Sermons from St. Mary Church
Forefeast of the Elevation of the Venerable and Life-Giving Cross
Sermon by Fr. Antony Hughes from Sunday, September 7, 2008
The Reading is from John 3:16-21
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Of all the verses in the New Testament this one from the third chapter of St.
Read more...The Epileptic Boy
Sermon by Fr. Antony Hughes from Sunday, August 24, 2008
The Reading is from Matthew 17:14-23
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God.
Read more...Walking on Water
Sermon by Fr. Antony Hughes from Sunday, August 17, 2008
The Reading is from Matthew 14:22-34
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ!
Why did Peter sink on the Sea of Galilee? Wasn't the presence of the Lord and his invitation enough for Peter to complete his stroll on the water successfully? Evidently not. What happened? St.
Read more...Of Deviled Ham
Sermon by Dn. Jeffrey Smith from Sunday, July 20, 2008
The Reading is from Matthew 8:28-34; 9:1
Yesterday, Fr.
Read more...Sunday of the Holy Fathers
Sermon by Fr. Antony Hughes from Sunday, July 13, 2008
The Reading is from Matthew 5:14-19
A peace officer told this story. "I had arrested a man who singled me out for real animosity. When I had to take him to a paddy wagon, he spit in my face...and he went after me with a chair.
Read more...Parish Life Conference Sermon
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Saturday, June 28, 2008
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.
Christ is in our midst!
It will take great wisdom for the Church to address the issues of our times. Every age presents both dilemma and opportunity. Being an optimist I rather see these days as an opportunity to dig deep into our spiritual tradition, to reexamine and reaffirm what we believe to be true and to find new ways to minister to our suffering world. I speak to you from one of the epicenters of the controversy over marriage. Right across the street from St.
Read more...On the Sunday of All Saints
Sermon by Fr. Antony Hughes for Sunday, June 22, 2008
The Reading is from Matthew 10:32-33; 37-38; 19:27-30
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Blessed Feast to all of you on this day of All Saints.
Christos Yannaras has written that the Orthodox life is a series of risk-takings. In fact, risk-taking is at the heart of the Gospel. Creating the universe, particularly human beings, was a tremendous risk on the part of God. Investing the Hebrews with the Abrahamic covenant was risky to say the least. The Incarnation was risky and bold beyond human imagination. God is a risk-taker because God is love. Love is always risky.
Read more...On the Sunday of Pentecost
Sermon by Fr. Antony Hughes for Sunday, June 15, 2008
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.
Glory to Jesus Christ!
The Reading is from John 7:37-52; 8:12
“He who believes in me, as the scripture says, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.’ Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive.“ “Do you not know,” writes St.
Read more...On the Sunday of the Blind Man
Sermon by Fr. Antony Hughes for Sunday, June 1, 2008
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.
Christ is Risen!
The story of the Blind Man holds one of those intriguing little mysteries we may never understand. Why did Jesus use mud to heal the man? We simply do not know.
Read more...On the Sunday of the Paralytic
Sermon by Fr. Antony Hughes for Sunday, May 18, 2008
The Reading is from John 5:1-15
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Christ is Risen!
In one of the hymns at Great Vespers we read this: The paralytic… was like a dead man unburied. Paralysis of his body was the least of his problems. He was also paralyzed in mind and heart.
Read more...On the Sunday of the Holy Myrrhbearers
Sermon by Fr. Antony Hughes for Sunday, May 11, 2008
The Reading is from Mark 15:43-47; 16:1-8
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Christ is Risen!
The Gospel reading today should be familiar to you. The verses from chapter 16:1-8 comprise the reading before the closed doors of the Church on the night of Holy Pascha. According to most Biblical scholars St.
Read more...What Is Fundamentalism?
2008 Fr. John vonHolzhausen Lecture by Brett Grainger on Saturday, May 10, 2008
Father Antony, members of St. Mary's, welcome guests,
I'd like to thank you all for coming this evening. I'd also like to thank Father Antony and the Fellowship of St. John the Divine for inviting me to deliver this year's vonHolzhausen lecture. As a member of St. Mary's, it is an honor to be connected with a name so beloved by the St. Mary's community, and to follow in the footsteps of previous speakers such as Nicholas Constas, now Father Maximos of Mount Athos.
The title of my talk this evening is "What Is Fundamentalism?" It's hard to think of another word that conjures more immediately visceral reactions.
Read more...On the Sunday of St. Thomas
Sermon by Fr. Antony Hughes for Sunday, May 4, 2008
The Reading is from John 20:19-31
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.
Christ is Risen!
How does the Church view Thomas? Listen to the hymns of Orthros and Vespers. They speak volumes. “…thou didst not deem him unworthy for his lack of faith…” Another hymn recognizes that all the disciples were entertaining doubts, not Thomas alone. (Perhaps he was the one with the honesty to admit it.) In Thomas’ doubt the Church sees a remarkable opportunity.
Read more...On the Service of the Holy Unction
Sermon preached by David Vermette on Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Mankind suffers from a grave illness. It is fatal in every case. Its name is mortality. The Scripture teaches us that the sin of Adam and Eve introduced death into the world, but it is not the sin of our first parents that we inherit but their mortality. No sooner are we born and grow up than we start to decay and we slide down the slope toward decomposition. St.
Read more...On Palm Sunday
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, April 20, 2008
(St. John 12:1-18)
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, God is One. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ!
My beloved!
We sing a hymn on Palm Sunday giving thanks that the Holy Spirit has brought us together this day in His most holy Church. In I Timothy chapter 3, verse 15 St.
Read more...On the Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt
Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, April 13, 2008
(Mark 10:32-45)
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God.
Read more...Delivered at the 150 anniversary of the Paulists at the Paulist Center in Boston
Sermon given by Fr. Antony Hughes on April 8, 2008
PHILIPPIANS 4:4-9
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, God is one. Amen.
Glory to Jesus Christ!
The great prophet, mystic and healer St. Seraphim of Sarov always greeted people in one of two ways, either with the traditional Paschal Greeting, "Christ is Risen" in season or out, or by the gentle words, "My joy!" Orthodox Pascha is near, only three short weeks away, so I will express my emotion at your hospitality on this great occasion by addressing you from the bottom of my heart as "My joy!" I sense much here in harmony with my own heart.
In these verses from St.
Read more...On Cheesefare Sunday
Letter from Fr.
Read more...The Parable of the Prodigal Son
Sermon Preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, February 24, 2008
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
What is the opposite of fear? You might say “courage” and you might be right. But it has been suggested that the opposite of fear is compassion. I like that answer best. Where there is no fear there is no need for defensiveness. Judgment relies on fear. So does hate. Without fear compassion becomes possible. If we are not defending ourselves, then the way is open to love. Compassion, I insist, is not weakness.
Read more...Two Pieties - On the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee
Sermon Preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, February 17, 2008
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen.
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Today's Parable is about the meeting of two distinct pieties: one a piety of ego and one a piety of the heart. But first let me tell you a story, at least the first part of the story.
You may have heard this before from me or read it in Metropolitan ANTHONY Bloom's excellent book BEGINNING TO PRAY. Right after Sayidna ANTHONY'S consecration an elderly woman approached him with a burning question. "Vladyka," she cried, "I've been praying the Jesus Prayer for thirty-five years yet I am still the same mean, old woman I was thirty-five years ago.
Read more...