In reflecting on the Cross, Metropolitan Anthony Bloom of blessed memory, cites St. John’s Chrysostom’s definition of a real king.
A king, the saint wrote, is one who completely identifies himself with his people so that his very purpose in life is only to serve them, even unto death.
That description certainly fits our Lord—whose whole life was one of love and service to others for whom—us—He even died.
St. Paul, as we heard, calls Christ the High Priest—as one who offers gifts and sacrifices for sin.
And it is this King, this high priest, who today invites us to turn our lives around in taking up our own Cross in the way He did.
Acceptance, sacrifice, the assurance of something better and more complete in God’s Kingdom.
These are the ways of the Cross, too often ignored or even rejected in our lives.
Yet Christ states the undeniable fact that needs to permeate and take hold in our hearts and minds—all the earthly things and persons we may treasure and value, even our own life—pass—
and only one thing and one person remains—God and our place and life in His Kingdom.
We may want to deny this, hide it, rail against it—but we cannot change it.
And once we accept this, it will be easier to embrace and live the way of the Cross, to which Christ calls us.
St. Innocent—and how profitable it is to immerse ourselves in this saint’s words—
St. Innocent wrote that a person who goes that way into the HeavenlyKingdom will find themselves rewarded for all their work, desires, intentions, sorrows and restraintin this life,and that further that which awaits them cannot be told or imagined.
My sisters and brothers in Christ, now is the time, in St. Innocent’s words, while the doors of the HeavenlyKingdom are still open to us, that we need to begin our journey through them, carrying our Cross, into everlasting life with our Heavenly Father.
Now and Ever and Unto Ages of Ages
Glory Be To Jesus Christ.
Glory Forever.
Mark 2:1-12
In the Name of The Father Son and Holy Spirit,
Glory Be To Jesus Christ
We are on a journey in Lent and as the man in today’s Gospel was summoned to rise, so Christ calls us to walk with Him, in His life, through the Cross, and onto the Resurrection.
In the narrative from St. Mark we see the strength of faith and of community in action—joining in an act of caring.
This has a parallel with us when we gather in worship and in fellowship, overcoming obstacles small and large, to be here and to come to Christ.
Indeed, at each Liturgy we sing of finding the true faith—proclaiming here our belief in Christ.
Our Lord rewards persons for their faith.
He offers forgiveness of sin to the paralyzed man, knowing that sickness and suffering ultimately stem from the falleness of persons, through which such things entered the world.
Through His words the paralyzed man can move again.
Is this not what He seeks for us when we come to Him repentant in Confession, seeking His forgiveness and the strength to improve.
The paralyzed man is freed to get up and walk, to move again because of the faith of himself and his friends.
We too as we seek our own cures are called to attend to each other—not to leave others paralyzed in their sufferings.
In such demonstrations of faith and caring for each other we then are strengthened and begin to bear the fruits of trusting in Christ and responding to His words and teachings.
His ways, the journey to which he leads us, speak of a new life, better, deeper in meaning and true joy, more fulfilling and satisfying.
We follow them as we love, do good, live in truth, are charitable, forgiving and not judging, slow to anger, humble, reverent and in the receiving of Him in our worship.
And we too are strengthened when we dwell among the community of believers, which is His Church, in which we support each other and lift each other.
It is from here that together we walk to Him and with Him...
Now and Ever and Unto Ages of Ages.
Glory Be To Jesus Christ!
Matthew4:12-17
In the Name of The Father Son and Holy Spirit,
Glory Be To Jesus Christ
This past week we celebrated Theophany—the manifestation of Christ as Divine, which we witness at His baptism
We blessed the waters which stand in the center of our Church at our evening service.
Those who gathered know the importance and the fulfillment we find in such services of the Church, and all would do well to partake not just of the water but of the services themselves.
On this Sunday after the Feast we continue the liturgical celebration—
The appointed Gospel lesson for the day is from the 4th chapter of Matthew.
And in it we hear the Lord’s important call to us:
Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.
It is no accident that the Church has given us this lesson from the Bible on this day.
For we see Repentance tied to Baptism.
In fact we can say that for Baptism to be real, we need repentance.
Baptism is not an empty ritual but represents the freeing of us through Christ from the shackles of sin.
He himself humbled himself to take on our sins, and participated in the Baptism of men, so He could elevate the ritual to cleanse our souls.
And while each of us was baptized, we can look at our lives and know that we have fallen into sin at some point.
That we sin is not a surprise, but a sad reality.
And our Lord recognized this and in His love for us, sought to do something about it.
He was not going to tell us that one strike and you are out.
He allowed us through His Church to constantly renew our Baptism.
The Rev. Lev Gullet, who wrote under the name, a monk of the eastern Church, addresses this well in some words I would like to share with you:
“We were probably infants when we were baptized; baptismal grace was then a divine response, not to our personal request, but to the faith of those who brought us to baptism and also to faith of the whole Church when it accepted us.
“This baptismal grace was, then, in some way provisional and conditional;
it need us, of our own free choice as we grew up and became conscious, to confirm the act of our baptism.
Epiphany is, above all, the feast of baptism, not only of Jesus´s baptism, but also of our own.
It is a wonderful opportunity for us to renew in spirit the baptism that we received, and to revive the grace which was conferred on us.
For the sacramental graces, even if interrupted and suspended by sin, can become alive in us again, if we turn sincerely to God.
At the feast of Epiphany, let us ask God to wash us again---spiritually , not actually in the waters of baptism;
let us drown the old, the sinful, creature in “them, for baptism is a mystical death.
My sisters and brothers in Christ, let us see our acts in the Church and as the Church as a renewal—always seeking to cling more closely to God.
Let our acts of prayer, our making the sign of the Cross, our veneration of icons, and our love for each other, have as a foundation that renewal of our own Baptism.
And let our partaking of the holy waters be the nourishment that will grow our souls to new heights in the Lord.
Now and ever and unto ages of ages,
Glory Be To Jesus Christ!
We all by now should be following the teachings of the Church in preparing to receive Communion. But, how do we prepare for Confession?
Let us, though, first review our preparation for Communion: Those who do not regularly participate in Communion, that is coming more than once a month, have a need to participate in individual Confession before approaching the Chalice. Those who are or wish to participate in Communion regularly, as our Lord invites each of us to regularly participate in individual Confession. Regular does not mean once every few months or even more infrequent. If we have not been to Confession in the last two months we should not approach the Chalice before we do Confess.
These teachings are for our salvation. To ignore them risks condemnation of our soul.Having said that we turn to the truth that no one lives without sinning. It is sad, but true. We may be so cold spiritually that we are indifferent to sin. Some, though sincere, may not recognize sin to the delight of Satan. Others may be confused. It is through God’s Grace, and we must open ourselves to that Grace, that we come to know our sins.
And, as in all things we do or try to accomplish, we need to pray.We benefit in our preparation by using the Trisagion Prayers, as well as reading and praying some of the Psalms, especially Psalm 51. (After Confession we benefit from Psalms 23, 24 and 116 as well as others.), and the Canons.
We need to examine ourselves, which we should do each day, before our participation in individual Confession. We need to ask God to open us up to our weaknesses and guide us through His strength. We need to look at our attitudes, words, thoughts, actions toward each others; toward our Church and her clergy and hierarchs; and first and foremost toward God. When we come to Confession we come to be forgiven by God of our sins, the authority for which He exercises through His priests.
From there we can work on our repentance—that is the changing of our minds and hearts, our directions, so that we may live a life more closely united with God, and thus find true fulfillment in this world that will carry us into eternity.
What are some areas in which we need to examine ourselves? Here are some questions to assist us:
1.Do I pray mornings and evenings?
2.Do I attend and am I attentive at Church Services Sundays, evenings,Feasts?
3.Do I thank God for all things?
4.Do I use God’s name in vain? Swear?
5.Do I wish harm on others?
6.Do I judge persons, or been harshly critical of others?
7.Am I envious of others?
8.Do I rejoice in the good fortune of others?
9.Have I engaged in gossip?
10.Have I shown respect to my children and to my parents?
11.Have I been obedient to the Church and supportive of her? Her hierarchs? Her clergy?
12.Have I shown respect toward the bishops, priests and deacons of the Church?
13.Have I helped others in need?
14.Have I prayed for those who need God’s mercy?
15.Do I regularly read God’s word in the Bible?
16.Have I given joyfully to the Church?
17.Is there anything or anyone that I cannot give up for Christ?
18.Do I try to see Christ in each person that I meet?
19.If I had the opportunity, would I physically care for another?
20.Have I physically or mentally hurt my spouse?
21.Have I supported and shown love to my husband or wife?
22.Have I mistreated animals or anything living in God’s Kingdom on earth?
23.Have I been a good steward of the earth?
24.Have I forsaken my faith and the teachings of the Church to please another or to fit in with others?
25.Have I participated in abortion or encouraged someone to do so?
26.Is God and His Church truly the priority in my life? Do I come to Church to worship and to pray?
27.Have I hurt myself or another physically or spiritually?
28.Do I doubt God in any situation?
29.Am I sorry for my sins?
30.Do I truly desire to be a better Orthodox Christian?
Great Lent is a time for dying.
Death to sin.
Death to lukewarm faith.
Death to pride.
Death to lust.
Death to greed.
Death to gluttony.
Death to laxity in worship.
Death to hurtful words,
deeds, acts and thoughts.
Death to the demons
that seek to invade our minds and hearts.
Death to false gods
and pagan notions.
Let us so die to the old man
So we may cling to the new--
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Great Lent is a humbling time,
and humility is what we so need
in a world that worships too often
and too much celebrity, riches, pride and power.
St. Andrew of Crete guide us through your Great Canon.
Lead us tounderstand
who we were intended to be,
who we are and
who will we become through God’s Grace.
We die with Christ and so we will live with him.
--Fr. William
There are many reasons to donate to the Church.
What are some of them?
We at All Saintsdo not often speak or write about the many needs for funds facing the Church, or about the broader implications of giving.
In fact if one visited many Churches in the region after having been a member of All Saints, one would be surprised at the pleas for contributions and the positive responses, heard regularly.
Why then do we give? We give first of all to pay expenses.
Simply put without sufficient donations we would not have the things that go into being a parish. Electricity, water, heat, candles, incense, maintenance, a priest.
We simply need to meet the costs of being a Church.
But giving goes beyond this.
We give because throughout the Bible we are taught the importance of giving—in both the Old and New Testaments are many examples offered us about giving.
St. Paul speaks of us as being good stewards of the mysteries of God—and those mysteries are found in His Church.
Being good stewards calls us to give.
The Lord Himself speaks of giving in several ways.
He cites the example of the widow who gave all she had in donating two mites to the Church.
And our Lord teaches that her gift is greater than all others as she gave from the heart, she madea sacrifice to do this, and she did not give from what was left over—nor should we, and that is the example He gives.
This in itself needs to inspire us in our attitude toward giving.
We also know from the Bible and teachings of the Church that we are made in the image and likeness of God.
And, that part of our effort in this earthly life is to grow in that likeness...
God loves, and so we love...
God is merciful and so we show mercy.
God is compassionate and so are we.
And God gives and so we give.
This giving brings us closer to God allowing us to share in yet another of His actions. And giving reflects God in our lives.
Also, it is ingiving that we show thanks to God, acknowledging that all that we have is a gift from Him, and offering back a portion of all that is His.
And another wonderful aspect of giving, is that in giving to God and His Church, we in fact benefit from the act. It feels good to give. We have a sense of accomplishment, and a feeling of commitment and dedication to the Lord. . And the Lord pours His blessings upon those who do give as we read in the Bible.
Finally, too, in giving we find that rather than being deprived, we are enriched and even have more to share with others and the Church.
Luke 18:10-24
In the Name of The Father Son and Holy Spirit,
Glory Be To Jesus Christ
At Pentecost we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit and we spoke of the changes this can mean in our lives. We are given real examples of those changes as we celebrate All Saints Day - The Patronal feast day of our Holy House - which follows Pentetcost by a week.
Again we are not distant observers of these person, saints, nor are we spectators of their lives. In fact, our saints as we know even grow more contemporary to us and closer geographically. Now in our prayers we can speak of Saint Alexis - A priest of Wilkes-Barre,PA. Of St. Raphael, Bishop of Brooklyn, New York. And of course our Saints of Alaska who have touched the lands we have walked in: Persons like Herman, Innocent, Peter, Jacob and John and Juvenaly. Regardless of locale, our saints are not remote in anyway to us.
The fact that some appear in icons and on our iconostasis does not make them historic figures without relevance. In fact we look at our saints as links in a chain. A chain, St. Symeon the New Theologian described as golden. The saints of each generation are joined to those, he says, who have gone before, and are filled like them with light. They become a golden chain in which each saint is a separate link. Each is united to the next by faith, works and love. So, in the one God, they form a single chain which cannot quickly be broken.
The work for us today and in our future days is to become a link ourselves. How do we do this. The first thing we need to do is to resolve to be holy. We need to heed the Lord's words in the Gospel in which he calls on us to put him first in our lives. Not all are willing to do this…to try this…or to at least struggle to do this.
WHY WOULD SOME BE RELUCTANT?
The Elder Philotheos (Zervakos) says the reason is that they do not want to: To be a saint is to be holy - to dedicate one's life to God - and for some this is simply too difficult to contemplate. Yet we know from Christ's words and life that what we might need to give up does not compare to what we will gain. How do we work on forging ourselves into one of those links that can fit that golden chain? St. Paul says that we can imitate the lives of the saints, not simply by reading about them but trying to act as they did. To learn what they did, we can first turn to the many recorded histories of the saints.
It has been written by an elder on Mt. Athos (Agapios Landos) that a person is touched more profoundly by reading one beautiful life of a saint than by all discourses and philosophies. And once we read about the saints, and how they turned their lives over Christ - making him a priority in their life - we can heed their lessons as St. Paul teaches. Their lives speak to us of those gifts of the spirit that St. Paul speaks of in Galatians: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, Sobriety. Just think what meeting some with a few of those qualities would mean to us. Now think if we embrace those qualities what we will mean to others.
We can do it if we resolve to do so. If we seek to put Christ first in our lives. We are helped tremendously along the way on this journey by our Lord. He offers us first of all his body and blood, through which we attain cleansing and unity with him. And we are helped by our life of prayer and worship - which changes us if we are open to change. Helped by asking the saints, who are close to God through their lives - to intercede for us and to pray for us to God. St. Nectarios says that the saints listen to our entreaties and pray to the Lord, becoming bearers of the grace and mercy of the Lord.
My sisters and brothers in Christ it is not an accident that we are here…in this Holy House…that is named for all the saints. Let us in our lives take with us something from our Holy House. Let it be here that the metal is forged that make us those special links - links of the golden chain. A chain woven by God's grace with the lives of his saints and with the lives of each of us. May it be so according to his will.
Now and ever and unto ages of ages. Glory be to Jesus Christ…GLORY FOREVER.
The above was written by Archpriest William DuBovik, pastor of All Saints Orthodox Church, Hartford, CT.
Orthodoxy in America
