My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

ON 25 MARCH
OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH
COMMEMORATES THE GREAT FEAST OF THE
ANNUNCIATION OF THE THEOTOKOS AND
EVER VIRGIN MARY

Apolytikion of the Feast. Mode 4.

TODAY is the summary of our salvation and
the revelation of the age-old mystery. For the Son
of God becomes the Son of the Virgin and Gabriel
announces the good news of grace. Therefore,
"Rejoice, Maiden full of grace! The Lord is with you."

Oikos

An Angel of supreme rank was sent down
from heaven to say to the Theotokos, Rejoice. And
perceiving You take bodily form at the sound of
his bodiless voice, O Lord, he was astounded and
he stood shouting to her such salutations:

REJOICE, through whom is the joy to shine
forth. REJOICE, through whom is the curse to
vanish.
REJOICE, restoration of Adam the fallen one.
REJOICE, liberation of Eve from tears.
REJOICE, height to which the thoughts of men
are hardly able to ascend. REJOICE, depth which for
the Angels’ eyes is very hard to apprehend.
REJOICE, for you are the Throne for the King.
REJOICE, for you hold the One Who holds
everything.
REJOICE, the star causing the Sun’s
manifestation. REJOICE, the womb of the Divine
Incarnation.
REJOICE, through Whom is creation re-created.
REJOICE, by Whom is the Creator procreated
REJOICE, O unwedded Bride.

Glory. Both now.
Mode 2.

The age-old mystery is revealed today and the
Son of God becomes the Son of man, so that by
partaking of what is lower He may impart to me
what is superior. Of old, Adam was deceived, and
he did not become God, though this was his desire.
But now, God becomes man, to make Adam god.
Let creation sing for joy, and let nature be exultant.
For the Archangel is standing with awe before the
Virgin and is delivering the salutation, "REJOICE,"
the reverse of the pain and sorrow, O our God,
Who in Your tender mercy became man, glory to
You!

Saint Gregory Palamas writes in his homily on the Feast of the Entry of the Theotokos into the Holy of Holies the following: "If a tree is known by its fruit (cf. Matthew 7:17; Luke 6:43-44), how could she who is the Mother of Goodnes and s itself, who gave birth to that Beauty which has no beginning, not be incomparably more excellent and beautiful than anything good on earth and in heaven? The power who made all things fair, the co-sempiternal, express Image of Goodness, the pre-eternal, supraessential and supremely good Word/Logos of the Father Most High, wished in His ineffable love and compassion, for mankind to put on our image, in order to recall our human nature, which had been dragged down into the inmost recesses of Hades, to RENEW IT AFTER IT HAD GROWN OLD, AND TO RAISE IT UP BEYOND THE HEAVENLY HEIGHTS TO HIS KINGDOM AND DIVINITY, He united His person with our humanity, and since it was necessary for Him to assume flesh that was both new and our own, in order TO RENEW US by means of what was ours, He also had to be carried in the womb and brought forth as we are, then nurtured after birth and brought up as was appropriate. Becoming like us in all respects for our sake, He found the Ever-Virgin, whom he extol and whose musterious Entry into the Holy of Holies to be a most suitable handmaid in every way able to bestow on Him an undefiled nature from her own. God determined before all ages that she should be for THE SALVATION AND RESTORATION OF OUR RACE, AND CHOSE HER FROM ALL MANKIND DOWN THROUGH THE AGES, NOT SIMPLY FROM AMONG ORDINARY FOLK, BUT FROM ALL THE ELECT OF EVERY AGE, WHO WERE ADMIRED AND RENOWNED FOR THEIR PIETY AND UNDERSTANDING AND WHO WER BOTH BENEFICIAL TO ALL AND WELL-PLEASING TO GOD IN THEIR WAYS, WORDS, AND DEEDS…

"…God was not just born among men, but born OF A HOLY AND PURE VIRGIN, MORE PRECISELY OF THE EXCEEDINGLY PURE AND MOST HOLY OF VIRGINS WHO WAS NOT ONLY ABOVE ANY PHYSICAL STAIN, BUT ALSO FAR BEYOND THE REACH OF ANY DEFILED, CARNAL THOUGHTS. Her conception of Christ resulted from the All-Holy Spirit coming upon her, not from fleshly desire, and was PRECEDED BY THE ANNUNCIATION AND HER FAITH IN THE INDWELLING OF GOD IN A MANNER WE CANNOT DESCRIBE, AS IT WAS OUTSIDE THE NORMAL COURSE OF EVENTS AND BEYOND WORDS, BUT NOT BY SUBMISSION TO, OR ANY EXPERIENCE OF PASSIONATE DESIRE. Having utterly banished such desire BY PRAYER AND SPIRITUAL JOY, SHE CONCEIVED AND GAVE BIRTH – "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to Thy word" (St. Luke 1:38). In order that there would be A VIRGIN EQUAL TO THIS TASK, God PRE-ORDAINED this Ever-Virgin Maid whom we extol today AND CHOSE HER FROM AMONG His elect down through the ages…

"… In the Gospel it is written that a woman pronounced a blessing on His Mother and gave thanks, lifting up her voice and crying out to the Lord from the crowd, "BLESSED IS THE WOMB THAT BORE THEE, AND THE PAPS WHICH THOU HAST SUCKED" (St. Luke 11:27). As for us, we constantly have the words of eternal life in writing, and not just Christ’s sayings, but also His miracles and His sufferings, and the raising up of our human nature from the dead accomplished by these sufferings, they ascension of our human nature from earth to heaven and the everlasting life and irrevocable salvation pronounced to us as a result. So how cn we do other than extol and bless without ceasing the Mother of the Bestower OF SALVATION, THE GIVER OF LIFE, CELEBRATING HER CONCEPTION, HER BIRTH, AND HER COMING TO DWELL IN THE HOLY OF HOLIES." (Saint Gregory Palamas, Homilies)

Saint Paulinus, in a poem, describes The Event of the conception thus: "In this CONSECRATED VIRGIN, GOD BUILT Himself a pleasing temple with a hidden roof-aperture. Silently He glided down like the rain that falls at noiseless dew from a high cloud upoon a fleece [Judges 6:36-40]. None was ever privy to this secret visitation by which God took the form of man from His Virgin-Mother. How remarkable was the artifice of the Lord which sought the salvation of men! Without intercourse, a woman’s womb conceived new life. The bride did not submit to a mere husband. She was a mother and bore a child without the women’s role in intercourse. The compact made her a spouse, but she was no wife in body. She became the 19:12-13]Mothe of a Boy, though she was untainted by a husband."

Saint Ephraim the Syrian writes: "Therefore, He came down, in a manner He knows. He stirred and came in a way that pleased Him. He entered and dwelt in her without her perceiving. She received Him, suffering nothing. In Homily 41, Saint Ephraim writes, "As lightning illuminates what is hidden, so also Christ purifies what is hidden in the nature of things. He purified the Virgin also and then was born, so as to show that where Christ is, there is manifest purity in all its power. He purified the Virgin, having prepared her by the Holy Spirit, and then the womb, having become pure, conceived Him.."

Saint Gregory Palamas writes, that "the King of All … over-shadowed her, or rather, the enhypostatic Power of the Most High dwelt in her. He did not manifest His presence through darkness and fire, as in the case of Moses the God-seer, nor through tempest and cloud [Exodus 19:18; Deuteronomy 4:11-12], as with Prophet Eias [3 Kings 19:12-13]. This time without mediation or a veil, the power of the Most High overshadowed the sublimely chaste and virgin womb…".

This day the Ever-Virgin Mary has become forus the heaven that bears God, for in her the exalted Godhead has descended and dwelt. In her it was grown small, to make us great–but its Nature does not deminish. In her It has woven for us a garment that shall be for our salvation. (Source: The Life of the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos)

____________________

"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"

– Saint John Chrysostomos

+ + +
With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father George

My beloved brothers and sisters in Chris God,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

ON THE ANNUNCIATION
OF OUR EXCEEDINGLY PURE LADY,
MOTHER OF GOD AND EVER-VIRGIN MARY

"And Mary said:

My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in
God my Savior.
For He has regarded the lowly
state of His maidservant;
For behold, HENCEFORTH ALL
GENERATIONS WILL CALL ME
BLESSED.." (St. Luke 1:46-48).

"…Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee
named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the
house of David. The VIRGIN’S NAME WAS MARY. And having come in, the angel
said her, "REJOICE, HIGHLY FAVORED ONE, THE LORD IS WITH YOU: BLESSED
ARE YOU AMONG WOMEN!" (St. Luke 1:26-28).

Saint Theophylact states, "The ‘SIXTH MONTH’ after St.John the Forerunner’s conception. "The Lord is with thee," said the Archangel Gabriel to Mary, was a Divine salutation, since God was mentioned together with the greeting. First, the Archangel calms the fear in her heart, so that she might hear the Divine decision when she was peaceful and untroubled. While she was troubled, she would not be able to hear and understand clearly the things that would take place. The Archangel said to her, "IN THY WOMB," to show that the Lord actually TOOK FLESH FROM THE VERY WOMB OF THE VIRGIN. It was right that He Who came FOR THE SALVATION OF OUR RACE was called JESUS. The name written in the Greek language, IESOUS, means SALVATION FROM GOD. Therefore, Jesus, being interpreted, IS SAVIOR, for the word "IESOUS" means salvation.

God, she says, has looked down upon me who am lowly; it is not I who looked up to Him. It is God Who had mercy on me, not I who sought Him out. And from henceforth, not only Elizabeth, but "ALL GENERATIONS" of believers, "SHALL BLESS ME." Wy shall they bless me? Because of my virtue? No, but rather because GOD "HATH DONE TO ME GREAT THINGS..". She calls God ‘MIGHTY,’ so that no one would disbelieve these words, thinking that God had not the power to do those things. She says that His Name is ‘HOLY’, showing that He Who is Most Pure was not stained in any way by having been conceived in the womb of a woman, but He REMAINS Holy. His mercy is not only upon me, but UPON ALL THOSE WHO FEAR Him. But those UNWORTHY ONES who do NOT fear Him DO NOT BENEFIT FROM His mercy.

The Feast-Day that we celebrate on March 25th clearly proves that this mystery is beyond the understanding, not only of men, but of angels and even Archangels, says Saint Gregory Palamas. The Archangel Gabriel the Good Tidings ("The Good News") to the Virgin that she would CONCEIVE (Luke 1:26-38). But when she sought to find out the way it would happen and asked him, "HOW SHALL THIS BE, SEEING I KNOW NOT A MAN?" (v.34), the Archangel was completely unable to explain how. He took refuge in God, saying, "THE HOLY SPIRIT SHALL COME UPON THEE, AND THE POWER OF THE HIGHEST SHALL OVERSHADOW THEE" (v.35). Why was this? Because the Child to be born was NOT to be called prophet or simply a man, like Adam, but the Son of the Highest, SAVIOR, DELIVERER OF THE HUMAN RACE AND ETERNAL KING.

However, God, Who made us, looked LOVINGLY DOWN ON US IN His mercy. He bowed the heavens and CAME DOWN. Having TAKEN OUR HUMAN NATURE UPON Him from the Holy Virgin, He RENEWED AND RESTORED IT; Or rather, He LED IT UP TO DIVINE AND HEAVENLY HEIGHTS. Wishing to achieve this, TO BRING FULFILMENT ON THIS DAY, His PRE-ETERNAL CONSEL, HE SENT THE ARCHANGEL GABRIEL, as Saint Luke the Evangelist tells us, "TO NAZARETH, TO A VIRGIN ESPOUSED TO A MAN WHOSE NAME WAS JOSEPH, of the house of David, and THE VIRGIN’S NAME WAS MARY" (St. Luke 1:26-27).

"God," writes Saint Gregory Palamas, "sent the Archangel Gabriel to a virgin and MADE HER CONTINUE A VIRGIN ("EVER-VIRGIN"), His Mother by means of a salutation alone. If He had been conceived from seed, He would not have been A NEW MAN, NOR SINLESS, NOR THE SAVIOR OF SINNERS. The flesh’s impulse to reproduce is not subject to our minds, which God has appointed to govern us, and is entirely without sin. That is why David said, "I WAS SHAPED IN INIQUITY, AND IN SIN DID MY MOTHER CONCEIVED ME" (Psalm 50[51]:5). So if the CONCEPTION OF GOD HAD BEEN FROM SIN, HE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN A NEW MAN, NOR THE AUTHOR OF NEW LIFE WHICH WILL NEVER GROW OLD. If He were from the old stock and INHERITED ITS SIN, HE COULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HEAR WITHIN HIMSELF THE FULLNESS OF THE INCORRUPTIBLE Godhead or to make His flesh an inexhaustible source OF SANCTIFICATION, ABLE TO WASH AWAY EVEN THE DEFILEMENT OF OUR First Parents by its abundant power, and sufficient to sanctify ALL WHO CAME AFTER THEM. That is why neither an Angel nor a man came to save us, BUT THE LORD HIMSELF, WHO WAS CONCEIVED AND TOOK FLESH IN THE WOMB OF A VIRGIN, WHILE REMAINING UNCHANGED AS God."

"And the virgin’s name," it says, "was Mary" (v.27), which means ‘LADY.’ This shows the Virgin’s DIGNITY, how certain was her VIRGINITY AND SET APART WAS HER LIFE, EXACT IN EVERY RESPECT AND COMPLETELY BLAMELESS. She properly bore the name Virgin and possessed to the FULL ATTRIBUTES OF PURITY. SHE WAS A VIRGIN IN BOTH BODY AND SOUL AND KEPT ALL HER POWERS OF HER SOUL AND HER BODILY SENSES FAR ABOVE ANY DEFILEMENT… The Holy Scripture says of her, "THIS IS THE SEALED BOOK" (cf. Revelation 5:1-6:1); Daniel 12:4) and "THIS GATE SHALL BE SHUT, AND NO MAN SHALL ENTER IN BY IT" (Ezekiel 44:2). (Source: Saint Gregory Palamas: The Homilies)

(To be continued)

___________________

"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"

– Saint John Chrysostomos

+ + +

With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father George

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

HATE IS THE SPIRITUAL POISON THAT
KILLS THE SOUL

One of the Old Testament Books is the Book of Leviticus whose author was Prophet Moses. The Major theme is how to worship God. The Book points out the difference between God’s love for His people and those of the Gentile paganistic world surrounding them. In Leviticus 19:17-19, we read, "You shall NOT HATE YOUR BROTHER IN YOUR MIND…You shall NOT take vengeance, nor bear any grudge…BUT YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF: I AM THE LORD."

The exhortation, "you shall love your neighbor as yourself," (19:18) here makes its appearance for the first time in the Holy Scripture and its only appearance in the Old Testament. It is a summary of what was required in the Mosaic Law. In the New Testament, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ states emphatically, "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who hate you and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven: for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore, you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect" (St. Matthew 5:44-48).

The antidote to the poison of hatred is only one, LOVE. Our Lord freed the human race from hate, sadness, and anger and now He offers the greatest possession of all, PERFECT LOVE (AGAPE). That is a gift that can only be possessed by the one, who, by the grace of God and the power of the Spirit, manifests God’s love for all.

Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk writes the following on hate: "Hate arises either from envy, as with Cain who nursed a hatred for his brothers, Abel, whose happiness he envied, and he killed him (cf. Genesis ch. 4); or from an offense done to someone." The holy Apostle Paul exhorts us, "Let not the sun go down upon your anger" (Ephesians 4:26). Hatred is more harmful and injurious to the one who hates than to the hated person. In 1 Peter 2:1-2, we are advised: "Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speaking as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby." In addition, we are told, "Follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that does good is of God: but he that does evil has not seen God" (3 John 1:11-12).

Love is the virtue opposite of hate. "As bitter as hate is," writes Saint Tikhon, "so sweet is love and as harmful and pestilent as hate is, so useful is love… Hate works evil, Love does not do evil but does good. Hate is hateful and loathsome. Love is welcome and beloved by all… Where there is no love THERE IS NO FAITH, FOR FAITH DOES NOT EXIST WITHOUT LOVE. Where there is no faith, THERE IS NEITHER CHRIST NOR SALVATION. Christians, we confess God, Who IS LOVE."

The officiating priest at the Divine Liturgy says loudly: "Let us love one another that with one mind we may confess, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." A constant reminder to the Orthodox Christians is to love one another, because otherwise, they are not of one mind, of one faith, and therefore cannot confess their common faith in God the Holy Trinity.

The answer to mankind’s challenges is only one, LOVE. Saint Tikhon says the following: "If there were love, there would be no theft, robbery or other evils…if there were love, people would not touch the bed of their neighbor [commit adultery], if there were love, people would not be subject to slander, reproach, abuse, railing, dishonor, and other evils… if there were love, people would not deceive one another..If there were love people would not pass judgment on the other…if there were love, people would have no use for guards or locks because there would be no robbers and thieves… If there were love, people would not languish in prison for debts, foreclosure, and default…if there were love, people would not go around in rags and half-naked.. if there were love, people would not wander about without homes..if there were love there would be no poor or wretched.."

Indeed if there were love, there would be no wars, there would be no injustice, there would be no violence against the weak, if there would be love there would be no rich or poor, if there were love there would be no need to dominate the other, if there were love there would be no exploitation of the innocent, if there were love there would be respect for life (there would be no abortions), if there were love there would be no neglect and abuse of the elderly, if there were love there would be no hunger, if there were love there would be a world free of all evil; if there were love God would reign in the world. With God as the Loving Ruler of the world, the world would be Paradise and everlasting peace and joy would prevail.

Pray that love will triumph!

_______________________

"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"

+ + +

With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father George

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

HOLY AND GREAT LENT: A TIME TO EXAMINE
OUR FAITH

"Do you believe in the Son of God? He answered and said, "Who
is He, Lord that I may believe in Him?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You
have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.’ Then he
said he said, "LORD I BELIEVE!’ and he worshipped Him" (St. John
9:35-38).

Believing in God cannot be forced or coerced by anyone, but it must be a natural and sincere personal decision based on faith. Saint Gregory Palamas says, "How, I ask you, is it credible that someone believes in God if he does NOT aspire to what the Lord pronounces blessed, but to what He pronounces wretched? "Shew me," it says, "THY FAITH BY THEY WORKS" (St. James 2:18), "Who is a wise man? Let him shew out of good conduct his works" (St. James 3:13).

Any one of us can confess, ‘I believe,’ but how true are these words? Are we willing to show our faith in God by our good works and by our keeping of His Commandments? If we sincerely believe in God we will obediently conform to His will and reject all evil acts, thoughts, passions, and wicked pleasures. One who believes is willing to freely surrender himself to Christ God and say along with Saint Paul, "I have been crucified with Christ; IT IS NO LONGER I WHO LIVE, BUT CHRIST LIVES IN ME; AND THE LIFE WHICH I LVE IN THE FLESH I LIVE BY FAITH IN THE SON OF GOD, WHO LOVED ME AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR ME" (Galatians 2:20).

"I have been crucified with Christ," is interpreted to mean that my sinful desires and passions have been crucified. In other words, to subdue the flesh and control its appetites for evil acts. In Galatians 5:16-17, Saint Paul writes, "I say then: Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things you wish." By "flesh," here the holy Apostle does not mean the body, but evil actions, the depraved will of man i.e., adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, jealousies, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like.." (Gal. 5:19-21).

The spiritual warfare is real and the war is on. Every Christian believer on earth is a member of the Church Militant, the Church which combats evil in the world. The Church Triumphant is the heavenly Church, which is victorious and rejoices in God’s bosom. As the military of the Church, we are engaged in a constant battle with the faith and determination to win and, by the grace of God, to destroy the evil powers that threaten us and the world that we live in. However, we believe that spiritual warfare does not take place only without, but also within. The dangers are true and our struggle against them is real. We also believe that we have spiritual help through the holy intercessions of the Theotokos, the holy Angels, the prayers of our Saints, and the prayers of God-fearing people who live according to God’s will.

According to Saint James (Iakovos), "faith without works is dead." Works without faith are empty and useless. It incumbent of us to pursue both faith and works of mercy (charity), along with living a pious and virtuous life. The life of the Orthodox Christian must strive for holiness, perfection, and a life that is constantly growing in Christ. This spiritual goal and ambition can only be accomplished if we humbly submit to the guidance of the Holy Spirit our God. It is He who protects, guides, illumines, inspires, teaches, cleanses, forgives, heals, adopts, bestows wisdom, renews, and saves us.

"The person who has been deified (theosis) by grace will be in every respect as God is, for His very essence." To those who believe and are true disciples, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ says, "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy (satan), and NOTHING BY ANY MEANS HURT YOU" (St. Luke 10:19). The evil one has no power over us, but Jesus has given us the power to defeat him and prevent him from hurting the innocent.

Rejoice! for God is with us. Christians are people who bring joy and hope to the people of the world. They are always confident and filled with courage and goodness. Christianity brought love and compassion for all throughout the world. Without Christ and His Gospel, the world would be a violent and evil place. There would be no kindness, no philanthropy, no justice, no peace, no future, no unity, no brotherhood, and no salvation. Christ has indeed saved the human race from evil and death. He is not only the Savior for His believers and followers, but of all mankind. Thanks be to God!

_____________________

"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"

– Saint John Chrysostomos

+ + +

With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father George

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

SUNDAY OF ORTHODOXY: CELEBRATING THE
TRIUMPH OF ORTHODOXY

On Sunday of Orthodoxy, our Holy Church commemorates the final ending of the Iconoclast heresy and the restoration of the holy icons to the churches by Empress Theodora, acting as regent for her young Michael III. This took place on the first Sunday of Holy and Great Lent, March 11th 843 A.D.

ICONOCLASM was one of the most powerful and prolonged heretical movements. The Iconoclast heresy began in the first half of the 7th century and continued to create havoc in the Church for more than 100 years. Directed AGAINST THE VENERATION OF ICONS, it touched also on other aspects of the faith and Church order (for example, the veneration of Saints and holy relics). The heresy was CONDEMNED at the Seventh Ecumenical Synod in 787 A.D., and the final Triumph of Orthodoxy occurred in 842 A.D. under Saint Methodius, Patriarch of Constantinople. At that time, there was established the feast of the "Triumph of Orthodoxy," which is observed by the Church even today on the First Sunday of Holy and Great Lent.

If Orthodoxy triumphed in the era of the Iconoclastic heresy, this was because SO MANY OF THE FAITHFUL WERE PREPARED TO UNDERGO EXILE, TORTURE, AND EVEN DEATH, FOR THE SAKE OF THE Truth. The Feast of Orthodoxy is above all A CELEBRATION IN HONOR OF THE MARTYRS AND CONFESSORS WHO STRUGGLED AND SUFFERED FOR THE FAITH.

How can contemporary Orthodox Christians not be inspired and seek to emulate all those who were tortured and shed their blood for the Orthodox Christian Faith? The Orthodox Christian must understand that it is not enough to claim to be Orthodox, but also to be willing to suffer for the Faith as the Saints, Martyrs, Confessors and countless other fellow Christians did back then.

The modern-day Orthodox Christian must make every effort to learn what he/she believes, and learn the Faith. Be ready to teach the faith to others, beginning with your relatives, friends, wives, husbands, and children. He/she need to know it well, so as to defend it and prevent anyone from adulterating it and/or attempting to dilute it or watering it down. The Holy Synods condemn anyone who attempts to either add anything to it or to omit, alter, or corrupt any of the dogmas. Anyone who attempts it is immediately excommunicated.

The evil one is determined to turn everything upside-down. We learn from past experiences and events, such as the Iconoclastic heretical movement and the other earlier heresies, that the devil is willing to create division among the faithful and create confusion in an attempt to distort the image of Christ. We see it happening to other Christians of other traditions and the tragic impact it had among them. Don’t say that it can never happen again to our Church, especially when we are celebrating today on this most sacred day, the Triumph of Orthodox Christianity over heresy. It took our fellow Orthodox Christians to fight the good fight, sacrifice, and be tortured for over 100 years to win and be victorious.

We see even on these very important commemorations that they are observed superficially. There is a lack of understanding of their purpose and meaning. The commemorations are reduced to a ‘ritual,’ and nothing more. As soon as we leave church services, we go back to our routine and life and simply move on to the next event. We remember the sacrifices of the Saints, Martyrs, Confessors, Hierarchs, etc., but is anyone touched or moved by it? Is anyone’s life changed by it? Finally, the pressing question today is, are icons today sacred? Are the holy relics of Saints still holy? Is the Divine Eucharist still the Precious Body and Blood of Christ? And, if they are, why is there is such fear to approach them and avoid offering them the due veneration? Why are some of our faithful afraid to receive any of the sacraments of the Church, including Holy Communion? Have we become the modern ICONOCLASTS?

EXCERPTS FROM SUNDAY OF ORTHODOXY SERVICE

The priest reads the following excerpts from THE AFFIRMATION OF THE FAITH, of the Seventh Ecumenical Synod:

As the Prophets beheld; as the Apostles taught; as the Church received; as
the Teachers dogmatized; as the Universe has agreed; as Grace has shone forth;
as Truth has been proven; as FALSEHOOD HAS BEEN DISPROVEN; as Wisdom
has been presented, and CHRIST HAS REWARDED. This is what we believe;
this is what we declare; this is what we preach, Christ OUR TRUE GOD, AND WE
HONOR His Saints IN WORDS, IN THOUGHT, IN SACRIFICES, IN CHURCHES AND
IN ICONS. Christ, WE WORSHIP AS God and Master and His Saints WE HONOR
AS TRUE SERVANTS OF OUR SAME LORD, AND ACCORDINGLY, WE GRANT THEM
VENERATION:

This is the Faith of the Apostles!
This is the Faith of the Fathers!
This is the Faith of the Orthodox!
This is the Faith WHICH HAS ESTABLISHED THE UNIVERSE!

Therefore, with brotherly and filial love, we praise these preachers of piety, for the glory and honor of their own pious struggle for the Faith, and we say: "Eternal be the memory of the defenders of Orthodoxy; pious Sovereigns, holy Patriarchs, Hierarchs, Teachers, Martyrs, and Confessors.

Eternal be their memory (3)

Let their deeds and struggles of pious faith, even death, TUTOR AND STRENGTHEN YOU. Entreat God that WE IMITATE THEIR DEVOUT LIFE UNTIL OUR OWN END, beseeching Him that we may be made worthy of all our askings, by the grace and compassion of the Great and First Hierarch, Christ Our True God; by the intercessions of our Most Glorious Lady Theotokos and Ever-virgin Mary, of the godly Angels, and of all the Saints. Amen.

Priest: Τίς θεός μέγας, ώς ο Θεός ημών; σύ εί ο Θεός, ο ποιών θαυμάσια μόνος. What god is great as our God? You are God, Who alone works wonders.

Glory. For the Feast
Mode 2.

We venerate Your immaculate icon, O good
Lord, and entreat You to forgive our offenses, O
Christ Our God. By Your own choice, You were
pleased to ascend the Cross in the flesh, to deliver
us, whom You created, from our slavery to the foe.
Therefore we cry to You with gratitude: You have
filled all things with joy, O Our Savior, by
coming to save the world.

Glory. Mode pl. 4

Open to me the gates of repentance, O Giver
of Life, for early in the morning my spirit hastens
to Your holy temple, bringing the temple of my
body all defiled. But as one compassionate, cleanse
me, I pray, by Your Loving-kindness and mercy.

Both now. Same Mode.

Guide me in the path of salvation, O
Theotokos, for I have befouled my soul with
shameful sins and I heedlessly squandered all of
my life’s resources. By your intercession deliver
me from every uncleanness.

__________________

"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"

– Saint John Chrysostomos

+ + +

With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father George

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST1 HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

"Rejoice! O Pure One, higher than the Heavens, Rejoice!
You, who bore without effort the Foundation of the Earth.
Rejoice! O Seashell that dyed the Divine crimson robe for
the King of the Heavenly Powers" (Troparion – Akathist Hymn)

The "Akathist Hymn" ("unseated hymn") is a solemn hymn dedicated to a particular Saint, feast-day, or one of the Persons of the Holy Trinity. The name derives from the fact that during the chanting of the hymn, the faithful are standing throughout the divine service out of reverence. This specific Akathis Hymn is dedicated to the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary and chanted during five Fridays of Holy and Great Lent. Orthodox Churches follow the Tradition of the Church and conduct the Akathist as a spiritual preparation for the Holy and Great Week and Paschal divine services.

The Akathist Hymn was written during the 17th century for the Holy Feast of the Evaggelismos (Annunciation) of the Mother of God. The authentic Greek version consists of 24 oikoi, each one beginning with the next letter of the alphabet. If was formerly recited in the year 626 A.D. in the church of the Theotokos of Vlachernae in Constantinople on the occasion of the deliverance of Constantinople from the Avars and the Persians who attacked the city and besieged it.

Patriarch of Constantinople Sergius led the terrified faithful in a great procession around the walls of the city, chanting and bearing holy icons of our Lord Jesus Christ and of the Theotokos. Strengthened by their devotion and aided by a great tempest that sprang up and wrecked many of the enemy ships, the faithful sallied forth and put the barbarians to flight. The Orthodox Christian believers attributed this miracle to the Mother of God.

In thanksgiving the devout Orthodox Christians gathered in the Great Cathedral of Agia Sofia (dedicate to the Wisdom of God) and stood (akathistoi) the whole night, chanting hymns of thanksgiving and praise. This hymn is chanted on one of the first four Fridays during Holy and Great Lent. On the fifth Friday evening, the entire hymn is chanted.

The Akathist Hymn is known by the first three words of its proimion (preamble), Te Ypermacho Stratego (Τη υπερμάχω στρατηγώ), "To thee, invincible Champion") dedicated to the Theotokos and "The All-Holy Birth-giver of God").

With the dogma of the Son of God’s becoming man is closely bound up the naming of the Most Holy Virgin Mary as THEOTOKOS (Birth-giver of God). By this name the Orthodox Church confirms its faith that God the Logos/Word became Man truly and not merely in appearance; a faith that, in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, God was joined to Man from the very instant of His conception in the womb of the Ever-Virgin Mary, and that He, being perfect Man, is also perfect God.

At the same time, the name of Theotokos is the highest name that exalts or glorifies the Ever-Virgin Mary. The name "Theotokos" has a direct foundation in Holy Scripture. The Holy Apostle Paul writes: "When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of woman" (Galatians 4:4) Here is expressed the truth that a woman gave birth to the Son of God. Also, "God was manifest in the flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16): the flesh was woven for God the Logos/Word by the Most Holy Virgin Mary.

According to Our Holy Orthodox Church, the Most Holy Virgin was born as subject to the sin of Adam together with all mankind, and with him she shared the need for redemption. ("Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs," par. 6). The pure and immaculate life of the Virgin Mary up to the Annunciation by the Archangel, her freedom from personal sins, was the fruit of the union of her spiritual labor upon herself and the abundance of Grace that was poured out upon her. "Thou hast found Grace with God," the Archangel said to her in his greeting: "thou has found," that is, attained, acquired, earned. The Most Holy Virgin Mary was prepared by the best part of mankind as a worthy vessel for the descent of God the Logos/Word to earth. The coming down of the Holy Spirit ("the Holy Spirit shall come upon thee") totally sanctified the womb of the Virgin Mary for the reception of the God the Logos/Word. (Orthodox Dogmatic Theology)

The Theotokos is humanity’s greatest Advocate before her Son and God Jesus Christ. She is man’s heavenly Mother who unceasingly intercedes for our forgiveness and salvation.

OUR PRAYER TO THE EVER-VIRGIN MARY, THE THEOTOKOS
(Chanted before her holy icon at the end of the Akathist Hymn)

O spotless, undefiled, incorruptible, chaste, and pure Virgin-Bride of God, who by Your wondrous conception united
God, who by Your wondrous conception united God the Logos with man, and joined ou fallen nature with the Heavens;
the only hope of the hopeless and the help of the persecuted, the ever-ready to rescue all that flee unto You and the
refuge of all Christians, spurn me not, the branded sinner, who by shameful thoughts, words and deeds, has made my
whole being useless, and through indolence has enslaved my judgment to the pleasures of this life. But as the Mother of
the Merciful God, mercifully show compassion unto me, the sinner and prodigal, and accept my supplication which is
offered from impure lips unto You.

With Your maternal approach entreat Your Son, Our Lord and Master to open for me the merciful depths of His Loving-
Kindness; and overlooking my countless transgressions, guide me to repentance and show me forth as a worthy
worker of His Commandments. As You are merciful, compassionate, and gentle, be at my side; and in this present life. be
my fervent protectress and helper, thwarting the assaults of the adversaries, and leading me to salvation; and in the hour
of passing take care of my wretched soul, and cast far away the dark faces of demons. And at the Dreadful Day of Judgment,
deliver me from eternal punishment, and prove me an heir of the Ineffable Glory of Your Son, and our God.

May this, glory be my share, O my Lady, Most Holy Theotokos through Your mediation and help, by the Grace and mercy
of Your Only-Begotten Son Our Lord and God, and Savior Jesus Christ; to Whom is the All-Glory, Honor, and Worship,
together with His Eternal Father and His All-Holy and Good and Life-giving Spirit now and ever and unto Ages of Ages.
Amen.

_________________

"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"

– Saint John Chrysostomos

+ + +

With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father George

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

HOLY AND GREAT LENT: OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST
TEMPTED BY SATAN

"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be
tempted by the devil…" (St. Matthew 4:1).

We believe that Satan is our archenemy and adversary who desires our total destruction. "Evil," in our ordinary usage of the word, is the name of two kinds of manifestations. We often understand by this word, anything in general that evokes misfortune and causes suffering. In a more precise and direct sense, evil is a name for negative manifestations of the moral order, which proceeds from the evil direction of the will and a violation of God’s law.

Evil is a deviation of living beings from the original state in which the Creator placed them. It is a condition opposed to God’s original creation. Therefore, it is NOT God Who is the cause of moral evil; rather, IT PROCEEDS FROM CREATURES THEMSELVES, FOR THEY HAVE DEVIATED FROM THE AGREEMENT OF THEIR WILL WITH THE WILL OF GOD. The ESSENCE OF EVIL consists IN THE VIOLATION OF GOD’S WILL, THE COMMANDMENT OF GOD, AND THE MORAL LAW WHICH IS WRITTEN IN THE HUMAN CONSCIENCE. This VIOLATION IS CALLED SIN.

"But from where did moral evil arise? God created THE WORLD PURE, PERFECT, and FREE FROM EVIL. EVIL entered the world as a consequence OF THE FALL, which occurred, according to the word of God, originally in the world of fleshless spirits, and then in the human race, and was reflected in the whole of living nature."

According to the testimony of the word of God, the origin of sin comes from the devil: "He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning" (1 John 3:8). The word "devil" MEANS "SLANDERER." Bringing together the evidence of Holy Scripture, we see that the devil is one of the rational spirits or angels WHO DEVIATED INTO THE PATH OF EVIL. Possessing, like all rational creatures, the freedom which was given him for becoming perfect in the good, he "abide not in the truth" and FELL FROM GOD. The Savior Jesus Christ said of him: "He was A MURDERER FROM THE BEGINNING and abode not in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh A LIE, HE SPEAKETH OF HIS OWN: FOR HE IS A LIAR AND THE FATHER OF IT" (St. John 8:44). He DREW THE OTHER ANGELS AFTER HIMSELF INTO THE FALL. In the epistles of the holy Apostle Jude and the Apostle Peter, we read of the angels "which kept not their first estate, BUT LEFT THEIR OWN HABITATION" (St. Jude, v. 6; compare with II Peter 2:4).

What was the cause of the fall in the Angelic world? From this same Divine Revelation, we can conclude THAT THE REASON WAS PRIDE: "ΤΗΕ ΒΕGINNING OF SIN IS PRIDE;" says the son of Sirach (Sir. 10:13). The holy Apostle Paul, WARNING the holy Apostle Timothy against making bishops of those who are newly converted, adds: "Lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil" (1 Timothy 3:6).

An incomparably more complete representation of the activity of Satan and his angels (demons) is contained in the New Testament Revelation. From it, we know that Satan and the evil spirits (demons) ARE CONSTANTLY ATTRACTING PEOPLE TO EVIL. Satan DARED TO TEMPT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF IN THE DESERT. The evil spirits (demons) rush into the souls and even into the bodies of men; of this, there is the testimony of many events in the Gospel and the teachings of the Savior. Concerning the habitation of evil spirits in men, we know from the numerous healings by the Savior of the DEMON-POSSESSED. EVIL SPIRITS SPY, AS IT WERE, ON THE CARELESSNESS OF MAN SO AS TO ATTRACT HIM TO EVIL.

Why was man’s fall into sin possible? The Creator imparted to man THREE GREAT GIFTS AT HIS CREATION: FREEDOM, REASON, AND LOVE. These gifts are INDISPENSABLE FOR THE SPIRITUAL GROWTH AND BLESSEDNESS OF MAN. However, where there is freedom THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY OF WAVERING IN ONE’S CHOICE; THUS, TEMPTATION IS POSSIBLE. The temptation for "REASON" IS TO GROW PROUD IN MIND instead of acknowledging the wisdom and goodness of God, TO SEEK THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL OUTSIDE OF GOD, and TO DESIRE ONESELF TO BE A "god." The temptation for the FEELING OF LOVE IS: IN PLACE OF LOVE FOR GOD AND ONE’S NEIGHBOR, TO LOVE ONESELF AND EVERYTHING THAT SATISFIES THE LOWER DESIRES AND GIVES TEMPORARY ENJOYMENT ("INSTANT GRATIFICATION"). The possibility of temptation and fall STOOD BEFORE MANKIND, AND THE FIRST MAN DID NOT STAND FIRM AGAINST IT.

Saint John of Kronsdt’s reflection on this subject. He writes" "Why did God allow the fall of man, his beloved creation and the crown of all the earthly creatures? To this question, the reply is thus: If man is not to be allowed to fall, then he cannot be created in the image and likeness of God, he cannot be granted FREE WILL, which IS AN INSEPARABLE FEATURE OF THE IMAGE OF GOD; but he would have to be subject to the law of necessity, like the soulless creation–the sky, the sun, stars, the circle of the earth, and all the elements–or like the irrational animals. But then there would have been no king over the creatures of the earth, no rational hymn-singer of God’s Goodness, Wisdom, Creative Amightiness, and Providence. Then man would have had no way to show his faithfulness and devotion to the Creator, his self-sacrificing love. Then there would have been no expoits in battle, no merits, and no incorruptible crowns for victory; there would have been no eternal blessedness, which is the reward for faithfulness and devotion to God, and no eternal repose after the labors and struggles of our earthly pilgrimage." (Source: Orthodox Dogmatic Theology by Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky)

We must imitate Our Lord’s attitude and actions to drive the evil one away and to reject his machinations, deceptions, temptations, and snares. The battle against evil is constant and we must never let our guard down, but remain always vigilant and alert. If we are spiritually aware and have discernment, we can avoid becoming evil’s victim. All must believe that the devil and his demons are never discouraged and will continue to pursue us and use our weaknesses against us. He uses the passions to entice us and to encourage us to fall into sin. The devil is "the ruler of this world" (Saint John 12:31; 16:11), "the god of this age" (2 Corinthians 4:4), because the whole world is in his power (1 John 5:19).

The evil one will continue to test our faith, our convictions, our loyalty to God and commitment to righteousness. The temptations increase and not decrease as our faith in Christ becomes stronger. The more we struggle to live our Christian faith, the greater the asaults from the Devil. He is an obstractionist and does everything in his evil power to distract us, to undermine our efforts, to plant seeds of doubt, and to slander God to us. Evil plants logismous (wicked thoughts) in our mids to convince us that God has no love for us nor any concern of the problems, illnesses, challenges and obstacles that we face in our lives. All of this is done to drive a wedge between us and our Creator. Therefore, "Be sober and BE VIGILANT, BECAUSE YOUR ADVERSARY THE DEVIL WALKS ABOUT LIKE A ROARING LION, SEEKING WHOM HE MAY DEVOUR. RESIST HIM, STEADFAST IN THE FAITH, KNOWING THAT THE SAME SUFFERINGS ARE EXPERIENCED BY THE BROTHERHOOD IN THE WORLD" (1 Peter 5:8-9).

Our evil enemy offers attractive visions to our eyes and music to our ears and our other senses, setting forth whatever might tempt us to sin. He arouses our tongues to gossip and to speak evil about others (slander), and to urge our hands to injure them. When he is unable to tempt us, he invents and fabricates a threat of persecution so that fear may cause us to betray the faith and our beloved Lord. Remember that the evil one and his demons do need to sleep, eat, or rest. We are in a great disadvantage, because they are invisible spirits…and although they can see us, we cannot see them.

+ In the Name of the Father and of the Son and

of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Our Father, Who are in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is
in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And
forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who
trespess against us. And LEAD US NOT INTO
TEMPTATION; BUT DELIVER US FROM THE EVIL ONE.

For Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory,
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now
and forever and from all ages to all ages. Amen.

___________________

"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"

– Saint John Chrysostomos

+ + +

With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father George

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

HOLY AND GREAT LENT:
OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST IN THE WILDERNESS FOR
FORTY DAYS AND FORTY NIGHTS

"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness TO BE TEMPTED BY
THE DEVIL. And when He had HE HAD FASTED FORTY DAYS AND FORTY
NIGHTS, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him he said;
‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread…" (St. Matthew 4:1-3).

In his commentary on the Gospel of Saint Matthew 4:1, Saint Theophylact says, when the Evangelist Matthew writes "Then was Jesus led up by the Spirit into the wilderness," is teaching us that it is especially after our baptism that we should expect temptations, He is led up by the Holy Spirit; for He did nothing apart from the Holy Spirit. He IS LED INTO THE WILDERNESS TO SHOW US THAT THE DEVIL TEMPTS US WHEN HE SEES US ALONE AND WITHOUT HELP FROM OTHERS. Therefore WE MUST NOT PUT TRUST IN OURSELVES WITHOUT ANY COUNSEL FROM OTHERS. "To be tempted by the devil." The devil is called "the slanderer" because he slandered God to Adam, saying, ‘God envies you.’ And even now among us, the devil slanders virtue."

It is very appropriate as we continue our Lenten journey to recall that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ fasted for forty days and forty nights in the wilderness and how He was tempted by Satan himself at the conclusion of the 40 days and nights. All the holy Apostles, holy Fathers, and Mothers of the Church, all the Saints, all the holy Martyrs, and Confessors, followed Christ’s example. One cannot be considered to be a follower of Christ, a disciple of Christ, a Christian, and not be an imitator of Christ. Somehow we, Orthodox Christians, have come to believe that the forty days and nights of the Lenten period of prayer and fasting is a Greek custom, or a Russian custom, or a Rumanian, or Serbian custom, etc. Therefore we marginalize the practice of it and we have reduced it to mean absolutely nothing. We see no importance in it and therefore it has been made by many as AN ‘OPTIONAL’ practice. Many are following the practice of the heterodox where any and all of the Christian beliefs, traditions, and Holy Scripture have been reduced to ‘opinion’ and when it comes to the Holy Scripture become SELECTIVE what they agree with and what they don’t. Who taught this slander! Orthodox Christians always adhere to the Divine Teachings of our Savior Jesus Christ and the divine and AUTHENTIC teachings of our holy Church unadulterated and pure. We, as Orthodox Christians, TOTALY OBEY OUR SAVIOR AND OUR HOLY CHURCH. We are as loyal and faithful to our Orthodox Christian Faith today, as our fellow Christians have been in other centuries.

A total commitment to Our Faith is required. No one can be a fair-weather Orthodox. It is no different than being faithful in other things such as marriage, friendship, business, professions, military, sports, pilots, scientists, explorers, etc. all require total commitment in order to be successful. Nothing can be half-way and have good and positive results. The same way with Holy and Great Lent. I have heard over recent years some of our people say that I’ve decided to give up chocolate, or smoking, watching T.V., or drinking coffee, etc., and even there they are not successful because its not more than empty words and resolutions. How many are truly adhere to our Holy Orthodox Tradition today? Do we really know? Are any of our faithful fast, attend the divine services, receive the sacraments, repent of their sins, reconcile with their enemies, have a prayer discipline, become sensitive to the less fortunate people, attempt to better live the Christian faith and grow in Christ, study the Holy Scripture and the sacred writings of the holy Fathers and Mothers of the Church? Someone said, "there is a difference between being a good person and someone who is a good Christian."

"And when He had fasted." He (Jesus Christ) fasted to show us THAT FASTING IS A GREAT WEAPON AGAINST TEMPTATION, just as the love of delicacies WAS THE BEGINNING OF ALL SIN writes Saint Theophylact. "Forty days and forty nights." He fasts as long as Moses and Elijah did, for if He had fasted longer, it would have seemed that He had taken flesh in appearance only. "Afterward He hungered." He hungered only when He permitted His nature to do so, TO GIVE THE DEVIL THE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH HUNGER TO APPROACH HIM AND ENGAGE HIM IN COMBAT so that Christ could throw him down and vanquish him and GRANT US THE VICTORY."

"And when the tempter came to Him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." That prowler, the devil, had heard the voice from heaven, and then he saw the Lord hunger, and he was in doubt, wondering how the Son of God could hunger. Therefore he tempts Him, to find out. He FLATTERS Christ, meaning to snare, to trap Him by saying, ‘If thou be the Son of God.’ You might ask, "What sin was it to make bread out of stones?" Listen, then: IT IS A SIN EVEN TO ANYTHING THAT THE DEVIL SAYS. Consider this as well, the devil did not say, "Command that this stone be made bread," but "these stones", wishing to cast Christ INTO GLUTTONY. For one loaf would certainly suffice a man who was hungry. For these reasons, then, Christ did not listen to him.

"But He answered and said It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." The testimony is from the Old Testament, from the words of Moses. The Hebrews, too, had been fed by the manna, not by real bread; for the word of God the manna fulfilled every need of the Hebrews, and it became whatever food each one might desire to eat. For the manna provided to each, THE TASTE HE DESIRED. whether of fish, eggs, or cheese."

The Almighty God humbled the Israelites by letting them go hungry, then feeding them with manna, all to help them realize their DEPENDENCE UPON Him (Deuteronomy 8:2, 3). Jesus IS TESTED WITH HUNGER 40 DAYS, BUT HE DOES NOT SIN. Jesus’ answers to Satan are from Deuteronomy AND ALL CALL FOR LOYALTY TO GOD: WE ARE TO LIVE BY THAT WHICH GOD COMMANDS. He is the loyal and obedient Son who triumphs over temptations.

Jesus "FASTED" to overcome temptations, GIVING US AN EXAMPLE OF OUR OWN POWER AND OUR LIMITATIONS. The hunger of the flesh does NOT CONTROL Him; rather, He controls His flesh. Jesus’ forty days IS THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH’S FORTY-DAY LENTEN OBSERVANCE BEFORE HOLY WEEK. IT IS A SPIRITUAL PREPARATION FOR THE Passion and Resurrection of Christ. (Source: Orthodox Study Bible)

(To be continued)

___________________

"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"

– Saint John Chrysostomos

+ + +
With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father George

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My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

HOLY AND GREAT LENT: OUR FORTY-DAY JOURNEY
THROUGH THE WILDERNESS

The forty days journey of Holy and Great Lent recalls, in particular, the FORTY YEARS in which the Chosen People journeyed through the wilderness. For us, as for the children of Israel, Lent is a time, crucial time, when our faith in God is tested. It is a time for our liberation from the bondage from slavery, from the domination of sinful passions; a time for progress by faith through a barren and waterless desert. It is a time when God speaks to us out of the desert of Sinai.

Let us turn briefly to the Old Testament, Exodus 17:1-7. The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commended. "Now all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the Wilderness of Sin.. by the word of the Lord…the people contended with Moses, saying ‘Give us water, that we may drink.’ Moses, then said to them, ‘Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord?’ … Why is it you brought us up out of Egypt to kill us, our children, and our cattle with thirst?’ So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, ‘What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.’ …Then the Lord said to Moses… Behold I will stand before you there ON THE ROCK in Horeb and you shall strike the rock, AND WATER WILL COME OUT OF IT SO THE PEOPLE MAY DRINK..".

The word ‘Sin’ in "the wilderness of Sin" might be related to the Hebrew word for Sinai, but is not related to our word "sin." However, for the Christian who has fallen into sin, it truly becomes "a wilderness of sin" when there is no sign of repentance and reconciliation with our Lord Christ.

The ‘ROCK’ was a type of the Son of God. He stood on the rock in Horeb and caused it TO POUR FORTH WATER. Rocks do not pour out water by nature, but in a mystery this rock did. It remained a rock but simultaneously BECAME A FOUNTAIN. This provides us the context for the Lord’s words, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow RIVERS OF LIVING WATER" (St. John 7:38). Also, "…all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank of that spiritual drink. For they drank of that SPIRITUAL Rock that followed them and that Rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:3-4). Israel’s liberation from Egypt by Moses prefigures our freedom from sin by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The ‘Rock’ is the body of Christ, His humanity; and the ‘spiritual drink’, of our Lord’s Blood, the Holy Eucharist, or Holy Communion.

There are many similarities with the Christian believers today and how at times when faced with serious turmoil and problems they lose their faith in God and grumble and murmur complaining that God has not come to their aid. The story of the Israelites going through this hardship and danger, present us opportunities to give voice to our deepest fears ("is God among us or not?") and of wondering on the ways our God responds to us when we are thirsty in the wilderness of life. Moses, the Prophet of God, acting as God’s representative, has brought the people of God out of slavery to their liberation and salvation, however, when they face any danger or deprivation, they lose their faith.

Prophet Moses as the obedient servant of God when faced with a crisis, turns always to the Almighty God for His help. Obediently he follows God’s instruction and takes the elders with him, both to confirm his leadership and to act as witnesses of God’s miracle that is about to occur. He is to take the staff which God has enabled Moses and Aaron to use in miraculous ways. But because the people questioned and doubted whether God was with them or not, this is called their "tempting God," which signifies distrust of Him even after they had received such proof of His Divine power and goodness.

How marvelous is the patience and forbearance of God toward provoking sinners? He gave them water out of a rock. The Lord can open fountains for us where we least expect them. Those who, in their wilderness, keep God’s ways and are obedient to Him, may trust and be confident that He will provide for them. Also, let this direct us to DEPEND on Christ’s grace. The holy Apostle Paul says, that Rock was Christ, it was a type of Him. While the curse of God might justly have been executed upon our sinful souls, behold the Son of God is smitten for us. Let us supplicate Him and let us receive this Living Water and trust that Our Loving and Merciful God will supply it abundantly.

The Life-Giving Water that God provides for us all is water that will quench our thirst and we will never thirst again. This Water flows from Christ our Savior and God, through His ordinance, in our spiritually barren and parched heart, until we come to His glory.

As we continue our journey through the desert we will experience all kinds of temptations and may even be conflicted or perplexed as to why we are doing this. We may become disoriented as we travel through it but we must believe that we are not alone in our quest for the promised land, A time in which we draw near the Promised Land, to our true home in Paradise whose door the crucified Christ has reopened for us. As Orthodox Christians, while traveling through this wasteland we need to turn to Him when we hunger, and just as the Israelites, He will feed us with manna from heaven.

During the forty-day fast Our Creator and Great Benefactor and Heavenly Father always provides the Divine Food, the Holy Eucharist, which we receive for "the remission of sins and Life Eternal." No believer leaves the church hungry and starved of God’s Life-giving Gifts. The Israelites who ate of the manna in the desert soon hungered again while those who receive the Precious Body and Blood of Our Savior Jesus Christ never hunger again.

"By a strange miracle the Lord of old…
O ye faithful, with joy, let us enter upon the beginning of the Fast.
Let us not be of sad countenance but let us wash our face in the
WATER OF DISPASSION; AND LET US BLESS AND EXALT CHRIST ABOVE
ABOVE ALL FOREVER. (Second Canon)

________________

"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"

– Saint John Chrysostomos

+ + +

With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father George