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The Second Friday of Pascha. Sacred Remembering

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, May 3, 2020 A question came up at Subdeacon James’ Adult education class last Thursday about remembrance, like when we say, “May her memory be eternal,” and “Remember us, O Lord, when you come into your kingdom.” That got me thinking. We have done a lot of remembering over the past few weeks and what have we gained from it? If Holy

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 Search for the ‘Place of the Heart’ [III]: Transfiguration

We were created naked but clothed with light, light that shone upon the world to transfigure it. But at the Fall God clothed us with ‘garments of skins’ (Genesis 3.21) to protect us from a world become hostile. And now, in our fallen state, our own skin has become a barrier setting us apart from the universe, and signaling that the organism hidden within is a machine for consuming everything outside until its inevitable death.

The Light That Began It All

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, July 13, 2014 The reading is from Matthew 5:14-19 (Holy Fathers) This Gospel is used to point to the importance we place on sharing the message of Christ to the world. The Holy Fathers of the Fourth and all the other six councils met in order to ensure that the Gospel was understood correctly. The intimation is that the bushel with which we try to hide the

The Slow Road to Heaven – Why the Spiritual Life Doesn’t “Work”

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, January 30, 2018  We live in a world of practicality, a fact that has produced the marvels of technology that power us along and connect the world in its web. I have a nearly two-year-old grandson who has grasped some of this connection for many months now. He loves buttons – not the ones on your shirt – but the ones on any device. If there is a button in reach,

The Third Thursday of Great Lent: Make Peace in Your Heart

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, August 14, 2016 The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. (10:38-42; 11:27-28) “Be still and know that I am God.” Martha is not still and so she misses the obvious presence of God right there in her own living room.  She is so concerned about herself, so full of herself and her serving, that she cannot think of anything else.  Sometimes it’s just better

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Third Thursday of Pascha: Sacred Remembering

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, May 3, 2020 at St. Mary Orthodox Church in Cambridge, MA. A question came up at Subdeacon James’ Adult education class last Thursday about remembrance, like when we say, “May her memory be eternal,” and “Remember us, O Lord, when you come into your kingdom.” That got me thinking. We have done a lot of remembering over the past few weeks and what have we gained from

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 Search for the ‘Place of the Heart’: Transfiguration

We were created naked but clothed with light, light that shone upon the world to transfigure it. But at the Fall God clothed us with ‘garments of skins’ (Genesis 3.21) to protect us from a world become hostile. And now, in our fallen state, our own skin has become a barrier setting us apart from the universe, and signaling that the organism hidden within is a machine for consuming everything outside until its inevitable death.

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Pascha. Divine Light.

Only divine light, when it shines in us, allows us to see our sins. It is by prayer that our heart begins, little by little, to understand the influences of the spirits which fill the cosmos. Instead of making progress, we see with an ever greater acuteness the passions which possess us. Paradoxically, this feeling that there is no progress is itself progress. Even if we have not yet seen the uncreated light of God,