St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church

St. John Orthodox Church

Pastoral Messages

Thoughts

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One of the main maladies we suffer in our day is anxiety. Anxiety can literally kill us. It can also slowly suck the life out of us as it makes it difficult to sleep, to concentrate, and be present. Anxiety fills our bodies and our souls with tension and apprehension. One of the reasons for this rise in anxiety in our day is our dependence upon and even addiction to all the various forms of media and entertainment at our disposal. Just think about what has happened since the invention of the ... [Read more]

A Time to Transition

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September is a month of transitioning from the close of some things and the beginning of others. We transition from summer to fall, from vacations to putting our nose to the grindstone, and from kids having time off to beginning a new school year. There are often mixed emotions regarding these. Some people are sad to see the sunny, warm days fade away. Others would love to have more vacation time visiting family and friends and most children are not eager to start another school year. As things ... [Read more]

One Thing Needful! And Five Ways to Help

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“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her.” (Lk.10:41-42) The one thing that is most needful in our lives is Jesus Christ. We need Him more than any other thing or person in the universe. When Jesus is at the center of our lives and first among our priorities, then we have everything! This is why Jesus taught that we could gain the whole world—all its riches, pleasures and ... [Read more]

To Love and to Be Loved

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Developmental psychologists and adherents to Attachment theory say that the two greatest needs of an infant are to feel safe and secure. If a child develops over time in an environment where they experience safety and security, both physically and emotionally, they will mature into a securely attached adult and move on to healthy interdependent relationships. There are of course exceptions to this, namely experiencing some form of relational trauma, such as physical, sexual or psychological ... [Read more]

Pascha: A Present Reality Throughout the Year

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The Season of Great Lent, Holy Week and the day of Pascha are over; however, our celebration of our Lord’s resurrection never ends. For us, as Orthodox Christians, Pascha is a present reality throughout the year. Christ’s Resurrection is the canopy, under which we work out our salvation as a part of our families and communities. Every celebration of the Divine Liturgy, because of the Eucharist, is a celebration of our Lord’s resurrection from the dead. By partaking in the Eucharist, we are ... [Read more]

Saint Mary of Egypt

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One of the most prominent figures we find in Great Lentis a woman whose very life epitomizes the most important theme during this period of time, and her name is St. Maryof Egypt. She is an icon or repentance, a depositor of hope, and an evangelist like few others because, after fleeing into the desert, she hardly spoke at all, and to only one person at that! Nevertheless, though she had renounced the world, and detached herself from living among people, her love for God and her silent yet ... [Read more]

Great Lent: An Opportunity to Recommit to Our Prayer Rules

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Great Lent is a wonderful opportunity to deepen our spiritual lives. In the spiritual classic, Unseen Warfare, by Saints Nicodemus the Athonite and Theophan the Recluse, it is written: “The greatest and most perfect thing a man may desire to attain is to come near to God and dwell in union with Him.” This goal is not simply a short term seasonal goal that we strive for once a year during the forty days preceding Pascha, but it is a goal we must strive to experience every day of the year. A ... [Read more]

Presenting Ourselves to Christ

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On February 2nd, the Orthodox Church celebrates one of her twelve major feast days, The Presentation of our Lord in the Temple. Forty days after His birth the God-Infant was taken to the Jerusalem Temple, the center of the nation’s religious life. According to the Law of Moses (Lev. 12:2-8), a woman who gave birth to a male child was forbidden to enter the Temple of God for forty days. At the end of this time the mother came to the Temple with the child, to offer a young lamb or pigeon to ... [Read more]

Personhood In Christ Is A Call to Excellence

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At a conference addressing the rise of secularism in America, Archbishop Demetrios of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America recently said that secularism seeks to annihilate individuality. He continued to explain that for us Orthodox Christians this means our society is increasingly seeking to ignore, if not destroy, the personhood of individual people. This is a disturbing development, for we know that to seek to devalue the personhood of individuals necessarily also means to annihilate the ... [Read more]

The Impact of Saying the Jesus Prayer

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Most of us know about the Jesus Prayer, at least how to say it in its various forms: “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.” “Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” Whichever way one says it is less important than saying it on a consistent basis, for a period of time each and every day, uninterrupted, and with attention. The question has been posed to me in the past, “How effective is this prayer to our healing and to ... [Read more]