Fr. Moses Samaan Archive

On Wednesday, a married couple full of violence and hatred attacked a group of government employees in San Bernardino. On Thursday, many secular lawmakers and journalists attacked prayer as the proper response, preferring to place their faith in man-made gun control legislation rather than in the power of prayer to God. Faithful Christians, however, know that prayer is more fundamental to human life than air, food, and water. As the Holy Apostle wrote, we are …

In the wake of yesterday’s tragic violence in San Bernardino, let us be reminded of a powerful passage in the Holy Gospel that teaches us about the ultimate powerlessness of violence. We join our Savior as He is about to be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane by the command of the wicked Jewish leaders aided by Judas the Betrayer: Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, …

On the Third Sunday of the Coptic month of Hatour, our Mother, the Holy Church, nourished us with a passage from the Gospel according to St. Luke 14:25-35 in which our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us that the cost of being His disciple, the cost of being a Christian in this world, is a total and complete commitment to Him. This total commitment to Christ necessarily begins with self-denial, as our Savior teaches us, “And …

Throughout the past week, my inbox has been bombarded with advertisements relating to Black Friday. There is the Black Friday sale, the pre-Black Friday sale, the early Black Friday specials, and many other advertising catchphrases that point to the same thing: discounted material goods on the day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday is not a topic that is commonly discussed among Orthodox Christians. Sadly, in the absence of the Church’s guidance on this holiday, most of …

In the wake of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, I observed that the most frequent response was that of anger. President Francois Hollande, for example, vowed to destroy ISIS while the hacking cooperative Anonymous declared it would mercilessly hunt ISIS members down. It was anger that led the ISIS to attack France and now it is the French people’s turn to give in to anger and strike back, all while ISIS plots to strike …

The unprecedented terrorist attacks against innocent civilians in Paris today have left many with anguish, fear, and shock in their hearts. In the coming weeks and months, politicians and pundits will speak at great length about what happened and what the world needs to do to address the increase of terrorism throughout the world. I do not write in order to contribute to that discussion, but instead, I echo the Russian proverb, “The deeper the …

By now, most of us have heard about the recent controversy over Starbucks’ new solid red cups. It all began when Joshua Feurstein, an Evangelical pastor, posted a video about the new red cups, which he believes represents a war on Christ, Christianity, and Christmas. Prior cup designs featured Christmas themes, like snowflakes and reindeer, but this year’s cup is plain, which he finds problematic. His solution? Order a drink under the name “Merry Christmas” as …

On the Fourth Sunday of the blessed Coptic month of Paopi, our Mother, the Holy Church, nourished us with the story of the Raising of the Son of the Widow of Nain in Luke 7:11-17: “And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was …

The Divine Liturgy is the most important activity in our Orthodox Christian lives. It is the time when the people of God, the ekklesia, stand before Him in reverence, worship Him and entreat His mercy, and receive Communion with Him for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Because of its importance, any changes to the Divine Liturgy must be studied with caution. I feel we are at the cusp of such a change relating …

On October 5, the Governor of California, Jerry Brown, signed a new law that confers what is known as the “right to die” upon people living in this state.The media has done an exceptionally good job in distorting the meaning of this law for Christians. The Associated Press, for example, is careful to note that Gov. Brown is a “lifelong Catholic and former Jesuit seminarian” who signed the law after discussing the issue with a …