Dear Parish Faithful, Humility, in the Christian tradition, is called the mother of all virtues. It is the soil out of which grow faith, hope, love and all positive qualities of the spirit. The psalms proclaim that the Lord leads the humble in what is right and teaches the humble his way. They claim also, with proverbs and the prophets, that the Lord cares for the humble and gives them his grace. He listens to their prayers and vindicates them before their enemies. He crowns them with victory and clothes them with honor, giving them the whole earth as their inherita ..read more

    Dear Parish Faithful, If the priesthood established by the law has come to an end, and the priest who is “in the order of Melchizedek” has offered his sacrifice, and has made all other sacrifices unnecessary, why do the priests of the new covenant perform the mystical liturgy? How it is clear to those instructed in divinity that we do not offer another sacrifice, but perform a memorial of that unique and saving offering. For this was the Lord’s own command: “Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Cor 11.24). So that by contemplation we may recall what is symbolized, the sufferings ..read more

    Dear Parish Faithful, If the Lord comes to us, we should receive him with great joy and humility. But let us be careful not to seek mystical experience when we should be seeking repentance and conversion. That is the beginning of our cry to God. “Lord, make me what I should be, change me whatever the cost.” And when we have said these dangerous words, we should be prepared for God to hear them. And these words of God are dangerous because God’s love is remorseless. God wants our salvation with the determination due its importance. And God, as the Shepherd of Hermas says ..read more

    Dear Parish Faithful, In his sermon on the mount Jesus not only gives instructions about prayer and fasting, he gives commandments about almsgiving as well. Indeed, in the sermon, this part comes first.... Jesus, once again, did not say if you give alms. He said, when you give alms.... The apostles of Christ magnified the Master’s teaching about the need to help the needy. They insisted that human perfection consists in giving to the poor and following Christ. They taught, with Jesus, that the measure one gives is the measure one gets. They were convinced that the greatest ..read more

    Dear Parish Faithful, Having mercy is God’s most distinguishing characteristic. Pouring out his mercy, his steadfast love, upon his covenanted people is his main occupation. Mercy is at the heart of everything that God is and does and gives to his people. It is the people’s most treasured possession. The psalms, for example, describe the steadfast love of the Lord, which is the mercy of our prayer, in numberless ways. The steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting and endures forever. It is higher and greater than the heavens, yet the earth is full of this steadfast love ..read more

    Dear Parish Faithful, There is a glory that comes from the Lord, for he says: Those who honor me, I will honor (1 Samuel 2.30). And there is a glory that follows us through diabolic intrigue, for it is said: Woe when all men shall speak well of you (Lk 6.26). You may be sure that it is the first kind of glory when you regard it as harmful and avoid it in every possible way, and hide your manner of life wherever you go. But the other you will know when you do something, however trifling, hoping that you will be observed by men. —St John Climacus, Ladder of Divine Ascen ..read more

  Dear Parish Faithful, "It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." —C.S. Lewis _____ As is often the case, C.S. Lewis offers a fine twist to our usual perceptions.   ..read more

  Dear Parish Faithful, Abba Moses of Petra was terribly embattled by porneia. No longer strong enough to remain in his cell he went and reported to Abba Isidore. The elder begged him to return to his cell but he would not accept that, saying: “Abba, I haven’t the strength.” So he took him and brought him up onto the housetop with him and said to him: “Look to the west.” He looked up and saw an innumerable host of demons; they were milling around together and shouting, ready for battle. Then Abba Isidore also said to him: “Look to the east.” He looked and saw innumerable hosts of glor ..read more

    Dear Parish Faithful, “Oh how did we not remember types of this tree! For of old they were shown forth in many and varied ways and saved the lost. By a tree, Noah was saved, but the whole world, unbelieving, was destroyed. Moses was glorified through one when he took a staff as a scepter, but Egypt, with the plagues that came from it, was drowned as though fallen into deep wells. What it has now done, the Cross showed forth of old in image. Why then are we weeping? For Adam is going again to paradise.” —Dialogue between the devil and Hades on their fall by the Cross, in S ..read more

    Dear Parish Faithful, But in order to be Christian, to be able to pronounce the words of the Creed, to say the Lord’s Prayer, to participate in the Liturgy, we must at least determine—not only to have a velleity, but a determination firm and clear—to live the words that we pronounce, to live our whole life on Christ’s own terms. Otherwise we are only spectators of the life, of the crucifixion, of the death of Christ. We are onlookers, interested listeners who may well be moved by one thing or another, but like the barren earth or the roadside of the parable we may well receiv ..read more