Father's Corner

  He, whom Isaiah proclaimed to be the Lamb, comes to His voluntary slaughter. He gives His back to whips and His cheeks to blows. He turns not away His face from the shame of spitting. He is sentenced to a shameful death. The sinless One willingly accepts it all, so that He might grant to all the resurrection from the dead. ~ Sticheron from the Vesperal Liturgy Today, He who suspended the earth in the waters is suspended on a cross. The King of the Angels wears a crown of thorns. He who ... [Read more]

  O Lord, Who are without beginning, eternal, Holy of holies, Who sent down Your only-begotten Son to heal every infirmity and every wound of our souls and bodies, send down Your Holy Spirit, and sanctify this oil; and cause it to be for Your servants, who are about to be anointed with it, unto complete remission of their sins, and unto inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven. ~ First Prayer from the Sacrament of Holy Unction   Dear Beloved in Christ, Kali Anástasi! Tonight is ... [Read more]

  Behold, the Bridegroom is comes in the middle of the night; and blessed is the servant who He shall find watching. Unworthy is the servant who He shall find being lazy. Beware, O my soul, be not overcome by sleep, so that you not be handed over to death and be shut out from the Kingdom. Come to your senses and cry aloud: Holy, holy, holy are You our God. By the power of Your Cross save us. (Hymn from Bridegroom Orthros) Dear Beloved in Christ, Kali Anástasi! Tonight we will have ... [Read more]

Dear Beloved in Christ, God is with us! Here is a prayer which was written specifically for this present situation with the coronavirus. Kalo Pascha! In Christ, Father Matthew   A PRAYER FOR THOSE THREATENED BY THE CORONAVIRUS INSPIRED BY THE WORDS OF ELDER ZACHARIAS OF ESSEX O God, we know that whatever You do with us, You do out of love, for you are a good God, a God of mercy and lovingkindness. You created us out of Your goodness in order to share Your life and even ... [Read more]

Dear Beloved in Christ, Kalo Pascha! Today is the last of the Lenten Presanctified Liturgies. (There will be one more on Holy Tuesday, after Great Lent has ended.) This subdued and penitential service is a modified Vesperal Liturgy. As with a full Vespers, it begins with Psalm 103, then soon after has a Kathisma from the Psalter. For Presanctified Liturgies, the Kathisma is the Psalms of Ascent, Psalms 119-133. The Psalms of Ascent offer profound ruminations on our relationship with God ... [Read more]

Dear Beloved in Christ, Kalo Pascha! During this time of the pandemic, numerous Church leaders and wise monastics have offered their insight into the present situation. Among those is the abbot of St. Catherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai, Archbishop Damianos. His consoling and spiritually astute words are offered below. I have made a few footnotes within the message, to draw out certain important points. In Christ, Father Matthew   A MESSAGE FROM ARCHBISHOP DAMIANOS, ABBOT ... [Read more]

    Jesus took his twelve disciples, and he began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and deliver him to the Gentiles; and they will mock him, and spit upon him, and scourge him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise." And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him, and said to him, "Teacher, we ... [Read more]

Dear Beloved in Christ, Kalo Pascha! By now most of us have (reluctantly) learned how to “live stream” church services. Before the coronavirus, live streaming was something that you did with Netflix or Hulu, not with the sacred liturgical services of the Church. However, by God’s providence, we are learning new things and learning how to cope in a strange and different world. On the one hand, live-streamed church services are a great blessing, because it is far better than having no ... [Read more]