A few days ago, a friend told me that he was in a fishmonger’s shop, waiting for its owner to finish what he had ordered for lunch for himself and for his household. A man came in, and asked the fishmonger if he can buy fried bread (only) for two people, perhaps for himself and ...
Read moreMonthly Archives: February 2023
An Image of the Estrangement
I saw them. The three of them, two little girls and a boy, were in front of a building run by their father. The eldest girl, no more than ten years old, was humming a song by a singer from her country. As for the middle one, she was wiping, with a paper towel, something ...
Read moreThe Great Lent
Ever since I committed myself to the life of the Church, I have tried to observe this fast. I believe that our life in Christ consists, entirely, of endeavors. What we ask for in the Church is always greater than our practice of it. We try, we keep doing what we are doing, because we ...
Read moreRedeem the Time
Friends tell one another what one keeps repeating to himself. Be generous with those you love. Generosity does not consist in burdening yourself with what you have no ability to do. In essence, it is an expression. Sometimes, the rose, in substance, is worth a mountain… Some or most of our loved ones need to ...
Read moreThe Pursuit of the Humble
Those who are interested in the events of our Church know that, before the Antiochian Synod elected on Saturday, February 23rd, Metropolitan Saba Esper over the Archdiocese of New York and all North America, among the three names proposed by their conference was the name of Bishop Nicholas Ozone. What is striking about this nomination ...
Read moreTo Metropolitan Saba Esper
“You are a father, a brother and a friend” is not said of many people. May your faithfulness endure. I am writing to you after your election as Metropolitan (again) over the Archdiocese of New York and all North America. I am not discussing now the laws of your new diocese which allow, in the ...
Read moreBefore the Fast
The period of the preparation for Lent, which will be completed next Sunday, with its well-known titles, is a continuum. Before the fast and even as an introduction to it, the Church prompts us to establish ourselves on four virtues, without which we cannot secure righteousness; namely: humility, repentance, the love of the poor, and ...
Read moreA Good Prayer
At the Mattins of last Saturday's service, the hymnographer gave us to tell the Lord: “Give rest, O Lord, to the souls of Thy departed servants. To those hidden by the deep or cut down in battle, swallowed by earthquake, murdered, or consumed by fire, grant in Thy mercy a place with the faithful and ...
Read moreEustathius of Antioch
Saint Eustathius of Antioch, whom we commemorate tomorrow, is great on many levels. I start with his integrity in thought and deed. He was elected a bishop to the Church of Aleppo, and he proved to be a shepherd in the image of the great Shepherd of our souls. Then, after the widowing of the ...
Read moreThe Sunday of the Last Judgment
Tomorrow, in our Church, we enter into a partial fast, taking meat off our tables. This will be set off by this Sunday, which is the purpose, which we call the Sunday of the Last Judgment. In the Gospel we have read today, Jesus reveals to us that He will judge us according to our ...
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