In this homily, Fr Anthony challenges us to reflect on our own expectations of God. Like the Jews, we often approach God with our own predefined ideas of what He should do for us. When our problems persist or even worsen, we are faced with a choice: either we try to control God and limit His power by confining Him to our expectations, or we allow Him to transform our lives in unexpected ways, leading us to a deeper relationship with Him. Enjoy the show!

Today, Fr. Anthony continues to keep it real while talking about the great challenge of loving our enemies.

Love your enemies.

Matthew 5:43-48
1 Corinthians 13: 1
John 13:34
Romans 15:1a

St. John Chrysostom: [St. Paul] adorns love not only for what it has but also for what it has not. Love both elicits virtue and expels vice, not permitting it to spring up at all.

St John Chrysostom: For neither did Christ simply command to love but to pray. Do you see how many steps he has ascended and how he has set us on the very summit of virtue? Mark it, numbering from the beginning.

· A first step is not to begin with injustice.

· A second, after one has begun, is not to vindicate oneself by retaliating in kind.

· A third, to refuse to respond in kind to the one who is injuring us but to remain tranquil.

· A fourth, even to offer up one’s self to suffer wrongfully.

· A fifth, to give up even more than the wrongdoer wishes to take.

· A sixth, to refuse to hate one who has wronged us.

· A seventh, even to love such a one.

· An eighth, even to do good to that one.

· A ninth, to entreat God himself on our enemy’s behalf.

Do you perceive how elevated is a Christian disposition? Hence its reward is also glorious.

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Why should we love our enemies?
Fear of punishment, desire for reward? To become holy as God is holy: NOT TRANSACTIONAL.

Practical truth – NOT JUST “who is my neighbor” BUT ALSO “who is my enemy?”

Let’s stop putting people into categories of who deserves love or prayer and live – and suffer - for the salvation of all. That's the way God does it and that's the way we must do it, too.

Fr. Anthony concludes his prestantation on beauty at the 2025 UOL Lenten retreat by connecting music with love.

Music taps into and draws from something that is primal, foundational, and rational (word – bearing); so does love. Music requires mastery of certain skills and concepts that require repetition to master; so does love. Music improves when there are different voices represented; so does love. Music works with dissonance to move us towards deeper truths; so does love. Music often requires periods of silence for listening, anticipation, and appreciation; so does love.

Fr. Roman Marchyshak is the priest at Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Trenton, NJ and teaches liturgical music at St. Sophia Ukrainian Orthodox Seminary. In this presentation, he talks about the role music plays in the worship of the Orthodox Church, reminding us that it is not an adornment, but an essential element. He had some of the seminarians from St. Sophia's sing selected pieces to illustrate his main points. Enjoy the show!

This is the audio for the first part of the 2025 Ukrainian Orthodox League Lenten Retreat held on Saturday April 5th in Philadelphia.

Beauty helps us understand Orthodox (INCARNATIONAL!) theology better and thus live more graceful lives. It is also one of the best ways to do Orthodox Evangelism. People come to us for many reasons, but an encounter with God is what they really long for. Beauty is a special charisma of the Church – secular beauty is a pale imitation (or perversion) of that true beauty. Beauty resonates with the built-in beauty receptors of our senses, intellect, and nous.

Enjoy the show!

On the Sunday of St. John of the Ladder, Fr. Anthony delivers a homily that encourages us to take our pursuit of joy, peace, and freedom from anxiety seriously. He begins by asking whether we truly want these things or if we expect them to come without effort, likening it to people desiring health or success without being willing to make the necessary sacrifices. He emphasized that true peace and joy require commitment, not idle desire, and must be pursued through effort, prayer, and fasting.

Fr. Anthony critiqued the common temptation of chasing material security and success, such as the promises of the "American Dream." While these may offer temporary peace, he warned that they are ultimately unreliable. Instead, Fr. Anthony pointed to the ascetic struggle of Orthodoxy, which teaches the importance of cultivating true love for God and others while rejecting selfishness. This process, he explained, involves training the heart to be immune to external manipulation and cutting the "strings" that vice and bad habits use to control us.

In closing, Fr. Anthony reminds us the faithful of the spiritual disciplines of fasting, prayer, and charity, especially during Great Lent. He urges us to evaluate our progress in these practices and to recommit ourselves to the ascetic path if we have fallen short. Ultimately, the homily leaves us with this message: true joy and peace come from aligning with God’s will, casting out the demons of vice, and living according to the Orthodox faith.

Fr. Anthony leads a discussion with the men of Christ the Savior's parish on the basics of leading a Christian home. Enjoy the show!

Still trying to “keep it real,” Fr. Anthony leads a class on the challenges that come when we try to love our neighbor. Enjoy the show!