Sermons from St. Mary Church

No Walls

May 09, 2021 - by Fr. Antony Hughes
Faith. Deep and true faith means being open to what the truth turns out to be as we grow and learn and come more fully to understand. We come to know most fully through an experience of the Living God just like so many did when encountering the Crucified One risen from the dead.
 

The Image of the Cross

April 04, 2021 - by Fr. Antony Hughes
So, yes, the Cross is like a mandala, the Great Christian mandala, around which our lives and the cosmos revolve. As a focus of prayer and meditation it leads us into the Truth. The Cross grounds us both historically, psychologically and mystically. The Cross is the mandala of hope in the midst of our suffering.
 

In (Radical, Hard-Fought) Peace Let Us Pray

March 28, 2021 - by Andrea Popa
In the context of our liturgy, however, I would submit to you today, that peace is paradoxically - hard work - not tranquil, an act of purposeful engagement - not detachment, a hard-fought victory - not passive.
 

Loving God and Our Neighbor

March 22, 2021 - by Shannon Sakellariou
Our love for God is shown in our unity and our relationships. We can’t love our Lord apart from our neighbors. And loving others allows us to partake in the nature of Christ and thus love God.
 

Sacrifice and Praise

March 14, 2021 - by Christina Palis, M.Div
What if we understood the spiritual sacrifices that we are called to in Liturgy and our everyday life, sacrifices of praise and service and forgiveness and compassion, as a dance? I think of the circular dances of our Greek and Lebanese cultures where we move together, in coordinated steps, hand in hand. When we dance with others, we are mindful of them, we are receptive to their movements, we pay attention, and we are joyful.
 

Let us Give Thanks to the Lord… Reflections on the themes of the Liturgy – Part II

March 07, 2021 -
Even when humanity turned away, our God did not give up on us, but continues to care for us.  God keeps reaching out to us to draw us back into communion with Him.
 

Present Sheep

March 07, 2021 - by Fr. Antony Hughes
There is only one Law of Christ: to love and to care for one another. There are no prerequisites or boundaries to this love. It is to be shared with the entire world by direct and concrete action.
 

Which Way?

February 28, 2021 - by Fr. Antony Hughes
The table is waiting for us and is richly laden and we are invited to partake of it. All of life is a eucharist waiting to happen. And we are invited to become part of it.
 

Justa and Berenice

February 14, 2021 - by Fr. Antony Hughes
From the Woman’s great suffering for her child was revealed a great enlightened faith, humility, compassion and courage. From the disciples, the very opposite. And Christ stood in the breech.
 

Parable of the Talents

February 07, 2021 - by Dn. Jeff Smith
God gave us hands and feet and speech, and strength of mind and body that we might use all these things for our neighbor's advantage. Let us contribute what God has given us, our wealth, our diligence and our care giving for our neighbor's advantage.
 

Lotus Petals in the Translucent Soul

January 31, 2021 - by Fr. Antony Hughes
From our lowly depths to the depths of his infinite mercy, one cries out to the other, the Prodigal Son to the Father, Zacchaeus to Jesus. And since we are too weak to run to him, he runs to us, forgetting and forgiving all the sins and wrongs and mistakes that make up the heavy burden that we bear, and drawing us into his and our true home. To find our true home, we must first find our true selves.
 

Diving into Life

January 24, 2021 - by Fr. Antony Hughes
The truth is that the largest part even of our own stories is unknown to us for we do not know why we think what we think and why we do what we do. We come to the Lord as many have done before us to discover who we are. For only God knows our hearts and finding him and finding ourselves is a simultaneous event.
 

A New Framework

January 17, 2021 - by Fr. Antony Hughes
All human beings share a common framing story. Created by God in his image to grow into his likeness is where that story begins. When fear becomes the core of the framing story disaster is the end result.
 

Eureka

January 10, 2021 - by Fr. Antony Hughes
God created all matter to bear the divine energy. This is the purpose and end of all things. Our prayers do not alter the elements, they alter our perception and enlighten our senses.
 

Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord

January 03, 2021 - by Dn. Jeff Smith
John is known as the greatest of all the prophets, because his whole life, even before his birth and even after his death, he constantly prepares the way for the Son of God to enter into the world.
 

The Lord Christ's Net

December 25, 2020 - by Fr. Antony Hughes
The Incarnation is the Great Conjunction of God and creation. The Word of God draws so close to us that there is no longer an in-between between God and us. There is not even room for the passing of an onion skin between the two. He is, say the Orthodox mystics, closer to us than our breath and our heartbeat.
 

The Eternal Gift of Union

December 20, 2020 - by Fr. Antony Hughes
The Word of God humbled himself. You could even say that Love humbled him. True love always serves the other. It asks nothing. It only gives. Love that does not lead to the Cross, where life is sacrificed for the good of the other, is not love.
 

Embracing Indestructible Joy

December 13, 2020 - by Fr. Antony Hughes
The Incarnation of God is the all-encompassing mystery. Everything and everyone participates in it. Matter itself is deified, human flesh is deified, you and I are deified, not by works, but by grace, by the Word of God taking matter and human flesh into himself.
 

Recommitting to the Gospel

December 07, 2020 - by Fr. Antony Hughes
If we are to impact the world, we must follow the path he has made for us.
 

On the Life of St. Nicholas

December 06, 2020 - by Dn. Jeff Smith
Dn. Jeff Smith offers a reflection on the life of St. Nicholas followed by the singing of a Slavic Carol about St. Nicholas