Category: The Morning Offering

Let my prayer arise as incense before Thee From Old Testament times believers have burned incense as an offering when worshiping God. The ancient temple in Jerusalem even had priests whose sole duty was to keep the censer burning twenty-four hours a day. Ancient pagan kings were often escorted with

The Child Mary Entered into the Holy of Holies Saints Joachim and Anna, who were childless, made a vow to God that if a child were born to them, they would consecrate her to God. And when the Virgin Mary was born, her righteous parents hurried to fulfill their promise.

Remembering to Give Thanks Frequently “We thank thee, O Christ our God, that thou hast satisfied us with thy earthly gifts, deprive us not of thy Heavenly Kingdom; but as thou entered into the midst of thy disciples, O Saviour, and gave them peace, enter also among us and save

Taking Orthodoxy Beyond the Self-Congratulatory We must guard against noticing when another parishioner seems careless in the making of the sign of the cross, while we go about demonstrating for all around us, the proper way. Making sweeping signs of the cross that are done in such a way as

Serving the Great Men and Women Who Serve Us All It has been a great blessing for me to have been serving as a police and fire chaplain for the past twenty some years. My interest in chaplaincy began when I was asked by a number of inmates to serve

Living our Orthodox Faith in a Multicultural Society Orthodoxy by its very nature is a demanding religion, one that requires her faithful to fully embrace a lifestyle that is in opposition to the world about us. The many periods of fasting and the practice of standing for our services are

How can we possibly love everyone? We are instructed by Christ to love our neighbors as ourselves, and even to love our enemies. There are always individuals who come into our lives that we find difficult to like, let alone love. Given this, how do we follow the commandment of

Forever United As One With Christ The Church Fathers saw Orthodoxy as a Way of Life, rather than a religion. Although the Church has many of the same attributes as religion, this does not mean she is herself a religious institution. Rather, she is a Hospital for the Soul, wherein

The Christian Family is a Christ Centered Family Any good parent knows that he must love all his children equally. No favoritism should be displayed when raising children if we want them to know they are loved. Troubled children often get more attention from loving parents because mom and dad

Someone Who Knows the Truth but Consciously Rejects It If we do not believe that Christ’s very Body and Blood are received in the Eucharist, and if we do not believe that the Mother of God remained a virgin before and after the birth of her Son, we are a