January 01, 1970

To become new men means losing what we now call 'ourselves.' Out of our selves, into Christ, we must go… the Christian life is simply a process of having your natural self changed into a Christ self… One's most private wishes, one's point of view, are the things that have to be changed. Read more »

January 01, 1970

Storge love, Friendship love, Romantic love, and Agape love. Today on Valentine’s Day, let us reflect on each of these loves, and let us thank all those who have offered us these different types of love throughout our lives. Read more »

January 01, 1970

To become a new creation implies becoming something that you weren’t before – you are new, better than before, fulfilling the potential that God has given you. This new life in Christ, becoming a new creation, is a central part of our journey with God. Read more »

January 01, 1970

When we encounter God in our final judgment, He will look over our lives and see how we have treated other people, how we have responded to those in need. Have we reached out to others with simple acts of love, with random kindness, with disciplined charity, with joyful generosity – because when we reach out especially the marginalized of society, we are reaching out to Christ Himself. Read more »

January 01, 1970

In today’s Palm Sunday epistle reading, we hear St. Paul offer similar words - “Rejoice in the Lord always” - to the persecuted believers in Philippi, while he himself languished in a prison cell. Read more »

January 01, 1970

You need to have an "attitude of gratitude" an amazing prisoner shared with me. What made it even more amazing was that he was spending a life sentence in prison. Read more »

January 01, 1970

What we give for others lasts forever. How we serve others lasts forever. What we do in love for others lasts forever. This is the eternal legacy of Christians. It’s NOT what we did for ourselves. Or how we enriched ourselves. Or how we were all about our own family and our own loved ones. A legacy that lasts into eternity is one that is about giving to others, loving others, and especially serving those in need. Read more »

January 01, 1970

Mother Teresa of Calcutta offered a powerful witness to life. ‘The greatest evil in the world today is abortion,’ she would say, “because it is a war against an innocent, defenseless child. Any country or people that accept abortion are not teaching their people to love the defenseless. Instead, we are teaching them to use whatever violence is needed, to dispose of the unwanted and to fulfill their own desires.” Read more »

January 01, 1970

If we choose to participate, truly partake, in Christ’s Resurrection, our perspective of life radically changes! We will never remain discouraged; we will never lose hope; we will never despair; we will never allow darkness to prevail in our lives; for we know that Christ is Risen and He has defeated all darkness and evil. He has overcome sin. He has annihilated death itself! Through His resurrection, we see all of life through a joyous and victorious prism. Read more »

January 01, 1970

Fr Luke asked me to speak about “What God and the Church mean to me and why I give back to the Church.” We know WHY we are here – we come to encounter God, to pray, to ask forgiveness, to seek spiritual guidance and inspiration, and for so many other things. But do we know WHAT we are supposed to do as followers of Jesus Christ? Read more »

January 01, 1970

“If you want to ENTER INTO LIFE, keep God’s commandments.” What type of life is Jesus talking about? Our “everyday existence” life? A normal life, filled with the typical challenges and joys, struggles and successes? A fun life? A rich life? A successful life? Or is he talking about something more, something different, something more meaningful? Read more »

January 01, 1970

Over the past decades the medical world has helped us understand addictions as an illness or disease that must be treated, rather than a moral failure that must be judged. Just as one wouldn’t condemn a person with diabetes, or cancer, or some other physical illness, the medical field has studied and researched substance use disorder, concluding that addictions affect and even change the brain chemistry and body make-up of an individual, and thus, need to be understood and treated in a holistic way. Read more »

January 01, 1970

This idea of God’s superheroes, the saints, are what I want to focus on today. I’m going to use, however, the beautiful new 10-foot icon we just hung on the wall of our Church Read more »

January 01, 1970

I begin my sermon today with this introduction about how all of creation is affected by the fallen world we live in, because this past week we witnessed what the National Weather Service called an “unprecedented and beyond anything experienced” natural disaster with Hurricane Harvey. Imagine, more than 52 inches of rain falling in such a short span of time, a record for the continental United States. Read more »

January 01, 1970

Are the end times coming? We are living through unprecedented hurricanes with Harvey and Irma. We witness a massive 8.1 earthquake in Mexico. Raging wildfires in Oregon and the Northeast are threatening. Ongoing wars in Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Iraq, as well as many other places around the world. The unthinkable threat of nuclear disaster, especially now with North Korea. Are the end times coming? Read more »

January 01, 1970

If we have sincerely experienced Christ’s birth, and invited Him to be born anew in our hearts and lives, no one can enter the new year the same! We should be changed people! Or at least be people who are in the process of change! Read more »

January 01, 1970

Today I offered a "Teaching Liturgy" in Church. I was trying to help our parishioners better understand the Divine Liturgy, learn how to participate more fully in their worship, and meet and encounter our Living God through our worship. Read more »

January 01, 1970

Mercy is opposed to justice… As a grain of sand cannot counterbalance a great quantity of gold, so in comparison God’s use of justice cannot counterbalance His mercy. Read more »

January 01, 1970

I have to be honest and tell you that this was only the THIRD time in my life I’ve ever been to Church. It was interesting, though, and I really did learn something new.” When I answered him what he learned, he surprised me by saying, “I never knew that Jesus rose from the dead!” Read more »

January 01, 1970

Tragedy in God’s eyes is not a young death, but a life not lived to its God-given potential, a life not dedicated to God and lived for God. Read more »