Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael answered him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” John 1:45-46 (Gospel on the Sunday of Orthodoxy) We have all had the experience of being invited somewhere. When we accept an invitation, it is with the expectation that
Jesus said, “And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your father who sees in secret will reward you.” Matthew
But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ”Father I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the Father said to his servants, “Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on
Introduction On the Saturday before Holy Week, the Orthodox Church commemorates a major feast of the year, the miracle of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when he raised Lazarus from the dead after he had lain in the grave four days. Here, at the end of Great Lent and the forty days of fasting and penitence, the Church combines this celebration with that of Palm Sunday. In triumph and joy the Church bears witness
Gluttony is the Snare of the Devil The devil said to Jesus: ‘If you are the son of God, command that these stones become bread.’ [Luke 4:3] Here we learn that there are three principal weapons that the devil likes to carry in order to wound our souls. They are gluttony, arrogance and ambition. He begins with the weapon with which he has already been victorious. We likewise should begin to be victorious in Christ
Greed is never Satisfied Ambrose said: ‘Avarice and pride are so much the same evil that you cannot find someone who is proud but not avaricious nor someone who is avaricious but not proud.’ Isidore said: ‘The greater our love for the things we possess, the greater our pain when we lose them. ‘Greed is insatiable. The person who is afflicted with it always needs something else; the more he has, the more he wants.
Three Kinds of Lies There are three kinds of liar: those who lie with their thoughts, those who lie with words and those who lie with their very lives. The liar of thought, for example, is the individual who is suspicious. If he sees two people talking, he immediately imagines they are talking about him. If they break off their conversation, he is convinced they are doing so because they have seen him coming. Whatever
The Worm of Pride Augustine said: ‘We must avoid pride. If it was able to deceive angels, how much more will it be able to scatter human wits.’ Ambrose said: ‘Pride transformed angels into demons, humility makes human beings into saints. Pride leads you to despise God’s commandments, humility urges you to follow them. The proud want to be praised even for what they have not done, the humble try to hide the good they
Just as Crabs Just as a bundle of green logs suffocates and puts out a bonfire causing clouds of smoke, so excessive grief often surrounds the soul with thick cloud and dries up the fount of tears. Just as a blind person is no use as an archer, so a disciple with the mania of contradiction will end in perdition. Just as tempered metal can sharpen soft or rusty metal, so can a zealous brother
The Three Stages We must distinguish simple thoughts, that is, ones without passion, from passionate thoughts. If we are examining the way in which sins of thought begin, we notice that the latter, namely passionate thoughts are accompanied by a large number of simple thoughts. Let us take money as an example. Someone thinks of a sum of money belonging to someone else. His imagination urges him to theft, and in his spirit he has
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