Rain in the Desert

Fr. Apostolos Hill speaks about the Hymn of Kassiani's retelling of the sinful woman who wept her tears of repentance over the feet of Christ and of Jesus' retort to Simon, "He who is forgiven little, loves little...." He also tells about the life and love of St. Mary of Egypt.

"If you're suffering today, know this: you are on the right path. If you're not suffering, that's when you should be worried. If you are suffering in this life, God is with you. If you don't find life easy and comfortable, you're doing it right." On the Sunday of the Cross, Fr. Apostolos shares about the redemption of our own suffering through the suffering of Christ.

Fr. Apostolos Hill likens the experience of knowing God to that of meeting his bride. The effort we put into spending time together is a blueprint for entering more deeply into our union with Jesus.

Fr. Apostolos Hill speaks on the theme of the Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise and how we acquire a thirst for the Kingdom.

Fr. Apostolos Hill preaches on the Prodigal Son and how easily we write off others and ourselves from the reach of God's love. Another impassioned plea that mostly falls on deaf ears in our fraught times.

Fr. Apostolos Hill exhorts us to embrace a new paradigm for parish youth ministry that focuses on spiritual development and less on entertainment.

Fr. Apostolos Hill reviews the life of St. Haralambos and the threat his faith, as a 113 year-old man, represented to an Empire.

Fr. Apostolos Hill addresses the difference between the view of the Church as a building and the view of the Church as souls.

Fr. Apostolos Hill discusses on the struggle for salvation as evidence that we are on the right path.

Fr. Apostolos Hill delivers a homily about the belief that leads to salvation as opposed to a nominal "belief" that does not.

Fr. Apostolos Hill speaks on moving past the staid "good boy" mis-characterization of salvation and toward the inner transformation exhibited in the feast. St. Athanasius wrote about the "fire in the sword" to describe the process of becoming by divine grace what Jesus is by divine nature.

Fr. Apostolos Hill shares a homily centered on the Epistle reading and St. Paul's admonition that we exercise the spiritual gifts given to us for the building up of the Body of Christ.

Fr. Apostolos Hill shares a homily about love based on the Epistle reading from 1 Corinthians 13.

Fr. Apostolos Hill reflects on the verses of the Gospel of Matthew about the eye as the light of the body and how we might dispel the darkness around us with the Light of Christ.

Fr. Apostolos Hill gave a recap of the vitality of our young ones' faith alongside the pitfalls awaiting those whose spiritual development is neglected in the home or parish. Stay Alert, Stay Alive was the theme of All Saints Camp (Arizona) this past week.

Fr. Apostolos Hill unpacks the story of Hosea and Gomer, contrasting the covenant between God and Israel and Gomer's infidelity in her pursuit of an "open marriage." Jesus' words in the Gospel reading today about the exclusive nature of our union with Him in the New Covenant ("whoever loves father, mother, son, daughter more than Me...") indicates that our fidelity to Him cannot be divided.

Fr. Apostolos Hill addresses the joy of the many gifts Jesus gives us and how to combat our forgetfulness in sometimes taking them for granted.

Fr. Apostolos Hill delivers a homily on finding our place in the crowd that greeted Jesus in His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.

Fr. Apostolos Hill delivers a homily on the Sunday of St. John of the Ladder, discussing the need for growth and progress in the spiritual life just as we anticipate growth in every other aspect of our lives and of our children's. The opening illustration referenced a song from the Dr. Demento Show.

Fr. Apostolos Hill discusses the Sunday of the Cross and the importance of learning to pick up our cross in the simple day-to-day choices we make.

Fr. Apostolos Hill discusses the role of confession in maintaining a healthy spiritual life.

Fr. Apostolos Hill delivers a homily based on St. Paul's exhortation to Timothy about hoping in God.

Fr. Apostolos Hill delivers a short homily on what we will all write in the New Year on the pages of the books of our lives.

Fr. Apostolos addresses the inner meaning of the Feast of the Incarnation, through the perspective of the latest Star Wars film.

Fr. Apostolos talks on stewardship and addressed the role that Christian stewardship plays in bridging the gap between the material and immaterial aspects of our faith. By consecrating the material resources of our lives to God we can escape the trap of reducing our faith in Jesus Christ to a disembodied philosophy.