January 07, 2019
The first instance where we learn of the Trinity is in Genesis at the creation of man. On the sixth day of creation, God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” and so it was done. “In the image of God He created man; male and female He created them,” writes the Prophet Moses. (Cf. Gen. 1:26-27). Today, at the baptism of Christ, we see the Trinity revealed again.
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January 06, 2019
Today we are brought to the cusp of the fast which tomorrow will spill over into the celebration of the birth of the Messiah of the human race, Jesus Christ. In this brimming up, today we also commemorate all of the righteous who have lived up until the birth of Christ, not only His holy ancestors but all the righteous in whose lives the coming of the Son of God is announced by word and by deed. Moreover, for us, the eleventh hour has come, and soon we will participate in the incarnation of Christ, reaping the fruits of our labors in the fast and desiring God to be born in our hearts on this day.
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December 04, 2018
When we look at the holy face of the Mother of God in the icons, we see a woman, a human being just like us, but one who is filled with peace, because she chose not to look away but to keep her gaze always fixed on Him. No matter what happened in her life, she did not look away from Him. This is the source of her deep inner peace that is undisturbed by the turmoil of this world.
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September 27, 2018
As we all know, we live in a consumer driven society. The consumer mentality dominates every aspect of our life, economic, political, and even religious. There is no part of our life that is free from this mentality. We demand choices and we all want the very best choice—not just for ourselves but for our children and those we care about.
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September 23, 2018
Today is the Sunday before the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. It’s the start of a season, a kind of forefeast. With this we can be certain of a few things. Namely, the time of trials and tribulations is upon us. This is one of the things that we can be certain of when we come upon any feast of the Cross.
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September 21, 2018
The essence of today’s feast is about both barrenness and fullness; it is about human weakness and the limitless wonder-working power of God. We are well aware of the details of the conception and birth of the Mother of God. The hymns teach us this feast’s story. Joachim and Anna, an upright and pure couple, are left with no child. Before the Christ came, childlessness was a reproachful and shameful thing, it was taken as a sign of God’s disfavor and a curse. We are familiar with this situation throughout the Holy Scriptures.
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August 19, 2018
What is distinct about the event of the Transfiguration of Christ is twofold and will be the subject of our homily today: first, it is a revelation about who Christ is, and, secondly, about how we are spiritually transformed.
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August 01, 2018
For all Orthodox Christians, and in a special way for us monastics, the goal of our life here on this earth is of course salvation. That is also the goal of all Protestants, Catholics and other serious traditional Christians. But our Orthodox understanding of what salvation means is radically different from other Christians.
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