Mary of Egypt, whose Sunday we celebrate today, valued all the temporal ‘attractions,’ the way of the world; she valued the lusts of the flesh more than all else. Running away from home at 12, she made herself a harlot. For seventeen years, she was self-abused—she didn’t see the image of God in herself or […]
2nd Sunday of Great Lent – Orthodox Homily on Lent
We’ve all heard the expression, “carpe diem (seize the day).” We feel good about ourselves when we get that project accomplished, get those tasks and errands done that we’ve been putting off—they’re sometimes drudgery to do them,, we feel good for having gotten them done. If you think about it, though, these ‘accomplishments’ often don’t […]
36th Sunday after Pentecost – Orthodox Homily on Sunday of Forgiveness
The door of divine repentance has been opened. Let us enter with fervor, having cleansed our bodies, Observing abstinence from foods and passions in obedience to Christ Who has called the whole world to His heavenly Kingdom, Offering to the Master of all this tithe of the year, That we may look with love upon […]
35th Sunday after Pentecost – Orthodox Homily on the Last Judgement
Today is the Sunday of the Last Judgment. Many in today’s world prefer to refrain from discussing topics like sin, Judgment, hell. The thought is that God, being a “God of love,” would never condemn any of His creatures to eternal judgment and punishment. Many consider the very idea of judgment a great stumbling block […]
34th Sunday after Pentecost – Orthodox Homily on the Prodigal Son
The holy prophet Amos prophesied, “’Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord God, ‘that I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8:11). We live in an age when this prophecy could apply to us […]
33rd Sunday after Pentecost – Orthodox Homily on the Publican and the Pharisee
The Triodion, the three weeks before Great Lent, begins with the Parable of the Publican and Pharisee. This is the time of preparation God affords us to get our spiritual house ready to make the most of the holy season we are about to enter with Christ. We start thinking about our fasting, our praying, […]
32nd Sunday after Pentecost – Orthodox Homily on Feast of the Meeting of Our Lord in the Temple
“And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s […]
31st Sunday after Pentecost – Orthodox Homily on Pride
We all know the saying, “pride goeth before a fall.” We also know that our first parents, Adam and Eve, suffered a fall that was at its heart a consequence of pride, of disregarding God’s way for what seems good at the time. Their willful sin plunged all of us and the world into an […]
30th Sunday after Pentecost – Orthodox Homily on Faith and Healing of the Blindman
Faith is one of those things that the modern rational mind has such a hard time contemplating. In a society where humanists believe that the scientific method is the end all and be all of what we can ‘know’, of what is ‘true’, faith seems almost quaint, if not irrelevant to many who prefer the […]