January 01, 1970

This past week we have seen a landmark decision by the Supreme Court. Many are celebrating this historic victory for same-sex partners while others feel threatened by this action. Read more »

January 01, 1970

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?” In other words, what must I do to know God; to dwell with God? What must I do to live under the reign of God, and to orient my life towards my Creator? What must I do to develop such an intimate relationship with Him, that our love for one another will not only enrich and bless this life, but even conquer death itself, so that I may have an eternity of bliss with Him? Read more »

January 01, 1970

Our society doesn’t teach us too often to deny ourselves and to lose our lives for others. Yet this is precisely one of the fundamental teachings of our Lord. Read more »

January 01, 1970

An authentic disciple of Christ will not try to create a faith to fit his or her lifestyle. Quite the opposite! Our lifestyle must come in line with our Orthodox Faith. Our worldview must be formed by our understanding of Jesus Christ. Our words, deeds and even thoughts must come under the influence and reign of our Lord! Read more »

January 01, 1970

Dach day God gives us a precious gift – 1440 minutes of life. He then gives us the freedom to do whatever we want with that time. “What are we doing to use that time wisely? Are we being good “stewards” of this sacred gift of time? Read more »

January 01, 1970

“My brother is my life,” noted St. Silouan. As individualistic as we Americans can be, our Orthodox Christian faith runs radically counter to this autonomous spirit. Read more »

January 01, 1970

All that we have is a gift from God, yet all we become, and all we do with what we have received, is our gift back to God! Read more »

January 01, 1970

How serious am I in my pursuit for salvation? How much do I truly desire to be with God, and how much am I willing to sacrifice to grow in my relationship with Him? Read more »

January 01, 1970

Terror. Violence. Fear. Sorrow. Anger. Hatred. These are only a few of the emotions that can pass through our minds whenever we encounter a violent and tragic event like the recent happenings. Read more »

January 01, 1970

How beautiful it is to live lives of gratitude and thanksgiving. Living with such a spirit transforms our whole perspective on life. We won’t focus on what we don’t have, or on what others have. Instead, we thank God for each and every blessing. Read more »

January 01, 1970

First they came for the illegal immigrants and criticized the Mexicans, and I did not speak out, because I was neither an illegal immigrant nor a Mexican. Then they started to refuse Syrian refugees... Read more »

January 01, 1970

70 Million Christian Martyrs! 70 Million people, since the birth of Christ, have been killed because they were followers of this newborn baby we celebrated this past week. That’s quite an incredible number of people who have suffered and died for their Christian faith! Read more »

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 »