Homily - The Sunday of Orthodoxy
OrthoAnalytika
The Sunday of Orthodoxy: Embrace the Fullness of the Faith Fr. Anthony Perkins Every morning we join together and pray: Lord, save and have mercy on our civil authorities; protect our nation with peace, subduing our every foe and adversary. Fill the hearts of our leaders with peaceful, benevolent thoughts for your Holy Church and for all your people so that we, in their tranquility, may lead a peaceful and quiet life in true faith and in all godliness and purity. This same attitude is found amongst the most solemn intercessor prayers in all of Orthodoxy: those that occur during the Anaphora....
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Homily - Cheesefare Sunday/Sunday of Forgiveness
OrthoAnalytika
MATTHEW 6:14-21 The Lord said, "If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Do not lay up for...
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Revelation - Session 15
OrthoAnalytika
Revelation Class 15; Heading to the Final Showdown 26 February 2025 Revelation, Chapter Twenty – Twenty-two Andrew of Caesarea, Commentary on the Apocalypse, ed. David G. Hunter, trans. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou, vol. 123, The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2011). Fr. John Peck; Fr. Barnabas Powell. Rejecting RAPTUREMANIA: An Orthodox Look at a Dubious Doctrine (Function). Kindle Edition. Patrick Henry Reardon, Revelation: A Liturgical Prophecy (Yonkers, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2018). Chapter Twenty One thousand...
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Homily - Judgment/Meatfare Sunday
OrthoAnalytika
St. Matthew 25:31-46. Fr. Anthony covers the literal meaning and two spiritual meanings of the parable, noting that it should come as no surprise that diligently following the Orthodox Way prepares us to move to the right-hand, glory and thanks to God! Enjoy the show!
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Homily - Parable of the Prodigal Son
OrthoAnalytika
(Luke 15: 11-32). Riffing off of St Nikolai Velimirovic, Fr Anthony preaches on the attributes of love - patience, forgiveness, and joy - that the father exhibits towards his sons as he pastors and encourages them them towards perfection.
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Revelation - Session 14
OrthoAnalytika
Revelation Class 14 – 19; Heading to the Final Showdown 12 February 2025 Revelation, Chapter Fifteen - Twenty Patrick Henry Reardon, Revelation: A Liturgical Prophecy (Yonkers, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2018), 79–. Chapter Fifteen John sees in heaven the tabernacle of testimony from the Book of Exodus, the traveling tent of the divine presence that Moses and the Israelites carried through the desert. This tent, however, is “heavenly,” which means that it is the original model, the very pattern that Moses copied (Ex 25:9, 40; Acts 7:44; Heb 8:5). … The tent...
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Homily - Simplicity
OrthoAnalytika
Luke 18:10-14. In this homily on the Publican and Pharisee, Fr. Anthony loses his voice and misses a couple of his points but still manages to spend over twenty minutes preaching about the need for repentance and good habits on the way to holiness. Enjoy the show!
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Revelation - Session 13
OrthoAnalytika
Revelation Class 13 – The Woman and the Beasts 05 February 2025 Revelation, Chapter Twelve - Fourteen Patrick Henry Reardon, Revelation: A Liturgical Prophecy (Yonkers, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2018), 70–78. Chapter Twelve … Nonetheless, this is not simply a description of the Lord’s nativity. The Woman in the vision is the mother of Jesus, but she is more; she is also the Church, which gives birth to Christ in the world. The sufferings and persecution of the Church are described as birth pangs (cf. Jn 16:21–22). The serpent, of course, is the ancient dragon...
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Homily - Love Means Showing Up
OrthoAnalytika
Luke 2:22-40. Today the Meeting of the Lord was on a Sunday so everyone got some candles! They also heard Fr. Anthony preach on the stories and virtues of some of the participants in this great feast. Enjoy the show!
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Homily - Zacchaeus & Repentance
OrthoAnalytika
Luke 19:1-10 Today Fr. Anthony praises St. Zacchaeus’ true repentance, compares it to an ephemeral sort of repentance, and notes the great freedom that simplicity brings. Enjoy the show & please forgive the audio quality!
info_outlineOn Fostering and Defending a Culture of Cheerful Giving
St. Paul says today that we should not give grudgingly or out of coercion, but out of his heart – because God loves a cheerful giver.
It is tempting to think of this in purely utilitarian terms: if we do this, more money will be given to charity, whether that is in support of the poor, in support of evangelism, or whatever.
And it is true that this would have an effect. But this is NOT the only – or even the main – purpose of St. Paul's teaching.
St. John Chrysostom (a great friend of the poor and admonisher of the rich); “God appointed almsgiving not only for the nourishment of the needy but also for the benefit of the providers, and much more so for the latter than for the former.”
And it is certainly true that this will improve the disposition of the giver. Attitude may not be everything, but it is a lot; especially when it is tied to actions that benefit others. This turns an excuse for grumbling into the exercise of virtue; of an opportunity to just dig a deeper grave to a chance to climb up just a little higher on the ladder towards perfection and lasting joy.
But even that doesn't exhaust the great benefit of cheerful giving; you see this virtue of cheerful action is generalizable past the giving of money into every action of our lives. MOREOVER, it's benefits go beyond the individuals directly involved to the culture they are a part of.
Robert Putnum: Making Democracy Work: Culture of Trust vs. Culture of Patronage.
What would happen if we could relax and just be good to one another? If we gave without thinking of what we might get in return? If we could sacrifice without having to worry about being cheated or taken advantage of. If we could give knowing that everyone else was doing the same; and that our attitude as much as our efforts were creating an icon of the Kingdom of God here on earth?
Compare that to the opposite: Giving out of coercion, knowing that if I gave selflessly it would just disappear because others were too lazy; that …
Families and parishes are designed to be icons of the Kingdom; not of tyranny, but of cheerful giving in all things. But it can only work if there is a critical mass of people who are willing to live this way.
Axelrod “The Evolution of Cooperation” How many predators and shirkers to transform a trusting culture into the broken one?
The equivalent in parish life? A few trying to sustain everything. The temptation? USE COERSION! Higher dues, shaming, exhaustion, “checking out”.
The real answer: cheerful giving. As individuals – always (it's the winning stragtegy no matter what – martyr or evangelist). As a parish? Coercive parishes die. Joyful parishes live. Which one?