Featured Reflections
A Lenten Journey to Love
By Matthew Gallatin
As a young child, Nick Damascus loved watching priests deliver their homilies from the pulpit. His little heart would stir, and he would say to himself, I want to do that! I want to stand up there and say, "Hey, you people! Wake up! God loves you!" Fifty years later, Nick is indeed a zealous messenger of God.
Making Up Is Hard To Do
By Fr. John Abdalah
If Neil Sedaka is right, and “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” what would we say about making up? Making up sure isn’t easy, but it is what Christianity and life are all about.
Christianity's Mis-begotten Child
By Carole A. Buleza
I am not alone in thinking there is something very wrong with Christianity today. A particularly salient symptom is the phrase, “It doesn’t matter the church you go to, we all worship the same God.” The disorder has been named “relativism,” but I believe I have found the true diagnosis: moralistic therapeutic deism.
New Year's Coming
By Fr. John Abdalah
The coming of the New Year is often a time of reflection, and, this year, folks seem more reflective than ever. This year, I think that reflective may even mean anxious.
The Twelve Days of Christmas
by Rev. Johannes L. Jacobse
Orthodox Christians need to remain faithful to their traditions.
In the Christian tradition of both east and west, the twelve days of Christmas refer to the period from Christmas Day to Theophany. The days leading up to Christmas were for preparation; a practice affirmed in the Orthodox tradition by the Christmas fast that runs from November 15 to Christmas day.
Abiding in God This Nativity Season
By Fr. John Abdalah
In a discussion about donuts at coffee hour, a parishioner asked me what he gets from the Church besides donuts! “Opportunities,” I replied. "The Church gives you the opportunity to be the Christian you were baptized to be."
Chaplain's Corner: Godless Thanksgiving?
Sadly, a couple weeks ago I heard a line said by the star of a newly released Hollywood film to advertize its opening. The line, a quote from the film’s script, spoken in a derisive tone, went something like this: ‘The last time I thought about God, was when I was high-tailing it away from the cops.’
Beyond My Eyes
By Janice Bidwell
The color of my brown eyes will never change. My eye color is a constant part of me from start to finish, and most days I don’t give the color of my eyes a second glance. When I’m in a sea of blue eyes, my brown eyes feel very brown.
On Knowing God
By Bishop Alexander
In the Gospel we read on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council (John17:1-13), Jesus says in what is commonly known as His High Priestly prayer: "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
The "E" Word and the "P" Word
The "E" word and the "P" word. In the first case I refer of course to "evangelism." This has become a very difficult word to use in polite Christian circles today. We Orthodox, sadly, may have very confused notions about "evangelism" regarding it as synonymous with that other great unmentionable, "proselytism."