Fr. Stephen De Young discusses Genesis Chapter 32

Fr. Stephen De Young discusses Genesis Chapters 33 and 34

Fr. Stephen De Young discusses Genesis Chapter 35

Fr. Stephen De Young discusses Genesis Chapter 36

Fr. Stephen De Young discusses Genesis Chapter 37.

Parental Advisory: This episode may contain some adult themes Fr. Stephen De Young discusses the beginning of Genesis Chapter 38.

Parental Advisory: This episode may contain some adult themes. Fr. Stephen De Young discusses the ending of Genesis Chapter 38.

Fr. Stephen De Young discusses Genesis Chapter 39.

Fr. Stephen De Young discusses Genesis Chapters 40 and 41

Fr. Stephen De Young discusses Genesis Chapter 42.

Fr. Stephen De Young discusses Genesis Chapters 43 through 45.

Fr. Stephen De Young discusses Genesis Chapter 46.

Fr. Stephen De Young discusses Genesis Chapter 47.

Fr. Stephen De Young discusses Genesis Chapter 48.

Fr. Stephen De Young discusses Genesis Chapters 49 and 50.

In our Troparia for Nativity, we sing "Your Nativity, O Christ our God, has shone to the world the Light of wisdom! For by it, those who worshipped the stars, were taught by a star to adore You, the Sun of Righteousness, and to know You, the Orient from on High. O Lord, glory to You!" In today's episode, Fr. Tom reflects on these terms for Christ.

What is the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ as described in the Book of Revelation? Fr. Tom Hopko explores this with us in his next episode of The Names of Jesus.

Steven and Christian discuss being exposed to darkness through art and whether or not there is merit in pressing through things that are difficult to watch. They deal with themes of light and dark, weaker brothers and stronger brothers, and why neither of them could make it past (or in Christian’s case through) the first episode of the critically acclaimed Breaking Bad. As always, the guys end with a top 5 list.

At the beginning of the new season, Steve and Emma stir things up with the first ever crossover episode of PCCH! They take a look at HBO’s hit series Game of Thrones. They address the controversy surrounding the show’s grittier content, the possibility of personal transformation, and the only true battle that matters: the battle between Life and Death. They close with their Top 5 Tragic Heroes.

The guys take on Marvel’s newest installment, Avengers: Infinity War. They discuss the role of empathy in decision making, the tension of the value of the one against the value of the many, and how death only seeks to destroy. They close with their Top 5 Gut Punches.

"Families can be hard, but they're so worth fighting for. They might be one of the only things that are." Steve and Christian watched the new Netflix film, "The Mitchells vs. The Machines." The guys discuss family, belonging, and being corrects vs being connected. Philanthropy Spotlight: Christ's last words to the Apostles were "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all people". Since 1987, OCMC has sent Missionaries and Mission Teams to work, worship and witness around the world. Continue this tradition by joining a Virtual Mission Team. If not you, then who? Find out more at www.ocmc.org

Are we ascending in holiness with Christ through the pains and challenges of this world?

Fr. Philip calls us to actively engage in the journey towards the Kingdom of God through the Dormition Fast.

How quickly are we to forgive those who have wronged us in some way?

Jesus Christ gives us back our true identities, making us into faithful witnesses of His redeeming work.

Are you prepared to enter the Kingdom of God? If not, the Church calls us to enter through forgiveness into the journey of repentance of Great Lent.

Entering the final week of Lent, we are reminded once again of our own weakness and failings and our needs for the mercy of God.

We are called to bear witness of the resurrected Lord, along with St. Thomas, who sought to know Christ through a personal experience with Him.

Self-centeredness is an act of idolatry, addressed by giving of ourselves and our desires to meet the needs of others.

Fr. Philip LeMasters calls us to live in a life of genuine forgiveness that is empowered by the divine energy of God.

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.

Let us get over our pride and become living epiphanies of the salvation of the One Who was baptized by St. John the Forerunner in the Jordan.

As we begin our Lenten journey, we remember today how Adam and Eve stripped themselves naked of the divine glory and were cast out of Paradise into a world enslaved by death. During Great Lent, we follow the path that leads back to Paradise.

Lenten practices are not instruments of punishment or legalism, but blessed tools for becoming more fully our true selves as living icons of God.

“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” The father of the young man in today’s gospel lesson cried out these words with tears in response to the Lord’s statement that “all things are possible to him who believes.” The father in this passage provides a good example of how we should respond to the spiritual challenges posed by our current public health crisis.

St. Photini’s encounter with the Lord was truly transformative. He did not merely give her ideas about religion. He gave her the “Living Water” of the Holy Spirit which made her a participant in eternal life by grace.

The man in our gospel reading whose sight the Lord restored had been blind from birth, having known only darkness throughout his life. He symbolizes us all, for until the light of the Savior’s resurrection, humanity had wandered in spiritual blindness and captivity.

At Pentecost, we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit as a sign of the restoration of human persons, both individually and collectively, in the divine image and likeness.

It may seem strange that Orthodox Christianity gives so much attention to martyrs and saints. To speak of those who die for their faith is to recall instances of murder. Why would a religion give so much attention to such an unpleasant subject?

Fr. Philip LeMasters reminds us that our words reveal the state of our souls.

As we celebrate the Exaltation of the Cross, let us examine ourselves to see if our lives appear foolish and scandalous by the standards of the world because of our faithfulness to Jesus Christ.

Instead of obsessing over how we measure up, we should simply focus all our energies on finding healing for our passions as we reorient our disordered desires for fulfillment in God. If we persist in doing so and call out for the Lord’s mercy whenever we stumble and fall, we will come to know the joy of those liberated from the tomb, clothed in the divine glory, and finally in our right minds.

As we prepare to receive the Lord in faith at Christmas, we must use our freedom to follow St. Paul’s instruction in today’s epistle reading: “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

During Great Lent, we will follow the path that leads back to Paradise.

If we are to complete our Lenten journey to our Lord’s Cross and glorious resurrection, we must learn to entrust ourselves to Him as honestly and fully as we possibly can.

Christ has ascended. Let us go up together with Him as we find liberation from slavery to our passions and share more fully in the salvation that He has brought to the world.

Let us live as those who have tasted the living water of the Holy Spirit and know that nothing can truly satisfy us—in this life or in that which is to come—other than uniting ourselves to Christ in holiness.

The darkness roots deeply within us all, both personally and collectively, and nothing but the brilliant glory of the Lord can overcome it. Whether we know it or not, we inevitably sink like stones into the abyss whenever we make anything or anyone else the foundation of our lives.

Unlike the rich man, we must not walk away in sadness when our weakness before our passions becomes apparent, especially when we realize how far short we have fallen of the holiness to which Christ calls us.