Today is the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers of Christ. The Lord calls on us this day to recall His earthly forefathers through whom God the Father prepares the way for the holy Incarnation of His Word, the Logos of God. It is through His Word that God creates all that was made and through […]

As we just heard in today’s Gospel, ten lepers appeal to Christ God for healing that He alone can give. While all ten are healed, only one returns to Christ, prostrating himself before Him who gives life to all people, and thanking Him for the healing he’s received. You and I have been given healing […]

The ruler in today’s Gospel has kept the major commandments of God. In the eyes of the world, this is a ‘good,’ upstanding man. He’s got all these things checked off his list; he’s not outwardly committed any of the ‘big sins.’ He comes to Jesus to be reaffirmed in his own thinking, his self-reliance, […]

One of the most beautiful and favorite classical music of Western Advent, this holy season of preparation for God’s Incarnation that we call the Nativity Fast, is Bach’s popular cantata “Sleepers awake!” The title refers to a common theme of the Scriptures and the Orthodox Faith, that of readiness to meet the Lord when He […]

The rich man in today’s Gospel puts his trust in his financial well-being, on creating for himself the illusion of ‘security,’ thinking, that if he just can hide away enough surplus, well, then nothing of this world will be able to touch him. He says, I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many […]

The Nativity Fast begins Wednesday, a time of preparation to ready ourselves for the Feast of Christ’s holy Incarnation, growing us stronger in our faith, readying us to welcome the new-born King of Kings as we apply His Gospel to our daily lives. As we begin that journey, we’re presented this day with the parable […]

Christ’s last commandments to His Disciples, the Holy Apostles, before His Ascension was “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit…” (Matt. 28:19-20). The Apostles and their descendants have carried out this holy mission since that time, […]

There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate…Today’s Gospel is sobering: We see one man who suffered want in this life, saved, and another man, who had […]

“A sower went out to sow his seed…” Christ’s parable today challenges us to consider how we receive and act upon His Gospel of life. He compares us to the seeds sown here in this parable—”some fell on the wayside, some on the rock, some among the thorns, and some on the good soil. So, […]

We’re presented today with this elemental truth of the Gospel— “he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.” We’re called today to consider our attitude toward giving of ourselves, our abilities, our resources, to consider how much we give back to God from that which He’s so generously blessed us. St. Paul challenges us in […]