The Catalog of Good Deeds

The Gospel according to Luke begins with the story of the circumstances surrounding the conception and birth of St. John the Forerunner. There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years (Lk. 1:5-7). However, in comparing this with the hymn of the Forerunner’s parents’ righteousness, the words of the angel who appeared to the Prophet’s father may seem a little strange to us: Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John (Lk 1:13). Why was the righteous man’s prayer heard only now, when he’s already reached the limits of his earthly life? Could it really be that the Lord did not harken to the voice of the holy Forerunner’s parents all their lives?

This is a question that is close to every Christian. Does God hear us? And why does He so often keep silence in answer to our requests? And if He answers, then why don’t we hear that answer? One doubt unavoidably gives rise to others, and life gets filled with indecisiveness, wavering, and fruitless searches.

It is hard to justify God’s silence. Nevertheless, in this is the meaning of a Christian’s life. After all, God’s love is not blind, it is perfect, and that means that it can refuse a request that would not be beneficial to a person. Our faith should ceaselessly destroy our reason’s doubts with one argument: If God is silent, it means that He has a reason for it! This is the thought with which we should bring the good tidings of the Savior to the whole world. We are called through our patience, through our faith to justify God’s silence before the insane world, which demands that the Creator definitely proclaim Himself clearly and unambiguously. In fact, God is not silent; He speaks in the language of perfect love, which can be understood only by one who is ready to answer this love! In this language even silence is filed with the reverent acceptance of His fatherly good will toward His creation. It is very important to receive this and keep it in your heart in order to answer your doubts in a moment when the cruelty of outward circumstances or some other causes make you doubt that God hears us. It is in that very moment that our faith must have its word: It means that the time has not yet come for my Savior to give me the task of witnessing to His love, to justify His silence before the whole world… This is a great honor—to hear God’s silence in your life and to answer it with thankfulness!

There is something else. Few have the resolve to ask God. For some the responsibility is too heavy, others are simply afraid that God will not answer. Nevertheless, we have to ask. This is a healthy need of the human soul—to fill life with God’s answer. The lack of is testifies to spiritual sickness—to faithlessness. This path is mortally dangerous, because such a person does not need God, and God is alien to him. Not the Savior, but his own “I” fills his life. Consequently, sooner or later he has to experience the bitterness of dissatisfaction with himself, and with the world around him.

There is only one way to avoid the destructiveness of disappointment—to live according to God’s counsel, in His presence. Just the same, often for us this way of life, this asking of God becomes inaccessible because our own expectations and hopes take up too much of our turning to God, and do not leave any place for the Creator’s voice.

Unnoticeably to us, the question grows into a demand. It seems completely innocent to us, it seems to be the natural development of our feelings and anxieties. However, the first step in that direction has been made—we are demanding… Of course, this demand may not sound so completely self-assured. It sounds like a pious confession of the Creator’s omnipotence, similar to how the tempter once approached the Savior in the desert: If Thou art the Son of God… (Mt. 4:3,6). So also does our demand made to God begin with the thought of the Creator’s omnipotence, with the secret reproach: “After all, Lord, You can do anything, You can turn circumstances around in such a way that the answer would become unambiguous and obvious.” Yes, our reason craftily tells us, the Savior Himself once even said quite definitely: Ask, and it will be given thee; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto thee… (Mt. 7:7).

And the person waits for the answer. But the answer does not come—God is silent. Unfortunately, this happens rather often in our lives. We converse with the Creator in different languages, not understanding what and how they answer us. We are expecting to hear the thunderous voice of God Almighty, we demand a clear answer to our prayers, beg Him to resolve our perplexities; but in answer we meet ordinary people, immerse ourselves in ordinary circumstances, observe the same old world, the same old life around us. The world has not changed, it seem to us; no great changes have happened, not even in our modest little life. Could it really be so hard for God to answer, to come and show us?

Probably the Prophet Elias in the Sinai desert waited for God’s appearance, as heralded by the angel, with similar feelings. Holy Scripture talks about this without extra details, but with sufficient definiteness: And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice (3 Kings 19:11-12)—and there is the Lord. As it turns out, it is actually simpler in real life to see God in something extraordinary, miraculous, or colorful than to accept His Providence in everyday life… These expectations of meeting with the Almighty Creator of the world are too tempting to get rid of so easily and to hear the loving voice of the Savior to us in the advice of a close one… We expect and demand an obvious and definite answer that leaves no room for wavering and doubt; but God leaves room for patience, love, meekness, and humility.

Just like us, the Jews were not hoping to receive an answer like this at all when they were expecting their messiah who would subject peoples to them and restore the might of Israel. However, from this perspective the Gospel turns out to be absolutely incomprehensible. Couldn’t the Almighty Lord openly testify to His presence to the world? Why is it all so complicated? Why was the meek, gentle voice of Jesus of Nazareth heard from Olivet instead of the voice of the Master, the Creator, or at least a great military commander or king? Why did the Lord hide Himself from many people—wasn’t He able…?

God’s Providence for us is ceaseless, it need not be specially sought; we only need to listen to it and stop. This is the lot of our faith, its living and healthy manifestation—the feeling of constancy and hope in God, assurance in the fact that He always answers, in every moment, ceaselessly.

Man is called to seek God’s will. This is the only thing that is truly worth spending our whole lives seeking. Nothing else can bring happiness, nor eternity. All of life’s problems begin when something else appears next to God, and man tries to fill with it the inadequacy of his efforts in reaching for the Truth.

We need to give place to God in life. He does not break through forcefully, but stands by the door knocking: If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me (Rev 3:20). And this is the most important fact in the life of a Christian: God only answers those who seek Him, who are ready to find room for Him in their lives. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you (Jas. 4:8).

Source: http://orthochristian.com/74162.html

This happened in the monastery of Vatopedi, when Elder Joseph “the Younger” still lived there. It was late November. I was then fulfilling the obedience of guest master. In those days, there were conflicts arising in the Polytechnic University in Athens between students and police. Certain of the anarchist students wanted to hide from the authorities, and moved to Mt. Athos. One of them, an anarchist with a green Mohawk, had an uncle laboring in monasticism in the monastery of Esphigmenou. This young man suggested that everyone go live there for a time.

Naturally, they had no permission to visit Athos.[1] They didn’t even have any idea about how they would get there. They tried to travel there on a ship but they were kicked off. Then they decided to go there on foot.

At long last they reached Esphigmenou. It must be said that this is a very strict monastery, and therefore when they saw this group of youths with shaven temples and earrings in their pierced ears, they kicked them out. Barely on their feet from fatigue, by evening they had stumbled to Vatopedi. The gatekeeper was already preparing to close the monastery gates when he saw these kids. Naturally he was also frightened by their savage appearance—you won’t see too many of these types on Mt. Athos. He was forced to tell the abbot about them.

“Father, what should I do with them? Should I send them away? But where will they go? Where will they spend the night? After all all the monasteries are now closing for the night!

Geronda answered, “The Mother of God has brought them to us. Only put them all in one room, and don’t let the other pilgrims see them. And keep a watch on them.”

I was the guest master and saw that they were settled into their room. To me they seemed frightened, open-mouthed at the situation surrounding them, and exhausted from their many hours of walking. When the students had rested a little, they were taken to the trapeza for some fortification. The monks talked with them for a short while and then said that they must leave the next day, because the monastery only receives pilgrims for one night. Geronda told the young men that God is Love, and no matter what they’ve done in their lives, they can still repent.

On the next day, the one with the green Mohawk said to me, “Father, I would like to stay here another day. Is it possible?”

The others didn’t want to stay. I asked Geronda for a blessing and he allowed the young man to stay another day—but he was supposed to put on a hat so that the fathers and pilgrims would not be scandalized by his appearance.

Peter, as this green-eyed student was named, stayed for two days, and then a third. One day during evening services, I heard loud weeping in the narthex of the church—not even weeping but wailing. I went to find out what was going on and saw Peter in the narthex on his knees, wailing.

I approached him and asked what had happened. I thought perhaps someone had hurt him.

“No, nothing has happened,” he answered. “Father, I want to talk with you.” After the end of the Vespers we left the church.

“Father, is salvation possible for me, too?”

“Peter, it is possible for all to be saved. The thief on the cross repented and Christ saved him.”

Then Peter opened up to me. He told me that his family broke up; his father beat his mother, and it was very painful for Peter to see this. At age twelve he left his home, lived on the streets of the Exarchia neighborhood, got tangled up with the anarchists, started taking drugs, and then fell into all sorts of other grave sins. His life was one long stress.

Despite all this, the young man’s soul was beautiful.

Brothers, I am telling you this so that we would not turn away even the worst sinner! Because the Lord “gathers” to Himself the ones we turn away. We make a great mistake when we consider ourselves better than them. Elder Paisios said that at the Last Judgment we will all be very surprised, because those we expected to see in paradise will not be found there, and those who we had no inkling of seeing there we will see in the kingdom of Heaven. May this not happen to us! We wish that all be saved and hope that through Christ’s love we will be saved.

After this change in Peter, which happened through the prayers of the Theotokos, we told him that he needs to go to confession. At confession he was seized with such contrition that a puddle formed on the floor beneath him.

Peter remained in the monastery for a good amount of time. Geronda told him that he should at least trim off his Mohawk. But Peter replied, “No, I won’t shave it off before I’ve arrived back to the city so that the guys won’t say that the monks shaved me. When I go back to the world I’ll trim it off myself.”

So he went around in a cap.

Peter left the monastery and started living a spiritual life. He came back here once, now with a different, normal appearance. Then he disappeared.

We knew that he had not seen his mother since the day he left home, that he had never once looked in on her, and we tried to repair Peter’s relationship with his mother. We searched for her telephone number and called her, telling her everything. His mother had lost all hope of seeing him again alive and was very touched at our story. For us this was a very joyful event.

Two years after these events, I and several other fathers attended a Church feast at another monastery on Mt. Athos. With us was the blessed Metropolitan Gregory of the city of Castoria. His Eminence told us not to tell anyone that he was a bishop—he didn’t want to be shown special honor, or cause the monastery brothers any extra fuss.

We came to the monastery, and were brought the traditional Athonite treats. When we were ready to set off for home, one monk came up to me and asked, “Fr. Niphont, don’t you recognize me?”

I looked at him and said, “No, I don’t recognize you.”

“Look at little more closely.”

And what did I see?! Those big green eyes were looking at me! It was Peter.

Peter had become a novice of that Mt. Athos monastery. Of course we embraced each other happily. We were both touched to tears! I thank the Most Holy Theotokos for her great blessings and miracles fulfilled for us! I have only told you about one of them. For us, his change of life was a true miracle.

From the archives of Vatopedi Monastery

Monk Niphont of Vatopedi

Translation from the Russian version by Nun Cornelia (Rees)

Source: http://orthochristian.com/106098.html#_ftnref1

St. Innocent was born in 1797 to a poor family in a remote village in a rural area of Irkutsk Province in Russia, and named Ioann (John). He was orphaned at the age of six, and assigned to the seminary at Irkutsk at nine. Shortly after he arrived, the relics of St. Innocent of Irkutsk were found, whose name and apostolic ministry young Ioann later would inherit. He was a hard working and outstanding student, who also was seen as humble and kind, and for these qualities he was given the name of Veniaminov after the late Bishop Veniamin of Irkutsk who was beloved by the faithful.

After he was ordained to the priesthood, he spent a year as a parish priest in Irkutsk, and then volunteered to go into missionary work in Alaska, though many other clergy were afraid to do so, because they had heard it was a wild country filled with dangerous savages. His wife broke into tears when she heard the news of this mission, but was unable to dissuade him, so at age 26, he and his family traveled over 2,000 miles, taking over a year to complete this arduous journey, and arrived finally in the Aleutian Islands in 1824.

He built a church with his own hands, traveled to remote areas by kayak, dog sled, even reindeer. He learned six dialects of the native language and developed the first written alphabet for the native Aleuts. He translated the Bible and other sacred books into their language. Years later, he also translated scriptural books into other Alaskan native languages. He also studied all aspects of the local area, and wrote ethnographic, geographical and linguistic works for which he later was elected an honorary member of the Russian Geographical Society and Moscow Royal University.

He returned to Russia to seek more resources and support for the Alaska mission, where, after his wife died, he took monastic vows and the name Innocent, after Bishop Innocent of Irkutsk. He was later consecrated Bishop, and was assigned to the new see of Kamchatka-kurils and the Aleutian Islands, to which he returned, tirelessly building churches, guiding priests, seeking to bring the Gospel and the Holy Orthodox Church to native peoples of Alaska. He encouraged the use of English, and the use of indigenous clergy.

He was later made Archbishop, and later, having returned to Russia, ultimately became Metropolitan of Moscow, where he continued his missionary zeal, establishing and guiding an Orthodox Missionary Society. He is perhaps especially remembered for his zeal to bring the gospel to the world. The apostolic preaching of Metropolitan Innocent spread to a vast territory including Alaska and Chukotka, the Aleutian, Kurils and Commander Islands, eastern Siberia, the Amur region, Kamchatka and the Far East. Metropolitan Innocent brought the light of Christian faith to the Aleutians, Koloshes, Kurils, Eskimo, Kenai, Chugaches, Kamchadals, Oliutores, Negidales, Mongols, Samogirs, Golds, Gulyaks, Koryaks, Tungus, Chukcha, Yakutians, and Kitians.

The preaching of the gospel was a primary achievement in the life of Metropolitan Innocent and occupied a special place in his apostolic service. The metropolitan had a great homiletic gift and was a remarkable preacher. He never missed an opportunity to preach and talk to people and tirelessly instructed his clergy to do the same.

Holy St. Innocent, pray to God for us.

Troparion in Tone III:

O holy hierarch Innocent our father, thou who wast first to teach the tribes which before lay in heathen darkness, and first to show them the way to salvation, who didst labor as an apostle in the enlightenment of Siberia and America: Entreat the Master of all, that He grant peace to the whole world and great mercy to our souls.

Kontakion in Tone IV:

Thou wast a true and truthful teacher; for, having thyself done what the Lord commanded, thou didst thereby teach and instruct in piety those who came to thee, didst enlighten unbelievers to recognize the true Faith, illumining them with holy baptism. Wherefore, thou rejoicest with the apostles, receiving the honor of an evangelist of Christ.

Source: http://www.allsaintsofamerica.org/innocent/

In the first chapter of Genesis we read that man is made in God's image and called to be like Him. The image, the Church Fathers say, is mainly our intelligence and free will. God so loved us, He sent His only begotten Son for our salvation (John 3:16).

If we put on Christ at baptism and continue to wash ourselves through repentance, then we are able to reflect the light of Christ. Our constant prayer is "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me the sinner." We are creatures. We have no independent existence. We depend on God for all and by his mercy we can have the light of Christ indwell in us. This is a spiritual reality revealed by Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. The value of this is unfathomable.

Bishop Hierotheos Vlachos (1994, 1998) refers to the worth human beings can have:

It is said that God has essence and energy and that this distinction does not destroy the divine simplicity. We confess and believe that 'uncreated and natural grace and illumination and energy always proceed inseparably from this divine energy' And since, according to the saints, created energy means created essence as well . . . God's energy is uncreated. Indeed the name of divinity is placed not only upon the divine essence, but 'also on thee divine energy no less'. This means that in the teachings of the holy Fathers, 'this (the essence) is completely incapable of being shared, but by divine grace the energy can be shared.

This is a reality and truth. Based on the illuminative teaching of St. Gregory Palamas, Bishop Hierotheos tells us this is available to us "through God's benevolence towards those who have purified their nous." Bishop Hierotheos (1994) calls the Church a hospital that can cure our infirmities so our nous can be purified and this life in Christ can take place in us.

Passions Inclinations to sin:

After the Fall we are predisposed to self-centered choices directed by the passions (lusts) rather than choices based on agape. St. Isaac of Syria tells us: ". . . pandering to the flesh, produce(s) in us shameful urges and unseemly fantasies" (Early Fathers from the Philokalia).

The passions spring from the heart of the person. Jesus told us: "For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man" (Mark 7: 21-23).

St. Paul wrote "While we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death" (Romans 5:7). The work of the passions can take place either before marriage or after the marital union takes place. In either case they lead to a choice of singularity or self-satisfaction over a righteous joined union.

Passions may predispose a individuals to discord from God and mankind. St. Paul's warning applies to the "demon's" attack union with God and neighbor: "Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:19-21). The Church Fathers attribute this to the demon of each passion that never tires of breaking union with God and mankind.

An example of how this works may aid our understanding. The demon of lust, the Church Fathers tell us, may take over our lives. Modern society facilitates this malady. Sex is broadcast everywhere for almost every use: art, fashion, music, news, pornography (especially the Internet), and the sale of almost any product from automobiles to computers, The secular world flagrantly exposes body parts, especially the genital areas.

The Church Fathers knew about such enticements a thousand years ago. St. Isaac of Syria wrote: "Passions are brought either by images or by sensations devoid of images and by memory, which at first is unaccompanied by passionate movements or thoughts, but which later produces excitation." One way to deal with these passions, continued St. Isaac: " . . . their thought must become attached to nothing except their own soul."

One has to make a choice between Christ and demon. St. Paul asked: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation . . . distress . . . persecution . . . hunger . . . nakedness . . . danger . . . the sword? For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor power, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ our Lord" (Romans 8:35-39). Vigilance and discernment are major virtues to be acquired by those seeking Christ indwelling in them and desire to overcome the power of passions.

Ilias the Presbyter tells us: "Demons wage war against the soul primarily through thoughts . . . " (Philokalia, III). Ideally Orthodox Christians will make a "spiritual desert" for themselves removing them from the "enticements" so prevalent in modern life. Spiritual death occurs when these thoughts are self centered.

St. Maximus the Confessor knew this as well: "The self love and cleverness of men, alienating them from each other and perverting the law, have cut our single human nature into many fragments." How much more should St. Maximus' words apply to those all of us seeing union with God and our all mankind.

Sin is Disunion

Sin makes us to be out of communion or what might be called disunion with God and neighbor. St. John Chrysostom states: "Did you commit sin? Enter the Church and repent for your sin; for here is the physician, not the judge; here one is not investigated, one receives remission of sins". If the church is a "physician", then this break with God and neighbor needs healing. It is missing the mark of being centered on God and His Will. Sin is considered, therefore to be an illness or infirmity. With healing we are restored to a former condition.

We know this healing takes place in Holy Baptism, the Holy Mystery of Penance, Holy Unction and by worthy reception of the Holy Eucharist: The Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ. St. John Chrysostom, in his Divine Liturgy reminds us, of all that God did for us: take on our flesh, the cross, the grave and the Resurrection. The end of which is to reconcile us to Him: "when we had fallen away didst not cease to do all things until thou hast brought us back to heaven." Need we be reminded that when Christ gave us the Eucharist he said; "Take eat: this is my Body which is broken for you for the remission of sins," and "Drink ye all of this: this is my Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many, for the remission of sins" (emphasis added).

Forgiveness is to be reconciled with Christ and all mankind. St. Matthew tells us:

But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny" (emphasis added) (Matthew 5: 22-26).

This involves an active behavioral effort toward reconciliation.

Pride a barrier to Repentance-Humility the Gate of Repentance

St. John of the Ladder (1982) points out:

Pride makes us forget our sins ... the remembrance of them leads to humility." Thus we must heed the further words of St. John: "He must not allow the memory of things that afflict him to be stamped on his intellect lest he inwardly sunders human nature by separating himself from other man although he is a man himself. When a man's will in union with the principle of nature in this way, God and nature are naturally reconciled.

St. Isaac the Syrian has said, the person who has attained to knowledge of his own weakness has reached the summit of humility. (Brock, 1997)

Repentance: The Condition for Forgiveness

When someone who offends God or us they must repent. God, and we in imitation of Him, should embrace the repentant sinner with God's own love, in order to forgive him. We have to pray that we or anyone who has offended us or God, be reconciled to God and to us through His Church. The foundation of this repentance is a sense of his unfaithfulness to God and offense to us, contrition of heart, and determination to amend and have a metanoia, a fundamental change of mind and heart so as not to offend again.

Repentance

God recognizes the difference between authentic and inauthentic repentance. If this knowledge is used as a justification for sin, no true repentance occurred no matter how many words might have been expended in prayer. If the fallen brother calls out to Christ like the thief on the cross however, they will find the forgiveness of God.

A wise person once said that God doesn't look where we have come from, only where we are going. If repentance is drawn from a desire for a pure heart, the repentant will find God no matter how many times they have failed. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8).

Theosis

St. Silouan has pointed out that, "those who dislike and reject their fellow-man are impoverished in their being. They do not know the true God, who is all-embracing love." St. Peter in his second epistle tells us what God has given us: "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness ... and become partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:3-4). We know this is not participation or becoming God in His Being or Essence but sharing in the warmth and light of His "Divine Energy" (Staniloae, 2003).

Healing Passions Leads to Theosis

This can only happen, indicates Bishop Hierotheos Vlachos (1994, 1998),if we heal the passions of our soul. For the offender this means healing the passion that led to the offense. For the one who to forgive this means healing the passion of anger and increase in the virtues of humility and meekness. Forgiveness and repentance are a two sided coin. One cannot exist without the other.

St. Maximus the Confessor tells us the path this takes: "The first type of dispassion is abstention from the body's impulsion towards the actual committing of sin. The second ... rejection of the impassioned thoughts ..the thirds is quiescence of passionate desire. ..the fourth type of dispassion is the compete exclusion from the mind of sensible images" (Philokalia II). Psycho-spiritually this means the decision and will to stop sin, act in accordance with Our Lord's counsels, and do all we can to remove ourselves from events and images that arouse sin. This means substituting and have available the works of God, exercise and practice Godly virtuous thoughts and acts, and base all on the foundation of prayer and the Holy Mysteries.

Let Us Commend Ourselves and Each Other ... Unto Christ our God

Theosis not only means being enlivined with the fire of God's warmth and light but being in communion with one another. St. Dorotheos of Gaza (Wheeler, 1977) likens our growth in union with God, to a compass. God is the center point. Each person is like the radials going out from the center to all the 360 degrees encircling it. As each person moves toward God, the center, they also move closer to one another, as each person moves away from God, the center, they also are more distant from one another. (Morelli, 2007)

Let us end reflecting on the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian (1997): "If your brother is angry with you, then the Lord is also angry with you. And if you have made peace with your brother below, then you have made peace also with the Lord on high. If you receive your brother, then you also receive your Lord."

Jesus forgives our sins through the sacramental power given to the Church, first to the Apostles, then to their successors, the bishops and priests right down to the present day, when He told them: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." (Jn 20: 22-23)

An article by Fr. George Morelli, Ph.D.

Source: http://antiochian.org/content/sin-orthodox-understanding-lenten-reflection

American Orthodox Christians find themselves at the beginning of the 21st century encompassed by a cultural milieu that is post-Christian, secular, and foreign to the mind of the Church. Nowhere is this reality more evident than in the area of human sexuality. Sex has been violently torn from its proper context, and, isolated from the wisdom and blessing of the Church, contemporary man is adrift in sexual confusion. On the one hand we know more about the practice and mechanics of sex than ever before, yet on the other hand we know very little about the purpose, meaning, and control of sex in God's grand design.

The sexual revolution of the 1960s is the mother of much contemporary thinking about sexual relations. From it have arisen the following erroneous ideas. Sex is absolutely vital to full human development and happiness. Virginity is an unfortunate and incomplete condition. The sexual needs and drives of men and women are the same. All sex is good, as long as it involves love or at least refrains from "injuring" someone else. Traditional Christian notions of sexuality are repressive and incongruous with personal freedom.

Thinking like this has led to immense sorrow, and the bad fruit of the sexual revolution over the last thirty years are obvious: the exponential proliferation of domestic violence, adultery, venereal disease, unwed pregnancy, abortion and divorce. Living according to the mores of the sexual revolution neither glorifies the Holy Trinity nor promotes the dignity and salvation of men and women.

We Orthodox Christians must know more than what we are against. We must know what we are for. What exactly does the Orthodox Church teach about sexual relations?

First, sex is not essential to full human development and happiness. Mankind was not created for sex. Sexual relations as we know them today did not exist in Paradise. Adam and Eve lived without sex, and did so in unutterable bliss. Sexual relations began only after mankind fell into sin, and was stripped of its pristine glory and the Holy Spirit. This is the teaching of the Book of Genesis, "Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden...And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived" (3:22-4:1).

The Holy Scriptures also teach that when mankind is resurrected into the Kingdom of God there will be no sex in the new heavens and new earth. Answering an objection from the Sadduccees, whose argument implied that the earthly norms of marriage and sex would continue in heaven, our Lord Jesus Christ taught, "For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven."

That sex is not essential to a healthy and full life is also evident by the example of the life of our sweet Savior Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect human being, and yet He never had sex. He denied Himself the blessing of earthly marriage, and successfully trampled upon all sexual temptations in order to ceaselessly do His Father's will, which was His very food and drink. Far from being essential to human life sex is a reminder of the loss of our spiritual refinement and dignity due to our fall into sin. Sex is designed for good in this fallen world, but it is in no way at the core of human development and happiness.

Second, consecrated virginity is the highest way of life. Far from being an unfortunate and incomplete way of life, chastity is the highest expression of love and devotion to God. Such a life has only been made possible by the ennobling of human nature by the Incarnation, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on human flesh on the Holy Day of Pentecost.

Since that time humanity has been radically changed, altered, and unshackled from earthly attachments. The Church's virgins, most typically our monks and nuns, are the very proof of the presence of the Kingdom of God on earth and a sign of contradiction and hope in this fallen world. When St. Athanasius the Great was asked by a skeptic to prove that Jesus had brought the Kingdom of God to earth, he answered by pointing to the virgins of the Church as the irrefutable proof of the presence of the Kingdom of God on earth.

Prior to the Incarnation of our Master Jesus Christ, life long virginity as we have it today in the Church was unheard of. Our Lord Jesus Christ recommended and modeled such a life, as did the Great Apostle Paul. Our greatest saints, the Most Pure Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary and the Holy Forerunner and Baptist John, while honoring the noble estate of marriage and its sexual components, renounced sexual relations and consecrated their chastity to God's service.

Since that time until today an innumerable multitude of virginal saints have filled our One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Anyone who can successfully embrace such a beautiful way of life should, and in so doing wed not an earthly bride or bridegroom, but Jesus Christ Himself. Even for those with the gift of marriage virginity is a precious treasure to be guarded and bestowed in tact as a love offering to one's spouse, with whom one is first joined in the Mystery of Christian marriage.

Third, sexual relations are good only when used according to God's design. God has designed sexual relations for three basic reasons: to avoid fornication, to unite the husband and wife as a powerful adhesive, and to bring forth children to be raised to worship God and for the upbuilding of the Church. St. Paul wrote, "It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband."

Since our fall from grace our passions have been disordered. For most people this disorder is particularly noticeable in powerful sexual drives.

Sexual relations in marriage provide a safe and calm harbor to tame and redirect these unruly passions and desires. Sexual relations are also designed to serve as marital glue. "For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and the two shall become one flesh." The physical union of intercourse is designed to strengthen the marital bond by both enacting a very real physical unity and by producing a child, who is a creation not from only husband or wife alone, buy from both the husband and wife together.

For this reason this powerful sexual relation is not to be accomplished with anyone but one's God-given spouse. Sexual relations are also designed to bring forth children. For the married sexual relations are not only an unspeakable blessing but one of the main ways to fulfill God's commandment to "be fruitful and multiply." The procreation of children is the duty of Christian spouses, and can no more be avoided or tampered with than can the other purposes of sexual relations.

Those not prepared to assume the responsibility of sexual relations ought not engage in them. The intense pleasure of sexual relations are designed by God to promote the procreation of children, since the difficulties inherent in childbearing and Christian parenting might otherwise tempt spouses to avoid this solemn responsibility.

Today's contraception culture strikes at the heart of the God-designed unity of pleasure and responsibility, opting to embrace pleasure while avoiding the responsibility of childbearing and calling it "family planning." Such planned parenthood and family planning is in reality planned barrenhood and family banning, and as such has been vigorously forbidden by the Holy Fathers throughout the history of the Church. St. Paul teaches that married women find their salvation in and through childbearing.

***

Having documented what the Church says is the God designed purpose of sexual relations let us conclude by noting what sexual practices are clearly outside that purpose, and thus are sinful.

Homosexual relations are forbidden as a perversion of the created order, and as an assault upon God-ordained heterosexual marriage. Persons with strong homosexual dispositions, that have proved resistant to reorientation, are urged by Christ to struggle against this passion in the embrace of chastity, and, if at all possible, to enter the monastic vocation where life can be lived in a community of persons.

Masturbation is censured as self-abuse, the waste of seed and its procreative intent, and an improper turning inward and rejection of the marital context of sexuality. It is always sinful.

Sexual relations prior to marriage are strongly condemned as fornication, a sacrilegious defilement of the Temple of the Holy Spirit, a defrauding of one's future spouse, and are detrimental to the development of a stable future marriage. It is no coincidence that the rise in pre-marital sex has been paralleled by the rise in divorce and marital unhappiness. To take the very sublime things of marriage out of their context of grace, perpetual commitment, and the Church's blessings is a recipe for disaster.

Marriage itself does not make legitimate all forms of sexuality. The sexual intercourse of the married is to be modest, and within its proper limits. Moderation is determined both by regulation of time and method of sexual relations. Relations on fast days, on the eve prior to one's reception of Holy Communion, and on days on which one receives the Holy Gifts are forbidden as an illegitimate indulgence to the flesh. Anal and oral intercourse, as well as the use of pornography and sexual toys, are sexual perversions and are always sinful, even for married Christians. The unnatural prolongation of sexual desire, through the use of drugs such as viagra, is forbidden. On the contrary, such decline in sexual desire is to warmly welcomed by aging Orthodox Christians as a divine help in one's life long preparation for departure from this life.

An article by Fr. Josiah Trenham

Source: http://orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/frjosiah_sexualrelations.aspx

Have you ever thought that everything that touches you touches Me as well? For that which touches you touches the apple of My eye.

You are dear in my eyes, precious, and I have loved you; therefore it is a particular pleasure for Me to educate you.

When temptations arise against you, and the enemy comes like a river, I want you to know—This was from Me.

Your weakness needs My strength, and your safety comes from giving Me the opportunity to fight for you. If you find yourself in difficult circumstances, among people who do not understand you, who do not take what you like into consideration, who alienate you—This was from Me.

I am God, Who arranges circumstances. It was no accident that you find yourself in the place where you are; this is the place I have appointed for you. Did you not ask that I teach you humility? Well, then, look: I have placed you in precisely that place, in that school, where this lesson is learned. Your surroundings and those who live with you are only fulfilling My will. If you find yourself in financial difficulty, if you find it hard to make ends meet—This was from Me.

For I have your material means at my disposal. I want you to call unto me, for you to be dependent upon Me. My reserves are inexhaustible. I want you to be confirmed in fidelity to Me and to My promises. May it not be said to you in your need: “You did not believe in the Lord your God.”

Are you in a night of suffering? Are you separated from your loved ones and those close to your heart? This was from Me.

I am the Man of suffering, Who has tasted affliction. I have allowed this so that you would turn to Me, so that in Me you would find eternal comfort. If you have been let down by your friend, to someone to whom you opened your heart—This was from Me.

I allowed this disappointment to touch you so that you would know that your best friend is the Lord. I want you to bring everything to Me and to speak to Me.

Has someone slandered you? Give this to me, and bring your soul closer to Me, your Refuge, to hide from the “contradiction of the nations.” I shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noonday. If your plans have been destroyed, if you are downtrodden in soul and tired—This was from Me.

You made plans, and brought them to Me, so that I would bless them. But I want you to leave Me in charge of the circumstances of your life, and then responsibility for everything will be Mine, for this is too difficult for you; by yourself you can not manage them, for you are only an instrument, and not the actor. If unanticipated problems of life have visited you, and if despondency has seized your heart, then know—This was from Me.

For I want your heart and your soul to be always aflame before My eyes; to conquer faint-heartedness of the soul in My name. If you do not hear from your dear ones and friends for a long time, and in your faint-heartedness fall into despondency and grumbling, know—This was from Me.

By this anguish in your spirit, I test the strength of your faith in the surety of My promise and the strength of your boldness in prayer for these dear ones of yours. Was it not you who entrusted them to the Protection of My All-Pure Mother? Was it not you who once entrusted their care to My providential love? If serious illness, either temporary or incurable, has visited you, and has confined to your bed, then know—This was from Me.

For I want you to know Me even more deeply in you bodily infirmities, so that you would not grumble over this trial sent to you, that you would not try to penetrate My plans through different means for the salvation of people’s souls, but that you would uncomplainingly and submissively bow you neck under My goodness towards you. If you have dreamed of performing some special deed for Me, and instead haven fallen onto a bed of sickness and weakness—This was from Me.

Then you would have been immersed in your activities, and I would not have been able to attract your thoughts to Me, for I want to teach you My deepest thoughts and lessons, so that you would be in My service. I want to teach you to recognize that you are nothing. Some of My best co-workers are those who have been cut off from vital activity, that they would learn to wield the weapon of unceasing prayer.

Have you unexpectedly been called to occupy a difficult and responsible position? Go, place it on Me. I entrust these difficulties to you so that the Lord God would bless you for this in all your deeds, on all your paths, in everything that will done by your hands. On this day I put into your hands a vessel of holy oil. Use it generously, My children! Every difficulty that arises, every word that insults you, every obstacle to your work that could elicit in you a feeling of annoyance, every revelation of your weakness and inability, shall be anointed with this oil.

Remember that every obstacle is a Divine instruction. Every sting will be dulled when you learn to see Me in everything that touches you. Therefore place the word I have declared to you today in your heart: This was from Me. For this is not an empty matter for you—this is your life.

By Metropolitan Manuel Lemeshevsky

Source: http://orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/saint-seraphim-of-viritsa-this-was-from-me.aspx

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