"Saint Helen, the mother of Saint Constantine the Great, when she was already advanced in years, undertook, in her great piety, the hardships of a journey to Jerusalem in search of the Cross, about the year 325. A temple to Aphrodite had been raised up by the Emperor Hadrian upon Golgotha, to defile and cover with oblivion the place where the saving Passion had been suffered. The venerable Helen had the statue of Aphrodite destroyed, and the earth removed, revealing the Tomb of our Lord, and three crosses. Of these, it was believed that one must be that of our Lord, the other two of the thieves crucified with Him; but Saint Helen was at a loss which one might be the Wood of our salvation. At the inspiration of Saint Macarius, Archbishop of Jerusalem, a lady of Jerusalem, who was already at the point of death from a certain disease, was brought to touch the crosses, and as soon as she came near to the Cross of our Lord, she was made perfectly whole. Consequently, the precious Cross was lifed on high by Archbishop Macarius of Jerusalem; as he stood on the ambo, and when the people beheld it, they cried out, "Lord, have mercy." It should be noted that after its discovery, a portion of the venerable Cross was taken to Constantinople as a blessing. The rest was left in Jerusalem in the magnificent church built by Saint Helen, until the year 614. At that time, the Persians plundered Palestine and took the Cross to their own country (See Jan. 22, Saint Anastasius the Persian). Later, in the year 628, Emperor Heraclius set out on a military campaign, retrieved the Cross, and after bringing it to Constantinople, himself escorted it back to Jerusalem, where he restored it to its place." (Great Horologion) A fast is kept today, whatever the day of the week.

Rita describes the benefits of creative almsgiving for both our spiritual and physical well being.

Modern day medicine is encouraging people to practice gratitude as it is good for health. We are called by our Holy Tradition to give thanks for all things! Following the Holy Orthodox Tradition provides us the tools we need to care for soul and body.

Fr. Andrew Damick comments on a recent article in Christianity Today by Mark Galli entitled "Giving Up Self-Discipline For Lent." He contrasts the Western view of Lent with an Orthodox perspective. Listen to Fr. Andrew's commentary below or read it by clicking on the image.

Connecting both St. Paul's command to 'walk worthy' of the calling we received with the Gospel account of the rich man who asks Jesus about eternal life, Fr. Andrew takes on the question of how we give to God in our churches.

On today's show we discuss Thanksgiving with Fr. John Hopko and hear what you're thankful for. Theme song, "Burn Out Bright," by Switchfoot, used by permission.

Nathan, Maria, and Andrew discuss the topic of almsgiving and answer a listener question in the inaugural On the Waves mailbag segment. Listeners are asked to send in questions to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)/**/!

Fr. John Oliver reflects on what makes us truly happy.

A Roman Catholic priest, two Orthodox clergymen, a Baptist boy and an Episcopalian gal, along with a Greek layman—unexpectedly—share a Thanksgiving campfire. What do you think happens?

In our last episode: a Roman Catholic priest, two Orthodox clergymen, a Baptist boy and an Episcopalian gal, along with a Greek layman—unexpectedly—share a Thanksgiving campfire. In the end, Fr Joseph asked: "What do you think happens?" This week, an answer (provided almost entirely from AFR listeners).

Elissa describes how the life of St. Nicholas can be used as an inspiration to give anonymously.

Elissa discusses Orthodox marriage and parenting, focusing particularly on how both involve dying to self.

At this point in Great Lent, are you frustrated with your ability to draw near to God? Fr. Michael reminds us that we are not alone, and shares encouragement from St. Isaac the Syrian.

Isn’t it strange how much easier it is to thank God when you have almost nothing, than it is when you have much more than you need? I have noticed this in myself. I am very thankful to God when I have a little bread (when I might not have any), but when I have bread going mouldy because I have so many other things to eat, I forget to give thanks. When we have abundance, we have to force ourselves give thanks, otherwise we won’t.

Growing in humility is the only way for us to find healing for our passions, for our disordered desires ultimately root in the pride of not accepting the truth about who we are before God.

The spiritual disciplines of the Apostles Fast provide us all with opportunities to clarify our spiritual vision and gain the strength to see all the blessings of this life as gifts to be offered to God.

The Suitcase: A Story About Giving by Jane G. Meyer, illustrated by Chiara Pasqualotto (Paraclete Press, 2017) Available at Paraclete Press.

Fr. Ted speaks on the importance of forgiveness and reminds us of the huge debt we've been forgiven.

Fr. Ted addresses the trend in Canada to not go to church on Thanksgiving.

Fr. Ted explains that the way you can tell whether you are giving out of love is to look at the type of giving that you do.

Keith Thomas Sandberg speaks at a lecture sponsored by the Winnipeg Orthodox Clergy Association after the Vespers of St. Mary of Egypt.

Thanksgiving should be the core of our being as Orthodox Christians.

In the act of giving we free ourselves from our material possessions.

Fr. Ted encourages us to live a life of thanksgiving to Christ!

Fr. Ted encourages us to consider the difference between secular-giving to the poor and Christian-giving to the poor, and how we can give the best of ourselves to our brothers and sisters as we follow Jesus Christ.

Fr. Ted addresses the staff at the headquarters of World Vision Canada on the Orthodox view of charity as it relates to Great Lent.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos addresses the need to invite Christ and His Church into the dying process.

Dn. Mark explains that when caring for the elderly and the terminally ill, you should not take the caregiving journey alone. Because this journey will change your life in ways that you never anticipated, he likewise enumerates what you need to be aware of as a caregiver.

It is always better to give than to receive. When we try to help other people, we tend to forget their need to also be able to give.

Fr. Apostolos shares three reasons to be grateful and three suggestions to consecrate the Thanksgiving holiday.

Fr. Apostolos talks about feeding ourselves spiritually, not only physically."Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled."

Fr. Apostolos addresses how to walk in the grace of thanksgiving and gratitude in our day-to-day lives.

The Parable of the Ten Lepers provided an opportunity to examine Levitical laws pertaining to leprosy and to the offering of sacrifices of thanksgiving in the Temple. Fr. Apostolos Hill underscore thes essentiality of the Holy Eucharist as the means whereby we as Orthodox Christians can offer our own sacrifices of Thanksgiving to God.

The most endearing secular holiday in the American calendar is Thanksgiving Day. It was set aside by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 "as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father." Later, the modern culture invented Black Friday, driving consumers to the stores in a buying frenzy. Fr Thomas reminds us that "covetousness is idolatry" (Col 3:5), that everything we have belongs to God, and should be used for His glory.

The central importance for the Christian life is almsgiving … helping the poor and those in need.

Church teaching is that every human being is loved by God, is unique and a special person. We are called to love each other as Christ loves us.

We should all take away from the Feast of Theophany a renewed commitment not only to our own personal renewal in the Spirit but also through our own service of God and a share in the blooming of creation and the healing of the nations.

Fr. Emmanuel Kahn and Fr. Gregory Hallam speak to both the adults and children about the importance of forgiveness.

Fr. Emmanuel gives the sermon entitled The Thanksgiving Principle with an introduction by Fr Gregory on St Gregory Palamas.

Elissa Bjeletich, author of Blueprints for the Little Church and the host of the AFR podcast "Raising Saints," speaks at The Holy Taxiarchai and St. Haralambos Greek Orthodox Church in Niles, Illinois.

Jesus and the Ten Lepers.

The Christian love of one’s enemies is not ultimately rooted in the quest for inner peace. It is rooted in the life we have in Christ. Fr. Pat preaches from Luke 6:31-36.

Why is gift-giving such an important part of Christmas? What does it have to do with our lives as Christians?

“He who loves humanity fulfills the Law that was writ of old and is brought to the Temple now.” - Stichera of Orthros The People of Israel were commanded to offer everything from the firstfruits of their harvest to their firstborn sons to God. This is just a part of a great cycle of offering: where we give ourselves to God and God gives Himself to us. Let's take a closer look at how Jesus fulfills the Law in the Presentation of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And what we can learn from the example of Saints Symeon and Anna. This week, Steve is joined by his cohosts on "3 Men and a Bible," Father Panagioti Boznos and Nick Lionas. ​ As always, we've prepared a FREE downloadable workbook to help you act on what you'll learn. https://mailchi.mp/goarch/bethebee163