Pastoral Messages

The Lord wants us to love each other; this is the essence of freedom—love for God and for your neighbor. This is both freedom and equality. Love. Freedom. Equality. Is this not the language of our modern age? One needn’t turn very far to hear these words spoken or to see them emblazoned upon a shirt or a billboard. John Lennon famously sung, “All you need is love.” And he was right: all we need is love. So if love is all we need, then we must know the definition of love—God’s love. The ... [Read more]

At the metropolis summer camp in July, I had the opportunity to spend time with dozens of Orthodox youth from across the western states, along with 14 kids from St. John, as they played, worshiped, and learned about the Orthodox Faith together. We visited the neighboring Monastery of the Theotokos, the Life-Giving Spring and celebrated the Liturgy with the nuns. One of the highlights of the trip was the Paraklesis. On one night, after the youngest kids went to bed, the older kids stayed up so ... [Read more]

God is at work among us. He guides us through our consciences. He instructs us through the teachings of the Church and the counsel of our spiritual fathers. He even works through people who are far from Him, who refuse to recognize Him. His efforts toward our salvation are numerous, multifaceted, and constant. The most concrete way that God sends His grace, love, and blessings into the world is through those who are closest to Him: His holy ones, His saints. (In Greek, ἄγιος, means both ... [Read more]

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! ~ Psalm 133:1 A few days ago, I drove to St. John the Forerunner Monastery for a one-night stay. It is such a blessing that we have our beloved monastery nearby, so that we can have a spiritual respite from our busy modern life. While I was checking in at the bakery, one of the sisters came to me with “an unusual request.” The sisters had two baby goats—10 days old!—that needed a home, and they had found someone ... [Read more]

“Walking into a consecrated church is like walking into heaven.” ~ St. Gregory of Nyssa In 313, Christianity, for the first time in its history, became a “legalized” religion. The Roman Empire under St. Constantine the Great ended its persecution of Christians. For the first time they were permitted to worship openly. Immediately following this proclamation, thousands of churches were built within the empire—from the landmark basilicas constructed by St. Helen on the holy sites in the Holy ... [Read more]

As we begin Great Lent this month, I would like to tell the story of a recent saint in our Church, St. Nicholas Planas, whose feastday is on Saturday, March 2. St. Nicholas was a simple and humble parish priest outside of Athens. He lived just this past century. (He is not to be confused with more famous St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of Myra, who is celebrated on December 6.) What is most notable about Papa-Nicholas (as people called him) are the things which are lacking in his life. He was ... [Read more]

Every January we celebrate one of the great feasts of the Church: Theophany, the Feast of Lights, our Lord's Baptism. Central to that feast is the role of our beloved patron, St. John the Baptist. St. John lived in strict asceticism in the Palestinian desert. He foretold the coming of the Messiah, the Christ whom he baptized in the Jordan River. We commemorate St. John the Baptist on January 7, the day after Theophany, which is our parish Name Day. St. John is known as the Forerunner, because ... [Read more]

One of our most beloved modern saints, St. Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia (on Mount Athos), is commemorated on December 2, which falls on a Sunday this year. It has only been five years since his official canonization, though the faithful of Greece and throughout the world had been venerating him for years before that. The most well-known book in English about St. Porphyrios is Wounded by Love, which describes his life and shares some of his spiritual wisdom. It is a fitting title for a book on ... [Read more]

Life is beautiful. What a profound and enduring statement! Despite tragedy, anguish, violence, greed, and all the hosts of ills which exist upon this earth, still humanity clings to this simple phrase: Life is beautiful. It is a statement that transcends religion and philosophy, a statement that is proven by the irrefutable reality of creation. Even those who have no faith cling to this simple phrase. Because if life isn’t beautiful—even though it is at times also tragic—then it is ... [Read more]

Poor Saint Thomas. He sure has a bad rap. Though he was one of the most zealous - and youngest - disciples of our Lord, though he eagerly wished to die with Jesus, though he spread the Gospel through many countries and continents, though he died a martyr's death in India: despite all this, most people know him for the moniker "Doubting Thomas." A Doubting Thomas is someone who doesn't believe without proof.  This title comes from the 20th Chapter of St. John's Gospel, when, after His ... [Read more]