November 28-29, 2025
Beginning of Advent in the Orthodox Church
Revived a recent tradition this afternoon as my oldest bought me a ticket to the yearly Messiah performance at Boston Symphony Orchestra by the Handel and Hayden Society. I cannot think of a better birthday gift. It is simultaneously a way to remember my departed mother whose repose began this tradition two years ago and to inaugurate the Advent season of preparation for our Lord’s coming in the flesh.
Continue readingSunday, December 29, 2024
Colossians 3:4-11
Luke 14:16-24
Week of Holy Forefathers
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Glory to Jesus Christ. Glory forever. Today as we prepare for the coming of God in the flesh, the Church remembers the holy ancestors of Christ—the forefathers of God. We remember them both in this Sunday and the next when we read the great genealogy in the beginning of St. Matthew’s Gospel. So happy name’s day to all those named Adam, Eve, Abraham, Jesse, David, Zerubabel, Selathiel, Haggai (especially remembered for his prophecy about the Word without Beginning coming to a newly restored second Temple), and of course, Joseph and Mary, the Mother of God. Who all gets counted as a forefather or ancestor of God? We usually use this latter designation for the parents of Mary, Joachim and Anna. However, it is used in the Church’s commemoration of many different types of saints: high priests like my own saint Aaron, patriarchs, prophets, kings, judges, etc. This is the week we remember Christ’s spiritual progeny, as not all of these are related to him by blood but are nevertheless tied to him by adoption and covenant. Next Sunday we will focus more specifically on his physical lineage when we read the genealogy in Matthew’s Gospel. What then does it really mean to be or become part of God’s family? How do we revel in the incredible gift that we are alive and the chain of events that led us to this moment in time had very much to do with many fathers and mothers before us making the choice to love one another?
Continue readingNovember 15/28, 2023
Commencement of Advent & the Nativity Fast
Celebrated my birthday this past weekend. The older I get, the more I long for the kind of birthday presents that involve making memories instead of collecting things. Been going a lot lately to free concerts held at nearby Boston colleges and universities. A quick online search came up blank for colleges holding events as campuses are mostly closed for Thanksgiving Day weekend. So I searched next for concerts at the iconic Boston Symphony Orchestra and came upon a great Boston holiday tradition– Handel’s Messiah performed by the Handel and Haydn Society. I usually prefer the standard abridged version of the Messiah performed by amateur choirs in area churches especially as these performances are often sung as part of worship services and invite congregants to sing along during the chorus parts. This time, though, H+H’s unabridged 3.5 hour long professional performance seemed like the perfect way to spend my birthday money. And it was more and not less divine though it was not sung at a church. It carried its usual power to transform hearts and minds towards the Kingdom of Heaven.
Continue reading
November 21/December 4, 2022
Feast of the Presentation of Mary in the Temple
There is a figure in the standard Nativity creche scene. She is often forgotten other times of the year, but during the Christmas season, it is impossible to avoid her. One popular song during this season evokes wonder about what she knew or perhaps did not know at first about her role in Messiah’s birth. While it is meant to evoke wonder at the Lord, I wonder if it is dismissive of his mother in some subtle way. The words go…
Continue reading
Sunday, November 28, 2021
First Day of the Nativity Fast
Commencement of Advent in the Orthodox Church
Our family loves the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Whenever we return from our annual parish tradition of hosting the Eucharist, we always turn on the telly to see the bright and cheerful floats of popular children’s shows and books drifting larger than life down the streets of Manhattan.
Continue readingSunday, December 14/27: Holy Forefathers of Christ
John 20:1-10 (7th Matins Gospel)
Colossians 3:4-11 Epistle (29th Sunday)
Luke 14:16-24 Gospel (28th Sunday)
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Beloved in the Lord, brothers and sisters in Christ, Today is Family Day. It is the day we recognize and remember the Holy Ancestors of God. What a wonderful expression— Ancestors of God. It may sound scandalous to some who believe only in a God outside of time who stands aloof and unconcerned with the affairs of humankind. But we Christians confess Emmanuel— the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us, whose earthly ancestors form today a spiritual choir inviting us mere mortals to a heavenly feast of faith.
Continue reading
Scrooge then made bold to inquire what business brought the spirit to him. “Your welfare!” said the Ghost. Scrooge expressed himself much obliged, but could not help thinking that a night of unbroken rest would have been more conducive to that end. The Spirit must have heard him thinking, for it said immediately— “Your reclamation, then. Take heed!”
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
As the coronavirus continues to surge across the nation and many states are rolling back on their reopening plans, it becomes harder and harder to celebrate the Advent and Christmas season with the fullness it deserves. But the answer encapsulated above in the Spirit’s response to Scrooge reminds us that welfare, comfort and safety is not the chief goal of Advent or what the Orthodox Church calls the Nativity fast. Scrooge was violently ripped away from his commercial comfort zone because his business dealings were killing his soul. His night long journey deep into his own soul is what ultimately led to Scrooge’s reclamation, or in other words, his salvation.
Continue reading
Saturday, November 28, 2020
First Day of the Nativity Fast
Commencement of Advent in the Orthodox Church
In this season of hope and expectation of deliverance, I saw a film about the power of confession within community. Words on Bathroom Walls tells the story of a young man named Adam diagnosed with schizophrenia during his senior year in high school and how he copes with this very difficult mental illness. He hears and sometimes sees characters and voices that severely distract and sometimes rip apart his soul. His first instinct is to try to pretend that he can hide it from friends and those beyond his immediate family circle. When that plan backfires, he is expelled from school for being too much of a danger to others. His mother and stepfather enroll him in a private Catholic school where he is given a second chance and encounters an extraordinary young lady named Maya whose love begins to chip away at his defensive and ultimately harmful facade.
Continue reading December 6/19, St. Nicholas
Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, the Wonderworker
Whose Relics Lie Principally in Bari, Italy
And Whose Legendary Brother Santa Claus Lives in the North Pole
I was asked to play Santa Claus today for our Parish School but not the legendary one that poses for pictures at shopping malls and lives at the North Pole. I was asked to play the real one that lived and reposed in the 4th century, worked and continues to work wonders, and is loved the world over as Saint Nicholas of Myra in Lycia. Trying to live like a Saint is hard enough; imagine trying to play one live. The task was daunting but there is a way to study for the part.
Continue reading
December 2/15, 2019
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ. What does it mean to follow the Lord Jesus Christ? All the martyrs, apostles, and saints through the ages have provided a pattern for being disciples of Christ. The rich young ruler in today’s Gospel asks the age-old question for the would-be disciple, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” The Lord who knows the heart and sees its true intention perceives that the man is not genuine in his search. He first rebukes him for his flattery in calling him “good teacher” without recognizing his divinity. Then he issues the same call that he did to all disciples, “sell all you have, give to the poor, and come follow me.” The man who only wished to ensnare the teacher with his question became suddenly sad for he was very rich.
Continue reading
Like Mendicant Monks... 