Pastoral Reflections

How often do I have to forgive someone who hurts me? That’s a pretty common thought all of us have had at one time or another. And when we look for answers, we can get all kinds of responses. Some will tell us not to forgive. Others will limit forgiveness. Listen »

How many of us have ever had some type of spiritual “mountain top” experience in our lives? Each summer when I take a mission team to Project Mexico, everyone who goes typically has such an experience. Being around 100 volunteers from various parts of the United States, along with the summer interns and long-term missionaries living in Tijuana is always an inspiring and renewing experience. Listen »

When we look at people in need – a poor family that can’t take care of their children, a lonely person with no one to turn to, an elderly person who has no one to help them, scenes of the horror from war and poverty around the world – whatever the situation, when we see people in need, how do we feel? What do we think? But most importantly, how do we respond? Listen »

“Rejoice in hope; be patient in tribulation; continue steadfast in prayer.” (Romans 12:12) Listen »

Demon possession. We heard about it in today’s Gospel story when Jesus cast out demons controlling two men. In the other Gospels, we read about legions of demons possessing a single man. Too often, when we contemporary people hear about demon-possession, we simply roll our eyes. Listen »

How many of you have ever had a conversation about your Orthodox Christian faith with a friend? How about with a co-worker, or even a stranger? Have any of you ever had the experience of talking about your faith, and someone looks perplexed at what Orthodoxy is, and they ask, “Are you Jewish?”  Or “Do you Greeks still worship the Greek gods?” What is Greek Orthodoxy, or Orthodox Christianity? Do you even believe in Jesus?” Listen »

The Statue of Liberty has always been a symbol of hope for millions and millions of immigrants who have come to this country, often fleeing poverty, oppression and the harsh realities of their homeland. “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores. Send these, the homeless, the tempest-tost to me, for I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” We children of immigrants understand these words better than most and should always thank God!!! 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 see such terrible extremism today, and the psychology of ideological extremists is the same, whether on the far right or the far left. Listen »

Our Church calendar is filled with names of saints - kings, bishops, priests, monks, martyrs, as well as common people like you and me, men and women, old and young from every walk of life. One unique factor about all these saints, however, which may differ from our own lives, is their total and absolute dedication to and love for Jesus Christ and His Church. They all had such a strong desire for the Kingdom of Heaven, that they placed this passion before all else! Listen »

Our country is so bitterly divided. We all face the common danger of a pandemic. This past week we have been confronted with the greater and more insidious virus of racism and hatred, whose historic wounds have once again reopened. Our protests for justice and change have been met by chaos and confusion. And through it all, we choose to remain divided. Bitterly divided. Listen »

In a fairly recent study published in Psychological Science, evidence was given to show that the human brain categorizes people within the first second after seeing a face. In other words, our brain very quickly will separate people according to groups, typically in the “us” verses “them” category. This separation most often occurs according to race. Even infants as young as 3 months old showed a preference for their own racial group, over some other racial group. Listen »

Jesus sees a man blind from birth and tells his followers, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (Jn 9:5) In other words, He says, “I have come to bring light to those who live in darkness!” This promise of light shining in the darkness repeats what Jesus proclaimed earlier in the Gospel of John after his encounter with forgiving a woman caught in adultery, when he stated - “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life.” (John 8:12) Listen »

The first Christians continued steadfastly in the apostles TEACHINGS. They SHARED ALL THINGS in common, even selling their possessions to help those in need. They PRAYED DAILY in the temple and in each others’ houses. They ate their food with GLADNESS and SIMPLICITY OF HEART. They were FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT and SPOKE THE WORD OF THE LORD with BOLDNESS. With great power they GAVE WITNESS TO THE RESURRECTION of the Lord Jesus. When they were beaten for speaking in the name of Jesus, they REJOICED that they were counted WORTHY TO SUFFER SHAME for Christ’s name. Daily and in every house THEY DID NOT CEASE TEACHING and PREACHING Jesus as the Christ! And GREAT GRACE was upon them as the Lord added to the church daily those being saved. (Acts 2:42-46; 4:31-34; 5:40-42) Listen »

When one is dying, typically the final words of a dying person are among the most cherished. They often will give you a unique perspective into what the dying person values, and what he most wants to pass on as his/her legacy. I know that if I was dying, I would think very carefully about what I wanted to say, and how I would want my children and friends to remember me. Listen »