In “My
Life in Christ” definite spiritual principles can be discerned thought the
book. They could be summarised like this.
Oneness
and simplicity are an important aspect of the nature of God. Therefore, for
human beings, simplicity equals strength and nearness to God. What is material
is by nature complex and weak. What is spiritual is by nature simple and
strong.
When they
actually express the inner spirit, words have great power and do not differ
from action. This characterises human as well as purely spiritual beings. The
human spirit breathes only in the Holy Spirit, who is its atmosphere. Without
the Holy Spirit, the human spirit becomes morally corrupt and disintegrates. A
materialistic attitude to life is incompatible with the presence of the Spirit
of truth.
Words can
convey the reality they express, and the scriptural Word of God can therefore
convey the Lord himself. Because of its divine power, the Word of God must be
believed and obeyed And. Faith is the
way to receive the Word of God and is also what gives strength to the human
word. Teaching is essentially conveying the Word of God with its power.
Spiritual fatherhood resides in teaching the Word of God in the power of the
Holy Spirit.
The Word
of God and liturgical texts are breathed by the Holy Spirit. But it is
important also to pray in one’s own words with the power of faith. Just as we
are destined to share the life of God, so our words are meant to be spoken from
our spirit united to the Holy Spirit.
The human
spirit knows God and the devil through experiencing peace, expansion, bliss on
the one hand; and turmoil, oppression and torture on the other. Freedom from
evil spirits and communion with God come through faith in the Cross and Blood
of Christ. When approached with faith, the sign of the Cross and Communion have
limitless power and give the peace of God.
By
strengthening the faith of people, they can be brought to holy communion for
the genuine healing of soul and body. If the human spirit truly receives the
Lord’s words. “This is my Body; this is my Blood, shed for the remission of
sins,” in communion God is truly imparted to man and man unites himself to God.
Sin has
been nailed to the Cross by the Saviour and every sin can be nailed to the
Cross through repentance and faith.
By faith
God must be personally known as loving Father, as crucified and risen Lord, as
the Spirit who accomplishes the Word.
Person
live by the gift of themselves through love. God gives himself, his own divine
life to us Christians. Therefore we must respond by giving all we have to each
other. Especially to the poor so that there is no human injustice. But giving
must not be done carelessly, without consideration for the person’s real needs.
The
Church, the Body of Christ, is one and experiences her unity within the Holy
Spirit. All Christians in heaven and on earth share the same life in the Holy
Spirit and therefore communicate spiritually through the Holy Spirit. The
Mother of God, the Saints and all the angels are close to us and we can talk to
them through the Holy Spirit.
ON THE
CROSS
The
crosses we have in church, at home and on ourselves, and the sign of the Cross
which we make on ourselves, are tokens of the salvation we have received
through the death of our Saviour on Golgotha two thousand years ago. Saint John
of Kronstadt teaches us that the Cross is an eye-opener, a way of life, a
spiritual weapon and the very image of the Cross is and has been historically
used by God to teach us.
THE CROSS IS AN EYE-OPENER
Jesus is
united with the sign of the Cross. And in order that the unbelieving heart
should not think that both the sign of the Cross and the name of Christ act
miraculously by themselves, apart from and independently of Christ himself,
this same Cross and name of Christ do not perform any miracles until I believe
with my whole heart all that he has accomplished for our salvation.
A Cross is the token of our salvation
Looking
upon the Saviour’s Cross, contemplate Love crucified upon it for our salvation;
and think for what blessedness he has saved us, and from what torments he has
redeemed us! He has snatched us from the claws of the beast and has brought us
to the father! O Love! O redemption! O
terrors of everlasting torments! O indescribable, endless blessedness!
Through the Cross we have the certainty that
our prayers are answered
“He who
did not spare his own Son ... how will he not also, along with him, graciously
give us all things?” (Romans 8:31) The essential, the greatest is given.
Everything else that we ask for or pray for is infinitely less than the Son of
God. We may therefore ask God for everything trustfully in the name of Jesus
Christ, every blessing of gift that we can think of, for ‘I will do whatever
you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.’ (John 14:
3) Do you pray for the forgiveness of the sins or for the repose of the
departed? “He is the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world” (1 John
2:2) “The Blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7) He
can forgive even the departed every sin committed by them in word, deed or
thought. “He is the resurrection, the life and the repose of his departed
servants.” .... Would you ask him anything for the living or for yourself? “Ask
whatever you wish, and it will be given you” (John 15:7)
Golgotha should be constantly before our eyes
Say to
yourself more frequently: I wish so to live that my life may gladden my
Beloved, crucified for my sake on the Cross. He is the propitiation for our
sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John
2:2)
THE CROSS IS A WAY OF LIFE
Because of the Cross, love is our way of life
In your
home you see love in those around, for they are sealed in baptism and chrism
with the cross of love and war the cross. The also partake with you in church
of the ‘supper of love’. In church there are everywhere symbols of love:
crosses, the sign of the Cross, the saints who were pleasing to God by their
love for him and for their neighbours, and Incarnate Love itself. In heaven and
upon earth everywhere there is love. It rests and rejoices the heart, like God,
while enmity kills the soul and the body. And you must show love, always and
everywhere. How can you not love when everywhere you hear love preached, when
only the destroyer of mankind, the devil, is eternal enmity!
Because of the Cross, there can be no hatred
in our lives
Dislike,
enmity or hatred should be unknown among Christians even by name. How can
dislike exist among Christians? Everywhere you can see love, everywhere you
breathe the fragrance of love. Our God is the God of love. His kingdom is the
kingdom of love. Out of love for us he did not spare his Only-Begotten Son but
delivered him up to die for our sakes “to be an atoning sacrifice for our sins”
(1 John 4:10)
A prayer based on the Cross as an instrument
of love
Grant,
Lord, that I may ever love each of my neighbours as myself and not be angry
with them for any cause, and not serve the devil in this way. Grant that I may
crucify my self-love, pride, covetousness, incredulity and other passions. Let
mutual love be our name; grant that we may believe and trust that the Lord is
everything to us all; that we may not be careful nor anxious about anything;
that you, O God, may truly be the only God of our heart and nothing beside you.
Let t the be union of love between us as there ought to be and let everything
that divides us from each other and prevents us from loving one another be
despised by us like the dust trampled under foot. So be it! So be it! If God
has given us himself, if he abides in us and we in him according to his own
true words, then what will he not give me, what will he keep away from me, of
what will he deprive me, how can he forsake me? “The Lord is my shepherd, I
shall lack nothing” (Psalm 32:1) “Will he not also, along with him, graciously
give us all things.” (Romans 8:32) And therefore, my soul, be perfectly at rest
and know nothing but love. “This is my command: Love each other” (John 15: 17)
Since the Lord gave us his son, we must give
generously ourselves
God did
not spare for our sakes even his Only-Begotten Son. How, then, after this can
we grudge anything to our neighbour: either food, drink, clothing or money for
his various needs? ... If we use these gifts selfishly, avariciously and
greedily for ourselves only and grudge them to them, then they become injurious
to our soul and body.
The sign of the Cross reminds us that every
human being is an image of God
In
signing ourselves with the sign of the Cross, with the three fingers w delay
the upper end of the /cross upon the forehead as an emblem of God the Father,
who is the uncreated Wisdom. The lower end of the Cross on the bosom as an
emblem of the Son who was begotten of the Father before all worlds and who is
in the bosom of the Father. And the transverse part on the shoulders as an
emblem of the Holy Spirit who is the arm or the power of God, or the hand of
the Lord, as has been said: “To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
(John 12:38 and Isaiah 53:1) - or “The hand of the Lord was upon me there.”
(Ezekiel 3:22) that is, the Holy Spirit..... How great therefore is man It has
not been said in vain: “I said, ‘You are gods, you are all sons of the Most
High’ (Psalm 82:6). Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are gods’?
If he called them gods to whom the word of God came - and the Scripture cannot
be broken (that is, if it has been said, then it must be true, immutable) -
what about the one whom the Father set apart as his own very won and sent into
the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s
Son’?” (John 10:35 -36). O, the dignity! O, the greatness of man! Do not look
upon any man, especially upon a Christian, otherwise than upon the son of God,
and receive him as the son of God, converse with him, behave with him as with
the son of God, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Cross reminds Christians that they may
not live as pagans
Christian!
Remember that Christ, the founder of your faith, was crucified on the Cross and
left you the cross. Why then do you live in luxury, in spaciousness, in
indulgence, in idleness? He suffered dishonour and commanded you not to shun
dishonour for his name; but you seek honour. Gaze more often on the crucified
and learn your duties. “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the
flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24)
THE CROSS IS A SPIRITUAL WEAPON
The Cross and the sign of the Cross have had
great power from Old Testament times
The Lord
was crucified for us on the Cross. This is the reason why it, as well as the
sign of the Cross, have such power. This is why it is life-giving. This is why
even in the Old Testament its symbol had such great power. The pole upon which
the serpent was set cured those who were bitten by serpents. The cross, traced
by Moses’ rod separated the waters; Moses’ hands uplifted in prayer and forming
the Cross, conquered Amalek and so on.
By the
Cross as well as by the sign of the Cross, the Lord Jesus Christ is ever with
us, living and life-giving, and ever acts by means of various powers for our
salvation, through our faith in him, our God and Saviour. Glory for this to our
Lord who is ever present with us! “I am with you always, to the close of the
age. Amen.” (Matthew 28:20)
The sign of the Cross as a reminder to nail
our sins to the Saviour’s Cross
In making
the sign of the Cross, believe and constantly remember that your sins are
nailed to the Cross. When you fall into sin, immediately judge yourself
sincerely and make the sign of the Cross over yourself saying: “Lord, you nail
our sins to the Cross, nail also my present sin to your Cross and have mercy on
me according to your unfailing love” (Psalm 51:1) and you will be cleansed from
your sin. Amen.
The effect of the Cross on demons and on the
elements
The Cross
is in Christ and Christ is on the Cross. The Cross is the image of the
crucified Christ, the son of God, and therefore the sign of the Cross and even
its shadow are terrible to the demons as the sign of Christ himself, as the
shadow of him crucified. Therefore, it is very important to sanctify water by
immersing the Cross in it. Through this it becomes healing and drives away
demons.
Glory to
the never failing power of your Cross, O Lord! When the enemy oppresses me by
sinful thoughts and feelings and I, having no freedom in my heart, make the
sign of the Cross several times with faith, then my sin suddenly passes away
from me, the straightness vanishes and I obtain freedom. Glory to you, O Lord!
Lord, let nothing, nothing carnal, material turn me away from you! Let me
always be with you!
Do not
pay attention to the darkness of satan. Drive it away from your heart by making
the sign of the life-giving Cross!
THE IMAGE OF THE CROSS IS AND HAS BEEN USED
BY GOD TO TEACH US
In blessings the Church refers to the image
of the Cross with great reverence
Why do we
honour the cross with such reverence that we make mention of its power in our
prayers after asking for the intercession of the Mother of God and the heavenly
powers, and sometimes even before asking for that of the heavenly powers?
Because, after the Saviour’s sufferings, the cross became the sign of the Son
of Man, that is, the cross signifies the Lord himself incarnate and suffering
for our salvation. On the Cross, Christ offered himself as a sacrifice to God
the Father for our sins and by it he has saved us from the works of the enemy;
and this is why we honour it with such great reverence. And therefore, it will
always be a great power for believers, delivering them from every evil,
especially from the evil actions of invisible enemies.
The meaning of historical miracles concerning
the Cross
Why did
the Holy Cross appear in the heavens to the Emperor Constantine? In order to
show that our Lord himself, also all the apostles and all the army of martyrs
entered into glory through the Cross. That the Cross is invincible victory.
That as the devil was vanquished by means of the Cross, so also all the enemies
of the Cross of Christ or of Christians will be vanquished by the Cross. Also
that the devil acts through the persecutors of the Christians and must be
conquered by means of the Cross. And that the persecuted Christians are members
of Christ, soldiers of Christ who are always under the protection of Christ the
Lord and of his Cross.
There is an immediate link between the power
of the Cross and that of the Mysteries
If God
communicates an invincible, incomprehensible divine power to the life-giving
Cross, then why should it be wonderful that he communicates a similar
incomprehensible power, in order to regenerate our nature, to the most pure,
terrible and life-giving Mystery of his Body and Blood.
Source: http://www.bath-orthodox-church.co.uk/public/parish_stjohn_teaching.php
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