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The Thirty-Fourth Day of Christmas Advent. On the Sunday Before the Nativity

Sermon Preached by Father Antony Hughes on Sunday, December 21, 2003 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ! In a few short days our greeting to one another will change. In a few short days we will commemorate and celebrate the pivotal event in all of history: the birth of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Do you really know who He

Listening to God’s Voice

~Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, November 8, 2020 Today, once again, Jesus, through his compassionate words and actions, tells us the truth. People are what matters, not the Law, not ideology. People. The welfare of human beings in the eyes of our Lord trumps everything. That is the meaning of the Lord’s words, “The Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath.” Did Jesus condemn the Woman with the Issue

The Second Wednesday of Great Lent: Depth Spirituality

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, October 25, 2020 Let me begin today by reading from Paul’s letter to the Galatians chapter 5, vs. 22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Let’s focus on self-control today since one of the hallmarks of what we call “possession” is the loss of it. Our Holy Fathers and Mothers were not acquainted as

The Fourteenth Day of Christmas Advent: Embracing Indestructible Joy

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, December 13, 2020  The Parable of the Great Banquet is a call to joy. We are all invited to it. In fact, the Banquet can be seen as a metaphor for the Eucharist, the Great Thanksgiving. Of course, not everyone comes when invited. Still God invites. He calls even those he knows will reject him. The verse “many are called but few are chosen” can be confusing.

Finding the Barriers Within Ourselves

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, December 1, 2019 “So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built into it

The First Thursday of Great Lent: Depth Spirituality

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, October 25, 2020 Let me begin today by reading from Paul’s letter to the Galatians chapter 5, vs. 22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Let’s focus on self-control today since one of the hallmarks of what we call “possession” is the loss of it. Our Holy Fathers and Mothers were not acquainted as

The Twenty-Sixth Day of Christmas Advent. Christmas in General.

By Father Stephen Freeman, December 23, 2009 “Peace on earth! Good will towards men!” is a common greeting to be found on cards during this season of the Nativity. These are, of course, the words sung by the angels the night Christ was born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:14). It is also a phrase which admits of several interpretations. The possibility of various meanings is very likely the reason for its popularity on greeting cards. Who

The Seventh Day of Christmas. The Peril of Christmas.

The Peril of Christmas, by Father Leonidas Contos If we make the small effort to translate ourselves into the times which knew the historical Jesus, we are startled to discover how like our own times they were.  Certainly it was not an age of peace.  Like ours it was one of the oppressive tension and anxiety.  In the heart of the Jew there was always expectation, even hope, but these lived side by side with

The Fourth Day of Christmas. Tomorrow’s Feast of the Holy Children (December 29).

TOMMOROW’S FEAST (December 29) OPENS UP ANOTHER WAY TO LOOK AT THE INCARNATION. Until now we have been gazing at the child in the cradle, the scene of the Nativity, the angels rejoicing. But Herod’s story was one of rage, jealousy, and fear. Herod the Great, despite his high office as the Tetrarch of Galilee, was afraid of the long-promised Messiah. When he heard from the Magi that such a royal heir had been born

The Twenty-First Day of Christmas Advent. The Prince of Peace.

WILL IT REALLY HAPPEN? Will it really happen that one day the wolf will lie down with the lamb, and the leopard with the baby goat, and the lion with the calf, and “a little child shall lead them”? Such, says the prophet Isaiah, is the promise of the Peaceable Kingdom. In our unpeaceable world, we long for the fulfillment of the promise. Born into a world of raging conflicts, the little child who leads