Daily Meditations Archives - Page 80 of 364

Saints Cosmas and Damian – November 1

11/01/2022

By Fr. George My sons the doctors. This rather stereotypical phrase is descriptive of a proud parent speaking of the accomplishment of their children. Even today, we express great joy when our sons or daughters reach that lofty position of becoming a physician. The place of doctors has always been one of respect and admiration. Throughout history, the dedication of healers has usually brought prestige, social status as well as financial reward. This is true

Who’s Afraid of Halloween?

10/31/2022

I have a confession to make. And it’s a bad one …. When I was a kid … I used to get dressed up for Halloween! And it was not always something innocent either, like an astronaut or a cowboy. Once I was even a ghost! Worse yet, I would go door-to-door with my brothers and say “Trick or treat!” Idolatrous! Occultic! Satanic! Over time, of course this demon-glorifying activity caught up with me. Look

Sermon on the Feast Day of the Protection of the all Holy Theotokos

10/28/2022

By Metropolitan Sotirios, October 14, 2019 The feast of the Holy Protection of the All Holy Theotokos is known throughout the Orthodox world. It is celebrated on October 1st (October 14th on the Old Calendar), and in the Church of Greece on October 28th, to commemorate the protection of Greece during World War II. The two words alone, “Holy Protection” bring to our mind the maternal love and shelter that our All Holy Mother gives us

Saint Nestor, the Martyr for Christ

10/27/2022

Published by Pemptousia Partnership, October 27, 2017 James W. Lillie We know very little concerning the martyr Nestor, other than that he was a close spiritual brother of Saint Dimitrios. He may have volunteered to fight the giant Vandal, Lyaeus, in order to prevent other Christians being drafted in to do so against their will. According to Saint Nikolaï Velimirović in the Ochrid Prologue, the emperor, Galerius, entertained the people with such spectacles and had a

Feast of Great Martyr Demetrios, The Myrrh-Streamer

10/26/2022

October 26, 2021 Saint Demetrios suffered in Thessalonica during the reign of Galerius Maximian (c. 306). He belonged to one of the most distinguished families of the province of Macedonia and was widely admired not only because of his noble ancestry and grace of bearing, but also for virtue, wisdom and goodness of heart surpassing that of his elders. The military expertise of Saint Demetrios led Galerius, as Caesar of the Eastern Empire, to appoint

The Answer to Anxiety and Stress

10/25/2022

Four Keys to Finding the Joy of Christ in Your Life, a Message from Fr. Christopher Makiej Published on November 4, 2019 I want to talk to you today about the answer, the solution, to worry and anxiety in your life. There are so many people stressed, anxious, worried, pessimistic about life. But the Church provides us with the answer in the Bible – Saint Paul’s letter to the Phillipians 4: 4-9. TRY TO BE JOYFUL The first answer-response to

An Audience of None

10/24/2022

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, October 26, 2016 In the 1980’s sci-fi comedy, Short Circuit, a charming military robot character, “Number 5,” is awakened into consciousness by a lightning strike. He fears going back to his military keepers where he will be re-programmed. And so, with help from human friends, he begins his touching effort to stay free. His famous line, repeated often, echoes his drive to understand, “Need input!” He is an example of our modern

To Sing Like a River

10/21/2022

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, October 19, 2016 We stood looking out at a river rushing past the rocks – a brisk morning in the North Carolina mountains, a rare setting for the Divine Liturgy. The tradition of the Church generally holds that services such as the Divine Liturgy are to be held indoors, in the Church. There are exceptions. In monasteries across the world, it is not unusual for a major feast to be held

Form and Substance (Luke 13, 10-17)

10/20/2022

Published by Pemptousia Partnership, on December 11, 2017 Archimandrite Nikanor Karayannis Today’s Gospel reading is a clear and stark indictment of formalism in religion. Saint Luke tells us that Christ cured someone on the Sabbath and this was cause enough for Him to come into conflict with the Judaism of His time, which had transformed the commandments of the Decalogue and the Law into a sterile system of obligations and restrictions. The absurdity of the reactions

“Reign” or “Realm”?

10/19/2022

~By Fr John Breck, February 1, 2010 For a very long time interpreters of the New Testament have puzzled over the Greek expression basileia tou theou, which can be translated in various ways. The most common, and most literal, are “the Kingdom of God” and “the Reign of God.” As Jesus used the phrase (in his native Aramaic, subsequently translated into Greek), the basic idea is “lordship”: full dominion and authority over creation and human life.