On the Sunday of the Fathers of the 1st Ecumnical Council at Nicea, the Church calls us to consider the powerful prayer of our Lord Jesus in John 17. It turns out eternal life isn't a situation as much as it is a relationship! Being connected to life gives us life. Are you connected?

Jesus tells the parable about a man who is doing so well, he has to tear down his old barns to build bigger barns. And God confronts him with his mortality! This is the only way to avoid the Passions for Distractions!

The Orthodox Church teaches that Jesus Christ is more than a great teacher, more than a good man. The Church teaches that Jesus Christ is God in human flesh; born of a Virgin, and come to save the world! You are part of that vision for humanity!

On this Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas, we are confronted by the Scriptures with the dangers of distraction. By avoiding being distracted by life and focus on our Christian living we will avoid the pitfalls of distraction.

The Sunday of the Holy Cross.

On Palm Sunday, the Church calls us to celebrate being able to recognize Jesus. Do you know enough about your faith to recognize Christ?

Are you able to have such inner peace that outward circumstances are powerless to disturb you? Well, that's exactly the kind of peace Jesus Christ wants to give you.

The Sunday of the Last Judgment (Meatfare) is an annual invitation to honestly face our own need for God's mercy and a clear revelation that we can't put off dealing with these truths forever. But we live in a world where saying "Don't judge me" is an easy tool to shut down the uncomfortable mirror of our own choices. Today, are you awake enough to learn "the right answer before the awesome judgment seat of Christ?"

Michael speaks to the layman about the way we see ourselves in the structure of the Church.

Michael discusses why understanding the personal nature of God and experiencing God’s presence is so important and what it means to us.

Michael shares two different experiences from his own life when desiring a word from God.

Michael explores and explains Christ’s teaching on life and the perspective and priorities we should have as a result.

Michael looks at the story of the Woman at the Well and extracts lessons for understanding how Christ can forgive sexual sin.

Michael helps us understand the critical difference between intelligence and wisdom. In this episode, he references Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon's book Wise Lives: Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Wisdom of Sirach.

Sometimes we can get so caught up in Church life that we lose sight of its true purpose. Michael explores this through some real life stories and thoughts, and challenges us to remember what happens to us through living the Christian life and Who is the very point of the sacramental life.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:48 to be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect. But how is this possible when we know we are sinners? Did He really mean this? And if so, what exactly did He mean? Join Michael as he discusses what it means to be perfect from an Orthodox Christian point of view and shares a story that illustrates and addresses the difference between being perfect and perfectionism and why “good enough” is actually okay.

Racism is a serious wrong that no one should argue. However, from an Orthodox Christian point of view, it is a far deeper wrong than is ever portrayed in the public debate. Join Michael as he explains why racism goes against the core of Christianity, and through story and anecdote describes why it seems is so hard for us to celebrate and embrace differences.

Michael describes his recent experience, while recovering from a concussion, of viewing key scenes from the Academy Award winning movie Good Will Hunting through an Orthodox Christian lens. Using these scenes and their circumstances as illustrations, he discusses understanding sin as sickness, condemning self-judgment and judgment in general, the fine line between our sense of personal accountability and self forgiveness, and both God’s love for us and our love for each other as it should be.

Struck by the phrase “disenchanted with morality” in the pages of a book one morning, Michael shares his thoughts that came to mind. Why does it seem society often appears disenchanted with morality? Why is Christianity so often wrongly perceived and taught as a judgmental set of moral rules and rigid codes of behavior? Why is legalism doing so much harm to our faith? What truly is morality from an Orthodox Christian perspective? Join Michael as he addresses these questions and more, and explains the “enchantment” we should all experience because of our faith.

Are we living now in the Divided States of America as opposed to the United States of America? Does the political divide we see and hear about it each day in the news speak to who we are now as persons and a society? What can it teach us about ourselves and our own hearts? Join Michael as he discusses wholeness and division from a spiritual point of view, and what we need to do to be Christ-like in today’s current climate.

Many of us can remember when we learned the truth about Santa Claus, but what truth did we learn? Using examples from J.R.R Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, the Polar Express and our Orthodox Christian understanding of mystery, join Michael as he shares a recent conversation about Santa and what the story of the Christmas gift giver may actually be teaching us.

Dealing with the negative voice in your head that holds you back, causes doubt and anxiety, and robs you of your peace and joy.

Drug related deaths due to heroin and opioids are on the rise. It’s becoming an epidemic. Why is this? What are the factors contributing to this crisis of life and death? Why is this crisis reflective of a deep spiritual disorder that demands that parishes and their members get engaged based on their resources and capacity? Join Michael as he attempts to address these questions and shares information from his Metropolis that can be useful to many.

Sometimes our lives are in such chaos and darkness it is hard to believe God is in control and is loving us and caring for us. Join Michael as he dramatically recounts the story of the Gadarene Demoniac told in Mark 5:1-20, unlikely though it would seem, to demonstrate God’s providence in our lives.

Making extensive use of the Scriptures, join Michael Haldas as he teaches an in-depth Bible lesson on the truth about truth; the truth about the real gravity and depravity of lies and lying; and what Christ means when He talks about the “father of lies” and “the ruler of this world” who was “a murderer from the beginning.”

Retaining the hope of a child is not easy, especially in today’s coronavirus pandemic environment. Yet this is what Christ want us to do according to the Gospel. Using thoughts from Orthodox teacher and professor Vigen Guroian’s chapter on childhood from his book The Orthodox Reality: Culture, Theology, and Ethics in the Modern World, Michael explores this topic in depth, and explains how by remembering that Christ is the eternal child of God can rekindle our sense of hope during this difficult time.

Join Michael as he discusses the Book of Job as a case study in suffering and the importance of how we receive our suffering; how it is often what defines our salvation and belief in and relationship to God; what God gives and does not give to us in our suffering; and how our suffering can be a mystery and those closest to us can often create obstacles for us to receive it well.

St. Porphyrios wrote, “Whoever wants to become a Christian must first become a poet.” Most of us are not poets so does this preclude us from being true Christians? Join Michael as he explores God’s poetic and artistic nature and how to understand and connect to Him through the divine language of symbol, beauty, and our own personal artistry even while living in a culture dominated by utilitarianism and reductionism.

Join Michael as he discusses how we are either living in repentance or rebellion at any given time in our response to God grace, and how this determines the quality of our existence both now and in the life to come.

Join Michael as he discusses what a darnel is and what it means to us, how easy it is to be deceived by the spirit of the age, and what we need to do to ensure we gain and apply Christ-like discernment in all matters.

Join Michael as he discusses what eros and agape really mean and why they cannot be separated, how growth in love is deeply linked to suffering, how disordered desire can grip us, how we never truly sin alone, and how it always affects both us and others when we act on our disordered desires.

Join Michael as he discusses why God’s wrath is an expression of His love, what hinders us from understanding and accepting this, and why it is debilitating when it is intended to be transformative.

Inner darkness. We all have it whether we admit or not. How do overcome it? How do we find our way to Christ the Light and master our inner darkness? Join Michael as he addresses these questions in-depth and shows we can find our way to the Light no matter what darkness we are in.

Join Michael for a discussion on how to avoid being paralyzed with guilt and shame over our worst failures, and experience God at work within them.

Join Michael for a discussion on how to understand and overcome the subtle spiritual deafness and spiritual blindness we can suffer from that leads to spiritual heart disease.

Join Michael in discussion of what it means in the Liturgy when the Priest prays “And let us ask for a Christian end to our life, peaceful, without shame and suffering, and for a good defense before the awesome judgment seat of Christ” and how that should drive our daily behavior.

Join Michael in a discussion about what the Scriptures and our Holy Tradition teach us about the importance of clothing as it relates to salvation, communion, or lack thereof, and what our attitudes and actions toward clothing reveal about us individually and culturally.

Join Michael for a discussion about the meaning of hypocrisy and what Christ said about it in the Gospel, and how to understand and protect ourselves from this deadly sin that causes us to wear “masks” and fall into self-deception, deception of others, and spiritual death.

Join Michael as he uses the symbolism of the North Star to take a deep dive into the true nature of repentance and why we often misunderstand it to our detriment.

Join Michael in a discussion of God’s essence and energies, other energies present in the world, and how we should really understand our motivations to ensure we participate in our actions with God’s grace and not with the enemy.

Join Michael in a discussion of how to guard our hearts and minds against the ancient sins of infidelity and individualism that are both subtle and celebrated in today’s culture.

Join Michael in a discussion about an encounter he had with man with severe facial injuries, and what it caused him to reflect on concerning the face of Christ and the theological understanding of our faces that should guide our daily encounters with everyone.