Desiring to see beforehand the holy scepter of the Cross / borne aloft in the midst of the earth, / let us purify our souls in advance, / and being illumined with light, / let us render our thoughts radiant, / and, shining with divine power let us hymn Christ / Who imparteth His holiness… Continue reading Preparing for the Exaltation of the Cross
Author: Dn. Nicholas Park
On Providence. Homily by Bishop Mitrophan
God’s Providence is constantly active in the world. As a loving Father, He cares for us and desires us to be His co-laborers in the world.
Fathers of the 1st Ecumenical Council – Homily by Hieromonk Methodius
The following is my translation of a homily from collection “Before the Eyes of God's Truth” by Hieromonk Methodius, which is on the web at http://www.holytrinitymission.org/books/russian/sermons_ierom_methodij.htm) -Dn. Nicholas On the first Sunday after the Ascension of the Lord, the Church prayerfully remembers the god-bearing fathers of the First Ecumenical Council. We know from… Continue reading Fathers of the 1st Ecumenical Council – Homily by Hieromonk Methodius
“You will die in your sins.”
"If ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins" (John 8:24). These are frightful words. St. John Chrysostom tells us (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf114.iv.lv.html) that Christ came to take away the sin of the world, and that in baptism our sins are washed away and we "put off" the old man, our sinful… Continue reading “You will die in your sins.”
Blindness in the Face of the Truth
"What is Truth," asked Pilate to Christ, and then after saying "I find no fault in this man", he proceeded to order Him crucified at the insistence of the mob. What Judas approached with a mob to arrest Christ in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said "whom seek ye?" Being told, "Jesus of Nazereth," He… Continue reading Blindness in the Face of the Truth
The Purpose of Creation
This Saturday, we had a 2-hour Lenten Retreat for our parish youth. The first discussion we had was: "Why were you created?" The following six excerpts, culled from various websites, describe the answers to this question given by a number of religions and philosophies. Can you identify each one? To what extent is each consistent… Continue reading The Purpose of Creation
St. John of the Ladder on Corporate Prayer
St. John of the Ladder on the importance of praying together, since solitary prayer is so difficult for all but “the very few”.
Report from Haiti
The following is a report from Dcn Matthew Williams after a week in Haiti. http://eviljuan.blogspot.com/2010/01/report-from-earhtquake-ravaged-haiti.html
From thy youth thou didst love Christ…
Today we celebrate the memory of our Venerable Father Seraphim, the wonderworker of Sarov. His troparion reads: From thy youth thou didst love Christ, O blessed one, and ardently desiring to work for Him alone, thou didst struggle in the wilderness with constant prayer and labor; and have acquired love for Christ with compunction of… Continue reading From thy youth thou didst love Christ…
The Blessing of Common Prayer
Brothers and sisters, what a blessing it is to pray to the Lord together! This past Saturday evening, we had a “reader’s vigil” – that is, a vigil service without a priest, since Father Seraphim was still out of town. Often, reader’s services can seem to be lacking in some way, since there are no… Continue reading The Blessing of Common Prayer