St. Mary Orthodox Christian Church

June 10, 2018 - by Bishop JOHN

When we forget that it is God working in us and us working in God, we put on all kinds of stress and pressure on ourselves to perform things that perhaps people aren't even expecting us to perform and for us to do.

May 27, 2018 - by Dn. Jeffrey Smith

Rivers of living water will gush forth from our hearts, rivers of mercy, and rivers of healing, rivers of calm indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This is the promise, revealed today at Pentecost, in an outpouring of wind and fire and a proclamation of the Holy Spirit, promising, but on this day, it leads to a division about where Jesus comes from.

May 20, 2018 - by Fr. Antony Hughes

At every moment we are called to look within for anything that would keep us from loving without limits. Saints are those who lives are cleared of the debris of selfishness.

May 06, 2018 - by Fr. Antony Hughes

Every time I turn my attention to the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan Women I am astonished. There is no end to inspiration in this magnificent story. This morning I will make just a few remarks bookended by a couple of startling quotes and hope your imagination might be stirred to consider for yourself the depth of meaning here.

April 15, 2018 - by Fr. Antony Hughes

Thomas was deeply wounded by the crucifixion, just as were all the disciples. His questions and doubts arose from feelings of fear, loss and confusion. The parts of him that rose to protect and manage these intense feelings were no doubt on double-duty. His response made perfect sense! We do a grave injustice to Thomas when we fail to acknowledge this.

April 01, 2018 - by Fr. Antony Hughes

There were two processions occurring on Palm Sunday in Jerusalem: the Lord’s entry in humility and lowliness on a donkey, a sign of peace, surrounded by a crowd of peasants and outcasts. The other procession was of military might and imperial authority.

March 31, 2018 - by Teva Regule

Today we commemorate the Raising of Lazarus of Bethany, which is celebrated in conjunction with the Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem as a short festal interlude between Lent and Holy Week. Today we are invited to walk to Bethany, tomorrow to Jerusalem. Who might we become if we walk in these steps?"

March 25, 2018 - by Anna Higgins

So much depends on Mary saying 'Yes' to the angel. This is the fulcrum around which our whole lives are based. This is the moment when she goes from being Mary to being the Theotokos.

March 18, 2018 - by Sarah Byrne-Martelli

Dormition, at its core, is a feast of resurrection. It has clear echoes of Christ’s death, with the three days in the tomb, and the miraculously empty grave. It prefigures our Resurrection through Christ who has trampled down death by death.

March 11, 2018 - by Claire Koen

In Mary's entrance into the Temple, humankind is welcomed and affirmed, not through proving themselves worthy, but simply through the recognition, and affirmation of their genuine goodness and potential to cooperate with God in the bringing about of God's reign.

March 04, 2018 - by Melissa Nassiff

The birth of the Theotokos begins the process of changing this destiny of our separation from God. And Her Son, Jesus Christ, would complete it. In His love for us, God would send His Son, born of Mary, to reverse the permanence of death and give us eternal life.

February 18, 2018 - by Fr. Antony Hughes

It is not our choice whether to be saved or not. It is done. It is finished. However, it is our choice whether or not we will choose to come to a knowledge of the truth. In other words, whether or not we will dive deliberately into the experience of what it means to be loved, forgiven, and saved and that comes only through an internal pilgrimage. Lent is a quiet time, a much slower time than is normal for most people. If we choose to acknowledge it, everything that happens directs us to look deeper and to live more deliberately and consciously.

February 10, 2018 - by Fr. Antony Hughes

We are in the midst of a kind of awakening. The sciences, including neuroscience and the quantum sciences, have discovered that there is mystery at the core of the universe. Psychology is being revolutionized by the discovery of the benefits of mindfulness practice in religious people, including prayer and meditation. Even the Orthodox practice called hesychasm is being studied. Classically, our words for the now ubiquitous term 'mindfulness' are 'watchfulness and vigilance,' and nepsis. They mean the same thing and I tend to use them interchangeably. It is wonderful that religion, science, and psychology suddenly are no longer always at war. Metropolitan Zizioulas, I believe, said that religion and science are not at odds with each other at all, they 'coinhere.' I think he is right. This has been an object of interest and research for me for over 20 years.

January 21, 2018 - by Fr. Antony Hughes

Zaccheus lived in a world of his own dominated by fear and greed, by hatred and suspicion. He lied and cheated to survive and to prosper at the expense of others. He was hated and despised by his neighbors and he returned the favor. He must have despised himself as well, for only those who do mistreat others. If we do not love ourselves, our true, godly, beautiful self, then we cannot love God or neighbor.

January 14, 2018 - by Sarah Byrne-Martelli

When our eyes are closed, we miss what is right in front of us. When we look elsewhere, with envy or greed or mindless distraction, we miss what is right in front of us. We stare into space, we are scattered, we suffer and blindly fall into sin. Is this how God calls us to live?

January 07, 2018 - by His Grace Bishop John

Jesus is called the lamb of God. This shows us that His incarnation and passion and suffering and death are all voluntary. He was willing because of His love for us, understanding how terrible it is that we are separated from God, to sacrifice himself so that he could share his very life with us. During the Orthros of Epiphany, we hear in the Synaxarion reading that we use our senses in this revelation of God, this Theophany.

December 31, 2017 - by Fr. Antony Hughes

The whole life, death, and resurrection was a revelation of Grace. God has filled all things with himself, even death, even the grave. He has baptized all things in the fire of his Compassion. God has taken our burdens on himself. He has set us free from sin, death, and the Evil One. The ringing and eloquent last words of Jesus in John’s Gospel was a resounding and final, 'It is finished.'

December 10, 2017 - by Fr. Antony Hughes

It is very important that we begin to consider the two aspects of our faith: one, faith IN Jesus, who he is; and the faith OF Jesus, what moved and motivated him. The Ecumenical Councils were concerned mostly with the first. The Church’s belief in the full divinity and humanity of Jesus was so controversial that it demanded a response. The Seven Councils responded well: he is both fully God and fully man. That is what I mean when I speak of 'faith in Jesus.'

November 26, 2017 - by Fr. Antony Hughes

So, today, the Lord invites the lawyer to experience the nearness of God and of his kingdom and, as we know from our reading, he grew very sad when he heard that in order to experience what Jesus was talking about, he would have to leave behind his attachment to his wealth.

November 19, 2017 - by Fr. Antony Hughes

The Rich Fool is unaware of this spiritual dimension trapped as he is in his futile search for security. His prime motivation is fear and fear does not exist in the spiritual dimension. He knows only one dimension – that of this fallen world - and thus is a man without faith which is why he puts all his hopes in his earthly possessions.

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