So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, dece…

“Henceforth ye shall be fishers of men”These are the Lord’s words to the Apostles, and to everyone who would follow him when they are called. “Go out to the nations, and shine as a lamp on a hill; drawing men out of the darkness and depths.” And yet, we often fish the night away and greet morning empty-handed. The net tears and breaks and we are le…

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. Behold the great mystery - the Herdsman who will not suffer even one of his flock to be lost, but will himself go into the brambles and thorns to retrieve them. Yea, though I walk the depths of the valley of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me. Fr. Patrick discusses spiritual warfare, the powe…

“I am the way, the truth, and the life” saith the Lord of Hosts, “except ye eat my flesh, and drink my blood, yet have no life in you.” Is it not said that we are as we eat? Is it not true that the matter we consume is the same matter of which we are comprised? .…is it really so surprising that the God of body and spirit should save us with the sam…

Supernatural Provision, prosperity, wealth, abundance. All of these have been promised by many in the name of our reading today. Some have even promised direct material gain from it. Riches, a new car, a full tank of gas, a pantry full of incredible delicacies. Will we really be given anything we ask for? Are there no limits to this promise? Ought …

Christ is Risen! Alleluia! The Lord is risen from the dead, and has trampled death underfoot. How is it that we still experience sickness and sorrow? What last holdout must death have that we must pass through it to reach the Lord? Fr. Patrick talks about peace and joy reigning in the midst of sorrows. And finding Our King as he reigns among his en…

Christ is Risen! Alleluia! If any have toiled from the first hour,let them receive their due reward;And if any delayed until the ninth hour,let him not hesitate; but let him come too.And he who arrived only at the eleventh hour,let him not be afraid by reason of his delay.For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first.He gives res…

Lo the Blessed Cross is displayedWhere the Lord in the flesh was suspendedAnd by his blood from his woundsCleansed and redeemed his Elect.

As Christ and his followers spend the week in prayer; the Enemy gathers his men for preparations of their own. The listless wanderers of the night at last set about to a purpose. The practitioners of impiety have suffered what little they can stand, and they will have payment for it. For they have never been known to forgive even the smallest of de…

“As was his custom” These are the words used by St. Luke the Evangelist to describe the prayer life of Christ. Yesterday we were given an example in Mary, sister of Lazarus, of piety, devotion, and sacrifice. But what of the Lord himself? Today Fr. Patrick discusses the piety and devotion of the Son of God. The perfect manifestation of the Law of G…

“But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” The age in which we live seeks to divorce Religion and Spirit. To put a rift between a heartfelt, genuine faith - and any real, tangible acts or expressions of that faith. “Be spiritual, not religious” is a maxim found on many street corners and re…

“Let the proud be confounded, for they go wickedly about to destroy me; but I will be occupied in thy commandments. I am small and of no reputation; yet do I not forget thy commandments.” Behold: the Humble and Holy Man. He who fills the hungry with good things, but sends the rich away empty. Who puts down the mighty from their seat, and exalts the…

Our Lord is on the battlefield, sword in hand; and is making his way to the place of his ultimate victory. Met with the propaganda of his enemies today, he proclaims the certainty of their doom, and sets the terms for those who would ally with him in the great battle. Fr. Patrick discusses faith, unity, and the call to action today. It is not enoug…

As we march the long and winding road to Jerusalem and Good Friday, surrounded by penitent reminders of what is to come. We are given a curious detour up Mt. Tabor. And though it is not given full celebration until later in the year, we witness the Transfiguration of Our Lord. One last brilliant revelation before the darkest moment that will ever c…

“The Lord hath put on his apparel, and girded himself with strength” Lo, the time for battle has come! Into the wilderness our Great Champion has gone before us, and we are to follow. For who is God beside the Lord? Who teaches our hands to make war, and makes bronze bows of our arms. He has set out to destroy all those who would harm his creation.…

“Cursed is the ground in your labors. In toil you shall eat from it all the days of your life.Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field.” The seed of the Gospel has been scattered in every direction, and it shall land on every heart. But it is up to us to till the ground and prepare to receive it…

Fairness. Equality. Justice. We call out for these things ceaselessly. We constantly seek after and await the prize we have decided is our due reward. But what happens when the scales are really balanced? When every person is given an equal share of the perfect, loving, overwhelming, generosity of God are we really satisfied? When our brother is re…

To whom is salvation promised? In whom do the Saints find joy and rest? What does a faithful community look like? “I thank God upon my every remembrance of you.” These are the words which begin St. Paul’s address to the Church at Phillipi. And they are followed by all manner of confident and joyful proclamations from the Great Apostle concerning bo…

The Lord will surely come, and will not tarry. He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will manifest himself to all nations. Why must so much be hidden from us? Truth is often so shrouded in mystery, and buried beneath symbols and types, that we can hardly see it at all. Fr. Patrick takes on the device of parable itself today, and …

The Day of Candlemas. When at long-awaited last the Ancient of Days returns to his Temple in Jerusalem. He who came down to Moses in a Pillar of Wind and Flame again meets face to face with the keeper of the sacred doors.… As Salvation himself is cradled and presented, the First Age looks upon him with peace. At long last his time has run its cours…

“If God is good, why is there evil?” “If God is all-knowing, how has an enemy snuck something by him?” These questions have plagued Christians since the very beginning, and can be not only disheartening, but destructive to our faith if we are not careful. Today Fr. Patrick presents the answer the Lord himself gives in the Scriptures; along with som…

Epiphany IV 2024

Epiphany III 2024

Epiphany II 2024

Feast Of The Nativity 2023

Episode 211 - Vigil Of The Nativity 2023

Gaudete! Hail! Rejoice! This decree and command has been present for all of human history. But how does the Sunday of rejoicing fall in a season before the feast? Shouldn’t we rejoice when the wait is over? What does rejoicing really mean anyway?

Christ is King, he reigns in our age. Why are we still so restless? How long must things go on this way? And what compass will guide us through the age before the end?

We have an enemy, and he has weapons. The sharpest and most insidious of which may also be the most widely accepted and ignored in our modern day. Where is the barb that awaits us today? Into what net does he most desire us to fall? Let us be watchful as we enter this advent season.

The XXV and final Sunday of Pentecost leads us into Advent, and the preparation for Christmas. Why as we prepare to meet Our Lord are we met with apocalypse, and a warning about his dread second coming? His appearance in the manger begins the end of all ages, it is the call to stock our oil and trim our wicks. Prepare the way O Zion, your Lord is d…

Brethren, be sober and vigilant. Your enemy prowls like a lion hoping to devour you. Cast not your pearls before swine. We are given admonishment and warning time and again in the Gospels. But what ought we watch for? And what must we do with this pearl of great price? A great task lies ahead of us, let us rise to meet it in the Name of the Lord.…

Why bother with the Saints? Is Christ not enough? Why ask for help from anyone else? And why does St. Paul tell us to imitate himself instead?

We are not our own. We are not self-generating, self-preserving, self-directed, self-answering, not indepedent beings free from debt and obligation. Yes, we have to get along in this world. So, you know, keep your scruples, but be practical about it. Don't give in to scrupulosity, don't become an ideologue. Have some convictions. But what's really …

The proclamation "Jesus Is Lord" not only declares Jesus of Nazareth, Mary's boy, to be eternal God, it also declares him as the fulfillment of all divinely inspired images of King and Ruler in the history of mankind going back to Adam himself.

Imagine a graph which tracks your spiritual life. There is a beginning down here, and an end, a goal up here. We imagine that the line should go straight up to the goal. That is what we want it to do, what we think it should do. But that is not what happens, ever. That is not how it works.

In [the parable of the wedding feast] there are four types of guests. Those who didn't care, and ignored the invitation. Those who cared but manifested in hatred and murder. Those from the streets, the good and the bad, who came and received, gratuitously, the robe of righteousness. And then finally, he who came, but did not put on his garment. Whe…

It's very helpful to have one calling. It makes things simple. Life seems so complex sometimes. There's so many choices, so many things tugging at us in so many directions. It's easy to get confused. We end up turning ourselves in circles, trying to decide which way to go, what to focus on. It actually creates an existential crisis, a paralysis, an…

When Jesus says "Weep not", He means trust me, do not give in to despair, do not lose hope, for I am the Resurrection and the life, and I promise to make all things new, even if for a while there will be suffering.

What we're after is security and happiness. That's what we all want, what we all desire. But in our current condition, we feel this deep insecurity, and everything we do is trying to alleviate this. God made us hungry, that we might hunger for Him. We are vulnerable beings, and God made us vulnerable that we might rely on him.…

Often when one reads a passage in the Bible, the first question we ask is "what is the moral lesson here, how does this passage instruct me to live?" There is nothing wrong with asking those questions, but they are not the first, nor most important questions we should ask when seeking to understand a scriptural passage. The first and most important…

Christ came for the sick, not for the healthy. For sinners, not for the righteous. The only way we are going to experience the power of God in our lives is by seeking his mercy. And the only way we can actually, truly, deeply seek his mercy is to truly recognize our need for it.

This is what St. Peter is saying in his second epistle, which was our first reading today, where he speaks of his personal experience when he witnessed Christ's Transfiguration on Mount Tabor. As he writes St. Peter is preparing for his imminent death by crucifixion, when he will put off his tent (you remember he wanted to set up tents on the Mount…

Episode 211 - Christmas Eve 2023

In your baptism something truly miraculous and powerful took place in your person, something wrought by the Holy Spirit which changed you indelibly. The old sinful man died, and it is completely unnatural for you to continue to behave like you are still that old man. Unnatural but possible. What happened does not function like gravity, it does not …

True religion is to offer the sacrifice of worship, to fast, pray, give tithes, care for the needy, abstain for sexual impurity, to conform to the family rules in mutual submission and to do it all with the right interior disposition, with true faith, humility, and love. If you do all the stuff without the right interior disposition, you have false…

John was the greatest born of Woman, the greatest born of Eve who had become barren and cast into the wilderness because of her sin. After a long line of Adams toiling in the wilderness and the pain of childbirth- in the fullness of time, at the watershed of history, the last and greatest descendent of the old Adam was conceived of a barren woman a…

We so often read the gospels as moral admonitions. Which is fine, and good, but that is secondary. The gospels are about God, about Jesus Christ, revealing Him to us so that we can know and love Him as He is. The Scriptures are Christological, they reveal Jesus Christ. Take the Good Samaritan for example, people read that parable as a moral tale of…

Receiving Christ in the Divine Sacrament is not the only thing we do in this life. We work, we eat other food, we marry and raise children, we enjoy creation, and rest, we buy and sell and go about our business from day to day. But in all these things we do, we are still seeking Christ, to be close to Him, to please Him, to Know Him in our core.…

We have holy things among us, holy things to venerate and through which we receive grace and taste the goodness of God. But nothing compares to the very body of God which we receive in the Divine Sacrament. Not the sacred waters of the blessed font, not the sacred chrism, not the holy relics of the saints, not Icons which we venerate, nor the livin…

This Orthodox Christian life is not simply about getting all the t's crossed and i's dotted- as important as that is- getting the Faith right is important so that we can authentically know God in the Spirit, and that knowledge, which is intimate and personal results in us becoming faithful and holy.