Servant of All

Servant of All

On March 21, 2014, HH Moron Mor Ignatios I Iwas, Patriarch of Antioch and all the East departed from this world. At the request of the Patriarch, memorial prayers were said in all churches.

This memorial focus gave an opportunity to talk about the need, purpose and the nature of hierarchy in the Christian Church from the beginning centuries.

In Holy Orthodoxy, the hierarchy in its form, substance, spirit and symbolism have been kept intact to the present era.

Fr. John Brian gives a short sermon on the issues of leadership, paraphrasing the great work of St. John Chrysostom "On the Priesthood" which was written from St. John's refusal to be consecrated Patriarch of Constantinople in the 4th Century.

May the memory of LL HH Moron Mor Ignatios I Iwas be eternal! May he pray for us, asking for the Lord's mercy and the fruits of faith in all our lives.

Fr. John-Brian speaks to further spiritual development and encouragement in another short inspirational sermon.

Please pray for Fr. John Brian who remains committed to us in the continuing development of Christian Spirituality.

This sermon uses and refers to scripture readings appointed by the Syrian Orthodox calendar and was given on Sunday, March 23, 2014 by Fr. John-Brian Paprock at Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Chapel, Madison, Wisconsin.

Please pray for our mission chapel and all our spiritual helpers.

PODCAST OR DOWNLOAD: http://feeds.feedburner.com/frjohnbrian or
http://frjohnbrian.hipcast.com/rss/spiritual_reflections_or_fr_john_brian.xml
LISTEN ON-LINE HERE:

Whom Does It Serve?

Whom Does It Serve?

If Lent is the great preparation, whom does it serve?

Fr. John Brian gives a short sermon on the issues of service and temptation. "Selfishness is the major source of our struggles," he says.

He brings up the temptations of Jesus Christ during the 40-day fast after His baptism.

"May God fill us His love. For whom? For self? No for serving others," Fr. John Brian encourages us.

Fr. John-Brian speaks to further spiritual development and encouragement in this short inspirational sermon.

Please pray for Fr. John Brian who remains committed to us in the continuing development of Christian Spirituality.

This sermon uses and refers to scripture readings appointed by the Syrian Orthodox calendar and was given on Sunday, March 9, 2014 by Fr. John-Brian Paprock at Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Chapel, Madison, Wisconsin.

Please pray for our mission chapel and all our spiritual helpers.

PODCAST OR DOWNLOAD: http://feeds.feedburner.com/frjohnbrian or
http://frjohnbrian.hipcast.com/rss/spiritual_reflections_or_fr_john_brian.xml
LISTEN ON-LINE HERE:

The Great Preparation

The Great Preparation

Lent is the great preparation for the renewal of the entirety of creation through the coming resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Lenten spotlight in Holy Orthodoxy for this preparation is not only a physical culinary change, but also the clarification of our inner life. Is our focus on being with God or on how others may judge us? And then, we have to come to terms with our judgment of others.

So, Lent begins with forgiveness, with reconciliation, with reparation among those that should and ought to love one another.

Yet often we base our inner life on the outer world rather than engage the inner life in all our worldly activities.

Fr. John Brian uses our instant judgment of a church by its outward appearance as an indicator of how we get stuck in our desire for oneness with God.

Sacred places are places where God dwells and Lent is preparing a sacred place in our hearts. Yet, so often the outward appearance of a person seems to be more important than their heart and soul.

"However, many of us feel more welcomed by an empty church," says Fr John Brian, "than in a church full of people." This is a real problem in our modern Orthodox churches and congregations.


Fr. John-Brian speaks to further spiritual development and encouragement in this short inspirational sermon.

Please pray for Fr. John Brian who remains committed to us in the continuing development of Christian Spirituality.

This sermon uses and refers to scripture readings appointed by the Syrian Orthodox calendar and was given on Sunday, March 2, 2014 by Fr. John-Brian Paprock at Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Chapel, Madison, Wisconsin.

Please pray for our mission chapel and all our spiritual helpers.

PODCAST OR DOWNLOAD: http://feeds.feedburner.com/frjohnbrian or
http://frjohnbrian.hipcast.com/rss/spiritual_reflections_or_fr_john_brian.xml
LISTEN ON-LINE HERE: