Two commemorations of the Forerunner of the Lord, St John the Baptist, frame the summer season in the Church’s calendar. We celebrate his birth on

The halo of sainthood sometimes blinds us to the extraordinary character of some of the saints. Our reverence for God’s holy ones leads us to

Several times during the blessing of water at Theophany we ask the Lord to send upon the water “the blessing of Jordan.” What is this

Stories usually have heroes and villains, “good guys” or “bad guys.” The hero stands at the center of the story and is the model the

We are all familiar with the Lord’s parable of the Pharisee and the Publican, read on the first pre-Lenten Sunday (Luke 18:10-14).  Both men in

Encounters may take many forms, ranging from the polite exchanges of stran­gers, to the joyous reunions of long-separated friends, to the hostile clashes of enemies.

As we approach our commemoration of our Lord’s Nativity, we seem naturally to turn for encouragement and instruction to the Old Testament saints. They remind

A significant, and often abused, part of our celebration of Christmas is the exchange of gifts.  Too often we forget the original reason for giving: 

The contrast between the joyous Feast of our Lord’s Nativity and, on the other hand, the commemorations and readings of the following Sunday has long

The Anaphora, the great consecration prayer in the Divine Liturgy, contains a commemoration of the saints, beginning with a listing of ten kinds or categories