Fr. John Whiteford discusses the importance of keeping our minds on Christ, especially in this time of earthly peril.

Fr. John Whiteford's sermon for June 9, 2024.

The Gadarene Demoniac had been reduced to an animal existence by his misuse of his freedom. Jesus comes and heals him and he is finally in his right mind. Are you in your right mind?

Mindfulness is a growing movement in the United States. It’s finding its way into schools as well as into the daily practice of the lives of many. So what is mindfulness and what are its many benefits? How is it different from prayerfulness, or is it? Join Michael as he discusses prayerfulness and mindfulness, nepsis or watchfulness, and what some Orthodox Christians who are also priests, professors and psychologists have to say about mindfulness.

Join Michael as he talks about how to capture and protect our mind from the world of false images we live in, and how doing so also supports our mental, physical and spiritual health.

St. Seraphim of Sarov states that “everyday we should partake of just enough food to allow the body, being fortified, to a be a friend and helper to the soul in performing the virtues. Otherwise with the body exhausted the soul may also weaken.” In this episode, Rita provides wisdom from the early Church Fathers regarding what foods we should be eating and how to consume them in a sensible and healthful manner.

This is the most celebratory time of the whole year! Rita shares ways to joyfully celebrate Pascha without forfeiting a healthy relationship with food.

Did you overdo it during the fast-free period of the Holy Nativity? Are you frustrated with how you ate and that lack of attention you paid to your body? Do you struggle with overindulgence on foods and beverage? Rita discusses how and why we must forgive ourselves and move forward.

Fr. Andrew speaks at the clergy conference of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA in South Bound Brook, NJ, on October 21, 2015. The talk addresses the question of how the Orthodox are to encounter the people of the West, especially focusing on the issues of ethnicity in the Orthodox Church and the secular mindset.

In discussing Paul's doctrine that only the doers of the word of God will be justified, Fr. Andrew discusses how our spiritual energies are to be turned both inward and outward.

The Louhs speak with Dr. Jeannie Constantinou, a Biblical scholar and Ancient Faith Radio contributor, taking as a starting point the “Renewal of the Mind” as St. Paul writes of in Romans 12:2.

In this episode Fr. Anthony offers ancient advice for understanding and loving others, even those with whom we are (or seem to be) at war. He concludes that until we have done the hard work of training our minds, the words that come out of our mouths are full of vanity and not to be trusted.

In this episode Fr. Anthony talks with long-time mission priest Fr. Gabriel Rochelle about baking bread (Fr. Gabriel has a book on it!), caring for lampadas, and the special skills needed to plant and nurture missions. Enjoy the show!

"As Christians we are all called to be of one mind, but that one mind is not your mind or my mind or somebody else’s—no matter how holy or important that person is or how much authority he or she has. The one mind we are called to have is Christ’s."

Fr. Philip LeMasters teaches us how to gain the spiritual clarity that we need to bear good fruit.

Fr. Philip LeMasters reminds us to keep our attention on Christ.

Our calling this week is to enter into the profound contrast between the ways of the world as we know them and the life of our crucified and risen Lord. Especially today, it is easy to focus on what is going wrong, on what we have lost already or may lose in the future.

We must remember who we are and find our true selves in Him, if we want to avoid the inevitable disintegration of personality and character that comes from slavery to our passions. Then we too will be able to obey with joy the Lord’s command to the formerly demon-possessed man: “Return to your home, and declare all that God has done for you.”

Consider the passages in St. Andrew’s canon concerning Moses, alongside Hebrews 11:24-25, 32-40 and John 1:43-51 and 2 Peter 1. We learn the apostolic way of reading the Old Testament as warnings and examples to help us at the beginning of Great Lent.

This week we consider the reading from Acts 16 for the sixth Sunday of Easter, reading it in the light of Psalm 1. These readings discloses different mindsets, some to caution us, some to be our models, as we follow Christ on the Way.

Fr. Ted calls us to keep the coming judgment before our eyes as we enter Great Lent.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos explains how we acquire the mind of Christ, by living in Christ through the life of Church.

Andrew reminds us that we can use our creativity in cooperation with God’s creative power or we can use it apart from God. Read the transcript HERE.

Bishop Alexander of the Bulgarian Diocese of the OCA gave the Second Annual Meyendorff Lecture at SVOTS on September 14, 2014. The title of his lecture was "Force Your Mind to Descend into the Heart: Some Resemblances between Byzantine Hesychasm and Merkavah Mysticism."

Our minds get bombarded with unwelcome thoughts but what can we do with them? Molly shares what has been helpful to her.

Dn. Theodore describes an encounter he recently had with a man who claims to have written a quantum formula that proves the existence of God.

A handful of stories demonstrating how the repentance of the poor and downtrodden offers everyone a glimpse at the doors that lead to peace and life.

Fr. Lawrence explains the modern contempt for belief in the demonic and why it should be challenged.

In an often harsh world, a gentle spirit is a reflection of the life of Christ within us.

Dr. Albert Rossi continues his reflections on the profound statement by St. Silouan the Athonite, "Keep your mind in hell and despair not."

Dr. Albert Rossi reflects on the profound statement by St. Silouan the Athonite, "Keep your mind in hell and despair not."

Mark Moraitakis, Senior Director of Customer Foresight at Chick-fil-A, presents a leadership workshop at Hellenic College Holy Cross on developing the heart of a servant leader.

We are excited to announce a new call-in show starting January 24, 2017, with Fr. Nicholas and Dr. (Presbytera) Roxanne Louh. Meet this vibrant couple from Jacksonville, FL, where they serve at St. John the Divine Greek Orthodox Church. Healthy Minds Healthy Souls will broadcast on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month at 7:00 PM Central, 8:00 PM Eastern on the Talk Station of AFR.

Fr. Pat explains the importance of hearing the word of God, putting on Christ, and having common sense.

The radical path taken by Peter, James, and John in Luke 5 to forsake all and follow Christ is a path for us as well. It has has a fundamental effect on our imagination and memory, our approach to knowledge, and our relationship to truth.

Fr. Pat talks to us about an important theme from the Epistle to the Hebrews, namely “today”, beginning with the question: “what does it mean for a human being to “be present”?

The story of the Gadarene Demoniac in Luke 8 provokes three questions which are important for us to ask today.

In this reflection, Fr. Pat considers what we have to learn from those in the Nativity story who look into the sky and ponder the moon and the stars.

This past Sunday evening All Saints Church hosted a Pan-Orthodox Prayer Service for the Sanctity of Life, sponsored by the Orthodox Christian Clergy Association of Chicago. Fr. Pat was the guest speaker. These were his remarks.

“Let us return, brethren, to ourselves...For we cannot be reconciled with God and assimilated to Him unless we first return, or rather, enter into ourselves... For the miracle consists in tearing ourselves away from the distraction and vain concerns of the world and in this way relentlessly seizing hold of the kingdom of heaven within us.” St Nikiphoros the Monk, On Watchfulness and the Guarding of the Heart, Philokalia vol. 4) What this Episode is About: A main goal of the Christian life is to keep our attention focused on Christ. We’re called to drink deeply of the Church’s wisdom so we can master our attention and see Christ at work in all things. But the internet is designed to capture that attention and focus it on things that are superficial at best or toxic at worst. Three Questions as You Watch: 1. What are the limits you’re placing on your social media use? 2. Is your life centered in real communities or artificial internet communities? 3. How does the stuff you’re watching or reading or listening to on the internet help you keep your attention on Christ?

Kevin's guest is Rita Madden, host of the AFR podcast "Food, Faith, and Fasting." Rita is a Registered Dietitian who finds inspiration in the great role that the Orthodox Christian faith can play in her modern-day healthcare profession. Here she discusses caring for your health in a spiritually minded manner.

In this two-part interview Kevin's guest is "George," who became a Sunni Muslim at age 14 and studied to become an Imam at a madrasa, studying Quran, Arabic language, Islamic theology, hadith, and jurisprudence. He left Islam and became an Orthodox Christian 20 years later. Among other things, Kevin and his guest discuss Islamic theology, common misunderstandings of Christianity by Muslims, differences between "orthodox" Islam and the Nation of Islam, the true understanding and practice in Islam of slavery and jihad, and the extraordinary journey that led "George" to Orthodox Christianity.

In this two-part interview Kevin's guest is "George," who became a Sunni Muslim at age 14 and studied to become an Imam at a madrasa, studying Quran, Arabic language, Islamic theology, hadith, and jurisprudence. He left Islam and became an Orthodox Christian 20 years later. Among other things, Kevin and his guest discuss Islamic theology, common misunderstandings of Christianity by Muslims, differences between "orthodox" Islam and the Nation of Islam, the true understanding and practice in Islam of slavery and jihad, and the extraordinary journey that led "George" to Orthodox Christianity.

We are seeing eastern meditation and mind-body practices like hatha yoga, tai chi, qi gong; and mindfulness-based therapy gaining wide credibility and attracting more and more adherents. Whether we as Orthodox should adopt eastern spiritual mind-body practices is a matter of great debate in the Orthodox Church. In this edition of Ancient Faith Today, Kevin discusses with his guest Christopher Kies what “Mindfulness” meditation is in its secular and Buddhist spiritual contexts; the Orthodox Christian correlative approach of Nipsis or Watchfulness; how they differ in goals and approaches; and whether formal Mindfulness meditation practices are appropriate for Orthodox Christians.