Category: Family

This Good News is Who I Am

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Comments upon Elevation to the Rank of Archpriest, October 2, 2016 The Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick Your Grace, Bishop Thomas, Very Reverend Fathers, Family, Friends, beloved Christians, When I graduated from St. Tikhon’s Seminary now almost ten years ago, our commencement speaker was Metropolitan Philip, now of blessed memory. Some of you here now were present for that speech. In his address,…

You MAKE Me So Angry: How Do I Acquire the Spirit of Peace?

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Why is it that some people so easily make us mad? It seems that even some person we don’t know on the Internet can drive us crazy, stir up anger, inspire our scorn and derision, etc. Or some people can send us spiraling into anxiety, despair or depression. When this person or that does (or doesn’t do) that one thing, well, I just get……

“Off For More Adventures”: An Alaskan Family Connection

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Last week, I had the great blessing to speak on St. Ignatius of Antioch (AUDIO) at the Eagle River Institute at St. John Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral in Eagle River, Alaska. Since it was my first time in Alaska, I prefaced my talks with the following notes, delivered on Saturday, August 1st. Before I begin speaking about one of my favorite subjects, St. Ignatius of…

St. Paisios and Salvation from Distraction

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost / Sixth Sunday of Matthew, July 12, 2015 Romans 12:6-14; Matthew 9:1-8 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Today we have a rare privilege in church life in that today is the very first time the feast of a saint is celebrated—St. Paisios…

Haphazard Reminiscence and Gratitude

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Forgive me a bit of rambling reminiscence and reflection, if you don’t mind. I guess this is one of the hazards of committing to blogging every day for forty days. I’m not sure why, but I’ve been remembering some things from more than twenty years ago lately, from shortly after my family moved to North Carolina, three weeks after I graduated from high school…

Prayer for the Dead and Family Process

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Ccontinuing on some of the thoughts I mentioned in my Tuesday post on the occasion of six months since my mother’s passing, I wanted to explore some of these issues further in a more general way, meditating on a few related questions. I’ve actually gotten a couple of private notes from folks concerned that, from what they read, I was “repressing” my emotions regarding…

Processing the Death of my Mother

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Today is six months since my mother’s passing on August 24 from a suddenly appearing aggressive brain cancer. I normally wouldn’t focus on stuff here that’s so personal, but perhaps my working out of some of these things may be helpful to folks in similar situations or who know people affected in this way. Even though it’s been half a year, it’s still hard…

Day After Christmas

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
On this day after Christmas, the Orthodox Church celebrates the Synaxis of the Theotokos, remembering in a special way the Virgin Mary’s role in giving birth to our Savior. A number of our great feasts have a secondary celebration the day after focusing on what may be called the “supporting cast” in the feast. So, the day after the Annunciation, we celebrate the Synaxis…