O most Holy Virgin, he who gives you venerable and glorious titles does not fail to tell the truth; on the contrary, it falls short of your worthiness. Look on us benevolently from heaven! Govern us with peace; guide us, without intimidating us before the judge’s throne; and make us worthy to be seated on Read more
A noisy crowd surrounds each one of us. Wherever we go this crowd goes with us. We are never alone. The voices of the crowd never go silent. No matter how loud we speak their voices are louder. Who is this noisy crowd? The angels of God. “Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said: ‘A procession of Read more
The collect and readings for the Feast of St. Philip may be found here. The following sermon is based on John 14:6-14. Several weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit someone in his home. It was the first time I had been there so he gave me a tour. The hallways were filled with Read more
Tonight at our celebration of the Feast of St. Philip we will bless our icon, The Protection of Philip. The icon shows Jesus and St. Philip standing together. Jesus is on the right side of the icon with his right arm around Philip. In his left hand Jesus holds a scroll that says, “If you have seen Read more
Today, December 4, is the Feast of John of Damascus. St John has sometimes been described as an unoriginal thinker, a mere compiler of the existing tradition. It was not St. John’s intent to come up with ideas unique to himself. Toward the beginning of his work, The Fountain Head of Knowledge, he writes, “I Read more
“What can we bring you, O Christ, for having been born for us on earth as a man? Each creature, the work of your hands, offers you a sign of gratitude: the angels, their hymn; the heavens, the star; the magi, their gifts; the shepherds, their admiration; the earth, a cave; the desert, the manger; Read more
This is a traditional icon of The Nativity. The early church used icons to tell the story—theology in imagery. There is so much to tell and to be seen! For starters, notice that Joseph is off to the bottom left. This is his proper position in the Nativity icon. Think of the Gospel account – Read more
Interrupting the Silence