Sermons from St. Herman's

On the sixth Sunday after Pentecost, Fr. Matthew Howell looks at Romans 12. Please note that toward the end of the homily, Fr. Matthew relayed an anecdote about Saint Sophrony of Essex. He realized after the liturgy that the anecdote was about a monk featured in the book "Everyday Saints and Other Stories," and was not about St. Sophrony. He apologizes for the mixup. Epistle: Romans 12:6...

On the fifth Sunday after Pentecost and the fifth Sunday of Matthew, Fr. Matthew Howell uses his just-completed sabbatical as an opportunity to discuss the importance of hospitality. He then asks whether we set out a "Do Not Disturb" sign for God similar to the townsfolk in today's gospel passage. Epistle: Romans 10:1-10 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is...

On the third Sunday after Pentecost, Fr. Matthew Howell gives a homily while serving at the Sacred Monastery of St. Nina in Union Bridge, Maryland. He talks about how we often serve two masters, trying to serve God nominally while pursuing pleasures and entertainment. He zeroes in on the importance of living incarnationally, basking in real-life relationships instead of spending too much time on o...

While serving at the Antiochian Village Camp's Arch Week Program , Fr. Matthew Howell serves the supplication service to St. Raphael of Brooklyn at St. Raphael's grave. He then preaches about St. Raphael, St. Herman of Alaska and how honest prayer strengthened them to do God's work while becoming "A Real Human" showing the love of God to those around them.

On the feast of Pentecost , Fr. Matthew Howell preaches at Saint Paul Antiochian Orthodox Church in Emmaus, Pennsylvania where he interned for three years during seminary. He talks about how Pentecost is a feast of evangelism, and then connects evangelism to hospitality. He claims that evangelism won't happen if people who visit a parish are not received warmly. He uses his current experience...

On the first ⁠Sunday after Pascha, known as Thomas Sunday⁠, Fr. Matthew Howell preaches about the despair of the Apostle Thomas, his swing to deep faith, and credits his humility for being able to overcome the cognitive dissonance associated with changing his belief about the resurrection. Along the way, Fr. Matthew encourages people to hold on to the declaration made by St. Thomas when he cried,...

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 5, 2024 during the Pascha service at St. Herman Antiochian Orthodox Church.   Previous Readings of the Homily of St. John Chrysostom by Fr. Matthew Howell: April...

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 in Slavonic was read by Yaroslav Dopirchuk on May 5, 2024 during the ⁠Pascha ⁠ service at St. Herman Antiochian Orthodox Church.   Epistle: Acts of the Apostles 1:1-8 In the first book, O Theophilos...

This homily was given by Fr. Matthew Howell during the Vesperal Divine Liturgy for ⁠Holy Saturday.⁠ He explains that when we feel broken, wounded, hopeless, helpless and stuck, that we must turn to Christ who can do for us those things which we cannot do for ourselves, such as rescue us from Hades and free us from the slavery to sin and the fear of death. He harps on the verse from Exodus 14:14 &q...

On Holy Thursday Evening at the end of the Orthros Service with the 12 Passion Gospels for Holy Friday , Fr. Matthew Howell offers a reflection about the weather and the wise thief. First, he notes that the clouds have darkened in response to our Lord's arrest and crucifixion and that it happens every year during Holy Week. He also encourages everyone to reflect on the darkness and sin in thei...

On Holy Thursday Morning at the Divine Liturgy commemorating the Mystical Suppe r, Fr. Matthew Howell preaches that the true test of faith is not in sinning but is found in how we repent. To support this, he highlights Luke 22:32 which was read in the Orthros Gospel earlier in the morning. He asks the questions: "Jesus prayed for Peter that 'his faith should not fail.' But Peter denie...

On the 5th Sunday of Lent on which the Orthodox Church commemorates St. Mary of Egypt, Fr. Matthew Howell talks about the meaning of true freedom. He puts forth that hedonism (the pursuit of pleasure as the highest form of good in one's life) leads to slavery of sin and a joyless life. In contrast, if we use our freedom to pursue God and submit to the limits, rules, and prescriptions He sets o...

On the fourth Sunday of Great Lent , Fr. Matthew Howell continues his years-long preaching series on the Ladder of Divine Ascent by St. John Climacus. This year he preaches about “Step 7: Mourning.” He curates quotes from the chapter to illustrate the importance of mourning (i.e. grieving) over our sins, and even mourning over our lack of repentance, while also highlighting the necessity to avoid...

On the third Sunday of Great Lent , Fr. Matthew Howell tells a story about St. Tikhon of Moscow who was faced with the agonizing decision of giving sacred church vessels to the Communists or allowing his priests to die in defense of these items. He points out that carrying the Cross and following Christ often involves difficult decisions and insufferable circumstances, but even within the most int...

On the second Sunday of Great Lent, Fr. Matthew Howell reflects on how we can see ourselves as the paralytic whose friends bring him to Christ for healing. He quotes extensively from St. Theophylact of Ochrid who says that Christ fills us with strength to do his commandments and identifies himself as a paralytic in his soul. Fr. Matthew also integrates quotes from St. Gregory Palamas , who is comm...

On the feast of the Annunciation , Fr. Matthew Howell preaches about the Virgin Mary's deep love for prayer, and how that fostered virtues of love of God, obedience to God, and humility, and how all these virtues came to fruition when she said "Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to my according to thy will" and conceived the Word of God in her womb. Along the way, he explain...

At the end of Great Vespers for the feast of the Annunciation , Fr. Matthew Howell talks about the importance of the feast because of the centrality of the Incarnation of the Word of God. He explains how the Incarnation must be a focus in our Faith and in our lives, and how we must incarnate the love of God in our homes, workplaces, schools, and churches.

On the first Sunday of Great Lent , Fr. Jason Falcone talks about the saints who were martyred and tortured in defense of the holy icons, preserving the image of God and the image of the Faith in their lives through the exactness of how they lived. Epistle: Hebrews 11:24-26, 32-40 Brethren, by faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rathe...

Commemorating the ten year anniversary of the repose of His Eminence, Metropolitan Philip Saliba of thrice blessed memory, Fr. Matthew Howell notes his major accomplishments: reunifying the divided Antiochian Archdiocese in the 1960s, receiving the Evangelical Orthodox Church into canonical orthodoxy in the 1980s, and purchasing the property for the Antiochian Village Camp in the 1970s. Fr. Matthe...

On Forgiveness Sunday , Fr. Matthew Howell talks about the expulsion of Adam from Paradise and how our Lenten journey is our effort to return to Paradise after being cast out due to our sin. He ties this together liturgically by explaining the transition from bright to dark vestments during Forgiveness Vespers and why the Holy Doors in the church are closed so much more during Lent and their symbo...

Fr. Matthew Howell preaches at the marriage crowning service of Peter and Lizzy Johnson at Saint Herman Church, reminding the couple to keep God at the center of their marriage by remaining thankful for all things and especially for each other. Ephesians 5:20-33 Brethren, give thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father. Be subject to one another out of reve...

On the Sunday of the Last Judgment , Fr. Matthew Howell quotes extensively from St. Nikolai Velimirovic of Zica who talks about the inner meaning of the Lord's prophecy of the Last Judgment. He talks about how God will hold us accountable for our actions, and He expects us to defend the virtuous thoughts within us that get pushed around by the Goliath of temptations, passions, and sins. Along...

On the Saturday of Souls (Memorial Saturday) before Meatfare Sunday, Fr. Matthew Howell talks about the importance of watchfulness and being prepared to die. He also discusses why it is important to pray for the departed. Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since w...

While visiting St. Ignatius of Antioch Church in Twin Falls, Idaho, following the weekend retreat about Family-Based Youth Ministry that he gave, Fr. Matthew Howell preaches about the parable of the Prodigal Son . He highlights the major lessons of the parable from the main characters: repentance (the prodigal son), forgiveness (the father), and rejoicing–or more properly, the lack of rejoicing (b...

While at Saint Ignatius Antiochian Orthodox Church in Twin Falls, Idaho, Fr. Matthew Howell gives a retreat about Family-Based Youth Ministry based on the book of the same name by Mark DeVries. In Lecture 4, he talks about some of the nuts and bolts of what Family-Based Youth Ministry can look like in parishes. He goes through an exercise with those in attendance in which they discuss the specific...