There is a repulsive religion that has swept over the world…one that is even older than Christianity itself.  It is one that all of us, by virtue of our baptism and chrismation into the Holy Orthodox Church, have sworn to leave behind! Yet on an almost daily basis, we tend to look back and to follow after it’s teachings and rituals! It is called the “religion of self.”

"There are those of us who, regardless of the evidence, will still reject Christ.  Like the people of the Gadarenes we will force Jesus out of our lives either because of fear, ignorance or pride.  No matter the strength of the evidence provided, we can never completely accept the fact that there is a loving God Who desires that all people come to Him and be saved. "

Like St. John the Baptist had while awaiting his beheading, we see a "peace from above" in the faces of those under persecution today in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

To those who are here amid work and worship, who have already raised children in the Church…be a source of encouragement to those with young children!  If there comes a moment where we should become distracted, let us remember the Gospel lesson today of what happens when we pay attention to the wind and storms around us.  Let us remember that if we truly do have a life that is deeply rooted in prayer, and if our minds and hearts are truly set on the Liturgy itself, then we should have a spiritual intensity within us that overwhelms the nervous ripples of noise and distraction in the Liturgy!

"...This treasure goes on and on, and gets better and better the deeper you continue to go into the depths of the Church…no matter how long you have been in the castle, or how many treasure chests you have already opened."