The Word at Christ the Savior

In the second part of this series, Fr. Joseph illustrates to us how the Samaritan woman lived in hopeless shame and despair, but after knowing Christ, she leaves her entire life behind in repentance to live a new life in Christ. Tune in to hear how we can leave our own past and cling to a joyful life in Christ. Fr. Joseph Abraham – March 27, 2022 Christ the Savior American Coptic Orthodox Church D...

Life is messy, but when the mess in our life is a product of our own sins, we are tempted to fall under the weight of guilt and shame. It’s a heavy burden that often leads to hopelessness and despair. So how do we deal with that burden?  In this two part series, Fr. Joseph explains how to find hope in our failures and mistakes. The parable of the prodigal son teaches us to accept our sinful condit...

Fr. Joseph explains that by Christ triumphing in the wilderness, the most desolate and hopeless place of humanity, we are restored by His victory and are strengthened to overcome our own spiritual battles. By His victory, He gives us the grace to help us overcome our own wilderness (sins, struggles, hopelessness) through our fasting and prayer. Fr. Joseph Abraham – March 13, 2022 Christ the Savior...

Fr. Joseph explains that through the journey of lent, the church displays God’s love and compassion for our condition through each Sunday gospel, which shows more hopelessness than the one before it. In this, we are shown the power of God’s love and mercy, which gives us an unfailing hope and draws us closer to Him. It’s a reminder that as we lent, we are expressing our love to God. Tune in to hea...

Fr. Joseph reflects on the Lord’s Prayer and explains how sacred and foundational this prayer is for our whole life. From the first words in the prayer, we boldly address God as, “Our Father.” Through the incarnation, Christ gave us this gift of Grace to acknowledge this reality and to enjoy a closer intimacy with the Father. We then progress to make several spiritual petitions that serve as the c...

Fr. Joseph reminds us that even though each of us have different gifts, what matters most is how faithful we are in God’s ability to magnify those gifts within us. Tune in to hear more. Fr. Joseph Abraham – February 20, 2022 Christ the Savior American Coptic Orthodox Church Diocese of Los Angeles www.thegoodsavior.org Christ the Savior American Coptic Orthodox Church Diocese of Los Angeles www.the...

His Grace Bishop Suriel shares some reflections on this beautiful season we are approaching. As we prepare to enter into the period of lent, the fast of Jonah is a perfect opportunity to direct our mind to approach this time of year with a spirit of faith and repentance. Tune in to hear about the practical tools we can utilize to make this time of year as fruitful as possible.  H.G. Bishop Suriel...

Fr. Joseph shows us how everything in our life is created to cultivate our union with God. By offering our gratitude for everything we experience in this world, we are able to receive even more blessings from Him. This is the essence of our Eucharistic life, that we are in constant union with him. Tune in to hear more.  Fr. Joseph Abraham – February 6, 2022 Christ the Savior American Coptic Orthod...

Fr. Joseph explains that there are three important lessons we can learn from Abba Antony to help us become closer to God and strengthen our spiritual life. Keep your attention on yourself - be intentional in your spiritual labor and hold yourself accountable for your own actions. Without discernment we have nothing - the virtue of discernment governs all the virtues. Temptations are essential to m...

The words of St. John the Baptist, “He must increase but I must decrease,” prompt us to increase the presence of God in our life. This means to increase our mindfulness of Him; and the secret to accomplishing that is to cultivate a spirit of gratitude. We are created with an innate predisposition to thank God, which benefits us in countless ways; and nothing increases this virtue in our life more...

On the feast of Theophany, Fr. Joseph explains how God reveals Himself to us in this profound event. Christ—the manifestation of God—bears witness by His own baptism, which means His death and resurrection. This mystical baptism revealed the humility of God to humanity. Likewise, there is no other way for us to reveal God to the world apart from our own baptism, which means our own martyrdom. Tune...

Fr. Joseph shows us what it means to have “good eyes.” It is not optimism but rather the hope in God in all things, good and bad. It’s to keep our eyes on the cross and not allow the world to influence our quest for life with Christ. Fr. Joseph Abraham – January 16, 2022 Christ the Savior American Coptic Orthodox Church Diocese of Los Angeles www.thegoodsavior.org Christ the Savior American Coptic...

There are times when we have to flee but we always flee with purpose, with an intentional direction, to the name of Jesus. The Church teaches us that nothing is more powerful than running to the name of Christ, and we do that through a short and sweet prayer called, ‘The Jesus Prayer.’ This humble prayer is accessible to all of us, but we do need some discretion as we start practicing this beautif...

As the new born King accepted the three gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh from the magi, we must also imitate Him in accepting these very same gifts. But what do these gifts mean exactly? Fr. Joseph explains how these three gifts have different meanings but they actually point to the same reality—the cross! So in imitating Christ, we must accept these gifts that ultimately point to our crucif...

“To love at all is to be vulnerable,” says C. S. Lewis. That means we have to consent to the possibility of being used or even wasted if we are to genuinely love! To love is to open our hearts to others and to allow our neighbors to use our resources. If we empty ourselves we are able to leave ourselves at the disposal of others, we can be available for God to use us to serve our neighbors accordi...

Fr. Joseph shares 22 maxims from his thoughts about what we should consider for the New Year. In this list of advice, there is a wealth of useful tools we can practically apply into our daily lives. Fr. Joseph Abraham – January 1, 2022 Christ the Savior American Coptic Orthodox Church Diocese of Los Angeles www.thegoodsavior.org Christ the Savior American Coptic Orthodox Church Diocese of Los Ange...

What really determines the value of our prayers? It’s not the amount of emotions or even the degree of our focus. The value of our prayers is measured by the degree of our humility—the extent to which we empty ourselves. That means prayer is complete surrender to God. Prayer is not about what we do, but about what God does in us. To let God work in us during prayer means to allow God to search our...

Fr. Joseph explains that we are called to completely surrender to God and His will that He has for us. To completely surrender, we must be like clay, to allow ourselves to be molded by God as He sees fit. And this requires us to abandon ourselves and empty ourselves, so God can work for us and within us. Tune in to hear more. Fr. Joseph Abraham – December 19, 2021 Christ the Savior American Coptic...

Fr. Joseph explains that God’s incarnation revealed the mystery of His voluntary submission and emptying of Himself to become vulnerable to His creation. This mystery shows the essence of God’s love to mankind and how we can use this as an example for us to surrender ourselves to His will for us. Tune in to hear more. Fr. Joseph Abraham – December 12, 2021 Christ the Savior American Coptic Orthodo...

Fr. Joseph explains that salvation is a process including three elements—past, present, and future. “I was saved, I am being saved, I will be saved.” Those who experience Christ here on earth experience salvation and eternal life at the present time. Tune in to hear about how to focus on the journey instead of just the destination. Fr. Joseph Abraham – December 5, 2021 Christ the Savior American C...

Fr. Joseph explains that as Christians, we aspire to become true disciples. To become a true disciple, we walk through the path of humility to be obedient and submissive in accepting the guidance of our elders. Tune in to hear more. Fr. Joseph Abraham – November 28, 2021 Christ the Savior American Coptic Orthodox Church Diocese of Los Angeles www.thegoodsavior.org Christ the Savior American Coptic...

Fr. Joseph explains how Christ used love and compassion to connect and transform people’s hearts. Compassion and love are how we are able to meet people right where they are and connect in a way that speaks to them, so that we may show them God’s love through the care we give them. Tune in to hear more. Fr. Joseph Abraham – November 21, 2021 Christ the Savior American Coptic Orthodox Church Dioces...

Fr. Joseph explains how we ought to reflect the firmness of strong roots by adhering to a strict discipline. This is radically different from a rigid legalistic Christianity. Our foundation is freedom in the spirit, but it’s when our roots are firm and grounded in Christ we are more disciplined and firm in our spiritual path so that we serve, read the Scriptures, pray and share God’s love to the w...

Fr. Joseph explains that there are 3 myths or warnings about living in unity that we must be aware of. Unity is not about uniformity Unity is not about highlighting the elite few Unity is not about individualism Tune in to hear how to avoid these warning signs and allow unity to help your spiritual growth. Christ the Savior American Coptic Orthodox Church Diocese of Los Angeles www.thegoodsavior.o...

We often think of surrendering our rationale to God as a chore but it is essentially an act of love. This sacrifice of love is the fuel for a life of faith. We are constantly tempted to rationalize our way out of obedience to God but we must follow Peter’s footsteps. To say, “Nevertheless, at Your word, I will let down the net,” is a precious offering to God and an expression of our love for Him....