This week, Fr Joseph gets real: "The thing about Confession is that it is natural. That is, it is Real. Almost everything else we do with our sin is false and unnatural. We punish ourselves, justify our actions, and hide. Yet, in Confession -- in opening ourselves to God the Light -- we expose the hypocrisy of our double life. In truth, we've been living a lie. Without Confession, Absolution, and Reconciliation we live a lie before God and Man as if it were Reality. In reality, no one is fooled -- not our neighbor, not ourselves. And, let's be real, certainly not God."

In this episode, Fr. Anthony talks about Great Lent in the Lehigh Valley (PA) and about how the Lenten disciplines - and especially the Prayer of St. Ephraim - can protect and heal us from the damage of war.

Homily on the Last Judgment (Matthew 25:31-46). Fr. Anthony draws on his experience as a retired Army officer (USAR) and the teaching of St. Maximus the Confessor to provide perspective, consolation, and encouragement during this time of war. Major points include the way the world and its labels darken our spiritual sight and the power Christ has given to His Royal Priesthood to heal the world's pain.

Fr. Anthony continues his discussion with Fr. Robert, author of "The First and Finest: Orthodox Christian Stewardship as Sacred Offering" about some of the necessities, joys, and struggles that come with starting and nurturing a mission. This time, they focus on how to pay for (and NOT to pay) the bills. The key is to make everything - to include financial stewardship - resonate with and in the Eucharist. Enjoy the show!

Elissa reminds us that good stewardship heals our relationship to money and other possessions.

In honor of Parenting Month at Ancient Faith, Raising Saints is flipping it around: instead of talking about how adults can feed the faith of children, we're considering the impact this process has on the parents, and the many ways in which raising saints can transform one into a saint.

Fr. Michael follows up last week's podcast ("Error to the Right") with a discussion about the warning to the Laodicean Christians to not be lukewarm (Revelation 3). "We are all sick, blind, naked, wretched, but it's only the lukewarm who don't think they are."

A catechumen once asked what he could do to get victory over bad dreams: especially lustful dreams that roused his passions and often led him into temptation. I told him that this is one of those aspects of life in a fallen body that must be resisted and endured. One of the ways Satan seeks to weary and wear out the saints (or those who strive to be holy) is through the constant going astray of our flesh. Our job is to resist and to return our attention to God and to whatever is good, true and beautiful. When we turn our attention to Jesus, then Jesus fights our battles. One of the desert fathers said that trying to confront our own wicked thoughts is like trying to drive off wild dogs by throwing biscuits at them. We end up feeding the very thing we are trying to drive away. But if we turn our attention to Jesus, to the One who saves, to the One who made us and loves us and calls us to Himself, then the barking of the dogs fades away into the background. Then Christ Himself fights our battles, and we return to our natural place as worshipers of God, as those whose minds and hearts are attending to the one thing needful.

In Homily 42, St. Isaac the Syrian makes an interesting statement about spiritual guidance. He says, “Do not seek advice from a man who does not lead a life similar to your own, even if he be very wise.” St. Isaac goes on, “Confide your thoughts to a man who, though he lack learning, has experience in things, rather than to a learned philosopher who speaks on the basis of speculations, having no actual experience.” For St. Isaac, and many Orthodox spiritual writers, both ancient and modern, it is very important to seek advice from those who have actually lived and experienced the things that you are seeking advice about.

Even as we strive to please God by disciplining ourselves and obeying His commands, we know that God loves us. We know that God will accept our striving for righteousness, even if we don’t do it very well, even if we fail. God is able to fix our mistakes. Therefore, like children striving to please a parent whom we know loves us completely, we offer what we have, what we can do, in a carefree way, knowing that 100% will never be enough to succeed completely all of the time, but it is enough to please God.

Fr. Michael Gillis answers the question of “how to overcome thoughts of pride in our hearts that inevitably come after labouring on good works for our families and people around us.”

Join Steve and Christian as they talk about the highly anticipated Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. The guys talk about the Force, both the light side and the dark, the recurrent themes of family and personhood with just a dash of theology. So, join the guys as they celebrate the movie and end with their five favorite Star Wars quotations of all time.

Steve and Christian geek out over Rogue One on their annual Star Wars podcast. They talk about the Force, sacrifice, and the difference between hope and optimism. They end with the top 5 Vader moments.

The guys watched the new Orthodox documentary Becoming Truly Human. They discuss the nature of conversion stories, the role of parents in journeys through faith, and how doubt can be central to our spiritual walk.They close with their Top 5 Martyr Stories.

It’s finally time for the annual Star Wars PCCH, and the guys are stoked. They discuss relating with the past, the balance between light and darkness, and how great it was to see Luke Skywalker return to the silver screen. Spoilers abound, including this one: No Top 5. Just pure, unadulterated Star Wars.

It's finally here. The end of the Skywalker Saga! Join the guys as they discuss the final film of a story 42 years in the making! Spoiler Porgs included.

What if magic were real? The guys explore the new Disney feature film, "Onward." They explore the truth in stories, the challenges of a disenchanted world, and the ways Disney films present love.

“It takes strength to resist the dark side. Only the weak embrace it.” – Obi-Wan Kenobi After talking with Ancient Faith's John Maddex about the current financial situation and opportunities (please support the guys' virtual Regatta team here: https://afm.kindful.com/lifeboat-2020/the-supplicants), Steven Christoforou and Christian Gonzalez explore the recently-concluded Star Wars animated series: The Clone Wars. They discuss why Star Wars TV shows have been better than the recent movies, the depth of the characters (both old and new), and what the failings of the Jedi Order can teach us as Christians.

Fr. Philip LeMasters calls us to offer our lives in service of the Kingdom of God.

If we are ever tempted to think that the Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are antiquated niceties for those removed from the cares of daily life, we must think again. They are absolute necessities for us to live faithfully in our world of corruption. They are not practices focused on individual spiritual gratification, but how we find the strength to offer ourselves for the blessing of our neighbors and the salvation of the world.

Fr. John explores how the Church began to address, confront, and challenge the pagan culture of the Roman Empire, particularly during the third century.

Fr. John explains how the Church cultivated a higher level of sexual dignity and explores how Christendom served to elevate women in Roman society.

In this final episode of Part 2 of the podcast, Fr. John discusses the catastrophic wars that broke out in western Christendom during the Reformation age. These wars, along with other forces unleashed by developments in the Reformation and earlier, would ultimately result in the loss of Christianity's legitimacy, leading to the rise of a modern, secularized form of Christendom centered upon the experience of utopia.

In this special edition of Lord, Send Me, Fr. John Parker sits down with best-selling author and pastor Rick Warren. They talk about Orthodoxy, evangelism, and the current state of the Evangelical movement.

On his way back home from the OCMC board meeting, Fr. John reflects on his recent visit and interview with Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Community Church.

Fr. John speaks with Metropolitan Kallistos Ware about the importance of preaching, worship, and books in our call to evangelism. One of the books His Eminence recommends for those wanting to learn more about the Orthodox faith is For the Life of the World by Fr. Alexander Schmemann.

We understand Jesus’ circumcision and devoted youth, described in Luke 2:2-21 and 40-52, in terms of the epistle reading for January first, Colossians 2:8-12, and with the help of various verses in Exodus, Deuteronomy and Numbers. In his new life, we are made new!

We read Jesus’ words to the church at Thyatira (Rev. 2:18-28), probing the description of the fiery-eyed Jesus, the temptations of their celebrated prophetess “Jezebel,” and Jesus’ promise to reward their “works” by His luminous coming as the Morning Star. We are helped by remembering the nemesis of Elijah in 2 Kings (4 Kingdoms) 9:30-37, the visions of Daniel 7 and 10, and the commentary of select Church fathers.

We read the Revelation 12:13-17 in the light of Deuteronomy 32:10-18 and Psalm LXX 54:7-8 (MT 55:6-7). Here we learn how God uses the “desert” to nourish and perfect His people. We also see our paradoxical position, both joyfully safe with Christ and the Theotokos, but also exposed to the ongoing campaign of the adversary, who seeks to destroy, dissuading us from following the way of the Lamb.

Dawn’s Gentle Light, "Winter at War 1914-1915," by Renee Riva (Pink Heart Press, 2017)

Fr. Ted encourages us to read the New Testament before the Old Testament.

If we try to take the Lenten journey alone, we will fail because none of us are strong enough to defeat the army which is against us.

Today Kevin's guest host on the program is Father Steve Tsichlis, Senior Pastor of Saint Paul's Greek Orthodox Church in Irvine, California. Fr Steve's special guest for this exclusive Illumined Heart interview is His Eminence, Metropolitan KALLISTOS [Ware]. Their topic is: UNDERSTANDING THE SACRAMENTS. Saint Paul’s recently hosted His Eminence, Metropolitan KALLISTOS to Southern California, for a two-day, packed-house seminar to the general public titled, “Drawing Closer to the Savior: The Sacramental Life”. CD’s of this seminar are available for purchase by calling St Paul’s Church Office at 949.733.2366. You can also contact them on St Pauls’ website: www.stpaulsirvine.org.

If you missed it the first time, here is another opportunity to hear this very frank and open conversation with Charles Ajalat, the Chancellor of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese in North America. It is about an hour long but worth the investment of your time!

In part 6 of our interview with the Metropolitan, we ask him to address the future of Orthodoxy and whether he is pessimistic or optimistic.

We ask His Eminence about the role of nationalism and ethnicity in the Orthodox Church.

In this section, Metropolitan Kallistos addresses the question of music adaptation to the culture and modern ears.

The Metropolitan is asked about women's ordination and same sex attraction in this section of the interview.

What can Evangelicals and Orthodox learn from each other is the subject of the 2nd section of our interview with His Eminence.

In the first section of our extensive interview with Metropolitan Kallistos, we talk about the state of the Orthodox Church both here and abroad.

In a very special edition of The Illumined Heart, we have an extensive conversation with His Eminence Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, Professor Emeritus in Eastern Orthodox Studies at Oxford University, and Bishop of Diokleia. Metropolitan Ka!istos is widely regarded as perhaps the world’s leading theologian of the Eastern Orthodox Church today. We present the entire interview here but also offer it in bite size pieces below. Kevin Allen's guest host is John Maddex.

Fr. Hans Jacobse, editor of Orthodoxy Today and President of The American Orthodox Institute speaks with host Kevin Allen about whether Eastern Orthodox Christians need to engage in the moral and social war that is being waged in our culture. They will also talk about whether "Religious Right" leaning ex-Evangelical converts are taking over the Orthodox churches in America! Buckle your seat belts!

The Very Rev. Dr. Philip LeMasters speaks at the St. Vladimir’s Seminary 2011 Orthodox Education Day.

Fr. Evan welcomes Dr. Philip Mamalakis for this special extended version of Orthodoxy Live. Many have found Dr. Philip's new book, Parenting Toward the Kingdom, to be a very helpful resource in raising their children. The two of them discuss child rearing, family life, and the joys and struggles of parenting. With far more questions than they had time to get to, look for a followup program down the road.

Meet Edward, one of the treasures at the Mission. Taken from Walking Humbly: The Holiness of the Poor, by St. John the Compassionate Mission.

Today's episode addresses spiritual warfare, demon dishwashers, Palm Sunday as a fish, wine and oil day and the wisdom of Fr. Alexander Schmemann.

Fr. Apostolos outlines the basic stewardship principles from 2 Corinthians 8.

Fr. Apostolos talks on stewardship and addressed the role that Christian stewardship plays in bridging the gap between the material and immaterial aspects of our faith. By consecrating the material resources of our lives to God we can escape the trap of reducing our faith in Jesus Christ to a disembodied philosophy.

Fr. Apostolos addresses the inner meaning of the Feast of the Incarnation, through the perspective of the latest Star Wars film.

Fr. Apostolos Hill examines the feast of the Presentation and its application to the theme of collaborating synergetically with God as did the Virgin and her parents in the events of the feast.