Fr. Alexander Rentel, Chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America brings us a preparatory message in anticipation of Great Lent: observe the religious practice of the Church like the pharisee, but beg our Lord for the humble heart of the publican.

On the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing women, Fr. Tom draws many parallels between the servants of God, the Angels, the women to whom the resurrection was revealed, and our ever-serving mothers.

Today's sermon is given by Dn. Christopher speaking about Saint Mary of Egypt, one of the greatest examples of personal repentance that we have.

Lessons from the story of Zacchaeus.

Fr. Gregory Hallam draws on St. Augustine for his sermon on the Ascension.

Fr. Emmanuel talks to the adults and Fr. Gregory to the children about how we can each give more of ourselves—of our abilities, our insights, our time, our energy, our prayer life—to Christ and to this parish church.

Fr. Emmanuel gives the sermon and asks, "What is the relationship between loving God, loving your neighbour and loving yourself"?

Fr. Emmanuel Kahn sermon delivered by Fr. Gregory Hallam.

John Mark reflects on the "preachy commercials" during the Super Bowl and has a message for those of us who tend to be overly serious.

Dr. Rossi reviews the new movie, Les Miserables, and points out the messages that are consistent with the Orthodox faith.

Dr. Rossi interviews Fr. Michael Nasser, past Director of Antiochian Village Camp and Project Mexico. Fr. Michael is now priest of Holy Apostles Orthodox Mission in Bowling Green, KY.

Dr. Rossi interviews Fr. David Mezynski about a course he taught at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary about the Desert Mothers of the Church.

Dr. Rossi interviews Fr. Sergius Halvorsen on the topic of apologetics.

Dr. Albert Rossi interviews Fr. David Mezynski, Associate Dean for Student Affairs at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, on the book titled Harlots of the Desert by Benedicta Ward.

Dr. Albert Rossi shares his reflections on the book titled In the Heart of the Desert: The Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers by Fr. John Chryssavgis.

Dr. Albert Rossi interviews Fr. Sergius Halvorsen on the topic of "Apologetics and Evangelization: The Dangers of Profiteering." Rev. Dr. J. Sergius Halvorsen is the Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Yonkers, NY.

Dr. Albert Rossi has a follow up interview with Fr. Sergius Halvorsen on the topic of "The Homily and the Hearer." Rev. Dr. J. Sergius Halvorsen is the Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Yonkers, NY.

Dr. Albert Rossi interviews Fr. David Mezynski on the topic of Sobriety and the Desert Fathers. Fr. David is the former Dean of Students at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, and is currently working as a social worker in Rochester, New York.

To fully appreciate St. John the Forerunner, says Fr. Lawrence Farley, we need to place him in his historical context and to realize that he came to Israel as a thunderstorm at the end of a long drought.

This week, we consider the testimony of St Jacob on the dialogue between the Mother of God and the Archangel Gabriel, as he draws a parallel and contrast to the dialogue between Eve and the serpent in Eden.

Fr. Thomas Hopko discusses He who offers and is offered on our behalf to God the Father on the Cross as the perfect sacrifice that saves us from our sins and transgressions and puts us right with God. 

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.

OCMC missionary Floyd Frantz about his work with addictions in Romania.

John's guest is Fr. Daniel Marshall talking about a new Orthodox book for children called St. Seraphim's Beatitudes available from St. Innocent Press.

We talk with Claire Brandenburg, Manager of the Heavenly Ladder Bookstore in Taos, New Mexico, about a new CD featuring the writings of Archpriest Sergius of Kasimov.

Bobby Maddex interviews Dr. Bradley Nassif, a professor of biblical and theological studies at North Park University in Chicago, Illinois, and the author of a new book from Zondervan Press titled Bringing Jesus to the Desert.

Kevin Allen interviews Fr. Barnabas Powell about a brand new video project to help seekers discover the ancient Christian Faith. Learn about the Journey to Fullness initiative as Kevin and Fr. Barnabas discuss effective ways of doing outreach in the Orthodox Church.

Bobby Maddex interviews Veronica Hughes about her new book Saint Veronica: An Eastern Orthodox Historical Overview and Liturgical Service.

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick interviews Serbian Orthodox priest Fr. Milorad Orlic regarding the recent passing of His Holiness, Patriarch Irenej of Serbia.

Israel says there will be no ceasefire or pause until its war objectives are met. / The Times of Israel

A video round-up of what's happened in northern Gaza siege since the US gave its 30-day warning a month ago. / Al Jazeera

Between news-averse voters and Twitter disinformation, "Donald Trump was returned to power by the most badly informed electorate in modern American history." / The Philadelphia Inquirer

See also: The mirror of fascism in big tech. / Dead Simple Tech

Hannah Ritchie: The fact that researchers can't keep up with developments in low-carbon energy is, in many ways, a good thing. / Sustainability by numbers

Difficult-to-pronounce names are found to be negatively related to the probability of landing academic jobs. / American Economic Association

A scientist with breast cancer self-experimented with lab-grown viruses—and though the treatment was a success, she doesn't recommend just anyone try it. / Nature

Only 0.8% of American women live in an area that has an abortion facility that doesn't also have a nearby anti-abortion "crisis pregnancy center." / NBC News

"Spiritual bars"—alcohol plus tarot readings—are said to be booming in China. / Radii

More migratory birds passing through New York City means more skyscraper collisions. / The Guardian

Unrelated: Some thoughts about rethinking your commuting route. / The Los Angeles Times

Authorities dismantle a criminal group responsible for forging over 2,000 artworks attributed to more than 30 known artists. / artsy

A review of a $420,000 electric car says the best feature is the sound it makes. / The Verge

Watch: A short film about the custodians of an emergency airport in Australia. / Colossal

Residents of Coulsdon, England, find their Facebook posts deleted by an algorithm that flags the word "LSD" in their town's name. / Inside Croydon

Is social media an oral culture? "I actually don't know if any of this is right." / X

Baby boomers think the love song is dying—and they're wrong, but that's because the categories have changed. / The Pudding

View Post →

In Ephesians 4:11-13, Paul talks about Christian service. But what does it mean that we serve God? Fr. Pat examines the life of the Prophet Samuel and considers three lessons for us today.

In this homily preached the fourth Sunday of Great Lent 2014, Fr. Pat looks at the story from Mark 9 of Jesus driving a demon out of a young boy, and makes three observations of what this story teaches about faith.

When at His baptism the Father speaks of Jesus as his "Beloved Son", declaring Him "well-pleased", the expression would have evoked in the mind of Jesus and anyone else who heard them two Biblical texts with which Jesus Himself was already familiar from the years of study in the synagogue.

Fr. Pat preaches on the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness as told in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 4.

What sort of life we live is determined by who we think we are. If we are servants of God, that means that not one of us belongs to himself. His time, his energy, his resources, all belong to the King that he serves.

Fr. Pat explains why the Church emphasizes Christ's multiplication of the loaves and fish.

What does it mean to be a servant of God? How do we serve?

Archbishop Elpidophoros of America joins Steve to explore why service is at the heart of our lives as Christians. But he also reminds us that, if we truly want to emphasize service, then we must also emphasize the services of the Church.