2015 - June Sacred Lessons

8/9/2019 2015 - June Sacred Lessons

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G r e e k O r t h o d o x P a t r i a r c h a t e o f A l e x a n d r i a & A l l A f r i c a

A r c h d i o c e s e o f G o o d H o p e All Glory, Honour and Worship to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now andForever, and unto the Ages of Ages. AmenRemembering also our Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed and Glorious Lady, Mary, Theotokos yetEver Virgin, together with all the Saints. And let us commit ourselves and one another and our

whole Life to Christ our God. Amen.

1 June 2015

Afterfeast of Holy Pentecost Monday of the Holy Spirit Also the Feast of St Justin the Philospher, St Chariton & St Charito, his wife, StEvelpistos, St Hierax, St Peonos, St Valerian & St Justos of Rome – St Dionysios the Great

Ascetic Abbot of Glushetsk, Vologda - St Agapitos the Unmercenary Physician of KievNear Caves Monastery – St Shio the New, St David, St Gabriel & St Paul, Holy MonkMartyrs of the David-Gareji Wilderness, Georgia

F E S T A L A P O L Y T I K I O N - P E N T E C O S T – T O N E

E vlogitos i Hriste O Theos imon, O Pansofous tous aliisanadixas, katapempsas aftis to Pnevma to Agion, ke diAfton tin ikoumenin saginefsas, Filanthrope: Doxa Si!

Blessed art Thou, Christ our God, Who has filled theFishermen with Wisdom by sending down the HolySpirit upon them, and Who, through them, has unitedthe world: Glory to Thee, O Lover of Mankind!

F E S T A L K O N T A K I O N – T O N E ( 8 ) P L A G A L 4( P E N T E C O S T U N T I L T H E A P O D O S I S B E F O R E A L L S A I N T S S U N D AY )

O te katavas tas glossas sinehee, diemerizen ethni OIpsisto. Ote tou Piros tas Glossas dienimen is enotitapanta ekalese. Ke simfonos Doxazomen to PanagionPnevma!

When the Most High came down and confused thetongues, He parted the Nations; when He divided outthe Tongues of Fire, He Called all to Unity. And withone voice we Glorify the All-Holy Spirit!

B A P T I S M H Y M N – I N S T E A D O F T H E “ A G I O S O T H E O S . . . ”

O si is Hriston Evaptisthite, Hriston enedisasthe. Allelouia! As many of you as were Baptised into Christ, have puton Christ: Alleluia!

P R O K E I M E N O N - P S A L M 2 7 - ( T O N E ( 6 ) P L A G A L 2 )Save Thy People and Bless Thine Inheritance

Unto Thee will I cry, O Lord, my God!S T P A U L’ S E P I S T L E T O T H E E P H E S I A N S 5 : 8 – 1 9

W E M U S T WA L K I NC H R I S T T H ED I V I N E LI G H T & T R U T H

Brethren: ... you were once in Darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord. Walk as Children of Light for the Fruit of theSpirit is in all Goodness, Righteousness and Truth, finding out what is acceptable to our Lord.

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of Darkness, but rather expose them.For of those things that are done by them in secret it is shameful even to speak.All things that are exposed are made manifest by the Light. Whatever makes manifest is Light.Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep! Arise from the Dead and Christ Will give you Light!”See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the Will of our Lord is.And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in Psalms and

Hymns and Spiritual Odes, sing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. We must carefully JUDGE STRICTLY ACCORDING TO WHAT OUR

LORD G OD HAS TAUGHT US – ACCORDING TO H IS DIVINE , PERFECT TRUTH whatever the fallen world tells us is‘reasonable’.

BESIDES SEPARATING OURSELVES FROM SPIRITUAL D ARKNESS – SIN

AND IGNORANCE – AS F AITHFUL C HRISTIANS WHO AREF AITHFUL D ISCIPLES OF C HRIST , WE MUST EXPOSEEVERYTHING TO THE D IVINE LIGHT OF TRUTH .

However, WE MUST FIRST COME OUT OF HIDING FROM THED IVINE TRUTH OURSELVES and thus expose our ownerrors, ignorance and sins accordingly, IN ORDER TOSINCERELY AND HONESTLY REPENT OUR SINS .

The Hymn “Awake, you who sleep!” is an earlyBaptismal Hymn – Holy Baptism is our SpiritualIllumination, so WHEN WE WALK IN THE LIGHT , WE WALK INOUR HOLY B APTISM – IE . W E LIVE EVERY DAY OF OUR LIFE

ACCORDING TO EVERYTHING THAT OUR HOLY B APTISMSIGNIFIES .

In other words, WE MUST LIVE EVERY MOMENT OF OUR LIFE IN CHRIST BY MEANS OF OUR CEASELESS SPIRITUAL W ARFARE

AND STRUGGLE AGAINST THE TEMPTATIONS , PASSIONS ANDSINS BY IMMEDIATELY ACKNOWLEDGING PERSONAL SIN ANDREPENTING THEM .

O UR G OAL IS not to abandon the world, but TO KEEPOURSELVES IN C HRIST AND TO SALVAGE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLEFROM THE EVIL , FALLEN WORLD .

A S F AITHFUL C HRISTIANS AND DISCIPLES OF C HRIST WERENOUNCE THE WICKEDNESS AND FALLENNESS OF THE WORLDBUT NOT THE BEAUTIFUL C REATION OF G OD .

When we sincerely Repent, a surge of Life and Joy wellsforth.

A distinctive spirit, a kind of elation energizes bothdarkness and light.For those in (Spiritual) Darkness, this spirit is like

drunkenness, artificial and temporary, while forChristians it is the Presence of the Holy Spirit (thatprofoundly affects and changes us) and theindescribable Joy is the New Covenant worship ofthe Holy Trinity, the Holy Eucharist (Thanksgiving) toGod the Father, through God the Son Incarnate, inGod the Holy Spirit.

Those who are inebriated through alcohol totter andsway and even fall down, but THOSE WHO AREINEBRIATED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT ARE FIRMLY ROOTED INOUR LORD AND S AVIOUR , J ESUS C HRIST , AND G LORIOUSLYSOBER !!

W E CANNOT FULFIL OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE by reading orquoting Holy Scripture or singing Hymns and PsalmsIF WE DO NOT HAVE SINCERE , REAL OR TRUE HUMILITY , O BEDIENCE AND FEAR OF G OD (i.e. deepest Respect forGod and the fear of disappointing our Most BelovedHeavenly Father through our personal failures.)


2/262. H O L Y T R I N I T Y W E E K – M O N D A Y O F T H E H O L Y S P I R I T 1 J U N E 2 0 1 5

T H E H O L Y G O S P E L A C C O R D I N G T O S T M A T T H E W 1 8 : 1 0 – 2 0F I N D I N G T H E LO S T S H E E P

At that time, our Lord Jesus Christ said: “... Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones. I say to you thattheir Angels in Heaven always see the Face of My Father Who is in Heaven. The Son of Man has come to SaveThose who were lost. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he notleave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to see the one that had strayed? And if he should find it, truly, I sayto you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

“Even so, it is not the Will of your Father Who is in Heaven that one of these little ones should perish.“Furthermore, if your Brother sins against Him, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you,

you will have gained your Brother. If he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘... by the mouth of twoor three witnesses every word may be established.’ If he refuses to hear them, tell it to the Church. And if he

refuses even to hear the Church, let him be to you like a heathen and a Tax Collector.“Truly, I say to you: whatever you bind on Earth will be bound in Heaven. And whatever you loosen on Earth will beloosened in Heaven. Again, I say to you: if two of you agree on Earth concerning anything that they ask, it will bedone for them by My Father in Heaven.

“Where two or three are gathered together in My Name, I Am there in the midst of them.” Our Lord’s use of the term “ little ones ” includes all

those who have a childlike Humility and simplicity– all those who are “... poor in spirit .”

With regard to the “ Angels ,” St John Chrysostomtaught us that not only the Holy Saints but EACH OFUS HAS OUR OWN , PERSONAL G UARDIAN A NGELS , WHO

WATCH OVER US , GUIDE US AND PROTECT US FROM HARM . (However, it all depends on whether we are Obedient and willing to

listen to those “little voices” that always tell us the correct wayto behave and who warn us when we are in imminent danger.)

THE G UARDIAN A NGELS OF HUMBLE PEOPLE HAVE GREATERBOLDNESS AND GREATNESS “... in the Face of God ...” (in the

Sight of God) because of the Humility of those whomthey guard, guide and protect.It is not the Divine Nature of God but rather THE WEAKNESS

OF MANKIND THAT REQUIRES A NGELIC A SSISTANCE . Unlike human, earthly Shepherds and their flocks of

sheep, C HRIST OUR G OOD SHEPHERD , HIGHLY VALUESEVEN ONE OF H IS HOLY FLOCK - to such a degree thatHE WILL LEAVE H IS OTHER SHEEP IN ORDER TO S AVE THOSETHAT GO ASTRAY AND WHO ARE LOST .

THE “N INETY -NINE ” SHEEP SIGNIFY THE RIGHTEOUS WHO REMAINF AITHFUL AND O BEDIENT TO A LMIGHTY G OD . (LUKE 15:7)

Some of our Holy Church Fathers also regard this as areference to Christ’s Incarnation whereby THE N INETY -NINE - SIGNIFYING THE HEAVENLY HOSTS OF A NGELS - WERELEFT IN HEAVEN WHEN HE CAME TO E ARTH IN ORDER TO FINDH IS LOST SHEEP ON E ARTH – MANKIND – WHO HAD FALLEN INTOCORRUPTION AND SIN .

Mankind had gone astray and thus became severelyalienated from God. C HURCH D ISCIPLINE IS BASED ON MUTUAL CORRECTION IN

THREE EXPANDING STAGES .SIN AND CORRECTION ARE TO REMAIN PRIVATE UNLESS THE

OFFENDER REFUSED TO REPENT . A LL CORRECTION MUST BE DONE WITH GREAT CARE AND HUMILITY ,

WITH THE HIGHEST CONCERN BEING THE S ALVATION OF THEOFFENDER .

1 C ORINTHIANS 5 : 5 “... deliver such a one to Satan forthe destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may beSaved in the Day of the Lord Jesus.”

IN THE C HURCH THERE IS PROTECTION FROM THE DESTRUCTIVEPOWER OF S ATAN . (MATTHEW 16:18)

THIS PROTECTION IS - IN SUCH SERIOUS CASES – REMOVED THROUGHEXCOMMUNICATION IN THE HOPE THAT , HAVING EXPERIENCEDTHE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN G OD ’S LOVING RULE AND S ATAN ’SDESTRUCTIVE ENSLAVEMENT , THIS OFFENDER MAY REPENT ANDIN THE END BE S AVED .

“The flesh ” (sarx ) is not synonymous with “ body ” (soma ).St Paul’s instructions called for the destruction – not of the

body – but rather of the lusts of the flesh. G ALATIANS 6 : 1 “... if a man is overtaken in anytrespass, you who are spiritual restore such aone in a spirit of Gentleness, consideringyourself lest you also be tempted.”

To be able to administer correction with “G ENTLENESS ” IS ASPIRITUAL G IFT GRANTED TO US BY G OD THE HOLY SPIRIT .

Nevertheless, CORRECTION AND REPENTANCE MUST TAKE PLACESO THAT THE SIN DOES NOT SPREAD TO OTHERS AS WELL .

The Church consists of everyone – Bishops, Priests,Deacons, Choir, Teachers, Readers and laity – thepeople.

THE C HURCH OF C HRIST IS THE BODY OF C HRIST AND WE ARE ALLM EMBERS – SIGNIFICANT PARTS – OF C HRIST ’S BODY , HAVING TOFUNCTION IN HARMONY , PEACE AND UNITY .

THE A UTHORITY TO ‘BIND OR LOOSEN SINS ’ IS GRANTED TO THE A POSTLES AND TRANSMITTE D TO THE BISHOPS AND

PRESBYTERS (PRIESTS) THEY ORDAINED .THIS A UTHORITY IS GIVEN FOR THE SAKE OF THE S ALVATION OF THESINNER .

The sinner, “... seeing that he is not cast out of theChurch, but that the bond of his sin will remain inHeaven, he may turn and become gentle.” (ST JOHNCHRYSOSTOM)

G O D T H E H O L Y S P I R I T The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Holy Trinity, of

the same Eternal, Divine Essence and equal Rank as Godthe Father and the Son.

"... the Spirit is the Witness, because the Spirit is theTruth. There are three Witnesses, the Spirit, theWater, and the Blood; and these three agree..." (1 JOHN 5:7-8).

The Holy Spirit is revealed in many verses of HolyScripture:

"Why has Satan filled your hearts to lie to the HolySpirit ... you have not lied to men, but to God " ( ACTS5:3,4B )

"There are varieties of Gifts, but the same Spirit ... thesame Lord ... it is the same God..." (1 CORINTHIANS12:5F -CF. MATTHEW 28:19; 2 CORINTHIANS 13:13F) .

The Godhead of the Holy Spirit comes directly from Godthe Father. As the Son is Begotten by the Father, theHoly Spirit Proceeds from the Father, for:

" When the Counsellor [ the Holy Spirit ] comes, Whom I[ Christ ] shall send to you from the Father, even theSpirit Of Truth, Who Proceeds from the Father, Hewill bear Witness to Me." (JOHN 15:26).

The Church has proclaimed this Divine Truth - that THE

H OLY S PIRIT IS OF THE SAME E TERNAL S UBSTANCE AS THEF ATHER AND THE S ON IN THE G ODHEAD OF THE T RINITY and has incorporated this Truth in the Nicene Creed aspronounced by the Second Ecumenical Synod (381).

[I believe] "... in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life,Who Proceeds from the Father, Who - with the Fatherand t he Son together - is Worshipped and Glorified;Who spoke by the Prophets."

The Holy Spirit in Truth remains in the Church, Protectsand Preserves Her Truths and Sanctifies Her members.

The Holy Spirit is the Power and Comforter of Believers,and was Promised by Christ.

The Holy Spirit is the Life-Giving Energy and Power, whichmakes the Church " the Pillar and Ground of theTruth." (1 TIMOTHY 3:15)

The Holy Spirit was the Divine Instrument in theConception of Jesus Christ as God-Man.

" The Holy Spirit will come upon Thee (Virgin Mary),and the Power of the Most High will overshadowThee. Therefore, the Child to be born will becalled ‘Holy,’ ‘the Son of God’ " (LUKE 1:35).

The Holy Spirit is the Author of Holy Scripture and theSource of Inspiration for its writers.

This is why - although it was written by different peoplethroughout the span of 1000 years - Holy Scripture iscoherent and consistent in substance and meaning. Thisis a remarkable and overwhelming fact. There is noother literature in the world which has this outstandingcoherence, while written over such a period of time and

by different writers.What was prophesied in the Old Testament, dating back

hundreds of years, was fulfilled in time, and in detail, inthe New Testament. This is an extraordinaryphenomenon. This coherence of the Old with the Newwas an evolutionary process in the course of time

between the Divine Promise and its realization.


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A r c h d i o c e s e o f G o o d H o p e All Glory, Honour and Worship to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and Forever,and unto the Ages of Ages. AmenRemembering also our Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed and Glorious Lady, Mary, Theotokos yetEver Virgin, together with all the Saints. And let us commit ourselves and one another and our


7 June 2015

Tone (8) Plagal 41 st Sunday After Pentecost – 1 st Sunday of St Matthew Sunday Of All Saints

Also the Feast of St Theodotos of Ancyra – St Marcellinos, St Claudios, St Cyrinos, StSisinios, St Samaragdos, St Largos, St Apronian, St Saturninos, St Crescentian, St Papias,St Mauros, St Antoninos, St Priscilla, St Lucy & Artemia, the Emperor’s daughter, of Rome– St Kyriake, St Kaleria (Valeria), St Mary & St Zinaida (Zenais) of Caesarea, Palestine – StGregory, St Theodoros & St Leontos of Sami, Kephallonia

APOSTL ES’ FAST BEGINS TOMORROW UNTL 29 JUNE, FEAST OF TH E HOLY APOS TLES, ST PETER & ST PAUL

R E S U R R E C T I O N A P O L Y T I K I O N – T O N E ( 8 ) P L A G A L 4

E x ipsous katilthes O Efsplaghnos, tafin katedexo triimeron,ina imas elevtherosis ton Pathon. I Zoi ke i Anastasisimon, Kyrie, Doxa Si!

Thou descended from on High, O Tender-hearted One;Thou endured the three-days’ burial, so that Thoumight free us from our passions, O our Life andResurrection: Glory to Thee

F E S T A L A P O L Y T I K I O N – H O L Y A P O S T L E S O F C H R I S T – T O N E 3 A postoli Agii, presvefsate to eleimoni Theo, ina ptesmaton

afesin, paraskhi tes psihes imon.

T in Dodekahordon tou Pnevmatos Liran, tous tou SotirosApostolous ke Mistas, hreostikos imnisomen Pisti. Pasigar evingelisanto tis Alithias ton Logon, ethnidepanigagon pros ton monon Pimena, ton arhigon tisPisteos Hriston, on disopousi Sothine pantas imas.

O Holy Apostles, intercede with our Merciful God to grantour souls forgiveness of sins!

T he Twelve-string Lyre of the Spirit, the Apostles andInitiates of the Saviour, let us the Faithful dutifullypraise. For they preached to everyone the Word of theTruth, and they returned the Nations to the one andonly Shepherd, the Leader of our Faith Who is Christ,Whom they beseech that all of us be saved.

A P O L Y T I K I O N O F A L L S A I N T S - T O N E ( 8 ) P L A G A L 4

T on en olon to kosmo Martiron Sou, os porfiran ke vissonta emata, i Ekklisia Sou stolisameni, di afton voa Si,Hriste O Theos: To lao Sou tous iktirmous katapempson,irinin ti politia Sou Dorise, ke tes psihes imon to MegaEleos .

T hy Church having bedecked herself with the blood of allThy Martyrs in the world, as with the finest linen andpurple robe, through them cries out to Thee, O Christour God: Send down Thy Compassion upon Thypeople, grant peace to Thy Commonwealth, and to oursouls Thy Great Mercy.

K O N T A K I O N O F A L L S A I N T S S U N D A Y

O s aparhas tis fiseos, to fitourgo tis ktiseos, i ikoumeniproferi Si Kyrie, tous Theoforou Martiras. Tes aftonikesies, en Irini vathia tin Ekklisian Sou, dia tisTheotokou, Sintirison Polielee!

Like the First Fruits of Nature, to the Author of allCreation, the earth’s people offer Thee, O Lord, theGod-bearing Martyrs. Through their Intercessions,maintain Thy Church in True and Perfect Peace, andthrough the Theotokos, preserve Her, O Most Merciful!

R E S U R R E C T I O N G O S P E L 1 - M A T T H E W 2 8 : 1 6 – 2 0T H E G R E A T C O M M I S S I O N O F O U R L O R D & S A V I O U R , J E S U S C H R I S T

P R O K E I M E N O N – A L L S A I N T S S U N D A Y God is Marvellous in His Saints!

Bless the Lord in the Congregation!

T H E E P I S T L E O F S T P A U L T O T H E H E B R E W S 1 1 : 3 3 – 1 2 : 2T H E F A I T H O F C E RTA I N I S R A E L I T E S& T H E P E R F E C T I O N O F F A I T H

Brethren: all the Saints, through Faith - subdued Kingdoms, worked Righteousness, obtained Promises, stopped themouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword. Out of weakness were made strong,

became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead Raised to life again.Others were tortured - not accepting deliverance, so that they might obtain a better Resurrection. Others had trials ofmockings and scourgings, of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, tempted, slain withthe sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented – of whom theworld was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountain, in dens and caves of the Earth.

And all of these – having obtained a Good Testimony through Faith – did not receive the Promise - God having providedsomething better for us so that they should not be made Perfect apart from us.

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a Cloud of Witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin thatso easily ensnares us, and let us run with Endurance the Race that is set before us, looking unto the Author andFinisher of our Faith, Jesus. Who - for the Joy that was set before Him - endured the Cross, despising the shame, andhas sat down at the right Hand of the Throne of God.

BY LIVING WITH A LMIGHTY G OD , OBEYING ALL HISC OMMANDMENTS AND LOVING H IM WITH ALL ONE ’S BEING ,

ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE in this worldbecause HE GRANTS US THE STRENGTH TO ENDURE ALL

LIFE ’S DIFFICULTIES , even the inhumane tortureinflicted by others as experienced by theMartyrdom of so many of the Saints throughout theages.


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THE UNSURPASSED SPIRITUAL STRENGTH AND DEPTH OF THEF AITH OF THE S AINTS IS TO BE MAR VELLED AT AND IMITATEDBY US.

N OTHING COULD SHAKE THEM LOOSE FROM THEIR UTTER F AITHIN AND LOVE OF A LMIGHTY G OD ; not even promises ofleniency in the midst of horrific tortures couldmake them denounce their Faith.

STRENGTH TO ENDURE THE CRUELTIES OF MANKIND AND THECONSEQUENCES OF THIS FALLEN – SPIRITUALLY DARKENED -

WORLD , IS DUE TO G OD ’S G RACE ONLY - BASED UPONCOMPLETE TRUST IN HIM , Who provides us with allnecessary abilities to achieve whatever is

required.That is why G OD IS G LORIFIED THROUGH THE SUFFERINGS OF HIS

BELOVED F AITHFUL who depend entirely upon Him todeliver them from all evil.

O NLY THROUGH THE POWER AND G RACE OF A LMIGHTY G OD IS ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING POSSIBLE !

C HRIST ’S INCARNATION AND ALL THAT HE ACCOMPLISHED FORUS IN THE FLESH REDEEMED [S AVED ] THE O LD C OVENANTS AINTS W HO , BY F AITH , PARTICIPATE IN H IS RESURRECTION

AND H IS ETERNAL KINGDOM . This entire passage [ BEGINNING WITH 10:9 ] is a

progressive discourse imploring us to SEEK G OD ’SKINGDOM FIRST – BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE !

Under the New Covenant, WE CAN ASCEND TO THISHEAVENLY PLACE IN W ORSHIP AND PRAYER .

W E EXPERIENCE THIS HEAVENLY DIMENSION FUNDAMENTALLYIN THE D IVINE LITURGY .

We ascend to that Heavenly Place where WE ARESURROUNDED BY A “G REAT C LOUD OF W ITNESSES .” [THEHEAVENLY HOSTS AND THE S AINTS ]

It is not a physical place but A SPIRITUAL C ONDITION THAT ISINHABITED BY A LMIGHTY G OD , THE A NGELS AND “THE SPIRITSOF J UST MEN MADE PERFECT .” [THE S AINTS ]

IT IS IN THIS SPIRITUAL M YSTERY THAT THE C OMMUNION OF THES AINTS IS ESTABLISHED IN THE N EW C OVENANT [N EW

A GREEMENT /P ROMISE OF AND WITH G OD ]The “ Cloud of Witnesses ” includes not only the Old

Covenant Saints mentioned previously, but also theSaints and Martyrs of the Lord throughout all the

ages. A LL THE HOLY S AINTS AND M ARTYRS SUCCEEDED – REACHEDSPIRITUAL PERFECTION OR THEOSIS - AND SO CAN WE !

W E PERSEVERE BY : G ETTING RID OF SIN – the “ weight ” of which keeps us

from heeding the Truth SETTING THE HEAVENLY C ITY AS OUR DESTINATION – running

the “ Race ” of Faith KEEPING OUR ATTENTION FOCUSED UPON J ESUS C HRIST OUR

LORD AND KING .This Race is not a sprint but A M ARATHON OF ENDURANCE -

WHICH DOES NOT END UNTIL WE FULLY ENTER ETERNITY – “ the Age to come .” [1 C ORINTHIANS 9:24 – 27]

O UR LORD J ESUS C HRIST IS BOTH THE A UTHOR – THE INITIATOR - AND F INISHER – PERFECTER – OF F AITH .

H IS J OY WAS TO DO G OD THE F ATHER ’S W ILL . He “ endured the Cross ” meaning that HE VOLUNTARILY

ACCEPTED HUMILIATION AND DEATH and THEREFORE WE ARE TO FOLLOW H IS DETERMINATION AND PERSEVERANCE .

T H E H O L Y G O S P E L A C C O R D I N G T O S T M A T T H E W 1 0 : 3 2 - 3 3 ; 3 7 - 3 8 ; 1 9 : 2 7 - 3 0B E I N G F E A R L E S SW I T N E S S E S T O O U R LO R D J E S U S C H R I S T ’ S P E R F E C T D I V I N E T R U T H

At that time, our Lord Jesus said: “... whoever Confesses Me before men, him will I also Confess before My Father Who isin Heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father Who is in Heaven...”

“...He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Meis not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his Cross and follow after Me, is not worthy of Me...”

Then Peter said to Him: “ Behold: we have left all and followed Thee. Therefore what shall we have?” Jesus said to them: “ Truly, I say to you, that in the Regeneration - when the Son of Man sits on the Throne of His Glory

- you who have followed Me will also sit on Twelve Thrones, judging the Twelve Tribes of Israel. And everyone whohas left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for My Name’s sake, shallreceive a hundredfold, and inherit Eternal Life.

“Many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

The reference to taking up our Crosses in order tofollow Christ our Lord and Saviour, means thatNOTHING MUST PREVENT US FROM BEING ABSOLUTELYF AITHFUL TO OUR LORD G OD .

A TRUE AND F AITHFUL DISCIPLE OF C HRIST MUST ALWAYS BEREADY TO OBEY G OD AND EVEN , IF NECESSARY , TOSACRIFICE FAMILY OR FRIENDLY RELATIONSHIPS THAT ARESPIRITUALLY DESTRUCTIVE .

HOLY M ARTYRDOM FOR THE SAKE OF OUR F AITH IN J ESUSC HRIST AND A LMIGHTY G OD , IS A FULFILMENT OF THEPROPHECY of

M ICHAH 7: 5 - 7: “’...do not trust in friends, nor put yourhope in those who govern . Beware of your wifeand do not tell her anything. For a son dishonourshis father, a daughter will rise up against her

mother, a daughter-in-lay against her mother-in- law; a man’s enemies are all the people of his ownhouse’ but I will LOOK TO THE LORD ...”

O UR LORD J ESUS – AS THE A LL D IVINE AND A LL KNOWING SON OFG OD – KNEW EVERYTHING THAT H IS F AITHFUL D ISCIPLES AND

A POSTLES WOULD HAVE TO ENDURE IN THE TIME TO COME ANDTHROUGHOUT ALL THE A GES .

O UR LORD ENCOURAGES US THROUGH ALL OUR DIFFICULTIES INLIFE

even if we are not confronted by terrible Martyrdom WE ARE CONSTANTLY THREATENED BY DESTRUCTIVE , FATALUNGODLINESS AND SPIRITUAL A DVERSITY .

WE MUST DO EVERYTHING ACCORDING TO OUR LOVE OF G OD AND H IS ETERNAL KINGDOM .

We must not follow the destructive norms of social lifebut instead TAKE UP OUR C ROSSES AND FOLLOWFAITHFULLY IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF C HRIST W HO IS OURO NLY J UDGE AND M ASTER .

We must not worry about what our fellow sinners maythink or do. And, in fact, we will SHOW THEM THE W AYBY OUR OWN HEALTHY , HAPPY AND PEACEFUL LIFE INC HRIST .

THE DULL AND STUBBORNLY IGNORANT WILL REMAIN INSPIRITUAL D ARKNESS BY THEIR OWN CHOICE , but thereare SOME WHO WILL FOLLOW US INTO THE D IVINE LIGHT

AND LIFE IN C HRIST . SPIRITUALLY STUBBORN AND DEAD SINNERS WILL ALWAYS FIND

EXCUSES AND TRY TO PREVENT OTHERS FROM OBEYING

G OD ’S DIVINE W ILL EITHER BY THEIR WORDS , THEIR DEEDSOR THEIR ATTITUDES .

These are the people whom our Lord tells us to ignorealthough WE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR THEIR SPIRITUALENLIGHTENMENT AND DELIVERANCE , FOR , IF WE LOVE G OD ANDH IS CREATURES , WE DO NOT WISH ANYONE TO BE LEFT OUT OFH IS DIVINE AND E VERLASTING KINGDOM .

“C HRIST J UDGES BY DISCERNING OUR HEARTS AND SOULS andnot by examining our deeds. So also THE A POSTLES

WERE SHAPED TO EXERCISE S PIRITUAL J UDGEMENTCONCERNING F AITH , AND IN REBUKING ERROR WITHV IRTUE .”

In other words, G OOD DEEDS ALONE , CANNOT GAIN D IVINEBLESSINGS FOR US UNLESS OUR HEARTS AND SOULS ARE AS PURE ,

AS GOOD AND AS F AITHFUL AS OUR DEEDS - AND VICE VERSA .THE A POSTLES WILL NOT JUDGE WITH EARTHLY JUDGEMENT BUT BY

THE WITNESS OF THEIR OWN LIVES . SINCE G OD ’S D IVINE AND HOLY KINGDOM BEGINS WITH THE

RESURRECTION OF C HRIST , THE A UTHORITY OF J UDGEMENTHAS ALREADY BEEN GIVEN TO THE HOLY A POSTLES ANDTHEIR SUCCESSORS IN THE J OURNEY OF THE C HURCH ONEARTH . (MATTHEW 16:19 JOHN 20:23)

This brings us back to THE HOLY M YSTERY OR S ACRAMENTOF C ONFESSION WHEREBY REPENTANT SINNERS , HAVINGREPENTED AND C ONFESSED THEIR SINS BEFORE G OD ANDH IS HOLY PRIESTS (OUR SPIRITUAL F ATHERS ) ARE FORGIVENTHEIR SINS BY MEANS OF D IVINE A UTHORITY BESTOWEDUPON THEM BY G OD .

THROUGH THE HOLY M YSTERY OF C ONFESSION ALL OURR EPENTED AND C ONFESSED SINS ARE COMPLETELYREMOVED from the pages of our “Books of Life”

wherein every word, thought and deed is


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eager and able to follow Her Holy Rules, which are forour own good – for our Eternal Spiritual Benefit andBlessings.

Our Spiritual Struggles will, consequently become mucheasier and our earthly burdens will be much lighter, asshown to us by the Example of all the Saints.

May we, like the wonderful Saints before us - those knownto us, and those known only to God - Strive to LoveHim above all else.

May we, for His sake, joyfully endure Fasts, Podvigs , Vigils -and if deemed worthy - sufferings and martyrdoms, inwhichever form they take - not as ends in themselves,

but for the sake of Christ our Saviour.May we leave behind us all the things that interfere withour Salvation, and confidently believe that, as our Lord

promises: “...everyone who has left houses or brothersor sisters or father or mother or wife or children orlands for My Name’s sake, shall receive ahundredfold, and inherit Eternal Life.”

May we, my Beloved, be deemed worthy to one day benumbered among the Saints.

May we begin this Process by Loving God above all else, andLoving one another as much as ourselves – and as muchas God Loves all humanity.

Through the Prayers of All Saints, O Lord Jesus Christ ourGod, have Mercy on us!

IGUMEN ZACCHAEUS (WOOD) http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/71509.htm

Spiritual Deception - ”Taking Stock of our Struggle”S P I R I T U A L W A R F A R E & S P I R I T U A L D E C E P T I O N - F A T H E R M S T E E N B E R G ( P A R T 1 )

The issue of Spiritual Deception is a most important onefor those who seek Union with God. We are engaged ina Spiritual Struggle in a world that is oriented to deceiveus, convincing us that there is not really a Struggle.

Without a doubt, the overriding Spiritual Challenge we allface today is one of misplaced goals based on a limitedvision embedded in the norms of our secular society.

What we seem to be seeking is self-satisfaction. We attendseminars, watch TV shows, surf internet sites, and read

books to examine ourselves, but for what purpose? Todiscover how to be happy and content with ourselves.Is this not true?

We are constantly encouraged to examine ourselves, to become our ‘true self.’

We live in a world where the primary focus is on ourselvesand our self-evaluation of our well being.

This focus is based in large part on the “...simplistic beliefthat one can be whatever one wishes to be, however onewishes to be it, so long as one does not harm others .”

The “... goal of all our self-examination seems to be thediscovery of the ‘me’ with whom to be happy andsatisfied .”

This orientation is also embedded in the New Age and self-help movement. “ These programmes still orbit aroundthe central point of self-satisfaction and contentmentwith the true self…. often times they do involve calls to

change and transformation…” They “...espouse a certain nuance: that between false self- love and true self-love, with one being bound by flawsand problems, and the other being authentic andexalted…”

We experience a “...direct call for self-assessment andchange so that the false self being lived at present… canbe shed in favour of the true self, which is the readyobject of love….”

The “...true self one aims to discover and love throughshedding such false selves is still one defined by one’s willand desires….”

The “... root of both is the same: satisfaction gained throughcontentment in self, as defined by the self .”

This ongoing quest of self-satisfaction is the result of asecular world view where “...one sees the world, and the

human life within it, primarily or wholly, in terms of the‘things of this age’- of worldly visions separated from theTheological Vision of the Church...” that aims at God’sKingdom.

The current world “ ...sees sin more and more as anoutdated conviction of moral behaviour; demons as old- fashioned…”

We “...describe the world one knows to be simplypsychological factors; Heaven and Hell as outmodedmyths aimed at enforcing moral codes….”

We deny the demonic forces that are ceaselessly workingagainst us.

We fail to generally recognize that the “...world is the workof a Creator, that it is the venue of growth for acreature who has an opponent in that growth, that itis moving toward Judgment, Redemption andRenewal.

“Without these things, the impetus for a Call to genuinechange into the Sanctifying Life of the Creator iseasily lost….

“This mentality is a deception and a trap to theChristian.”

Saint Basil the Great warned us: “ Be attentive to yourself.That is, observe yourself carefully from every side. Letthe eye of your soul be sleepless to guard you. You walkin the midst of snares. Hidden traps have been set bythe enemy in many places, therefore observe everything,that you may be Saved like a gazelle from traps and likea bird from snares...” (DEUTERONOMY 15:9 ; SIRACH 9:13 &PROVERBS 6:5)

In today's world, “...the overarching goal is the now . Thehuman person is to instigate whatever helps, whatevermodifications to his life and lifestyle may bring about adeeper satisfaction with whom and what he is.

“He is charged not to become something else (exceptinasmuch as he may be prompted to shed certainattributes which keep him from being who he really is athis core), but to become happy with the self thatcurrently lies hidden.”

Wait a minute!! What is the Focus of the Life of a Christiansupposed to be? Is it this preoccupation with the self?Is life about self-satisfaction? No!

“How far this is from our Christian Calling!…“ Christianity is a Life rooted in Christ’s own Life . Its

charge is not to live for self but to live for Christ ; and itsGoal is not satisfaction but Transformation .

“The Christian is Called to become - to enter into aNewness of Life that is Another’s - that is Christ’s .

“We are to discover the “self” of our current existence ,precisely so that we can work to change it into a Lifenot defined by our will, but defined and made Real byAnother––by God Himself.

“ Life in Christ is a Life of Transformation into a NewPerson . It is a Life that works toward Resurrection,when the body of this death shall pass away and theGlorified man will know the Lord of Glory .” (CF. ROMANS7:24)

THE CHRISTIAN T ASK IS not to simply engage in self-examination for the purpose of self-satisfaction, but TOSTRUGGLE AGAINST THE FORCES OF EVIL , ENGAGING INSPIRITUAL WARFARE as St Paul frequently said.

But, by today’s view, this Struggle is not real. It is seen as‘delusional.’

How often do we discuss our Struggle against evil forces?

How often - besides the Sunday Sermon - do we thinkabout the self-sacrifice demanded of us for ourSalvation, or our True Aim of being United with Christin Eternal Life?

Instead, in many ways, we are told over and over to ‘ forgetthe archaic ideas ’ the Church teaches, but to ‘ think forourselves and get rid of these outdated foolish notions ’the Church says are Truths.

After all, we are told, they are ‘ only ideas imposed on us byorganizations that want to control us .’

By Christian Standards, THIS WAY OF THINKING SAYS THE DEVILHAS ALREADY WON THE BATTLE !!

The effect is that WE ARE NO LONGER WILLING TO ENGAGE INTHE VITAL SPIRITUAL BATTLE .

WE FORSAKE OUR ASCETICAL DISCIPLINES OF OLD AND INSTEADFOLLOW THE ERRONEOUS AND DANGEROUSLY DECEPTIVE

DOCTRINE OF SELF -SATISFACTION . We must WAKE UP !THE SPIRITUAL STRUGGLE IS REAL .

T HE SPIRITUAL STRUGGLE IS CENTRAL TO OURCHRISTIAN T EACHINGS .

(... TO BE CONTINUED...)HTTP://ORTHODOXWAYOFLIFE.BLOGSPOT.COM


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A r c h d i o c e s e o f G o o d H o p e All Glory, Honour and Worship to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now andForever, and unto the Ages of Ages. AmenRemembering also our Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed and Glorious Lady, Mary, Theotokos yetEver Virgin, together with all the Saints. And let us commit ourselves and one another and our


14 June 2015

Tone 12nd Sunday After Pentecost – 2 nd Sunday of St Matthew The Calling of the Holy Apostles

Also the Feast of the Synaxis of the Saints of North America – St Elisha, Holy Prophet ofGod – St Methodios the Confessor & Patriarch of Constantinople – St George, Prince ofNovgorod – St Methodios of Peshnosh Monastery – St Elisha of Suma, Solovky Monastery– St Niphon of Mount Athos – Synaxis of All Saints of Belaros

R E S U R R E C T I O N A P O L Y T I K I O N – T O N E 1

T ou lithou sfragisthentos ipo ton Ioudeon ke Stratiotonfilassonton to ahranton Sou Soma, Anestis trimeros,Sotir, Doroumenos to kosmo tin Zoin. Dia touto eDinamis ton Ouranon evoon Si Zoodota. Doxa tiAnastasi Sou, Hriste! Doxa ti Vasilia Sou! Doxa tiIkonomia Sou, mone Filanthrope!

While the stone was sealed by the Judeans, and soldiersstood on guard over Thine Undefiled Body, Thou roseon the Third Day, O Saviour Who gives Life to theworld. For which cause the Heavenly Powers criedaloud to Thee: O Giver of Life: Glory to ThyResurrection, O Christ! Glory to Thy Kingdom! Gloryto Thy Providence, O Thou Who alone Loves mankind!

F E S T A L A P O L Y T I K I O N – S T E L I S H A , H O L Y P R O P H E T - T O N E 4

O Ensarkos Angelos, ton Profiton i kripis, O DefterosProdromos, tis Parousias Hristou, Ilias O Endoxos,Anothen katapempsas, Eliseo tin Harin, nosousapodioki, ke leprous Katharizi. Dio ke tis Timosin Afton,vrii iamata.

T he Incarnate Angel, the Cornerstone of the Prophets, theSecond Forerunner of the Appearance of Christ, theGlorious Elias (Elijah), who from Above, sent down toElisha the Grace to dispel sickness and to Cleanselepers, abounds therefore in Healing for those whohonour Him.

F E S T A L A P O L Y T I K I O N – S T M E T H O D I O S O F C O N S T A N T I N O P L E – T O N E ( 8 ) P L A G A L 4

O rthodoxias Odige, evsevias Didaskale ke Semnotitos, tisikoumenis O Fostir, Arhiereon Theopnefstonegkallopisma, Methodie Sofe, tes didahes Sou pantasefotisas, lira tou Pnevmatos. Presveve Hristo to Theo,sothine tas psihas imon.

A Model of Faith and Image of Gentleness, the example ofThy Life has shown Thou forth to Thy Sheepfold to bea Master of Temperance. Thou obtained thus through

being lowly, Gifts from on High, and Riches throughPoverty. Methodios, our Father and Priest of Priests:Intercede with Christ our God that He may Save oursoul.

F E S T A L K O N T A K I O N O F T H E E V E R B L E S S E D T H E O T O K O S

P rostasia ton Hristianon akateskhinte, mesitia pros tonPiitin ametathete, mi Paridis, amartolon deiseonfonas, alla profthason os Agathi, is tin voithian imon,ton Pistos kravgazonton Si: Tahinon is Presvian, kespefson is ikesian, i prostatevousa ai, Theotoke, tontimonton Se.

O Protection of the Christians unashamable, Mediationto the Creator Immovable, despise not, the pleadingvoices of those in sin, but hasten O Good One, to theHelp of all of us, who in Faith cry out to Thee: speedup Thine Intercession, and press on ThySupplication, O Theotokos who always protects allthose who honour Thee!

R E S U R R E C T I O N G O S P E L 2 – M A R K 1 6 : 1 – 8TH E H O L Y M Y R R H B E A R E R S W I T N E S S TH E E M P T Y TO M B O F O U R R I S E N L O R D J E S U S C H R I S T

P R O K E I M E N O N – P S A L M 3 2 – T O N E 1Let Thy Mercy, O Lord, be upon us.Rejoice in the Lord, O you Righteous

S T P A U L’ S E P I S T L E T O T H E R O M A N S 2 : 1 0 – 1 6J U D G E M E N T O F E A C H C O N S C I E N C E

Brethren: ...Glory, Honour and Peace to everyone who works what is Good. To the Judean first and also to the Hellenes.There is not partiality with God. For as many as have sinned without Law will also perish without Law. And as many ashave sinned in the Law will be Judged by the Law. (For not the hearers of the Law are Justified in the Sight of God, butthe doers of the Law will be Justified.)

When the Gentiles who do not have the Law, by nature, do the things in the Law, these, although not having the Law, are alaw unto themselves, who show the work of the Law written in their heart, their conscience also bearing witness.

And between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them - in the Day when God will Judge the secrets ofmankind according to my Gospel by Jesus Christ .

Gentiles are counted as Hebrews – as God’s Chosen – when THEIR CONSCIENCE LEADS THEM TO RIGHTEOUSNESS INTHE SAME MANNER AS WHEN THE L AW LEADS AND GUIDES THE

V IRTUOUS HEBREWS .“The Law is written in their heart ...”refers to OUR

CONSCIENCE , which IS G OD -GIVEN AND HAS THE SAME NATURALHOLY POWER .

According to St John Chrysostom, THOSE WHO ARE ABLE TOFOLLOW THEIR CONSCIENCE TO G OD ARE MORE V IRTUOUS THANTHOSE WHO FOLLOW THE L AW , FOR THEY do not have the

advantage of concrete instructions yet still HAVE ANATURAL , COMPELLING DESIRE TO PLEASE G OD .

While G ENTILES /P AGANS could find God through theirconscience, they WERE NOT BETTER OFF THAN THE HEBREWS

WHO HAD THE ADVANTAGE OF “THE O RACLES OF G OD ” – THEM OSAIC L AW OF G OD AND HIS HOLY PROPHETS – TO LEAD , TEACH AND GUIDE THEM TOWARDS G OD .

THE ADVANTAGE OF THE HEBREW N ATION WAS PEDAGOGICAL (educational/instructive) FOR THEY WERE TAUGHT MORETHOROUGHLY AND MORE PRECISELY ABOUT THE LORD OUR G OD .


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However, EVEN THIS ADVANTAGE DID NOT MAKE THE HEBREWS ANYMORE RIGHTEOUS THAN THE G ENTILES /P AGAN /H EATHENS FOR

ALL HUMANITY IS UNDER THE ENSLAVEMENT AND OPPR ESSION OFSIN .

M ANY – IF NOT MOST – HEBREWS relied on ’ knowing the Law’for their Righteousness, when in fact, they DID NOT OBEY it.

KNOWING THE L AWS AND C OMMANDMENTS OF G OD DOES NOT MAKE ANYONE A RIGHTEOUS TEACHER AND G UIDE FOR OTHERS , UNLESSTHEY THEMSELVES FAITHFULLY OBEY ALL G OD ’S TEACHINGS ANDC OMMANDMENTS .

O NLY BY KEEPING / OBEYING THE SPIRIT AND HEART OF DIVINE TRUTH– L AW , TEACHINGS AND C OMMANDMENT , CAN WE GUIDEOTHERS .

T H E H O L Y G O S P E L A C C O R D I N G T O S T M A T T H E W 4 : 1 8 – 2 3O U R L O R D J E S U S C H R I S T C A L L S H I S F I R S T A P O S T L E S

At that time, our Lord Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon, called Peter, and Andrew, his brother,casing a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them: “Come, follow Me, and I will make youFishers of Men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

And going on from there, He saw two other brothers - James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother - in the boat withZebedee their father, mending their nets. And He called to them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, andfollowed Him.

And throughout all Galilee Jesus went, teaching in their Synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and Healingall kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.

THESE FIRST DISCIPLES OR A POSTLES OF C HRIST OUR S AVIOUR had already heard the preaching of St John theBaptist and WERE PREPARED TO ACCEPT OUR LORD“IMMEDIATELY .”

A LTHOUGH THEY WERE ILLITERATE AND UNEDUCATED , THESEHUMBLE FISHERMEN WHOM OUR LORD J ESUS CALLED TOFOLLOW HIM WOULD SOON BE REVEALED AS THE WISEST OF

ALL , THROUGH THE DESCENT AND RECEPTION OF THE HOLYSPIRIT ON THAT G LORIOUS D AY OF PENTECOST .

THE PEOPLE DID NOT SWARM TO OUR LORD J ESUS WHEN HEINITIALLY , LIKE ST J OHN THE B APTIST , COMMANDEDREPENTANCE .

THEY ONLY BEGAN TO REALLY PAY ATTENTION WHEN HE BEGANTO HEAL THE PEOPLE AND PERFORM HIS DIVINE M IRACLES ,

which shows that THEY MISUNDERSTOOD THE TRUEN ATURE OF HIS D IVINE , ETERNAL KINGDOM OF HEAVEN .

The arrogance and selfishness that motivates most people isclearly evident:

Once they realised that they could benefit from Christ – “what’s init for me?” – their immediate desire was for instant buttemporary gratification – and only then did they began to payattention to what He tried to teach them and bestow uponthem – His Priceless, Everlasting Spiritual Treasures of EternalLife!

IT ALSO CLEARLY DEMONSTRATED OUR

LORD

’S

CONCESSION TO

GRANT CREDIBILITY TO WHAT HE TAUGHT AND REVEALED TOTHE FICKLE MULTITUDES OF THAT TIME

S E C O N D S U N D A Y A F T E R P E N T E C O S T – T H E C A L L I N G O F C H R I S T ’ S A P O S T L E S Sometimes we long for things to be crystal clear, cut and

dried, totally black and white.We think that it’s easier to decide what to do when the

options are laid out before us with no ambiguity orconfusion at all.

Unfortunately or not, life usually isn’t like that. There areshades of grey in our daily lives and we’re not alwayssure what we should do.

So we may think that St Peter, St Andrew, St James, and StJohn had it easy.

Our Lord Jesus Christ walked right up to them and said:“Come. Follow Me .”

He told them to stop what they were doing, leave the lifethey had known behind, and become His travellingDisciples.

No longer would they catch fish for a living; instead, theywould become ‘Fishers of Mankind’ who would drawothers into the New Life that the Saviour has brought tothe world.

They had to leave their nets behind in order to join theLord in His Ministry of Preaching, Healing, and castingout demons.

They had a part to play in the Coming of God’s Kingdom,which required a radical change of lifestyle.

They would now use their time and energy in very differentways.

To this day, some hear that same clear and radical Call.They leave home and what they have done so far in life inorder to become Priests, Monks, Nuns, Missionaries, ortake up other forms of full-time Christian Service.

We may envy them because of the apparently simplicity oftheir decision to leave the old lifestyle behind andundertake a New Journey.

But things are rarely that easy.Hardly anyone takes such a Step of Faith without a lengthy

process of Discernment, a measure of fear andtrembling, their own doubts, and the criticism of otherswho can’t understand why they left behind aconventional life for Rewards that you can’t put in the

bank.THE T RUTH IS THAT FEW BECOME ‘RICH AND FAMOUS ’ THROUGH

RADICAL D ISCIPLESHIP .

And who isn’t concerned about putting food on the tableand the happiness and well being of their family?Actually, there’s not that much difference between how

Christ called His Disciples and how He Calls anyone elsetoday.

The outward details may be different, but no matter whatour age or our circumstances, HE CALLS US ALL TO LEAVE

BEHIND WHATEVER NETS WE ’VE BECOME TANGLED IN AND TOPLAY OUR PART IN THE MINISTRY OF H IS KINGDOM .

Our Saviour wants to make us ‘Fishers of Men’ who haveaspirations higher than simply meeting our materialneeds through our daily work.

Of course, that’s hard enough to do today when so manypeople can’t find good jobs or sometimes any job at all.

Christ never denigrates any honest labour and neithershould we, but neither should we accept the lie that thesum total of our lives is how much money we have orhow much ‘worldly prestige’ our profession oreducation may bring us.

Remember that Christ did not start His Ministry by callingthe ‘movers and shakers’ of first-century Palestine to beHis Disciples.

He went after humble Fishermen - hardworking, commonpeople who had no illusions about their ‘importance orsophistication’ in the eyes of the world.

I’m sure that’s not what you learn in Business Schoolconcerning how to assemble a Leadership Team for anew venture.

The wealthy and powerful of that day have been forgotten, but the Work of these Apostles continues and wehonour them for courageously laying the groundworkof the Church.

No, it wasn’t easy for St Peter, St Andrew, St James, and St

John to leave behind the life that they had known, tofollow a travelling Rabbi. ( Teacher )They must have had their own doubts and fears, and faced

opposition beyond what any of us can imagine. Butthey still responded to that Divine Call, despite the cost.

It’s entirely possible that God will direct some of us to NewForms of Service that will require a radicalReorientation of our circumstances and li festyle.

We may have here, today, future Missionaries, Priests,Deacons, Youth Workers, or others who will hear thatwonderful life-changing Call and instantly respond to Itwith a deep desire to fulfil whatever is required ofthem.

For most of us, however, things will be different.Christ may Call us to stay right where we are— to be Living

Witnesses of His Salvation through our Service in this

Holy Mission, in this Community, amongst our ownacquaintances, friends and families, and in our currentoccupations.

MOST OF US ARE CALLED TO USE OUR GOD -GIVEN GIFTS ANDT ALENTS IN THE SERVICE OF CHRIST IN OUR LOCAL SETTING , RIGHT WHERE WE ARE .

On the one hand, that is comforting because we probablydon’t want to quit our jobs and move away.


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On the other hand, it’s never quite as exciting to stay athome, to remain where we have been for years, to facethe challenges of being Faithful in our presentcircumstances.

It’s tempting to think that life would be better elsewhere -that it would be easier and more exciting to serve theLord and our neighbours if we could start over in a newsetting.

Yes, there is a time to move or to take on a New Ministry ina new location. But the challenge to most of us is toopen our eyes to the opportunities for Service right hereand now.

Yes, familiarity may breed contempt.We may be so used to thinking of life here in certain waysthat we can’t imagine really doing anything differently.

However that’s our mistake.Our Lord Jesus Christ says to each of us: “Come. Follow

Me, and I will make you Fishers of Men.” HE CALLS EACH OF US TO A RADICAL SPIRITUAL CHANGE - TO

NEW LIFE IN HIS ETERNAL KINGDOM . As members of Christ’s Body by the Divine Power and

Energy of the Holy Spirit, we all have the essential Giftsand Talents to participate in our Lord’s Ministry - toplay our Role in strengthening the Church and drawingothers to the New Life in Christ.

But IN ORDER TO D ISCERN WHAT WE ARE CALLED TO DO in thehere and now, we have to LISTEN ATTENTIVELY .

We need Spiritual Clarity to HEAR , RECOGNIZE , AND OBEY theWord of the Lord.

Our Saviour, Jesus Christ, is not likely to appear visibly before us to tell us what to do.

We have to LISTEN FOR HIM IN SILENCE AND STILLNESS , whichrequires PRAYER , FASTING , WORSHIP , AND A FAITHFUL LIFE.

It’s a matter of taking our Spiritual Life seriously - ofgenuinely OPENING OUR HEART , SOUL AND MIND TO GOD .

If something is important to us, we devote time and energyto it on a regular basis.

If our Life in Christ is really important to us, we mustDEVOTE OURSELVES TO DAILY PRAYER , FAITHFULATTENDANCE AT SERVICES , REGULAR FASTING , CONFESSIONOF OUR SINS , GENEROSITY TO THE POOR , FORGIVENESS OFTHOSE WHO HAVE WRONGED US .

We must use our God-granted Gifts and Talents to BUILDAND MAINTAIN CHRIST ’S HOLY MISSION WHEREVER WE CAN .

We cannot be good athletes or musicians or members of aprofession if we don’t practice our skills, stay up todate on our training, and constantly strive to improveourselves.

We have to work out, practice, and study, because there issimply no other way to achieve anything worthwhile.

Consequently, if we want to be in good Spiritual Shape soas to hear and discern God’s Calling, we have to applythe same type of effort.

We are members of one another in Christ. He is the Headof the Body of which we are members.

A physical body won’t be healthy if any of its members isweak or sick.

Likewise, our Parish will become weak and powerless, ifeach member does not maintain his or her SpiritualStrength.

Our Lord Calls not only particular people, but entirechurches to fulfil certain significant Roles in theMinistry of His Kingdom.

We as a Parish, will be able to Discern and fulfil that Roleonly if we all take the necessary steps to find Healingand Strength in Christ.

The point here is not legalism, but the simple Reality thatwe are members of one another.

We serve the Lord together.And if we are to serve Him Faithfully as a Sacred Body, we

must be Faithful as particular people - offering ourentire Life to Him through the Spiritual Practices of HisHoly Church.

As a Parish Community, we all need to become ‘Fishers ofMen.’

WE ALL NEED TO LEAVE WHATEVER ‘NETS ’ HOLD US BACK FROMHEARING AND RESPONDING TO WHAT CHRIST IS CALLING USTO DO RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW .

The same Holy Spirit Who made those humble FishermenSupremely Wise and Wonder-Working Ministers ofChrist, has come upon us as well.

B Y H IS DIVINE POWER AND ENERGY , WE ARE ABLE TO ESCAPEWHATEVER HOLDS US BACK – and we are able to stepforward into the Brilliant Light of the Kingdom in JesusChrist, Who always brings Life to the world.

So let us leave our nets and FOLLOW HIM THROUGH OURPERSONAL SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES AND OUR LIFE IN CHRIST ,which we share together as a Parish Family.

Like those first Holy Apostles of Christ Jesus, LET US TRULYBECOME HIS ‘FISHERS OF MEN.’

ADAPTED & EDITED BY MP WRITTEN AND DELIVERED BY FATHER PHILIP LEMASTERS

ST LUKE ORTHODOX CHURCH, ABILENE, TEXAS, USA http://easternchristianinsights.blogspot.com

S P I R I T U A L S T R U G G L E A N D S P I R I T U A L D E C E P T I O N – F A T H E R M A T T H E W S T E E N B E R G ( P A R T 2 )

We need to refocus our vision from the pleasures of thisworld to God’s Kingdom and Divine Economy.

After all the Lord told us clearly: “Seek first theKingdom of God and His Righteousness, and allthese Things will be added unto you.” (MATTHEW 6:33)

ST JOHN CHRYSOSTOM wrote: “ [The Lord] came to doaway with the old things, and to Call us to a GreaterCountry.

“Therefore He does everything to Deliver us from things

unnecessary, and from our affection of the Earth.“For this cause (reason) He mentioned the heathens also,saying that the Gentiles seek after these things – theywhose whole labour is for the present life, who haveno regard for the Things to come, or any thought ofHeaven. (MATTHEW 6:32)

“But to you, the Chief Things are not these which arepresent, but other than these.

“For we were not born for this end, that we should eatand drink and be clothed, but that we might pleaseGod, and attain unto the Good Things to come.

“Therefore as things here are secondary in our labour, soalso in our Prayer let them be secondary.

“Therefore He also said: ‘ Seek the Kingdom of Heavenand all these Things shall be added unto you .’

“If we are to Struggle authentically toward ourSanctification and Redemption, this Orientationtoward and into the Kingdom must becomeparamount in us.

“Every act must be considered from the perspective ofthat Future Life and its attainment.

“When we do not act in such a way, we reduce our choicesand our behaviours to the limited perspective of thisbrief sojourn.

“Rather than see the context of our behaviours, actions,and decision as the Eternal Life of God’s abidingKingdom, we see it as the short span of this life, andadjust our whole vision and world view accordingly.”

ST INNOCENT OF ALASKA said:“Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to this Earth in order

to return to us our lost capacity to spend Eternity inthe Blissful Presence of God.“He revealed to people that all their evil lies in sin and

that no one through their own efforts can overcomethe evil within themselves and attain Communionwith God.

“Sin, ingrained in our nature since the Fall, standsbetween us and God like a high wall.

“If the Son of God had not Descended to us through HisMercy for us, had not taken on our human nature,and had not by His Death Conquered sin, all mankindwould have perished forever!

“Now, thanks to Him, those who wish to Cleansethemselves from evil can do so and Return to God andobtain Eternal Bliss in the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Now what is this sinfulness we face?It is this self-centred outlook we have where we seek

only self-satisfaction and determine our moralstandards based on our own internal views.

We have made ourselves into ‘little gods’ where we setour own moral standards to fit with our own self-determined ideas.

We ignore God, His Teachings as revealed to us and astaught by His Holy Church.


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We have forgotten that we are Called to surrender(willingly and eagerly ) to God - to give up our self-centredness – and to do as our Lord’s Prayer states:“...Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.”

This involves a Struggle against evil forces.These forces are real.To combat them we need Help from God.We need the Help and Assistance, which can only be

found in His Holy Church.If we can recognize our sinfulness “... our life can be

offered more wholly to the Lord, Who will make ourLife His own.

“Self-will can be gradually overcome, so that we beginmore fully to live that Reality of identity in Christ,which His own Prayer proclaims - that we cry: ‘OurFather...’ as, by ( Divine ) Nature, only His Son can do.

“This is what it means for us human being to LIVE INCHRIST.

“We are born again into Christ’s Life, through Union withHim when we become, through our Holy Baptism, anadopted Child of God the Father and thus, Co-Heirwith Christ to His Heavenly Kingdom.

(Furthermore, in Holy Baptism we have ‘ PUT ON CHRIST’ ANDTHUS WE HAVE ‘ LIFE IN CHRIST .’ mp )

“Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ leads us out of ourSpiritual Exile and Separation from God.

“Our Saviour leads us away from a “self” defined lifestyleruled by our flawed and selfish will and passions, intoa New Life that is the Work of His Hands, the Fruit ofHis Divine Will, the Created Glory of His Eternal,Infinite and Glorious Life.”

A N A D D I T I O N A L T H O U G H T HIEROMONK SERAPHIM OF PLATINA:“... Orthodox Christians, surrounded by and already

swimming in a sea of humanist-worldly philosophy

and practice, must do everything possible to createtheir own islands in that sea of other-worldly, God- oriented thought and practice (praxis).”

EXCERPTS FROM "TAKING STOCK OF OUR STRUGGLE ", BY FATHER DEACONDR. STEENBERG.

(HIS ARTICLE DESCRIBED IN DEPTH THE NATURE OF THE STRUGGLE WE MUSTUNDERTAKE - PUBLISHED IN VOLUME NO. 263 OF THEORTHODOX WORD, BY THE ST. HERMAN OF ALASKA BROTHERHOOD(WWW.SAINTHERMANPRESS.COM).

HTTP://ORTHODOXWAYOFLIFE.BLOGSPOT.COM/2009/10/SPIRITUAL-DECEPTION-TAKING-STOCK-OF-OUR.HTML

T H E G R A C E O F S U F F E R I N G – M E T R O P O L I T A N G E O R G E K H O D R Our condition with the Lord is that we are tormented and

the Lord is always Healing us.It is not for us to wonder why we are in pain or why we

exist in suffering.Divine Revelation does not answer this question. It does not

say why we are subjected to suffering - suffering of the body, suffering of the spirit, suffering of theconscience.

Holy Scripture is content to take notice of this and to startout on this basis to reveal to us how we can escapefrom this suffering or how we can bear it and transformit into a creative force - a means of drawing near toGod, so that we can make it onto a Ladder by which weclimb up to Heaven.

In Holy Scripture there are many Divine Promises ofHealing and Salvation from sin.

We have a Divine Promise of Joy and a Revelation of EternalLife that comes when we accept God's Mystery and

Obey Him in all the misfortunes that we taste in theworld, whether in the spirit or the body.When we are in such a condition, like the torment of the

Ten Lepers, we should say " Lord have mercy. "Those Lepers had sought Mercy from Christ, which is more

comprehensive than just Healing.When we ask for Healing, most of us ask for Healing of the

body, and this is good.Physical suffering throws us into a vague state, as though

we were alone on a mountaintop, where the freshnessof the air makes breathing difficult and arduous.

In the physical weakness of our members, all our questionsfall away.

All the knowledge and understanding that we have storedaway ceases. It passes away and becomes nothing.

And so we hold on, in emptiness, impotence and poverty.

Suddenly, we are seized by the insignificance of everythingthat hinders us from striving toward our Purpose.Weakness and sickness wipe away everything superficial in

us.We are inwardly Purified when we are Baptized with tears

of suffering.The Lord always Visits us there, while we are dry on the

inside, truly Thirsting for Living Water and reaching outfor Him in what we know, deeply and seriously.

The Lord comes and attends to us in our oneness.He stands at a distance.He passes by us.He does not impose Himself, but rather waits for us.He addresses us in our own language. If we accept

dialogue, if we learn how to respond and say: "Have

Mercy on me," even if He appears to us as a Stranger,even if we do not know His Name, He enters intodialogue with us and eliminates the rattling of ourpassions.

He extinguishes the flame of their darts and Transformsthe roar of our thoughts into a Spring welling up withinus so that we may be revived, casting off from us everyworry, so that we can remain Christ's Faithful Disciples.

Where do we stand when we are afflicted, after havingfallen into evil, after darkness sweeps our souls?

What Prayers do we pray?Do we trust that God Himself will come down to us if we

pray?Do we know that God wants us to serve Him, to enter into

dialogue with us?Of course, God is able to respond in any case and He does

respond - whether or not we ask, because He knowswhat we need.

Nevertheless, the Lord prefers to speak to us so that we will be trained in His Friendship.He seeks this familiarity with us - the familiarity of

Children with their Father.This is what we ask of Him in the Divine Liturgy before we

recite the Lord's Prayer - when we say: "And make usworthy, O Lord, to dare to call upon Thee as Father..."

God wants to be among us- to be alive among us - so thatwe know we have been Elevated to the Rank of Holiness- and so that we know that God has come down to theranks of our humanity.

If God comes to our soul as she is - as we are accustomedto being - in our meanness and in our filthiness - if Godcomes to these souls, then He is certainly our DivineHealer.

The ultimate temptation of suffering is for us to become

attached to our suffering - for us to close the windowson ourselves entirely and be suffocated inwardly.Our heart withers, our mind falls silent, our conscience

languishes, and so we Spiritually Perish.We do not suffocate only in our lungs.We also suffocate when we refuse to open the windows -

when we feel that we cannot breathe.However, if we do open the windows of our heart to

Heaven, then the Lord will come to us and speak withus, and that Holy Dialogue grants us our essential

breathing and recovery.HTTP :// ARABORTHODOXY .BLOGSPOT .COM /2015/01/ MET - GEORGES - KHODR -

GRACE - OF - SUFFERING .HTML# LINKS

S T N E K T A R I O S O F A E G I N A & P E N T A P O L I S Put up all your cares before the Lord our God. He cares for

us.We must not become faint-hearted, and we must not

distress ourselves.He Who searches the hidden depths of our soul, knows

our desires too, and has the Power to fulfil them asHe knows best.

For our part, we must ask of God, and not lose our courage.We must not think that, since the longing we have is Holy,

we have a right to complain when our Prayers are notanswered.God fulfils our longings in ways that we do notknow. So we must be at Peace then, and call uponGod.


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A r c h d i o c e s e o f G o o d H o p e All Glory, Honour and Worship to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,now and Forever, and unto the Ages of Ages. AmenRemembering also our Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed and Glorious Lady, Mary,Theotokos yet Ever Virgin, together with all the Saints. And let us commit ourselvesand one another and our whole Life to Christ our God. Amen.

21 J u n e 2015

Tone 23rd Sunday After Pentecost - 3rd Sunday of St Matthew:Absolute Faith in God

Also the Feast of St Julian of Tarsos – St Terence, Bishop, Hieromartyr ofIconium – St Julius, Presbyter, & St Julian, Deacon, of Novara – St Archil II &St Luarsab II, Kings of Georgia – St Anastasia, mother of St Sava, of Serbia –St Nicetas the New Martyr of Nisyros, near Rhodes – St Maximos the Greek,Finding of Holy Relics

R E S U R R E C T I O N A P O L Y T I K I O N – T O N E 2

O te katilthes pros ton Thanaton, i Zoi i Athanatos, toteton Adin enekrosas ti astrapi tis Theotitos. Ote de ketous tethneotas ek ton katahthonion anestisas, pase eDinamis ton Epouranion ekravgazon. Zoodota Hriste, OTheos imon, Doxa Si!

When Thou condescended to Death, O Life Immortal,Thou slayed Hades with the lightning flash of ThyDivinity. When also Thou raised up the dead from thesubterranean abodes, all the Powers of Heaven criedaloud: O Life-giver, Christ our God, Glory to Thee!

R E S U R R E C T I O N K O N T A K I O N – T H E O T O K O S

P rostasia ton Hristianon akateskhinte, mesitia pros tonPiitin ametathete, mi Paridis, amartolon deiseon fonas,alla profthason os Agathi, is tin voithian imon, tonPistos kravgazonton Si: Tahinon is Presvian, ke spefsonis ikesian, i prostatevousa ai, Theotoke, ton timonton Se.

O Protection of the Christians unashamable, Mediation tothe Creator Immovable, despise not, the pleadingvoices of those in sin, but hasten O Good One, to theHelp of all of us, who in Faith cry out to Thee: speedup Thine Intercession, and press on Thy Supplication,O Theotokos who always protects all those who honourThee!

R E S U R R E C T I O N G O S P E L 3 – M A R K 1 6 : 9 – 2 0O U R R E S U R R E C T E DLO R D J E S U S C H R I S T A P P E A R S T O H I S A P O S T L E S & D I S C I P L E S B E F O R E A S C E N D I N G

P R O K E I M E N O N – P S A L M 1 1 7 – T O N E 2The Lord is my Strength and my Glory!

The Lord has punished me severely, but He has not delivered me unto Death!

T H E E P I S T L E O F S T P A U L T O T H E R O M A N S 5 : 1 – 1 0R I G H T E O U S N E S S I S ALI V I N G R E A L I T Y

Brethren: Having been Justified by Faith, we have Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom also wehave access by Faith into this Grace in which we stand and Rejoice in Hope of the Glory of God.

Not only that, but we also Glory in tribulations - knowing that tribulation produces Perseverance; and Perseverance,Character; and Character, Hope.

Hope does not disappoint, for the Love of God has been poured out in our heart by the Holy Spirit Who was given to us.For in due time Christ - while we were still without Strength - died for the ungodly.

Scarcely for a Righteous man will one die. Perhaps for a Good man someone would even dare to die. While we were stillsinners, God demonstrated His own Love for us, in that Christ died for us.

Much more then, having now been Purified by His Blood, we shall be Saved through Him from Wrath. For if we wereReconciled to God - while we were enemies - through the Death of His Son, much more - having been Reconciled - shall

we be Saved by His Life. F AITH IN C HRIST J USTIFIES US , WHICH IS AN ONGOING STATE OFHOLY C OMMUNION WITH H IM – A CONTINUOUS , LIFE -LONGPROCESS OF BOTH PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL STRUGGLE ANDEFFORT .

Being Justified refers to an ongoing state of Righteousnessand not merely to a one-time Event in our life - LIVINGEVERY MOMENT OF THE DAY IN C HRIST .

This SPIRITUAL J USTIFICATION REQUIRES REDEMPTION – aSacrificial Offering that is capable of SETTING US FREEFROM SIN AND DEATH – and which UNITES US ETERNALLY

WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS AND LIFE . According to the Old Covenant, such a Sacrificial

Offering was prefigured by the blood sacrifices ofanimals – THE SLAUGHTER OF PHYSICALLY PERFECT ANIMALSFOR THE TEMPORAL REMISSION OF SINS . (REFER HEBREWS 9)

According to our New Covenant with God, OUR LORD J ESUSC HRIST IS THE ULTIMATE , MOST PERFECT S ACRIFICIALO FFERING that was necessary ONLY ONCE FOR ALL thesouls of humanity throughout the ages, which SETS USETERNALLY FREE FROM SIN AND DEATH and by the Grace ofGod UNITES US WITH TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND ETERNAL LIFEIN C HRIST !

HEBREWS 10: 14 : “... by one Offering (Christ) hasPerfected forever those who are BEINGSanctified.”

Christ’s Sacrifice for sin is complete – Sanctification isPerfect!

W E SPEND OUR INDIVIDUALLY UNIQUE LIFESPAN – THISTEMPORARY PREPARATORY PERIOD BEFORE ETERNITY - S ANCTIFYING OUR BODIES AND S OULS IN ORDER TO ACHIEVETHEOSIS – SPIRITUAL PERFECTION . (THUS : ANY WILFUL ,

VIOLENT DESTRUCTION OF OUR BODY – THE HOLY TEMPLEOF G OD – IS A DENUNCIATION OF ALL OUR SPIRITUALSTRUGGLES AND A TERRIBLE INSULT TO G OD ’S G REAT LOVE

AND D IVINE M ERCY !) The term “ Faith ” (‘Pistis’ ) also means “ faithfulness. "

F AITH IS FAR MORE THAN A SIMPLE PERSONAL CONVICTION THATSOMETHING IS TRUE.

James 2:19: “You believe that there is one God. You dowell. Even the demons believe – and tremble! ”

TRUE F AITH THAT S AVES IS A COMPLETE F AITH – not just the mindand the tongue, but our whole being – TRUSTINGIMPLICITLY AND KNOWING OUR LIVING A LMIGHTY ANDO MNIPRESENT TRIUNE G OD .


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This means that our Faith and our Relations with God –our Justification - is dynamic and alive!

TRUE F AITH GROWS , FLOURISHES AND AFFECTS EVERY ACTION – ORIT DIES .

F AITH ALONE – A STATIC F AITH – DOES NOT S AVE US AT ALL , so wemust nurture our Faith in God, as well as our Love forHim, through our daily words, thoughts and deeds.

JEREMIAH 7:3 & ST MAXIMOS THE CONFESSOR : “Donot say you are the Temple of the Lord; norshould you say that faith alone in our Lord JesusChrist can Save you – for this is impossible unlessyou acquire Love for Him through your works. As

for faith by itself: ‘... the devils also believe – andtremble!’”

G ENUINE F AITHFULNESS IS CONTINUOUS LOYALTY AND O BEDIENCETO G OD for such Faithfulness justifies us through theGrace of God.

“Hope does not disappoint because the Love of God(Agape) has been poured out in our hearts by theHoly Spirit...” means that not only do we experienceHis Divine Love, but we can also pass it on to others byour own GOOD EXAMPLE , through our own SPIRITUALEXPERIENCE , and by TEACHING OTHERS CORRECTLY BY THEG RACE AND INSPIRATION OF G OD .

To a greater or lesser degree, WE ARE ALL “UNGODLY ” BECAUSE WE ARE HABITUAL SINNERS !

E VERY TIME WE FALL INTO A STATE OF SPIRITUAL DEATH THROUGHOUR UNREPENTED SINS , WE ALIENATE OURSELVES FROM G OD –

WE ARE UNGODLY !

W E ARE UTTERLY INCAPABLE OF BECOMING RIGHTEOUS ON OUROWN .

However, DUE TO G OD ’S INFINITE LOVE FOR US , Christ becameour final and Supreme Sacrificial Offering for our sins,

which was so Unique and Powerful, that it never hadto be done again – HE BROUGHT US G OD ’S ETERNAL G IFT OFRIGHTEOUSNESS .

Those who ACCEPT AND APPROPRIATE G OD ’S D IVINE LOVE areReconciled to Him, having been RESTORED TO HIS PEACE

AND C OMMUNION WITH H IM . G OD NEVER CEASES TO LOVE US FOR HE IS UNCHANGEABLE !

We change from good to bad so WE NEED TO CONSTANTLY

CORRECT OUR SPIRITUAL F ALLS THROUGH REPENTANCE -C ONFESSION , GAINING STRENGTH AND C OURAGE THROUGHG OD ’S D IVINE G RACE .

So we - as Faithful Disciples of Christ - relentlessly STRIVE AND STRUGGLE TO REMAIN IN - OR TO RETURN TO - A STATE OFSPIRITUAL LIFE IN C HRIST , always hoping and prayingthat when our time comes to depart this life, we are inthat Blessed State, rather than being exiled throughour wilful and unrepented sins!

Consequently, AS LONG AS WE CONTINUE TO DRIFT AWAY OR FALLINTO THAT REBELLIOUS STATE as “enemies of God ,” OURLORD CEASELESSLY W ORKS IN HIS DIVINE LOVE TO RESTORE USTO that Spiritual State in which He created us – HISPERFECT IMAGE AND LIKENESS .

T H E H O L Y G O S P E L A C C O R D I N G T O S T M A T T H E W 6 : 2 2 – 3 3 A B S O L U T ET R U S T I N A L M I G H T YG O D W I T H O U R E N T I R E B E I N G – B O D Y A N D S O U L

At that time, our Lord Jesus said:“... The Lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of Light. If your eye is bad, your

whole body will be full of darkness. If, therefore, the Light that is in you is Darkness, how great is that Darkness?“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to one and

despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon!“Therefore, I say to you: do not worry about your life – what you will eat or what you will drink – nor about your body

– what you will put on.“Is not Life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor

reap, nor gather into barns, yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you – by worrying – can add one cubit to your stature? So why do you worry about clothing?

“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow - their neither toil nor spin. I say to you that even Solomon - in all hisglory - was not arrayed like one of these. If the grass of the field - which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into theoven - is so clothed, will God not much more clothe you, O you of little Faith?

“Do not worry, saying: ‘What shall we eat?’ or: ‘What shall we drink?’ or: ‘What shall we wear’ All these things theGentiles seek.

“Your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.“Seek first the Kingdom of God, and His Righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you...”The mind – “nous” – is the Spiritual Eye of the soul. It

Illuminates our Inner Being and governs our (free) will.

Christ explains to us that keeping our mind – and thusour soul – Healthy and Pure, is fundamental to ourChristian Life – our True Life In Christ.

Just like slaves we try to serve two masters, which is animpossible and useless waste of our precious time andefforts!

It is impossible to maintain an attachment and

dedication to both temporary Earthly things -physical desires and demands – and EternalHeavenly Things – Spiritual Virtues that areessential to achieving Theosis and Eternal Life.

All our Allegiance is owed to Almighty God ALONE! YetMammon – Earthly possessions and social status aswell as the desires of the flesh – demands ourmindless attention and even obsession!

Although our Lord Jesus Christ referred to Mammon(meaning “ riches ”) as a “ master ,” it was not becausematerial wealth and possessions are evil by nature, but because of the control it has over us and ourobsession with such things.

We become so involved with “getting rich” and “enjoyingourselves” we are led astray – we are led away fromGod and have no time and make no effort to expressour gratitude to Him for His Great Blessings – whichwe egotistically ascribe to our own efforts a lone!

Only when we find ourselves bereft of SpiritualNourishment or Strength, do we suddenly rememberthe Lord our God and rush to light Votive Candles orbeg His Great Mercy in our time of need, distress orpain.

Our Lord Jesus tried to teach His Disciples to stopworrying about mundane issues – such as food,shelter and clothing – so that they would concentrateon the most important aspects of Life with Christ andaccept with complete Faith the assurance andsecurity of Divine Providence.

However, our Lord warns us against unnecessaryanxiety about such matters – not against thoughtfulplanning.

Our physical welfare is directly dependent on Almighty

God and only indirectly on our other direct needs. Therefore, our needless apprehension concerningEarthly matters demonstrates our lack of Faith inGod’s Loving Care – His Great Mercy.

Gentiles, the ungodly or the pagans, are consumed bytheir dependence on Earthly possessions and status –their man-made gods or idols - but those who areTrue and Faithful Disciples of Christ are freed fromsuch slavish dependence, resting assured in Divine

Agape – God’s Indiscriminate Love for all Creation –especially His Beloved Mankind.

The Eternal Kingdom of God is the central theme of ourLord’s Teaching, and His Righteousness is the maintopic of His “ Sermon on the Mount .”

Christ calls us to follow Him and live every moment ofLife according to His Divine Teachings , which arealways for our Spiritual Welfare and Development –the means of slowly regaining our lost DivineLikeness.

By choosing to follow our Saviour, we are set free fromunnecessary stress and fixation concerningtemporary (Spiritually Useless) Earthly things.


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Instead, our Lord Jesus leads us towards His EternalHeavenly Kingdom of Love, Joy and Peace, securein utter Faith that God will Provide us witheverything necessary - His Abundant EarthlyBlessings, while enduring this short Preparatory Timebefore Eternity.

“Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven ,” means exactly that: we must make every effort to proceed steadilytowards Eternal Life in Christ – even while goingthrough this Earthly existence – for that is our onlySacred Purpose and Goal for being here!

T H I R D S U N D A Y A F T E R P E N T E C O S T T H I R D S U N D A Y O F S T M A T T H E W – T H E L I G H T O F T H E W O R L D In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit...Brothers and Sisters in Christ:Holy Scripture consists of many questions,

Commandments, warnings, exhortations and Promises,concerning the inevitable consequences of all ouractions – all of which - every single one of them -applies to each and every one of us!

We must read Holy Scripture and answer the questions thatare raised, and listen carefully to the DivineCommandments and Teachings so that we can applythem to our daily activities and seriously heed thewarnings that caution us in order to prevent us fromfalling into a state of Spiritual Death and Alienationfrom God and all His Goodness.

Today’s Sacred Lesson of the Third Sunday after Pentecost,concerning the body, the eye and the Light consists oftwo important questions.

Our Lord Jesus Christ puts a significant question to us: “Isnot Life more than food and the body more thanclothing?”

That question is very important to consider because itapplies to every human being every day – no matterwhether they are Christian or not, whether they believein God or not – for it affects our Final Judgement.

Having reminded us how our Heavenly Father provideseverything essential for all His creatures, great andsmall, He asks us – His beloved Intellectual Beings: “ Are

you not of more value than they?”He exhorted His Apostles and His Disciples, then and now:

“Do not worry... Your Heavenly Father knows that youneed all these things.

“Seek first the Kingdom of God, and His Righteousness,and all these things shall be added to you...”

Once we have learnt to implicitly trust in the DivineProvidence of Almighty God, we can rest assured in HisGreat Mercy and Love.

Being relieved of these minor concerns, we now are able toconcentrate on ‘the bigger picture’ – our Eternal Life inChrist.

However, none of this makes any sense to anyone unlesswe can respond to these momentous questions thatpoint us in the right direction.

Like our Lord’s Apostles, if we are no longer distracted andmisled by such unimportant concerns, we can focus onthe True Meaning of Life – the True Purpose of thisshort, temporary, preparatory period before Eternity.

Most people ignore, or are unaware of, these profoundquestions, for they only consider ‘life’ in terms of whatis happening at present, in front of them - what theywill be doing or what they have done or what they areplanning to do.

They think of life in terms of being ‘a good father or

mother’ who indulges their children’s constantdemands – or having much financial and materialwealth, or having all kinds of ‘security’ for their old age- whatever the fallen world considers to be ‘important’

but which has no Spiritual Benefits for our Eternal Life,which begins here and now.

Such people are not evil – they are merely ‘worldly,’ andSpiritually Blind - of whom our Lord speaks on manyoccasions.

We need to respond immediately to these particularquestions in order to be able to understand and towillingly follow our Lord’s admonitions concerningDivine Providence and seeking first His Kingdom andHis Righteousness.

We can make no Spiritual Progress and will remainSpiritually Blind and Ignorant, unless we truly believethat Life means knowing God intimately and personally.

As our Relationship with God flourishes, so does our Lovefor God and our fellow sinners, which then compels usto eagerly strive to fulfil all His Teachings andCommandments.

So, when our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that Life is farmore than mere food and clothing, it should be clearlyself-evident to us.

True Life is ordered in such a special manner, so that wewill get to know God far better and our Love for Himwill also grow more intense.

Furthermore, the way we think determines who we are.This is what our Lord was referring to when He said that

the Light of the body is the eye - because the eye seesand desires.

What we desire is who we are , no matter how muchScripture we know - or anything else that we mayaccomplish.

What we see and desire is what we are, and it affects oursoul.

This is extremely critical for every Struggling Disciple ofChrist to understand.

Our eye determines where our soul goes. So our eye mustalways rather desire to see God, for it is natural for oursoul to return to God.

After having put these questions to us, our Saviouradmonished us to stop wasting our time and energy onunnecessary concerns, to rest assured in the GreatMercy and Providence of Almighty God, WhoseKingdom is all that we should seek, and upon which weshould focus our attention and all our efforts, nomatter how difficult this may seem to us.

Maybe at present His Commandments might not be sochallenging, but how will we cope when seriousproblems arise that make it problematical for us not toworry and/or to remain focussed on attaining HisDivine Kingdom and Righteousness.

Personal problems do, of course, distract us and mighteven pull us away from God’s Holy Path – especially ifwe think that we are in control of everything or try to

control every aspect of our life.Some sad souls who exist in Spiritual Darkness andIgnorance blame our Loving and Benevolent Lord for alltheir troubles, not realising that many, if not most ofour tribulations are the consequences of human error,greed, selfishness, carelessness, etc.

Only God in His Great Mercy can Deliver, Comfort andStrengthen us in our ailments and afflictions.

Therefore, all that matters is God and all His Goodness, andTrue Life is learning to know God and to be confident,trusting and Faithful.

And this is the Purpose of our Lord and Saviour – theIncarnate, Eternal and Only Begotten Son and Word ofGod the Father – to teach us His Divine Truth directlyand personally - and to provide us with every meanspossible that is necessary for our Spiritual Welfare,

Development and Progress.All that is required of us, is to: “...Seek first the Kingdomof God and His Righteousness...” as He has clearly andconcisely said so many times throughout His EarthlyTeachings and Commandments.

Although He spoke about the birds of the air or the liliesand grasses of the field, or various other ordinary,earthly things at different times, He was trying to get usto understand that nothing of this temporary worldmatters.

What does matter, and which is extremely vital, are theSpiritual Things that affect us for all Eternity!!

We must cultivate within ourselves, the understanding thatthis short life is for our Spiritual Preparation for EternalLife – preparing ourselves for God’s Heavenly Kingdom,as worthy Citizens and Co-Heirs with Christ as God’sadopted Children through our Holy Baptism andChrismation, which are our first initial steps into thatDivine Everlasting Life.

True Life begins here and now.True Life is all about God and developing our personal

Relationship with the Holy Trinity.


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It is not enough to merely know this or even to believe itvery deeply in our heart.

We must cultivate this Understanding and our Life in Christ by how we live and think - and by what we do.

We need to worship together as Christ’s Holy Church, withthe Bishops and Priests guiding and leading us incorrect and True Faith.

We need to attend Holy Services as much as possible, because if we only occasio

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2015 - June Sacred Lessons