In 2004 a very powerful and emotionally driven movie, The Passion of Christ was released. As the title alludes, the movie began with Christ in the garden and the betrayal of Judas. The movie received a lot of media attention and brought numerous discussions and debates on both the local and international level. This year, the movie that is drawing attention, but certainly not as much as The Passion of Christ, is Son of God. The release of this film is timely as the Christian world begins its ... [Read more]
Looking Beyond Behavior and Preparing for Great Lent
It can be a bit confusing. Sometimes we hear people say “seeing is believing,” yet at other times we hear “don’t always believe what you see.” We are also taught not to judge a book by its cover (actually we’re taught not to judge at all), but at the same time isn’t what we see what we get? When it comes to witnessing poor or even mean-spirited behavior in other people, we have the tendency to draw a quick conclusion that the person himself is not good. We connect the “what” with the “who;” in ... [Read more]
Real Heroes Don’t Dress Up for Halloween
It’s that time of year again when we are greeted at our local grocery store, among other places, with skeletons hanging from the ceilings, witches with big green noses and tombstones with R.I.P inscribed on them. Welcome to another festive celebration of Halloween where the average person will spend $79.82 on decorations, costumes and candy, and when total Halloween spending is expected to reach $8.0 billion (National Retail Federation). Halloween has become one of the most popular “holidays” ... [Read more]
The Sinlessness of Mary the Mother of God
In most, if not all Christian circles outside of the Orthodox Church, to say that Mary was sinless would be an objectionable statement. Holy Scripture is very clear regarding sinlessness, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). With Scripture being so clear, how then are we to understand the teaching of the Orthodox Church that the Mother of God was sinless? First we need to look at the word sin in this passage and obtain a clear understanding of what it means. ... [Read more]
Faithful to What Is Right
As we approach the beginning of Great and Holy Lent, we are reminded that this is a special time of the year where each of us is called to look more deeply at our interior condition, to assess our spiritual health, and to stretch ourselves just a bit more in order to grow in the likeness of Jesus Christ. During this time we are given the divine medicine of God’s word through scriptural parables on successive Sundays that illustrates for us the path of repentance leading to salvation. In these ... [Read more]
A True Thanksgiving
It has been said, “the history of Thanksgiving began when Pilgrims and Native Americans gathered together to celebrate a successful harvest. The first Thanksgiving was held in the fall of 1621 and was a three-day feast. The Pilgrims were joined by approximately 90 of the local Wampanoag tribe, including Chief Massasoit, in celebration. They ate fowl and deer for certain and most likely also ate berries, fish, clams, plums, and boiled pumpkin. Though the current holiday of Thanksgiving was based ... [Read more]
Sunday of All Saints
On the Sunday following Pentecost, we commemorate all the Saints of the Church, which is why this day is referred to as “The Sunday of All Saints.” The Church established the commemoration of this present feast after Pentecost, the day of the descent of the Holy Spirit, in order to show that the coming of the Holy Spirit worked enormous deeds not only through the Holy Apostles but through the lives of thousands of men, women and children, who over the centuries, have given their lives completely ... [Read more]
Overcoming Post-Pascha Blues
Within the liturgical life of the Church there is nothing like the experience of Holy Week culminating in the Paschal service as we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. After several weeks of fasting, participation in the Lenten services and placing our focus more attentively on our inner condition, we anticipate with great joy the Feast of all Feasts. There is a focus, especially from Holy Thursday on, that puts us both spiritually and psychologically in another space. The ... [Read more]
Our Lives are Both Fragile and Precious
A couple of years ago I heard a song on the radio that said; “we are all only one phone call away from our knees.” When I heard these words it made me think how fragile our world is and how fragile each of our lives are. It is easy to go through life, day after day, ignoring the fact that at any given moment things could drastically change. Perhaps as a priest I am a bit more aware of this because of the things that I am confronted with as I minister to people. People normally don’t come to ... [Read more]
The New Church Year
The beginning of the New Ecclesiastical Year, historically and among other things, is an invitation for all the faithful to give thanks to God for the harvest of the summer, and to bless the coming months of life for yet another year. We are reminded that the Word of God, who made all things in wisdom and appointed the season and times for our salvation, is the Master of the universe and orders all things in perfect harmony for the good of all mankind. It is very humbling, yet extremely ... [Read more]
