March 13, 2019 - We begin Lent with the Mass of Ash Wednesday. In the Mass we hear the words of God through the Prophet Joel sound the alarm to God's people that the Day of the Lord is at hand. Then, once awakened by the alarm, the people hear God's plea to return to Him. Therefore we begin Lent by heeding the alarm of our mortality as ash is place upon our foreheads in the sign of the Cross. We remember that Lent is a Season through which God, having reawakened us, calls us to come back to Him. And we hear through the Prophet Joel that the God to Whom we return is a God of mercy and full of loving-kindness for all who repent and turn back to Him.

March 10, 2019 - On the last Sunday before Lent we are given the words of St. Paul from 1 Corinthians Chapter 13, his greatest teaching on our call to become love to one another. In this homily we are reminded that this love we are to become is the love of God. And the love of God is always expressed by what He does on our behalf and for our salvation. For love is not a feeling, it is a doing.

In the Gospel of St. John Chapter 6, our Lord Jesus Christ declares Himself to be the Bread of Life. And He makes incredibly direct statements to those who have ears to hear such as, "Those who eat of my flesh and drink of my blood have eternal life and I will raise them up at the last day." Today we look at what Jesus truly was teaching about Himself and what He would offer us all through bread and wine that He would bless to become His Body and Blood. We look at the ancient liturgy of the Church as well as the teachings of the Early Church Fathers for the first five centuries to see clearly all that Christ does on behalf of those who remain in Him through the Eucharist.

March 3, 2019 - In today's Gospel reading from St. Luke Chapter 8, we hear Jesus tell the "Parable of the Sower." The truth any farmer will tell you regarding planting seed to grow a crop is that the most important factor is the health of the soil. As we look at this parable today we discuss the importance of cultivating the soil of our soul to the end that the seed of God within us may take deep root, bear the fruit of the Kingdom of God, and produce a crop one hundredfold.

The word canon means measuring stick. Canon Law, therefore, consists of pastoral regulations that truly exist to govern the souls of mankind toward their salvation withing the order of the Church both for clergy and laity alike. In this session, we discuss Orthodox Canon Law from the perspective of our Faith.

February 24, 2019 - Today is the first day of the three week preparation for the season of Great Lent. On this day we hear the words of St. Paul from 1 Corinthians 9 as he uses the example of top athletes who run a race in order to obtain a prize. How does his example of the athlete training for competition relate to our spirituality; our living relationship with Christ? In this homily we reflect upon this example in the hope of growing toward a greater temperance and grace-filled self-control.

February 19, 2019 - When Jesus begins the Parable of the Talents, He begins with this statement, "The Kingdom of God is like..." It seems that when the King of the Kingdom says "The Kingdom of God is like," we would do well to pay attention. This homily reflects on the the Parable of the Talents and what it tells us about the true life of the Christian in God's Kingdom.

We begin this session with the end of the Gospel of St. John and Chapter 3 reflecting on the words of St. John the Forerunner glorifying God as He says, "He must increase. I must decrease." From there we look at Chapter 4 and hear the story of the encounter of the Samaritan woman at the well with our Lord Jesus Christ. Here we gain a clear picture of how our Lord reveals Himself to us in order to draw the poison of the Fall of Man out of our soul and make us whole again.

In the Gospel of St. John Chapter 3 we have the narrative of the Pharisee Nicodemus being sent to Jesus by the Pharisees to learn more about Him. Jesus, perceiving that Nicodemus has a heart to truly know more about Him, immediately begins teaching Nicodemus the very framework of the salvation He had come to offer the world. We receive from the Apostle St. John the very understanding of the Sacrament of Baptism and the activity of God within this blessed Sacrament bestowing new and recreated life upon mankind.

February 10, 2019 - There is so much richness to be learned within the Christian Faith of the Orthodox Church. For more than two thousand years we have the Holy Spirit inspired wisdom of the Church handed down from generation to generation leading us on in our salvation through relationship with God. But there is one thing that we must not ever forget. The foundation of it all is love. As St. Paul says, without love all of our spiritual knowledge and efforts are like a clanging cymbal. Love is the foundation of our faith for God is love.