. We all have something in our life that we are chasing after, but we remain thirsty. Christ offers Himself as the source of rivers of living water if we believe.…
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People along with the priest worshiping in the church

Episode 397 – Choose to Believe

When Christ healed the man born blind, many refused to believe. It was easier to think the man was never blind, than to believe he was healed by God. Without desire to believe, we will refuse even to believe what we see with our own eyes. When we choose to believe our eyes, then we…
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People along with the priest worshiping in the church

Episode 396 – God Knows the Pain in our Hearts

When we allow ourselves to remember that God already knows the pain in our hearts, we can confess our sins to Him. Then God will open Himself to us and show us His grace and mercy.  We don’t have to hurt anymore. When we confess our pain to Him, He will fill our hearts with…
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People along with the priest worshiping in the church

Episode 395 – Don’t Turn Your Back on God

When the Paralytic admitted to Christ that he didn’t have anyone to help him enter the water and be healed, Christ healed him. When we entered the waters of our Baptism, Christ healed us. The Paralytic went and praised God after he was healed. Most of the time we go through life and ignore God.…
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People along with the priest worshiping in the church

Episode 394 – Turn Your Attention to Christ

Going through life we learn that where we look will guide our attention. If we want our life to follow Christ, then we must turn our attention to Christ. It requires courage and faith to not be distracted by the temptations of the world. Transcript: My brothers and sisters, in this morning’s gospel, we hear…
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People along with the priest worshiping in the church

Episode 393 –  See and Believe!

After Christ was raised from the dead He appeared to the Apostles. Since Thomas wasn’t present, he did not believe the witness of his fellow Apostles. Eight days later when Christ appeared to them again, this time with Thomas to see for himself. This time he believed. Christ gave to His Apostles everything they needed…
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People along with the priest worshiping in the church

Episode 392 – God is Our Only King

Palm Sunday bridges Great Lent to Holy Week with a Feast about our King. The only problem is, just as the Jews then betrayed Christ during Holy Week, we betray Him everyday when we live as if we are our own king. This can be the year we change and allow Him to be our…
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People along with the priest worshiping in the church

Episode 391 – Ask God to Strengthen Your Faith

A father brought his son to Christ saying, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit…. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.” (Mark 9.17-18) When Christ challenged his faith he said, “I believe. Help my unbelief.” (Mark 9.24) It was then that…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 390 – Our Faith in Action

When four friends bring a paralyzed man to Christ, it was because of their faith that Christ healed him and forgave his sins. Christ wants for us to have enough faith to bring others to Him. Do you know others who need the healing touch of God? Then put your faith into action and bring…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 389 – You are Invited to Come and See God

We celebrate the Sunday of Orthodoxy with a grand celebration of Holy Icons. With great pride we hold our icons high, but the Sunday of Orthodoxy is much more than just a historic celebration. We are celebrating the truth of God. Holy Icons are proof that God came as a human being to save us.…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 388 – Forgiveness, Fasting, and Giving; The Triad of Great Lent

As we prepare for Great Lent, it is crucial we forgive others. No matter what, if we do not forgive others, God will not forgive us. When we fast, without putting on a show, we learn to live as God wants us to live. When we give to others, we learn to put our treasure…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 387 – Seeing God in the Least

When we are judged by God, He will judge us not just by what we do, but how we see. Do we see God in the faces of others? Do we see God in the least of society? That is the challenge of Matthew 25.31-46. It isn’t just about serving others. It is about seeing…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 386 – The Pain of Change

In the Gospel of the Prodigal Son, we learn about the pain of change. Until it hurts more to remain where we are, we won’t change. Once change hurts less than remaining the same, we won’t return home. The good news is once we turn to return to the Father, He finishes the journey for…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 385 – God Does Everything He Asks of Us

As we consider our New Year Resolutions, it is important to remember that God has done everything that He asks of us. In commemorating the Circumcision of Christ, a physical reality of Christ, the Church reminds us that God has complete the Law where we were and are lacking. Transcript: I was wondering the other…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 384 – We Can’t Always have a Merry Christmas, but we can always Glorify God

It isn’t always easy to be merry at Christmas. For many families Christmas this year is a time of pain and suffering. The Birth of Christ, our Savior, is worthy of celebration. This is why the traditional greeting for Christmas is ‘Christ is Born; Glorify Him!’ It perfectly captures the truth that we glorify God…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 383 – Not Perfect but Committed to God

On the Sunday before Christmas every year the Church hears a long list of names of the generations of Christ. From Abraham until Joseph the Church reminds us of the righteous ancestors of Christ described in the Old Testament. When you combine them with the saints of the New Testament we get a complete picture…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 382 – Finding Time to Focus on God

It can be difficult in today’s world to find time to focus on God. It has become too easy for us to skip our prayers or to be late for Church. During our Nativity Fast, the Church has offered to us the blessing to pay attention to God. When we allow the life of the…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 381 – Generosity

With Thanksgiving just a few days away, our minds are on the idea of giving. We will feast and have plenty of leftovers. We may even give others our leftovers so they also can eat. We fool ourselves if we think that giving after we have had everything we need is generous. Giving from our…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 380 – Humility and Healing

We tend to go through life focusing on what we want and when we want it. Even in sickness we tend to demand from God that He heal on our terms. Experience teaches us that not everyone is healed. The difference between what we want and what we need is God’s to tell. Accepting the…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 379 – How We Respond to God, Matters

As Christians we are faced everyday with responding to God. We see God healing others. We watch God bless others. Too often we respond with jealousy rather than joy. Every day we are forced to choose God or to choose ourselves. In the story of the healing of the man with legion demons, the crowd…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 378 – The Physical Touch of God

As God revealed in the miracle at Nain as described in Luke 7.11-16, God has chosen to come and visit His people with His own body. With His physical touch, Christ brought the son of the widow back to life. We are the temple of the Living God because God has visited His people. Through…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 377 – When we Allow God to Use Us

When we stop asking, “What’s in it for us,” and allow God to use us for His Church and His Gospel, we experience miracles. We have been given gifts and talents from God not for our use, but for God to use to preach to others. We receive the grace of God when we are…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 376 – We Have to Come Down off our High Horse

God came down from heaven to lift us up to heaven. If we believe in Him, we will be raised up to heaven by Christ. We have to learn to stop looking down on everyone as if we are the ones who are perfect. When we do not believe in Christ, we are already condemned.…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 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…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 374 – Prayer and Fasting Nurtures Our Faith

When we turn to God in prayer and fasting, our hearts are changed to better understand God’s desire for us. Faith the size of mustard seed is enough to move mountains, but every seed needs to be nurtured to produce. When we pray and fast, our faith is nurtured. When we bring ourselves and others…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 373 – We are Safe in the Church

If we are inside the Church building, we are safe from the turmoil outside the walls of the Church. When we are baptized into the Church, we are safe with the protection and peace of God. The longer we stay outside the Church, the more we lose our focus, and we begin to sink in…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 372 – When God Opens Our Eyes

There comes a time when we need our own little miracle from God. The story of the healing of the two blind men in Matthew 9.27-35 is a gift from God for us today. When we allow God’s mercy and grace to work in our lives to open our eyes to our shortcomings. It is…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 371 – The Gifts from God Should be Used

We have all received gifts from God. Saint Paul taught us the gifts should be used, and we should use them with faith. Whether we have received the gift of teaching, or organization or even giving, our gifts should be used for the glory of God. They should be used with faith, with love, and…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 370 – Risk Everything to Reach Heaven

There are many immigrant stories of people who leave everything behind to come to America for a better life. Our ancestors risked losing everything for something better. Christ says, “Seek first the kingdom of heaven.” We must be willing to risk everything to reach heaven. Heaven is only destination worthy of risking everything because it…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 369 – Immediate Response to Follow God

The world is at war with the Church, trying to convince us what is good and what is not good. The world believes that life is disposable. The Church teaches that life is sacred. When we choose to follow Christ, and leave behind the world, it begins with not allowing how the world thinks to…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 368 – It Begins with Imitating the Saints

On the Sunday of All Saints, the Church directs out attention to those holy men and women, many of whom we will never know, to honor their holy lives. The Saints were those who put God ahead of all things in their lives. Christ gave us two very important ways to become Saints. We must…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 367 – Oneness of Mind

On the Sunday between Ascension and Pentecost, the Church commemorates the Sunday of the Holy Father of the 1st Ecumenical Council which was dedicated to the unity of the Church. Shortly before His crucifixion, Christ prayed for us to be one as the Trinity is one. If we are going to be like God, then…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 366 – Sunday of Faith

On the Sixth Sunday of Pascha, the Church recalls the healing of the man born blind. Known as the Sunday of the Blind Man, it is truly about faith. The Blind Man saw Christ as God with his heart. The Pharisees refused to see Christ as God, not because they eyes didn’t work, but because…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 365 – The Faith and Courage of Mothers

Every few years the commemoration of the Myrrh Bearing Women and Mothers’ Day coincide, as they do this year. It offers us a great opportunity to honor the faith and courage of women in general, and mothers specifically. Without our mothers and grandmothers and their grandmothers, going back to Eve in the Garden, we would…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 364 – Love God with All You’ve Got

Six days before Passover, Christ was greeted with such extraordinary love of a woman, that we today could not comprehend such actions. We struggle to love God enough to come to Church on Sunday. Holy and Great Week is our chance to show God our love by giving Him our time. We may not be…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 363 – Addicted to Sin

There are two types of people in the world. Those who are aware of their addiction, and those who are not aware of their addiction. We all suffer from addiction, but we don’t always realize it. For some, our addiction is food, or money and wealth, or it may be power and prestige. There is…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 362 – Follow Christ into Heaven

Christ invites anyone who desires to enter heaven to deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Him. Halfway through the Great Fast the Church reminds us of our goal and the victory of the Cross. The first step is wanting to be with Him in heaven. He offers it freely, but He also tells…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 361 – Correct Belief and Correct Worship

On the Sunday of Orthodoxy the Church celebrates not just the restoration of portable icons of wood, but the truth of the Church. We celebrate the truth belief that Christ became a human to save us, and we celebrate that we worship Him in real physical communion. We do not just think about God, we…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 360 – The Great Fast

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…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

 Episode 359 – Look to Our Own Sins

As we begin the Triodion, the time to prepare our soul for Holy and Great Lent, we must first and foremost look to our own sins rather than the sins of others. It is too easy to focus on the sins of those around us, but until we look at our own sins, we will…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 358 – Open the Eyes of Your Heart

“We have seen the Light, the true Light!” These words fill our mouths after we receive Holy Communion, but do we allow the Light to shine for others? When the blind man called out to Christ, the crowd tried to shut him out. It has become too easy for us to shut others out of…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 357 – Already in Heaven

The first sermon Christ spoke after His Baptism began with “Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” We must learn to change the way we think about life and about the Church. The Kingdom of Heaven IS at hand. It is not just some future kingdom. The Church is the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, and we must change the way we think about why we come to Church. We don’t come just to hear a sermon and light a candle. We come to Church to commune with God in Heaven.
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 355 – Changed by God

When the Magi encountered the newborn Christ, they return home “another way” different than when they first arrived in Bethlehem. They were changed by God, no longer pagans, but worshipers of God. We are invited to be changed by God now that we have encountered Him at Christmas.
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 354 – Do You Want to be with God?

In the Gospel of the Great Banquet, we hear about the excuses used to avoid coming to Church. We hear them and we use them ourselves all the time. Unfortunately, the excuses are not enough because many simply don’t want to be with God in Church. The Creator of the Universe, God Himself, has invited…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 353 – Mirror Mirror on the Wall, What Must I do to Have Eternal Life?

When we look in the mirror, do we see God? We were created in the image of God, but we fall short of the glory of God. We WANT to think we are the most worthy, the most good, but God reminds us that we still lack something. We must become reflections of God, in…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 352 – The Samaritan Gave His Time

In the story of the Good Samaritan, we often think about the actions we are expected to do for those in need. The story drives directly to our hearts, as we each find it difficult to spend time with others who are in need, pretending that we are too busy. If we are going to…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 351 – Help the Poor and Be Blessed by God

When we use the resources that God has given to us to help others, they are not the ones who are blessed. We are blessed when we help the poor and others in need. The poor are blessed by God simply because they suffer, but we will suffer if we do not help with the…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 350 – Sow Seeds for Christ

When we hear the Parable of the Sower of the Seeds, we are challenged not only to prepare our hearts for the Word of God, we must also become the “Sower” and share the Gospel with our neighbors and friends. Sometimes the message will fall on the path and other times on good fertile soil,…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 349 – The Power to Heal Your Pain

Many times, we find ourselves suffering in pain, and we think we are alone, even if we are surrounded by others. None of us is alone when Christ is in our life. When God raised the young man, the only son of the widow of Nain told in Luke 7.11-16, He showed us His love…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 348 – The Platinum Rule

We’ve all heard of the Golden Rule as found in Luke 6.31-36, “As you wish that men should do to you, do so to them.” This perspective of doing good, so that others do good to us, is ultimately of no credit to us. It is when we do good when others do NOT do…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 347 – Truth Matters

The question of ‘Who is Jesus Christ?” has been answered with more than 45,000 different answers. If Jesus is our Savior, Who He is, matters. We call that, theology, and on the Feast of Saint John the Theologian, the Church reminds us that we have known the answer to this question for more than 1700…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 346 – God is Always Saving Us

When we see the Cross of Christ, we are reminded that God has been saving us ever since Adam and Eve ate from the Tree in the Garden. From the very moment when God removed Adam and Eve from the Garden, and every day since then, God has never stopped saving us. Even today despite…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 345 – Be John the Baptist!

On the day the Church commemorates the beheading of John the Baptist, the Church asks us to strictly fast to teach us, that life not is about our own pleasure. We live in a society that promotes the lie that we can have what we want, when we want it, and how we want it.…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 344 – Faith over Fear

When it comes to dealing with the difficulties of life, it can be very easy to lose focus on Christ. It happened to Saint Peter, as we hear in the Gospel story of St Peter Walking on Water (Matthew 14.22-34) and it can happen to us. The solution is the same. We need to remain…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 343 – Time with God

We live in a life preoccupied with busyness. Even when we are in Church, our minds wander to the busy things we must accomplish. In the story of Martha and Mary hosting Christ in their home, found in Luke 10.38-42, Christ reminds us of what is important. The important thing is that we find time…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 342 – Our Body and Soul Need God

One day when Jesus was in His own town, a paralytic was brought to Him for healing, but instead of healing the man, Jesus forgave his sins. The people who were watching became angry and accused Jesus of blasphemy, rather than being glad the man’s sins were forgiven. The people were hyper-focused on physical health,…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 341 – Called to Holiness

The Feast of All Saints reminds us that we are all called to be saints and a life of holiness. We are called to love God more than anything else in the world, more than our family or friends or any single thing on earth. As fallen human beings we spend each day tempted to…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 340 – The Truth of God is Unity with God

The Feast of Pentecost celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Holy Disciples and the Church, the day on which the Church was guided into all Truth. Christ said, “I am the Truth!” (John 14.6) and the Church has been given the great gift to live a life in unity with the Truth,…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 339 – Hope is Restored

In the story of the Healing of the Paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda, we encounter a man who had lost hope in being healed after 38 years of waiting. Meeting him at the pool, Christ asked Him if he wanted to be healed. “I have no man….” showing just how much he had lost…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 338 – Great Faith Leads to Communion

The Sunday of the Myrrh Bearing Women teaches of the great faith of women in our lives. It was the faith of the women that brought the first Good News of the Resurrection to the Disciples. It was the faith of the women that helped build every Church. It is great faith in the power…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 337 – Our King

Unlike the kings and queens of today, our King doesn’t just sit on a distant throne. He leads us into battle against the devil from within our hearts. Our King doesn’t enter in glory surrounded by military guards but enters into our hearts with humility. Our King never leaves our side but invites us to…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 336 – Don’t Worry about your Seat

Just days before Christ was to enter in Jerusalem, He shared with His disciples what was about to happen. Rather than feeling the blessing they had experienced with Christ, they were worried about what seats they were going to get in heaven. Christ teaches us through this story that we must stop worrying about what…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 335 – It is not a Sin to be Weak

In the Gospel lesson for the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent (Mark 9.17-31), we hear about a father who brought his son to Christ to be healed saying, “I believe, help my unbelief.” God fulfilled his belief, given the father the strength he needed to understand that he needed God’s help. God helps us, but…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 334 -Learning to Control Ourselves

Halfway through Great Lent the Church reminds us of Christ’s invitation to deny ourselves, takes up our cross and follow Him into heaven. The Christian life is a difficult burden for us to bear, but so long as we are focused on our own agenda, we will never accept to take up our cross. When…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 333 – We Need Each Other

When tragedy occurs, it is natural for us to band together to help each other heal, but why wait for tragedy? Much like the story of the healing of the paralytic found in Mark 2.1-12, many of our friends and family members, our brothers and sisters, are also paralyzed. It is up to us to…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 332 – Come and See the Truth about God

On the first Sunday of Great Lent the Church celebrates what is known as the Sunday of Orthodoxy. It is a day to celebrate the restoration of Holy Icons since 787AD. For us as Orthodox, this celebration is not just about allowing icons in the Church, but a confirmation the truth that God took on…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 331 – Wanting to be with God in Heaven

On Judgment Sunday, the third Sunday of the Triodion, the Church reminds us how God will judge us in the end. As described in Matthew 25.31-46, the judgement will focus on how we view others. Do we look at others the way God wants us to look at others, or do we look at others…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 330 – Self-Realization and Repentance

The Second Sunday of the Triodion, known as the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, calls each of us to reflect upon our situation in life and experience the self-realization that we are not where God wants us to be. Then the Church invites us to deep and profound repentance to return our life to God,…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 329 – No Better than Anyone Else

As the period known as the Triodion begins, marking the beginning of the ten-week journey to Pascha, the Church reminds us that we should not spend our life justifying ourselves to ourselves. In order to be justified by God, we must humbly accept that we are sinners and that we are no better than anyone…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 328 – Loving and Humble

In the story of the Canaanite Woman in Matthew 15.21-28, heard both in the Holy Unction service and the Seventeenth Sunday of Matthew, is more for our healing than for her daughter. Christ, knowing her deep faith and humility, allows us to witness her devotion in the face of her pain and suffering. Her begging…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 327 – Money and the Church

Nobody ever likes to hear about money in Church, but when the Gospel boldly speaks about money, as it does in Matthew 25.14-31, we cannot ignore the relationship that money has with our salvation. According to the Parable of the Talents, how we use (or do not use) the money which God has given to…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 326 – Preparing our Soul for Christ

When we prepare our home for an important visitor, we spend time and effort preparing the house. We clean the house and cook and make sure everything is just right for the important visitor. When it comes to welcoming Christ into our soul, what are we doing to prepare for His visit? Do we clean…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 325 – Today is Our Day

One day a blind man was begging by the side of the road when Jesus passed by. After inquiring about the commotion, the man knew this was his day to be healed by God. He understood that he may never had another chance to interact with God, so he called out “Son of David, have…
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Rev. Fr. Athanasios Haros

Episode 324 – What If…We Went back to the Beginning?

On the Sunday before Epiphany each year, the Church recalls the opening verses of the Gospel According to St Mark, “The Beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ…” (Mark 1.1) which recalls St John the Baptist’s invitation for us to a life of repentance. Repentance is a word that recalls the imagery of returning to…
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What is the difference between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Church?

With the approaching Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church our “Ask Father” series speaks on the differences, or in this case similarities, between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Church. Defending the truth about God and the Church has never been an easy or simple task. The Holy Fathers of the…
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Hidden mysteries of the Da Vinci

Conversation on Faith and Science

A Conversation on Faith and Science with featured guest speaker Dr. Daniel P Buxhoeveden of the University of South Carolina. The Conversation on Faith and Science was hosted by the Transfiguration of Our Savior Greek Orthodox Church of Florence, South Carolina, Saturday, August 11, 2012.
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Orthodoxy 101 – The Twelve Great Feasts

There are twelve such Feast Days: Christmas, Pascha, Ascension, the Transfiguration and the Annunciation are but a few. The significance of all Twelve Feast Days is both historical commemorations and events that have meaning for our lives today.
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Orthodoxy 101 – The Divine Liturgy

The Divine Liturgy is the central act of worship in the Orthodox Church. Though regarded by many as a ritualistic gem, the reality is that many contemporary Christians neither understand liturgy, nor do they know how to meaningfully participate in the Divine Liturgy.
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Orthodoxy 101 – The Bible, Prayer and Fasting

Orthodox Christianity teaches that there are three pathways that lead to God and a personal relationship with Him: The Bible, Prayer and Fasting. The how and why of these three pathways will be discussed.
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Orthodoxy 101 – The Virgin Mary and the Saints

Just What Does the Orthodox Church Teach About the Virgin Mary and the Saints? Most Protestant Christians have difficulty in accepting the teaching of the Orthodox Church on the Virgin Mary and the saints, and the veneration accorded by Orthodox Christians to them. What is the basis of the Orthodox Christian teaching of the Ever-Virgin…
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Orthodoxy 101 – The Sacraments and What they do for us

The Orthodox Church is a Sacramental Church. The so-called “Seven” Sacraments (Baptism, Chrismation, Eucharist, Confession, Unction, Marriage, and Ordination) will be discussed. The relationship of Sacraments to Grace and Spirituality will be discussed.
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Orthodoxy 101 – The Church Year

The season from Pre-Lent to Pentecost in the Orthodox Church is rich in liturgical celebration and festal commemoration. Observances such as the Feast days of St. Gregory Palamas, St. Mary of Egypt, Pascha, and Pentecost take place during this time of year. The liturgical significance of all this time of year and meaning of all…
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