St Peters Orthodox Church St. Peter Orthodox Church

In 1 Peter 2, the Apostle teaches that we are to live as sojourners and pilgrims abstaining from fleshly lusts and letting our good works in Christ be used to the salvation of all. Today we consider this life of a sojourner and pilgrim in this world; a life that began with our Baptism through which we were washed, cleansed, given mercy, and uprooted from the world of darkness into the Kingdom of light and life. It is of utmost importance that we live in this world from our new and true identity as well as our citizenship in the Kingdom of God.

Today is the Sunday of the Good Shepherd. In the Gospel of St. John 10, our Lord teaches, "I AM the Good Shepherd." Today we look at this teaching along with the 23rd Psalm to see what is revealed to us about the nature of Christ our Good Shepherd. We conclude with a few thoughts about how we are to live as the sheep who have been brought into His fold; living in this life as sheep to the Good Shepherd.

As is tradition each year in the Orthodox Church, on this day we hear the blessed Paschal homily once preached by St. John Chrysostom.

Today Fr. James Rooney teaches us the development of the Office of Matins. We look at Matins in the context of the entire prayer rhythm of the Church. We also look at the Matins service itself to learn why we pray what we pray as part of that rhythm.

How do we take our leave from such a profound week as Holy Week? How do we move on from here? Today we look at St. Thomas and the disciples' experience both after the crucifixion of their Master and after they experience the Resurrected Jesus Christ. These men had profound experiences of Christ for years as they journeyed with Him in His ministry. And yet, when Jesus was crucified they were still filled with doubt and confusion. They needed further experiences of fellowship with their Lord and Savior. I think we will find that we are very much the same. Faith is living, always growing, and forever tied to relationship, union, with Christ our God.

When our Lord gave up His Spirit, He immediately descended into the darkness of the prison for every soul up to that point called Hades. There the darkness gave way because the Light of the World had come. He broke asunder the gates of Hades and crushed the head of Satan, the serpent. And upon His Resurrection, the darkness of the tomb became brilliant with the Resurrection light. Tonight we consider that Christ's descent into Hades and His Resurrection in the tomb is the story of us all. He has, at our Baptism, descended into our Hades to release us. And, the tomb of our soul is now filled with His life.