OrthoAnalytika Podcast Por Fr. Anthony Perkins arte de portada

OrthoAnalytika

OrthoAnalytika

De: Fr. Anthony Perkins
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Welcome to OrthoAnalytika, Fr. Anthony Perkins' podcast of homilies, classes, and shows on spirituality, science, and culture - all offered from a decidedly Orthodox Christian perspective. Fr. Anthony is a mission priest and seminary professor for the UOC-USA. He has a diverse background, a lot of enthusiasm, and a big smile. See www.orthoanalytika.org for show notes and additional content.Common courtesy. Cristianismo Espiritualidad Ministerio y Evangelismo
Episodios
  • Homily - The Dangerous Joy of Palm Sunday

    Homily - The Dangerous Joy of Palm Sunday
    Apr 5 2026
    Philippians 4:4-9; John 12:1-18 Palm Sunday reveals both our love for Christ and our temptation to abandon Him when He does not meet our expectations. This homily invites us to see ourselves in the Gospel, to embrace the deeper work of transformation, and to follow the King who leads us not to comfort, but to life through the Cross. --- Palm Sunday Homily 2026 For the Jews two thousand years ago, today was the culmination of their long waiting: the Messiah had come to save them. "Hosanna in the Highest! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord—the King of Israel!" It is a great day for us as well—the end of Great Lent, the celebration of Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. We take up the first fruits of spring—palm leaves and pussy willows—not just as decoration, but as a sign of renewal. The winter of waiting is over. Christ has come among His people. As the Church sings in the Triodion: "Today the grace of the Holy Spirit has gathered us together, and we all take up Thy Cross and say: Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord." And more than that: He has come into our lives. This feast is not only about what happened in Jerusalem long ago. It is about the moment when Christ entered into our own story—when we first recognized Him as Lord, when we opened our hearts to Him, when we felt the relief of His presence. For many of us, that moment was marked by healing: the easing of despair, the forgiveness of sins, the restoration of hope. And so we cried out: "Hosanna in the Highest—the King has come to save!" Not just Israel. Me. But here is where the Gospel becomes dangerous for us. Because the people who cried "Hosanna" were not wrong to rejoice. They were wrong about what that joy meant. They loved Christ because He met their expectations. He healed the sick. He raised the dead. He gave them hope that their visible, worldly problems would be solved. Of course they loved Him. And we do the same. We love Christ when He meets our expectations: when He brings peace when He answers prayers the way we want when He restores what we think should be restored We love the Church for the same reason: when it comforts us when it feels like home when it confirms what we already believe We cry "Hosanna" when Christ—and His Body, the Church—fit into the life we already want. But then something happens. Christ moves beyond our expectations. He refuses to remain what we first loved Him for. And here the Church gives us words that both celebrate and correct us. In the hymns of this feast, we sing: "Seated in heaven upon Thy throne and on earth upon a colt, O Christ God, Thou hast accepted the praise of the angels and the song of the children who cried unto Thee: Blessed art Thou who hast come to call back Adam." He comes as King—but not the kind of king we expect. He comes not to confirm our plans—but to restore Adam. And this is why Lent has prepared us. All through the season, in the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, we have been taught how to read Scripture: "I alone have sinned against Thee." "I am the one who has fallen." We are not spectators in the Gospel. We are participants. So when the crowd turns from "Hosanna" to rejection— we do not say, "they did this." We say: "I am capable of this." We are the ones who welcome Christ when He fits our expectations —and are tempted to abandon Him when He does not. And this is not just about Christ in abstraction. It is about Christ in His Body—the Church. We love the Church when it gives us what we expect: beauty stability meaning But when the Church calls us to something harder— to repentance to forgiveness to self-denial —we can become disappointed. Even resistant. Even tempted to step back. But that later moment—the moment of disappointment— is often more important than the moment of joy. Because that is the moment when Christ is no longer fitting into our life— He is transforming it. And this transformation is not accidental. As Maximus the Confessor teaches, the spiritual life is the purification and reordering of our desires. We begin by loving God for what He gives us—but we are called to love Him for Himself. What begins as expectation must be healed into communion. We see this even in the Liturgy. In the Great Entrance, Christ comes among us. He is received with honor and reverence. But then a turn is made; the stairs up the amvon to the altar are the mountain of Golgotha. And His throne is revealed—not as a seat of earthly glory— but as an altar of sacrifice. And the hymns of this Great Feast prepare us even for this. We sing: "Today the Master of creation and the Lord of glory enters Jerusalem seated on a colt. He hastens to His Passion, to fulfill the Law and the Prophets." The One we welcomed in joy— is already going to the Cross. This is the truth the crowd did not ...
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    11 m
  • Retreat - On the Communion and Post-Communion Prayers

    Retreat - On the Communion and Post-Communion Prayers
    Mar 29 2026
    Taste and See that the Lord is Good UOL Retreat in Philadelphia PA on 3/28/2026 In this episode, we look at how the Church's pre- and post-Communion prayers prepare us not just to receive the Eucharist, but to be changed by it. They help us see our need, turn us toward God, and then teach us how to carry His presence into daily life. Communion becomes not just something we receive, but something we learn to live. --- PRE-COMMUNION PRAYERS (UOC-USA PRAYER BOOK) Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us. Glory to You, our God, glory to You. Prayer to the Holy Spirit О Heavenly King, the Comforter, Spirit of Truth, everywhere present and filling all things. Treasury of Blessings and Giver of Life, come and dwell in us, cleanse us from every impurity and save our souls, O Good One. Thrice-Holy Hymn Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (3 times) Small Doxology Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen. Prayer to the Holy Trinity All-Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse us from our sins. Master, pardon our transgressions. Holy One, visit us and heal our infirmities for Your Name's sake. Lord, have mercy. (3 times) Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen. The Lord's Prayer Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our Daily Bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One. For Thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen. Lord, have mercy. (3 times) Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen. Invocation to Jesus Christ Come, let us worship God, our King. Come, let us worship and bow down before Christ our King and our God. Come, let us worship and bow down before Christ Himself, our King and our God. Psalm 22 The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. He settles me in a place of green grass; beside restful water He leads me. He restores my soul; He guides me on the paths of righteousness for His Name's sake. For even if I walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil because You are with me. Your rod and Your staff comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil and my cup overflows. Behold, Your mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will live in the house of the Lord for the length of my days. Psalm 23 The earth is the Lord's and all its fullness, the world and all who live in it. For He has founded it above the seas and prepared it above the waters. Who will ascend into the mountain of the Lord and who will stand in His holy place? One whose hands are harmless and whose heart is pure, who has not received his soul in vain and has not sworn deceitfully to his neighbor. He will receive blessing from the Lord and mercy from God his Savior. This is the kind who seek the Lord, who seek the Face of the God of Jacob. Lift up your gates, you rulers and be lifted up, you eternal doors and the King of Glory will come in. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of Glory. Psalm 115 I kept my Faith even when I said I am greatly afflicted. I said in my amazement: "Every person is a liar!" What shall I give to the Lord for all that He has given me? I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord, in the presence of all His people. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. Lord, I am Your servant – and the child of Your handmaiden. You have burst my bonds apart. I will offer to You the sacrifice of praise and I will call upon the Name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people, in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, Jerusalem. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen. Alleluia, alleluiа, alleluia, glory to You, our God. (3 times) Tropar, Tone 8 Lord, born of a Virgin, overlook my faults, purify my heart and make it a temple for Your Spotless Body and Blood. Cast me not from Your presence for You have infinitely great mercy. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;How can I who am unworthy, dare to come to the Communion of Your Holy Things? For even if I should dare to approach You with those who are worthy, my garment betrays me, for it is not a festal robe and I shall bring about the condemnation of my sinful soul. Lord, Lover of mankind, cleanse the pollution from my soul and save me. Now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.Great is the multitude of my sins, Birth-Giver of God. To you...
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    2 h y 31 m
  • Homily - Cross the Digital Jordan and Find Peace

    Homily - Cross the Digital Jordan and Find Peace
    Mar 30 2026
    The Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt The life of St. Mary of Egypt shows that healing begins when we are willing to let go of what we think we cannot live without. Her struggle with memory and desire mirrors our own battles with distraction and constant stimulation. In these final weeks of Lent, we are invited to simplify our lives, endure the discomfort, and turn again toward the peace that comes from God. --- Today the Church gives us one of the most extreme lives in all of Christian history: St. Mary of Egypt. And if we are not careful, we will put her at a distance. We will say: "That's not me." "That's not my struggle." "That's not my life." But the Church does not give her to us as a curiosity. She gives her to us as a mirror. Mary began in complete disorder. Not gradually. Not reluctantly. She threw herself into a life of passion—seeking pleasure, attention, and control. And she is very clear: she was not even doing it for money. She was doing it because she wanted it, because she loved it, because it gave her a sense of freedom. And then comes the turning point. She tries to enter the Church in Jerusalem—to venerate the Cross. And she cannot. An invisible force prevents her. Everyone else walks in. She cannot. And suddenly, she sees—not just what she has done, but what she has become. That moment breaks her. Not into despair—but into repentance. She turns to the Mother of God, asks for mercy, and is finally allowed to enter. She venerates the Cross. And then she leaves—not just the Church, but the world. She goes into the desert. And here is where we often misunderstand her life. We imagine peace, clarity, instant transformation. But that is not what she experienced. Listen to her own words. She says that in the desert she was tormented by the memory of her old life: "The mad desire for songs and wine seized me… I longed to sing obscene songs… the memory of the things I was accustomed to filled my soul with great turmoil." She had left everything behind, but everything had not yet left her. And this is important. Because it tells us: removing ourselves from temptation does not immediately remove temptation from us. For years—years—she struggled. With memory, with desire, with imagination, with everything she had fed her soul. But she stayed. She endured. And over time, something changed. The passions lost their power. The memories lost their sweetness. And she found something greater: peace, clarity, freedom, union with God. Now here is where we need to be careful. Because it is very easy to say: "Well, that's her. She was dealing with extreme passions." But we are not so different. We also live in a world of constant stimulation—constant input, constant distraction. Not through wine and song in the same way, but through something else: social media, endless news cycles, commentary, outrage, entertainment, noise. And we do not just encounter these things. We consume them. We return to them. We depend on them. And like St. Mary, we often tell ourselves: "This is freedom." But what happens when we try to step away—even for a little while? We feel it. The pull. The habit. The restlessness. The desire to check, to scroll, to see what we are missing. And here is the question that reveals everything: what do we think we are missing? Because this is where the illusion lies. We think: "If I am not plugged in—if I am not consuming—if I am not aware of everything—then my life is being wasted." But St. Mary shows us the opposite. From the outside, her life looks wasted. No productivity, no recognition, no audience, no relevance. And yet—she becomes radiant with holiness, clear in mind, free in heart, alive in God. So now the question turns: whose life is wasted? The one who withdraws from distraction and struggles toward freedom, or the one who is constantly stimulated but never at peace? St. Mary did not lose her life in the desert. She found it—but only after enduring the pain of letting go. And this is where her life meets ours—very concretely, especially now. Because we are in Great Lent. And Lent is given to us for exactly this purpose: to simplify, to remove distractions, to reorder our lives toward God. Many people focus on food. And that is good. But it is only part of the pattern. Because for most of us, our greater excess is not meat and dairy. It is stimulation. And this is part of why the fast exists. Fasting is not just about what we give up. It is about what is revealed. When we fast from food, something happens. Our system is stressed. We feel hunger. We feel irritation. We feel weakness. And suddenly, we begin to notice our thoughts, our habits, our reactions. The fast makes visible what is usually hidden. And this is not a failure. This is its purpose. Now consider this: if fasting from food reveals this much, what might happen if we fast from stimulation? If we step away from constant input, constant scrolling, constant reaction? For most of us, this will be ...
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    14 m
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