Join Michael as he takes a deep dive into what mercy is, why we often misunderstand it, why we sometimes misperceive God as harsh or even vengeful, and what we need to understand to open our hearts to God’s ever-present mercy.

Life’s often not fair and we all suffer from illness and affliction at times that are not of our own making. It is then we are often confronted with a choice – to continue to want to be with God even though we don’t understand why certain things are happening to us; or to let the seeming unfairness of our circumstance drive us away from Him. Join Michael as he uses a whimsical episode of the Brady Bunch to illustrate and discuss this profound truth we all experience.

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.

Join Michael as uses a disturbing trend among young adults when it comes to the Constitution and the Bible as a springboard to discuss happiness versus holiness, and why the Holy Fathers surpass the Founding Fathers when it comes to truly understanding how to form “a more perfect union.”

Join Michael has he discusses in-depth how J.R.R Tolkien and his work were formational in preparing him to accept the truth of sacramental reality as experienced and taught in Orthodox Christianity.

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.”

Join Michael as he explores the webs and patterns of our life, and uses poem, story, myth, metaphor, and examples from his own life to show how we can recognize God and continuity within our myriad choices, and know His peace.

We live in a pace driven and action oriented culture where we are always on the go. We achieve much yet feel mentally, physically, and spiritually exhausted. We have forgotten how to just be. Join Michael Haldas as he explores this topic in depth and offers some thoughts on the hierarchy of action and contemplation in our lives.

How do we continue to love unconditionally amidst our suffering, especially when this suffering is caused by the people we love best? How do we attain and maintain the maturity of faith we need to be Christ-like, let God be in control, and recognize the grace in our lives despite the pain. Join Michael as he shares his thoughts and experiences on this very difficult topic.

Inspired by the conditions of the coronavirus, but not about the virus itself, Michael reflects on why either our transcendent or immanent mindset makes a huge difference on how we cope with such trying circumstances.

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.

The circumstances of the coronavirus and the global pandemic give us an opportunity, amidst the suffering, to reexamine aspects of our faith, and refresh and renew our thinking and practice. Join Michael as he takes a deep dive of what it means to pray in the name of the Lord, especially during this time of great need.

In celebration of Mother’s Day, join Michael as he explores the language of the Genesis creation stories and what they teach us about the value of women and the feminine and motherly nature of God. He then reflects on the Theotokos and how her life and Christ’s demonstrate the value of women established in Genesis, and how they restore women to the place God intended for them. This podcast is based on a Zoom class Michael gave to a Church community and also includes responses from the question and answer period of the class.

Join Michael in an in-depth discussion about the self-defeating voice in our head that makes us feel like imposters who we will be discovered a frauds, the internal and external influences that feed this negative self-talk, and how we can overcome it in Christ.

Join Michael as he discusses what it really means “not to lose heart” according to Christ and St. Paul, examines the scriptures where these words are used, looks at their meaning in the original Greek, and why we actually have a responsibility to others not to lose heart.

Join Michael as he offers a reflection on how and why the liturgical life of the church should be lived continuously both inside and outside of the church walls, how Christ teaches and demonstrates this in the Gospel, and how we can sometimes make our liturgical worship a requirement instead of a means to draw closer to Christ and love others.

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.

So many people love a good conspiracy theory. But these theories do damage and harm to individuals, communities, and our society. Join Michael as he discusses the primary reasons people believe them and why doing so is antithetical to our faith.

Great Lent is a holy and sacred time of year yet we can turn it into a secular practice and experience if we are not careful. Join Michael as he discusses our understanding and participation in Lent, and how to avoid subtle ways that lead us to experience Lent less than how we should.

Join Michael as he discusses the failure of the first fast in the Bible and its implications to us; how fasting is not about food the way we typically approach it; and fasting’s corporate and communal nature and what it means to us as persons not individuals.

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 false power versus real power, our attraction to the former at our own expense, and how the powerlessness Christ demonstrates for us is the true power we gain when we let go of our need for control and surrender to God.

Join Michael as explores the question is our Orthodox Christian religion the only true religion or the completely true religion, and the how our answer to this question affects our internal self and outward behavior to detriment or betterment of ourselves and others.

Join Michael as he provides an in-depth discussion of the many spiritual aspects of patience that are critical to our salvation and the salvation of others, and how lacking this virtue is more spiritually harmful than we may realize.

Join Michael as he addresses our choices and what we consent to that results in us either growing in holiness and union with Christ, or an unholy union with the devil that leads to our gradual and eventual complete destruction.

Join Michael as he examines what it means to experience true freedom, and why what we think is freedom is a form of bondage we don’t recognize.

Join Michael for a discussion on why forgiving ourselves is often so hard and what we need to understand and do to open our hearts to self-forgiveness.

Join Michael as he discusses the success of failure and the failure of success, and how our worldly success can be a blessing or a curse depending on we approach it spiritually.

Join Michael as he discusses how we should understand time and reconcile our past through the eternally crucified Christ, and let Him transform it and free us of guilt, shame, and regret.

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 how we often neglect our bodies, the physical and spiritual ramifications to ourselves and loved ones, how this is profoundly unspiritual, and what we need to think and do to treat our physical selves the way God intends us to.

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 in a discussion about experiencing God’s healing and redemptive beauty and goodness even in the worst of life’s circumstances.

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 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 of the difficulty of getting out of our own heads, the cultural and spiritual challenges that perpetuate this, and leaning to live our faith through our hearts and not just our minds.

Join Michael in a discussion of our desires, how they get in the away of the elusive peace we seek, and what we need to do to find true contentment.

Father Seraphim reflects on why he refrains from going into detail about Celtic saints during the podcast. He also begins to share about the life of Saint Oran.

Fr. Seraphim reads the introduction and the ending of the booklet On Prayer. "True prayer is a state of being. It is the oneness between God and humanity." The full text can be found at mullmonastery.com.

Fr. Seraphim reads the final section of the booklet On Prayer. The full text can be found at mullmonastery.com.

Fr. Seraphim Aldea narrates the importance of struggle in the relationship with a spiritual father, through his own physical journey from his monastery to the Holy Mountain.

Fr. Seraphim Aldea shares reflections at the conclusion of his recent visit to Mt. Athos.

Fr. Seraphim shares about the life of St. Brendan.

Fr. Seraphim Aldea delivers a talk in Atlanta, Georgia, about the importance of humility in extending our view of the world.

Fr. Seraphim Aldea delivers a talk in Atlanta, GA, about the power of our demons in those we meet, including the unborn.

Fr. Seraphim Aldea answers the question of whether or not couples should abstain from sexual relations after the years of procreation.

Fr. Seraphim Aldea exhorts his listeners to fight for faith in the living God during this challenging time.

Fr. Seraphim Aldea shares practical insights about developing a relationship with a spiritual father.

Fr. Seraphim Aldea discusses the current blessing of silence and solitude.