St. Mary Orthodox Church

I love the Gospel reading that combines the raising of Jairus’ daughter and the healing of the Woman with the issue of blood. The overwhelming compassion of the Savior comes alive for us in these two vignettes in which he literally releases these people from the chains that bind them. Read more »

 

St. John writes in his first epistle that we cannot love God whom we cannot see, if we first do not love our neighbor whom we can see. We are exhorted to put people above ideology. Why? Because that is what God does and we are called to be like Him. When we do the opposite we end up serving only our egos because we make ourselves judge and jury of all who deserve to be loved. Read more »

 

Most of us believe this can be ours if we have the right relationships and own the right stuff, but experience should teach us, if nothing else, that getting what we want does not make us happy for long. Soon the thrill of getting what we want gives way to disappointment and craving all over again and the cycle continues. Read more »

 

Jesus said, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. Believe it or not, this verse is not about monetary wealth only, but about the habit of grabbing hold of things. Jesus is referring to possessiveness and attachment. Only God can bring true happiness, but we convince ourselves that we can find it in things, in relationships or in ideologies. But only eternal things can bring lasting happiness. Read more »

 

Recently, as I was having lunch with one of my sons and his friend who has been coming with him to church, his friend said something like this: The difference between my church and yours is that the people in your church seem happy to be there. I was surprised, You mean the people aren't happy to be in yours? Not at all, was his reply. I had to agree with him on his first point. People are happy to be at St. Mary's. On the second I only felt sad. Read more »

 

Our faith calls us to much more than simply believing a set of theological propositions and adhering to a list of moral imperatives; it calls for the radical transformation of human life from the inside out. This is not an instantaneous event. It is a process of purification that continually leads us deeper in a gravitational pull to the image of God within, to Divine love, without which there is no spiritual life at all. Read more »

 

With great sorrow we greet the news that Christians in both Iraq and Egypt have been targeted by Muslim extremists resulting in the creation of many new martyrs. We will remember them in prayer during our services and Divine Liturgies from now through Great Lent and at Holy Pascha. Read more »

 

In these times of turmoil, the Church must be the place of peace and refuge for all people no matter who they are or where they come from. It is not our job to judge whether or not someone is worthy of our lovingkindness. Read more »

 

The Resurrection of our Lord reveals to us the truth that life cannot be conquered by death, nor light by darkness, nor goodness by evil. The core of everything is God. It has always been and will always be. Read more »

 

What is the difference between the one leper who was full of gratitude and the nine who were not? The one had eyes to see and ears to hear and a receptive and open heart, the others did not. Read more »