Sermons & Homilies – Tagged "Lenten Triodion"– Page 12 – Holy Cross Monastery

Feb 04, 2017

Sermon on the New Martyrs of Russia & the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee 2017

What kind of men and women become martyrs? What is it within each of our hearts that determines our destiny and eternal fate? For what kind of open or hidden virtue does the Lord grant the supreme gift of a martyr’s crown? And which of our many sins and passions do we need to fear the most, which can so corrupt and sicken our souls that we become capable even of mocking, torturing and slaughtering God’s faithful servants?

Nov 28, 2016

Sermon for the Feast of St. Gregory Palamas (2016)

Fathers, brothers, sisters although our theosis is a great mystery and its magnitude towers over our understanding, yet St. Gregory tells us simply keep the commandments and God will unite you to Himself.

Apr 20, 2016

Another Sermon for the Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt (2016)

The end is near! At the end of this coming week Great Lent will be over. But now, I would like to take a moment to look back at the beginning of Great Lent, and even the preparation for Great Lent. Every year at our monastery during the First Week of Lent, we read in our trapeza these words from the great instructor of the spiritual life, Abba Dorotheos:

Apr 18, 2016

Sermon for the Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt (2016)

Today we commemorate St. Mary of Egypt, who is the third Saint whom the Church has brought to our attention during this period of Great Lent; the first two being St. Gregory Palamas and St. John Climacus. Last Sunday we commemorated St. John Climacus as the model of ascetics and today we commemorate St. Mary of Egypt, who is for us the model of repentance as we sang in the exapostilarion for the saint last evening, “Thee we have as a pattern of repentance, all-holy Mary.” From her life, let us see how this is so.

Apr 06, 2016

Sermon for the Annunciation (2016)

“The Mystery from the ages is revealed today… God becomes man, so that He might make Adam a god.”

My brothers and sisters, these words from the Praises of the Forefeast express a great and holy truth. Even more, these words express the greatest truth of our lives. It truly is “the Mystery from the ages.” It is not a fairy tale. Nor is it simply a dull formula dredged out of some lifeless textbook of theology. It is reality, though a reality far beyond the wildest dreams even of St. Peter when he said to the Lord: “to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.” When holy Chief of the Apostles spoke this, he did not yet have but the barest inkling of the life that the Son of God came to us to bring. As St. Paul later wrote: “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” And even more, in the words of the Apostle John the Theologian: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”