Homily - Acquiring Peace and the Spiritual Gut Check
OrthoAnalytika
The Feast of All Saints Hebrews 11:33-40; 12:1-2; St. Matthew 10:32-33; 37-38; 19:27-30 After clearing up potential confusion about "leaving" families as a sure way to heaven, Fr. Anthony asks how we are doing with the gifts of the Passion, Resurrection, and Pentecost (THE Holy Spirit!) God has given us to assist us in our healing and perfection. He encourages us to do a gut check on how we are doing by looking at the degree to which criticism and praise pull us from our peace. Enjoy the show!
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Homily - Pentecost and the Gift of Communification
OrthoAnalytika
Pentecost: The Language of Love This episode explores Pentecost as more than a miracle of tongues—it's a call to unity through the divine language of love. The Holy Spirit empowers us to truly listen, love, and live in communion. Through grace, repentance, and the Eucharist, we are formed into the family of God—one in purpose, diverse in gift, united by love. Enjoy the show!
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Homily - The Sunday after Ascension
OrthoAnalytika
The Truth Matters This homily explores why truth is essential—in logic, relationships, and faith. It examines the unique role of religion, the danger of distorting truth (like Arius did), and the deep meaning of Christ’s incarnation, resurrection, and ascension. Standing on the Rock of Christ, we’re called to live in love and invite others to the truth God gives as a gift. Enjoy the show!
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Talk - Spiritual Fatherhood and the Temptation of Tyranny
OrthoAnalytika
In today's class, Fr. Anthony talks about spiritual fatherhood and how the health of the parish flows from the health of the priest and back. The talk included the temptation of tyranny, young-eldership (mladastarstvo), and people-pleasing. Enjoy the show!
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Homily - What Really Sustains Us?
OrthoAnalytika
John 4:5-42. In today’s Gospel, Jesus talks about living water and secret food—not physical things, but spiritual truths. So here’s the big question: What truly motivates us? Is it money, health, happiness? Those things matter—but they don’t last. When life gets hard, they can’t sustain us. Jesus shows us something deeper. His true nourishment is doing God’s will—connecting with others, sharing love, offering grace. That’s the “living water” He gave to the Samaritan woman, and it transformed her life. And it can transform ours, too. Let’s find our purpose in loving...
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Homily - The Orthodox Way to Wellness
OrthoAnalytika
On Paralytic Sunday, Christ asks a man who had been sick for 38 years, “Do you want to be made well?” It’s a question that reaches beyond the Gospel and speaks directly to us. True healing—spiritual and physical—begins with recognizing our need, seeking real help, and committing to the path of recovery. Christ is the Great Physician, and the Church is His hospital. But healing isn’t automatic; it requires humility, trust, and obedience. As with the paralytic, Christ knows our pain and desires our healing. The question is: do we truly want to be made well?
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Homily - The Man Born Blind
OrthoAnalytika
In John 9:1–38, Jesus heals a man born blind, showing that suffering isn’t always caused by sin but can reveal God’s glory. St. John Chrysostom teaches that the man's blindness led to humility and spiritual insight, unlike the Pharisees who remained spiritually blind. The reflection calls us to open our eyes to God’s grace in everyday life, allowing ordinary things—like relationships—to become vessels of holiness through love and intention.
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Talk - Shortcuts to Sanctification
OrthoAnalytika
Today Fr. Anthony started out talking about some of the temptations that come with becoming Orthodox, but most of the conversation ended up being about the draw and danger of cults. Enjoy the show!
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Homily - Myrrhbearers
OrthoAnalytika
Today’s reflection centers on the Myrrhbearers — those who came to anoint Jesus’ body after His death. Their actions teach us a powerful lesson about love as duty rather than transaction or warm fuzzy. They approached the tomb thinking Jesus was still dead and knowing (!) that he was utterly unable to reward them for their sacrifices. But their actions found resonance with something deep and real - the Love that knows no death.
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Adult Education - Talking about Pascha
OrthoAnalytika
Fr. Anthony speaks about different liturgical traditions, their history and significance, especially Pascha. Enjoy the show!
info_outlineHomily on Belief
St. John 20:19-31
Does God hate doubt? Did he shame doubters? No, He had a different approach.
He wants us to know the truth; but this is MUCH less about facts than it is about us knowing Him as the God. In St. John 14:6, He says “I am the Truth...”
He does not want us to remain in doubt about Him, His power, or His redeeming love for us. He wants us to believe in Him. Again, in John (11:26), He describes how important this belief is: it is the only way to have real life. But He is patient and will draw the earnest seeker into belief.
But what does it mean to believe in someone? It means that you can trust that person, trust their intentions, and trust their power to do what it is they are saying they will do.
In a healthy marriage, a husband believes in his wife and the wife believes in her husband. In a healthy home, children grow up believing in their parents; they trust them, their intentions, and their power.
When that belief is gone, no actions are going to be able to save the relationship. A spouse that is convinced their partner is going to find evidence – even if the mind has to make it up – to support that. And so the whole dynamic changes; without belief their can be no connection; no blessed unity; no harmony; no “life”.
Christ is worthy of our Trust. His intentions towards us are clear: He loves us and desires us to have eternal joy with Him and each other. His power to do what He has promised is similarly clear: He has risen from the dead. And He has given us reminders of all this: we share in His Body and Blood in part to keep the reality of His promise alive in us. To help us drive away the doubt.
You have united yourself to Christ. You believe in His love and you have accepted that love. You believe in His power and you have accepted that power.
The mind will still come up with doubts; but that is what the mind does. It comes up with ideas. Over time, as we learn to really trust Him, these doubt will trouble us less. But in the meantime, don't be afraid of your doubts. As in any good relationship, bring them out into the open. This is the safe place to do that; not here during worship, but here in this community. I guarantee you that you won't be the first to express the ideas your mind has come up with; incredibly intelligent and well-educated people and experienced people have thought those thoughts.
If those thoughts were generated out of love and a genuine desire to know, then working out the answers here in God's presence will be a holy act. History shows this without exception. The answers may be hard to hear, but being good isn't always easy.
History also shows that if we use questions out of malice or a desire to mock God or His children, that we will learn nothing from our dialogue with Him. But malice is a poison; the only way to cure it is by pulling out the poison. Facts don't help at all.
One last note about doubt. When you believe, do it gently, patiently, and with love as you share it with others. God did not mind people who came to Him with questions because He knew the connection of honest dialogue would bring them into a relationship – that is to say, a belief – in Him.
But He had no patience with people who believed so strongly in the wrong things that they hurt others for it, especially when they did this in His name. (Pharisees)
So believe in Christ; believe in His love for you, and His power to bring you into the only life worth living.