tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42056886953507924212024-03-05T06:34:23.630-08:00Monastery of the Glorious Ascension (The Chaplain's Corner)The homily and news feed for the Monastery of the Glorious Ascension in Resaca, Georgia.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-91083277076168625192016-01-10T18:29:00.002-08:002016-01-10T18:29:02.330-08:00<a href="http://www.podcastgarden.com/episode/the-misunderstood-spouse-joseph-the-betrothed-a-homily_67805" target="_blank">The Misunderstood Spouse: Joseph the Betrothed</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-43555427832312450342015-11-16T08:06:00.001-08:002015-11-16T08:06:16.982-08:00By Prayer & Fasting<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uakItMQUK-4" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-20216641407425718202015-09-07T16:09:00.001-07:002015-09-07T16:09:11.049-07:00The Wedding Garment<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dDEQjgawX4w" width="459"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-70993414215973774372015-08-30T19:51:00.001-07:002015-08-30T19:51:43.083-07:00They Shall Know Us By Our Love<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/W-i9axYXgCk" width="459"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-83635289579633400472015-07-12T20:44:00.001-07:002015-07-12T20:44:15.722-07:00The Rock & the Tentmaker<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LL5JQ-GvtWM" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-77709695498466176312015-07-05T12:30:00.001-07:002015-07-05T12:30:52.568-07:00They Were Shown the Light, But Preferred the Dark<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/H7TM6hyPr7M" width="459"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-63435068259027076622015-06-30T18:01:00.002-07:002015-06-30T18:01:35.900-07:00The Crowns of a Godly Love... A Wedding Homily<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTYE4HR5MkyUHWrVcxOR6mevLGxHOoFpUMwzxFcSJfdxRURBRKrLmMRtNgYd17LRh7UVqCYNStrO2DY6AIVWxx0XjtJ2Y0rkKwwrNMvq1uP60SPYcWrxkAKQAmjGyj5z7_4sGG0niJ9ewE/s1600/Crowns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTYE4HR5MkyUHWrVcxOR6mevLGxHOoFpUMwzxFcSJfdxRURBRKrLmMRtNgYd17LRh7UVqCYNStrO2DY6AIVWxx0XjtJ2Y0rkKwwrNMvq1uP60SPYcWrxkAKQAmjGyj5z7_4sGG0niJ9ewE/s320/Crowns.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>The Crowns of a Godly Love</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>A Wedding Homily</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>(*Homily by Father Benedict Simpson; transcribed by Katherine (Maria) Stephens-Powell)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It has been so good that God has given you to us. You see two people who grew up in different places in the world, who came together by what they think is chance, but it was actually divine providence. Nothing happens by chance, dear ones. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I would like to tell you, who have gathered here to celebrate this moment with these two in this moment of holy matrimony: this is one of the most sacred sacraments of the Church. Marriage is not given by man. It is given by God. It is a sacrament given to us from above where one man and one woman may join together and become one flesh and to reproduce and to make children, a progeny of more Christians.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When Katherine and Eric approached me and they said, "Father, we want to ask you a question." I said, "what is it?" They said, "we want you to marry us." I said, "well, I'm flattered, but I'm already married!" But the thing is, it is an honor for me to do this. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You see, in my ten years of marriage I have learned something: As you heard in the marriage ceremony, "wives submit to your husband." You (<i>*husband</i>) are to be the head of the household. Sometimes your wife will tell you where she wishes to be lead. It's good to listen. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And you </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">(</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">*wife</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">)</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2px;"> are told to honor and obey. You are also to be the conscience of your husband. Sometimes - I know it's hard to imagine! - men sometimes make wrong decisions. I know it's difficult to see, and it's almost impossible to believe, but men sometimes make the wrong decisions. Women, believe it or not, you are sometimes wrong. I know, another shocker! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJU4rrFEuZcDJIpoZaprT9zGrLvk48s_x81HZHVJWe7aOGWa6gNh_JDwL7z3AAtyge4OkHb8df0zUpLHJg-c6gt1e6pekOmngtAmsNsIUSoAvBaZFANsdo4EbH6o6p9oWR3kn5WhgQa3O/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJU4rrFEuZcDJIpoZaprT9zGrLvk48s_x81HZHVJWe7aOGWa6gNh_JDwL7z3AAtyge4OkHb8df0zUpLHJg-c6gt1e6pekOmngtAmsNsIUSoAvBaZFANsdo4EbH6o6p9oWR3kn5WhgQa3O/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I want you to do something for me. I want you to promise that you will do this. You will remember . . . Look around you right now. Do you see all these people who are gathered? How many of you are married? Do you remember your marriage? Do you remember the love that you felt when you were married? Remember the love that you feel at this moment because days will come where you will argue. Days will come where there will be hardships. Days will come where there will seem to be enmity between you. But do this: Argue with love. Argue based of the facts of the argument and not upon your deep-seated memory of some slight that may have happened years ago. Remember the person you argue with is the one that you love and who loves you. Also remember they know where you're going to sleep! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So when you come back to this moment, and in your mind you see the love that's in these people's faces, these are people who've gone through it before you and made it! They're still married. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>"There is no divorce in the Kingdom of God."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We take very seriously "<i>what God has brought together, let no man put asunder</i>." Don't let yourselves be your own undoing. Argue with love. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Frequently make time for each other. Marriage is also known as a martyrdom, for you are called to die to your selfishness and cleave to the one that you have married. You become part of them, and they become part of you. Now, that's what we mean by the knitting together of two into one flesh. So going forth, you die to the self you know and take upon yourself the mantle of husband and wife and all that it entails. You are to share your journey together in prosperity and in poverty, in good health and in sickness. You will share each other's pain and grief as well as their happiness. You are to be there 'til death do you part. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Remember, you're the ones who asked me to marry you, not the other way around. Remember that. </span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"May God bless you with a happy family. May he give all the benefits of His grace and His abiding Holy Spirit. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2px;">You see, in this marriage, there are not two people, but three. Christ is in your midst!"</span></span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEOQHjJ1Uof3KZIsxTZdIsUhhy6yH8-NG0Q-JWyd63GNwDvWeVoZKeeSRY5taBvP5-A2R5k2Ei4z4b4jOS13T3AS0ilb_5OJ-EQxOOQQzEO3znkAte666YR_QStH3-lx9QwczsQdo3ZYnV/s1600/weddingring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEOQHjJ1Uof3KZIsxTZdIsUhhy6yH8-NG0Q-JWyd63GNwDvWeVoZKeeSRY5taBvP5-A2R5k2Ei4z4b4jOS13T3AS0ilb_5OJ-EQxOOQQzEO3znkAte666YR_QStH3-lx9QwczsQdo3ZYnV/s200/weddingring.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As you see the earliest wedding rings that have ever been found, there are the two beloved who are married, and in the middle there is Christ between them. So Christ is in this wedding. He is in your marriage. There is no way to get rid of Him. Remember that even when you argue.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Brothers and sisters, family, beloved, I give to you the newly wedded Eric and Katherine. I give you charge over them to uphold them in all godliness and all honor. Love them. Cherish them. Give them advice along the way - good advice, not bad! Always uphold them upon your arms and hands, because you know, being married, that sometimes the journey is difficult. But the journey is worthwhile. So I give them to you. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit... Amen</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In Christ,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Father Benedict Simpson+</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Chaplain</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Monastery of the Glorious Ascension<br />Resaca, Georgia</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-30129534184494474852015-06-29T20:43:00.003-07:002015-06-29T20:49:10.839-07:00The Ever-Open Door<div style="line-height: 18.2px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7FzPuEYIwsFsJLfsD3BzYmNzHBH3CqvZF6h30gDjOA_1mN02HfmwViYxUJGcfbll2X5Q5WYjqJ_72Kd_5B1wZMTACPPrdmsqjVgGpMz85IYljvfk9LFo_JMNuDFg2er-b6Uiawac1yI9W/s1600/Open+Door.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7FzPuEYIwsFsJLfsD3BzYmNzHBH3CqvZF6h30gDjOA_1mN02HfmwViYxUJGcfbll2X5Q5WYjqJ_72Kd_5B1wZMTACPPrdmsqjVgGpMz85IYljvfk9LFo_JMNuDFg2er-b6Uiawac1yI9W/s320/Open+Door.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>The Ever-Open Door</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>(~Transcribed by Katherine (Maria) Powell from a sermon given at Ascension Monastery on 06/28/2015)</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I want to give you a message this morning. I want to start it by saying what we say at the beginning of the liturgy. As the the priest stands before the Holy Altar and grasps the Gospel book, he says,<b><i><span style="color: #660000;"> </span></i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><span style="color: #660000; font-size: small;">"Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages." </span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">We're familiar with this. We hear it at very liturgy. Regardless of which language the liturgy is said in, these words are always intoned as the invocation of the liturgy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">It is also a very unique statement of our life as Christians. You see, we as Christians are called to be those who bless, to be a blessing to all who come into contact with us. As we always proclaim at the beginning of every service, as you know, the lower-ranked services, "Blessed is our God always now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen." "Blessed is the <b>Kingdom</b> of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen." </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikDa-ux1iSsMOUKIKuWRY92CAYRp7Bo9Sz5XQliIEZXC9NQYBcsTuU-g1b1yrPMomAHwSaFDnsMbIlzlfTfef6NGuSCCcMwlkWfEEJpsURPUcqhefWgWH_CIgSKD3ZHKispJiN3FkBkSep/s1600/blood.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikDa-ux1iSsMOUKIKuWRY92CAYRp7Bo9Sz5XQliIEZXC9NQYBcsTuU-g1b1yrPMomAHwSaFDnsMbIlzlfTfef6NGuSCCcMwlkWfEEJpsURPUcqhefWgWH_CIgSKD3ZHKispJiN3FkBkSep/s200/blood.gif" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">What does this mean? Well, let me give you an example. This is the story of a priest in the times of persecution. He was getting ready for the Divine Liturgy, and the pagans began coming towards the place where the Christians were meeting that particular Sunday. As the people were gathered in the temple, they were afraid. They heard the soldiers coming. The priest put upon himself his vestments as usual, praying his prayers as he put them on. He went to the altar. As he went to the altar, he heard the soldiers at the door of the temple beating with their swords against the door of the temple. He picked up the Gospel. He held it high aloft. <i>"Blessed is the Kingdom. . ." </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">At that moment, the soldiers broke through into the temple. They started grabbing everyone they could. They put them in chains. There was a great commotion - people yelling, screaming. The priest said, <i>"of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. . ."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">When the soldiers had finally made their way up to the high place, the holy place, they laid their hands upon the priest. As they ran him through with a sword, he fell upon the floor. His dying words were, <i>"unto the ages of ages."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Many things have happened in the past few days, several things which make us wonder about the country which we live in and what it is going to mean for us to be Christians. There are a lot of people who are afraid. Now we see before our eyes a very real and present danger to our life as Christians and how we practice our faith. The secular governments have ordained, given, and created a right that really is not theirs to give. But they claim it anyway. In the past few days, I've had several phone calls from several people. I've taken several emails and answered many questions on social media. I want to have a word with you in case you are wondering what this means. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">What this means, dear beloved Christians, is that the Church will stay the same as it has always been. The Liturgies will be served in the temple. The services of the Church - the vespers, and the matins, and the commemorations, and all the incidental services of the Church - will still be served. The standards have not shifted. They have not changed because marriage is not for the secular world to give, but it is divine and ordained by God. I want to tell you what that means for us. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><b><i><span style="color: #660000;">The Holy Orthodox Church will never acquiesce. It will never acquiesce to the demand that we bless something which God has called accursed. We have no power to do such.</span></i></b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">People may wonder and may tell you because of your beliefs that you are hateful and that you are mean because you don't agree with what they agree with. Saint Anthony the Great said that there will come a time when men will go mad, and they will look at you who are sane and say that you are not like us; you must be mad. Those times are here. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">What does that mean for you though? It means, for us as the Church, there's going to be the great separating of the sheep from the goats. I will tell you that gone are the times of comfortable Christianity. Gone are the times of casual Christian attendance at churches. And thank God for it! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">From now on, for the people, the faithful who go into a Church that believes in what the Fathers have passed down to us from the Apostles and from Christ Himself, it will be increasingly difficult. God be praised for that! Now we will see who the faithful are. There will be many who will fall away. This is a great tragedy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">If you've ever heard any of my former sermons, you know that I am really big about living and breathing the Christian life. You see, the doors of the Church are looked to as being an ever-open door. People come into the Church, and they approach Christ, and they live a life of fidelity and discipline and obedience and love. Love without discipline becomes lustful and debased. Discipline without love becomes tyranny. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">You are going to be accused of being hateful and bigoted. You are going to be accused of being unloving. As it was put to me by a woman this week: "How can you be so hateful? How can you be so hateful to be against this that the Supreme Court has passed? Isn't this a great thing?" I said, "no. It's not a great thing. It's a terrible thing." She asked why. I said, "I am not being hateful when I say to you that it is a tragedy."</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjROZnn0DPCA0FwYkHpNisXawzq-pQO3g11U_8h-bnfa9oSUGrSgeVSK5GBjfPxx4vz0-l79l1H_dtAnKGR0nKbObzbvJTMK-hIFPMeXX2pn5PUZQGDS5rsC3fnBwKn3iyafh8vv_qHIB3M/s1600/Father+Benedict+2b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjROZnn0DPCA0FwYkHpNisXawzq-pQO3g11U_8h-bnfa9oSUGrSgeVSK5GBjfPxx4vz0-l79l1H_dtAnKGR0nKbObzbvJTMK-hIFPMeXX2pn5PUZQGDS5rsC3fnBwKn3iyafh8vv_qHIB3M/s200/Father+Benedict+2b.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">How many of us, driving on the street, if you pull up to somebody and find that they're on the way to head off of a cliff would not at least honk your horn and try to stop them? How many parents seeing a child's hand approaching a hot stove would not reach out to grab it to try to tear it away lest they be burned? It is in this way that the testimony of the Church must always remain unchanged. We must always let people know that sin leads you to death. Some sins are even more heinous than others as has been foretold in the Scriptures, for liars, thieves, adulterers, and doers of sexual immorality - meaning homosexuals - will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. This doesn't mean that they cross a line they cannot come back from. The Church also calls, with that serious admonition when the Church says that these are terrible things to do that will lead you into hell, it also says that there is hope in repentance. You see, repentance is the key. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">People ask if there are homosexuals in the Orthodox Church. I believe there are. People are afflicted by that affliction as the result of the fall. It's not a result of something God gave them. It's because they were born into a fallen world, and it's one of the things that they have, the thorn in the flesh. Each of us has a thorn in the flesh, a particular sin which seems to be habitual that we have to overcome. This is why when we point out their sin, that we also, in the same breath, remember our own. We speak to each other as sinners in the hospital, as patients trying to get over that which keeps us away from God. We must never shirk from the duty of pointing out sin in other people's lives as well as recognizing the sins that are in our own. Repentance is not just a call for a few, but for many. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">When we start seeing the results of persecution, a lot of people are going to be afraid and fall away. Let me help you understand something that will help ease you: Orthodox Christians have available for them all the sacraments of the Church. For a person who is in unrepentant sin, they are barred from the sacraments of the Church. We would not baptize a man who does not believe the tenets of the Church, or a woman for that matter who doesn't wish to uphold the teachings of the Church. Those who have no Orthodox parents or Orthodox godparents - we don't baptize them. Children are brought to us by a couple who say, "we want our child baptized, but unfortunately we want to do it for the sake of just having our child baptized; we don't really care what the Church believes." That child doesn't get baptized. It sounds mean, doesn't it? But no! It is being in fidelity to what the Church teaches. If a person comes up for Communion, and we know them to be in unrepentant sin, they cannot commune. That sounds mean, doesn't it? But it's not. It's done to protect them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">You see, we know that to partake of the Chalice in an unworthy manner, falsely discerning its nature, is to partake their own condemnation. In a way, we are saving them from that moment. If they were to partake and something terrible were to befall them, they'd have drunk of their own condemnation. They would have drunk and literally brought upon themselves the sin of crucifying Christ. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">For two people who are in a relationship that is not condoned by the Church or is not an acceptable relationship to be in - whether that be a same-sex relationship, a relationship of many partners, a relationship with animals (I hope you never go there! - they cannot be buried in the Church either. They cannot commune in the Church. By their very actions, they have placed themselves outside of the bonds of he Church's love and grace and outside of the font of salvation until they repent. You see, they may say they are Orthodox. But unless you proclaim with your actions as well that you are Orthodox, you simply are not. I'm sorry. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">You see, Orthodox Christians are Christians of fidelity. They are Christians of belief, and faith, and discipline, and love, and also obedience. Hence, the Orthodox Church will weather the storm as it has weathered all the other storms that have come against it in the past 2,000 years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">So when you see your brother or your sister wondering, "what are we going to do? What are we going to do? Oh my gosh, this is the most terrible thing that's ever happened!" Maybe not. Because now, we are going to see what it takes to truly be Christians in this age. We are going to see what truly it means to be persecuted for the faith and what that faith really means to us. They're not only going to come after the priests and the churches. They are going to come after each person that disagrees. They're going to come after each person who holds an opinion that is contrary to theirs because they cannot bear the light of truth upon their sinfulness. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Let's use this time. While they are coming after us, remember your own pet sins. Remember your own propensity to be sinful. Deal with it. Because if you don't deal with it now, how can you tell your brother to deal with his? Now is the time for fidelity. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Like I've said, the Church is an ever-open door. People come in, but people, by their own actions, can also walk out that door. What a tragedy it is! However, the people who have anathematized themselves, and they leave the church, and they go after their own ego, and they worship their own ego upon the altar which they build themselves. . . We are always to remember that the Church has grace even for these. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In every early church that you will see, you will find these keyholes that are cut in the walls which lead to the outside. Do you know what they're there for? They're there to hope that those who have been anathematized and have been apart from the community - maybe they are separated by heresy or error or some sort of indwelling sin - that they would hear the hymns of the Church, they would hear the homilies being taught, they would hear the words of Scripture being spoken, and that their hearts would be changed and they would come back to us repentant. Hence, the ever-open door. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><b>In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><b><i>Father Benedict Simpson</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Ascension Monastery</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Resaca, Georgia</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-44207763829495625822015-03-22T20:08:00.001-07:002015-03-22T20:08:00.379-07:00Fire & Water<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mH70qbpxwrk" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-312681036245416682015-03-08T15:33:00.001-07:002015-03-08T15:33:53.867-07:00Take Up Thy Bed and WALK<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KW6CTbe_Npg" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-80199361215286994242015-03-01T20:51:00.001-08:002015-03-01T20:51:19.219-08:00The Great Triumph of Orthodoxy<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TnlfYv3YJCs" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />
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The Homily on the Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy today at the Monastery of the Glorious Ascension in Resaca, Georgia.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-82989177940274710442015-02-23T18:56:00.001-08:002015-02-23T18:56:26.433-08:00Chastening the Body & the Spirit<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sEmvwCVxDiA" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-84527614291915124662015-02-15T15:40:00.001-08:002015-02-15T15:40:15.264-08:00A Difficult Truth<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/beyuvUly9AA" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-59796751667896884532015-01-20T21:04:00.001-08:002015-01-20T21:04:19.886-08:00Who Told You That You Were Naked<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3C5ejOtTw1s" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />
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Theophany Homily from Ascension Monastery. (Actual Play Time is 8 minutes.)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-57785564913917587142015-01-04T18:46:00.001-08:002015-01-04T18:46:46.765-08:00A Love Story<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-692yy_byMk" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />
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Video Feeds are BACK... A homily in preparation for the Feast of the Nativity (*Christmas). What a strange way to save the world. We see God’s love manifested as a little child coming forth from a simple cave. From darkness burst forth light and salvation was made manifest to mankind.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-41539528697580164162014-12-28T16:00:00.001-08:002014-12-28T16:00:24.900-08:00Will You Come to the Feast<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zjTdVy0_yVc" width="459"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-26203739566348730492014-12-21T20:20:00.001-08:002014-12-21T20:20:36.334-08:00Have Ye Any Meat<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uHinJQx-YOk" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-50907287247770464962014-11-30T17:44:00.001-08:002014-11-30T17:44:32.058-08:00Inheriting the Dust<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RRKgJOv-uXI" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />
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A homily on the Parable of the rich man who laid up stores in his warehouses and then sat back saying, " I have plenty stored up for many years. Now I shall rest and enjoy these things I have laid up." But, little did he know that his very soul is what would be required of him... and he had been found lacking in the one thing most needed.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-44410415145793536292014-11-23T16:37:00.001-08:002014-11-23T16:37:33.022-08:00Who Is My Neighbor<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YCcAVJgm4xo" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-42543066665608316822014-11-16T21:57:00.001-08:002014-11-16T21:57:29.493-08:00To Be Healed Completely<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Cg9oKNxm_98" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />
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<div class="p0" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We read in today’s gospel</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">about two very different people who approached Christ</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> with their needs</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> in different ways. </span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-9790711061749453352014-11-10T21:49:00.001-08:002014-11-10T21:49:31.275-08:00Confessing Christ in a Hostile World<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IxheVSJ1FH8" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-32940896290024033682014-10-20T20:54:00.001-07:002014-10-20T20:54:15.966-07:00Sacrificing Doubt (A Lesson from St. Thomas the Apostle)<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9BKprsZOgJc" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />
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A homily given at Monastery of the the Glorious Ascension in Resaca, Georgia on St. Thomas the Apostle Sunday (10/19/2014).Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-40898541221938780672014-10-11T21:01:00.001-07:002014-10-11T21:01:50.657-07:00Trading Our Stains for Gold<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rN6aDASYdNQ" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />
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<div class="p16" style="background: rgb(255,255,255); line-height: 18.3000pt; margin-bottom: 17.0500pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">“</span><span class="15" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0pt;">Become</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"> merciful (compassionate) even as your Father in heaven is merciful.” </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">What does t</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">his phrase tell us</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">? Why it tells us</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"> </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">w</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">hat it means to be a Christian, </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">and what the root of salvation is!</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">. </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">Christ</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"> did not come into the world so that God would </span><span class="15" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0pt;">consider</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"> us righteous by looking at us through His Son</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"> as some sort of filter!</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"> He came into the world </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">so that we might be healed! </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"> </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">There are so many forms of spiritual sickness that keep us from fully living our lives to the fullest promise of the Gospel. There are so many times that we simply wish to cling to our own possessions of dust and stains rather than give them up to the promise of What God has to offer.</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="p16" style="background: rgb(255,255,255); line-height: 18.3000pt; margin-bottom: 17.0500pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">What happens when we do not experience God’s truth and love</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"> in a tactile way</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">, </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">or </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">what happens when we feel that God is not merciful, or even more common</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">ly</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">, </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">what happens when we feel that </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">God is just not there? </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="p16" style="background: rgb(255,255,255); line-height: 18.3000pt; margin-bottom: 17.0500pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">I’ll tell you that we begin to substitute our own self will to replace that which is God’s will and we become ever more distant from the source of Love and Mercy.</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="p16" style="background: rgb(255,255,255); line-height: 18.3000pt; margin-bottom: 17.0500pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">So the question remains... Why do we suffer at times and do not experience being filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit? Why do we, at times, do not feel “on fire” for Christ?</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="p16" style="background: rgb(255,255,255); line-height: 18.3000pt; margin-bottom: 17.0500pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">This Gospel tells us something about ourselves in that it points out our own propensity to want to live our own lives without the consequences of our bad behavior. Even worse, some of us may wish to live for Christ, but not have to carry the Cross. Do do such is impossible! For we are called to be Christians; to be Christ Followers. If we follow Christ, we must also follow the way of the Cross. To not do so would be to become as the hypocrites who put on a good show for the benefit of others, but are inwardly hollow and dead in the Faith. </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="p16" style="background: rgb(255,255,255); line-height: 18.3000pt; margin-bottom: 17.0500pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">St. Cyriacus of Palestine, when he was just 18 years old, heard the words of the Gospel in Matthew, “</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me”</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">. He was so moved by these simple words of our Lord that he decided to dedicate his whole life to serving Christ simply and in all earnestness. In fact, he went straight from the Church to the harbor, without stopping by his home, from there, to set sail to the monastery near Sion. He lived a miraculous life totally dedicated to Christ in all aspects of what he said and did. He reposed in the Lord at 109 years of age.</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="p16" style="background: rgb(255,255,255); line-height: 18.3000pt; margin-bottom: 17.0500pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">But what of us when we do not feel God’s closeness in the dry times of the desert of our life? It is in these times most particularly that Faith is tested and the mettle of our spirit is determined. It is in these dry times that we will either strive further into the embrace of God’s mercy or we will turn away into the depths of our own self centered-ness. If we take refuge in God’s mercy, He will make us bear fruit even in the midst of the drought! Often the fruit is not what we were expecting. But it is the fruit that is most needed and of a particularly most excellent nature. Christ being the vine-dresser connects us to the Father’s love and mercy through communion with Him and thus, we become fully alive and a fully living vine bearing fruit for sustaining life.</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="p16" style="background: rgb(255,255,255); line-height: 18.3000pt; margin-bottom: 17.0500pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">In such a way we learn to be chastened against evil and kindled towards true Faith. We become the temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells and indeed works. We are to feed daily upon the Gospel and to allow it’s truth to transform us entirely. This is the hard part of the walk that we must take as Christians! We have to sacrifice our own will to accept that of God’s. There is no other way to cultivate simple humility than to follow Christ’s own example. The saints and martyrs stand along the way, pointing towards Christ with their own examples of their lives and their deaths. You see... </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">I</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">n the end... </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">W</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">e all have to die to ourselves in order to live fully in Christ. </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="p16" style="background: rgb(255,255,255); line-height: 18.3000pt; margin-bottom: 17.0500pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;">So be merciful to all! Manifest God’s own mercy in your own words and actions. Pretty soon you will find that your words will no longer be your own. Your actions will no longer be that of your own doing. They will become God’s own words and His own will working through you. But don’t be afraid that you are losing yourself! No one who gives himself fully to God, goes away disappointed that he did. After all... You are exchanging dust and stains for unblemished gold. </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: 0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="p16" style="background: rgb(255,255,255); line-height: 18.3000pt; margin-bottom: 17.0500pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0pt;"><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-67136077138236484772014-10-04T22:38:00.001-07:002014-10-04T22:38:47.628-07:00The Net That Gathers In<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7NVYtvhmoAM" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205688695350792421.post-50541474584618739312014-09-28T18:06:00.001-07:002014-09-28T18:06:55.928-07:00The Cross<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/jhLQUC_S6co" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />
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Today's homily from Ascension Monastery today. (sorry about the sound...) ;)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01104746651870129725noreply@blogger.com0