PARISH VOICES

Looking for an elegant way to stay consistent with your daily Bible readings? Check out the new Kandili Orthodox Daily Readings app, developed by our very own Holy Apostles parishioner, Brian Warren! Kandili is beautiful and intuitive. It includes daily Epistle and Gospel readings, Saints and Feasts, and fasting guidelines along with key morning and evening prayers. It’s also lighting fast, to help you avoid the temptation of impatience!

As we begin another year of Bible study, we're diving into the Gospel of John. Fr. Tom invited us to sit with the opening verse from the Gospel of John. Instantly, the word that came to mind for me was connection. We would not exist without Him. Through the Word, all things were made. We are in Him and He is in us. We are connected to Christ. But life moves fast. Many can relate to days filled with meetings, emails, logistics, and multitasking...

I hope you are finding time to read the Scriptures! You can read a little each day, and there are multiple apps that can give you the church's daily readings or help you follow a reading plan. Have you ever been reading and had a verse jump out at you that you hadn't noticed before? This happened to me recently when I was reading 1 Corinthians chapter 9. Verse 23 struck me, which states, "This I do for the gospel's sake, that I may be partaker of it with you."

For the new year, many people think about their goals and hopes. This New Year, I invite you to consider the place of the Gospels in your life. Back in the fourth century, St. John Chrysostom lamented that many parishioners knew more about the chariot races than they knew about the Scriptures. I doubt if many of us know much about chariot races, but St. John might still have a similar complaint today. Abba Matthew the poor, asks us to consider the value of Scripture in our

The devotional book, Behold A Great Light: A Daily Devotional for the Nativity Fast through Theophany (Ancient Faith Publishing, 2023), has been a pleasure to read this Nativity season. Small, concise devotionals to read each day of the fast, written by a group of people. I encourage you to add it to your library. Here is a little takeaway from the book. Laura S. Jansson wrote the chapter, “‘Fiat: Let It Be” (November 27th reading) Fiat is the Latin from the fourth-century