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St. Mary Magdalene Orthodox Church

Home
About Us
St. Mary Magdalene
Archbishop Alexander
Our Clergy
Personal Journeys in Orthodoxy
History of Our Parish
Parish Vision
When visiting our parish
Parish Life
Weekly Services
Bulletin & Calendar
Epistle Reading
Pilgrimages
Prayer Life
Ministries
Church School & Youth Programs
St. Olga Orthodox Homeschool Co-op
Adult Education
Fellowship of St. Photini
Holy Myrrhbearers Death Ministry
Parish Groups & Ministries
Parish Lending Library
Prayers for the Sick and Suffering
Sermons
Contact Us
Becoming a Sell-Out
August 28, 2017
Fr. Gabriel
Becoming a Sell-Out
Fr. Gabriel
August 28, 2017

Becoming a Sell-Out

Fr. Gabriel
August 28, 2017

Fr. Gabriel explains the sentence:  "It is the American Dream to be a sell-out" (taken from the online urban dictionary under the definition of "sell-out") and why, like the Rich Man in today's Gospel, our priorities are so "out of whack".

Becoming a Sell Out
Newer PostA Short Reflection on Racism
Older PostThe Disease of Presumption

Recent Posts

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Yes...Mary is a Big Deal!
August 3, 2026
Yes...Mary is a Big Deal!
August 3, 2026

How can we not venerate the one who’s voice John the Baptist greeted with a leap of joy in the womb, because it was that voice that heralded the presence of Christ in his midst?

How can we not echo the words of the Archangel in recognizing her as one that is full of Grace…and that she will be called blessed by all generations?

How can we call ourselves Christian and weep for our sins before the Crucified Christ, while ignoring the soul-pierced Mother? 

Read more →
August 3, 2026
Whitewashed Tombs
July 13, 2026
Whitewashed Tombs
July 13, 2026

On Sundays and during weekday Liturgies, we also have a small battle with the internal and external when we approach the Holy Chalice. Externally, we will all cross our hands over of our hearts, cross ourselves, and prepare to take God’s very Body and Blood within ourselves.  Yet what is the inner position of our souls in those moments?  Where is our focus? On the tremendous and dread mystery that awaits us in the chalice…or on the world?  Do we truly know and believe what the Eucharist can do for us…or are we following the person in front of us in line without paying any attention to what we are about to partake and the transformation that awaits us at the chalice?  Are we focused on our outward piety, or on the inner state of our being?

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July 13, 2026
Taking a Sober Stock of our Country After 250 Years
July 6, 2026
Taking a Sober Stock of our Country After 250 Years
July 6, 2026

Now that the celebrations, the fireworks, and the excitement of the past few days of celebration are completed, all of us should be taking a moment to reflect on what we have done with this gift of a country that God has given us.  While it is the job of the president and civil leaders to build up and highlight the accomplishments, its often the job of the priests and spiritual leaders to help us sober up and open our eyes to the work that we have yet to accomplish. 

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July 6, 2026
All About Money!
June 23, 2026
All About Money!
June 23, 2026

One thing that our Lord tells us, is that the acquisition of wealth can be an addiction.  He is not talking about gambling addictions or dreaming of hitting the lottery…but rather is pointing out how we cannot serve both an addiction and God at the same time.  This truly goes for all addictions…whether it’s money, pornography, alcohol, marijuana/drugs, gluttony…whatever the addiction, we become slaves to it.

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June 23, 2026
The Raging Waters of the Holy Spirit
June 1, 2026
The Raging Waters of the Holy Spirit
June 1, 2026

The Holy Spirit reached so many that no one, not even the devil himself, could stop the flood…although God knows he has tried.  In those early days, he sent persecutors like Nero and Diocletian, who despite their best efforts couldn’t stop the flow of the life giving waters to God’s people. In more recent decades, the devil tried to stop the flow by getting into the hearts of people like Joseph Stalin and Nicolae Ceausescu…who did everything they could to dam the river…and it drowned both of them and their worldly governments. 

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June 1, 2026
The Cleaving Heart of St. Photini
May 11, 2026
The Cleaving Heart of St. Photini
May 11, 2026

St. Barnabas said this to the new Christians in Antioch, and he says it to us this morning. He knew that there are many who begin to walk on God’s road willingly and with excitement.  Yet as soon as the first obstacles appear, we often get discouraged and fall back into our old and sinful ways.  I am willing to bet that many of the people that heard these words of St. Barnabas didn’t heed them, and when the first threat was made against them, or the first passion was inflamed within them, they turned their back on Christ.  Perhaps some denied Him…or cursed Him…or worse yet, simply ignored His Love and impact in their lives.   

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May 11, 2026
Putting Ourselves in the Bible
May 4, 2026
Putting Ourselves in the Bible
May 4, 2026

When we read from the Holy Scripture is not meant to be read as a “feel good” story that happened long ago. It isn’t written as a historical account for scholars to dissect dates or political movements. It wasn’t written as a justification for war in the Middle East. It was written for us to enter into it! We discover the depth of scripture by placing ourselves within its pages and within its Holy Words. Christ doesn’t speak to and heal people 2,000 years ago…He’s talking and healing us directly right now in the year 2026! When you read scripture this way, it’s meaning and depth is uncovered in a beautiful and profound way!

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May 4, 2026
Going Against "The World"
April 27, 2026
Going Against "The World"
April 27, 2026

Brothers and Sisters in Christ…Be different.  The winds of change in “the world”, even in our own country, are constantly howling.  Right will become wrongs, and wrongs will be made right.  St. Anthony the Great once said: “A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him saying: ‘You are mad; you are not like us.”

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April 27, 2026
Choosing Joy
April 20, 2026
Choosing Joy
April 20, 2026

In a very real way dear ones, when we miss a Sunday, we miss the joy of Pascha!  We deprive ourselves of Christ’s joyful presence in our lives!  We deny ourselves the Holy Eucharist…Christ Himself!  We deny ourselves the inner change that comes from the descent of the Holy Spirit.  We reject the peace that can only be found within the walls of the Church and in the presence of Christ…in favor of a war torn, broken, and confused world, that has no answers. 

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April 20, 2026
Saintly Sanity in an Insane Word
March 30, 2026
Saintly Sanity in an Insane Word
March 30, 2026

True and full happiness and satisfaction cannot be found in the world…but only in the love of God.  To think otherwise is insanity. 

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March 30, 2026
Sunday Only Orthodox Christians?
March 23, 2026
Sunday Only Orthodox Christians?
March 23, 2026

If you are a “Sunday only Orthodox Christian”, you are deluding yourself into thinking that this journey through life, and into a real and meaningful relationship with God Himself, only requires you to sacrifice 2 hours on a Sunday morning to come to the Divine Liturgy.

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March 23, 2026
Grumbling Against God
March 20, 2026
Grumbling Against God
March 20, 2026

It is about this time, in the middle Great Lent, where those who have been taking their spiritual lives seriously begin to feel weary and overcome by their struggles to fast. It becomes harder to give alms and even to pray.  It’s an annual tradition that every Orthodox Christian experiences: Great Lent around this time doesn’t always feel “Great”. 

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March 20, 2026
Being Called a Son/Daughter of God
March 9, 2026
Being Called a Son/Daughter of God
March 9, 2026

For many of us sitting here today, this is an image of our own relationship with God.  We know He is nearby… “everywhere present and filling all things”, yet we place so many barriers between us and Him, that He feels almost inaccessible at times.  Instead of trusting in Him, we trust in man-made institutions and ideas.  Rather than making our relationship with Him a priority, we focus on our careers, our possessions, our comforts and entertainments.  Instead of repentance from sin, we would rather remain paralyzed by what sin does to us and to the rest of the world.

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March 9, 2026
Deep Roots
March 2, 2026
Deep Roots
March 2, 2026

Yet perhaps the one reason that comes out the most in conversations with many of you is how this tree of Orthodoxy does not change.  It is so deeply rooted, that there are no weekly changes in the services to try and make them more relevant or popular.  There are no changes in morality, or how we should live, to try and fit the ebbs and flows of a fallen world.  There are no changes to this way of life.  “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever”, and it is on this day, this glorious day of Orthodoxy Sunday, that we celebrate the triumph of this deeply rooted faith over the storms of heresy that have tried to alter and change it throughout history. 

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March 2, 2026
Gratitude, Faith, and Hope in the Loss of an Unborn Child
January 19, 2026
Gratitude, Faith, and Hope in the Loss of an Unborn Child
January 19, 2026

Instead of baths in the tub, they are being bathed in Christ’s light.  Instead of needing to feed, they are constantly being nourished by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Instead of weeping and tears in the middle of the night, their cries are directed towards the presence of God, interceding and praying for the only people who they ever knew in this world…their mother and father.

Read more →
January 19, 2026

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St. Mary Magdalene Orthodox Church, 2439 South Long Lake Road, Fenton, MI, 48430, United States810-750-1401SMMOCAFenton@gmail.com
 
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