“Refute those who dispute with you by the strength of your virtues and not by the persuasiveness of your words, but by the meekness and quietness of your lips.” 

- St Isaac the Syrian, The Ascetical Homilies, Homily 4, pg 32-33.

Reflection: 

May we always work on ourselves to love Christ and our neighbor even better than the previous day, so that our virtues will shine. 

This way we will follow the advice of St Isaac and truly give the love and meekness of Christ(1) in response to any given situation. 

Resources:

1) John 18:28 (Jesus before Pilot)

“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’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

“Do not believe your thoughts, neither when they tell you that you are terrible, nor when they tell you that you are a saint.”

- St Paisios, Spiritual Struggle, V.3 pg 47. 

Reflection: 

What is the beginning of every one of our opinions, feelings, actions, behaviors, decisions, and way of being?  Our thoughts.  

This matter is not simply psychological, it is our spiritual life that fuels our psychological and physical well-being. All spiritual life is based on thoughts.(1) Truly, the entirety of our life depends upon our spiritual life, therefore upon our thoughts.

This is not about simply good thoughts vs bad thoughts, since positive thoughts by themselves can be prideful and self-centered: a dead-end.  The key is to actively turn our thoughts toward a person - Christ.  

We must be vigilant to recognize when a thought in our mind is not our own, but rather a temptation. When attacked our mind is fogged with pessimistic or prideful thoughts in order to waste our time and distract us from prayer and our daily tasks.(2) 

We must choose to concentrate and direct our thoughts back to Christ.  If our mind wanders, call it back again and again. Do not allow your mind to wander.(3) 

When we turn our thoughts to God throughout our day in prayer, it is not a psychological exercise, it is deeper, engaging in a loving relationship and coming to know our Creator. 

When our spiritual well-being is grounded in love of Christ, then our psychological and physical well-being follows, and our efforts in the psychological and physical aspects of life flow more successfully.

Resources:

1) St Paisios, Spiritual Struggle, V.3 pg 63

2) St Paisios, Spiritual Struggle, V.3 pg 64

3) St Paisios, Spiritual Struggle, V.3 pg 63

“We enter into the Church - to unite ourselves with our fellow people, with the joys and sorrows of each and everyone, to feel that they are our own, to pray for everyone, to have care for their salvation, to forget about ourselves, to do everything for them as Christ did for us.” 

- St Porphyrios, Wounded by Love, pgs 88-89. 

Reflection: 

How do we unite ourselves like this with everyone? By loving God and neighbor.(1)

When we unite ourselves to everyone by loving God and neighbor, our life will feel more fulfilling, our purpose more clear, and joyful. By loving God and neighbor we put them first, a way of living which edifies and strengthens our heart and soul - because imitating Christ’s sacrificial love edifies and strengthens us. 

It is in the journey toward uniting ourselves with everyone else that we become our most authentic self, while becoming the one Body of Christ; the Church. 

The qualities it takes to love God and unite ourselves with our neighbor, along with the relationships formed with God and one another, shape our heart to be Christ like, resulting in the freedom to live as our truest and best self.  

The more we give, love, think of, care for, pray for, and walk along with people through their joys and sorrows (making them our own), the more Christ-like we become, the more freedom we will live in, and the most sincere joy we will experience. 

“Christ is revealed in that unity between His love and ourselves: the Church. On my own I am not the Church, but together with you.”(2)

Resources:

1) Mark 12:30-31

2) St Porphyrios, Wounded by Love, pg 88.

“Do you wish to be healed?”

- Jesus Christ,  John 5.

Reflection: 

Do we wish to be healed? The question seems obvious, but we often refuse the help of our Lord by not keeping & growing a constant relationship with Him. We think we can get by on our own. 

Unlike the paralytic who waited 38 years until Christ arrived, we have Christ with us here and now. We do not need to wait, it’s on us to make the choice.  

Christ has freely given us all we need through His Church. We can choose to devote ourselves more deeply to the life in Christ in His Church at any time, why do we hold ourselves back?  

Do we wish to be healed? Trust in Christ. 

Trust in Christ: Take up our Cross(1), follow His teachings, participate in the life of the Church He gives us. 

Trust in Christ: Attend the services. 

Trust in Christ: Participate in Holy Confession & Holy Communion. 

Trust in Christ: Devote oneself in personal prayer and reading of Scripture. 

Trust in Christ: Strive to increase in love and knowledge of both: God and neighbor.(2)   

Trusting in all that Christ constantly gives us through His Church; we have the roadmap to a challengingly healthy, joyful, and peaceful life leading unto the Kingdom of Heaven. Let us choose to be healed, and participate in all Christ gives us.

Resources: 

1) Matthew 16:24

2) John 15:1-3

“If we want to be free, we must hear the word of God and accept and keep it in our heart, so that we can recognize the truth through which we become free. Otherwise we remain slaves to sin and serve our (unhealthy) passions.” 

- St Nektarios, Homilies V. 1 pg 35. 

Reflection: 

What is true freedom? Christ says, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”(1)

True freedom is freedom in the truth of our hearts, which only Christ can reveal to us. It is being authentic with ourselves, recognizing our strengths and weaknesses and walking with Christ to find healing. It is freedom from sin and from being trapped in our impulses, pride, and self-centeredness.  If we are free from those things, our decisions in life become all the more fruitful.

True freedom is to become a follower; of Christ and His Word, emulating His sacrificial and humble love.

We often think of freedom as a result of our society’s laws, our financial independence, and our own strength, but these are actually secondary to our inner freedom. 

External freedom is how a person can end up with “everything” and still feel unfulfilled: they are not free in their hearts. No matter what our circumstances might be, we will feel at peace if we have our inner freedom in Christ.

“We are obliged to shape our heart if we wish to be followers of Christ and therefore, truly free...as faithful followers of the Savior and as lovers of true freedom, let us take up our own crosses and follow Christ, Who shall free us from the slavery of sin, and make us truly free.”(2)

Resources:

1) John 8

2) St Nektarios of Aegina, Homilies, V.1 pg 37.

“Faith is the externalization of the good hearts of Christians, and vice versa, since good hearts are faithful…good and well disposed to the reception of the word of God.” 

- St Nektarios, Homilies of St Nektarios of Aegina V 1, pg 11-12 

Reflection: 

Imagine what it might be like to experience seeing first; the good in everything and everyone around you.  How might that change your experience of each day?

Let us have our hearts purified through the life of the Church so that we can take away the things that usually block our vision each day of God and the good in His creation. 

Faith makes our heart pure, and having a pure heart helps us realize our Faith. 

Good hearts discover God everywhere and recognize Him everywhere and in everything. 

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”(1) And it was quite just that they should be deemed worthy of the vision of God, since they have discovered Him in His creation, as in an icon.(2)

The more time and effort we invest in our relationship with God through the Church, the more we open our hearts to be purified by Christ. 

Let us take a leap of Faith, and invest our time with Christ.

Resources:

1) Matthew 5:8

2) St Nektarios, Homilies of St Nektarios of Aegina V 1, pg 12.

 “"Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?" And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back; for it was very large." 

- Mark 15

Reflection:

Do we feel like there is a large inner ‘stone’ blocking us from Christ?  Do we feel stuck in our relationship with Christ? 

For many people, Jesus seems to be buried in their hearts as if in a tomb. He is covered by the heavy stone of mistakes, ignorance, of indifference, of bad habits accumulated over years.(1) The ‘stone’ becomes larger the longer we do not keep ourselves accountable. 

We may not always know what the inner-obstacle is that is blocking our way to Christ, that is why we reach out to the priest, seek out Holy Confession. 

Like the Myrrh-Bearing Women, we can make the first move, we can get up; we can set out, allowing Faith and hope to guide us.(2) 

When we choose to seek out Christ in the Church through the sacraments, we too will find the ‘stone’ rolled away for us; our burdens lifted, our stresses eased because we have approached and invited Christ into our hearts in the most unique and significant ways He gifted us. 

As we approach the removal of the ‘stone’ from our hearts, let us remember to also bring ‘myrrh’: our good deeds, love for one another, prayer-life, sacrifices, and giving of ourselves. 

Our virtue is our myrrh that we bring to the tomb of Christ, so that we may ask for the ‘stone’ to be rolled away. For without God’s help through the sacraments we are unable to remove it ourselves. 

Let us look to the example of the Myrrh-Bearing women, and make that first move, imitate their courage to approach Christ, through the sacraments. Then our ‘stone’ (our inner-obstacles) will be rolled away so that like the tomb of Christ, our hearts may also become life-giving not only for ourselves but also to those around us.

Resources:

1) The Year of Grace of the Lord, pg 184.

2) The Year of Grace of the Lord, pg 185.

“Spiritual courage makes one turn toward God and seek His mercy and blessing. Courage is a valiant frame of mind and complete hope in God.” 

- Met Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, The Science of Spiritual Medicine, pg 116 

Reflection: 

Spiritual courage gives us the strength to travel the difficult road of repentance and humility, allowing us to see ourselves for who we really are, and have the strength to then ask for God’s help. To get back up once we have fallen.(1) 

Since it is not courage based on our own strength, it is not prideful, instead based on trust and hope in God and seeking His mercy and love. 

How do we develop this kind of courage, so that we do not despair when we make mistakes, but rather seek out the help of God every time we fall? 

We strengthen our courage the more we spend time with God in prayer, reading of scripture, in worship at Church, and connecting with Him in the most unique ways on earth by the Sacraments of Holy Communion and Confession. 

Let us love God by spending more intentional time with Him, and we will see ourselves more apt to get up after we have fallen, to seek His help once we recognize our shortcomings.  

Resources:

1) Met Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, The Science of Spiritual Medicine, pg 117.

“The true celebration is the renewal of ourselves. Pascha is our personal passage from death to life, from the experience of spiritual death (our estrangement from God) to living the first resurrection (life in Christ).”

- Met Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and St Gregory the Theologian, The Science of Spiritual Medicine, pg 403.

Reflection: 

Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!   

We often hear people speculating on the meaning of the Resurrection without making recommendations on a personal level, and others who speak about correcting the way we live, but without any real theology.(1)  

Our lives are a theological experience - life lived with God. 

Having celebrated the Resurrection of Christ: what do we feel? How are we acting? How are our thoughts behaving? Where are our thoughts directed? 

Our God became human, suffered as we do, died and Resurrected in order that we may spend eternity with Him in the joy of Heaven forever.  Have we responded to anything Christ has done for us? In other words, are we acting, feeling, thinking, praying and existing the same as we did two weeks ago?

Let us dive deeper into our relationship with Christ, so that we may live each day renewed by His love, our hearts strengthened by His compassion, and our minds grounded in His peace. 

Let us live in the joy of the Resurrection of Christ, becoming new people, spreading His love and the joy of His Kingdom in the world.  

Resources: 
1) Met Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, The Science of Spiritual Medicine, pg 401.

“As the sinful woman was offering myrrh, the disciple was scheming with lawless men. She rejoiced in pouring out her precious gift; he hastened to sell the precious One… She was set free, but Judas was enslaved by the enemy. How terrible his indolence! How great her repentance! O Savior who suffered for our sakes, grant us her repentance and save us.” 

- Hymn from the Orthros of Holy Wednesday (Holy Tuesday Night) 

Reflection: 

This hymn reminds us how even those close to the Lord can fall away, while those who were initially distant, through repentance can become even closer to Christ.(1)

As we draw closer to Christ's Passion we are called to remain vigilant making sure that we are not prideful nor content with our Faith - instead asking God for guidance and His mercy to continually grow closer to Him. 

Let us pray for humility and strength, as we join Christ during His Passion, so that we may be ready to venerate His Cross and Glorify His Resurrection.

Resources:

1) Matthew 26:6-16

“Love, by its nature, is a resemblance to God, insofar as this is humanly possible. Its distinctive character is to be a fountain of faith, an abyss of long-suffering patience, a sea of humility.” 

- St John Climacus, 30 Steps to Heaven, pg 239. 

Reflection: 

When we are loving toward others, we begin to resemble God, we bring to the forefront the image of God that we are created in(1). People begin to see God through our love: which shows itself in our sacrifice, long-suffering patience, humility, and a faithful relationship with God. 

Only if we love others and love God can we truly become patient, as St Paul describes. We often read “love is patient” but the word St Paul used was that love μακροθιμεἰ.(2)  Love is long-suffering/enduring.  St Paul, and many hymns, use the same word to describe Christ’s suffering and sacrifice on the Cross. 

In order to be Christ-like, showing the image of God within us, we must have humility, long-suffering patience, and a trusting relationship with God. Christ shows us this by His example on the Cross, and instructs us to do the same: 

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another”(3)   

“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”(4)

As we are about to witness the love of God through the long-suffering and sacrifice of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ next week, let us build one another up, always giving our time and talents with long-suffering patience to strengthen one another, while fortifying our relationship with God. Our lives will be changed forever.  

Resources:

1) Genesis 1:26

2) St Paul uses the word "makrothimia" - long-suffering patience -  in these passages and more: Romans 2:4, Romans 9:22, 1 Corinthians 13:4, 2 Corinthians 6:6, Galatians 5:22, Ephesians 4:2

3) John 13:34

4) Matthew 22:37

“Vainglory induces pride in those who are favored and resentment in those who are slighted.”   

- St John Climacus, 30 Steps to Heaven, pg 167. 

Reflection: 

When we are praised, do we become full of ourselves? When we are criticized, are we hurt to the point of anger or sadness?  

Both extreme reactions reveal some level of pride (vainglory) that we have deep within our hearts. If we were are humble, neither praise nor criticism would result in a large reaction from us. 

When we realize we are reacting in this way, we can address this by prayer and asking for humility, seeking God in prayer, scripture, in the services of the Church, and in the sacraments Christ has given us.  

Filling our life with our best effort to be close to God is the only way we can begin to decrease our pride. 

We cannot simply avoid pride, we must push it out with humility and love.(1)  

Resources: 
1) Matthew 5:4-6