St. Mary Orthodox Church

April 07, 2024 - by Dimitri Newman

The Church has set the third Sunday of Lent as the Veneration of the Cross. It stands in the very middle of lent as a reminder of why we are struggling through this period. It stands in the middle as a tree, offering its shade, a staff and support to help us through, to encourage us along the way. It is a promise that our small suffering that we are willingly taking on will be of spiritual benefit for us. 

March 31, 2024 - by Claire Koen, PhD Candidate

Today, on the Sunday of Gregory Palamas, we remember this great saint and his defense of hesychastic prayer and theology, and we reflect on how his teachings illuminate for us the process of drawing ever closer to both God and neighbor.

March 17, 2024 - by Sarah Byrne-Martelli

I suggest we try to forgive and remember. Not to remember the hurt, but to remember what’s involved in the process of healing. To remember how far we’ve come. To remember that we can do the hard work. To remember the power of forgiveness keeps us centered in our faith.

March 10, 2024 - by Sarah Riccardi-Swartz

The criteria for the Last Judgement should not evoke fear for us but rather become the guidebook by which we live our lives—not because we fear judgement but because we love.

March 03, 2024 - by Teva Regule

This parable is not just a story of three strangers. It is a story of us.  As the younger brother, the Church gives us the sacrament of confession to free us from our sins and get back on the path towards God. As the older brother, the Church gives us the sacrament of Unction to heal what ails us. The Church gives us the opportunity to forgive others every Sunday with the Exchange of Peace and, as we approach Great Lent, with the rite of forgiveness at Forgiveness Vespers. 

February 25, 2024 - by Fr. Antony Hughes

The Publican is representative of those who actually have a clue, at least enough to know that they are undeserving of receiving anything from God. You see, no one is deserving and the good news is that you don't have to be. Worthiness is not the issue. Openness is the issue. The Publican was unworthy, and yet his humility saved him, because he was open to God in his humility. He knew more about himself than the Pharisee did, that's for sure. Humility is openness to God.

February 18, 2024 - by Dn. Jeff Smith

The underlying context for the Canaanite woman is hope. She is willing to do anything for her daughter, including begging for her because she believes in Jesus' power to heal. Her expectancy – she expects and hopes for great things from God – this is the passport to His kingdom.

February 04, 2024 - by Dimitri Newman

We see here the story of two very different men. Symeon was a good and righteous man, guided by the Holy Spirit. Zaccaeus was a bad man, who stole from his people and became rich by doing so. Yet, in the end both see salvation in Jesus Christ.

January 28, 2024 - by Dn. James Wilcox

How do we stamp out the noise that we might recognize God in our midst, and begin to rightly see one another in the image of God? In the first place we must recognize the state we are in. You can’t put out a fire if you keep fueling it, and you can’t stop fueling a fire if you don’t recognize that you’re fueling it. Therefore, we must awaken to the fact that this is the reality we’ve created for ourselves. In Orthodox thought this type of awakening is described as sobriety, nepsis, or wakefulness. It’s quite literally what it is to be woke.

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