This amazing photo was taken by a member of our parish. I had never seen a rainbow and a lightning strike captured in the same frame. Wow! It seemed to capture the intensity of the storm and the promise of the Lord that things will be okay. Have you ever been in a storm with […]
Take a close look at the picture above. Clearly the ground depicts a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. One would think that this ground had not seen water in many, many days. Yet the photo was taken not far from my house just a couple of days after a good rain. […]
On July 31, 2022, the Sunday after the feast of St. Silas, the patron saint of prisoners, hundreds of Orthodox churches in the United States from all jurisdictions recognized Prison Ministry Awareness Sunday in a national effort to better serve our incarcerated brothers and sisters in Christ. Different parishes came up with different ways to […]
When Jesus called those first disciples, Peter, Andrew, James, and John (Matthew 4:18-23), their reaction is truly amazing. They “immediately” obeyed the Lord, dropped everything, and followed him. There are certainly many examples of people “immediately” obeying the Lord. Zacchaeus in the sycamore tree comes to mind when Jesus tells him to “come down out […]
There is much concern about the perception of lies that seem to abound in world we are living in right now. Whether it be politics, religion, medicine, news media, social media…the list seems endless, one side is pointing at the other side saying: “Lies, lies, lies!” Much time and energy are being spent looking for […]
Christ is Risen!! “The passion of pride darkens the soul completely and leads to its utter downfall.” (St. John Cassian, 360 –435). That huge mule deer buck in our photo had absolutely nothing to do with the growth of his antlers! I put that caption in the photo to remind us how often we can […]
The Holy Apostle Thomas said that he would not believe Jesus had risen from the dead: “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25) Eight days later, the Risen […]
What ever happened to the Tree of Life that stood in the middle of the Garden of Eden? How can I have a taste of its fruit? In Genesis chapter 2, we learn that God had placed Adam and Eve in this amazing Garden. It was filled with trees that were “pleasing to the eye […]
When Deacon Seraphim Blackstock began visiting men in a Florida prison, he started out, in his own words, “very arrogant”. “I went into the prisons with the idea I was helping these guys. They’re felons. They’ve committed horrible crimes. I’m doing them a big favor.” Dn. Seraphim would soon find out that there was much […]
“And the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God…For with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:35-38) Today Orthodox Christians around the world celebrate the Annunciation when the Holy […]