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Homily for the Tenth Sunday After Pentecost, the Tenth Sunday of Matthew, and the After-feast of the Transfiguration of Christ in the Orthodox Church
1 Corinthians 4:9-16; Matthew 17:14-23 We are presently in an especially rich period of the life of the Church, as we continue to celebrate our Lord’s Transfiguration on Mount Tabor and prepare for the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos. The spiritual eyes of Peter, James, and John were opened to behold the brilliant divine… Read more
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How Not to Sink in the Raging Seas of Our Passions: Homily for the Ninth Sunday After Pentecost & Ninth Sunday of Matthew in the Orthodox Church
1 Corinthians 3:9-17: Matthew 14:22-34 It is easy for us today to become so focused on our worries, fears, and problems that we start to sink into a deep sea of despair. We endure almost constant bombardment with images and messages that call us to judge ourselves and others according to cultural standards of success,… Read more
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Religious Consumerism or Eucharistic Offering? The Eighth Sunday of Matthew in the Orthodox Church
Contrary to the religious consumerism so popular in our culture, Orthodox Christians have a vocation to become persons in communion who transcend the individualism that so easily prevents us from offering the loaves and fishes of our lives. Read more
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Homily for the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Council in the Orthodox Church
If we dare to appoint ourselves as apologists or spiritual teachers, especially when we are not finding healing for our passions, we risk great harm both to our own souls and to those we seek to instruct. That is true no matter how accurate our rational understanding of Orthodox teaching may be. We must be… Read more
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Homily for the Sixth Sunday After Pentecost & Sixth Sunday of Matthew with Commemoration of the Venerable Paisios the New of Mount Athos in the Orthodox Church
If we are truly humble and meek, we will cooperate with our Lord’s gracious calling to rise, take up our beds, and walk. We will endure the daily struggle to receive His healing of our souls through prayer, fasting, generosity, and repentance. Read more
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Homily for the Venerable Athanasius of Athos & Fifth Sunday of Matthew in the Orthodox Church
Even as finding the healing of our souls requires struggle, we must not view it as the product of our own willpower. We are always dependent upon the mercy of the Lord, as were the two men He delivered from demons in our gospel reading. The fruits of the Spirit are always gifts, not qualities… Read more
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