Homily Three on the New Year and the Circumcision of the Lord (Archpriest Rodion Putyatin)

 

By Archpriest Rodion Putyatin

"I give you a new commandment, that you love one another" (John 13:34).

For us, listeners, the commandment of mutual love is the newest commandment, because we do not know it, we forget it, we do not fulfill it, we leave it off. And therefore, for the New Year, listen to this new commandment: love one another, love one another.

We are the closest people to each other, the most similar to each other: we are all created in the same image and likeness, the image and likeness of God; we are all redeemed by one blood, the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ; we are all members of one body, children of one Father and one Mother.

On Divine Eros (St. Nektarios of Aegina)

 By St. Nektarios of Aegina

Divine eros is perfect love of the Divine, manifested as an unceasing desire of the Divine. Divine eros is born in the pure heart, because in it divine grace descends. The eros for the Divine is a divine gift, which is bestowed upon the pure soul by the divine grace that descends and reveals itself to the soul. Divine eros without divine revelation is not born in any man. Because a soul that has not received revelation, has not received the influence of grace and remains apathetic towards divine eros. It is therefore impossible for eros to be born without a force acting upon the heart, whether divinea force or human.

The lovers of the Divine were drawn to divine eros by the divine grace which acted upon their hearts, revealed itself to their souls, and drew them to God. The lover of the Divine first was loved by the Divine, and then he fell in love with the Divine. The lover of the Divine first became a son of love, and then he loved the heavenly Father.

Homily for the Second Sunday of Luke - The Meaning of Justice (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

 Homily for the Second Sunday of Luke

The Meaning of Justice

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

"And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you?" (Luke 6:33)

Beloved brethren,

If there is something that characterizes all the people of our time, it is the search for justice. Everyone thirsts and shouts for its domination, because they think that this is how peace and love will prevail on earth. Justice, which is connected to equality, is the expectation of all people and all systems. However, justice is interpreted differently by each person.

I will briefly formulate some thoughts about justice and how Christianity understands it.

Homily Three for the Second Sunday of Luke (St. Luke of Simferopol)

 

 By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered on October 10/23, 1949)

Open your hearts, sharpen your hearing to the perception of the amazing, extraordinary, deepest words of Christ: “As you want people to do to you, so do you to them” (Luke 6:31).

When a person with a pure heart hears these words of Christ for the first time, he is embarrassed, he even becomes uncomfortable.

Oh my God! How could I not think of what You are telling us! How did I not think that I should treat people the way I want to be treated.

Simply, unusually simple is this word of Christ, and at the same time it is bottomlessly profound.

An Interpretation of the Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian: On Love (9)

By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

"Lord and Master of my life, bestow on Your servant a spirit of love."*

We now ask for love, which is the fulfillment of the whole law. If we do not have love, then, according to the words of the holy Apostle Paul, we are like "ringing brass or a sounding cymbal" (1 Corinthians 13:1).

If we have the gift of prophecy and great knowledge, and have faith that moves mountains, but do not have love, we are nothing. If we distribute all our property to the poor and give the body to be burned, but we do not have love, we are nothing. That's what love is. If there is no love, no matter how perfect we may be, we are nothing.

The Sainthood and Love of Saint Iakovos of Evia

Monk Akakios of Kavsokalyva, a spiritual child of Saint Porphyrios of Kavsokalyva, gave us the following testimonial:

It is worthwhile for me to tell you an incident that happened in Kavsokalyva together with Elder Porphyrios, which concerns Elder Iakovos and is in my opinion a great testimony.

It was May 1991, a few months before the venerable repose of the two Holy Elders, Porphyrios and Iakovos.

We were in Kavsokalyva, in the cell, that is, the room of the Elder - Elder Porphyrios himself, his submissive hieromonk Photios, the spiritual father, and myself.

Discourse on Love (Archimandrite George Kapsanis)

By Archimandrite George Kapsanis,
Former Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Gregoriou

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ handed down to us the perfect teaching on salvation. And he himself was the first to implement what he taught. It is he who ‘practices and teaches’ (Matt. 5, 19). He also gave us the parable of the Good Samaritan as an example of real love. But the most outstanding Good Samaritan is Christ himself, who took upon himself our nature tortured by robbers, that is the demons, the passions, and human wickedness, then raised it and gave it life through his death on the Cross and his resurrection.

Homily on the Second Sunday of Luke (Archpriest Rodion Putyatin)

By Archpriest Rodion Putyatin

"Love your enemies" (Luke 6:36).

This is the commandment given to us, listeners, by our heavenly Teacher Jesus Christ: He commands us to love our enemies. Your neighbor has done you evil, but in spite of that, love him, pay him good for evil. Why did Jesus Christ give us such a seemingly strict and difficult commandment? This is why he gave it, listeners: that it is very necessary for us, necessary for the present life, necessary for the future as well.

And in fact, what would have happened on earth if God had not commanded to love enemies, if he had allowed evil to pay for evil? Then there would be no end to quarrels and confusion, then they would live on earth as in hell. It is impossible to stop and suppress evil by evil, it can be stopped and suppressed only by good.

Reflection on the Second Sunday of Luke (St. Theophan the Recluse)

By St. Theophan the Recluse

The fundamental, original commandment is: love! It is a small word, but it expresses an all-encompassing thing. It is easy to say: you must love, but it is not easy to attain love to the necessary degree. It is also not exactly clear how to attain it; this is why the Savior surrounds this commandment with other explanatory rules: love "as thyself"; and "as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise". Here is shown a degree of love that one can call boundless; for is there any limit to one’s love for oneself? And is there any good which one would not want for himself from others? Meanwhile, however, the instructions are not impossible to fulfill. The matter depends upon having perfect compassion toward others, to fully transfer their feelings to yourself, to feel the way they feel. When this occurs, there will be no need to point out what you must do for others in a given situation: your heart will show you. You must only take care to maintain compassion, otherwise egoism will immediately approach and return you to itself and confine you in itself. Then you will not lift a finger for another, and will not look at him, though he might be dying. When the Lord said: "love thy neighbor as thyself", He meant that our neighbour should be in us, that is, in our heart, instead of our own selves. If our “I” remains in there as before, we cannot expect anything good to come of it.

 

 

Signs of our Love for God (St. Tikhon of Zadonsk)

 

By St. Tikhon of Zadonsk 

 

But let us see what the signs of love for God are, so that we may not have a false dream of love instead of love itself. In nothing does a man deceive himself so much as in love. The signs of this love are:

 1. God Himself indicates this, saying, "He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me" (Jn. 14:21). For the true lover of God will preserve himself from everything that is repugnant to God, and hastens to fulfill everything that is pleasing to God. Wherefore he keeps His holy commandments. From this it follows that those Christians that neglect the commandments have no love for God. Such are the malicious and those that harm others in any way. Such are the profligate, adulterers and all defilers. Such are robbers, bandits, thieves, and all those that unjustly appropriate the goods of others. Such are slanderers and those that curse others. Such are the sly, the crooked, the guileful, deceivers and hypocrites. Such are sorcerers and those that call on them. Such are all evildoers. All such love neither the Law of God nor God himself. They love themselves and their own appetites, but not God or His holy Law.

Homily for the Epistle Reading on the Sixth Sunday After Pentecost (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

Homily on Romans 12:9 

"Love Without Hypocrisy"

The Apostle Paul speaks of the spiritual gifts in today's apostolic reading, which are various and varied. God gives gifts to the members of the Church, so that the Church may be built up and God may be glorified. It is about prophecy, ministry, teaching, supplication, the transmission of material goods, the care for every good deed, almsgiving.

After listing the gifts, there is talk of love without hypocrisy which is the foundation of all spiritual gifts. In fact, in another one of his epistles to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul records the hymn of love, which is the greatest spiritual gift (1 Cor. 13).

What Does Snow Have in Common With the Love of God?

 

What does snow have in common 

with the love of God?  

Like snow falling quietly

it covers everything and freezes them,  

but beautifies the landscape  

and changes it;

so is the love  

and the Grace of God, 

it comes quietly and covers everything. 

It freezes our passions,  

beautifies life 

and changes everything, 

inside us and around us.

  

- Saint Amphilochios Makris

 

 

On Love (St. Ephraim the Syrian)

 

On Love

By St. Ephraim the Syrian

Rightly did the Lord say, ‘My burden is light’. For what sort of weight is it, what sort of toil is it to forgive one’s brother his offences, which are light and of no importance, and to be pardoned for one’s own, and immediately justified? He did not say, ‘Bring me money, or calves, or goats, or fasting, or vigils’, so that you could say, ‘I have none, I cannot’, but he ordered you to bring what is light and easy and immediate, saying, ‘Pardon your brother his offences, and I will pardon yours. You pardon small faults, a few halfpennies, or three pennies, while I give you the ten thousand talents. You only pardon without giving anything, I nevertheless both grant you pardon and give you healing and the Kingdom. And I accept your gift, when you are reconciled to the one who is your enemy, when you have enmity against no one, when the sun does not go down on your anger. When you have peace and love for all, then your prayer is acceptable, and your offering well-pleasing, and your house blessed and you blesséd. But if you are not reconciled with your brother, how can you seek pardon from me? You trample on my words, and do you demand pardon? I, your Master, demand, and you pay no attention, and do you, a slave, dare to offer me prayer, or sacrifice, or first fruits, while you have enmity against someone? Just as you turn your face from your brother, so I too turn my eyes from your gift and your prayer.’

The Nun Who Passionately Loved Christ

By Demetrios Panagopoulos (1916-1982), 

Preacher

I once knew a nun, who had divine eros. This nun helped me with her manner, so that in 1951 I returned on the path of God. This nun, when she said the word "Christ", abundant tears ran from her eyes, as if someone turned on a faucet within her. I have never seen anything like this in anyone else (I have seen it also with Elder Ieronymos of Aegina). This nun would tell me characteristically: "People should know, my Demetrios, how much Christ loves us!" As she said this the tears were running without stopping. We don't have such things, and the only things we care about, are if the third bell has rung so we can go to church for the last minute.

 

Translation by John Sanidopoulos.

 

 

"The Life of Desert-Dwellers is a Blessed One, For By Divine Eros They Are Raised Up"

 

 

 

In the Anavathmoi for Matins in Plagal of the First Tone we chant: 

 

"The life of desert-dwellers is a blessed one, 

for by divine eros they are raised up." 

 

"Τοις ερημικοίς ζωή μακαρία εστι, 

θεϊκώ έρωτι πτερουμένοις."

 

Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite explains this verse as follows:

"Blessed is the life of desert-dwellers, for they are raised up to God with a fiery, excessive, and intense eros. Yet the Melodist did not say that the desert-dwellers are in love with God, but they are raised up by divine eros."

Saint Nikodemos highlights this last point to show that the hymnographer was expressing his own eros for God and love for life in the desert, not wishing to make a generalized statement that desert-dwellers are in love with God. Desert-dwellers acquire divine eros by distancing themselves from all earthly temptations that would prevent any other love from coming between himself and God. It is this divine eros that gives him wings to fly up to God.

When King David was forced to become a desert-dweller to save his life, he wrote in Psalm 54:7-8 what the hymnographer above saw as an expression of one who indeed was raised up by divine eros after living far away from earthly temptations: "O that I had wings as a dove, then would I fly away, and be at rest. Behold! I have fled afar off, and lodged in the desert."

 

 

On Malice and the Love of Enemies According to Saint John of Kronstadt

 

 

By St. John of Kronstadt

 

You hate your enemy? You are foolish. Why? Because if your enemy persecutes you, you also inwardly persecute yourself; for say, is it not persecution, and the most cruel persecution, to torture yourself by your hatred towards your enemy? Love your enemy, and you will be wise. O, if only you knew what a triumph, what blessedness it is to love your enemy, and to do good to him! So did the Son of God, so did God in the Holy Trinity, triumph, and still triumphs, through His love, over the ungrateful and evil-natured human race; so also did God's saints triumph over their enemies, by loving them and doing good to them. 

 

Every person that does any evil, that gratifies any passion, is sufficiently punished by the evil he has committed, by the passions he serves, but chiefly by the fact that he withdraws himself from God, and God withdraws Himself from him: it would therefore be insane and most inhuman to nourish anger against such a man; it would be the same as to drown a sinking man, or push into the fire a person who is already being devoured by the flame. To such a man, as to one in danger of perishing, we must show double love, and pray fervently to God for him; not judging him, not rejoicing at his misfortune. For my sake, says Jesus, but for their sakes, too. ‘Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you.’” (Mt. 5:44)

 

On the Love of Enemies According to Saint Silouan

 

By Jean-Claude Larchet

ALTHOUGH IT IS natural and usual to love those who love us and to do good to those who do good to us (Mat.t 5:46-47; Luke 6:32-33), to love our enemies is distasteful to our nature. One can say that it isn’t in our power but is an attitude that can only be the fruit of grace, given by the Holy Spirit. This is why St. Silouan the Athonite writes, “The soul that has not known the Holy Spirit does not understand how one can love one’s enemies, and does not accept it.”

The starets repeatedly says that love of enemies is impossible without grace. “Lord, You have given the commandment to love enemies, but this is difficult for us sinners if Your grace is not with us…. Without God’s grace we cannot love our enemies…. He who has not learned to love from the Holy Spirit, will certainly not pray for his enemies.” On the contrary, St. Silouan always taught that this attitude is a gift of the Holy Spirit: “The Lord has commanded us to love our enemies, and the Holy Spirit reveals this love to us…. When you will love your enemies, know that a great divine grace will be living in you.”

Saint Paul the Russian and his Wife as Models for our Lives

Holy New Martyr Paul the Russian (Feast Day - April 3)

By Protpresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

The neomartyr Paul was from Russia and lived in the seventeenth century. He was enslaved by the Tartars who brought him to Constantinople. There he was bought by a Christian, who then liberated him. Seeing a fellow Russian girl who had been enslaved, he bought her, liberated her, and they were married. Soon after their wedding, Paul, for an unknown reason, had epilepsy. His wife, who truly loved him, would not leave his side for even a minute. She stood by him and helped him in every possible way to heal him, without being hurt by his actions and words that he acted and said during his crisis. She brought him, with the help of her relatives, to the Church of the Theotokos known as Mouglouniou, and she supplicated her on behalf of his healing. The Panagia did not take long to answer her prayer, which was made out of love, intensity and pain, and she healed him. After Paul was healed, together with his wife, he thanked the Panagia and returned home. As soon as he left the church, however, certain fanatical Muslims, who did not forget some of the things he said during his crisis, arrested him and led him to the Turkish judge, accusing him of being a Muslim and renouncing his faith.

The Perfect Love of Saint Anthony the Great

By St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite

A certain discerning elder asked God to see the reposed Venerable Fathers. And he saw them, except Abba Anthony. He therefore said to the Angel who showed him the Fathers: "Where is Abba Anthony?" The Angel said to him, that Anthony can be found in the place where God is. "Why was Anthony made worthy of such glory above the other Fathers?" "Because he loved God more than them."

"Judging and Mockery Are Great Wounds on the Soul" (St. Gabriel the Confessor)

By St. Gabriel the Confessor

I am a great sinner and greatly infirm. If you see a person sinning even at the hour of his death, do not judge him. Judging and mockery are great wounds on the soul. The Lord says, “Man, who art thou that thou should judge for Me? For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again" (Matt. 7:2). Judging is a manifestation of human stupidity; it shows that he who judges does not yet know God or himself as he should.