Sermons from St. Herman's

This homily by Fr. Matthew Howell was given at St. Herman Church on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul . Fr. Matthew talks about how Peter and Paul were not perfect but were leaders of repentance. 

This homily by Fr. Matthew Howell was given at St. Herman Church on the first Sunday after Pentecost on which the Church commemorates all the saints who have loved God since the beginning of the world. Fr. Matthew talks about the idea of "thin places", prevalent in the culture of ancient Celtic Christians. "Thin places" are places in which heaven and earth meet. When Fr. Matthew says that we need...

This homily by Fr. Matthew Howell was given at St. Herman Church on the feast of Pentecost on which the Church celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit 50 days after Pascha. Fr. Matthew explains how the Holy Spirit is a (Father's Day) gift to us from God the Father, and how we enter into communion with the Holy Spirit during the Divine Liturgy. 

This homily by Fr. Matthew Howell was given at the conclusion of Great Vespers for the Feast of Pentecost on which the Church celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit 50 days after Pascha. Fr. Matthew uses the first of the Old Testament readings from Vespers (Numbers 11:16-17, 24-29) to talk about how we are all called to be prophets today and what that means.  The reading from Numbers 11:16...

Fr. Matthew Howell gave this homily on the seventh Sunday of Pascha, the Sunday between Ascension and Pentecost on which the Orthodox Church commemorates the 318 Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council . He discusses what it means to know God (John 17:3) and to glorify Him by accomplishing the work that He gives us to do (John 17:4). 

"...will you not strive to do that one remaining percentage point for your own salvation?" This quote from St. Nikolai Velimirovic (of Zica) frames Fr. Matthew Howell's homily given at St. Herman Church on Thursday June 10, 2021, the feast of our Lord's Ascension into heaven. 

This homily was given by Fr. Matthew Howell at St. Herman Church in Wasilla on the Sixth Sunday of Pascha, the Sunday of the Blind Man . 

This homily was given by Fr. Matthew Howell on May 30, 2021 at Saint Mark Antiochian Orthodox Church in Youngstown, Ohio. Fr. Matthew was visiting Fr. Colin Barker--the rector of St. Mark's--who was a summer intern at St. Herman Church in Wasilla back in 2019. In this homily, Fr. Matthew discusses the importance of cleansing our heart (our "vessel") through confession so that it is ready to receiv...

This homily by Fr. Matthew Howell was given at St. Herman Church on the 4th Sunday of Pascha on which the Orthodox Church remembers Christ's healing of the paralytic. 

This homily was given by Fr. Matthew Howell on the Third Sunday of Pascha on which the Orthodox Church celebrates the Holy Myrrhbearing Women, Righteous Nicodemus, and the Noble Joseph of Arimathea who was "waiting for the kingdom of God" (Mark 15:43; Luke 23:51).

This homily was given by Fr. Matthew Howell on Sunday May 9, 2021, the feast of "Thomas Sunday" in the Orthodox Church. 

This homily was originally given by St. John Chrysostom (+407 AD). In the Orthodox Church, this homily is read during the Pascha Vigil in every parish throughout the world. This reading of the homily was done by Fr. Matthew Howell on  May 2, 2021 during the Pascha service at St. Herman Antiochian Orthodox Church. 

This homily was given by Fr. Matthew Howell during the Vesperal Divine Liturgy on Holy Saturday on May 1, 2021. The Old Testament Readings done before this homily included:  Genesis 1:1-13 Isaiah 60:1-16 Exodus 12:1-12 Jonah 1:1-4:11 Joshua 5:10-15 Exodus 13:20-15:19 Daniel 3:1-88 The Epistle was Romans 6:3-11.  The Gospel was Matthew 28:1-20

This homily was given by Fr. Matthew Howell on Friday April 30, 2021 at the end of the service of Orthros for Holy Saturday (known as the "Lamentations" service).  In this homily Fr. Matthew references the April 23, 2021 episode of the "Lord of Spirits" podcast.  The reading that Fr. Matthew references from Ezekiel which was read during the service is Ezekiel 37:1-14: Again the hand of t...

This homily was given by Fr. Matthew Howell on Friday April 30, 2021 at the end of Great Vespers for Holy Friday in which the Orthodox Church commemorates the reverence with which Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took down the body of our Lord Jesus Christ from the Cross. 

This reflection was given by Fr. Matthew Howell on Thursday April 29, 2021 at the end of the Orthros Service for Holy Friday which includes the 12 Passion Gospels.  Holy Thursday - Twelve Gospels by Fr. Paul Lazor Holy Thursday begins with the celebration of vespers and the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil with a Reserved Eucharist in representation of the earthly presence of Christ realized at th...

This homily was given on April 29, 2021 by Fr. Matthew Howell in the middle of the Vesperal Divine Liturgy for Holy Thursday , on which the Orthodox Church commemorates the Mystical Supper. 

This homily was given by Fr. Matthew Howell at the end of the Holy Unction service on Holy Wednesday, April 28, 2021.  In one part of the service, there are seven sets of Epistle and Gospel readings and prayers. a. James 5:10-16; Luke: 10:25-37 b. Romans 15:1-7; Luke 19:1-10 c. I Corinthians 12:27-31;13:1-8; Matthew 10:1,5-8 d. II Corinthians 6:16-18, 7:1; Matthew 8:14-23 e. II Corinthians 1:...

This homily was given by Fr. Matthew Howell on April 27, 2021 at the end of the Bridegroom Matins service for Holy Wednesday (served on the night of Holy Tuesday). At this service, the Orthodox Church remembers the repentance of the sinful woman who anointed the feet of Jesus with costly spikenard and contrasts her repentance to the wickedness of Judas Iscariot.  Here is the text of the "Hymn...

This homily was given by Fr. Matthew Howell on April 26, 2021 at the funeral of Praskovia Derevitzky. 

This homily was given by Fr. Matthew Howell on April 26, 2021 at the end of the Bridegroom Matins service for Holy Tuesday (served on the evening of Holy Monday). He references the passage from Matthew's Gospel in which Jesus repeatedly says "Woe to thee, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites!" ( Matthew 22:15-46; 23:1-39 ) and reminds us that we all must hear Christ speaking of our own hypocrisy, jud...

This homily was given by Fr. Matthew Howell on Palm Sunday , on which the Orthodox Church commemorates our Lord's triumphal entrance into Jerusalem.  **Editor's note: A minute into the homily, Fr. Matthew says "Imagine for a minute, the the relief that would come if your homeland were occupied by foreign invaders." What he meant to say was, "Imagine for a minute the relief that would come if...

This homily was given by Fr. Matthew Howell on Lazarus Saturday .

This homily was given by Fr. Matthew Howell at the end of the Presanctified Divine Liturgy on the 6th Wednesday of Great Lent. On this day the Orthodox Church commemorates the first death of Lazarus--known as "the friend of Christ"--before Jesus raised him from the tomb on the fourth day. Fr. Matthew talks about how the Orthodox Church counts the days after someone dies and also how the death and...

This homily was given by Fr. Matthew Howell on the 5th Sunday of Great Lent, on which the Orthodox Church commemorates St. Mary of Egypt .  In the homily, Fr. Matthew reads the following quote from St. Ephraim the Syrian: "How dare I ask for forgiveness of my former sins when I do not attempt to abandon my former love of sin?" ( The Spiritual Psalter , Prayer #40)