“Ultimately, we all need to grow into a realization that if we are to keep our sanity, Christ is the only one who can have undivided mastery over our heart. We will discover that this also means making room for others He puts in our lives.  It isn’t a matter of dividing our love - it is learning to multiply it.” 

- Mother Raphaela, Living in Christ, pg 29. Samaritan Woman at the Well

Reflection:  

Mother Raphaela ties together Christ’s words of the two greatest commandments(1), showing us that having complete love for God means also learning to multiply our love - making room for everyone He puts in our lives.  

It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking we must divide our love between all the people that come into our lives.  We think that we have a limit in our ability to give love, as if it is like some kind of material currency that we can deplete.  This is only true if we do not first give our love and our hearts completely to Christ.

Our love for God and neighbor is not something we portion out in categories (family, friends, etc), it is something we ask God to help us learn to grow and multiply unconditionally for all.

When we feel we are at our wits-end, instead of entertaining the thought that we have run out of love for others let us dig deep in the moments we struggle and ask Christ for more creative ways to love and care for others.  

Do we attempt to multiply our love to make room in our hearts for each person we encounter, giving them the respect, dignity, and care they deserve as a person made in the Image and Likeness of God?

Depending on the social climate we are in, it may feel more difficult to accomplish - but our Lord’s commandments and our commitment to our love for God and neighbor do not take a break for social climates.  Our calling as Orthodox Christians to love God and neighbor always takes precedence above any and all events in the world. 

It is God’s love that saved the world and we, the Body of Christ, are vehicles of the Holy Spirit - of His love.  Christ’s love for humanity is unconditional and unending, we must follow His example.  How do we learn to multiply our love? We must start with Christ. 

On our own, our ability to love others has its limits.  We are not alone in life, Christ is always near by for us to call upon for help.  His love for us and everyone is constant, we must turn to Him and freely accept Him and love Him back.  Only Christ can fuel our hearts with an ever-multiplying, unending capacity to love for others as He does all eternally. Let us allow Christ to dwell in our hearts through our humility and sacrifice, so our ability to love draws from the well of living water(2), God Himself.

Resources:

1) Two Greatest Commandments

2) Story Samaritan Woman

“To send a quick thought, an inward nod of the head so to speak, in His direction, can keep us centered in the midst of all sorts of distractions.”

- Mother Raphaela, Growing in Christ, pg 85  

Reflection:

Mother Raphaela gives us great advice on how to pray without ceasing.(1)

This is a great way to involve God in our lives throughout every moment of the day, while in the midst of our activities.  Through this inward nod, we acknowledge God’s presence as we go about our day, and in this way we continue to grow closer to Him. 

The more opportunities we open ourselves to Christ, the more we will recognize His unconditional and constant love for us. He is always there, but unless we open our dialogue with Him through prayer, we may not recognize it. 

If we take this to heart, when it comes time for dedicated prayer, we will feel even more-so that we are speaking with our Heavenly Father, as our loving Father that He is. 

Resources:

1) 1 Thessalonians 5:16

“You have not come to know God through your righteousness, but God has come to know you through His kindness.  You have not embraced Christ through your virtue, but Christ has embraced you through His Advent (Incarnation).”- St Basil the Great

Reflection: 

St Basil reminds us that our relationship with God is not achieved solely by our efforts; God is constantly reaching out to us, loving us, we must respond to His love.  

It is humbling to be reminded that we do not ‘make’ God ours through our actions, but rather, God’s unconditional and constant love for us allows our actions to achieve a relationship with Him.  

God became human, suffered, experienced what we experience, died, and rose us up with Him through His Resurrection.  He gives us the opportunity to rise up with Him unto eternal Joy.  

With Christ as our example of what it means to embrace our humanity as it is intended to be, we strive to imitate Him toward our neighbor.  Let us be the one to give Christ-like love unconditionally, offering the opportunity for our neighbor to respond to that openness.   

Resources:

1) St Basil the Great, On Christian Doctrine and Practice, pg 113.

 “Let us choose life.  Let us choose to love our brethren whom we can see, that we may learn to love our God whom we have not seen (John 4.20).”

-  Mother Raphaela, Growing in Christ, pg 20. 

Reflection: 

Christ tells us, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”(1)

St Paisios reminds us similarly, “Concealed within our love for our neighbor, is our great love for God”.(2)  

What are our reactions in thoughts, words, and deeds online or in person when we witness something we are not fond of?  

Our relationships with our neighbor (friend and foe) affect our relationship with God, and vice versa, simultaneously. 

When we humble ourselves before our neighbor, putting our ego aside, reaching them on their level - we acknowledge that they are created in the Image and Likeness of God Himself.  We acknowledge the image of Christ stamped on their heart.  

Let us strive to recognize the Image of God in everyone, meeting them where they are in their development, and choose to be a vehicle of the Holy Spirit, to lift them up. 

In this way, we choose the way to think and act that is truly life-giving, allowing others to grow in our midst (instead of limiting them to their faults, since through Christ, all can be transformed). As Mother Raphaela said, let us choose life. 

Resources:

1) Matthew 22:36-40

2) St Paisios, Spiritual Counsels, Volume V. pg 201.

“Grant me release from the slavery of the thoughts of my own making.”

- Post Communion Prayer to the Theotokos, Liturgikon pg 100. 

Healing of the Paralytic

Reflection:

Mother Raphaela(1) reflects on how the education system often teaches us that our own thinking, unhindered by the Faith or the humility of the heart, should be our most trustworthy guide. We are taught to prove we can think rightly, and that this is the one path to a joyful and successful life.(2)

The mindset of right-thinking leads us subconsciously to believe that we can defeat any problem with our right-thinking, on our own.  We become prideful, believing that we do not need a relationship with God to succeed.

We believe that our mind will save us, we become paralyzed, trapped, by our own thoughts. This was the fall of Adam and Eve. We need our minds to go into the depths of our heart, and our heart to be united with Christ. He saves us.

Mother Raphaela reminds us to not fight thoughts and passions on our own, for we will be defeated. But to call upon the Lord, allow His Presence to drive them away.(3)  We know that the path to success, joy, and purpose in life is living in and with Christ through His Church. 

The mindset that our right-thinking is our savior leads us to believe that our minds are separate from the rest of our being, disregarding our soul and body, and so begins our downfall.(4)   

Whenever we struggle with anger, stress, anxiety, depression, or addiction, we need help.  We need outside help, both Christ (through the Sacraments) and our neighbor (who could be a professional - whom Christ created), to holistically transfigure us on the path of healing.   We need to be able to bring our minds into the humility of our hearts to find mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual wholeness.  

Our spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being are all interconnected, when one aspect is afflicted, so are the other two. When we wish to address any particular need we have, we must address its counterparts in all three aspects of our person.  

Christ is the Creator and ultimate physician of our mind, soul and body.  He does not force His help, He respects our free will.  We must freely choose to ask for help holistically: a) from Christ through the sacraments of the Church, b) from Christ through professionally trained individuals (who -at minimum- share a similar understanding of the human person), and c) together with our neighbor.  

Resources:

1) Abbess of Holy Myrhh-bearers Monastery in Otego New York

2) Mother Raphaela, Growing in Christ, pg 76.

3) Mother Raphaela, Growing in Christ, pg 76.

4) Mother Raphaela, Growing in Christ, pg 79.

“God forbid that I should boast except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” - Galatians 6:14

Reflection: 

St Paul tells us the only thing he would boast of is the Cross of Christ, Christ’s sacrifice of unconditional love for all humanity - our Salvation.  What do we boast of or take pride in? Do we ‘put ourselves first’ in an unhealthy way (at all costs) disregarding Christ and everyone around us? Unfortunately our society preaches this kind of superiority.

“We pick up our Cross when we forsake our ego. To society we may seem weak, but this ‘patience of the Saints’ is an incredible strength unmatched by the world, and which alone has and can change the world.”(1)

St Paul says, “For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”(2) Every talent, every ability, every breath we take, our very existence, are gifts from God. 

When we recognize that all of our accomplishments are due to the gifts and capabilities God has given us, how could we boast of anything as if it is solely our own doing, rather than thank God for His power and mercy in the sacrifice of the Cross?

Boasting in the Cross is prioritizing, thinking, and acting in humility and unconditional love for everyone.  When we boast in the Cross and the Cross only, we experience the joy(3) of the Resurrection in our lives daily.

We have trouble finding authentic joy in our lives because we do not have the Resurrection of Christ in our hearts.  We do not have the Resurrection of Christ, because we do not have the Cross of Christ. We do not have the Cross of Christ, because we do not want the responsibility of the Cross, the responsibility of the Faith.(4)  The responsibility and accountability of loving God and neighbor while keeping a healthy self-worth, does not disregard others. 

When St Paul says the world is crucified to him and he to the world, he means that he takes on the pain of those around him in empathy(5), and sacrifices himself for God and neighbor.  We are to do as Christ did for us, for everyone - those who love us and those who hate us.

Let us boast in the unconditional sacrifice of the Cross of Christ by living a humble loving way uniting ourselves with Christ, so that we may experience the freedom of authentic joy and peace of the Resurrection both in this life and the life to come, Amen. 

Resources:

1)  Vassilios Papavassiliou, Meditations for the 12 Great Feasts, pg 26. 

2) 1 Corinthians 4

3) “The joy felt when one receives is a human joy. However, the joy felt when one gives is a divine joy."  -St Paisios the Athonite, Passions and Virtues, Volume V. pg 305

4) Archimandrite Georgios, Monastery of Gregoriou Mt Athos, Ομιλίες σε Ακίνητες Δεσποτικές και Θεομητορικές Εορτές (των ετών 1981-1991) Α' (Άδετο) , Pg 28

5)  Empathy vs Sympathy YouTube Video

“The ‘weakness’ of God’s humble love and of His wisdom is ‘stronger than men’ because it saves every human being by drawing them near without terrifying them, without constraining their natural gift of free will...this humble love of God is manifested in Christ’s self-emptying, in which the Cross holds central place.” 

- The Engraving of Christ in Man’s Heart, pg 345

Reflection: 

God draws us to Him through the humble love of the Holy Cross(1), so it is through this way that we grow closer to God and to our neighbor.  The mindset and way of the Cross is foreign to much of our society, remaining a stumbling block(2) and seen as foolishness(3) for many.  

“Our society teaches us an aggressive autonomy, a self-serving logic of our time which is a dead-end both socially and personally. Crucifixion of the mind is especially helpful today since it can heal our self-centeredness and pride.”(4) To begin to ‘crucify’ our mind is to overcome the desire to exercise authority over anyone, and instead be ready to serve others.

Do we notice that we are freely, naturally, and joyfully drawn toward someone when they help us or serve us?  We are drawn toward them because we recognize Christ in their actions. This is the Orthodox Christian mindset of the Cross, Crucifixion of the heart and mind; to give of ourselves and love God and neighbor spontaneously and unconditionally as Christ did for us.  St Paisios describes this mindset in his definition of Philotimo, see below.(5)

As difficult as it is to sacrifice for and unconditionally love others who treat us well, it is even more difficult to unconditionally sacrifice for and love those who are our enemies; who curse, hate, spitefully use or persecute us. Nonetheless, Christ tells us to, “Love our enemies” by blessing, doing good, and praying for them.(6) 

Following Christ’s example means loving our enemies too, for “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’(7) Even when humanity mistreated Christ our God, He still died for us to save us. When we are mistreated, we are called by Christ to love them, to bless, do good, and pray for them.  

Every time we sacrifice, do good, pray, and love unconditionally and spontaneously for anyone regardless of how they treat us, we are taking up our Cross, and following Him.(8) It is then that we are co-crucified with Christ(9); Christ suffered for us, He has been in our pain and suffered unjustly. When we join Him on the Cross, He helps and guides us toward the eternal joy and peace of His Kingdom while here in this life.    

Resources: 

1)  Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is on September 14th

2) 1 Corinthians 1

3) 1 Corinthians 1

4) The Hidden Man of the Heart, Pg 180

5) “The spontaneous, self-sacrificing, love shown by humble people, from whom every trace of self has been filtered out, full of gratitude towards God and neighbor.  Philotimo comes from a deep, abiding connection with God, so that one is constantly moved to do and seek that which is good, right, and honorable. Out of spiritual sensitivity, such people forget all that they give, but remember even the slightest good that others do to them, and repay it 100 fold.” Explanation of Philotimo, our Orthodox Disposition of Heart

6) Matt 5:43-48 Love Your Enemies

7) Romans 5

8) Luke 9:23 “let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”

9) Galatians 2

 “All things are possible with Christ...Things are simple.  If you give your heart to Him, there will be no room for other things...Are you engulfed by fear and disenchantment? Turn to Christ.  Love Him simply and humbly, without any demand, and He Himself will free you.”

- St Porphyrios, Wounded by Love, pg 135.

Reflection: 

St Porphyrios reminds us that things are simple in life when we rely on Christ. Certainly there are many ‘logistics’ in life that are complicated (health, education, career, family situations, etc). St Porphyrios does not disregard these life stressors, instead he focuses on our approach to them as Orthodox Christians.  The ‘logistics’ of life will always exist, how we experience them depends on our inner disposition. Our heart must remain simple.(1)

Whenever we find ourselves in fear or distress, what is our go-to remedy? It is best to turn to Christ.  If we engage in our life with Christ, there will not be room for any negativity in our hearts.   

Christ says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”(2) Let us take Him up on His offer! 

We take Christ up on this offer for rest from our burdens when we love Him simply and humbly, without any demand or ulterior motive, as the saint describes.  We do everything simply and meekly, meaning, without an ulterior motive, we do things naturally pure.(3)  When we pray and love Christ without making calculations, without thinking of what we may receive in return for our love, then our hearts are simple and it is truly unconditional and Christ-like love(4) that we have for God and one another. 

All things are possible with Christ, so let us not limit ourselves by making decisions from a place of fear or distress. Rather, when we consider and make decisions from a simple heart that is given unconditionally to Christ, we give room for Him to reveal what His Will is in our lives, what is best for us. We open ourselves up to unending potential, rooted in Christ. 

Resources: 

1) Matthew 5:4-6

2) Matthew 11:27-29

3) St Porphyrios, Wounded by Love, pg 138. 

4) 1 Corinthians 13 What is Love?

 “Our preparation before the Liturgy is our cultivation of the gift God gave us to become a Christian.”

- Archimandrite Zacharias, The Engraving of Christ in Man’s Heart, pg 35 

Reflection: 

Our primary offering is the preparation of our heart, our inward disposition, reflective of our relationship with God and one another that we bring to God and the Church. It is a gift to Christ and the community.  Our heart is the starting point, from where all of our God-given gifts flow. 

How do we achieve such a heart so that we may then cultivate our gifts?

“One way of preparing is by praying on our own for a period of time before the Liturgy, and then going to Church with our heart full of warmth, faith, love, hope, in expectation of the Lord’s mercy, and full of spiritual dispositions.” 

St Nikodemos reminds us that we must prepare ourselves for the Holy Eucharist by “forgiving our enemies, being reconciled with those who have wronged us, and putting away all hate...so that we approach the Holy Mysteries with a clean conscience.”  This is according to our Lord’s commandment, that we must clear our hearts before approaching the Altar, otherwise we restrict ourselves from the fullness of God’s grace.  

We must examine our thoughts, words, and deeds throughout the week. Our daily actions prepare us for the Divine Liturgy, soften or harden our heart, and determine the success of our cultivation of our God-given gifts. We must strive for and remember to ask for God’s help in prayer, with the assistance of our Spiritual Father, to achieve an authentically ‘clear conscience’ - pure heart through our life in the Church.

We begin to truly cultivate our God-given gifts when we approach every moment as we do the Holy Eucharist, with a clear conscience: without anger or resentment toward anyone, but love, peace, and joy, through repentance.  When we take steps to achieve a pure heart, our God given gifts will become even more evident.

Let us continually cultivate the gift of our heart as best we can, for our participation in the Divine Liturgy, for the glory of God and for the building up of our neighbor, so that we may be in communion with Christ and with the gifts of the other members of the Body of Christ.

Resources:

1) Archimandrite Zacharias, The Engraving of Christ in Man’s Heart, pg 35

2) St Nikodemos Resource Page

3) Rev. Fr. George Dokos, Made for Union, pg 133.

4) Matthew 5:23-24

5) 2 Corinthians 13:5

6) Matthew 5:8

7) Matthew 5:22

8) 1 Corinthians 7:7

9) Ephesians 3