Featured Articles – Page 26

Jul

21

2013

Edging the Christian Garden

Christian Life, Featured Articles, Prayeredging, gardening

Quality edging is one of the tell-tale signs between a well tended garden and one that has been neglected. A well edged garden not only looks neater in that it has defined borders, but also has fewer weeds and grass that can creep in. The beauty on the inside of the garden is protected from whatever surrounds it. Edging a vegetable or flower garden is very similar to managing the garden of one's soul. Proper boundaries in our lives between maintaining the good and keeping out evil is essential to growth in the Christian life. Edging requires hard work. Anyone who has…

Jul

14

2013

By Fr. Michael Winn

Introduction to Epistle Readings Help Card

Faith, Featured Articles, Liturgy

The following was created by Fr. Michael Winn for the Eparchy of Edmonton in order to help those who read the Epistle at the Sunday Divine Liturgy. It is a list of the "introductions" to the Epistle readings, in both English and Ukrainian, that also acts as a book marker. It was created on standard letter-size paper and is intended to be folded in half vertically and then laminated. Introduction to the Epistle Readings

Jul

13

2013

By Fr. Michael Winn

55 Maxims

Christian Life, Featured Articles

by Fr. Thomas Hopko. Be always with Christ. Pray as you can, not as you want. Have a keepable rule of prayer that you do by discipline. Say the Lord’s Prayer several times a day. Have a short prayer that you constantly repeat when your mind is not occupied with other things. Make some prostrations when you pray. Eat good foods in moderation. Keep the Church’s fasting rules. Spend some time in silence every day. Do acts of mercy in secret. Go to liturgical services regularly Go to confession and communion regularly. Do not engage intrusive thoughts and feelings. Cut…

Jul

12

2013

By Fr. Michael Winn

An Introduction to the Eastern Catholic Churches

Faith, Featured Articles

with Fr. Thomas Loya The Catholic Church is a communion of churches. It is made up of churches from the Eastern Tradition and Western Tradition. Every Catholic has a responsibility for understanding the fullness of the Catholic Church. Blessed Pope John Paul has said "the Church must learn to breathe again with its two lungs, its eastern and western one" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFIzumjrEjc

Jul

09

2013

By Fr. Roman Planchak

The Hidden Messiah

Faith, Featured Articles

The ninth chapter of St Matthew’s Gospel records several miracles in succession: the healing of a paralytic, of the ruler’s daughter, of a woman with a flow of blood, two blind men and a mute man. Only in the case of the two blind men do we find that the Lord Jesus “…sternly warned them, saying, ‘See that no one knows it’” (Matthew 9:30). Why did the Lord want these two to keep quiet while not demanding that the paralytic and the others do the same? The key seems to be in the way the blind men approached Jesus. Unlike…

Jun

30

2013

By Fr. Roman Planchak

When Icons Argue

Christian Life, Faith, Featured Articles

The Fast of the Apostles which follows the feast of Pentecost concludes with two special commemorations: on June 29 we remember the glorious leaders of the apostles, Peter and Paul; on the next day we observe a synaxis (assembly) for all Twelve. The feast of Saints Peter and Paul is particularly observed as the throne-feast of two apostolic patriarchates: Antioch (where both apostles ministered earlier in the lives) and Rome (where both were martyred and buried). Peter and Paul in Antioch The Acts of the Apostles devotes its first part to the ministry of St Peter in the Holy…

Jun

27

2013

By Fr. Roman Planchak

Righteousness Through Faith in Christ

Faith, Featured Articles

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax raised many an eyebrow at the 1965 World Series when he refused to pitch at the opening game because it was Yom Kippur. He remains a model for countless observant Jewish athletes, debaters, spellers and other competitors who decline to practice or compete on the Sabbath, even if it means forfeiting a championship. As one Jewish teenager put it, “Shabbat is not at all voluntary and not something you can compromise on.” Observant Jews do not see the Law as arbitrary but as the rational will of God for them. When the Hellenistic king…

Jun

20

2013

By Fr. Michael Winn

iWitness: Youth Evangelizing Youth

Jun

17

2013

By Fr. Roman Planchak

From Slavery to Freedom

Christian Life, Faith, Featured Articles

When we think of slavery it is the experience of blacks in America which most often comes to mind. Africans targeted by commercial slave traders as ignorant savages were captured in raids, transported across the Atlantic and sold on the open market like livestock. In the Roman Empire slavery was not tied to race as it was here. The first slaves seem to have been children sold by their own parents and enemy warriors and their families captured during battle. Debtors sold themselves into slavery to cover their debts. They could be freed if their family or friends paid off…

Jun

10

2013

By Fr. Roman Planchak

The Hope of Glory

Faith, Featured Articles

Recently, the website, “Ship of Fools,” reported the following list of support group meetings for the week at a Lutheran church in Ohio: Mon – Alcoholics Anonymous Tues – Abused Spouses Wed – Eating Disorders Thu – Say No to Drugs Fri – Teen Suicide Watch Sat – Soup Kitchen At the Sunday service the sermon was “America’s Joyous Future.” While America’s future may be joyous, its present seems decidedly troubled. There are not enough days in the week to treat all the disorders plaguing our society: internet gambling and pornography as well as school shootings, being only the most…