Category Archives: Sunday Homilies
Holy Orthodoxy
By Hieromonk Seraphim /Rose/ What is Orthodoxy? St. Tikhon… gives us a start in understanding what Orthodoxy is: it is something first of all of the heart, not just the mind, something living and warm, not abstract and cold, some thing that is learned and practiced in life, not just in school. We can sit in the midst of our Orthodox treasures, the treasures that give salvation that no one else has — and be satisfied with our situation and so be totally fruitless. If we have difficulty in being Orthodox — then let us rejoice, for that means we must struggle, and there is hope that we won’t wither and die spiritually. [We must begin right away, today. The more difficult the struggle is, the better. We need to overcome the difficulties and struggle for the faith – it seems that chiefly this is what is lacking in us. Orthodoxy is not merely something of a habit, a held belief, behavior or something of this sort that exhibits some Christian feature but nevertheless remains spiritually dead. No, Orthodoxy is to be in one’s element, and this transforms man and gives him strength to live in the most difficult and terrible conditions. It prepares him for a peaceful transition
Return to the Father
By Fr. Thomas Hopko People feel unhappy and they don’t know why. They feel that something is wrong, but they can’t put their finger on what. They feel uneasy in the world, confused and frustrated, alienated and estranged, and they can’t explain it. They have everything and yet they want more. And when they get it, they are still left empty and dissatisfied. They want happiness and peace, and nothing seems to bring it. They want fulfillment, and it never seems to come. Everything is fine, and yet everything is wrong. In America this is almost a national disease. It is covered over by frantic activity and endless running around. It is buried in activities and events. It is drowned out by television programs and games. But when the movement stops and the dial is turned off and everything is quiet …then the dread sets in, and the meaninglessness of it all, and the boredom, and the fear. Why is this so? Because, the Church tells us, we are really not at home. We are in exile. We are alienated and estranged from our true country. We are not with God our Father in the land of the living. We
