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Thursday of the First Week of Lent. We Must Become Like Children

But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, ”Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant; and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast brought perfect praise’?” Matthew 21: 15-16 (Gospel of Orthros on Palm

The Ninth Day of Christmas. A Worthy Epitaph for a Life Well Lived

As for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already on the point of being sacrificed, the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and

The Third Day of Christmas. Saint Stephen: The Death of a Revolutionary

By Father Lawrence Farley Saint Stephen is usually hailed as the first Christian martyr, but he is more than that. His death was also a boundary, and the blood which flowed from his body as the stones hit him became a river, one which separated the faith of the Christians from the religion of Judaism. For unlike the martyrs who followed him, Stephen was not killed by the pagan Romans, executed under a law which

The Thirty-Ninth Day of Christmas Advent. Why Do I Need a Savior?

“For to you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord” -Luke 2:11 Are you saved? We hear this question a lot in religious circles. What it mean for us? In order to be found, one has to have a sense that he or she is lost. And in order to be saved, one has to have a sense that he or she needs saving. The questions

The Law and Grace

Paul’s letters to the Romans and Galatians are a tour de force on the pure meaning of grace and the serious limitations of morality and religion to lead you to God. “Cursed be the law,” Paul even says (Galatians 3:13). No wonder he has been called a “moral anarchist” by people who are still seeking any well-disguised path of “self-realization.” But it seems Christianity has paid little heed to Paul’s revolutionary message, or even to

WHEN YOU FAST: A REFLECTION ON GREAT LENT (Part I)

By George Parsenios PhD What appears to happen in the Passion of Christ and what actually happens are not at all the same. What appears to happen is not that extraordinary. The Romans crucified a Jewish man in order to keep public order. During their long rule over Judea, the Romans had killed many Jews, making the death of Jesus one among these many. But, only in appearance. The reality was very different. The Paschal

Fifth Monday after Pascha, Christ is Risen!

The Empty Tomb and the Overflowing Heart Sermon preached on the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women, May 4, 2014 By Fr. Antony Hughes Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen. I always ask myself these days, when preparing a sermon, why does anyone need to hear this?  How can I bring something out of the text that will help people understand more and live more beautiful

The Father, Son, Holy Spirit

The Father: Empowered to Call God “Abba” Calling God “Abba, Father” is different from giving God a familiar name. Calling God “Abba” is entering into the same intimate, fearless, trusting, and empowering relationship with God that Jesus had. This relationship is called Spirit, and this Spirit is given to us by Jesus and enables us to cry out with him, “Abba, Father.” Calling God “Abba, Father” (see Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6) is a cry of