Labor Day has come and gone — as has the ecclesiastical new year, which Orthodox Christians observe on the first day of September. As the days grow shorter, we once again focus on the normal routines we may have suspended during the “lazy, hazy days of summer” — family, school, work and church. As with the beginning of the civil … Read More
9-11
On this day seventeen years ago, the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the airliner crash in Pennsylvania took place, killing thousands of innocent people. Regarding the Pennsylvania crash, some brave people on board prevented the plane from reaching its target. That day drastically changed the way our country operates. Much was done to make … Read More
“Dad – if I can’t text I am gonna die!”
I often take early morning flights out of Chicago’s O’Hare Airport — sometimes as early as 5:00 a.m. I am amazed as I watch people in the terminal, many of whom are glued to their I-phones. Rather than sending a brief text or email and then putting the phone away, they engage in a steady and endless stream of activity. … Read More
I Have Never Fasted Before, How Do I Get Started?
I have told this story many times, so forgive me as I repeat it. A number of years ago, I served as the priest of a parish of new converts who were not accustomed to fasting. Even the idea of fasting before receiving Communion on Sunday was new to them. A father relayed to me that his son, who would … Read More
How do we fast, are there any shortcuts?
About 20 years ago, a parishioner asked me if her family could keep the fast on Tuesdays and Thursdays instead of Wednesdays and Fridays. When I asked why she made this request, she replied that it was easier to fast on those days. The simple response on how to fast is to just follow the rules. In doing so, fasting … Read More
Fasting, Hunger, Desire, and Prayer
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward He was hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But He answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live … Read More
Praying on the Run
“Be pleased, O God, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me!” (Psalm 70:1). Is there another way prayer can be incorporated into a busy schedule? Too often we equate prayer with standing before an icon corner with a prayer book and reciting prayers. While this is certainly an aspect of keeping a prayer rule, there is more to … Read More
What do you do when you first get up?
In the late 1970s, I was a childcare worker at a Catholic Home that provided care for physically and emotionally disturbed children, who followed a morning routine that started with a simple limit. After waking up, before they could leave their rooms, they had to make their beds and get dressed for school. They then called for a room check. … Read More
Why Are We So Busy?
At present, I am in Saint Louis, where I am attending the 19th All-American Council of the Orthodox Church in America. Monday morning’s plenary session of the Fellowship of Orthodox Christians in America’s 92nd annual national Convention is about to begin. As its members seek to find answers as to how they can grow in their ministry to the Orthodox … Read More
“Gospel Values and Politics” – A brief reflection by Peter Bouteneff
“Gospel values do not prescribe how to shape our governments. They tell us how to live.” As committed Orthodox Christians, the decisions we make about our lives and our society are supposed to be “Gospel-based.” What does that mean in general, and what does it mean specifically with regard to our politics? Gospel values are Christ-values, and we are given … Read More