St. George Orthodox Church Homilies and Reflections

The Gospel According to Mark 8:34-38; 9:1 The Lord said: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life?...

On Watchfulness, Pt. 1; Acknowledging Suffering

The Gospel According to Matthew 21:33-42 The Lord said this parable, "There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to tenants, and went into another country. When the season of fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants, to get his fruit; and the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed...

The Gospel According to Matthew 19:16-26 At that time, a young man came up to Jesus, kneeling and saying, "Good Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?" And he said to him, "Why do you call me good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." He said to him, "Which?" And Jesus said, "You shall not kill, You shall no...

The Veneration of the Mother of God Part 4 Psalm 44/45 “At Your Right Hand stood the Queen” Messianic Character of the Psalm  The Mother of God as Symbol of the Church (Fr. John Behr), and Archetype of the individual Christian “Most holy Theotokos, save us!” “We have no other hope but you!” Salvation in an objective and personal sense. (Elder Cleopa) “I am saved, I am being saved, I will be saved....

The Gospel According to Matthew 18:23-35 The Lord said this parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; and as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the serv...

The Veneration of the Mother of God Part 3 The Saints in Glory  “In the Old Testament, before the Incarnation of Christ, only certain human beings had limited direct encounters with God and the unseen world of angels and demons. Humanity’s repeated falls into sinful rebellion separated them from God and His divine council while also subjecting them to the power of demons through sin. Nevertheless,...

The Gospel According to Matthew 17:14-23 At that time, a man came up to Jesus and kneeling before him said, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; for often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him." And Jesus answered, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I t...

The Gospel According to Matthew 17:1-9 At that time, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is well that we are here; if...

The Veneration of the Mother of God Part 2 The Importance of Understanding Biblical Typology The Vesperal Readings on the Nativity and Dormition of the Mother of God Genesis 28:10-17 Ezekiel 43:27-44:4 Proverbs 9:1-11

The Veneration of the Mother of God Part 1 The Gospel of Luke 1: 26-56 Mary as the Tabernacle and ark Exodus 40:33-35 "And Moses was not able to enter into the tabernacle of testimony, because the cloud overshadowed (epeskiazen) it, and the tabernacle was filled  with the glory of the Lord."  Samuel 6: “And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and said, How shall the ark of the LORD co...

The reading is from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians 1:10-17 Brethren, I appeal to you by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no dissensions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brethren. What I mean is that each one o...

The Gospel According to Matthew 9:27-35 At that time, as Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, "Have mercy on us, Son of David." When he entered the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to him, "Yes, Lord." Then he touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith b...

Praying in Time...The 9th Hour

St. Paul's Letter to Titus 3:8-15 Titus, my son, the saying is sure. I desire you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to apply themselves to good deeds; these are excellent and profitable to men. But avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels over the law, for they are unprofitable and futile. As for a man who is factious, af...

Themes the Sixth-Hour  The Crucifixion Deliverance from the Noonday Demon Sixth-Hour Troparion  On the sixth day and hour, O Christ God, You nailed to the Cross the sin which rebellious Adam committed in paradise. Tear up also the report of our iniquity, and save us! Verses to insert between repetitions of  the Troparion Gve ear, O God, unto my prayer, and disdain not my supplication. (Ps 54/55:1)...

St. Paul's Letter to the Romans 10:1-10  Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but it is not enlightened. For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law, that ever...

In this  Episode: The Themes of the Third Hour The Trial of Christ before the Crucifixion  Eve’s eating of the forbidden fruit in the garden The Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost Third-Hour Troparion  O Lord, You sent Your most Holy Spirit upon Your Apostles at the third hour. Take Him not from us, O Good One, but renew us, who pray to You.  Verses to insert between repetitions of...

The Gospel According to Matthew 8:5-13 At that time, as Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, beseeching him and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress." And he said to him, "I will come and heal him." But the centurion answered him, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my...

The Gospel According to Matthew 6:22-33 The Lord said, "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is not sound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted...

In this Episode: Theme of the First Hour: Morning Light In the morning as soon as we open our eyes we can turn our hearts and minds towards the living God.  Brief Reflection on the meaning of the Psalms of the First-Hour Description of how one might pray the First-Hour utilizing the brief prayers  First-Hour Troparion: In the morning hear my voice, my King and my God! (Ps. 5:2a, 1b) Verses to inse...

Today we discuss, briefly: The Historical Development of the Hours That the length of the Hours doesn’t correspond to exactly 60 minutes How the Hours were pushed to the margins of the day by a growing obsession with productivity How praying the Hours helps to guard against clericalism in the life of the Church The discipline of praying the Hours emerges from a time “dominated by agrarian rhythms,...

Honouring the friends of God with much reverence, the Prophet-King David says, "But to me, exceedingly honourable are Thy friends, O Lord" (Ps. 138:16). And the divine Apostle, recounting the achievements of the Saints, and setting forth their memorial as an example that we might turn away from earthly things and from sin, and emulate their patience and courage in the struggles for virtu...

After the Saviour's Ascension into the Heavens, the eleven Apostles and the rest of His disciples, the God-loving women who followed after Him from the beginning, His Mother, the most holy Virgin Mary, and His brethren-all together about 120 souls returned from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem. Entering into the house where they gathered, they went into the upper room, and there they persevere...

The Lord Jesus was coming from the Temple on the Sabbath, when, while walking in the way, He saw the blind man mentioned in today's Gospel. This man had been born thus from his mother's womb, that is, he had been born without eyes (see Saint John Chrysostom, Homily LVI on Matthew; Saint Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book V:15; and the second Exorcism of Saint Basil the Great). When the disci...