Feasts Archives — Page 6 of 9 — Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

Christmas Means War

December 20, 2015December 17, 2015 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

Sunday before the Nativity, December 20, 2015 Hebrews 11:9-10, 32-40; Matthew 1:1-15 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Here we are, just five days before Christmas. It’s the Sunday before. And there’s always a lot this time of year talking about the “true meaning of Christmas,” the…

Pentecost is the Re-Creation of Mankind

May 31, 2015May 31, 2015 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

Sunday of Pentecost, May 31, 2015 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. On this great feast of Pentecost, the “last feast” of the Paschal mystery which began for us with the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee four months ago, we experience the final fullness of the…

The Christianity of the Ascension: Our Potential in Christ

May 29, 2015 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

Sunday after Ascension, May 24, 2015 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. From middle school all the way through high school, if you could chart a single theme in the comments that teachers would make to my parents, whether in parent-teacher conferences, report cards, or notes sent…

Lenten Evangelism #10: Palm Sunday and the City of Man

April 5, 2015April 2, 2015 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

Palm Sunday, April 5, 2015 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Today, the tenth and final Sunday of the Triodion, Palm Sunday, we complete our series on evangelism. And I would like for us to put a capstone on what we have been building for the past…

Making Some Noise: Anticipating Holy Saturday and the Harrowing of Hell

April 2, 2015April 24, 2022 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

So, who’s ready for Holy Week? When I first learned of the practice of making noise during the “Arise, O God” of Holy Saturday (which is in imitation of the uproar of hell as Christ enters into it and destroys the power of death), I thought, “This is awesome!” And then I thought, “How would you ever introduce such a practice into a parish?”…

“Immensity, cloister’d in thy dear womb”: John Donne on the Annunciation

March 25, 2015March 25, 2015 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

Students of Renaissance English poetry all get to know John Donne, that 16th/17th century priest and poet who vacillated painfully between whether to remain with the Church of England or to be a Catholic. He also vacillated between a life of devotion and the passions which afflict us all since the Fall. And his poetry reflects all this struggle. To my mind, perhaps his…

“Who Shall I Be at Pascha?”: The Cross at the Crossroads

March 18, 2015March 18, 2015 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

Today is exactly the halfway point between the beginning of Great Lent and the holy day of Pascha (Easter), the Feast of Feasts. It is usually right around now, three and a half weeks in, that many of us begin to be ready for Lent to be over. But the fast is only halfway through. We have two and a half weeks of Lent…

Ego Patricius peccator rusticissimus

March 17, 2015 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

My name is Patrick. I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers. This photo was taken in the summer of 2001 during a nearly month-long pilgrimage I took to Great Britain and Ireland. It was a dreary day in Downpatrick (and the photo was taken with real film! remember that stuff?), the place where St. Patrick returned to…