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Homily for the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of Seventh Ecumenical Council & Fourth Sunday of Luke with Commemoration of the Hieromartyr Jacob of Hamatoura in the Orthodox Church
In order for us to bear good fruit for the Kingdom, we must attend to the health of our souls with the conscientiousness of a careful farmer or gardener. We must do so in order to become more fully who we are as living icons of Christ. If, to the contrary, we become obsessed with… Read more
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Homily for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost and the Third Sunday of Luke in the Orthodox Church
The Lord said, “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matt. 5:4) His mercy on the widow of Nain provides us all a sign of the hope for eternal life that is ours in Him. In order to enter into the blessedness for which we hope, we must mourn our sins by… Read more
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“Love Your Enemies” : Homily for the Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost & Second Sunday of Luke in the Orthodox Church
To become a person so radiant with the love of Christ that we convey His love even to people we do not like and who do not like us is obviously not a matter of being conventionally religious or moral. To love our enemies as He loves us requires our deep spiritual transformation and healing… Read more
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Letting Down our Empty Nets in Humble Obedience: Homily for the Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost and the First Sunday of Luke in the Orthodox Church
Despite their imperfect faith and obedience, the disciples gained the spiritual strength to draw people into the nets of the Kingdom. They did so not by earning a reward for impeccable behavior, but by continuing to stumble along the path of discipleship and returning to it when they strayed from it. That is how they… Read more
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Homily for the Sunday After the Elevation of the Holy Cross in the Orthodox Church
In order to take up our crosses, we must choose to embrace the struggle of dying to our vain illusions about ourselves, other people, and our world. Our hope is not in spiritual or moral perfection acquired merely by our own willpower, but in the gracious mercy of the One Who offered up Himself for… Read more
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Homily for the Sunday Before the Elevation of the Holy Cross and for the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos in the Orthodox Church
The cycle of birth and the grave had reigned ever since the corruption of our first parents both for those who had the law and for those who did not. The path out of slavery to corruption was not through our ability to obey rules, but in being healed by the gracious mercy of God,… Read more
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