The Christmas hymns talk about the Three Youths in the fiery furnace, but what does that story have to do with Christmas? How does it illuminate the Mystery of God becoming man? Let’s find out!
Read moreWHEN THE VIRGIN WAS ON FIRE!
THE ESSENTIAL CAVE, OR WHY THE STABLE MAY BE HERETICAL?
Right now in America there’s a cultural war happening. One battlefield is the Feast of the Nativity – commonly called Christmas. Slogans such as, “Keep ‘Christ’ is Christmas,” or “Keep the ‘Mass’ in Christmas” permeate social media. However, has the
Read moreWhy Is the Christmas Icon so Busy?
In my last post, I spoke about how the meaning of Christmas is intimately related to the Eucharist, as the Orthodox Church celebrates it. (Click here to read it). In this post, I want to turn to the icon of
Read moreWhy Christmas Isn’t Complete without the Eucharist
Sorry for my absence lately. I was traveling all over the country for over a month, largely for church-related actives. At any rate, it’s good to be back. I think I’ll start with some thoughts on Christmas – after all,
Read moreApproaching the Awesome Eucharist, part 3
In part 1 (click here to read it) I encouraged active preparation to receive Christ in the Eucharist. However, it’s very easy to misunderstand the rules for communion preparation. Some ways people have misunderstood the rules include: A question of power A question
Read moreApproaching the Awesome Eucharist, Part 2
In part 1 (click here to read it) I encouraged active preparation to receive Christ in the Eucharist. However, it’s very easy to get caught up in the rules for communion preparation. In fact, some people asked me some very good
Read moreApproaching the Awesome Eucharist, part 1!
Last week I mentioned our tradition of being properly prepared for communion: arriving at least before the Epistle and Gospel reading, keeping the fasts of the Church to the best of your ability, and praying the pre-communion prayers before coming.
Read moreChristians Behaving Badly
Being a priest puts me in a position to have many interesting conversations with people. One topic that seems to come up quite a bit is: Christians behaving badly. SOME CHRISTIANS DON’T KNOW HOW TO ACT! Some people I speak
Read moreIt’s OK, I’m Spiritual!
As I go around town and I meet new people, one of the first questions I get asked is, “what do you do for a living?” I usually respond with, “I’m the priest at the Orthodox Church in town.” After
Read moreCan We Not Go to Church?
Some Sundays I don’t feel like going to church. On a typical Sunday morning, I have to get there 2 hours before everyone else. In that first hour, I have candles to light, entrance prayers to say, vesting prayers to
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