God Is With Us

Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2016 by Mendicant Monk

kneeling March 13, 2015
Sunday of Forgiveness
Beginning of Great Lent

Lord, I have loved the beauty of Thy house, the place where Thy glory dwelleth. (Psalm 26:8)

Fr. Michael Pomazansky of blessed memory has a wonderful phrase to describe the rich banquet of divine services offered by the Church for the salvation of our souls: He calls this banquet liturgical maximalism. And now as the Orthodox Church begins her 40 days of the Great Fast toward Holy Week and the Bright & Holy Pascha of Our Lord’s Resurrection, the sheer number of services multiplies exponentially. In just the two Orthodox parishes local to us, there is a service offered almost every day in this first week of Lent. What should we make of all this church-going in a month usually dedicated to madness and green beer? Doesn’t all this abstaining and prostrating lead to a repression of life and joy? Continue reading →

O God of Too Much Giving

Posted on Sunday, April 12, 2015 by Mendicant Monk

April 12, 2015
Bright and Saving PASCHA
of our Lord Jesus Christ

Come, let us drink,
Not miraculous water
Drawn from a barren stone,
But a new vintage
From the fount of incorruption
Springing from the tomb of Christ:
In him we are established!
(Ode 3, Paschal Canon)

The strongest and most delicious liquor I have ever tasted was made by the hands of monks in a remote monastery in Greece. It brought refreshment at the end of a long and arduous journey and was accompanied by an equally strong piece of candy. Both were inebriating, but not excessive; intoxicating, while at the same time mysteriously bringing the calm of sobriety. Continue reading →

Brothers in Unity

Posted on Saturday, March 7, 2015 by Mendicant Monk

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!

It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Running down on the beard,
The beard of Aaron,
Running down on the edge of his garments.

It is like the dew of Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing—
Life forevermore. (Psalm 133)

I have always felt honored to be named personally in this quintessential passage about Christian unity, or at least my beard is named. It has also made me feel like I belong in our parish’s annual Lenten Men’s Retreat whose theme this year is brotherly unity. I am proud to say that I have made it to every single retreat minus one since their inception over a decade ago.

Continue reading →

Almost Holy Week…

Posted on Thursday, March 5, 2015 by Mendicant Monk

A beautiful summary of the martyrs desire to die with Christ and the unbelievable fact that they do so out of giddy desire, not out of dour duty. Also, a wonderful summary of patristic wisdom on the subject. Enjoy!

Trinity Newton Homilies

Sermon for Sunday, March 22, 2015
Lent 5B

Mosaic Christ Crucified, 12 Century

I think we all know what’s coming. I think we know what Jesus means when he says in today’s Gospel lesson, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” I think we know, too, what the author of the letter to the Hebrews means when he says that Jesus is a high priest who “suffered” and was “made perfect.” I think we all know that next Sunday is Palm Sunday and the week following is Holy Week. I think we all know what’s coming; we all know that Jesus’ Passion and death are just around the corner.

If I’m not mistaken, there seems to be a certain giddiness in today’s readings. Notice, for example, the triumphant tone in the letter to the Hebrews: Jesus has “been…

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The Sweet-Bitter Taste of Fun

Posted on Tuesday, February 24, 2015 by Mendicant Monk

Clean Tuesday
First Week of Great Lent

I grew up near one of the best amusement parks in the country, or so the advertisements boldly proclaimed. As a child, I envied the houses we passed along the way as we started getting closer to the place of our yearly pilgrimage of fun. How did these folks get so lucky to live so close to a place where perpetual thrills were to be had almost 24/7? Surely a place with this much mindless entertainment must be like living in a virtual paradise. Yet my youthful impressions lasted only as long as the day, and my disappointment in the end came from the fleeting and exhausting nature of this exhilaration. For a steady diet of cotton candy and deep fat fried fun begins in sweetness but turns very quickly into bitterness. Continue reading →

God Calls the Least Worthy to His Service

Posted on Tuesday, April 1, 2014 by Mendicant Monk

My boss has done it again with a rock solid sermon for Lent. Incidentally, he also shows us Orthodox what we should be doing with our own icons: exegesis of both text AND image. It’s absolutely stunning work from a man who is currently besieged with the difficulties of growing a lively suburban parish. Enjoy!

Trinity Newton Homilies

Sermon for Sunday, March 30, 2014
Lent 3A

“The Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” — I Samuel 16:7

For this morning’ sermon, I’m going to let you in on one of the secrets of the priesthood. No, it’s not some “hocus pocus” about the Eucharist; nor is it a secret handshake we all learned in seminary; and neither is it some Dan Brown-style secret that each of us has been sworn to guard. The secret is at once more closely guarded than that and yet at the same time an “open” secret. The secret is this: most clergy feel – at least some of the time – inadequate and unworthy of our calling. This sense of inadequacy and unworthiness may appear for some of us as we are chairing a meeting. For others it may…

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Healing the Trauma of Sin

Posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2014 by Mendicant Monk

Love this post about the importance of healing from the trauma of sin written by my boss. It is a very Orthodox reflection emphasizing sin’s destructiveness to God’s likeness within us; how it isn’t just about disobeying the rules. Very good for Lent!

Trinity Newton Homilies

Sermon for Sunday, March 9, 2014; First Sunday in Lent
Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 ; Romans 5:12-19 ; Matthew 4:1-11 ; Psalm 32
Listen here online:

This morning I’m not going to talk so much about sin as I am going to talk about talking about sin. So often, sin is something we don’t talk about – at least not much – which is a loss because the “grammar” and “vocabulary” surrounding sin contain great capacity for healing.

But I don’t want to begin there. First, I want to go back to November 11, last Veterans’ Day. Last Veterans’ Day, NPR told the stories of several different veterans from several different wars. Though all the stories moved me, the one that touched me most was the story of Coast Guard veteran Joe Williams, who was part of “Operation Tiger,” a dress rehearsal off the coast of England for the Normandy…

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Making Forgiveness a Ritual

Posted on Sunday, March 2, 2014 by Mendicant Monk

Forgiveness Sunday- The Beginning of Great Lent

“O, sweety, there is nothing to forgive.” How many times has our attempt to make amends with another we have offended end in this kind of dismissive, shrugging off of responsibility which is supposed to help the offended party feel better? Yet, when any of us takes a deeper look at ourselves, what the twelve steppers call making a “searching and fearless moral inventory”, we find that not only are we filled with sinful thoughts, inclinations, motives and actions, but ignoring and sweeping them under the rug of forgetfulness will only make matters worse, not better. Those not practiced in the Christian art and divine gift of forgiveness may be tempted to dispense with it as a necessary step to restoring peace in human relationships, but this morning’s Gospel lesson makes it clear that it is a non-negotiable. Continue reading →

Abundantly Weeping

Posted on Tuesday, March 19, 2013 by Mendicant Monk

On this Clean Tuesday of the first week of Great & Holy Lent, I would like to share with you three things that have helped me in the work of repentance. The first two are quotes from my favorite writers, both of which make me choke up whenever I remember them. The last is a sermon I delivered a few years back on the liturgical anniversary of this day. It speaks mostly of the Canon of St. Andrew which the Church gives us as an aid for compunction. Continue reading →