Hill Country Homilies

Looking at the Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, Bp. Irineos looks at the various paradoxes in the epistle and how we embrace paradox in our faith.

On the Feast of the Transfiguration, Bp. Irineos reads from a Homily of St. Gregory Palamas.

In today's Gospel reading, Peter walks on the water at the bidding of Christ, until the sound of the howling wind causes him to sink. How often do we let the distractions of the world tear away our focus on Christ? In today's homily, Bp. Irineos talks about this quandary and the encouraging message of the Gospel reading.

In today's homily, Bp. Irineos considers Paul's admonition to the Corinthians that they should be of one mind in light of both the cultural biases against traditional Orthodox belief and the current state of modern Christianity. We must remember that our service is to Christ and that entangling ourselves in secular concerns can be extremely damaging to our souls. While we can engage the world, our...

While preaching on today's Epistle of Paul to the Romans, Bp. Irineos discusses the gifts of ministry, humility and then finds himself sidetracked and convicted by Paul's admonition to pursue hospitality, and how badly he fails at it. Drawing on commentary from St. John Chrysostom from the turn of the 5th century, we see how our rejection of the needy and outcast is an age old problem that the fai...

In today's Gospel of the Gergesene demoniacs, Fr. Elias looks at the strange reaction of the Gergesene villagers to the healing presence of Christ!

On July 1 (OC) the Church remembers the saintly brothers Cosmas and Damian, noted physicians and healers who are termed Holy Unmercenaries for their refusal to accept pay for their healings. Bp. Irineos lauds the example of these saints who fulfilled the Gospel command "freely you have received; freely give" and exhorts the faithful to display the same faith as the Holy Unmercenaries in their mini...

On the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul, Bp. Irineos discusses the confession of faith offered by Peter, leading to Christ's declaration that upon this rock I will build my Church. Focusing on the Orthodox understanding of the "rock", Bp. Irineos notes how Peter's human failings and foibles give hope to all of us that we too may be redeemed and restored through Christ, and that we may maintain our love...

On the commemoration of the Nativity of the Forerunner, Bp. Irineos considers how the unusual circumstances of the conception of the Forerunner were no more unusual than the rest of his life, and how the man hymned as more honorable than the prophets preached a radical message of repentance to prepare the Jews for the coming of the Messiah.

Bp. Irineos uses the Epistle reading from the Second Sunday after Pentecost to discuss the North American Saints who are remembered today.

On the Sunday of All Saints, Bp. Irineos urges the faithful to follow the example of the generations of saints who have come before us, laying aside the cares of the world, turning from sin, and being truly and radically transformed by Christ. Closing with a teaching from St. Makarios the Great, Bp, Irineos challenges us to be driven by remembrance of God and not by remembrance of human offenses d...

On the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council, Bp. Irineos reflects upon the Arian heresy, the roles of councils and authority in the Church, and the true meaning of freedom in a creation endowed with free will.

On the Feast of the Ascension, Bp. Irineos notes how Christ's earthly labors end with the same proofs of His humanity that followed His Resurrection, how Christ continued to bestow gifts on mankind, and how He ultimately raises our humanity to dwell in heaven with His divinity.

The account of the Healing of the Man Born Blind is a long lectionary reading from John 9:1-38. In today's homily, Bp Irineos explores the richness of just the first four verses of this reading, and suggests that there is much more than simply a story of miraculous healing!

On the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman, we are reminded that Christ calls all to Him without regard to race, ethnic background, piety or sanctity. As the Body of Christ, the same imperative falls upon the Church, that all may come to know Christ and be healed through the grace-filled mysteries of the Church! Pray for us St. Photini!

On the Sunday of the Paralytic, Bp. Irineos reflects on what the Gospel account of the healing of the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda can tell us about how Christ cleansed our sinful soul in our baptism. Whether we come to be baptized, paralyzed by the sins of our past life, or carried to the water in the arms of parents and godparents, this account of healing is also a not so subtle allusion to...

On Thomas Sunday, Bp. Irineos asks whether the moniker Doubting Thomas should be replaced with something that more closely matches what we know of Thomas from the Gospels.

On Palm Sunday, we consider the Triumphal Entry of Christ into Jerusalem against the historic background of the Roman "Triumph". Though Christ's entry must have seemed almost pathetic to a Roman citizen of the day, as would soon be revealed, his Triumph would celebrate victory over death itself, a foe no emperor or general could ever conquer alone.

On Lazarus Saturday, we see that not only is the raising of Lazarus a demonstration of Christ's dominion over death, but also the fulfillment of his role as the Good Shepherd, who calls his sheep by name!

On the 5th Sunday of Great Lent, Fr. Elias looks at the Gospel reading and Synaxarion to discuss the Lenten virtues of repentance and humility.

A terrible saying of modern feminists goes something like this: "well behaved women rarely make history." On this Feast of the Annunciation, we celebrate the humble obedience of the mother of God whose assent to the will of God opened the gate to our salvation and healed the broken communion between God and His creation. Truly let us praise this well behaved woman who all of history owes a debt!

We've all heard about denying ourselves and following Christ. Today, that Gospel passage is often used to suggest that we must put our intangible wants and desires second to following Christ. Taking up our cross is said to mean doing the hard things, even when we don't want to. But when Christ urged the faithful to deny themselves and take up the cross, his words carried a far more weighty obligat...

On the Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas, we remember his defense of hesychasm and the ability of the faithful to experience God directly in his energies. In this week's homily, Bp. Irineos argues that this direct engagement with the divine is the bulwark against secular atheism and that the west's abandonment of Christian culture stems directly from its rejection of the Palamite teachings and its emb...

On the Sunday of Orthodoxy, the Liturgy ends with the Rite of Orthodoxy, which consists of an Icon Procession, and when a bishop is serving, the reading of the Anathemas. In lieu of the regular homily, today's podcast starts with the reading of the Anathemas and concludes with a brief commentary from Bp. Irineos one of the themes of the Lenten Gospel readings.

As we prepare to enter the Lenten fast, Bp. Irineos shares some stories of the Desert Fathers and their thoughts on fasting, to the end that we might consider why we fast, and what the various objects of our fast.