Sermons | St. Mary Orthodox Christian Church of Central Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Sermons from St. Mary Church

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Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt

April 06, 2009 - by Trish Orlovsky

On this 5th Sunday of Great Lent we enter the closing weeks Fast, and the church fathers give us the story of Mary of Egypt. Mary's story is a quintessential display of the power of repentance - and is key in our understanding of her prominence during this season of repentance and the role of community in the act of salvation.

Sunday of St. John of the Ladder

March 30, 2009 - by Fr. Antony Hughes

The Scripture today speaks of forces in a young boy that take away his freedom. As is so often the case in the New Testament the cause was attributed to spirits, that is to demonic possession.

Sunday of the Adoration of the Holy Cross

March 23, 2009 -

Today is the Sunday of the Adoration of the Holy Cross. What does that mean? What is the cross? And why do we have this now, right in the middle of Lent?

The Role of Memory in Identity Formation in the Orthodox Christian Paschal Feast

March 20, 2009 -

My talk this evening will explore the role of memory in the Orthodox Christian Paschal celebration. Specifically, I will use the texts of the Vesperal Liturgy of Basil (i.e. the Paschal Vigil) celebrated on Holy Saturday and the Paschal Matins service.

Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia

March 16, 2009 - by Marilyn Robbat

In her 53 brief years, Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia lived a life so full, so rich, so meaningful, so Christ-like....that she became a saint.

Sunday of Orthodoxy

March 09, 2009 - by Ashley Clampitt Purpura

The first time I attended an Orthodox Liturgy was when I was six years old, and it happened to be the Sunday of Orthodoxy. The same Sunday of Orthodoxy we celebrate today.

Sunday of the Prodigal Son

February 16, 2009 - by Fr. Antony Hughes

Compassion is the key. It always is. The attitude of the father towards his Prodigal Son is compassion. In him there is no judgment, only love when he leaves and when the Son returns, joy!

Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee

February 09, 2009 - by Fr. Antony Hughes

The story of the Pharisee and the Publican is about two men in two very different places spiritually. The Pharisee represents the selfish, egotistical person, arrogant, prideful, deluded and, paradoxically, a man devoted to religion and Scripture, at least on the surface!

Sunday of the Canaanite Woman

February 02, 2009 - by Fr. Antony Hughes

Today Jesus goes even further than the Galilee of the Gentiles all the way to the district of Tyre and Sidon in present day Lebanon where the light, according to the religious tradition of first century Palestinian Judaism, was not supposed to shine!

On the Second Sunday of Advent

November 24, 2008 - by Fr. Antony Hughes

A woman dying of cancer told her counselor one morning that she believed someone had stolen her diamond ring. She had only a few weeks at most to live, but the loss of that ring sent her into a rage!

On the Second Sunday of Luke

October 06, 2008 - by Fr. Antony Hughes

Jesus left us no writings and no dogmas. He left us a simple message displayed in both His words and His deeds. Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself. That's it. Jesus left us with a way of life.

On the First Sunday of Luke

September 29, 2008 - by Fr. Antony Hughes

Jesus did not judge outcasts, nor did He treat them as outcasts. He preferred their company and saved his rebukes for hypocrites. God's love is all inclusive, but to some His love is heaven and to others it is fire.

Forefeast of the Elevation of the Venerable and Life-Giving Cross

September 08, 2008 - by Fr. Antony Hughes

God loves all His creation. How do we know? Because He sent His only Son to become one with us. In Christ God and humankind are now inextricably united.

The Epileptic Boy

August 25, 2008 - by Fr. Antony Hughes

Faith is not the same as belief. Belief comes wrapped in words, concepts and creeds. As valuable as those might be they have little or nothing to do with faith. Faith is not about propositions at all, nor concepts, nor words, nor anything one can or can not do.

Walking on Water

August 18, 2008 - by Fr. Antony Hughes

Through prayer, meditation and contemplation we learn to enter what one writer calls the gap between thoughts where there is only silence, where there are no sounds, no voices, no images , where the imagination rests from its labor. This is why Peter was able to walk on the water for a time. For a moment he was able to enter that place where Christ dwells.

Of Deviled Ham

July 21, 2008 - by Dn. Jeffrey Smith

To love our neighbor, we have to love our selves first, and this self-love of course, is the state of being loved, being worthy of love, recognized and given proof of that recognition. We realize that we are not unworthy of love. We are reassured when we are listened to attentively with interest. We gather that we are respected, that we do count, that we matter, that our being alive makes a difference in the world.