Ask the Priest

Reading and discussion of the remarkable kontakion on the victory of the Cross of Saint Romanos the Melodist.

Book group discussion of Saint Ephrem the Syrian's remarkable poem on the sinful woman who anointed the feet of Jesus. A timely discussion as we are in Holy Week and this story plays a central role, particularly early in Holy Week.

A few words to our Protestant visitors and inquirers.

A reflection on the remarkable story in Genesis of Joseph, the providence of God, leading us to the raising of Lazarus and the beauty of Holy Week.

Discussion of the wonderful dialogue poem the cherub and the thief. Then, near the end, a very good conversation about the Orthodox understanding of salvation and the role of the ascetic life in this.

A warning and a word of encouragement in the last week of Great Lent as we approach the great and holy days of our Lord's passion.

Second and last week of the discussion of Saint Dorotheos' chapter on the fear of God.

"This kind comes out not except by prayer and fasting."

I don't know if this will be the least streamed episode ever or the most. This is one of those topics that people either avoid like the plague or desperately want to understand. Part 2 next week.

Reading and discussion of chapter 6 of Saint Dorotheos' Discourses.

A rambling meditation on a theme from Genesis, the fall, the curse, and the blessing hidden in the curse, the possibility of conversion.

Discussion of Saint Basil the Great's first homily on fasting, veering off a bit into a more general discussion about the purpose of asceticism, the need and proper understanding of the fear of God, and other matters.

For many people coming to the Church fasting is one of the more confusing aspects of our practice. I address in this episode the rules of fasting, what fasting looks like in regard to what we eat and don't eat, how much we eat, exceptions to the rule of fasting, and in general what is the purpose of fasting. This is by no means comprehensive.

Men's Book Group February 25, 2025

We often hear phrases in the writings of the Fathers and the Mothers of the Church or in the hymns about being the worst of sinners. Sometimes we have a hard time appropriating this to ourselves because it seems hypocritical or false, or even dangerously reinforcing an already present self-hatred and self-loathing. In this episode Fr John addresses this phrase and how we can understand it in a way...

For this week of the Publican and Pharisee we thought we would read some of the sayings from the Desert Fathers on not judging others.

Discussion of the beautiful kontakion of Saint Romanos on the Meeting of the Lord.

I had a good question via email regarding the topic of this podcast and thought rather than just send one response to one person it's something other people might be interested in and so recorded a quick reply

Discussion of the beautiful kontakion of Saint Ramonos on Theophany. We were unable to finish discussing the full hymn but we covered over half of it.

Week 4 discussing Saint Gregory the Theologian's Nativity oration.

Week three discussion of Saint Gregory the Theologian's oration on the Nativity of Christ.

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming of men's group to share a few thoughts on repentance.

Week two discussing Saint Gregory the Theologian's Oration 38 on the Nativity of Christ.

Week 1 of our discussion of Saint Gregory the Theologian's Nativity Oration.

Third and final week of our discussion of Saint Ephrem's third hymn on Paradise.