Prayer is a struggle. You know this if you have tried it, especially if you have tried to do it every day or even every week or every month. It is a struggle to pray every morning, to pray every night. It is a struggle to come to church every Sunday, to come to other services.
The Christian hope is not about making our earthly lives better nor even about trying to strip things down to the most necessary earthly things.
Feast of St. Haralampos / Sunday of the Canaanite Woman, February 10, 2019 II Timothy 2:1-10; Matthew 15:21-28 In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, of the seed of David. (II Timothy 2:8a) I was struck this week when I read that first phrase: “Remember Jesus…
Today marks the 20th anniversary of my reception into the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church — the Orthodox Church. I was just 22 years old at the time and still in college (I had something of a “career” in college, accumulating one BA, most of another, and three minors, all while working to support myself). In 1998, April 19 was Pascha, and at…
Sunday of the Adoration of the Holy Cross, March 11, 2018 Hebrews 4:14-5:6; Mark 8:34-9:1 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. These are the words of the Lord Jesus. If you are like…
Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost / Fourteenth Sunday of Luke, December 3, 2017 Ephesians 5:8-19; Luke 18:35-43 Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as unwise, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” This verse is Ephesians…
Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost / Thirteenth Sunday of Luke, November 26, 2017 Ephesians 4:1-7; Luke 18:18-27 Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. “I, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.” St. Paul, who is writing…
Sunday of the Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, October 15, 2017 Titus 3:8-15; Luke 8:5-15 Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Today in the eighth chapter of Luke’s Gospel we read again the familiar parable of the Sower and his seed. As we consider this…