Daily Meditations Archives - Page 10 of 325

The Thirty-Sixth Day of Christmas Advent: The Spirit of Christmas

12/20/2023

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on December 27, 2021 Archimandrite Iakovos Kanakis At this time of year, people often talk about the ‘spirit of Christmas’. But are we all talking about the same thing? I think not. It seems to me that if the ‘spirit of Christmas’ is only the presents, shopping in general, family meals, gatherings and relaxation, then Christmas, especially these days, must be very depressing for a lot of people. It causes depression, because many of

The Thirty-Fifth Day of Christmas Advent: The Eternal Gift of Union

12/19/2023

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, December 20, 2020 Here we are only a few days until Christmas. While we will be giving and receiving gifts, let’s take a moment to reflect on the greatest gift we have been given – the gift of union with God. I love the reading of the Genealogy. It reminds me of the poignant scene in Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus laments over Jerusalem. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who

The Thirty-Fourth Day of Christmas Advent: The Advent of God on Earth and in our Lives

12/18/2023

By Archimandrite Nikanor Karayannis, 20 December 2021 The feast of Christmas, which is approaching, invites us to experience the mystery of God’s coming to earth. This advent is a fundamental starting-point which deepens the meaning of our life and existence and renews our faith and hope in the living presence of God in and around us. The Church triumphantly proclaims that God has become human so that we can become gods. This truth shines a light

Hieromartyr Eleutherius, Bishop of Illyria, his mother, Martyr Evanthia, and Caribus the Eparch

12/15/2023

Commemorated on December 15 Saint Eleutherius, the son of an illustrious Roman citizen, was raised in Christian piety by his mother. His virtue was such that at the age twenty, he had been elevated to bishop of Illyria. In the reign of the emperor Hadrian, Saint Eleutherius was tortured for his bold preaching about Christ, then was beheaded at Rome with his mother Evanthia. The Eparch Caribus, who had tortured Saint Eleutherius, also came to believe

The Thirtieth Day of Christmas Advent: A Burning Passion for Humanity

12/14/2023

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, December 19, 2021 The primary reason for making our way through Matthew’s Genealogy is to affirm that the Word and Son of God has a human face and human ancestry. A “human face” so that we can look upon him and a human history to confirm that the Son of God became truly one of us. This Gospel reading is a resounding proclamation of our belief in

The Twenty-Ninth Day of Christmas Advent: ‘He Has Redeemed His People’ (Luke 1, 68)

12/13/2023

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on December 30, 2021 Lambros Skontzos, Theologian The coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ into the world is one of the few interludes of joy which tormented humanity has enjoyed over the course of its history. This is illustrated in the angelic tidings of the Nativity to the simple shepherds in Bethlehem: ‘Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day…

The Twenty-Eighth Day of Christmas Advent: Saint Spyridon, the Patron of Corfu

12/12/2023

Published by Pemptousia Partnership, December 12, 2017 The holiest shrine on the island of Kerkyra (Corfu) just off the western coast of Greece is the tomb of a fourth-century saint whose body after sixteen centuries is in such a remarkable state of preservation that every year he is carried in solemn triumph through the streets on the occasion of his feast day. One of the better known saints because of this phenomenon, St. Spyridon will

The Twenty-Seventh Day of Christmas Advent: Descent is Ascent

12/11/2023

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, September 8, 2019 at St. Mary Orthodox Church There are a number of characteristics that mark Christian spirituality. One of them is this: The Christian path is a first a way of descent. Most other spiritual traditions are about making an ascent. To be sure, St. Paul writes about ascending “from glory to glory.” But first there must be a descent, for example, from the mind to

The Twenty-Fourth Day of Christmas Advent. What a Caveman Said: To Perceive That Which Is Eternal

12/08/2023

Fr. Stephen Freeman, October 27, 2020 Fr. Alexander Schmemann described “secularism” as the greatest heresy of our time. He didn’t describe it as a political movement, nor a threat from the world outside Christianity. Rather, he described it as a “heresy,” that is, a false teaching from within the Christian faith. What is secularism? Secularism is the belief that the world exists independent of God, that its meaning and use are defined by human beings.

The Twenty-Third Day of Christmas Advent: The Power of Mystery

12/07/2023

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, December 24, 2021 There are estimated to be 10s of billions of galaxies in our solar system. 100 billion stars are thought to inhabit each galaxy. 200 billion trillion stars are thought to be in the universe. It is estimated that 100 billion stars are in our galaxy alone. And planet earth is an insignificant ball of dust in a small solar system in the Milky Way