25
Dec 2019
Christmas is the day when the Savior is born; and He was not only the Savior, but the prince of peace, the one who made reconciliation between heaven and earth. When we celebrate, and say “Merry Christmas,” we should share the real joy that the heaven descended to earth, although the earth did not receive it well. There was no room for Joseph and Mary, but the shepherds were honored to assist. The angels came to earth and told the shepherds “Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace......
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15
Dec 2019
During the past few weeks we were reading from the gospel according to St. Luke. Now we are in the preparatory season to receive the precious gift, from God, His son Jesus Christ who was to be born in our heart. We read about the annunciation to Zechariah, then Mary, and then the visitation of Mary to Elizabeth. And last Sunday, Abouna Andrew spoke of the birth of John the Baptist and used him as an example for how we can be like John the Baptist. And today, we are going to......
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17
Nov 2019
When we go to church after a long week, facing challenges in our life, we seek comfort, peace and rest in our mind, heart, body and thoughts. And we also seek forgiveness from the Almighty one to wash our hearts, receive His spiritual food – His body and blood – and we can charge our mind. So, we can go through the new week strong, facing our life without any fear. This is what the church is about. And so, the church prepares readings, and we can see the feasts, memorials and......
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27
Oct 2019
When we read from Matthew 5, 6, 7, which we call the Sermon on the Mount from Jesus, we know there is nothing more important and significant. And he always said, “You heard…” and follows with “But I say to you…” Usually as a King gives decrees, only the King himself can make the change. In the Old Testament, Moses gave the commandments and the people kept and memorized those commandments. Nobody could change a single figure, until the arrival of Jesus Christ. Jesus, by saying “You heard” and “But I say......
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20
Oct 2019
When we speak about Jesus, we speak of good things. But when you test yourself through a hard time in your life, or you are not walking according to His word, no matter what you do or what you think, He is thinking of you. We see this in the story of the young man in the Book of Luke chapter 18 There was a young man, a ruler. He had a good social position among his people, and he was a rich young man. He showed Jesus all kinds of respect......
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15
Apr 2018
Leonard Chernigal turned 90 on March 16, and his life story mirrors the life of the Assyrian Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary, founded in West Hoboken (now Union City) about 13 years before his birth in 1928. The West Hoboken church was the first Assyrian Orthodox Church of Antioch built in the United States, taking its name from the church in Diyarbakır, Turkey, that many West Hoboken parishioners attended before they left the old country. In fact, the altar in the West Hoboken church was designed to look like the altar......
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