Hill Country Homilies

On the Sunday of the Adoration of the Cross, Abp. Irineos reminds the faithful that for Orthodox Christians, the Cross is not a sign of sorrow or despair, but a symbol of victory and the sure source of our protection. O Lord Save Thy People!

The Lenten Triodion draws to a close with the Sunday of the Last Judgment. Abp. Irineos warns that the Sunday of the Judgment is put before us precisely to instill the fear of judgment and move us toward good deeds, which will form the basis of our judgment.

The Parable of the Prodigal Son prepares us for Great Lent with a reminder of the unfathomable forgiveness of the Father and our own need to come to ourselves and make a confession of our sinful ways. In today's homily, Abp. Irineos discusses the parable and the persons of the two brothers in the parable.

For the Sunday after Nativity, the Gospel reading tells of Herod's slaughter of the 14,000 Holy Innocents and Christ's flight into Egypt. Abp. Irineos discusses why Christ had to be hidden in Egypt, the connection between the infancy of Moses and Christ, and the continued slaughter of innocents in the abortion industry.

On the Feast of the Nativity, Abp. Irineos shares brief remarks on the joyous mystery made manifest among mankind on this day, and comments upon how the Nativity presages the death and resurrection of Christ. Text primarily derived from his Nativity Epistle ( http://www.avlonasynodusa.com/2022/01/07/nativity-epistle-of-abp-irineos-2021/)

On the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers, Abp. Irineos compares the world the Holy Forefathers lived in with the time of the Apostles and our present day, and using the Epistle and Gospel readings for today urges the faithful to struggle ascetically against the temptations of the times.

The encounter of Christ with the Rich Young Ruler concludes with Christ's rejoinder that What is impossible for man is possible through God. Abp. Irineos reflects on the multiple hard sayings of the Christ that are made possible through God.

On the Feast of the Entrance of the Holy Theotokos into the Temple in Jerusalem, Abp. Irineos gives the background of the feast and discusses the implications of the modernist temptations to demean the Holy Theotokos with statements like "she was just a vessel" or "she is like any other woman." These statements, apart from being ungrounded in scripture, betray troubling beliefs about God if they a...

The parable of the Good Samaritan may be the most well known parable of the Bible, and it is certainly well worth considering. In a slightly different take, Bp. Irineos turns his focus to the lawyer who seeks to tempt Jesus and what we can learn from his spiritual state.

The Rich Man lived a sumptuous and extravagant life on earth while Lazarus suffered hungry and homeless outside the rich man's gate. But after death, Lazarus rested with the Lord while the rich man was nameless and in torment. Lazarus's suffering was rewarded with eternal life while the rich man, because of the hardness of his heart, was condemned. The one envied on earth now suffer unenviably whi...

In today's epistle reading (Galatians 1:11-19), Paul gives a spirited defense of his own apostleship, it's origin in Christ and co-equality with the other Apostles. But who, today, is actually questioning the authority of Paul? For us, within this effective defense is a promise of great import and immense value - that even the worst sinners amongst us can be raised in Christ to be co-equal with th...

Only three times is Christ recorded in Scripture to have raised an person from the dead. These resurrection accounts are of great importance to our own assurance of eternal life. Bp. Irineos looks at the account of the raising of the son of the widow of Nain and asks what we might glean from this about Christ's power over death and care for each of us.

When Christ comes to Peter and asks the use of his boat, the future apostle is cleaning his gear after a long, unsucccessful night of fishing. But he complies obediently with the request of the Teacher and is soon called, in spite of his perceived unworthiness, to follow Christ. Bp. Irineos considers the meaning of this passage and what it means for us today.

The Gospel reading for today (Matthew 21:33-42) is the Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers. Bp. Irineos discusses the allegorical meanings of this parable, and in conjunction with the Parable of the Two Sons which immediately precedes it in Matthew, he comments on the opposing forces of idleness and action, and how they are treated in these Gospel parables.

In today's homily, Bp. Irineos examines the Gospel reading and discusses how the purity of soul leads to purity of purpose and that the alternative is both spiritually and physically harmful. Finally he cautions the faithful to listen to the fathers regarding the provision of God.

On the eve of the Sunday of the New Martyrs of the Turkish Yoke, Bp. Irineos reflects briefly upon how the martyrs persevered under oppression but we seem to continually squander the opportunities afforded to those of us who live in relative freedom.

For most of the history of Orthodoxy in North America, we've lived in an environment purporting to hold traditional Christian values, even if the basis was not Orthodox. Bp. Irineos discusses the saints who have been revealed here and how the future might give right to more opportunities for the faithful to glorify God.

On the Sunday of All Saints, Bp. Irineos briefly discusses why we remember the saints and how their function and life eternal was foretold in the Old Testament before being fulfilled through Christ.

On Pentecost, the account is about much more than the descent of the Holy Spirit. God calls mankind back to unity, reversing the division he wrought at Babel, when prideful man sought to raise himself to the heavens. Now led by the Comforter, man is called back to union, that he might encounter God not on man's terms but through the God Himself.

The Sunday of the Samaritan Woman finds Christ met by this scandalous woman who would never meet the perception of one prepared to spread the faith around the world. But this is precisely what St. Photini did.

On the Sunday of the Paralytic (John 5:1-15), Bp. Irineos discusses St. John Chrysostom's commentary on this passage and the ways in which the miracle at Bethesda prefigured the mystery of Holy Baptism. In addition, the lessons of perseverance from the paralytic are mentioned as examples for the faithful even to this day.

On Thomas Sunday, Bp. Irineos talks about the condescension of the Lord to the weakness of Thomas and how that example is relevant to us today.

While the children celebrated the entry of Christ into Jerusalem with palms and shouts of joy, the envious Pharisees plotted against Him. They sought a worldly conqueror, and rejected the one man who could counquer death. Let us journey with Him to the Cross this week.

Jesus wept. But what does this mean? There is no shortage of modern commentary looking to take these two words and turn them into some kind of self-soothing affirmation for people in today's world. But almost none of this commentary bears any semblance to how the Church fathers understood the weeping of Christ. Bp. Irineos discusses this issue and warns of the danger of interpreting scripture with...

On the 6th Sunday of Great Lent, the Church remembers St. Mary of Egypt, whose life both proves the boundless scope of God's forgiveness and models for us, a true repentance beyond our conception. While we may never dwell in the desert for 47 years as the repentant Mary did, from how confession and repentance, there are many lessons which maybe gleaned even as we live in the world.