PARISH VOICES

Finishing up this chapter of my life, I've had the great opportunity to shed some retrospect on the past few years. My name is Anthony Sitaras and I just graduated from a public high school here in Shoreline. Throughout my educational career, I put lots of time and focus into my academics, and my musical extracurriculars. As spiritually inclined as I had been up to my Junior year, I decided I wanted to become more involved in the rest of my high school life, and slowly began

During Holy Week, Fr. Tom spoke about exploring our inner space — in contrast to the exploration of outer space — as the Artemis II was completing its mission around the moon that week. What is our inner space? How can we access our inner space? What do we find in our inner space? In Orthodox theology, the word nous is often used for what many in the Christian world use for soul or heart. Given that the Greek definitions that come up for nous are "eye of the soul" or the "min

On the Sunday before the Nativity of Christ, we read the Gospel of St. Matthew 1:1-25, which traces the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. It's always a powerful thing when our Church reminds us that we come from a lineage that goes all the way back to Adam and Eve. As we celebrate Christmas, we need to be reminded where our roots are, where we're from, and who we are. The world is telling you so many things about who you need to be. We hear, "j

It's that time of year again! Need I say more? The stores are already decked out for the dark days of December making them a beautiful sight to the eyes. How many Christmas songs come to mind about the holidays - snowfall, holly, Christmas trees, reindeer and jingle bells. An exciting time for many. It also brings about a pressure to do it right, provide the best Christmas for the family and be joyful doing it all. For others, it is a time of mourning as they remember loved o

In one of our recent Gospel readings, Jesus tells us: "If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me." (Mark 8:34). This is a radical statement! When we hear this, we sometimes think about the cross Jesus carried up that hill. We think about fasting, giving things up, enduring difficulties. And yes, this is part of taking up the cross, but the Church Fathers talk about a different kind of cross. Not just the external cross, but the dee

In the wake of this tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk and last week's shooting in Minneapolis at the Annunciation Catholic School, it is natural to search for answers and accountability. Yet as we watch politicians and others rush to blame one another, to claim moral superiority, or to assign guilt to certain groups, we fall into a familiar trap described by Fr. Meletios Webber: the mind's compulsive need to be right.

Before the Cross, the devil believed death was his greatest weapon. But Jesus reversed this order completely, opening the path to life...

Well-Baby Check-Ups and Spiritual Health Most parents realize that keeping our babies healthy requires taking them to the pediatrician for their "well baby" check-ups. At each visit the doctor weighs and measures our kids to make sure they are growing at a healthy rate, checking eyesight and hearing, and answering any questions about behavior and health issues. As parents, we can't wait for our children to reach important milestones – the first pounds gained, sitting up strai

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ. —Philippians 4:6-7, NKJV I am reading the biography of St. Seraphim of Sarov (1759-1833), An Extraordinary Peace: St. Seraphim, Flame of Sarov by Archimandrite Lazarus (Moore). I find when I read biographies of the Holy Fathers & Mothers,

During Fr. Tom’s sermon on Sunday, January 26th, something truly resonated with me. The gospel reading was about Zacchaeus, a wealthy tax...