Fr. Tom continues his look at the vestments worn by the clergy for the Divine Liturgy. What vestments are appropriate in non-sacramental settings?

As Fr. Tom continues to look at the vestments worn by the clergy for the Divine Liturgy, he today talks about the "girding of strength" as signified by the belt and the cuffs.

Today Fr. Thomas focuses his attention on a part of the vestments that many wonder about. What is the significance of that square or diamond shaped attachment that sometimes hangs above the knee of the bishop or presbyter?

Fr. Tom continues his comments on the vestments worn in the Divine Liturgy. Today he talks about the sacramental significance of the omophorion and epitrachelion.

In the final section on vestments for the Divine Liturgy, Fr. Tom talks about crosses, hats, and crowns.

Before the Divine Liturgy begins, we must be prepared from a practical standpoint. Fr. Tom gives some personal reflections on doing things decently and in order.

Fr. Tom talks about the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Faithful which comprise the worship of the Church from the very beginning.

Fr. Thomas reflects on what it means to say "In peace let us pray to the Lord." What is the significance of this peace?

Fr. Thomas continues to talk about the Great Litany at the beginning of the Divine Liturgy. In particular the "union of all men" and "the fear of God."

As he continues his commentary on the Great Litany, Fr. Thomas reflects on the prayers for the bishops, presbyters, and deacons.

As he continues to look at the Great Litany which begins the Divine Liturgy, Fr.Tom examines the petitions for the president, the country, those in civil authority, and our armed forces.

Fr. Thomas reviews the important elements of the last episode and then begins talking about the prayers in the Great Litany for "seasonable weather." Don't miss his little side trip when he talks about God's role in storms, tragedies, and disasters in light of our prayers.

Continuing his look at the first Great Litany of the Divine Liturgy, Fr. Tom explores what it means to pray concerning wrath, danger, and need. Also included is a helpful reflection on the most frequent phrase in the Liturgy: "Lord, have mercy."

Calling to remembrance - let us commend ourselves. Fr. Tom speaks about the liturgical use of the word "remember" and how it relates to God and our salvation.

In this final reflection on the Great Litany, Fr. Thomas talks about the exclamation made at the end. He also talks about silent prayers and audible prayers in the Divine Liturgy.

The first procession in the Divine Liturgy is referred to as the "Little Entrance" where the Gospel Book is brought into the altar and the call to worship is proclaimed.

As the Little Entrance is concluded a transition is taking place to the proclamation of the Word of God. Today Fr. Tom comments on that transition as well as the choice of readings for the Divine Liturgy.

After his last episode, Fr. Thomas got a thoughtful letter from a listener challenging his remarks on female readers of the Apostolic writings in the Divine Liturgy. In this episode he reads the letter and answers the concerns raised.

Following the Scripture readings and the sermon, there are prayers that are skipped in some churches. These prayers are part of the Litany of Fervent Supplication, and Fr. Thomas feels they are very important.

Fr. Tom goes through the various translations of the Litany of the Catechumens and also continues his thoughts on the departure of the catechumens.

Fr. Tom transitions now to the second half of the Divine Liturgy with the Litany of the Faithful.

Fr. John shares his homily from the Sunday of Family, Love, and Fidelity, a new commemoration just established by the Russian Church.

Fr. John shares from the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31).

Fr. John Whiteford shares from Luke 10:25-37.

Fr. John Whiteford prepares us as we enter the Triodion period.

Fr. John Whiteford's sermon from the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, 2024.

Fr. John Whiteford's sermon for September 1, 2024.

As we move close to glorious Pascha, Angela takes a few moments to reflect on the common threads between Poetry, Liturgy, and Holy Week.

In troubled times, some people turn to binge watching television shows, some to food, some to drink. Angela turns to poetry. In this episode we explore how poetry and Liturgy intersect because in a technology laden, short attention, sound bite driven world we are often unaware of the deep poetry and lasting peace that Liturgy offers.

Why does the Church offer us the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross? Because the Christian faith is about dealing with reality and having our all too easy temptations to delusions and the fantasy of what I'm afraid of or what I wish for blind us to the reality God wants us to embrace! Waking up is hard, but it has to be done!

Jesus uses seemingly harsh language when a father brings an epileptic son to the Lord for healing. But it's only because it's only this kind of language that can break past the selfishness of our own hearts to teach us how to have faith the size of a mustard seed!

Sunday of the Prodigal Son.

Michael discusses the Orthodox theological understanding of what it means to be a person, and how the passion of politics poses a danger to us in how we regard and treat each other as persons.

In the Book of Genesis God says not to eat from the Tree of Life, yet in Revelation He invites us to eat from the Tree of Life. Michael explores the reasons why from an Orthodox Christian perspective. He discusses the sinfulness and sacredness of eating and hunger as taught to us through the Scriptures, specifically Genesis and Revelation, and our Holy Tradition; and what we are really doing when we fast and prepare for and receive the Eucharist.

Struck by the phrase “disenchanted with morality” in the pages of a book one morning, Michael shares his thoughts that came to mind. Why does it seem society often appears disenchanted with morality? Why is Christianity so often wrongly perceived and taught as a judgmental set of moral rules and rigid codes of behavior? Why is legalism doing so much harm to our faith? What truly is morality from an Orthodox Christian perspective? Join Michael as he addresses these questions and more, and explains the “enchantment” we should all experience because of our faith.

One of the big challenges we face in today’s post-Christian era is the near complete erosion of seeing and understanding reality sacramentally. So how do we teach this reality to our young people who live in a society that rejects it? Focusing on the sacramental reality of sin, sickness and spiritual growth, Michael uses simple examples from everyday life and popular culture to offers strategies, thoughts and lessons that can help guide us to meaningful conversations with our youth.

Join Michael has he discusses in-depth how J.R.R Tolkien and his work were formational in preparing him to accept the truth of sacramental reality as experienced and taught in Orthodox Christianity.

Inspired by the conditions of the coronavirus, but not about the virus itself, Michael reflects on why either our transcendent or immanent mindset makes a huge difference on how we cope with such trying circumstances.

Join Michael as he offers a reflection on how and why the liturgical life of the church should be lived continuously both inside and outside of the church walls, how Christ teaches and demonstrates this in the Gospel, and how we can sometimes make our liturgical worship a requirement instead of a means to draw closer to Christ and love others.

Join Michael as explores the subtly of idolatry and the little gods that lurk behind our idols that lead us slowly down a dangerous spiritual path.

Join Michael for a discussion on how to understand and overcome the subtle spiritual deafness and spiritual blindness we can suffer from that leads to spiritual heart disease.

Join Michael as he discusses the deep theological truths of simple hospitality and how it directly relates to our salvation.

Join Michael in discussion of what it means in the Liturgy when the Priest prays “And let us ask for a Christian end to our life, peaceful, without shame and suffering, and for a good defense before the awesome judgment seat of Christ” and how that should drive our daily behavior.

Join Michael in a discussion of how to guard our hearts and minds against the ancient sins of infidelity and individualism that are both subtle and celebrated in today’s culture.

Two summers ago (when people still travelled) I met a lady on the ferry who had come to the Isles all the way from North America because 'God told me to visit Scotland'. Apparently, God had told her to visit many places in the world and she was looking forward to wherever He would send her on her next holiday. This lesson is based on a very different story about St Macarius the Great who one day received the thought of leaving his cell to go and pray in the desert. After he waited for FIVE YEARS, fighting in prayer to discern if this is the will of God, he then went into the desert.

We are broken and our prayer reflects that brokenness. But we are called to be one, to be simple with God's simplicity. As our prayer grows, we grow as well. As we spiritually heal and let go of our complexities and divisivenesses (which are results of our fallen nature), our prayer slowly lets go of its brokenness and becomes what it is supposed to be: a prayer beyond words, a silent prayer that is an act of being.

We live in an age of new paganism. The distance we allowed between ourselves and Christ has created a spiritual void in the world, which is rapidly being filled with spiritual experiences and rituals that mirror those of the ancient pagan world.

Learning About Spirituality from the Celtic Saints (w/ Fr. Seraphim Aldea)