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Sunday, March 8, 2020

Today is About History AND Faith

The Church has never been afraid of history. History is filled with happy events as well as sorrowful events, but it cannot be unwritten or changed. As human beings, we study history to learn of our past and to improve our future, as the old saying goes, “He who does not know history is doomed to repeat it.” Church history is important not only so we can avoid repeating the “bad parts”, but so that we can emphasize the good parts. Today is one of those days. The first... Read More

Posted by Fr Athanasios Haros at Sunday, March 8, 2020

Sunday, February 23, 2020

Judgment is Coming

On the Second Sunday of the Triodion, the Church commemorates “Judgment Sunday” during which we hear the Last Judgment as found in Matthew 25.31-46. We all know the story, “I was hungry and you fed me….” But do we know WHY the Church offers us THIS story on THIS particular Sunday? Many people believe that God is going to judge using a scale with “sins” on one side, and “good deeds” on the other. So long as the “good deeds”... Read More

Posted by Fr Athanasios Haros at Sunday, February 23, 2020

Sunday, February 16, 2020

Don't Confuse Permission with Approval

On the second Sunday of the Triodion, the Church calls our attention to the Parable of the Prodigal Son, and the beauty of repentance. In the story, just to remind you, the younger son felt that he deserved his inheritance early, before his father’s death. He approached his father and said, “Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.” (Luke 15.12) The father gave the son permission to take his inheritance and journey “to a far country,” in which he... Read More

Posted by Fr Athanasios Haros at Sunday, February 16, 2020

Sunday, February 9, 2020

How to Train Your Mouth

Since today is the first day of the Triodion (what we call PreLent) we heard in today’s Gospel lesson the story of the Publican and Pharisee. As I wrote before, and have often said from the pulpit, getting into heaven isn’t about whether or not we follow all the rules. Getting into heaven requires a loving and Christ-like heart, and a life lived in communion with Christ. Since the Pharisee in today’s Gospel lesson made such a big deal about following all the rules, including... Read More

Posted by Fr Athanasios Haros at Sunday, February 9, 2020

Sunday, January 26, 2020

You Can’t See God Without a Little Planning

When Jesus was coming to town, Zacchaeus wanted nothing more than to see Him, but he was short and a large crowd had surrounded Jesus. Zacchaeus knew that Jesus would pass by soon, and he had to come up with a plan if there was any hope of seeing Jesus. So he made a plan. He planned to climb a tree so, even if the crowd was large, he would be able to see Jesus. And Jesus took notice. “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” (Luke 19.5) His plan... Read More

Posted by Fr Athanasios Haros at Sunday, January 26, 2020

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Be Grateful

Every morning we wake up to another day filled with opportunities and choices, opportunities to honor God with our choices. In our morning prayers, we often ask God to bless our day and maybe even ask Him to intercede and help us with a particular struggle, or we may ask Him to help others in their struggles. Suffice it to say, our prayers are more often than not, filled with requests of God. The Gospel story today (Luke 17.12-19) tells us of a similar situation. As Christ enters a village,... Read More

Posted by Fr Athanasios Haros at Sunday, January 19, 2020

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Thank You!

For over one hundred years, our St Nicholas Community has celebrated the Feast of Epiphany in much the same manner as faithful Orthodox Christians throughout the world have done for centuries. Over the past eleven decades, our celebration has become known throughout the world, drawing visitors and spectators from all corners of the globe, and this year was no different. Well, it was a bit different. Not only did we welcome His Eminence Archbishop ELPIDOPHOROS of America on the occasion of... Read More

Posted by Fr Athanasios Haros at Sunday, January 12, 2020

Sunday, December 29, 2019

New Year Resolutions

This week is the week that everyone focuses on improving something about life in the New Year. As clocks strike midnight all across the globe, good intentioned men and women scurry to confirm New Year resolutions. Of course many if not most if not all New Year resolutions end up in the garbage pail by the end of the first week of the New Year, but that won’t stop millions across the globe for faithfully committing to improving their life next year. By no means am I against New Year... Read More

Posted by Fr Athanasios Haros at Sunday, December 29, 2019

Sunday, December 15, 2019

RSVP - No Regrets Please

When we receive an invitation to a banquet, the first thing most of us do is to quickly look at who sent the invitation. We do this before we even look to see if we are available at the time for the banquet. We do this because, if we consider the person who has invited us to be important enough, even if we are busy that night, we will likely find a way to attend the banquet. If we don’t like the person, or don’t even know if we know the person, even if we are available, chances are... Read More

Posted by Fr Athanasios Haros at Sunday, December 15, 2019

Sunday, December 8, 2019

We Have Been Set Free

When Jesus met a young woman who had been sick for eighteen years, He said to her, “Woman you are freed from your infirmity.” (Luke 13.13) You might think this was a good thing, after being sick for so long, but the crowd that was watching wasn’t so happy. Like other miracles of Christ, this one also took place on the Sabbath. Once she was healed, she immediately glorified God. According to the Old Testament Law, it was not permitted to work on the Sabbath, so the crowd... Read More

Posted by Fr Athanasios Haros at Sunday, December 8, 2019

Sunday, December 1, 2019

A Simple Multiple Choice Life

You are sitting by the side of the road selling fresh-caught shrimp when suddenly Jesus Christ comes walking by, surrounded by a crowd of followers. Do you… Keep selling your shrimp as if nothing special is happening? Stop selling your shrimp and sit perfectly still so you don’t disturb Him? Try to sell shrimp to the crowd? Drop your shrimp, cry out “Lord, Have mercy?” and then follow Him wherever He goes? Sometimes life is... Read More

Posted by Fr Athanasios Haros at Sunday, December 1, 2019

Sunday, November 24, 2019

What Are You Willing to Give Away for Christ?

When a certain ruler asked Christ, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 18.18) he ultimately went away sad and depressed because he was a wealthy man. He had properly done all the things that the Law had required of him. He was what we might consider a “good man” by any standard. By his own confession he had done all the right things since his youth. But when pushed by the ruler, Christ said, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you... Read More

Posted by Fr Athanasios Haros at Sunday, November 24, 2019

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Come Dream With Me for Our Future

The last two weeks in our Cathedral Family have been, to say the least, traumatic with the departure of Fr Sampson after he and his family had given themselves for four years to the life of our Family. We wish them God’s blessings as he begins his new ministry in Pensacola, Florida today. We were saddened by the news of his quick departure, but we are a strong and resilient community. We will continue to grow closer to each other and God in our spiritual journey. We will never forget the... Read More

Posted by Fr Athanasios Haros at Sunday, November 17, 2019

Sunday, November 3, 2019

A Line in the Sand

It is an old expression, “To draw a line in the sand,” which means to set a limit across which you refuse to cross or which you refuse to allow others (or even dare others) to cross. And it is something most of us do every day…normally regretting the outcome. When we draw a line in the sand we tell those around us that we are not willing to listen or negotiate our position. It is a statement of barriers rather than bridges, and it tends to limit progress rather than extend... Read More

Posted by Fr Athanasios Haros at Sunday, November 3, 2019

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Lessons Learned

In a society which elevates self promotion as worthy traits, it is difficult to imagine learning a lesson from a woman crawling on her hands and knees to secretly be healed by God. In a society which awards self accomplishment, it’s even more difficult to accept that it is honorable to sit and wait for healing rather than demand immediate attention. Our society, while offering wonderful opportunities for anyone and everyone to express their God-given talents, the last character trait we... Read More

Posted by Fr Athanasios Haros at Sunday, October 27, 2019

Sunday, October 20, 2019

What is Your Demon?

Many times we read the Gospel stories about demoniacs like the one in today’s Gospel (Luke 8.26-39) and we think there is nothing relevant for us today. Most of us don’t even believe demons are real, let alone know of anyone who may be possessed by them. Of course, they are real, but the truth is, even if we do not suffer from demons we can still benefit from this story from the Holy Scriptures. We all have demons that control us. They may not be the sort that are described in... Read More

Posted by Fr Athanasios Haros at Sunday, October 20, 2019

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Your Soul Cannot Remain the Same Year After Year

In the Parable of the Sower found in Luke 8.5-15, our Lord reveals to us the condition of our souls. Our soul is either hard, filled with the weeds of temptation, blocked by the rocks of struggle, or rich fertile soil. Year after year, God, just like the dedicated farmer scatters seed, sends out the Word of God to every soul no matter what condition. If our soul is prepared to receive the Word, our faith bears fruit; if not, our faith withers away. The work of every farmer, and therefore the... Read More

Posted by Fr Athanasios Haros at Sunday, October 13, 2019

Sunday, October 6, 2019

Be Present and Pray

Several times in my ministry I have had the profound experience of spending time with families during a variety of tragedies. The most profound is when I am blessed to walk along with a parent who is forced to bury a child. I have long believed that human beings are not designed to bury children. As difficult as it can be to bury parents, grandparents and even spouses and siblings, there is a unique pain when a parent is faced with the death of a child, no matter how old that child is. ... Read More

Posted by Fr Athanasios Haros at Sunday, October 6, 2019

Sunday, September 29, 2019

The Christian Life Is About Endurance

Let’s face it. Life is hard. It doesn’t really matter what job we have or what privileges and benefits we have inherited from our ancestors, each of us has to wake up in the morning and struggle to make it through our day. Sometimes the struggle might be as basic as sorting through the “to do list” for the day, but we all struggle to get through each day. So when we hear that the Gospel of Christ is GOOD NEWS our ears perk up and our attention turns toward the Church.... Read More

Posted by Fr Athanasios Haros at Sunday, September 29, 2019

Sunday, September 22, 2019

The Power of Faith

Every now and then there comes a time in our life when God calls us to reach out of our comfort zone and trust that He knows our abilities and has our best interests in mind. At those moments, it doesn’t do us any benefit to look back at our failures but ahead to God’s glory and promise for a blessed future. Too often our fears and lack of confidence take control and we refuse to trust that God indeed knows what He is doing. When Jesus commanded some fishermen to “Launch... Read More

Posted by Fr Athanasios Haros at Sunday, September 22, 2019

Friday, August 16, 2019

The History of Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church

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Posted by Reverend Sampson at Friday, August 16, 2019