Sermons

”Ask for repentence in your prayer and nothing else, neither for divine lights, nor miracles, nor prophecies, nor spiritual gifts -- nothing but repentance” (St. Paisios of Mount Athos). St. Paisios was a peaceful man. He had the peace that comes from above, not something put on, nor a merely peaceful temperament. His was an internal peace. Indeed, he warned people not to seek external peace, nor to avoid situations because of their strains or tribulations. Rather, St. Paisio

We have all known obsession. Earnest Hemingway was obsessed with writing. He spent years scrutinizing over his manuscripts. They were rejected again and again, but his obsession for writing carried him to succes. Vincent van gogh was laughed at and ridiculed for his art. Yet, he was obsessed with color. Night after night passed as he dipped his brush in exotic mixes and finally created his great works of art. Benjamin Franklin was obsessed with a hairbrain dream of inventing

“Be Still and Know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10). Moses walked into the darkness which hung over the mountain. In the cloud of mystery, he met God. He was still, and in that stillness, knew God. Today, we celebrate the mystery of the Holy Trinity. God is one and three; three in one. It baffles human reason. God’s very essence, Trinity, is incomprehensible to us. What does this mean to us in our lives? It means our only proper relationship with God is a relationship on our knees.

Hope is the word promised to the Church. Hope was the word on His resurrection day. Hope when he ascended. Hope when the spirit descended. Yet, there was so little hope in her eyes. I spoke with a number of people this week about the riots in the country. In each conversation, there was a tone of voice that I cannot shake off. This was most pronounced a couple days ago when a young, professional woman asked me for my thoughts about the situation. What word of hope can you off

“No other human factor is such an aid to success as our firm and steady resolve and a carefully worked-out regime....It is incontrovertible proof that regulation in life is the main factor in spiritual progress” ~ St. Joseph the Hesychast. “The more you understand the power of a habit, the more should you endeavor to be rid of a bad habit and change yourself over to a good one." ~ St. John Chrysostom 1. We Are Stuck…How Do We Move Forward? Christ summed up the goal of t