May His Memory Be Eternal

My beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus,

Early this morning (Nov. 15), our Lord Jesus Christ called the soul of His true servant, PAVLE, Patriarch of Serbia, into His Kingdom. As I was reading names during the Proskomide for the Holy Liturgy, one of the sisters brought me a little note as to His Holiness having fallen asleep.

At first I was startled by the news. I had only met this holy Hierarch once, but he made an everlasting impact on my life. As I read the Holy Gospel of the Parable of the Good Samaritan, I could not hold back the tears; once I came to the Lord describing how the Samaritan had deep compassion of the wounded man, and how he took him the Inn and placed him in the care of the Innkeeper. St. John Chrysostomos tells us that the Inn is the Church, and the Innkeeper represents the Holy Bishops. Indeed, my brothers and Sisters in Christ, Patriarch Pavle is a living ikon of the Christ-like Innkeeper, who cares for all the wounded souls in need of healing and forgiveness.

On July 22, 2001, I had the sacred honor to co-celebrate the Holy Liturgy with Patriarch Pavle, when he made a visit to Pittsburgh. Never before have I met a Hierarch so totally focused on worshipping the Holy Liturgy! It was as if I were in the presence of Christ Himself! When, during the Great Entrance, and the serving priests were assigned to carry the miters of the several Hierarchs, this sinful priest rushed to grab the one of the holy Patriarch. I cannot describe in words what joyful sadness I experienced within my heart: joy, because I held the crown of a saintly Bishop; sorrow, because of the realization that I was filled with sin and unworthy to have literally seized His Holiness’ Miter from the Holy Altar Table.

At the end of the Holy Liturgy, His Holiness offered a homily in Serbian. Although I have absolutely no knowledge of the Serbian language, the Patriarch’s words caused spontaneous tears to flow from my eyes to such a great extent that I began to sob! I know that those Spirit-filled words, which were totally unintelligible to my brain, brought healing and living Water into my wounded and parched soul!

During the meal that followed, I went up to His Holiness (who has a Theological Degree from the University of Thessalonike in Greece) to greet him on my Spiritual Father, Geronta Ephraim, and Gerontissa Theophano and her Sisterhood. After blessing me, His Holiness patted my sinful head; and my heart overflowed with joy!

I think that one of the main reasons that I wept during today’s Gospel, was from recalling a story that someone had recently told me — an event in which the Samaritan’s holy compassion was incarnated by the words and actions of His Holiness. When he was the Bishop of Kosovo, he was brutally and severely beaten by a young Muslim man. So intense was this beating, that the frail Bishop almost died; and was in the Hospital for a few months. Upon his dismissal from the Hospital, the then Bishop Pavle went to the prison where the young man was incarcerated. He told the one who had almost killed him that he felt he needed to go home to his parents; because they needed him!

Then he called the warden of the prison and demanded the young man’s release. When the warden refused, Bishop Pavle told him, ‘I have nothing against this young man; and I will not speak against him. Therefore, you must release him now!’

What true Christ-like love, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ — love which bore a very special fruit: the young man was soon Baptized into the Orthodox Faith!

From that glorious day in the Summer of 2001, I have entreated the Patriarch’s holy prayers everyday! Now that his soul is in Paradise, may our All-Merciful Lord Jesus grant him the grace to be His Good Samaritan to all of us — healing the wounds in our souls, and giving us the grace to – at least in some small way – become vessels of compassion to our wounded brothers and sisters.

BLESSED PATRIARCH PAVLE, PRAY FOR US!

Sinful priest, +Demetrios

Funeral for Patriarch on Thursday

LA times demonizes Patriarch Pavle

More info and new updates at Fr. Milovan’s blog Again and Again

The Wonder of God

‘There are many things I simply wonder at, but without fear, such as the beauty of Columns, a fresco, a body in the flower of youth. Again we wonder at the extent and unfathomable depth of the sea, but with fear , when we lean over its depths. It is like this when the prophet leans over the immense and unbound lake of God’s wisdom, and goes dizzy, amazed, he recoils with great fear, and cries out saying, ‘I confess to you that you have amazed me fearfully, your works are marvelous.’ And again, Your knowldge of me has amazed me: it is too strong for me, I cannot attain it’ (Psalm 138:6).

- St. John Chrysostom From The Wisdom of the Greek Fathers compiled  by Andrew Louth

The Sin of Murmuring

Father Pat’s Pastoral Ponderings

 

Among the evils associated with the sin of murmuring (arguably the vice most often condemned in Holy Scripture), first place probably goes to the disposition of murmurers to feed the grievances of one another.

Fred and Ralph, for example, may entertain very different grievances against George. Perhaps Fred thinks George too flamboyant, whereas Ralph considers him overbearing. As long as Fred and Ralph don’t meet and talk about George-as long as the two of them just murmur individually-George can probably handle the problem. Kept separate, these two sources of complaint have only an accumulative force-let’s say, seven plus seven. It may be the case that George can handle an accumulated complaint calibration of fourteen.

Suppose, however, Fred and Ralph get together, and the discussion somehow turns to the subject of George. We may construct their conversation as follows:

“Say, Fred, what do you think of George?”

“Oh, George is a very fine gentleman, Ralph, and a real prince of a guy, even if he strikes some folks as a tad flamboyant.”

“Yes, George is a sterling character, an ace of a fellow, which is why people overlook it when he gets a bit overbearing on occasion.”

“Well, that’s how it is with flamboyant people, isn’t it? They don’t know when to stop. Flamboyance leads to an inflated self-image. Before long it can really get on your nerves.”

“That is the truth of the thing. I don’t know many people as nerve-wracking as George. I can hardly stand him.”

“Yep, let’s face it: That George is a real creep. Especially with his bad breath, it’s a wonder he has any friends.”

“Name one. I can’t think of anybody who likes George, or admits it. The jerk has absolutely no redeeming qualities.”

Yep, that pretty much sums up George.

Now this is how it goes when murmurers congregate. The trick of virtue here is to keep Fred and Ralph apart, because the inference of their conjunction is not accumulative, but squared. Their combined number is not fourteen, but forty-nine.

There is a clear example of such a conjunction in Holy Scripture. I am thinking of the marching and camping arrangement of the Chosen People in the desert. According to the Book of Numbers, the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and Simeon marched and camped on the south side of the Tabernacle (2:10-16). The tribe of Reuben, which occupied the middle position, was thus placed adjacent to the Levitical family of the Kohathites, which marched and camped between the Reubenites and the Tabernacle (3:29). As it turned out, this physical proximity proved to be dangerous for some of the Reubenites and Kohathites.

For starts, each group had its own complaints. The children of Reuben, Israel’s first-born son, felt unjustly demoted when Moses gave the position of leadership—on the east side of the camp—to the tribe of Judah (2:3). Two Reubenites, named Dathan and Abiram, especially murmured about this.

Their physical position in camp, moreover, put them right beside the Kohathites, who were nusing a grievance of their own. These murmured that another Levitical family, the family Aaron, was accorded the dignity of the priesthood and were placed to the east of the Tabernacle. One of the Kohathites, a certain Korah, was especially incensed about this.

Unfortunately for all these murmuring individuals, they talked with one another—and compared notes—about Moses and Aaron.

Perhaps neither group, by itself, would have become openly rebellious to the Lord’s appointment, nor did they rebel for a long time.

In due course, however—perhaps when they realized none of them would reach the Promised Land alive (14:28-29)—they began to feed one another’s sense of frustration, finally undertaking a desperate and disastrous rebellion. They all came to a very bad end (16:1-35).

When earth and fire devoured those confederate murmurers, the event simply revealed, for all to see, their actual spiritual state. As each disgruntled element fed on the other, they were both finally consumed. This is what murmurers do. -Fr. Patrick Reardon

 

Who are the Blessed?

Someone asked an old man…How is it that some say, ‘We see visions of angels’?” And he replied, “Blessed is he who always sees his sins.”

 

HT:Word from the Desert

Excessive Ascetical Feats

“Forget about impossible dreams, excessive ascetical feats and exalted ways of life, and let us begin with humility by enduring sorrows. When our souls are prepared, and if it is the will of God, it will be given to us to proceed higher.”

St. Nikon of Optina

A Deeper Orthodoxy

“In the same way, faithfulness to the tradition and the dogmatic teaching of the Church means not only that the right formulations of terms are not altered, but also that our lives are altered and renewed by the truth and regenerative power latent in those terms. Then man acquires senses and is able to see; he becomes conscious of the deeper meaning and value of the Orthodox faith as a force in life.” From Hymn of Entry by Archmandrite Vasileios

I appreciate how  Archmandrite Vasileios connects the terms of Orthodoxy to living an Orthodox life.

St. Herman Calendar 2010

“The Orthodox (Julian or “Old”) Calendar, with corresponding civil dates. A complete Calendar of Orthodox saints, Scripture readings, and fasting guidelines for every day of the year, together with a listing of uncanonized righteous ones of recent centuries. Numerous saints and righteous ones have been added to this year’s Calendar.

The 2010 St. Herman Calendar is dedicated to the Orthodox Anglo-Saxon saints of pre-Schism England. Brief biographies of many of these saints are accompanied by iconographic portraits. A feature article traces the history of Orthodox Christianity in the British Isles from the first-century arrivals of St. Joseph of Arimathea and the Holy Apostle Aristobulus to the arrival of the Angles and Saxons during the fifth century, the attacks of the Vikings during the eighth century, and the defeat of Orthodox England at the hands of the Normans in 1066. Also discussed is the recent resurgence of Orthodoxy in England, which has been accompanied by a renewed veneration of the saints of that land.” Click here to Order

ST. MAXIMUS THE CONFESSOR’S QUESTIONS & DOUBTS

New translation of St. Maximus coming soon.

St. Maximus the Confessor’s Questions and Doubt

“This is first ever English translation of one of Maximus’ most significant contributions. Maximus the Confessor (580-662) was a monk whose writings focused on ascetical interpretations of biblical and patristic works. For his refusal to accept the Monothelite position supported by Emperor Constans II, he was tried as a, heretic his right hand was cut off, and his tongue was cut out. A major theologian of the Byzantine Church, St. Maximus is venerated in both Eastern and Western Christian traditions. Despina Prassas’ translation of the “Quaestiones et Dubia” presents for the first time in English one of the Confessor’s most significant contributions to early Christian biblical interpretation. The original work is believed to have been written before 626 while the monk was a member of a community located near Constantinople. The text is a series of 239 interrogations and responses addressing theological, philosophical, ascetical, spiritual, and liturgical concerns. In his work, Maximus the Confessor brings together the patristic exegetical aporiai tradition and the spiritual-pedagogical tradition of monastic questions and responses. The overarching theme is the importance of the ascetical life. For Maximus, askesis is a life-long endeavor that consists of the struggle and discipline to maintain control over the passions. One engages in the ascetical life by taking part in both theoria (contemplation) and praxis (action). To convey this teaching, Maximus uses a number of pedagogical tools including allegory, etymology, number symbolism, and military terminology. Prassas provides a rich historical and contextual background in her Introduction to help ground and familiarize the reader with this work. As the first focused study of the “Quaestiones et Dubia”, this important book will appeal to the growing audience of readers interested in Maximus the Confessor and, more broadly, to scholars and students of early Christianity, early Byzantine monasticism, and patristic biblical exegesis.”

Podvig “Spiritual Struggle”

“Christ the Savior Himself stressed the great significance of the podvig of prayer and fasting when His disciples found themselves unable to cast out demons from an unfortunate boy who was possessed. He told them clearly,”This kind (of demon) goeth not out save by prayer and fasting” (St. Matt. 17:21). Interpreting this passage in the gospel narrative, our great patristic theologian-ascetic, the hierarch Theophan the Recluse asks, “May we think that where there is no prayer and fasting, there is a demon already?” And he replies, “We may. Demons, when entering into a person do not always betray their entry, but hide themselves, secretly teaching their hosts every evil and to turn aside every good. That person may be convinced that he is doing everything himself, while he is only carrying out the will of his enemy. Only take up prayer and fasting and the enemy will immediately leave and will wait elsewhere for an opportunity to return; and he really will return if prayer and fasting are soon abandoned” (Thoughts for Each Day of the Year, pp. 245-246).

From this a direct conclusion may be reached: where fasting and prayer are disregarded, neglected or completely set aside, there is no trace of Orthodoxy—there is the domain of demons who treat man as their own pathetic toy……

Without podvig there is altogether no true Christianity, that is to say, Orthodoxy. See what Christ, the First Ascetic, Himself clearly says; “Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Mark 8:34). The true Christian, the Orthodox Christian, is only he who strives to emulate Christ in the bearing of the cross and is prepared to crucify himself in the Name of Christ. The holy Apostles clearly taught this. Thus the Apostle Peter writes: “If when you do well and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is accepted with God. For even here unto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow his steps” (I Pet. 2:2-21). In precisely the same way the holy Apostle Paul says repeatedly in his epistles that all true Christians must be ascetics, and the ascetic labor of the Christian consists of crucifying himself for the sake of Christ: “They that are Christians have crucified the flesh together with the passions and lusts” (Gal. 5:24). A favorite expression of St. Paul is that we must be crucified with Christ that we might rise with Him. He puts forth this thought in a variety of his sayings in many of his epistles.

You see, therefore, that one who loves only to spend time enjoying himself and does not think of self-denial and self-sacrifice, but continually wallows in every possible fleshly pleasure and delight is completely un-Orthodox, un-Christian. Concerning this the great ascetic of Christian antiquity, the Venerable Isaac the Syrian, taught well: “The way of God is a daily cross. No one ascends to heaven living cooly (i.e. comfortably, carefree, pleased with himself, without struggle). And of the cool path, we know where it ends” (Works, p. 158). This is that “wide and broad way” which, in the words of the Lord Himself, “leadeth to destruction” (Matt. 7:13).”- From the sermon “What is Orthodoxy” by Archbishop Averky of Syracuse and Holy Trinity Monastery

Become a Hearer

“If sometime, then , in a serene night, you gaze up at the ineffable beauty of the stars, you can form an idea of the creator of the universe, who has embroidered the sky with these flowers, and how in what you see neccessity takes form of the delightful: again , during the day, if you consider the wonders of the day with sober thought, and from what you see form an idea of what is invisible, you will become a hearer, fit and made ready for the fullness of this solemn and blessed theatre.”- St. Basil the Great