By Fr. Michael Marcantoni In many novels, we find a prologue and an epilogue, which serve as bookends to the main content of the story and serve, respectively, as an introduction and a summary of the plot, characters, and motivations that are in play during the plot of the story. While it can be tempting to view these sections as superfluous, they provide a lens for the primary thematic elements of a story to be relevant beyond the immediate character’s arc.
By Fr. Cosmin Sicoe Not too long ago, I was approached by a very loving mother who told me that sometimes she is afraid to pray for the salvation of her children because God might allow some tragic experiences to happen in their lives in order to bring them to salvation. Of course, as a mother, she did not want anything bad to happen to her children.
By Fr. Tom Parthenakis One of my earliest recollections of Pascha as a child, attending Holy Trinity-St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church (Cincinnati, Ohio), about 65 years ago, was the Resurrection Service. It was a memory I have relished my entire life. Earlier in the day, my mother (of blessed memory) tried to explain the significance of the service to me and my two brothers, but we had to experience the beauty of the service to attempt to fathom it.
By Fr. Michael Manos As we enter the period of Great Lent, we are called to three spiritual disciplines in particular: fasting, almsgiving, and prayer. We are encouraged to leave certain foods behind, to give away some money, and to spend more time in dialogue with God. The question is, why?
By Fr. James Honeycutt “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
—William Shakespeare, “Romeo and Juliet,” Act II, Scene ii By Fr. Mark Emroll “And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.” Luke 4:20
By Fr. Stratton Dorozenski
“When The Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord and one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Acts of the Apostles 2:1-4 By Fr. John Sakellariou
As we make our journey into Holy Week, we are often grabbed emotionally by the strong hymnology of the Orthodox Church. This hymnology in its beauty and starkness serves as an engine to allow our minds and hearts to sync up and focus on the ultimate sacrifice that Christ made for us. By Fr. William Redmon In a world full of “gentlemen’s clubs,” “strong language,” and “mature programming,” it seems we may have stretched linguistic elasticity close to the breaking point. Yet we would do well to remember that it is not the safety of our language that we hazard when we act so; rather it is our own. For in seeking to distort our language thus, we allow her to act as the vehicle through which the fallen world may broadcast its message.
By Fr. George Zervos Today the Christ-Child, the Son of God, is born in Bethlehem, Judea. He's born to a holy young maiden named Mary. Nine months earlier she had conceived the Christ in a supernatural way by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:20). This silent miracle was the dawn of a new age for all mankind. A Savior was horn showing us the way to inheriting eternal life in God's Kingdom.
|
Topics
All
|