“He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.”

- St Paul, Phil 2:7

Reflection: 

What does it mean to ‘empty ourselves’ (kenosis) for the sake of another person?  

Self-emptying(1) means pouring oneself out, humbling oneself, weeding out any ego through our spiritual life and looking and longing for opportunities to sacrifice for God and neighbor.

The self-emptying (kenosis) of God raised us up, Christ descended to us, so that we can ascend to God and be united with Him.(2)

Kenosis is a paradox and a mystery since "emptying oneself" in fact fills the person with divine grace and results in union with God. 

Let us follow Christ Who emptied Himself to save us, and humble ourselves by emptying ourselves of any pride or self-centeredness, and let’s be the loving presence others need in their lives. 

Resources:
1) ἀλλ᾽ ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσε μορφὴν δούλου λαβών, ἐν ὁμοιώματι ἀνθρώπων γενόμενος
2) Met. Hierotheos, The Feasts of the Mother of God, pg 402. 

“You drive away the assaults of temptations, and attacks of the passions, O Virgin, therefore do we praise you throughout the many ages.” 

- Hymn from the 8th Ode of Small Paraklesis.

Reflection: 

The intercessions of the Ever-Virgin Mary, the Theotokos, have the ‘boldness’ of a mother unlike any other saint, before Christ Himself. 

As we approach the Fast for the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, let us cultivate a prayerful relationship with her, asking for her prayers before Christ as we do constantly in all of our services(1).  

When we develop our prayer-life to include asking for the help of the Saints, especially of the Mother of God, we will experience the help of God through the prayers of the Saints. 

Resources:

1) Link to Liturgical Service Texts (see how often the Virgin Mary is mentioned and asked for her prayers)

“Every action, every labor, should flow from a good disposition and tend towards the consecration of our hearts and the establishment of the Kingdom of God within us.”

- St Nektarios of Aegina, Homilies by St Nektarios of Aegina V. 1, pg 96. 

Reflection: 

Every single action from our morning routine, to our tasks during our work-day or school, should build up the Kingdom of God in our hearts and in the hearts of those around us.  

What makes every action flow from a good disposition, a heart that God will dwell in?

Through our worship services Christ forms the heart. Our participation in worship and the sacraments reveal and renew the heart as a holy temple of God.(1) Through the hymnology, the scripture, the sermon, and the environment of the Church building, and especially the Sacraments we invite Christ into our hearts. 

Both coming to Church and personal devotion and prayer throughout our day are equally necessary.

Let us strive to establish our hearts as the throne of God(2) through our participation of the worship services and our personal devotion, so that every thought, word, and deed we have may establish the Kingdom of God both within and around us.

Resources:

1) St Nektarios of Aegina, Homilies by St Nektarios of Aegina V. 1, pg 96

2) 1 Peter 3:14-16

“Faith is increased through prayer...We ask God to increase our Faith, not so that we can do miracles, but to love Him all the more.”

- St Paisios Spiritual Struggle V. 2,  pg 299. 

Reflection: 

Is our Faith as strong as it should be? 

Our Faith is our: relationship with God, love for God and neighbor(1), trust in God, our unity with Him. 

Increasing our prayer [both personal and worship at Church] increases our Faith, love, and trust in God.  When our love for God has increased, so will our love for neighbor.  When we love God and neighbor, other parts of our life begin to fall into place. 

Sometimes it is difficult to love our neighbor when they are not kind or when they believe very different things than ourselves. 

Loving our neighbor does not mean agreeing with or supporting every thought, word, or action they take. It means recognizing the image of God in them and treating them with respect and kindness each of us deserve as children of God. 

Loving our neighbor means being a loving presence for them, showing them that the doors to the Church, the path back home to Christ, is always open. 

Let us increase our prayer, so that we may increase our trust and love for God. We will then be a welcoming presence back to Christ, and our lives will increase in purpose, peacefulness, and inner joy.

Resources:

1) Matthew 12:30-31

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” 

- Matthew  5:14-19

Reflection: 

Do we ever hold back from being a Christian in public? 

Christ instructs us, His disciples, to let our light shine before the world. Part of our purpose in life is to be the light in the world. 

When we live our Faith everywhere we go, we will ‘shine’ with Christ’s light, with the light of: love, joy, compassion, and peacefulness. 

When there are opportunities for us to choose the Christ-like path, let us choose to live our Faith out loud, so that we may do our part as we ask in the Lord’s Prayer making, “on earth as it is in heaven”.(1)

Resources:

1) Matthew 6:9-13

“God will help us in our difficulties. But for God to provide divine power, people must offer whatever little they have and can give.”

- St Paisios, Spiritual Awakening, pg 256. 

Reflection: 

God has given us everything, our life, and our talents.(1)

From all that we are and have, let us give our time and talents to our neighbor, ultimately to Christ Himself(2) through His Church.

When we give back to God from all that He has given us, then our relationship deepens with Christ and our life becomes all the more fulfilling. 

Resources:

1) Matthew 10:7-8

2) Matthew 25:31-46

“When someone humbles you and you accept it,

then you have real humility, for real humility is

humility in action, not in words.”

- St Paisios, Passions and Virtues, pgs 181-182.

Reflection: 

We may be peaceful and communicate well before we are provoked, but what about after? For real humility, let us take into consideration:  We all have many gifts that God has given us, but because we sometimes forget these are gifts, and we begin to think we are better than other people.(1)

When someone corrects us, or even puts us down, Saint Paisios advises us to focus on the changes we can make to ourselves.(2) Imagine the the growth we can achieve if we utilize criticism as a learning moment - exercising patience, remaining peaceful, or correcting our behavior. We will avoid blaming others and focus on what we do have control over: ourselves. It is the knowledge of our own self that generates humility.  For the better one knows oneself, the clearer the eyes of the soul see his/her weaknesses.(3)  When we are given the opportunity for humility, let us accept it with meekness, so that we do not harbor resentment or pride inside us while showing humility externally.

As Christ shows us while being wrongly accused, beaten, spit upon, mocked, and hung on a Cross during His earthly ministry(4), let us follow His example and respond to every moment with humility in action.

Humility in action forms our hearts to be Christ-like, loving, patient, and life-giving.

Resources:

1) St Paisios, Passions and Virtues, pgs 178.

2) St Paisios, Passions and Virtues, pgs 186.

3) St Paisios, Passions and Virtues, pgs 187.

4) Matthew 26-27

“If you want to help the Church, it is better to try to correct yourself, rather than be looking to correct others. Naturally, if everyone did the same, the body of the Church would be in good health. But today, people concern themselves with anything but themselves. Judging others is easy, whereas working on yourself takes effort.” 

- St Paisios, Spiritual Awakening V 2, pg 81. 

Reflection: 

Is our first reaction in any given situation to judge the other person, or correct ourselves? 

“If we work to look more intently towards our ‘inner’ activity rather than our external, giving precedence to Divine help, we can in turn be of greater and more positive help to others.”(1) 

“When someone applies his/herself to external activity before having polished his/her spiritual inner state, they will be wrought with worry, anxiety, lack of confidence in God and frequent loss of serenity.”(2) 

The main cause of many of our worries, anxieties, even lack of faith, and inner peace - is that we have not worked on our inner self: our weaknesses, our struggles, our relationship with God and others. 

Let us take ownership of our current inner state and through the life of the Church let us work on our shortcomings and address them by way of the worship services, sacraments, ministries, and fellowship.

Resources:

1) St Paisios, Spiritual Awakening V 2, pg 81.

2) St Paisios, Spiritual Awakening V 2, pg 81.

“God’s grace always assists the one who struggles, but this does not mean that the person struggling is always ends in a position of victory... What is important is not who is victorious,

but the labor of striving towards and devotion to God.”  

- St John Maximovitch, Sermons and Writings of St John, pg 8. 

Reflection: “The Lord Jesus Christ according to worldly view, was in trouble, but when the world considered Him to be completely destroyed, in actuality He was victorious over death and hades.”(1)  “The power of God is effective when a person asks for assistance from God, acknowledging the weakness of one’s nature.  This is why humility and striving towards God are fundamental virtues of a Christian.”(2)  Though we may not always be or feel “victorious” according to society's standards, our fulfillment in Christ is stronger than the standards of society. The ‘weakness of God is stronger than man’(3).  Let us never give up on striving toward God, even when it feels like we are losing, and Christ will provide His grace as He did for St Paul saying, “My Grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”(4). When we are persistent in our striving toward God, even during difficult times, we will witness God’s Grace and end up more genuine, peaceful, and loving. Resources: 1) St John Maximovitch, Sermons and Writings of St John, pg 8. 

2) St John Maximovitch, Sermons and Writings of St John, pg 8. 

3) 1 Corinthians 1:25

4) 2 Corinthians 12:9