Sparks Among the Stubble

Fighting our Passions

St. Mary of Egypt was awakened by grace and spent the rest of her life fighting her sinful passions and pursuing God's will. We too can become Holy if we follow her example.

The Life-Giving Cross

For Christians, the Cross is encouragement because suffering is transformed into life through the Cross.

Lenten Retreat Part 2

This is the second presentation by Fr. David Rucker given on Saturday, March 27th at St. Innocent. Please forgive the poor audio quality. 

Encouragement from St. John of the Ladder

A few quotes from St. John of the Ladder's, Ladder of Divine Ascent "As a ray of sun, passing through a crack, lights everything in the house and shows up even the finest dust, so the fear of the Lord, entering a man’s heart, reveals to him all his sins." "Do not be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up, but stand your ground courageously. And assuredly, the angel who guards you will honour your patience." "Yet full of passions and weakness as we are, let us take heart and let ...

Lenten Retreat Part 1 with Fr. David Rucker

This is the first part of our Lenten Retreat presented by Fr. David Rucker on Saturday, March 27th at St. Innocent. Please forgive the poor audio quality. 

Listening to the voice of God rather than the accuser

Who are you listening to? Are you listening to the accuser who wants to destroy you? or are you listening to the voice of God who endlessly loves you? Fr. David Rucker visited St. Innocent and gave our Annual Lenten Retreat

The Triumph of Orthodoxy lives

Orthodox Christianity teaches us the Way to Christ. It continues to heal and transform the people who live the faith. 

How do I forgive? Psychological and spiritual suggestions

As Christians, we know that we are commanded and called to be forgiving. Right?... But the question of how to forgive needs to be examined. 

Don't be surprised!

Our Lord tells us that one day He will come and judge the whole earth separating the sheep from the goats. We should live our lives in a way that acknowledges that we will be held to account by God so that we are not surprised when it comes to pass. 

Slavery to God verses Slavery to the World, the Flesh, and the Devil

As Christians, we are given a choice between slavery to God or slavery to the world, our flesh, and the devil. You decide...

The attitudes that aid us in salvation

Today we contemplate the parable of the Pharisee and Publican. As followers of Christ, we are challenged in everything we do to have repentance, humility, contrition, and love. 

The Repentance & Transformation of Zacchaeus

We know about Zacchaeus' repentance because of his actions. Zacchaeus started out small but became enlargened with generosity when he encountered Christ. 

Gathering crumbs from our Master's table

May God bless us to be like my dog Tater-Tot.

Being diligent and faithful to what God has given us

In the parable of the talents, the Master rewards His slaves according to their diligence and faithfulness to multiply what they were given.

Sacrifices we make to our modern idols

On the feast day of the Holy Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, we remember those who died for their faith during the Russian revolution. This Sunday is also dedicated to the Sacredness of life. Every idol and ideology requires a sacrifice.

What St. Anthony can teach us about the spiritual life

Grace for a Hard Year

Christ the New Adam - Nativity 2020

Imitating Joseph's Faithfulness

Hoarding God's Gifts

The subtly of the demonic realm

The Scriptures and movies feature dramatic images of demonic possession. However, in our day to day life, the demons tend to operate subtly. 

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

Each one of us should ask our Lord to reveal himself to us daily.

Bearing fruit with patience

The Beauty of Generosity

Christians are called to a life of generosity which is the disposition of a thankful heart. 

The Church: A Military Hospital

It is often said that the Church is a hospital but what needs to be added to this is that the goal of getting well is to go out and bring Christ to others. 

Feeding our Life in Christ

We will grow in the areas we feed the most.

Carrying our Cross to Glory

The cross a Christian carries as they follow Christ is a cross that leads to glory. 

Stewardship of the Vineyard

Christians are stewards of the Church as well as stewards of their hearts. 

Our hearts are made for God

Imitating Martha and Mary

Let's imitate Martha in her service and Mary in her devotion. 

St. Herman's Feast Day

A Nurturing Mother

The temptation of division

Sacrificing ourselves to follow Christ

Philippians 3:7-12 "7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the po...

Our forgetfulness of Spiritual Warfare

In modern times many of us Christians have forgotten that our primary battle is a spiritual battle.

Lifting up instead of tearing down

Living in an Upside-down world

The Gospel turns everything upside down. 

Encouragement from the lives of the Saints

The saints of our times prove that God still works with and through his people.

How are we to "Confess Christ before men"?

Unity in Christ, not unity with the world

The Holy Spirit unifies us in Christ. 

"The Christian Response"

Blinded by Confirmation Bias

We can be blinded by our predetermined narrative. May Christ our God illumine us and grant our hearts the grace to see and respond to reality in a God-pleasing way. 

From Secular to Spiritual

Reaching out to the Overwhelmed

We are all having our reactions to the current COVID crisis. Sometimes, we can be overwhelmed and paralyzed. At times we all need our communities to be the presence of Christ. 

The Church often grows after its trials

Today we read a passage from the Acts of the Apostles Chapter 6 where 7 men were chosen by the people and ordained by the apostles to serve the widows within the early church community. In our day we face many challenges which are also opportunities for people to step forward and use their gifts for the upbuilding of the church. "Notice, if you please, under what circumstances the number increased. It was after the trials—not before—that the number increased. And see how great is the mercy ...

Palm Sunday: Our agendas

We are called to be aware of our own agendas as we follow Christ. Ultimately, we are called to lay aside our own agendas and allow God to set the narrative of our lives.

The empirical faith of Thomas

Faith is often tied to experience and the Orthodox Church has generations of life in Christ.

A broken and contrite heart God will not despise

Just keep climbing

Do not be discouraged by your spiritual poverty and the highs to which you are called. Rather, do all that you can and put your trust in God to bring you where you need to be.

Grounding ourselves in Christ

In the midst of all the recent chaos, it is always good to be reminded that we need to ground ourselves in Christ through prayer and fasting so that we are not blown around by our circumstances.