Fr. John Whiteford continues his exploration of the Psalms of Ascent, focusing this time on Psalm 121.

Fr. John Whiteford discusses Israel through the lens of Romans 11:1-5,16-29.

Fr. John Whiteford talks about the life of St. James the Just.

Fr. John Whiteford focuses on another of the Psalms of Ascent, Psalm 122:1-4.

Fr. John Whiteford continues his exploration of the Psalms of Ascent with Psalm 123.

Fr. John Whiteford continues his exploration of the Psalms of Ascent with Psalm 124.

Fr. John Whiteford's sermon from December 24, 2023.

Fr. John Whiteford talks about the name of Jesus in context of Matthew's genealogy (Matthew 1:1-25).

Fr. John Whiteford continues his journey through the Psalms of Ascent with Psalm 126.

Fr. John Whiteford's sermon from March 10, 2024.

Fr. John Whiteford's sermon from May 19, 2024.

Fr. John Whiteford's sermon from May 26, 2024.

Fr. John Whiteford's sermon for June 9, 2024.

Fr. John Whiteford's sermon from June 23, 2024.

Fr. John Whiteford's sermon from June 30, 2024.

Fr. John Whiteford's sermon from August 18, 2024.

Fr. John Whiteford's sermon for September 1, 2024.

Fr. John Whiteford's sermon from September 15, 2024.

Fr. John Whiteford's sermon from September 22, 2024.

Fr. John Whiteford's sermon for September 29, 2024.

The preflight announcement on the plane always instructs us to “put our own mask on first” before helping someone else but how often do we take that advice in the normal day to day? On “self-care” and finding moments to stop and breathe.

As the light of the Nativity comes closer, how does silence fit into the last minute rush for gift buying, baking, caroling and office parties? In this episode of The Wilderness Journal, join host Angela Doll Carlson in the second half of her conversation with author Summer Kinard as they talk about Advent, silence, self care, and Amish/Alien romance novels.

The start of Great Lent begins with preparation. We prepare our refrigerators, freezers and pantry for the fast, emptying it of meat and dairy. But we prepare our hearts as well, emptying it of resentments or grudges, wrongs we have done or wrongs done to us in our community. On navigating Forgiveness Vespers as an introvert.

How we care for and nurture our bodies has implications for all areas of our development—physical, emotional, and even spiritual. The body is a living and organic revelation of the unseen spirit inside—a kind of garden. Garden in the East is a poetic exploration of how the care of the body can lead us to wholeness and wellness in every area of our lives. In this podcast, Angela reads an excerpt from the book.

While most Mother’s Day celebrations include things like cards, brunch or carnations, there are other, more tangible ways to embrace the more non-commercial aspects of appreciating mothers. What would it look like to connect daily gratitude with the small moments of mothering? How might it transform us?

There are days when we need to hear words to lift us up out of the dirt. Whether they are words of poetry, or words from the Fathers, the pursuit of the beautiful, the kind of beautiful that resides under the skin, is worthwhile for everyone living the daily struggle of life.

Angela Doll Carlson shares her plans for the podcast for 2019, particularly reading from her new book titled The Wilderness Journal: 365 Days with the Philokalia.

On this episode of The Wilderness Journal, Angela Doll Carlson explores the topic of "time" with her friend (and Ancient Faith author) Dr. Nicole Roccas. They discuss connections between fear and apathy, and the differences between standing still and being static."

In times of fear and distress, we can turn to the simple act of prayer to calm the waters. Angela reads a passage from Nearly Orthodox about this very thing, and about learning to pray the Jesus Prayer in Greek.

In this episode Angela continues her conversation with Orthodox priest and Spiritual Ecologist, Fr. Kaleeg Hainsworth where they discuss the role of the Orthodox Christian in issues about the environment, the wilderness as a “de-tox” method, and how to survive the Zombie apocalypse.

On this episode of the Wilderness Journal, Angela contemplates exploring the “wilds” of Chicago and discusses hot button issues like Climate Change and Bigfoot with Fr. Kaleeg Hainsworth, Orthodox priest and author of “An Altar in the Wilderness."

Since God will judge the secrets of men according to St. Paul's letter to the Romans, it just makes sense to order our lives so that our secrets don't undo our words and our faith.

Sts. Peter and Paul were two men from the opposite ends of Jewish society and yet each found a way to not only value each other but also challenge each other. In a Church broad enough to hold these two very different men, we are called to embrace each other and be enriched by the diversity of gifts we each possess.

There is a huge difference in trying to be something and living either the realization that you ARE something. It changes your motivation and your attitude about who you are. Well, you ARE the light of the world.

When the disciples were confronted with the impossible task of feeding 5,000 men plus women and children, they forgot that their Lord was all they needed!

Circumstances can be intoxicating and Fr. Barnabas says that true contentment begins in the heart not with our circumstances.

Why does the Church offer us the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross? Because the Christian faith is about dealing with reality and having our all too easy temptations to delusions and the fantasy of what I'm afraid of or what I wish for blind us to the reality God wants us to embrace! Waking up is hard, but it has to be done!

Isn't it interesting after the Lord blessed Peter and his partners in their fishing business, Peter saw himself as a sinful man and asked the Lord to leave him? But that's the risk of standing so close to the Light. It reveals who you really are! But Christ invites us to be close to Him without fear or shame and allow His Light to set us free!

We have all heard the Golden Rule, but there is so much more to this passage and it has everything to do with a very serious challenge to the status quo of our lives. After all, even sinners love those who love them!

The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus confronts us today about a real change in the way we think. Only the courageous will comply!

A Servant owes his Master millions and he's forgiven. Then this wicked servant turns on a fellow servant who owes him a few dollars and he throws his co-worker in prison! The Master is not happy and takes His servant he had forgiven such a great debt and throws him into prison too! So shall the Father do to everyone who doesn't forgive "from the heart."

Why does the Orthodox Church celebrate the Elevation of the Holy Cross? A device meant for torture and a grizzly death is held up, venerated, and even kissed! Why? Well, because what humanity meant for evil, God transformed into Victory and Life!

All great religions have a form of the Golden Rule. But in the Christian Faith this wisdom has specific wisdom on not only how to actually follow the Golden Rule but to share this faith with others.

On the Sunday of the Synaxis of the Archangels, we confront the challenge of hearing the Message from the Messengers of God. But to be able to hear, we must first want to hear. Do you want to hear what the Messenger says to the Churches?

The guests invited to the rich man's banquet didn't value their invitation to his dinner as much as they valued other things. In the end, none of the expected elite got to go, but the most unexpecting group were invited and enjoyed the hospitality of the rich man!

So, why, on the Sunday before Christmas, does the Church call us to read this lineage of Jesus? Because there's an irreplaceable power to community memory. And more so for we moderns who have sacrificed our attention span for entertainment!

The Feast of Pentecost celebrates the Coming of the Holy Spirit on the first disciples of Jesus. But why? As followers of Christ, we too, have been given the grace of the Holy Spirit in our lives as well. So, does the closeness of the Spirit in your life reflect a reality or an untapped resource?

Our society has become a place where Radical Autonomy has been elevated to the highest good. What "I" want is considered the highest value and the measure of the happiness of my life. But Christianity has a different value system based on Radical Communion.

On the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman, we are confronted with the commun hunger of all humans, the common thirst of all of us: to be loved and to love. But how do we avoid the traps of trying to fulfill this hunger and thirst in the wrong way? How do we avoid wrecking our lives by bad choices?