Life can feel like a marathon, not a sprint. There are moments when the road seems too long, the hills too steep, and the obstacles too heavy to overcome. You might be tempted to slow down, to pull over, or even to stop altogether. In those moments of exhaustion or discouragement, Scripture offers us a powerful encouragement to hold onto: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders, and the sin that so easil

If you’ve ever stood before The Bean in Chicago — that great, gleaming mirror of steel in Millennium Park — you know how breathtaking it is. You can’t help but be amazed at how it reflects everything around it — the skyline, the clouds drifting above, the people walking beneath. It’s so bright, so clear, so perfect. But what most people don’t realize is that it doesn’t stay that way on its own. Every morning, workers come to clean it. They remove the fingerprints, the dust, t

There are moments in life when our faith is tested beyond anything we could have imagined. Moments when the light fades and the future looks dark. I faced such a moment in the summer of 2022, after my car accident. I remember lying in that hospital bed; broken, bruised, uncertain. The doctors didn’t know what the future would hold. I was staring at the ceiling, thinking my life as I knew it was over. No walking. No serving. No celebrating Badarak. I saw a lifetime of pain ahe

Back in 2018, when I was the Director of Ministries at the Eastern Diocese in New York City, I was at a crossroads in my ministry. I had questions. I had doubts. The road ahead seemed unclear. So I decided to do something radical—I went on a silent retreat at Ender’s Island in Mystic, Connecticut. For three days, I turned off my phone. No calls, no texts, no distractions. I ate my meals in silence. Just me, God, and His Word. Each day, I spent hours reading and praying throug