Passionately Drunk

Fr. Stephen Freeman

Glory to God For All Things

The Philokalia, that wonderful collection of writings by the fathers on prayer of the heart, has as its full title, The Philokalia of the Neptic Saints gathered from our Holy Theophoric Fathers, through which, by means of the philosophy of ascetic practice and contemplation, the intellect is purified, illumined, and made perfect. Little wonder it is known popularly as the Philokalia. That word, Philokalia, means “the love of beautiful things.” It is not a reference to expensive, decorative items, but to the things which are made beautiful by their union with God. All things are beautiful inasmuch as they are united to God, Who is Beauty itself.

Another important word in the title is the adjective, “Neptic” (νηπτικός). It has a variety of translations: sober, watchful, vigilant. It refers to those who, having their earthly senses purified, have become truly aware of God and dwell in Him. This title is especially used to describe the fathers of the Hesychast tradition in Orthodoxy, the tradition of ceaseless prayer and inner stillness associated with the monastic life.

To describe these fathers as “sober,” is very insightful. For our experience with the passions, the disordered desires of our body and soul, is often an experience of drunkenness.

For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him (1 Thess. 5:7-10).

The man who is drunk is famously unaware of his surroundings. He stumbles physically, mentally and spiritually, barely aware of his own imbalance. The passions have the same ability to blind us. In anger we are aware primarily of our own anger. What we see, we see through the haze of the energy that pulses through our mind and body.

All of the passions have this property. They consume us and become the primary lens through which we see the world and with which we react. Thus we are described as in “delusion.” Those who see the world through their passions do not see the truth of things. They see their own passions.

There is a social aspect to the passions – they are not restricted to an individual’s experience. Whole societies, or significant segments within it, can be drunk with the same passions. Thus a whole society can be drunk with the passion of fear or hatred.  Such a passion is reinforced by being repeatedly affirmed by those around us. Many aspects of culture are simply a communion of the passions.

We live in an age where the passions are carefully studied and used as the objects of marketing. Those things that are sold to us (even those that supposedly appeal to our intellect) are marketed to our passions. Apple computer famously researches the “feel” of its packaging, presenting a sensual experience that is associated with quality, precision and value. It is a successful strategy across the whole of our culture.

However, those who are “drunk” with the passions also yield themselves as victims to their intoxication. Political parties pour massive amounts of money into their campaigns simply to create and nurture the passions by which people vote. We are not governed by reason or informed decisions. Most of what you or I think about political subjects is a description of the passions to which we are enslaved. The political cynicism of many is, to a degree, a recognition of our disgust with the politics of passion.

By the same token, most of the opinions we nurture are equally the product of our passions. We think, we believe, we decide, we act largely in accord with the passions to which we are enthralled. Theological debates are generally arguments between one person’s passions and another’s. It is a conversation between drunks.

And so the Church values the holy, sober fathers. These are the men and women who have walked the narrow way of salvation, “putting to death the deeds of the body.” Inner stillness is the state of freedom from disordered passions. The neptic fathers do not cease to desire (they are not Buddhists). But their desires have been purified and healed – restored to proper order. Sobriety means desiring the right thing in the right way at the right time. Traditionally, this purification and healing come as a result of a life of repentance, fasting and prayer. It slays demons and heals the wounds of the soul. All things are brought into obedience to Christ.

It is the life that Scripture enjoins:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he my devour. Rsist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world (1 Peter 5:8-9).

There is a story in the Desert Fathers that illustrates such vigilance. A community of monks once heard a rumor that one of their number was harboring a woman in his cell. They went to the elder and complained. While they became yet more agitated, the elder slipped away to the cell of the erring monk. Finding the woman there, he hid her in a large earthen vessel. He placed the lid on the vessel and sat on it. Soon the angry monks arrived at the cell and began to search for the woman. Out of respect for the elder they overlooked the vessel on which he was sitting. Finding nothing, they apologized to the erring monk and left. The elder, rose from his seat and said to the monk, “Pay attention to yourself.”

It is a call to sobriety. The angry monks were drunk with their own self-righteousness. Their sin was at least as great as the erring monk. The elder alone was sober. His sobriety hid the sin of a man from those who would have harmed him, and revealed the sin to the one who needed to be healed. The word of healing was kind and without judgment. “Pay attention to yourself.” It is the simple word of St. Peter, “Be sober.”

For all of us, in every moment of the day with regard to all things and all people, it is good to pay proper attention to ourselves.

This prayer of St. Isaac of Syria, great among the neptic fathers, is one of my favorites:

I knock at the door of Thy compassion, Lord: send aid to my scattered impulses which are drunk with the multitude of the passions and the power of darkness.

Thou canst see my sores hidden within me: stir up contrition – though not corresponding to the weight of my sins, for if I receive full awareness of the extent of my sins, Lord, my soul would be consumed by the bitter pain from them.

Assist my feeble stirrings on the path to true repentance, and may I find relief from the vehemence of sins through the contrition that comes of Thy gift, for without the power of Thy grace I am quite unable to enter within myself, become aware of my stains, and so, at the sight of them, be able to be still from great distraction.

 

Forgiveness Sunday, also called Cheesefare Sunday, the final day of pre-Lent in the Orthodox Church

 

Orthodoxwiki.org

Forgiveness Sunday, also called Cheesefare Sunday, is the final day of pre-Lent. It is the Sunday after Meatfare Sunday and the Sunday before the Sunday of Orthodoxy.

Significance of the day

On this last Sunday before Great Lent, the last day that traditionally Orthodox Christians eat dairy products until Easter, the Church remembers the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise. God commanded them to fast from the fruit of a tree (Gen. 2:16), but they did not obey. In this way Adam and Eve and their descendants became heirs of death and corruption.

On Forgiveness Sunday many attend Forgiveness Vespers on the eve of Great Lent. They hear on the Lord's teaching about fasting and forgiveness and enter the season of the fast forgiving one another so that God will forgive them. If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses (Matthew 6:14).

The Gospel reading of the day also gives advice on fasting. Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. (Matthew 6:16-18).

The Rite of Forgiveness

After the dismissal at Vespers, the priest stands beside the analogion, or before the ambon, and the faithful come up one by one and venerate the icon, after which each makes a prostration before the priest, saying, "Forgive me, a sinner." The priest also makes a prostration before each, saying, "God forgives. Forgive me." The person responds, "God forgives," and receives a blessing from the priest. Meanwhile the choir sings quietly the irmoi of the Paschal Canon, or else the Paschal Stichera. After receiving the priest's blessing, the faithful also ask forgiveness of each other. 

Sunday of Cheesefare: Expulsion of Adam from Paradise

 

Orthodox Church in America

As we begin the Great Fast, the Church reminds us of Adam’s expulsion from Paradise. God commanded Adam to fast (Gen. 2:16), but he did not obey. Because of their disobedience, Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden and lost the life of blessedness, knowledge of God, and communion with Him, for which they were created. Both they and their descendents became heirs of death and corruption.

Let us consider the benefits of fasting, the consequences of disobedience, and recall our fallen state. Today we are invited to cleanse ourselves of evil through fasting and obedience to God. Our fasting should not be a negative thing, a mere abstention from certain foods. It is an opportunity to free ourselves from the sinful desires and urges of our fallen nature, and to nourish our souls with prayer, repentance, to participate in church services, and partake of the life-giving Mysteries of Christ.

At Forgiveness Vespers we sing: “Let us begin the time of fasting in light, preparing ourselves for spiritual efforts. Let us purify our soul, let us purify our body. As we abstain from food, let us abstain from all passion and enjoy the virtues of the spirit....” 

Kontakion - tone 6

O Master, Guide to wisdom, / Bestower of prudence, / Instructor of the foolish, and Defender of the poor: / make firm my heart and grant it understanding. / O Word of the Father, / give me speech, for behold, I shall not restrain my lips from crying out to Thee: / "Have mercy, have mercy on me who have fallen."

Please read more about the meaning of this storytelling below.

1.  The dogma regarding Creation  

2.  Creation from nil  

3.  Existential consequences of the dogma on Creation  

4.  The consequences of man’s downfall  

5.  Christology 

6.  Salvation

7.  Ecclesiology

The Failure of Hedonism

 

Death to the World (about here & here)

By Justin Marler

Whether subliminal or completely overt, we are told that we should do what we want when we want. “Just do it!” or “You deserve it!” or “Enjoy yourself!” “Do what you want as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone” is the prevailing motto in our culture and age. We are so entrenched in this that it is a built-in philosophy and way of life for most of us. We get this messaging from all advertising, music and movies, and virtually all media. We are trained in this philosophy from childhood. Selfishness becomes the norm as we get older. As adults we consume, buy, take and feed our desires always. And when we don’t get our way we get irritated, bitter and even feel justified in rage. This is the American way.

This is not a new philosophy. The ancient Greeks had formalized this way of life in a school of thought called Hedonism, which claims that pleasure and happiness are the primary or most important intrinsic goods and the goal of human life. In this philosophy a hedonist strives to maximize pleasure and avoid pain. In this way of life one does whatever one wants not restricting any form of self-indulgence. In more recent times this idea was thrust forward by English magician Aleister Crowley in his cultic religion that espoused: “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law….”

You would think that if we do what we want when we want this would make us happy. But for some reason this can’t be farther from the truth. This has been clearly demonstrated by this generation. We do what we want but for some reason depression, despair, discontentment, unhappiness and suicide are increasing at surprising rates. We have more comfort than all previous ages and peoples in all of history. We have homes with indoor plumbing, air conditioning, access to medical and dental care, access to drugs to make our illnesses and discomforts go away, access to all foods, meat, sweets, and junk food. We have immense warehouses where we can find every form of liquor, wine, beer and cheese. We can indulge ourselves for hours and even days by binge watching TV shows, movies, sequels, and all this content is pumped into our homes from “the cloud” at the click of a button.  We can get high, get drunk, get lost in social media at will. We can have sex with anyone at any time because this is the norm, and because we have pills to make us sterile. And if we can’t find a partner we can virtually engage by pumping pornography into our homes from “the cloud.” Then, we find ourselves slaves of our own pleasures. We become addicts and puppets of our desires. 

We do what we want but our hearts are restless. We are depressed! How could this be? Hedonism as the new religion is not working. Since the time of the Greek Philosophers we have known that pleasure does not produce happiness and contentment. Hedonism as a philosophy was overcome by the virtues, one of which was called: self-control. Even with modern neurological science we know this. Dopamine is released and we want more, but more is never enough. However, we still move forward with this new religion.

So what do we do? The key to our restlessness, discontent, unbearable dejection and meaningless pleasure filled lives is clearly not found in doing what we want. It is found in exactly the opposite. It is found in a life lived in virtue and self-control. When we slay our desires, we slay our sorrow. When we train ourselves to practice virtue, we develop interior peace and contentment that is enduring. Love, chastity, humility, justice, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-sacrifice and self-control are the cure to the human condition.

You can see also

Philosophical Ketchup (or "The taste you deserve", “Have it your way”)

Herod’s best friend!

 The Beheading of the holy glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John (29 August)

ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ: Ο καλύτερος φίλος του Ηρώδη
O Nekros - Translation A.N.

We have become accustomed to imagining Saint John the Baptist as an angry and boisterous prophet, permanently dissatisfied and grumpy, who used to rant loudly at people in a harsh manner, urging them to repent for their sins so that they won’t be annihilated by the wrath of God and burn in hell. And that may well be the case… Of course the expression “wrath of God” is an image that symbolizes man’s enmity towards God, and “hell” is man’s view of the Divine Light as a consuming fire, because of human egotism. But, the truth is that Saint John – as well as all the Prophets and Saints in every era – who, inspired by Divine Grace, possessed abundant love for mankind, and it was precisely that kind of love (and not any harsh “sense of justice” or any supposed “offence to God” and such irrelevant notions) that prompted them to persuade people to repent.
Repentance is what will help people to be saved, and mankind’s salvation is the true concern of the Prophets and the Saints; in other words, it is God’s true concern that inspires them.
In Herod’s case, we can see that the Baptist was by no means his actual enemy; on the contrary, he was Herod’s best friend (or rather, his ONLY friend!), given that Herod, a very vicious individual, most probably had no other, true friends… 
 

Icon from here

Everyone knows how the Baptist exercised austere criticism on Herod, given that he had stolen his brother’s wife, Herodias, and had made her his official concubine, or possibly wife. A very annoyed Herod threw John into prison as punishment for his criticisms, but, Herodias with her familiar shrewdness, instructed her daughter Salome (who charmed Herod and all his “distinguished” guests during his birthday party with her obviously sexual enticing dance) to demand the head of the Baptist on a platter. This demand was “honoured” by the king (as foolishly promised by him in public), and the Baptist’s severed head was handed to the teenage Salome, who then handed it over to her cunning mother (may God forgive them all…).
We need to point out here that the specific Herod here was Herod II (Herod Antypas), son of the old Herod, who had commanded the slaughter of the thousands of infants (in the hope of exterminating the threat of the then newly-born, prophesied King); this was Herod the Tetrarch, the so-called “Great” Herod.

But why did the Saint exercise such austere criticism on Herod? Was it to cause him political damage? Or to provide a reason for rebels to overthrow him? For social or political reasons specifically? Well, we have no reason to believe that the Saint had any such motives. Being familiar with the tradition of the Saints, we are able to perceive something else: John the Baptist’s criticism of Herod was intended to save him! And with him, his consort, Herodias, whose inspiration it was to kill the Prophet. And how was John striving to save them? Well, with his vociferous critique, John strived to curb the long-term sin of adultery that Herod had been committing. As such, John proved to be the best (if not the only) friend of the royal couple, because he was the only one who dared to publicly declare them as sinners and urge them to resort to salvific repentance.


Icon from here

But, there is something else that is indicative of the Saint’s love and concern for Herod. In Mark’s Gospel (ch.6, verses 19-20), we read the following, which pertains to the time that the Saint was imprisoned:

“19 Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man and he protected him. And by listening to him, he did many things, and he listened to him gladly.”

(Here is one more case where the word “feared” has the meaning of “respected” – as in the familiar Gospel quote of “…and the woman shall fear the man…”)
The fact that John conceded to talk to Herod from inside his prison, and even counselled him on certain matters - obviously for him to be proper and just – is proof that the Saint held no grudge against Herod, nor did he hate him, but on the contrary, loved and cared about him! This stance provides a very important example of how a Saint becomes a rebel against a corrupt authority: he censures it with boldness, but not with hatred. He hates corruption, the abuse of power and sinning, but continues to lovingly care about the persons, even when they are corrupt and sinful, and strives for their salvation (provided of course that they also desire it). He does not change this stance, and even gives up his own life for them.

 

The Light of the Christ Illumines Even Samaritans and Gentiles: Homily for the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman in the Orthodox Church

Fr. Philip LeMasters

Ancient faith / Eastern Christian Insights

Acts 11:19-30; John 4:5-42

Christ is Risen!

There is a lot of truth in the saying that familiarity breeds contempt.  It is possible for even the best things in life to become so familiar that we become blind to their true importance. We can do that even with our celebration of the Savior’s victory over death, as though the Paschal season were simply about singing joyful hymns and enjoying rich food.  It is certainly possible to reduce any dimension of the life of Church to a mere cultural observance that we assume is only for some people, usually those we think are like us in some particular way.  Both today’s gospel and epistle readings challenge us, however, to consider how the good news of the resurrection impacts the world in a way that is so unfamiliar as to be unsettling, and which challenges our assumptions about who God’s people are.

The Samaritan woman certainly took nothing for granted about Jesus Christ.  The Jews viewed the Samaritans as heretics who had intermarried with Gentiles, and they had nothing to do with them; as well, men did not strike up conversations with women in public in that time and place.  So when the Lord asked her for a drink of water and engaged her in an extended theological discussion, she was completely surprised.  He knew the details of her broken personal history and obviously related to her very differently than had the men in her community.  This encounter made such an impression that “she left her water jar, and went away into the city, and said to the people, ‘Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did.  Can this be the Christ?’” She  did something quite shocking herself in that moment, proclaiming to her fellow Samaritans that this Jewish rabbi was the Messiah. “Many Samaritans from that city believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He said to me all that I ever did.’  So when the Samaritans came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His words.  They said to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of your words that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.’”

A Samaritan woman with an immoral lifestyle became the Great Martyr Photini, an unlikely evangelist whose testimony led many in her village to belief in Christ. Her transformation occurred because she received by faith the living water of which the Savior spoke, “a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”   Here is a foreshadowing of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, for she is empowered from the depths of her soul to participate in the healing of the human person that our Risen Lord has brought to the world.  As we chanted at Great Vespers last night about Photini after her encounter with Christ, “that chaste woman hastened at once to the city and said to the crowds: Come and see Christ the Lord, the Savior of our souls.”  Yes, she was truly restored to the dignity of a beloved child of God in the divine image and likeness.

Remember that in the chapter of John’s gospel right before the Lord’s conversation with Photini, He spoke with the Pharisee Nicodemus, an expert in the Jewish law.  At that point, Nicodemus could not understand even the most basic points of the Lord’s teaching.  How shocking, then, that a Samaritan woman with a notorious past came to faith so quickly and even preached to others.  Through her witness, the Lord Himself spent two days in a Samaritan village, which must have been the last thing that anyone expected the Jewish Messiah to do.  His salvation does not operate according to the conventional categories of this world, but transcends and subverts them.  How odd:  Great religious teachers miss the point, while disgraced women from despised communities become glorious saints.

Our reading from Acts describes the foundation of the first Gentile church in Antioch, where the disciples were first called Christians.  It took a good bit of debate and discernment for the Church to determine how to respond to Gentiles who wanted to become Christians, for the origins of the faith are so clearly in Judaism.  At the council held by the apostles in Acts 15: 8-9, St. Peter said of the Gentile Christians, “God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us.  He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.”  That, of course, is a very good description of what the Lord had done with St. Photini.  The letter to the Gentile Christians from that council did not require them to become circumcised or convert to Judaism, but “to abstain from food sacrificed to idols…and from sexual immorality.” (Acts 15:20) It is not surprising that the Jewish Christian leaders of the Church made a point of reminding Gentile converts to distance themselves from forms of spiritual and moral corruption so common in their culture.

The inclusion of Samaritans like Photini and Gentiles like the original Antiochian believers provides a powerful sign that the resurrection of Christ is not about business as usual in a world where people divide up according to all kinds of human characteristics.  When we do that, we define ourselves over against enemies, real and imagined, and tend to think that all the evil and wickedness are on the side of those we oppose.  Among the many dangers of such ways of thinking is that we easily become the self-righteous judges of others and inflame our own passions to the point that we see neither ourselves nor our neighbors clearly.  A Jew of the first century would typically have viewed Photini as a terrible sinner who did the wretched kinds of things expected of Samaritans.  The apostles could have easily put up almost insurmountable roadblocks to keep the Gentiles at arm’s length.  That the Church developed very differently is an indication that it is not simply another human institution of a world enslaved to the fear of death, but truly the Body of our Risen Lord in Whom “strangers and foreigners” become “fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God” by the power of the Holy Spirit.  (Eph. 2:19)  As St. Paul taught, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”  (Gal. 3:28)  He offers living water to all people who come to Him in humble faith as did St. Photini, the Samaritan woman.

Like her, we all encounter Christ as people with a history of personal brokenness in thought, word, and deed.  We may doubt, however, whether the Savior’s victory over death, the wages of sin, may truly become active in us.  The Church highlights the example of so many notorious sinners who have become great saints by receiving the Lord’s mercy through repentance.  Perhaps we have heard their stories so many times that we take them for granted and assume that, after their conversion, they were no longer troubled by temptations, doubts, and sorrow for their failings.  That would be an unrealistic assumption, of course.  Remember that St. Mary of Egypt spent her first seventeen years in the desert in fierce struggle with passions for all that she had left behind.  She said of this period, “Darkness after darkness, misery after misery stood about me, a sinner.”  If we are genuinely embracing the new life our Risen Lord, we will face battles in our own souls as we turn away from the darkness of the tomb and toward the brilliant light of His kingdom.

As the eyes of our souls gain the focus to behold His radiant glory more fully, the darkness within us will become all the more apparent.  We will then be like Photini when the Savior mentioned her history with men.  Instead of shutting down in shame or making excuses, she simply said, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet” as she continued to open herself to the healing mercy of the Lord through faith.  If we truly believe that Christ has conquered death, the wages of sin, then we must become as courageous as she was in offering even the most painfully broken dimensions of lives to the Savior for healing.  Like her, let us do so with the confident hope of those who know that something worth living and dying for has come into the world, for Christ is Risen!

 

Who Can Close Paradise if the Lord Opens It?

St. Innocent of Kherson / Orthodox Christianity

 

Photo: Feasting with the Three Patriarchs in Paradise, Nevyanskaya, c. 1830s. Photo: iconreader.files.wordpress.com      

 

By the grace of God, brethren, we are already standing beyond the final limit of the Holy Forty Days. As before the ancient Israelites who wandered for forty years in the wilderness, the spiritual Canaan is now before us—the sufferings, death, and Resurrection of our Lord. What hasn’t the holy Church done to prepare us to worthily enter into this land of promise? It has thundered a curse against rebellious sons, it has fed the obedient with the manna of various prayers and hymns and the very Body and Blood of Christ, it has sweetened the bitter waters of repentance by the tree of the Cross for those who were dragging along the way, and in these last days, it has opened wide the book of the New Testament before all, showing us all the acts of our Lord.

After such a long and varied fertilization of the land and sowing, there must be a rich harvest. So, where are Joshua and Caleb now—those who undertook the good labor of fasting? May they cease their forty-day journey, pass through the Jordan as on dry land, and go directly to the Upper Room, where the immortal table is being prepared! There their gallant feet will be washed of the finest dust of earthly thoughts; there they will hear the last testament of the Lord going to His suffering, and they will receive the peace and promise of the Spirit; from there they will follow Him, without our guidance, to Gethsemane and Golgotha, to suffer with Him and be co-crucified with Him in spirit.

But what is to be done, brethren, for those of us who, during the spiritual journey through the desert of Lent, ceased not to turn our hearts and faces to Egypt, murmured at the bitter waters of repentance, and while Moses was on the mountain receiving the Law, perhaps worshiped the golden calf at the foot of the mountain? (Ex. 32:1-6). Ah, but the Jordan will not open before such people, the walls of Jericho will not fall, the sun will not stand still upon Gibeon (Jos. 10:12). Such do not have a place at the tomb of the Savior, but at the graves of the people that lusted (Num. 11:34).

But what do I see? At the right hand of the Lord hangs a thief. What do I hear? The Lord tells him: Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise (Lk. 23:43). Who can close Paradise if the Lord opens it? Thus, brethren, whoever you are, no matter how great your sins may seem, may you all come to Calvary: The crucified Lord is calling you. Despite our uncleanness, He doesn’t want to exclude anyone from His blessed covenant. He wants us all to partake of the Heavenly Kingdom, acquired by His merits. Leave all your dark deeds, brethren, and hasten to our Savior while He is still on Earth, lest He give up His spirit to His Father without you. Leave, I say, your dark deeds—Do you dare appear before the Lord with them? To show them at His Cross? 

 

Icon from here

Ah, you have disturbed His life enough with your iniquities: Must His final minutes also be disturbed? No, brethren, no matter how persistent your heart is in sin, don’t allow it such insensibility, such disregard for its Savior. Through repentance, lay down the burden of your sins at the foot of Golgotha, and you will appear before the Crucified One, if not with the humility of good deeds, then at least not with the stench of iniquity; you will appear in order to fall at His feet in tears, to bring confession of your sins, to ask that your treachery be forgotten and to entreat a blessing for the correction of your life, for the victory over your evil habits, the struggle with which will henceforth be your main work in life. Without this, it’s better not to appear at the grave of your Savior; it’s better not to kiss His wounds.

Make haste, brethren, to purify yourselves by repentance; make haste to thereby renew your union with God and Christ which your sins have abolished. There is no time more favorable than this, and there cannot be. Gazing steadily upon the sufferings of the Lord, the soul itself will ask for the cross, the heart itself will prostrate at the foot of it. Don’t suppress this holy feeling, brethren; follow your Savior with all your thoughts. He will grow weary under the weight of the Cross; lift it together with Simon of Cyrene, lift it with faith, and go to Golgotha, with firm determination to begin the crucifixion of your flesh with its passions and lusts. The Lord will be stripped of His clothes, and you will hasten to put them on, to cover your sinful nakedness with His righteousness and merits. The spear will draw water and blood from His side, and you will stand at the cross with mouth agape to catch at least a drop of life that it may extinguish the hellfire that consumes you.

I repeat again: The coming days are the most favorable for the repentance of sinners, for they are the days of the salvation of the whole world, a witness to which is the Wise Thief. Amen.

See also: Confession, Hatred, and Aversion to Your Sins: A Word for Those Preparing to Commune of the Holy Mysteries

St. Innocent of Kherson
Translation by Jesse Dominick

Azbyka.ru

4/28/2021

5th Sunday of Great Lent: Saint Mary of Egypt, "the most amazing story, which has taken place in our generation"...

 

Please, see:
 
5th Sunday of Great Lent: Saint Mary of Egypt, "the most amazing story, which has taken place in our generation"...

St. Mary of Egypt القديسة مريم المصرية (5th Sunday of Great Lent) 
 
St. Mary of Egypt Convent, Uganda
 
Maria die Egiptenaar - Die verhaal van groot Egiptiese Heilige
 

St. Mary of Egypt Multi-Cultural Orthodox Christian Church - Kansas City, Missouri

 The icons are from here

Speak and We Obey!

Death to the World

“In times past, a table used to stand in the corner wherein the holy icons were. Then, however, that space will be occupied by seductive instruments for the deception of men. Many who have departed away from the Truth will say: we need to watch and hear the news. And it is in the news that antichrist will appear; and they will accept him.”   St. Lavrenty (Lawrence) of Chernigov (he was born in 1868 and reposed in the Lord in 1950.)

In times past, humanity was mindful of God. Sovereignty belongs to Him alone. Western civilization of olde was indisputably Christian. Inevitably it, civilization, was imperfect, there are no perfect institutions on earth. But it was governed by the mindset that there exist immutable realities, principles,that have their origin in God. And humanity is answerable to these Divinely instituted principles, be it the king, the civil authorities or the people. Sovereignty resided only in God. By Him, rulers ruled, and the people lived. 
In Orthodox Christian societies, the icon corner, or prayer corner, was one of the ways this sovereignty materialized itself (icons are divinely inspired images which Christians have used in prayer for thousands of years). 
There, God-fearing Orthodox Christians start their day and end their day (in prayer). The point of reference is (was) God. From that point, the events of the world were encountered and interpreted, processed: in light of eternity; in light of Good and evil. As humanity actively turns from God, it encounters only sin – godlessness – just as there is only darkness without the sun. A person only sees in the light; so much more do we only see, perceive, reality in the eternal Light of the Three-fold Godhead. 
Now the aura of electronic screens has replaced the light of God. Many people now orientate themselves, not according to everlasting virtues, but according to the brokenness of fallen existence.

The question is: to where, to whom, are we looking for our in-formation, our orientation? 
On a basic level, news should be informative information. But news today is a teaspoon of information with a pound of propaganda. One writer, Paul Craig Roberts, frequently calls modern mainstream news providers the “presstitute,” it seems a valid term. Through the “news” we are taught to fear, to despise, to worry, to be desensitized, to dehumanize others, to support war and conflict, to condone amorality, and the list could go on. We must understand clearly that we do not have news, we have propaganda. And it has a very clear anti-Christ intent and purpose. 
It is striving to prepare people for something, or someone. It desires to create chaos, confusion, and darkness. It is mind-numbing, it actively seeks to de-intellectualize people: don’t try and think for yourself (or worse, according to higher principles), we will instruct you on how you should receive events and happenings. And folks drink the kool-aid, ahh, so tasty!
The mainstream secular media is laboring to cultivate a certain atmosphere, a mentality, in which people will be prone to accept the anti-Christ spirit. And it is working to build an environment where it will control all information and narratives. 
After all, they have to protect us! It is for our own good, they are ever so benevolent to us lowly ones! They will tell us who our enemies are, and we will hate them; in fact, bomb them into oblivion! They will tell us what race we can hate, O those evil whites! They will tell us who should rule over us, and who we should cast to the inquisition! They will tell us how we should understand history, and we will blindly follow. The bell rings and the mob mindlessly grabs their pitchforks!
The effect (fruit) of the “news” (presstitute) shows that as St. Lavrenty foretold, it is a primary purveyor of the anti-Christ mindset. We are easily lead astray because we have abandoned Truth. 
It is time that we, as Christians, turn back to the icon corner as the main source of our news; the facts that we get there are sure and immutable. Then come what may, we will, by God’s grace, have the wisdom to discern. There is a battle for minds and hearts. If we are preoccupied with and look to modern news media, then our hearts will begin to feel the effect of its intentions. 
Remember the words of St. Paul, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2).
(An aside: there do exist independent news sources that seem to be trying to simply relay news, information; I would encourage folks to find these sources. Reading news is not bad per se, what is being addressed here is what seems to be the evident agenda of modern America mainstream media “news.” But again, we must be preoccupied with the One Who is Sovereign over all, then we will be capable of encountering and processing the events around us in a Higher manner.)

---

For more of Fr Zechariah’s writings, visit The Inkless Pen Blog

"Christ is risen from the dead - Let us forgive all things on the Resurrection": Two Greek Easter hymns from the Orthodox Church

1. "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!" (Vatopedi Monastery of Athos)

ORTODOX™

2. "It is the day of Resurrection let us be radiant for the festival and let us embrace one another. Let us say, O brethren even to those that hate us; Let us forgive all things on the Resurrection, and thus let us cry: Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life." (George Darlasis)

5th Sunday of Great Lent: Saint Mary of Egypt, "the most amazing story, which has taken place in our generation"...

Please, see:
 
5th Sunday of Great Lent: Saint Mary of Egypt, "the most amazing story, which has taken place in our generation"...

St. Mary of Egypt القديسة مريم المصرية (5th Sunday of Great Lent) 
 
St. Mary of Egypt Convent, Uganda
 
Maria die Egiptenaar - Die verhaal van groot Egiptiese Heilige
 
St. Mary of Egypt Multi-Cultural Orthodox Christian Church - Kansas City, Missouri

Forgiveness – The Hardest Love of All

Ancient Faith / Glory 2 God for all things

Fr. Stephen Freeman

 
I cannot think that any of my readers is a stranger to forgiveness, either the need to be forgiven or the need to forgive. The need to forgive, according to the commandment of Christ, extends well beyond those who ask for our forgiveness: we are commanded to forgive our enemies – whom I presume would rarely want to ask for our forgiveness.
Of course, our experience of those who are truly enemies is that we do not want to forgive them. We do not trust them; the wound has been too deep; their offense is not against us but against someone we love who is particularly vulnerable. I could enlarge the list but we are all too familiar with it. The reasons we find it hard to forgive our enemies is endless.
But the commandment remains – not as a counsel of how to live a healthier, happier life – but with the added reminder that we will only find forgiveness as we forgive. Forgiveness is not optional – but a fundamental spiritual action which we must learn to use as though our salvation depended upon it – for it does.
Several times in Scripture forgiveness of others (including enemies) is linked with our becoming like God, being conformed to His image. Thus when I think of forgiveness I think as well of the whole life of salvation – for the path to being restored to the fullness of the image of Christ runs directly through the forgiveness of our enemies. It may indeed be the very key to our salvation (as it is worked out in us) and its most accurate measure.
Having said that, however, is also to say that this commandment to forgive is not of man – we do not have it in us to fullfill this commandment in and of ourselves. St. Gregory of Nyssa once said that “man is mud whom God has commanded to become God.” Of course it is utterly and completely impossible for mud to do such a thing (unless God make it so).
Grace is the foundation of forgiveness. We pray for forgiveness to enter our heart. We beg for forgiveness to enter our heart. We importune God for forgiveness to enter our heart.
Even as a product of grace – we do not begin with the hardest things but with the easiest. We do not begin fasting by tackling the most strict regimen. We do not begin prayer with an effort to pray continually for forty days (or some other great feat). Such efforts would either crush us with their difficulty or crush us with our success.

These are a few thoughts on beginning the life of forgiveness:
1. Begin by struggling to form the habit of forgiveness in the smallest things. With a child, with traffic, with little irritations. Do not struggle in a small way but throw yourself into forgiveness. It should become a habit, but a habit of grace, a large action.
2. Use this prayer for the enemies who seem to be beyond your ability to pray: “O God, at the dread judgment, do not condemn them for my sake.” This places forgiveness at a distance and even a hard heart can often manage the small prayer of forgiveness at such a distance.
3. Be always aware of your own failings and constantly ask for God’s forgiveness. “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”
4. As much as possible cultivate in your heart the understanding that all human beings are broken and victims of the fall. None of us enters a world of purity, nor do we enter the world fully fuctional as a human being. It is the gradual cultivation of mercy in our heart. Many will complain that our culture already has a “cult of victimization” in which no one takes responsibility for their actions. The same people will imagine that the world would be better if only everyone took more responsibility. But they themselves will not take on the responsibility that belong to us all. As Dostoevsky says, “Each man is responsible for everything before everyone.” Thus the complaint comes out of our pride. We think we ourselves are not responsible for the state of the world as it is and that if only others were as good as we were the world would be better. This is a lie.
5. The proper response to taking such responsibility is to pray and ask forgiveness. Feeling guilty is generally another self-centered action and is not the same thing as asking forgiveness.
6. Make a life confession at least once a year – being careful to name as many resentments as you can remember (this last advice comes from Met. Jonah Paffhausen).

“But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to every one who begs from you; and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again. And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them. 

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. 

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back” (Luke 6:27-38).

See also

 
Beginning of Great Lent - The forgiveness at the very center of Christian faith and of Christian life
A CLOSER INSPECTION OF EXCUSES - A Sermon for Judgment Sunday

St. Dionysius of Zakynthos, the Saint of Forgiveness, "the Walking Saint" [icon]

Christian life means forgiveness  

Love the sinner, hate the sin

St. Augustine (June 15): "love the sinner, hate the sin" 

 

The Sunday of parable of the prodigal son (Triodion)

ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ: Η παραβολή του Ασώτου είναι μυσταγωγική

(δηλ. οδηγεί στα άγια μυστήρια της Εκκλησίας μας)
See please:
 
The parable of the prodigal son is a mystagogic parable   Man and his Fall - Analysis of the Parable of the Prodigal Son Orthodox Spiritual Legacy: A Guide to the Triodion and Lent, on the Road to Easter Triodion resource page

The Way - An introduction to the Orthodox Faith

Theosis (deification): The True Purpose of Human Life

Theosis, St. Silouan and Elder Sophrony

LIVE, BEYOND THE LIMITS!
Love the sinner, hate the sin 
Deification - The Uncreated Light

 
Protestants ask: Why be Orthodox?   
During the time that Luther and Calvin were formulating the Reformation...
The ancient Christian Church - About Orthodox Church in the West World
Travelers on the way to light