O Almighty God, You have come so many times to me and found no resting place. Forgive me for my overcrowded life, my vain haste and preoccupation with self. Come again, O Lord, and though my heart is a jumble … Continue reading
adminstmike
As we end the 24th week after Pentecost, the Church assigns a reading from Luke’s Gospel that relates the cure of a woman who had been badly stooped for over 18 years. It is important to note that Jesus performed … Continue reading
There are many journey stories in Scripture, illumining different facets of the spiritual journey. In Genesis (32:23-33), we read that Jacob was traveling home from a foreign land where he had acquired two wives, eleven children and a large herd … Continue reading
As you probably know from experience, our Divine Liturgy is a concelebration of people and celebrant. This finds particular expression in the eucharistic prayers which are all, without exception, structured as dialogues. Every prayer is sealed by the gathering with … Continue reading
In the last issue of the article, I began sharing information about the Gospel of Matthew which is typically placed first in the sequence of Gospels even though it is not the first one to have been written. As I … Continue reading
This article has been, perhaps, the most difficult to write. The Fathers of the Church are not necessarily easy to understand since they frequently used philosophical terms to forge an understanding of what they believed about Jesus Christ. As I … Continue reading
One of the characteristics of the Eastern Church is her ascetical practice of fasting before major feasts. Since we are now in the period known as St. Philip’s Fast, I thought I would share some ideas about fasting, Eastern style. … Continue reading
Prayer, as one might expect, is at the heart of Eastern Spirituality. I have shared, over the past several weeks, different types of prayer. There is another form of one-to-one prayer that is called Prayer of the Heart. It is … Continue reading
O Heavenly Father, let me be eager and celebrate before its time the Nativity of Christ and Your manifestation as my Triune God. Let me lift up my mind and heart to Bethlehem and imagine the Virgin on her way … Continue reading
O Lord, have mercy on all my friends and relatives, on all my benefactors, on all who pray for me, and on all who have asked me to pray for them. Give them a spirit of fruitful penance and make … Continue reading