Daily Meditations Archives

The Third Thursday of Pascha. St. Melito and Pascha – Hell Is Not the Last Word

05/08/2025

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! ~By Stephen Freeman, April 29, 2025 Among the most powerful meditations on Pascha are the writings of Melito of Sardis (ca. 190 AD). His homily, On Pascha, is both a work of genius as poetry and a powerful work of theology. Its subject is the Lord’s Pascha – particularly as an interpretation of the Old Testament. It is a common example of early Church thought on Scripture and the Lord’s Pascha. I

The Third Wednesday of Pascha. Indifference

05/07/2025

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! ~Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, May 16, 2021 Today we revisit the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of our Lord. Many of the familiar characters reappear. Pilate, Joseph of Arimathea, Mary Magdalene, the mother of Joses, Mary the mother of James and Salome. Except for Pilate of course, the faithful and courageous followers of Jesus. Courage does not mean the absence of fear. Fear is very often the

The Third Tuesday of Pascha. Prefigurations of the Resurrection in the Easter Canon

05/06/2025

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! ~Professor Mihaïl Tritos, School of Theology A.U.Th. No other text is able to express with such force and fullness the redemptive, existential and metaphysical dimension of the resurrection so well as the incomparable canon by Saint John the Damascan. It’s a masterpiece of Byzantine poetry and one of the most wonderful texts in the whole of world literature. Full of lyrical expressions of sublime spirituality and messages of salvation, the

Third Monday of Pascha. The Feast Day of St. Irene the Great Martyr of Thessalonica

05/05/2025

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Feast Day of St. Irene the Great Martyr of Thessalonica The holy Great Martyr Irene was born in the city of Magedon in Persia during the fourth century. She was the daughter of the pagan king Licinius, and her parents named her Penelope. Penelope was very beautiful, and her father kept her isolated in a high tower from the time she was six so that she would not be

Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women: The Point of It All Is Joy

05/04/2025

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, April 30, 2023 The women who went to the Lord ‘s Tomb on Sunday morning “while it was still dark” Were frightened and, sad, and very likely angry at what had happened to the Lord in Jerusalem on the one hand. On the other hand, they were driven by love for Jesus and responsibility to fulfill the proper Jewish burial rites for

The Second Friday of Pascha. Sacred Remembering

05/02/2025

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, May 3, 2020 A question came up at Subdeacon James’ Adult education class last Thursday about remembrance, like when we say, “May her memory be eternal,” and “Remember us, O Lord, when you come into your kingdom.” That got me thinking. We have done a lot of remembering over the past few weeks and what have we gained from it? If Holy

The Second Thursday of Pascha. Falling Between the Cracks

05/01/2025

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! ~By Father Stephen Freeman, May 26, 2023 … human nature is created and so, is unavoidably mortal; with death man’s entire psychosomatic being comes to an end. All of his psychological and mental functions cease to function: his self-conscience, reasoning, judgment, memory, imagination, and desire. Man is no longer able to function through the parts of the body in order to speak, to call to memory, to distinguish, to desire,

The Second Wednesday of Pascha. Apostle James the Brother of Saint John the Theologian

04/30/2025

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! Commemorated on April 30 The Holy Apostle James, the son of Zebedee, was the brother of Saint John the Theologian, and one of the Twelve Apostles. He and his brother, Saint John, were called to be Apostles by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who called them the “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17). It was this James, with John and Peter, who witnessed the Raising of the Daughter of Jairus, the Lord’s Transfiguration

The Second Tuesday of Pascha. No Walls

04/29/2025

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, May 9, 2021 Faith. Deep and true faith means being open to what the truth turns out to be as we grow and learn and come more fully to understand. We come to know most fully through an experience of the Living God just like so many did when encountering the Crucified One risen from the dead. In the journey of faith, we must be willing to

The Second Monday of Pascha. Identity and the Resurrection of Christ

04/28/2025

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! ~By Father Stephen Freeman, April 20, 2023 There is a strange moment described in the gospels regarding the resurrection of Christ (in fact, there are several such moments). When Mary Magdalen first encounters the risen Lord, we are told that she “took Him for the gardener.” But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in