Faith – Page 9 – Royal Doors

Dec

21

2016

The Virgin Has Conceived

Faith

WITH THE FIRST SCENT of cooler weather in the air, merchants begin marketing potential Christmas gifts. As the holiday nears, the shopping frenzy intensifies with music, parties and decorations all telling us “Hurry up and buy something.” Our Church, on the other hand, tells us that it’s time for renewed fasting and almsgiving. Gift-giving as we know it became popular in the 1860s and grew as mechanical and, later, electrical goods came on the market and Santa began appearing in ads and in stores. For most Americans, handmade goods such as pastries, canned preserves or hand-carved toys were the most…

Dec

21

2016

By Fr. Michael Bombak

Mark 11:23-25- Forgiveness: A Prerequisite to Prayer

Faithfighting, Forgiveness, Our Father, Prayer

Glory be to Jesus Christ! Nothing causes more disturbance in a household than when children fight with one another. A silly squabble often spreads ill will and hostility to other members of the family. The blame game begins and quickly spreads to other unrelated areas and the next thing you know you are sleeping on the couch because one of your daughters stole the other's doll! In the early Church confessions were done publicly in front of the whole community. Everyone heard the sins, but everyone witnessed the forgiveness as well. Don't get me wrong, I understand and agree with…

Dec

20

2016

By Fr. Michael Bombak

Mark 11:11-23- The Reason for the Season

FaithGreed, Prayer, temple, West Edmonton Mall

Glory be to Jesus Christ! Imagine if you were a Gentile living in the time of our Lord and didn't know much about the God of the Jewish people, and so wanting to know more, you went to the Temple to check it out. You were allowed into the "Court of the Gentiles," a section just for you, to discover that the whole court was filled with animals to be bought and sold, money changers and yelling voices haggling for the lowest prices. What would you think is worshiped in this Temple by these people? Although this Temple was destroyed…

Dec

16

2016

By Fr. Michael Bombak

Mark 10:23-31- Shed Those Chains

FaithGreed, hope, riches, salvation

Glory be to Jesus Christ! One of the most terrifying characters of any story, but especially a story which is pertinent to us this time of year, is the Ghost of Marley, Scrooge's business partner in "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. Marley appears to Scrooge to warn him of the arrival of three ghosts who will help to lead Scrooge to repentance. Marley's ghost is described as dragging chains which he had made in his own life through his daily actions: "The chain he drew was clasped about his middle. It was long, and wound about him like a…

Dec

14

2016

By Fr. Michael Bombak

Mark 10:11-16- I Did it His Way

Faithchildren, frank sinatra, humility, my way

Glory be to Jesus Christ! In 1969 Frank Sinatra released "My Way" a song which would become immensely popular. Not only would it be a hit for Sinatra himself, but for Elvis Presley amoung others. It would spend 75 weeks on the UK Top 40, a record still to this day! This should hardly surprise us. The song in many ways is the anthem of our modern times, enshrining our most cherished values: choice, rights, self-determination, my views, my ideas, my goals, my reality- My way. Ironically, we can see where this mentality leads us. "My Way" is apparently the…

Dec

13

2016

By Fr. Michael Bombak

Mark 10:2-12- Unrandom Unions

Faithdivorce, identity, marriage, random, sexuality

Glory be to Jesus Christ! When I taught Junior High School a word the students thew around quite a bit to describe a surprising or interesting situation was the word "random." In fact, they used it in so many stations that the definition and meaning of the word truly was random. This word is not restricted to Junior High classrooms, however, but is to many the prevailing view of reality. Relationships, family, marriage, personal sexual identity etc. to many is "random" or arbitrary. Our Lord, while avoiding another trap by the Pharisees, sets out the truth about marriage and the…

Dec

12

2016

By Fr. Michael Bombak

Mark 9:42-10:1- What’s Your Salt Content?

Faithrelativism, salt, truth

Glory be to Jesus Christ! Why is it that we enjoy French Fries so much? Because of the salt. In fact, the salt content is the reason why we enjoy most foods. If you take out the salt you will find very quickly that food stops tasting very good. In our reading today, the Lord tells his disciples that salt is a good thing, and that through their actions they should guard their saltiness. The Christian life is indeed the flavor and savor of life, and not just for us, but for the whole world. But flavoring is not the only…

Dec

09

2016

By Fr. Michael Bombak

Luke 8:16-21- Be a Light

Faithanne, conception of anne; immaculate; joachim, light

Glory be to Jesus Christ! It has been said that a country which refuses to protect its borders is not really a country. There might be a map, citizenship ceremonies and responsibilities etc., but at the end of the day it can be taken and ended. The same is case with laws. Laws which are not enforced remain thoughts and that is all. They may be thoughts written down, organized, numbered and argued about, but they are not laws until they are enforced. A person who hears the lifesaving gospel and "believes" in it with their mind is not a…

Dec

09

2016

By Fr. Roman Planchak

“You Are All One in Christ Jesus”

Faith, Featured Articles

“ALL OF YOU who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ, alleluia.” This verse, sung at baptisms in Byzantine churches, is taken from the passage read at today’s Divine Liturgy (Galatians 3:23-4:5). The newly baptized is processed around the baptistery and into the nave wearing the white baptismal garment, the “robe of light.” This rite illustrates St Paul’s point in the passage that the Christian is one who has “put on” Christ. But what does “putting on Christ” mean apart from this ceremony? Neither Jew Nor Greek We see St Paul’s explanation in the next verse, “There is…

Dec

08

2016

By Fr. Roman Planchak

Priesthood in God’s Plan

Faith, Featured Articles

THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF PRIESTS in the world. Most Eastern religions (e.g. Hindu, Shinto or Buddhist religions) have priests, generally for the performance of their temple rituals. What is the Christian priesthood and is it different from these examples or from the priesthood of the ancient Greco-Roman and Persian religions? The Old Testament Priesthood Chapters 28 to 30 in the Book of Exodus detail the choice, the anointing and vesting and responsibilities of the Israelite priesthood. We find some of this material summarized in the New Testament Epistle to the Hebrews as well. The Israelite priesthood originated during the…