Pastoral Reflections

In the midst of these angst-filled days of the world, our society is filled with fear. Fear about the future. Fear about those who don’t see the world as we do. Fear of the strangers. Fear of the foreigner and immigrant. Fear of those who seem so different. Fear of the extremists, whether right-wing or left-wing. Fear of our former friends who have now become our enemies because of the pandemic or politics or other social issues. Listen »

“During my second year of nursing school,” a student described, “Our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one: “What is the first name of the woman who every morning is cleaning the building?" Surely this was some kind of joke.  I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was a tall, dark-haired, Hispanic woman, but how would I know her name? Listen »

What demons do you struggle with in your life? Let’s each think about this. Maybe you’ve never thought about them as demons, but what habits, temptations, inclinations, struggles and addictive behaviors have tried to direct and even control your life? We all have certain “demons” with which we wrestle! And if we aren’t careful, these demons can subtly lead us away from God and sometimes even take over our lives! Listen »

How many of us can say we have ever seen God? Or could any say we have encountered God’s presence in some special way in our lives? We read about miracles in the Bible, and throughout Church history, and yet, some people will say, “Why don’t those things happen today?” Or if someone says, “Yes, God does act in the world today” there will be plenty of skeptics who doubt, question, and outright reject such claims of faith. Listen »

“Do unto others what you want them to do unto you.” The Golden Rule. Jesus basically said this rule summarizes the law and the prophets. Here is the spirit of our Orthodox Christian faith. Treating others the way we want to be treated. Listen »

How do we find ultimate meaning and peace in our busy, and often confusing lives? Jesus Christ and His Church promise all believers a new and abundant life of unconditional love, unquenchable joy and deep peace. Listen »

In today’s epistle reading from the Apostle Paul, we hear something enlightening. St Paul talks about himself and says, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (Gal 1:20) Listen »

“Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father.” The call to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” is one of the most radical teaching of Jesus Christ and His Church, and yet, it is a teaching upon which we need to reflect today more than ever. Listen »

In today’s Gospel story, we get a glimpse of Peter wrestling with this topic of forgiveness. “How many times,” he asks Jesus, “do I have to forgive another? Seven times?” Listen »

What influences us most in our lives? Who are the people or figures who consciously or maybe unconsciously influence us? We all are surely influenced by a variety people, by certain ideologies, by contemporary movements or fads, by the things that surround us. There are societal influences, financial influences, political influences, cultural influences, and individual influences. Listen »

In today’s Gospel story we hear about how Jesus performs the miracle of feeding the 5000 with only five loaves and two fish. Following that miracle, Scripture says “Jesus dismissed the crowds and then went up into the hills by himself to pray” It’s a phrase that can easily be lost in the midst of the major events of the Gospel. Listen »

Jesus went about all the cities and villages preaching the Good News of the Kingdom of God, healing every sickness and every disease among the people, and showing compassion whenever He saw the multitudes. We hear this beautiful description in today’s Gospel reading. Listen »

Jesus Christ said, “I am the Light of the world.” Yet Jesus also told His followers, “YOU are the light of the world.” He challenged His disciples and challenges each one of us to reflect and shine His divine light of love and mercy and grace on others. So how do we do this? How do we share God’s light and shine His Divine Light - as individuals and as a community of faith – in the world! Listen »

“What is life all about?” the man asked me as he watched his 41 year old brother die. “How do I understand what is happening? What lesson am I supposed to learn from all of this? Tell me, please, what is life all about?” Listen »

We value life. This is a pretty basic statement that seems quite obvious. Yet we need to remind ourselves of this every day. Listen »