Podcasts about seeking christ

Today he’s known mainly as a figure from medals carried to insure safe travels, but that image of a giant carrying the Christ Child across a dangerous river represents only the final stage in the long and strange evolution of the saint’s legend. Earlier or forgotten aspects of his story describe Christopher as a ferocious soldier, the Devil’s servant, a cannibal, and even a dog-headed monster. Our episode begins with the best known version of the tale recorded in The Golden Legend, the classic collection of hagiographies written in 1260 by Jacobus de Voragine, a Dominican friar in Genoa. Here Christopher begins as Reprobus, a fearsome giant determined to serve the most powerful master in the world. He first serves a king but abandons him after discovering that the king fears the Devil. Reprobus then serves the Devil, only to discover that the Devil fears Christ. Seeking Christ, Reprobus encounters a hermit who suggests that the giant use his great strength to carry travelers across a dangerous river. One night, a mysterious child asks to be carried across. As Reprobus struggles through the rising water, the child becomes impossibly heavy. Upon reaching the opposite bank, the child reveals himself as Christ and explains that Reprobus has carried both the Creator of the world and the weight of the world itself. Reprobus thus becomes Christopher, the “Christ-bearer.” St. Christopher Joachim Patinir, ca1522 After this, comes the lesser known portion of his tale, in which Christopher runs up against Roman authorities thanks to his Christian faith. As a sign that God will be with him throughout this, his staff planted in the earth breaks for in blooms, and he’s preserved through numerous tortures and attempts to execute him after his refusal to worship the pagan gods. Tortures fail to harm him, arrows miraculously stop in midair, and Christopher eventually converts the king responsible for his execution. But earlier versions of the legend are considerably stranger. Around 986, the German poet and bishop Walter von Speyer composed two Latin hagiographies, one in prose and the other in verse. Each tells the same story, describing Reprobus as a dog-headed cannibal who could only bark before his conversion.  The struggle through the river in de Voragine 13th-century tale is prefigured as a spiritual transformation in the waters of baptism. An even older narrative is found in the apocryphal Acts of Andrew and Bartholomew.  Pieced together from parchments dated to the fifth and seventh centuries, merging stories, which originated in Coptic communities of Syria and Egypt. We hear extensive passages from this particularly fantastical tale read by Mrs. Karswell. In this  which the apostles encounter a terrifying dog-headed cannibal named “Bewitched.” He’s been sent to them by an angel, who first removes his appetite for human flesh and grants him the ability to speak. Renamed  “Christian,” (though still referred to in the text as “Dog’s Head”) the creature accompanies the apostles on their missionary adventures to the city of Barbaros in Parthia. When they are sentenced to death by  lions and tigers , Dog’s Head is divinely granted a temporary return to his original ferocity, and slaughtering and devouring the beasts. Walls of fire, flying idols, miraculous floods, and more grisly tortures and martrydoms, round out the narrative. St. Christopher in 18th-century Russian lubok print A slightly later Greek text, The Martyrdom of Christophoros, brings the legend closer to its later form. Reprobus remains a dog-headed member of a cannibalistic race but is now a soldier and Christian. After receiving the miraculous ability to speak, he converts fellow soldiers, survives numerous tortures, and is eventually martyred by beheading. Several elements later incorporated into the Golden Legend—including his flowering staff, conversion of prostitutes, and miraculous survival of torture—already appear here. A number of images of St. Christopher as a dog-headed man (Greek: cynocephalus) can still be seen  in Orthodox churches and monasteries in Greece and Russia.  While Peter the Great sought to suppress this portrayal of the saint in 18th-century Russia, his efforts were not entirely successful, and cynocephalus icons are produced by the sect known as the Old Believers to this day. Christopher's monstrous appearance was intended to highlight both a pre-conversion savagery and extreme foreignness. Ancient and medieval writers from Herodotus to Marco Polo repeatedly placed imaginary races of dog-headed humans in distant, unexplored lands. Armenian illustrations of Pentecost similarly included cynocephali to symbolize the remotest peoples reached by Christianity. We end the episode with a nod to St. Christopher’a identity as the patron saint of surfers, and a bit of music from that unlikely nexus of Catholicism and surfdom.  It’s a snippet from the 1999 album by the Malibooz, Living Water:The Surfer’s Mass. “Horse-head” St. Christopher from Assumption Cathedral, Sviyazhsk, Russia.  

SERMON IN A SENTENCE: God calls us to see our sinfulness so we can see our need for the Savior.

Sunday Sermon @ St. Athanasius Coptic Orthodox Church - Pensacola, FL ~ February 8, 2026 | Meshir 1, 1742

Read OnlineJesus came with his disciples into the house. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” Mark 3:20–21Today's Gospel is among the shortest passages read at Mass throughout the Liturgical Year, yet it conveys a profound message.The scene opens with Jesus and His disciples—likely the newly appointed Twelve Apostles—taking a moment of rest in a house to eat. Jesus had been tirelessly traveling from village to village, preaching the Kingdom of God and healing many. His reputation had spread far and wide, and people were seeking Him with urgency. As the crowd discovered where He was, they surrounded the house so closely that even basic necessities like eating became impossible. This detail highlights not a lament over the demands on Jesus' time but the fervent excitement and longing that drew so many to Him. Jesus welcomed this with open arms, as He always does, moved by the profound needs of the human heart.Though the disciples might have felt overwhelmed, Jesus' heart, as Matthew's Gospel later records, was “moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). His compassion for the crowd reveals the depth of God's love and His readiness to meet every human longing.The reaction of Jesus' relatives offers another important lesson for reflection. Some of His extended family—cousins, aunts, uncles, or others—were alarmed at the crowds He was attracting. They might have been troubled by the growing tension between Jesus and the Pharisees and Herodians, fearing for His safety. Perhaps they struggled to reconcile the stories of miracles and teachings with the humble, quiet Jesus they had known for decades. Since Jesus had not revealed His divine mission during His early life, His sudden manifestation of power likely left them confused and seeking to intervene.This familial tension reveals an important truth: when God acts powerfully in our lives, we too will change, and those close to us may struggle to understand. Though Jesus did not experience conversion as we do, His family witnessed a profound “change” in that He began to publicly manifest His divinity in a way that they had not seen before.As we seek to follow Christ more radically, we might encounter doubt or even resistance from family or friends. Jesus' example teaches us to face these tensions with courage and love, trusting that fidelity to God's will is always the highest priority. Like Jesus, we must persevere, offering a gentle but firm witness to the transformative power of God in our lives.As you ponder this Gospel, consider the following: Do you, like the crowd, need to pursue our Lord more fervently, seeking Him with urgency and persistence in prayer? Are you, like the disciples, sometimes overwhelmed by the demands of Christian discipleship? Do you see yourself in Jesus' extended family, questioning or struggling to understand the radical conversion of someone close to you? Or are you more like our Lord, experiencing the tension of family misunderstanding as you strive to live more fully in conformity with God's will? Reflect today on this emotional and multifaceted scene. As you identify with the lessons of this short Gospel, renew your resolve to seek Jesus with all your heart, embrace the conversion to which He calls you, and allow His transformative power to shine through your life. Finally, strive to help others understand and support the new life you have chosen, offering a gentle and loving witness to the joy and peace found in Christ. My tireless Lord, the demands placed on You during Your public ministry were great, yet You ministered to all with unfailing compassion. Please grant me the zeal I need to always seek You in my life. As I encounter You and am transformed by Your grace, give me the wisdom and patience to be a faithful witness to others, especially my family. Jesus, I trust in You.Image: See page for author, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsSource of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2026 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

Listen To Full Sermon: "Seeking Christ's Righteousness" @ St. Kyrillos VI Coptic Orthodox Church - Antioch, TN ~ March 8, 2025https://on.soundcloud.com/zLjzv4cORU5jlDzAy9

Part of our Seeking Christ through the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 24!

Part of our Seeking Christ through the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 20!

Part of our Seeking Christ through the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 21!

Part of our Seeking Christ through the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 21!

Part of our Seeking Christ through the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 22!

Part of our Seeking Christ through the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 22 &23!

Part of our Seeking Christ through the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 24!

Part of our Seeking Christ through the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 18!

Part of our Seeking Christ through the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 15!

Part of our Seeking Christ through the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 16!

Part of our Seeking Christ through the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 17!

Listen To Full Sermon: " Seeking Christ's Righteousness" @ St. Kyrillos VI Coptic Orthodox Church - Antioch, TN ~ March 8, 2025https://on.soundcloud.com/Ms7JxDtbTmpjBNePmN

Part of our Seeking Christ through the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 11!

Part of our Seeking Christ through the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 12!

Part of our Seeking Christ through the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 13!

Part of our Seeking Christ through the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 14!

Part of our Seeking Christ through the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 14!

Listen To Full Sermon: "Seeking Christ's Righteousness" @ St. Kyrillos VI Coptic Orthodox Church - Antioch, TN ~ March 8, 2025https://on.soundcloud.com/r7deGpEBQL1wARND7

Brad Myers

Part of our Seeking Christ in the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 9!

Part of our Seeking Christ through the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 10!

Where am I? Who am I? Where am I going? I think it is good for a man to pause and ask himself these questions. I do not ask you where you are in the eyes of your family, friends, or the community in which you live. It is of very little account what men think of us, but it is of vast importance what God thinks of us. Am I in communion with my Creator or out of communion? If I am out of communion, there is no true peace, joy, or happiness. But when we are in communion with God, there is light all around our path. You may think that your life is hidden, that God does not know anything about you, but He knows our lives much better than we do, and His eye has been fixed on us from our earliest childhood until now. I have heard of many people who think that if they join a church and make a profession of faith, that will suffice for the rest of their days. But there is also a cross for every one of us daily. O child of God, where are you? If God were to appear to you tonight and ask the question, “Where are you?” what would your answer be? Could you say, “Lord, I am serving You with my whole heart and strength; I am improving my talents and preparing for the kingdom to come”? About the Author Dwight L. Moody, determined to make a fortune, arrived in Chicago and started selling shoes. But Christ found him and his energies were redirected into full-time ministry. And what a ministry it was. Today, Moody's name still graces a church, a mission, a college, and more. Moody loved God and men, and the power of a love like that impacts generations.

Vespers Sermon @ St. Kyrillos VI Coptic Orthodox Church - Antioch, TN ~ March 8, 2025

QA @ St. Kyrillos VI Coptic Orthodox Church - Antioch, TN ~ March 8, 2025

Part of our Seeking Christ in the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 8!

Part of our Seeking Christ in the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 8!

Part of our Seeking Christ through the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 7!

Part of our Seeking Christ through the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 5!

Part of our Seeking Christ through the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 6!

Part of our Seeking Christ through the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 4!

This is Pastor Tom Arnould welcoming you to the Good News Radio Broadcast. My wife Sharon and I would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas. On today's program I will be sharing a message that focuses upon the Wise Men that came from the east to worship our Lord. Their passion to seek after Christ is a great example for all of humanity. Join me for the message "In Search of Christ."

You're Invited November 24, 2024 Seeking Christ at Christmas – Pastor Alex Mahaffey

Part of our Seeking Christ in the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 2!

Part of our Seeking Christ in the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 2!

Part of our Seeking Christ in the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 3!

Part of our Seeking Christ in the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 1!

Part of our Seeking Christ in the Old Testament series. Turn your Bibles to Genesis 1!

Fr. Joseph meditates on the intent to find Truth. When the Maggi seek Christ, even though they are gentiles, they do so at the expense of completely changing their life. When they saw the Truth in Christ, they knelt down and worshiped Him. We must ask ourselves if we seek the Truth with all our heart or do we ignore it when it wants to change us, purify us, refine us. Tune in to hear more.Fr. Joseph Abraham – January 7, 2024Christ the Savior American Coptic Orthodox ChurchDiocese of Los Angeleswww.thegoodsavior.org