All Saints Homilies

Three Points of Christology (Romans 5:1-11)

Romans 5:1-11

Freedom (Romans 6:18-23)

The Dialectical Structure of History (Romans 10:1-10)

Every summer, my brothers and sisters, in either late June or early July we listen to the first ten verses of Romans 10. This text appears near the middle of Paul's analysis of the dialectical structure of history, which is the subject of Romans 9-11.

The Qualities of Christian Love (Romans 12:6-14)

The Human Soul Confronting the World (2 Cor. 4:6-15)

The Cross and the Flesh (Gal. 6:11-18)

Dedicated Lives (The Presentation of the Theotokos)

Fr. Pat contrasts the childhood dedication and life of Mary with that of Hannibal.

En Garde! (Ephesians 6:10-17)

Putting on the panoply, the full armor of God.

Who is Jesus? (Mark 1:1-8)

Jesus is our Holy One, our Mediator, and our Brother.

To Each and To All (Eph. 4:7-13)

It's Not Over ‘Til It's Over

We imagine that life is like football or basketball. You play until the clock runs out. But life is not like that at all. There is no set time for the clock to run out that you know about.

Both Sides of the Icons

Fr. Pat considers the case for iconoclasm, for the veneration of icons, and the settling of the issue.

The Church: An Audacious Group of Roof Climbers

Mark 2:1-12

A Selective Memory

Most of the sources in Holy Scripture, and most emphatically the Psalms, look upon Israel's time in the desert as a period of unmitigated tragedy. Israel was consistently unfaithful. However, the prophets Hosea and Jeremiah chose to see things differently, which is a source of strength and consolation for us today.

A Matter of Progresssion—or Regression

Preaching on the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), Fr. Pat urges us to always maintain a proper perspective.

A Reliable Barometer

In this vesperal homily, Fr. Pat preaches from 1 John 2:1-6, about the true blessed assurance of our salvation.

The Value of Discussion

Fr. Pat preaches from Numbers 32:1-27.

The Discipline of Memory

Last week a former vice-president and now presidential candidate said on the campaign trail, "We choose science over fiction; we choose truth over facts.” Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon reflects upon truth vs. facts, and the role memory plays in this.

The Mystery of the Incarnation

Fr. Pat argues that the doctrine of the Incarnation must dominate anthropology.

The Living Center

Fr. Pat compares the march of the Israelites through the desert, the Church’s march through history, and the Christian's daily walk.

Faith and the Soul

On the Sunday of the Holy Cross, when Jesus asks us “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” Fr. Pat shares reflections on faith and its relationship to the soul.

Catching Up With Joseph

Fr. Pat looks at the life and character of Joseph the Betrothed: a model of God, and another David.

Holiness as Gift, Perfection, and Struggle

On the Sunday of All Saints Fr. Pat looks at three aspects of Christian holiness.

Son of Encouragement

Preaching from Acts 4:32-37, Fr. Pat takes a closer look at the Apostle Barnabas.

As Though It Were Our Last

On Forgiveness Sunday and the start of Great Lent, Fr. Pat encourages us to rededicate ourselves to a serious life of prayer.

An Eminently Honorable Man

Fr. Pat takes a closer look at Rabbi Gamaliel, teacher of St. Paul, and at Gamaliel’s advice to the Sanhedrin concerning how to deal with the Apostles, who in disobedience to the Sanhedrin would not stop teaching in Jesus’ name.

The Task of the Church

In this homily from Agape Vespers 2021, Fr. Pat explains how the task of the Church is to share with the world the message of the Cross; not as an abstraction, but as something they can reach out and feel.

The Fact and the Dogma of Creation

The idea that all things came from God the Father was an idea that fell on the Greco-Roman intellectual world with the force of a bomb. It still does. Fr. Pat preaches from 1 Corinthians 8:6.

The Cross and the Heart

In this Palm Sunday homily, Fr. Pat looks briefly into the testimony of three spokesmen for the apostolic memory with respect to the passion and death of Christ.

Baptism and the Eucharistic Cup

On the 5th Sunday of Lent, Fr. Pat preaches on the request by James and John from Mark 10: "Grant us to sit, one at Thy right hand and one at Thy left, in Thy glory.”

The Experience of Faith: Three Observations

In this homily preached the fourth Sunday of Great Lent 2014, Fr. Pat looks at the story from Mark 9 of Jesus driving a demon out of a young boy, and makes three observations of what this story teaches about faith.

In the Days of His Flesh

A meditation on Christ’s humanity for the Third Sunday of Lent; the Scripture readings are Mark 8:34-9:1 and Hebrews 4:14-5:10. Fr. Pat preached this sermon in 2011.

Elijah on Two Different Mountains

Fr. Pat preaches from 1 Kings 18:42-19:18, about Elijah, who, after his fearless encounter with the priests of Baal, is now isolated and filled with self-pity.

The Mission of the Holy Spirit

In this homily from Pentecost Sunday, Fr. Pat reflects with us on three points about the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church and in our lives.

Two Oracles

Fr. Pat preaches from Isaiah 2:1-9, in which Isaiah delivers two oracles: the first about the ideal Jerusalem which is to come and the second about the actual Jerusalem which exists in Isaiah’s time.

Two Champions of Prayer

Fr. Pat offers pre-Lenten reflections on Hanna, the mother of Samuel and Anna the Prophetess.

Then and Now: Isaiah's Times and Today

In this meditation on Isiah 1:16-31, Fr. Pat reflects upon the Bible’s prophetic voice on behalf of the poor.

Then and Now: Isaiah’s Times and Today

In this meditation on Isiah 1:16-31, Fr. Pat reflects upon the Bible’s prophetic voice on behalf of the poor.

Religious Infidelity

Fr. Pat preaches from Isaiah 1:1-15. This homily was given at Vespers on November 13, 2010.

Resistance to the Holy Cross

The Cross is the key to unlocking God’s will for us in every stage of our lives. But at every stage, we may find ourselves resistant to the word of the Cross. And just when we imagine we have grasped what it means to be a Christian, we discover, perhaps with shock, that we’ve hardly begun.

The Anthropology of the Last Judgment

What is there about the human being that must be said if we are to take the Last Judgment seriously? Fr. Pat explores this question.

Birthright and Repentance

Fr. Pat contrasts the Prodigal Son and Esau, and offers thoughts on the mystery of repentance.

Moses Strikes the Rock

In this meditation from a vespers service in January of 2010, Fr. Pat looks at Numbers 20, in which the people of Israel complain to Moses about their situation.

The Two Hands of God

Israel recognized no possibility of conflict between God’s will fixed in the Torah and the more fluid guidance He provided in the cloud and the pillar. Fr. Pat offers reflections from Numbers Chapter 9.

Life, Death, and Hope

We bear within our very flesh the hope of which the Apostle Paul speaks; therefore there is going to be something very fleshly about our transformation. Fr. Pat preaches from Colossians 3.

The Event of the Incarnation

Strictly speaking, the Orthodox Church does not celebrate doctrines, it celebrates events. On this homily given on the Sunday before Theophany, Fr Pat considers the event of Jesus's Incarnation.

The Cave, the Calendar, and the Curriculum

The Christian faith is based on an event that took place in a specific place at a specific time in history; God instructs us through history, and we are to be learners. Fr. Pat gave this homily on Christmas Eve several years ago.

For Unto Us a Child is Born

Isaiah's prophetic vision of a Child, a son of David who was to come and Who would be God with us, Immanuel.

The Visible Revelation of the Father

The bishops at the Seventh Ecumenical Council reasoned that the legitimacy, indeed, the necessity of icons in the church was an organic inference from the thesis that God became visible in the Man Jesus of Nazareth. Fr. Pat gave this homily on The Sunday of Orthodoxy, 2020.

At the Gate of the City

A look at the journey of the human race as such, the meaning of the incarnation, and the fulfillment of the great promise of Israel’s prophets.