"We are not called to be givers to the Church. We are called to be stewards over all of God's creation."

The Gospel reading appointed for this Sunday is the Parable of the Talents. Quite often, this reading is used to remind the faithful of the importance of supporting the church. In today's homily, though, Fr. Irineos points out that Christian stewardship is a far broader calling than tithing to the Church and it operates much more broadly than just within the walls of the parish. With no offense intended to any who preached on giving today, Fr. Irineos urges the faithful to exercise their care over all creation.

In this Homily for the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos, Fr. Irineos calls us back to remember the special and vital role the Theotokos played in the restoration of the broken communion between God and His creation. Looking at both the scriptural foreshadowing of her role and the necessity of her assent, Fr. Irineos forcefully expounds the importance of the remembrance of the Theotokos in the economy of our salvation.

In today's Gospel, we hear Christ's summation of the law and the prophets - love God, and love your neighbor. Why is it that these simple commands are so difficult to fulfill in our daily life?

Today's Gospel reading, the Parable of the Wedding Banquet, prompts Fr. Irineos to throw out his prepared homily and talk about the feast prepared by the king. After his invited guests decline, the king sends his servants out into the countryside to fill the banquet hall. But finding one of these last minute guests without a wedding garment, the king is outraged and throws him out. Why is that wedding garment so important to a king who just moments ago was begging for guests!?!

Using the parable of the wicked vinedressers, Fr. Irineos examines what fruits are spoken of in the parable and how they are to be rendered to the owner of the vineyard.

On the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, Fr. Irineos reflects on various objections to the commemoration of Mary, and how, in fact, knowing Mary is essential to knowing and understanding Christ!

Fr, Irineos looks at the Gospel reading for the Feast of the Transfiguration as a series of proofs and promises, and examines how what happened on Mt. Tabor can lead us in our faith today.

In this week's homily, given during an air conditioning outage at the mission, Fr. Irineos reflects on the importance of prayer and fasting to the preparation of a Christian.

Using the example of a recent internet quotation making the rounds, and the lives of St. Boris and Gleb (commemorated today), Fr. Irineos examines why people are prone to question spiritual wisdom and the saints. Apologies for the audio - a fan was blowing directly across the microphone).

The story of the Feeding of the 5000 is contained in all four Gospels. It is widely read and perhaps even more widely preached on. In today's homily, Fr. Irineos looks at how the Church has historically interpreted this Gospel lesson, how that interpretation compares with modern preaching outside the Church, and how a proper understanding of scripture guides us to the right faith.