My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

SPIRITUAL STEPS THAT LEAD TO SPIRITUAL
ATTAINMENT.

THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

By Saint John Climacus

A strong faith is the mother of renunciation. The opposite of this
is quite evident.
Unswerving hope is the gateway to detachment. The opposite of
this is perfectly obvious.
Love of God is the foundation of exile. The opposite of this is
quite evident.
Self-criticism begets obedience and the longing for health.
Self-control is the mother of health. The mother of self-control is the
thought of death and the memory of the gall and vinegar of God
our Lord.
The solitary life is the helper and the foundation of chastity.
Fasting quenches the fires of the flesh. And contrition of heart is the
foe of dirty thoughts.
Faith and withdrawal from the world are the death of avarice.
Compassion and love are betrayers of the body.
Unremitting prayer is the death of despondency.
Remembrance of the judgment is an encouragement to zeal.
Love of being dishonored is a cure for anger. And the singing of
hymns, the display of compassion, and poverty are quenchers of
sorrow.
Detachment from the things perceived by the senses means the
the vision of things spiritual.
Silence and solitude are the foes of vainglory. If you are in a
crowd, seek out dishonor.
A gloomy environment will cure open pride, but only He Who is
invisible from all Eternity can cure the pride hidden within us.
The deer destroys all visible serpents and humility and humility
destroys those of the spirit.
We can learn to perceive intelligible things clearly by means of
everything that exists in the natural world.
Clouds hide the sun. Evil thoughts bring shadows to the mind
and ruin it.
One spark has often set fire to a great forest, and it has been
found that one good deed can wipe away a multitude of sins
(cf. James 3:5; 5:20).
Just as by nature we cannot exist without food, we cannot
afford to slip into carelessness even for an instant at any time
up to the moment of death.
A dead man cannot walk. A man in despair cannot be saved.
A man who asserts that he has the true faith and yet continues to
sin is like a man without eyes. And the man who has no faith but
who does good is like someone who draws water and then pours it
into a barrel with holes.
Keep track of the exact condition of each passion and of each virtue,
and you will know exactly how you are maiking progress.
The beginning of repentance is the beginning of salvation.
To have dispassion is to have the fullness of love, by which I mean the
complete indwelling of God in those who, through dispassion, are pure
of heart for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8). To Him be glory
forever and ever. 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

On the duty of parents and children

By Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk

ON THE DUTY OF PARENTS

The Holy Apostle Paul says this to parents, "BRING UP YOUR CHILDREN IN THE NURTURE AND ADMONITION OF THE LORD" (Ephesians 6:4), and he exhorts them to nurture their children in a manner befitting of Christians. All Christians are renewed in holy Baptism to the new, holy, and Christian life, and they have vowed to serve God in faith and in truth, and so to please Him. But lest those who have been baptized become corrupt and come into a poor inheritance and have that saying come into a poor inheritance and have that saying come true in them, A "dog has turned to his own vomit again, and the sow that hath been washed to her wallowing in the mire" (2 Peter 2:22), good nurturers of children must without fail to warn them against this calamitous condition while they are yet small and young. For we sign with pain to see that many children are corrupted in their youth, this happens to them because OF THE CARELESSNESS OF THEIR PARENTS.

Many parents teach their children the arts that serve the temporal life and spend no small sum on it, but they NEGLECT THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING AND ARE REMISS IN TEACHING THEIR CHILDREN TO LIVE AS CHRISTIANS. Such parents beget their children UNTO THE TEMPORAL LIFE BUT CLOSE THE DOOR TO THE ETERNAL.

Saint John Chrysostom, in considering the misfortune of both parents that neglect the good upbringing of their children and of the children not well brought up, says this, "Parents that neglect to bring up their children as Christians are most heinous murderers of children" (Homily 3 "Against Those that Slander the Monastic Life"). Because child-killers separate the body from the soul, but these parents cast both soul and body into fiery Gehenna. It is impossible to escape from the former death according to natural law, but it would be possible to escape from the latter death were the negligence of the parents not to blame for it. Moreover, once it comes, the Resurrection is able to abolish bodily death, but NOTHING CAN OVERTURN SPIRITUAL DESTRUCTION. Therefore, parents, listen to the word of the Lord, "BRING UP YOUR CHILDREN IN THE NURTURE AND ADMONITION OF THE LORD" (cf. Ephesians 6:4).

A gardener binds a newly planted sapling to a stake driven and fixed into the ground lest it be uprooted from the ground by wind and storm, and he prunes unneeded branches from the tree lest they harm the tree and dry it up. You should also act likewise with your small and young children. Bind their hearts TO THE FEAR OF GOD LEST THEY BE SHAKEN BY THE MACHINATIONS OF SATAN AND DEPART FROM PIETY, AND PRUNE AWAY THE PASSIONS THAT GROW IN THEM LEST THEY MATURE AND OVERPOWER THEM AND SO PUT THE NEW, INWARD MAN TO DEATH THAT WAS BORN IN HOLY BAPTISM. Because we see that as children grow up, then sinful passions also appear and grow with them as unneeded branches on a tree. Therefore, lest these iniquitous branches mature and harm and kill the man washed, sanctified, and justified in holy Baptism, it is absolutely necessary TO PRUNE THEM AWAY WITH THE NURTURE AND ADMONITION OF THE LORD. Then, beloved, PRUNE AWAY THESE SHOOTS FROM YOUR CHILDREN AND "BRING THEM UP IN THE NURTURE AND ADMONITION OF THE LORD" (Ephesians 6:4). As soon as they begin to understand reason, even a little, and TO KNOW GOOD AND EVIL, YOU SHOULD BEGIN YOUR WORK AND TEACH THEM. Do this with them:

1. Remind them often of holy Baptism and that at that time they promised God to live decently and steadfastly, to serve Him with faith and righteousness, and to keep away from every evil and sin.

2. Repeat to them as often as possible that we are all born and begotten in Baptism not for the temporal life, not for the sake of obtaining honor, glory, and riches in this world — that our very death indicates that we should abide otherwise than forever in this world–but that we are born and begotten for ETERNAL LIFE. ALL our life in this world, from birth to death, IS A JOURNEY ON WHICH WE TRAVEL TO OUR PROMISED HOMELAND AND ETERNAL LIFE.

Remind them often of this, lest they give themselves over to the vanity of this world, and so that they may learn to philosophize on higher and not on earthly things.

3. Let them understand Who is the God of Christians, and what He requires of us, that He hates evil and loves good, that He punishes man for evil and rewards him for good, and although we do not see Him, He does see us and is invisibly present with us everywhere and sees our every deed and hears our every word. It is necessary, then, to fear Him, and to do what is pleasing to Him.

4. Enlighten their INWARD EYES as to Who Christ is in Whom we believe, and for what cause He came into the world and lived and suffered and died. Our sins were the cause of this, and our Eternal salvation, so that by being delivered from sin we might obtain Eternal salvation.

5. Teach them the Law of God, and tell them what that Law demands of us. That is, we should love God and every person; everything that is contrary to that Law IS VICE and SIN, while everything that is in agreement and accordance with it IS VIRTUE.

In holy Baptism, we promised God to keep the Law of God and so depart from every sin and live virtuously. Whoever lives otherwise does not keep these vows and is found to be false before God, and if he does not truly repent and correct himself, he will appear false at the Judgment of Christ.

6. Set before them the Last Things: death, Christ’s judgment, Eternal Life, and Eternal torment, that the fear of God ma so abide in them and preserve them from every evil. Pour these and other things like milk into their young hearts, tha they may mature in piety.
They call you parents, the be true parents. You gave them birth according to the flesh, then also give birth to them according to the spirit. You gave them birth into the temporary life, beget them also to Eternal Life.

Beloved Christians, you and your children shall appear at that Judgment of Christ, and you shall give account for them to the just Judge. He will not ask you whether you have taught your children the arts or whether you have taught them to speak French, or German, or Italian, but whether you have taught them TO LIVE AS CHRISTIANS.

Young children pay greater attention to the actions of their parents than to their teaching. Therefore, if you wish your children to be pious and good, you yourselves should be pious and good, and show yourselves AS AN EXAMPLE TO THEM, and so "Bring your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" (cf. Ephesians 6:4). And so you and your children together shall receive Eternal Salvation in Christ Jesus Our Lord. Amen. (Source: Journey to Heaven. Counsels on the particular duties of every Christian)

___________
"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.

"GOD IS UNCREATED"

Saint Gregory Palamas laid great emphasis on the Uncreatedness of the Divine Essence and the Uncreatedness of God’s energy (activity). The word ‘UNCREATED’, is applied to God. GOD IS UNCREATED. He has NOT been created but IS BEFORE ALL THE AGES. There IS NO BEGINNING IN GOD. Man and the entire creation WERE CREATED BY GOD, AND ARE THEREFORE CREATED. Hence the uncreated is identified with the Divine.

Saint Maximos the Confessor writes, "All immortal things and immortality itself, all living things and life itself, all holy things and holiness itself, all good things and goodness itself, all blessings and blessedness itself, all beings and being itself are manifestly works of God. Some began in time, for they have not always existed. Others did not begin to be in time, for goodness, blessedness, holiness, and immortality have always existed." …It is clear, then, that goodness, blessedness, holiness, and immortality are energies of God, which are eternal and uncreated.

"Therefore God’s energies are WITHOUT BEGINNING, ETERNAL AND UNCREATED. And, as God’s essence is Divine, so are His energies as well. This is important for orthodox theology. For if we regard God’s energies as created, then WE MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR MAN TO BE DEIFIED. That it to say, if God communicates with the world through created energies, then we can attain union and communion with God ONLY through created energies, WHICH MAKES SALVATION IMPOSSIBLE, God then remains entirely UNKNOWN TO MAN, or if we commune with the essence of God, then the difference between created and uncreated is lost.

"In the Tradition of the Church, a clear distinction is made between THE NOUS and the intelligence. When the nous is functioning according to nature, it acts in the heart, and that is where it should be. Because of the fall of man, the NOUS instead of being in the heart spreads out into the surroundings and becomes enslaved to created things. Moreover, this is what CONSTITUTES THE FALL OF MAN and THIS TRULY IS SIN….Saint Athanasios the Great says that the seat of the intelligence of the soul is in the brain. Saint Makarios the Great says that the SEAT OF THE ENERGY OF THE NOUS IS IN THE HEART…The entrance of the nous into the heart manifests its purity and the fact it is capable of receiving Revelation since man’s nous is the organ of the vision of God…The NOUS, then, IS THE ORGAN THROUGH WHICH MAN SEES THE Divine Light, which IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND THE FOOD OF THE ANGELS, but since the nous is joined to the holy, therefore, when the Saints attain Divine Grace, then by its power THEY SEE "WITH THE SENSE OF SIGHT AND WITH THE NOUS THAT WHICH SURPASSES BOTH SENSE AND NOUS." Thus man SEES THE Divine Light also with the eyes of his sense of sight, but this is because these have previously been transformed and empowered by the Uncreated Grace of God. Moreover, it is known that Uncreated Grace is also TRANSMITTED BY THE SOUL TO THE BODIES OF THE DEIFIED (Theosis).

In the 14 century, which was dominated BY HUMANISM, just as it is today, there were those who maintained that man’s UNION with Christ is through EXTERNAL IMITATION OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST, by an external conforming of our life to the commandments of Christ, WITHOUT LOOKING TO GRACE, which exists THROUGH DOING THE COMMANDMENTS, AND WITHOUT LOOKING FOR AN INNER TRANSFORMATION, WHICH THE COMMANDMENTS CONSTITUTE; IT TAKES PLACE THROUGH A DEVELOPMENT OF MAN’S RATIONAL NATURE, THROUGH FINE THOUGHTS, WITHOUT GOD’S DEIFYING ENERGY. In the "Hagiorite tome", which is a confessional text and received catholic and conciliar recognition, the teaching of the Church is presented as saying that MAN’S COMMUNION WITH GOD IS NOT A HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT, IT IS NOT A WORK OF HUMAN NATURE, BUT A FRUIT OF PARTICIPATION IN THE DEIFYING ENERGY OF GOD. The DEIFICATION (THEOSIS) OF MAN and HIS UNION WITH GOD IS ABOVE HUMAN INTELLIGENCE AND KNOWLEDGE AND ABOVE EVEN THE VIRTUES THEMSELVES.

DEIFICATION (THEOSIS) is NOT a work of nature, but A GIFT OF GOD WHICH IS OFFERED TO THOSE WHO HAVE TEH APPROPRIATE PRECONDITIONS FOR RECEIVING IT. THUS the Grace of deification (Theosis) IS ABOVE NATURE, VIRTUE, AND KNOWLEDGE, AND NATURALLY, ALL SUCH THINGS FALL SHORT OF IT. Virtue and the imitation of God make a man fit for union with the Deity, "BUT IT IS THROUGH GRACE THAT THIS INEFFABLE UNION IS ACCOMPLISHED." Therefore, it is NOT by virtue that we acquire UNION with God, but IT IS ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH THE UNCREATED DEIFYING ENERGY OF GOD. Through deifying Grace God in His entirety PENETRATES THE SAINTS IN THEIR ENTIRETY AND THE SAINTS IN THEIR ENTIRETY PENETRATE GOD ENTIRELY, IN THE WAY THAT THE SOUL EMBRACES THE BODY. (Source: Saint Gregory Palamas as a Hagiorite by Metropolitan of Nafpaktos Hierotheos)

_____________

"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.

THE THIRD SUNDAY OF HOLY AND GREAT LENT:
ON THE VENERATION OF THE PRECIOUS AND LIFE-GIVING CROSS. (Part II)

By Saint Gregory Palamas

Lord our God, willingly You spread Your Divine hands to be nailed
on the Holy Cross. Count us worthy to venerate it with a heart
contrite and penitent, and with our bodies and souls aglow through
self-control and prayer and prayer and good deeds and from fasting.
for You are Good and Love humanity.

Lord, I pray, blot out my abundant transgressions according to the
abundance of Your compassion, Merciful Savior. And in Your love
for humanity, account me worthy to see and venerate Your Holy Cross,
during this fourth week of Lenten fasting, with my soul and body purified.

Truly amazing! On view is the Tree on which Christ was physically crucified.
The world venerates it, and illumined cries out: How great is the Cross’s
power! When demons simply look at it, it burns them. We make the sign of it,
and indeed it scorches them. O immaculate Tree, I extol you; with fear I
venerate and honor. And I send up glory to God my Savior, Who through you
to me granted never-ending life. [Third Saturday, Vespers]

+



Whereas earthly kings require those who follow them to be prepared to die for them, the Lord gave Himself over to death for our sake and commands us to be ready to die not for His sake, BUT FO OURS. To make it clear that it is FOR OUR OWN SAKE, HE ADDS, "For whosoever will save his soul shall lose it; but WHOSOEVER SHALL LOSE HIS SOUL FOR MY SAKE AND THE GOSPEL’S, THE SAME SHALL SAVE IT" (Mark 8:35). What doe this mean, that anyone who wants to save it shall lose it, and anyone who loses it shall save it? Man is twofold, consisting of our outward man, THE BODY, and our INWARD MAN, THE SOUL. When our outward man gives himself over to death, he loses his soul, being separated from it. But when SOMEONE LOSES HIS SOUL FOR CHRIST AND THE GOSPEL, HE CLEARLY SAVES AND GAINS IT, BECAUSE HE HAS PROCURED FOR IT ETERNA LIFE IN HEAVEN. In the resurrection, HE WILL RECOVER IT, and by means of it he will become, even in his body I say, just as heavenly and eternal as it is. Anyone, by contrast, who clings to life is not prepared to lose his soul in this way, because HE LOVES THIS FLEETING AGE AND EVERYTHING TO DO WITH IT. He will inflict loss on his soul, depriving it of True Life, and he will lose it, surrendering it along with himself, alas, to ETERNAL PUNISHMENT. The All-Merciful Lord mourned for such people and indicated how great a disaster was theirs by saying, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? O what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mark 8:36-37). For neither his glory nor any of the other deceptive honors and delights of this present age, chosen by him in preference to a death which brings salvation, will go down with him. How could any of these things be given in exchange for a human soul, WHICH IS WORTHY MORE THAN THE WHOLE WORLD?

Even if a man could gain the whole world, brethren, it would be OF NO BENEFIT TO HIM BECAUSE HE WOULD HAVE LOST HIS OWN SOUL. In reality, each person can only acquire an infinitely small share of this world. What a disaster, then, if someone loses his soul in his efforts to acquire this tiny share, rather than choosing TO TAKE UP THE SIGN AND WORD OF THE CROSS AND TO FOLLOW THE GIVEN OF LIFE. Now both the Sign which we reverence and the word concerning it are, in fact, the Cross.

As the word and the mystery came before the Sign itself, we shall expound them to your love first. Or rather, Saint Paul expounded them before us, Paul who boasts in the Cross, determined not to know anything, SAVE THE LORD JESUS, AND Him CRUCIFIED (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:2). What does he say? The Cross means CRUCIFYING THE FLESH WITH ITS PASSIONS AND DESIRES (cf. Galatians 5:24). Do you think he is referring only to the passions of sensual pleasure and gluttony? In that case, he would not have written to the Corinthians, "Since there is among you strife and divisions are ye not carnal and walk as men?" (1 Corinthians 3:3). Consequently anyone who loves glory or money or simply wants to impose his own will in his eagerness to prevail, is carnal and walks as men since such things are the source of divisions. As Saint James (Iakovos), the Lord’s brother, says, "Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?" (James 4:1-2). Crucifying the flesh with its passions and longings means STOPPING ALL ACTIVITY WHICH IS DISPLEASING TO GOD. Although our body may pull us down and exert pressure on us, we must still lift it up urgently to the height of the Cross. What am I trying to say? When the Lord was on earth He lived life of poverty, and not just lived but PREACHED POVERTY, SAYING, "Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciples" (Luke 14:33).

Surely we should honor and use this Divine Trophy of the freedom of the whole human race. Its appearance alone puts the serpent, the originator of evil, to flight, triumphs over him, and disgraces him, proclaiming him defeated and crushed. It glorifies and magnifies Christ, and displays His victory to the world. If it were really necessary to disregard the Cross because Christ suffered death on it, then His death too would be neither honorable nor salutary. So how can we have been baptized into His death, as the Apostle tells us (Romans 6:3)? And how can we share in His Resurrection, if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death?" (Romans 6:5). On the other hand, if someone were to reverence the Sign of the Cross without the Lord’s name written upon it, he could justly be accused of doing something incorrectly. Since "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in the earth, and things under the earth" (Philippians 2:10), and the Cross bears this Venerable Name. How very foolish not to bow the knee at Christ’s Cross!

Inclining our hearts as well as bending our knees, come, "let us worship", with David the psalmist and prophet, "at the place where His feet stood" (Psalm 132:7), where His All-embracing hands were outspread and His Life-Giving body was stretched out for our sake. As we reverence and greet the Cross with faith, let us draw and keep the abundant sanctification flowing from it. Then, at the sublimely glorious future advent of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, as we see Him come in glory we shall rejoice and skip for joy unceasingly, having attained a place on His right hand and heard the promised joyful words and blessings, to the glory of the Son of God crucified in the flesh for us.

For to Him belongs All Glory, together with His Father without beginning and the All-Holy, Good, and Life-Giving Spirit, now and forever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

____________

"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things1"
– 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.

On the Precious and Life-Giving Cross

"But God forbid that I should boast except in the Cross of
Our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been
crucified to me, and I to the world" (Galatians 6:14).

Throughout the history of the Church, Christians have preached the Cross, displayed the Cross in their homes and altars, venerated the Cross in the Divine Liturgy, worn the Cross on their person, signed themselves with the Cross in the worship of the Holy Trinity, and during times of danger and temptation.

On the Third Sunday (Sunday of the Cross) during Holy and Great Lent. On this day the service of Orthros (Matins) concludes the solemn Veneration of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross; the ceremonies are closely parallel to those at the feasts of Exaltation of the Cross (14 September) and the Procession of the Cross (1st August). The Veneration of the Cross on this Third Sunday in Lent PREPARES US FOR THE COMMEMORATION OF THE Crucifixion which is soon to follow in Holy and Great Week, and at the same time it REMINDS US THAT THE WHOLE OF LENT IS A PERIOD WHEN WE ARE CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST: as the Synaxarion at Orthros (Matins) says, ‘Through the Forty-Day Fast, WE TOO ARE IN AWAY CRUCIFIED, DYING TO THE PASSIONS.’ The dominant note on this Sunday, as on the two Sundays preceding, is ONE OF JOY AND TRIUMPH. In the Canon at Orthros (Matins), the Irmoi are the same as the Pasch Midnight, ‘This is the day of Resurrection…’, and the Troparia are in part a paraphrase of the Paschal Canon by Saint John of Damascus. No separation is made between Christ’s Death and His Resurrection, but the Cross is regarded as an emblem of VICTORY and Calvary is seen in the light of the Empty Tomb.

On the Precious and Life-Giving Cross Saint Gregory Palamas writes, "The Cross of Christ was mysteriously proclaimed in advance and foreshadowed from generations of old, and no one was ever reconciled with God except by the power of the Cross. After our First Parents transgressed against God through the tree in Paradise, sin came to life, but we died, submitting, even before physical death, TO THE DEATH OF THE SOUL, its SEPARATION FROM GOD. After the transgression we lived in sin and according to the flesh. Sin "is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God" (Romans 8:7-8).

The first mystery of the Cross is flight from the world, and parting from our relatives according to the flesh, if they are a hindrance to piety and a devout life, and training our body which Saint Paul tells us is of some value (1 Timothy 4:8). In these ways the world and sin are crucified to us, once we have fled from them. According to the second mystery of the Cross, however, WE ARE CRUCIFIED TO THE WORLD AND THE PASSIONS, once they have fled from us. It is not of course possible for them to leave us completely and not be at work IN OUR THOUGHTS UNLESS WE ATTAIN TO CONTEMPLATION OF GOD. When, through action, we approach contemplation and cultivate and cleanse OUR INNER MAN, SEARCHING FOR THE DIVINE TREASURE WHICH WE OURSELVES HAVE HIDDEN, AND CONSIDERING THE KINGDOM OF GOD WITHIN US, THEN IT IS THAT WE CRUCIFY OURSELVES TO THE WORLD AND THE PASSIONS. Through MEDITATION OF THIS A CERTAIN WARMTH IS BORN IN OUR HEART, WHICH CHASES AWAY EVIL THOUGHTS LIKE FLIES, INSTILLS PEACE AND CONSOLATION IN OUR SOUL, AND BESTOWES SANCTIFICATION ON OUR BODY. One of our God-bearing Fathers taught us saying, "STRIVE AS HARD AS YOU CAN TO ENSURE THAT YOUR INNER LABOR IS ACCORDING TO GOD’S WILL, AND YOU WILL CONQUER THE OUTWARD PASSIONS."

Not only the world and the mystery of the Cross are divine and to be reverenced, but so also is its sign. For it is a Holy, Saving, and Venerable Seal, able to hallow and perfect all the good, marvelous, and indescribable things that God had done for the human race. It can take away the curse and condemnation, destroy corruption and death, and bestow Eternal Life and blessing. It is the Wood of Salvation, the Regal Scepter, the Divine Trophy of Victory over visible and invisible enemies, even though the heretics’ followers are insanely displeased. They have not understood that the Lord’s Cross DISCLOSES THE ENTIRE DISPENSATION OF HIS COMING IN THE FLESH, AND CONTAINS WITHIN IT THE WHOLE MYSTERY OF THIS DISPENSATION. Extending IN ALL DIRECTIONS, IT EMBRACES EVERYTHING ABOVE, BELOW, AROUND, AND BETWEEN. The heretics abhor the sign of the King of Glory (Psalm 247:7-10), putting forward an excuse, in accordance with which, if they were reasonable, they ought to reverence the Cross along with us. The Lord Himself, when He was going to ascend the Cross, openly referred to it as His lifting up and His glory (John 3: 14-15). And He announced that when He came again and manifested Himself, THIS SIGN OF THE SON OF MAN WOULD COME WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY (Matthew 14:30).

The heretics say that because Christ died nailed to the Cross, they cannot bear to see the form of the Wood on which He was put to death. But where was the handwriting nailed which was drawn up against us because of our disobedience, when our Forefather stretched out his hand to the tree? How was it taken out of the way and obliterated, enabling us to return to God’s blessing? Where did Christ despoil and drive completely away the principalities and powers of the evil spirits, which had taken hold on our nature since the time OF THE TREE OF DISOBEDIENCE? Where did He Triumph over them and put them to shame, so that we could be set free? Where was the middle wall of partition broken down and our enmity towards God abolished and put to death? By what means were we reconciled with God and how did we hear the Good News of peace with Him? Surely it was on the Cross and by means of the Cross. Let those who doubt listen to what the Apostle Paul writes to the Ephesians, "For Christ is our peace, who hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; for to make in himself of twain ONE NEW MAN, so making peace; and that he might RECONCILE BOTH UNTO GOD IN ONE BODY BY THE CROSS, HAVING SLAIN THE ENMITY THEREBY" (Ephesians 2:14-16). (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,
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,

THE ARK OF SALVATION

Then God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me,
for the earth is filled with unrighteousness through them; and behold,
I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ARK of square timber…And behold, I am
bringing a flood of water on the earth, to destroy from under
heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life. Whatever is on
earth shall die. But I will establish My COVENANT WITH
YOU; AND YOU SHALL GO INTO THE ARK…" (Genesis 6:14-18).

"…Only Noah and those with him in the ARK remained alive" (Genesis 7:23).

The ARK was a type of the Theotokos with Christ and the Church in her womb. The floodwaters were a type of baptism, in which we are saved. The Lord God made Noah righteous THROUGH FAITH, by which he pleased God (Hebrews 11:6-7). Through the grace of the Holy Spirit, he OBEYED EVERYTHING GOD COMMANDED HIM TO DO. So he and his family ENTERED THE ARK, WHICH TYPIFIED SALVATION.

The Lord God closed the door of the ARK. for He is the Judge and determines who is in and who is out. The people on the outside were going about their usual manner of life–buying, selling, eating, drinking, marrying, and giving marriage–but they WERE INDIFFERENT TO GOD AND HIS GRACE. The FLOOD CAUGHT THEM UNAWARES, but it was too late for them to respond. SO IT WILL BE IN THE DAY OF JUDGMENT (Matthew 24:37-39; Luke 17:26-27; 2 Peter 2:4-5).

"God remembered Noah" AND SAVED HIM FROM THE FLOODWATERS. Noah WAS SAVED BECAUSE GOD REMEMBERED HIM. This REMEMBRANCE IS SALVATION. Many Holy Scriptures speak of God REMEMBERING MAN IN SALVATION. The thief on the cross said to Jesus, "LORD REMEMBER ME WHEN YOU COME INTO YOUR KINGDOM." And Jesus said to him, "ASSUREDLY I SAY TO YOU, TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE" (Luke 23:42-43).

As Noah preached righteousness, suffered unjustly, and rescued those who were with him, so also did Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ. Christ descended to those in darkness and death that Light might shine on them and He might deliver them from death. As Christ fearlessly faced His tormentors, death, and hell, so we through Him can confidently face mockers and tormentors–and, yes, bring His Light to them.

The Flood is an Old Testament MYSTERY OF the SALVATION of the human race. Noah was saved from a godless society–not so much from the water, AS THROUGH THE WATER FROM EVIL. For through the water of BAPTISM the Resurrected Christ, having taken His place IN HEAVEN ITSELF gives us a clean CONSCIENCE.

The Orthodox Christian understands and believes the Church to be a type of Ark. Those on board this new Ark will be saved. The Pilot of the Ark is none other than our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. The crew members are the heavenly powers, Archangels, and Angels. The passengers are the faithful and righteous people of God. Outside the Ark are those who are struggling to believe as well as those who reject and mock God. There is only one Ark of salvation, only one Church of Christ. No one is forced to get on board the Ark but those who are eligible to get on, are those who are Baptized. Unbelieving humanity faces the turbulence and murkiness of the waters of life that constantly threatens its future and existence. However, there is still hope for those who repent of their sins and seek God’s forgiveness. We pray that our Lord God will remember us.

Humility is the foundation of all virtue; it is learned through submission and obedience to our Savior Jesus Christ. The Holy Scriptures remind us, "God resists the proud. But gives grace to the humble" (1 Peter 5:5). "If then you were raised with Christ seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting on the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which are idolatry" (Colossians 3:1-5).

______________

"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.

Jesus said, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the
true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth;
for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit.
and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth”
(John 4:23-24),

“Then Noah built an Altar to God, and took of every clean
animal and of every clean bird, and offered whole burnt
offerings on the Altar. So the Lord GLod smelled a sweet
aroma.” [Genesis 8:20-21]

“So the two of them went together. They came to the
place where God had told him. And Abraham built an
Altar there and placed the firewood in order; and he
bound Isaac his son hand and foot and laid him on
the Altar, upon the firewood” (Genesis 22:8-9).

“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you; that
the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took
bread; and when He given thanks [Gk. eucharistesas], He broke it
and said, ‘TAKE, EAT; THIS IS MY BODY WHICH IS BROKEN FOR YOU;
DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME.’ In the same manner, He also took
the cup after supper, saying, ‘THIS CUP IS THE NEW COVENANT IN
MY BLOOD. THIS DO, AS OFTEN AS YOU DRINK IT, IN REMEMBRANCE
OF ME” (1 Corinthians 11:23-25).

From time immemorial mankind felt the need to worship God and built an Altar, upon which he would offer a sacrifice as an offering to express his thanks to God. It did not matter to God where the Altar of worship took place, whether on a mountaintop or desert. The need to worship God is seen not only among believers but also among pagans.

The Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well said to Jesus, ‘Sir I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when THE TRUE WORSHIPERS WILL WORSHIP THE FATHER IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH, FOR THE FATHER IS SEEKING SUCH TO WORSHIP HIM. GOD IS SPIRIT, AND THOSE WHO WORSHIP HIM MUST WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH” (John 4:19-24).

Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ takes the opportunity to teach her and us that worship is not tied to any certain geographical place. Instead, He turns to the heart of the matter: the object of worship, God Himself, and how worship takes place. The “Father” is worshiped “in spirit” — that is, in the Holy Spirit Who is given upon the completion of Christ’s Divine Mission “and truth” which is Jesus Christ Himself and His revelation. God “is Spirit”, that is, He possesses a spiritual nature that cannot be confined to a particular location. Those who believe in the revelation of Christ and have the power of the Holy Spirit can truly worship God anywhere.

For Orthodox Christians worshipping God is never optional. We refer to our worship as “Liturgy” (Λειτουργία). More specifically it is referred to as Divine (Θεία) Λειτουργία (Liturgy). Holy Tradition calls the Divine Liturgy the “Mystery of Mysteries”, the “Sacrament of Sarcraments”, is a liturgical act or divine service of the Church by which we receive the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the goal of this experience is to become recipients of the Holy Spirit, to experience God and be filled by Hs uncreated grace, to “become of the same body and blood with Christ,” to unite with the God-man Christ–and thus be saved.”

The Orthodox Christian family attends church not out of a “requirement” or a religious “obligation” but it is about fulfilling a necessity of a soul that thirsts for God and desires to be consumed by Him. In the Divine Liturgy we commemorate the Mystical Supper, that is, we live through it and partake of its reality mystically, yet really, in the present. The Lord told His disciples that those who “keep eating (trogon) His Flesh and “keep drinking” (pinon) His Blood stay with Him, and He with them (cf. John 6:56). “For as often as you eat this Bread and drink this Cup, you proclaim the Lord’s Death until He comes,” Says Saint Paul (1 Corinthians 11:26).

The Divine Eucharist traces its origin directly to the Eucharistic meal the Lord had with His Disciples in the Upper Room in Jerusalem before His betrayal. We perpetuate this meal because the Lord told us through His disciples, “Do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24). Since then, “on the first dasy of the week, “the Church has been gathering together “to break bread” (Acts 20:7).

The Divine Liturgy is the Mystery of union of human beings with God and the union of human beings among themselves. “It is called Communion because through it we commune the Divinity of Jesus Christ” together with His glorified humanity. The purpose of the Divine Liturgy is to change the sacramental elements (bread and wine mixed with water) into the Sacred Body and Blood of the Lord through the action of the Holy Spirit so that the people of God gathered in His Name may commune them and thus be united with Christ and live His life.

This “divine and most sacred of services” constitutes the higher expression of praise, glorification, love and gratitude to God for His inexpressible love toward us. The people of God gather together in obedience to Christ’s command (“do this”) to offer their “sacrifice of praise” in thanksgiving, to actualize Christ’s saving actss, to commune His Sacred Mysteries, to to rejoice in partaking of His life now, in anticipation of that “day” when they will partake of Him “more perfectly” in the “unsetting day” of His Kingdom. [Source: The Heavenly Banquet. Understanding the Divine Liturgy by Fr. Emmanuel Hatzidakis)

___________

“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.

THE "WHEAT" AND THE "CHAFF" (Matthew 3:12)

"His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly
clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the
barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire"
(Matthew 3:12).

The image of "winnowing" the threshed grain from the "chaff" is a metaphor for Divine Judgment, which always SEPARATES THE GOOD FROM EVIL.

Saint Theophylact says, "His winnowing fan is in His hand." Do not think, if you are baptized by Him and then remain an unrepentant sinner, that He will forgive you. For He also has a winnowing fan, that is, judgment and examination. "He will clean His threshing floor," namely, the Church, which holds many who are baptized, just the threshing floor holds all the crop. But some of those who are baptized are chaff, those who are light-minded and moved about by the evil spirits, while others are the wheat, who bring benefit to others and nourish them with teachings and deeds. "And gather the wheat into His granary, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." That the fire is unquenchable. Therefore Origen the heretic is babbling nonsense when he said that there will be an end to hell.

Here Saint Theophylact is referring to Origen’s teaching of "apokatastasis", i.e. "restoration," which was condemned by the Fifth Ecumenical Synod in Constantinople in 553 A.D. According to the heretical teaching, the punishment of the demons and the impious in hell will one day come to an end, and "all will be restored."

Saint John the Baptist anticipates Divine Judgment on God’s people through the coming of the Messiah. "Fire" is a symbol of destruction, and often describes the Final Judgment. "And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire" (v. 10). According to Saint Theophylact, "the axe means the judgment of Christ, and the trees stand for each one of us. Therefore, he who has not believed, and thus is rooted only in himself, is now and henceforward being cut down into Gehenna. "Therefore every tree," even though descended from Abraham, "which bringeth not forth good fruit." He did not say, "which hath not brought forth," but "which bringeth not forth," for one must continually be bringing forth fruit. For if you gave alms yesterday but today you are greedy and grasping, you are not pleasing to God. "Is hewn down and cast into the fire." The fire, that is, of Gehenna."

This warning of Saint John the Baptist who is anticipating the Messiah to come is very clear that He will bring Divine judgment on God’s people. It behooves all believers to prepare themselves for that judgment. No one can escape Divine Judgment. One must not only flee from evil and wickedness but also bring forth fruits (works) of virtue. "Turn away from evil and do good" (Psalm 33:4).

"Repent: for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand," declared Jesus. The Kingdom of Heaven is Christ Himself and it is also the life of virtue. For when someone lives as an Angel on earth, is he not heavenly? So the Kingdom of heaven is within each one of us when we live as Angels. The monastic life in the Orthodox Church is referred to as the "angelic life." The life of monks and nuns of our Church live a life of virtue, a life of ceaseless prayer, and charity. However, it is not exclusively a monastic life for it should be the life of every Orthodox Christian living in the world.

Jesus said, "For this reason, I say unto you, Take no thought of your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on." (Matthew 6:25), Saint Theophylact comments, "For this reason" –for what reason? Because concern over money drives a man away from God. The soul does not eat, for it is bodiless, but Jesus said this according to the common use of the word. For it is obvious that the soul does not consent to remain in a body if the flesh is not fed. Jesus does not forbid us to work, but rather He forbids us to give ourselves over entirely to our cares and to neglect God. Hence we must work for our livelihood while not neglecting the soul. "Is not life more than food, and the body more than raiment?" This means, will not He Who gave what is greater, life itself, and fashioned the body, will He not also give food and clothing?" "Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?" This means, even if you take the utmost care, you can do nothing if God does not will it. Why then do you dive yourself to exhaustion with futile worries?"

A person of faith is a person who places his life in God’s Divine hands. "The Kingdom of God is the enjoyment of all that is good. This comes through righteousness. To him who seeks after the spiritual things of God in His generosity adds that which is needed for physical life." What is required by us is to trust God implicitly. There can be no doubt in His Divine will knowing that He, our Savior, sacrificed His life on the Cross to save us, unworthy as we all are. It is the evil one who should not be trusted for he hates mankind and desires our destruction and death. We need only to open our eyes and see the evil working among men and the destruction, the chaos, the pain, the confusion, the divisions, the fear and hate that it brings. Whatever we ask, unhesitantly believing in God’s power, we shall receive. We must, however, not ask for something foolish and unprofitable. We seek only those things which are profitable for us and for things which will lead to our salvation.

________________
"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.

The world is afflicted by poverty, both material
and spiritual.

Poverty and those inflicted by it have existed for centuries. The poor have suffered not only from the deprivation of the most essential goods needed to live but also from exploitation, abuse, cruelty, slavery, and injustice. Poverty is a lack of food, shelter, and everything good. Poverty is being sick and unable to see a doctor. Poverty is never having an opportunity to go to school. Poverty is ns not knowing how to read or write. Poverty is clothes that don’t fit or having to dress in rags. Poverty is a person not having a job and a family without a home. Poverty is not having freedom or basic human rights and opportunities. Poverty is not having a future. Poverty marginalizes, suffocates, and eventually kills. Poverty is a person without hope. Poverty is a suffering soul. Poverty is seeing your child dying and not having the means to save him or her. Poverty is hearing your children crying from hunger, cold, or thirst and not being able to provide them with the necessities of life. Poverty is for you and your family to be homeless…

There may be as many as a billion people throughout the world who fall into this category. Governments of various counties have made some efforts to curtail poverty but have not been successful to eradicate it. One can find poor in every country throughout the world. It is perplexing, however, that in the 21st century and with all the modern means that the world possesses that poverty is still one of the major issues for every country to confront. The U.S. has established the welfare system to deal with the poor and there may be as many as seventy million people who receive this aid.

Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ is very forthright when it comes to aiding the poor. In the Gospel of Saint Matthew 25: 31-46, He speaks about “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy Angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats…Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: FOR I WAS HUNGRY AND YOU GAVE ME FOOD; I WAS THIRSTY AND YOU GAVE ME DRINK; I WAS A STRANGER AND YOU TOOK ME IN,’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in or naked and clothe You? O when did we see You seek, or in prison, and come to You? And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, INASMUCH AS YOU DID IT TO ONE OF THE LEAST OF THESE MY BRETHREN, YOU DID IT TO ME.” According to Saint Theophylact “by “the least brethren” He means all the poor. For every poor man is Christ’s brother for the very reason that Christ, too, spent His life in poverty…he who does not give alms is a robber, doing injustice to all those whom he could have helped but did not, they were without compassion, and for this reason, he and those like him shall go away into eternal punishment which never ends, but the righteous shall enter into eternal life.” Therefore, Our Lord states that those who are without compassion or mercy for their fellow man who is poor and suffers will not be saved.

But there is also another kind of poverty, the spiritual poverty which inflicts humanity. Spiritual poverty begins with those who lack faith and do not believe that there is God. Those who lack virtue but are engaged in evil. Those who are possessed by greed, power, and pride. Those who live in filthiness and refuse to repent. People who are filled with hatred, anger, and malice. Whose only goal in life is to possess wealth and whose only love is money. Men and women are entrenched in patterns of sin that become habitual. Often, darkness becomes imprinted in their souls and bodies, so that even their wills are bypassed and they sin automatically. People who reject any spiritual cleansing, genuine sorrow for their sins, and refuse confession and repentance. Human beings who have lost their true humanity, are cruel, selfish, arrogant, and vicious. They are devoid of love and therefore, they are not capable of either giving love or receiving it.

Spiritual poverty creates an environment of hostility and a world at war with itself. There is an absence of hope and the death of the soul. The answer to those who suffer due to their spiritual poverty is none other than to believe in the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. Saint Paul says it very plainly, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live 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” means out sinful “passions and desires” have been crucified. This kind of crucifixion must be willingly and freely accepted, just as Christ freely accepted His death on the Cross. Just as living in the flesh involves the whole person, body, and soul, so living “in the faith” involves the whole person.

The holy Apostle James writes, “Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” (James 2:5). Saint Paul exhorts us, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16). The spiritually rich are those who live according to Christ and are obedient to His commandments. The “new man” (Col. 3:10) in Christ grows from one state of perfection to another, becoming “the image” of Christ and throughout remaining the image of “Him Who created him” (3:10). The objective of every genuine Christian is to strive to be rich in Christ, in virtue, in humility, in love, in compassion, in truth, and in holiness, in the grace of the Holy Spirit.

__________
“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 0UR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

The Second Sunday of the Holy and Great Lent: Saint GREGORY
PALAMAS, Archbishop of Thessaloniki.

The Holy Father, who was from Asia Minor, was from his childhood and reared in the royal court of Constantinople, where he was instructed in both religious ad secular wisdom. Later, while still a youth, he left the imperial court and struggled in asceticism on Mount Athos, and in the Skete at Veroia. He spent some time in Thessaloniki being treated for an illness that came from his harsh manner of life. He was present in Constantinople at the Synod that was convened in 1341 against Varlaam of Calabria, and at the Synod of 1347 against Acindynos, who was of like mind with Varlaam; Varlaam and Acindinos claimed that the grace of God is created. At both these Synods, the Saint contended courageously for the True Dogma of the Church of Christ, teaching in particular THAT DIVINE GRACE IS NOT CREATED, BUT IS THE UNCREATED ENERGIES OF GOD WHICH ARE POORED FORTH THROUGHOUT CREATION: OTHERWISE, IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE, IF GRACE WERE CREATED, FOR MAN TO HAVE GENUINE COMMUNION WITH THE UNCREATED GOD. In 1347 he was appointed Metropolitan of Thessaloniki. He tended his flock in an Apostolic manner for some twelve years and wrote many books and treatises on the most exalted Doctrines of our Orthodox Faith; and having lived for a total of sixty-three years, he reposed in the Lord in 1359. His holy relics are kept in the Cathedral of Thessaloniki. A full service was composed for his feast day by the Patriarch Philotheos in 1368 when it was established that his feast is celebrated on this day. Since works without right faith avail nothing, we set Orthodoxy of faith as the foundation of all that we accomplish during the Great Fast. Saint Gregory’s victory over Varlaam and Acindynos and THE OTHER HERETICS OF HIS TIME IS SEEN AS A RENEWED TRIUMPH OF ORTHODOXY. In the earlier period, there was on this day a commemoration of the Great Martyr Polykarpos of Smyrna (155 A.D.), whose feast was transferred from the fixed calendar (23 February). The commemoration, like that of Saint Theodore, underlined the connection BETWEEN LENTEN ASCETICISM AND THE MARTYR’S VOCATION. The Second Sunday also takes up the theme of the Prodigal Son AS A MODEL OF REPENTANCE, with the first of the two Cannons at Orthros (Matins) being devoted to this Parable. We set Orthodoxy of faith as the FOUNDATION OF ALL THAT WE ACCOMPLISH DURING THE GAST, BY CELEBRATING THE TRIUMPH OF ORTHODOXY THE SUNDAY BEFORE, AND THE GREAT DEFENDER OF THE TEACHINGS OF THE HOLY FATHERS ON THE SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT.

We cannot look at Saint Gregory Palamas apart from the hesychastic tradition of the Holy Mountain. The Holy Mountain is the home of virtue, as the place where the Evangelic life is lived and expressed, which is the essence of our Holy Tradition. It is a holy place where one discovers stillness (hesychia) and quietude. Ascetics, monks and nuns, hermits, and stylites. and countless Saints practiced stillness. Saint Gregory Palamas, truly a guiding light and a messenger of grace, as a teacher and defender of hesychasm, reminds all of us how to pay closer attention by drawing upon words spoken to our ancient ancestors: “Be still,” God told Cain (Genesis 4:7). The Lord God commanded Cain to still HIS HEART (“be still”) THROUGH REPENTANCE, for it was filled with turbulence because of the PASSIONS. Through prayerful stillness of the heart, we become more attentive to God’s word.

HESYCHIA, stillness, is essential for man’s purification and perfection, which means his salvation. Saint Gregory taught that “one must be still in order to have a clear conversation with God and to bring the nous a little away from those wandering in error.” Through hesychia (stillness) a person purifies his heart and nous from passions and thus attains COMMUNION and UNION with God. This communion with God, precisely because it is man’s union with God, also constitutes MAN’S SALVATION.

HESYCHIA is nothing other than “keeping one’s heart away from giving and taking and pleasing people, and the other activities. When a person frees his heart from thoughts (logismoi) and passions, when all the powers of his soul are transformed and turned away from earthly things and towards God, then he is experiencing true stillness (hesychia). Saint John of the Ladder writes that stillness of soul is “THE ACCURATE KNOWLEDGE OF ONE’S THOUGHTS AND IS AN UNASSAILABLE MIND.” Therefore hesychia IS AN INNER STATE; IT IS “DWELLING IN GOD.”

The Holy Fathers of the Church distinguish between EXTERNAL and INTERNAL stillness. External stillness is the liberation of the senses and the body from SIGHTS, particularly from the bondage that the world imposes, while INNER STILLNESS is the liberation of the heart FROM IMAGES, FANTASIES, AND WORRIES. HESYCHIA of the soul implies that the nous is able not to accept any temptations to stray. Thus a person acquires peace in his heart, and there God Himself IS REVEALED.

Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn. Plagal of Fourth Tone

LIGHT of Orthodoxy, pillar and teacher of the Church, adornment of
monastics, invincible champion of theologians. O Gregory thou
wonderworker, boast of Thessaloniki, herald of grace: ever pray that
our souls be saved.

Kontakion Hymn. Plagal of Fourth Tone

With one accord, we praise thee as the sacred and divine vessel of
wisdom and clear trumpet of theology, O our righteous Father
Gregory of divine speech. As a mind that standeth now before the
Primal Mind, do thou ever guide aright and lead our mind to Him,
that we all may cry: Rejoice, O herald of grace Divine.

[Sources: The Great Horologion and Saint Gregory Palamas as a Hagiorite]

___________

“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