Sunday, March 30, 2014

Cultivating the Monastery Within





This morning's homily "Cultivating the Monastery Within". We will discuss St. John Climacus in the context of living the ascetic ideal in everyday life. Father Benedict discusses this important contribution on the Sunday of St. John of the Ladder at the Monastery of the Glorious Ascension on March 30, 2014.

Monday, March 24, 2014

How Heavy is Your Cross??? ~A Homily on the Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross (March 23, 2014)

(Paraphrased from the homily on the Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross on March 23rd. 2014 at the Monastery of the Glorious Ascension in Resaca, Georgia) 
On this day, the Orthodox Church commemorates the discovery of the True Cross (*the Cross upon which Christ was crucified) by St. Helena, the mother of Constantine.  It's discovery is a priceless treasure for the Church and for Her faithful as it represents an undeniable reality that Christ's crucifixion actually occurred and that while we have found His cross, we have not found the body that was laid upon it.

The Cross is an image of contradictions. It was once looked at as a symbol of Roman oppression, torture, and death. It was used to provide the most agonizing and humiliating death that could be meted out by the Roman authorities.  Christ's death upon just such an instrument of humiliation was looked at as being like so many others at the time. He was hung between two thieves in a place that was known as the garbage heap of Jerusalem. It was a pretty horrific and ignoble death. It was His resurrection, however, that turned the Cross into a symbol of salvation for the Christian world. A symbol of death transformed into a symbol of life. From instrument of persecution to a bridge to freedom.

One can perceive the Cross as an archetype. It is often referred to as a tree. There was one other tree
mentioned in scripture with a similar description. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was affixed in the center of the Garden of Eden. It bore upon it's branches the fruit of knowledge. However, it was a knowledge that the human race could have done without. You see... through that tree, death entered into the world. Eden was lost and through Adam & Eve's disobedience, the devil set up shop and has been doing quite a brisk business ever since. In comparison, the Cross was an instrument of death that was turned into a symbol of everlasting life. What was lost in Eden became restored at Golgotha. A bridge was built. The apple of sinfulness had rotted and fallen away but the Cross of Christ still stands as a beacon to redemption.

As the tree that once stood in the center of Eden, the Cross stood in the center of two thieves. One thief chose to remain in his fallen state. The other one, chose life. Christ stood upon the Cross in the center. Now, the Cross stands at the center of history as the defining moment where we humans have to make a choice. You see, it is ludicrous to think that we have to "find God" or to "seek out God" because it has been God
seeking US out all along! Even in the midst of wherever we are or what we are doing, He seeks us. He seeks us out in our going to sleep and in our waking. He seeks us out in our day to day activities. Yes... He even is seeking us out in the midst of the commission of our worst sins. The Cross is the message that has been established in the middle of everything to let us know that God is still listening, He is still holding out His hands to us to beckon us to come across that bridge. Even as the world turns about, the Cross of Christ stands fast, resolute, and unmoving. It is the anchor of truth in the midst of all untruth. Through it, Christ beckons us to take up our cross and follow Him, however; we must first lay down our own will and take up HIS will. We cannot carry our own cross without first taking upon ourselves His. Many of us will say that we carry our own cross because of what or who we deal with in life. But that is a gross overstatement of what we truly deal with. When Christ died upon the Cross, it held the sins of the world upon it. It became the heaviest thing in all of the universe! Yet, Christ bore it in all humility. Like a lamb before it's shearers is dumb, He spoke not. In His humility His judgment was taken away. How heavy were the sins placed upon Him on that day!

How heavy is YOUR cross?
Does your cross lead to salvation? Does it lead to justification?

The Cross of Christ bore the Lamb who was sacrificed for the whole world. His blood became the healing balm of all who would avail themselves of it for the remission of sins. Forgiveness had entered world through the an instrument of death and the sacrifice of ultimate love that was placed upon it.

How heavy is YOUR cross?
Is it heavier than Christ's?

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Father Benedict+

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Gregory Palamas - A Triumph of Orthodoxy



St. Gregory Palamas was responsible for clarifying a key doctrine of the Church relating to how mankind relates to God. Now, Father Benedict discusses this important contribution on the Sunday of Gregory Palamas at the Monastery of the Glorious Ascension on March 17, 2014.

Monday, March 10, 2014

The Sunday of Orthodoxy (Sunday March 9, 2014)

In this video, Fr. Benedict discusses the victory of the True Faith over the heresies and errors that sprang up throughout the centuries. The triumph of Orthodoxy also speaks to us about becoming victorious over those things in our own life that threaten to extinguish the light of True Faith that we have received through Christ in His Church. This homily was recorded at the Monastery of the Glorious Ascension in Resaca, Georgia on Sunday, March 9th, 2014. For more information about the Monastery, please visit them online at www.monastery.org.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

What is Required of Us?

The Church is incorruptible, inviolable, and without error. It is humans who err and cause division. We who profess Christ are imperfect in our imitation of Him. 
If we wish to walk in His footsteps more closely it will require a great sacrifice. To pick up our Cross and follow Him means that we must lay down our own selves to take upon ourselves His will; even unto death. It is to become less so that He may increase in the world. We must put aside our petty grudges (and they are all petty...) and love one another even in the midst of our grumbling at how we have hurt each other. If we have not genuine love for even the greatest of sinners then we cannot possibly perceive our own sinfulness. To hate your brother or sister is to hate the image of God that has been placed in front of you. It is, indeed to hate the image of God placed even within yourself. If you have an enemy, make him your friend. Doing so destroys your enemy. They cease to exist in truth. We must be genuine! We cannot profess love for Christ while at the same moment professing hatred for our brother. Who is our brother and who is our sister? Look next to you at all times and in all places.
Hate destroys our ability to live authentically as Christians. Hate is not a Christian virtue. If you hate your brother you cannot correct him of his errors and in return, you will not listen to his admonishment of your own sins. To know one's sins is to be able to repent of them fully.
This is a gift beyond compare.