On the Sunday of the Adoration of the Cross, Abp. Irineos reminds the faithful that for Orthodox Christians, the Cross is not a sign of sorrow or despair, but a symbol of victory and the sure source of our protection. O Lord Save Thy People!

The Lenten Triodion draws to a close with the Sunday of the Last Judgment. Abp. Irineos warns that the Sunday of the Judgment is put before us precisely to instill the fear of judgment and move us toward good deeds, which will form the basis of our judgment.

The Parable of the Prodigal Son prepares us for Great Lent with a reminder of the unfathomable forgiveness of the Father and our own need to come to ourselves and make a confession of our sinful ways. In today's homily, Abp. Irineos discusses the parable and the persons of the two brothers in the parable.

For the Sunday after Nativity, the Gospel reading tells of Herod's slaughter of the 14,000 Holy Innocents and Christ's flight into Egypt. Abp. Irineos discusses why Christ had to be hidden in Egypt, the connection between the infancy of Moses and Christ, and the continued slaughter of innocents in the abortion industry.

On the Feast of the Nativity, Abp. Irineos shares brief remarks on the joyous mystery made manifest among mankind on this day, and comments upon how the Nativity presages the death and resurrection of Christ. Text primarily derived from his Nativity Epistle (http://www.avlonasynodusa.com/2022/01/07/nativity-epistle-of-abp-irineos-2021/)

On the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers, Abp. Irineos compares the world the Holy Forefathers lived in with the time of the Apostles and our present day, and using the Epistle and Gospel readings for today urges the faithful to struggle ascetically against the temptations of the times.

The encounter of Christ with the Rich Young Ruler concludes with Christ's rejoinder that What is impossible for man is possible through God. Abp. Irineos reflects on the multiple hard sayings of the Christ that are made possible through God.

On the Feast of the Entrance of the Holy Theotokos into the Temple in Jerusalem, Abp. Irineos gives the background of the feast and discusses the implications of the modernist temptations to demean the Holy Theotokos with statements like "she was just a vessel" or "she is like any other woman." These statements, apart from being ungrounded in scripture, betray troubling beliefs about God if they are true.

The parable of the Good Samaritan may be the most well known parable of the Bible, and it is certainly well worth considering. In a slightly different take, Bp. Irineos turns his focus to the lawyer who seeks to tempt Jesus and what we can learn from his spiritual state.

The Rich Man lived a sumptuous and extravagant life on earth while Lazarus suffered hungry and homeless outside the rich man's gate. But after death, Lazarus rested with the Lord while the rich man was nameless and in torment. Lazarus's suffering was rewarded with eternal life while the rich man, because of the hardness of his heart, was condemned. The one envied on earth now suffer unenviably while the one despised is most esteemed.