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Lent and Priesthood #1: The Priesthood of Humility

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, February 5, 2016 2 Timothy 3:10-15; Luke 18:10-14 Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. In his famous work On the Priesthood, St. John Chrysostom says this about the priesthood: ā€œFor the priestly office is indeed discharged on earth, butā€¦

A Covenant in Flesh and Spirit

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Circumcision of Christ / Feast of St. Basil the Great, January 1, 2017 Colossians 2:8-12; Luke 2:20-21, 40-52 V. Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Today is the eighth day from the Nativity, and on the eighth day from birth, newborn Jewish boys were circumcised. The Lordā€¦

Who Shall I Be at Christmas?

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Eve of the Nativity, December 24, 2016 Galatians 3:8-12; Luke 13:18-29 V. Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Who shall I be at Christmas? Shall I be as old Israel, caught in captivity and under the domination of powers and attitudes and thoughts alien to the personā€¦

How Many Days is Orthodox Christmas?

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Well, Christmas is here (on the New Calendar, anyway), so we’re planning out how many days of ham we’re going to be eating, right? Or perhaps it’s several days of turkey leftovers. You’ve got to be able to cover every day of Christmas so that we’re not just singing Christmas but also eating it for the whole festal period. But we have a problem.ā€¦

Christmas is About Death

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
In 1980, my great-grandfather Fred Isleib died on Christmas day at the age of 83. I was five years old and too small to remember being able to feel sad. I scarcely remember even impressions of him. I do remember a little about his funeral, mainly running and jumping between the gravestones where his remains were placed. But the idea of losing someone onā€¦

O Dark Dark Dark

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Today being the winter solstice, the shortest day here in the northern hemisphere, I thought I would point to this bit from T. S. Eliot that I always think of on this day: O dark dark dark. They all go into the dark, The vacant interstellar spaces, the vacant into the vacant, The captains, merchant bankers, eminent men of letters, The generous patrons ofā€¦