Daily Meditations Archives - Page 196 of 349

The Fourteenth Day of Christmas Advent. What is Christmas to You?

11/28/2017

By Father Vasile Tudora I went on a quest the other day to find out what Christmas truly was. From my usual sources, I got conflicting information. I could not discern if it was a religious commemoration, or another official national holiday, or quality family time, or a very good occasion for shopping. There had to be a simpler explanation. Since I couldn’t figure it out by myself, I went out and asked around. An

The Thirteenth Day of Christmas Advent. Looking Like Christmas

11/27/2017

By Father Stephen Freeman One of the most striking features of the Gospels is the frequent response of the Disciples after the resurrection of Christ: doubt. I have always been sympathetic to the doubts and hesitations that accompanied their experience during the ministry of Christ. They are almost endearing in their inability to grasp what Christ is all about. However, the same inability to grasp things after the resurrection seems to carry with it all kinds of

The Tenth Day of Christmas Advent. Shopping for God

11/24/2017

By Father Stephen Freeman I overheard a conversation between two blue-collar workers that encouraged my soul. In the aftermath of last week’s shopping frenzy (Black Friday, etc.), they were reflecting on the madness. “I had a friend who said he bought his mother-in-law a new TV. He was excited about the bargain.” The other worker nodded. “So I asked him, ‘Did she need a new TV?’” He said the man replied, “I never thought of

The Ninth Day of Christmas Advent. LET US GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD

11/23/2017

By Fr. Stavros Akrotirianakis I give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart. Psalm 9:1 I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. Psalm 34:1-3 I wonder how many of us are going to read an account of

The Eighth Day of Christmas Advent. Fasting for Christmas

11/22/2017

By Stephen Freedman Last Wednesday, November 15, the Orthodox Church began its “Winter Lent,” the fast that prepares for the feast of the Nativity. Somewhat similar to Advent, it is the older practice, a full 40-day fast, that reminds us that Christmas, joy that it is, is a foretaste of Pascha. The Cave of Bethlehem reminds us of the Cave of Hades (icons of the Descent into Hell picture the Cave of Hades). The Babe,

The Seventh Day of Christmas Advent. The Nativity: An Icon of the Christian Family

11/21/2017

By Fr. Vasile Tudora Everyone’s favorite time of the year is the period before Christmas, when the air is filled with joy, peace and expectation. We are blessed to live in a country that looks forward to Christmas although we might seem to have lost some of its meaning along the way. We have radio stations that air carols without ceasing, exalting the season, although many of them speak about snow, jolly figures carrying gifts,

The Sixth Day of Christmas Advent. How Big Is Your Christmas?

11/20/2017

By Father Stephen Freeman We have entered the days when news pundits are asking, “Will Christmas be big this year?” When individuals ask one another, “Are you having a big Christmas this year?” It is understood that economics are involved (as with the media). Our modern economies are greatly dependent on the massive buying that occurs between late November and late December. Christmas shopping is so good for the economy (as presently constituted) that if Christ

The Third Day of Christmas Advent. An Illegal Christmas

11/17/2017

By Father Stephen Freeman The great advantage to thinking about God in legal terms, is that nothing has to change. If what happens between us and God is entirely external, a matter of arranging things such as the avoidance of eternal punishment or the enjoyment of eternal reward, then the world can go on as it is. In the legal model that dominates contemporary Christian thought, the secular world of things becomes nothing more than

The Second Day of Christmas Advent. Jesus was Born that He Might Die

11/16/2017

By Hierodeacon Herman Majkrzak In many European cultures, and in America too, singing and listening to carols is a well-loved Christmas tradition. And many Orthodox communities in the West have admirably incorporated some of the best of these carols into their Nativity celebrations. Often, though, for Orthodox and non-Orthodox alike, our knowledge of this rich repertoire does not extend much beyond the first couple verses of a dozen or so of the most famous carols.

The First Day of Christmas Advent. Fasting from the Sentiments of the Feast

11/15/2017

By Father Stephen Freeman I have a favorite Joni Mitchell song. In her very mournful style she sings about the season before Christmas: It’s comin’ on Christmas, They’re cuttin’ down trees, They’re puttin’ up reindeer and singin’ songs of joy and peace. Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on…I would teach my feet to fly! It is a melancholy tune, echoing the bittersweet experience of the culture Christmas. We love