On the Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter & Paul

"The day of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul is the culminating feasts of the Gospel. Although the last event in the life of Christ which is related in the Gospel is His Ascension into heaven (Mark 16:19; Luke 24:51), the preaching of the Apostles is closely bound up with the Gospel. The Gospel tells us of their being chosen, and the Gospel indicates beforehand the end of Apostolic activity.

Telling of the appearance of Christ on the sea of Tiberias and the restoration to apostleship of Peter, who by his triple confession corrected his triple denial, the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian speaks also of the prediction to the Apostle Peter concerning the end of his struggle. When thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whether thou wouldest not. This spoke He, signifying by what death he should glorify God (John 21:18-19)...."

Read the rest of St. John Maximovitch's homily here.

The Three Renunciations

We are called to be Christians in a variety of circumstances, through different decisions, and by numerous means.  Abba Paphnutius taught that there are three Christian callings and renunciations.

The three Christian callings are a calling (1) from God, (2) by human agency, and (3) out of need.  A Divine calling is most evident in the life of Abraham, (Genesis 12:1), St. Anthony (Life of St. Anthony by St. Athanasius), and St. Augustine (Confessions 8.12.29-30).  This calling is anything "which spurs us on to desire eternal life and salvation and encourages us to follow God and to adhere to his commands" (3.4.1).  When we are moved by the examples and teachings of holy men, God calls us by human agency (3.4.3).  The third calling of necessity is best exemplified by Israel who returned to the Lord only in times of persecution.  The Lord allows for circumstances that drive people to His Grace involuntarily by necessity, which is also illustrated in the conversions of St. Moses the Black and  the Apostle Paul (3.4.4-5).  Although the third calling seems the least praiseworthy of the three, all three callings have produced apostate, lukewarm, and perfect Christians (3.5.1).  If these callings are the beginning of Christian life, perfect renunciations are the end of it.

Vacation Advice

It is important that our vacation time serve as our path to Christ, so that the time given us would not fly by unnoticed; it should be spent well and with spiritual benefit. An Elder of exalted spiritual life was asked: “How did you spend your time away?” He replied: “Prayerfully.”

I think the following recommendations can be offered:

Read the entire article here.

We are Mysteries to Ourselves

"Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:

The soul that rises with us, our life's star,

Hath had elsewhere in its setting,

And cometh from afar;

Not in entire forgetfulness,

And not in utter nakedness,

But in trailing clouds of glory do we come

From God, who is our home:

Heaven lines about us in our infancy!

Thou, whose exterior semblance doth belie

Thy soul's immensity;

Thou best philosopher, who yet dost keep

Thy heritage; thou eye among the blind,

That, deaf and silent, read'st the eternal deep,

Haunted for ever by the eternal mind

Mighty Prophet! Seer blest!

On whom those truths do rest..."

A Prayer of Three Hermits

"Three are ye, three are we, have mercy upon us!" - The Three Hermits

Watch part two here.

Read Leo Tolsoty's account of the story here.

Extreme Pilgrim - A Pilgrimage to St. Anthony's Monastery

"And let those who are not found living as He taught, be understood to be no Christians, even though they profess with the lip the precepts of Christ." - St. Justin Martyr (First Apology, Chp. 16)

Obtaining Discretion

We cannot obtain discretion by ourselves--it is a gift from God (1 Cor. 12:8-11).  Nevertheless, we must always seek to obtain discretion in order to avoid errors and waywardness (The Conferences: 2.1.4).

In this conference Abba Moses shares a short discourse given by St. Anthony the Great on discretion.  St. Anthony points out that when discretion is lacking, our thoughts and deeds fall into darkness (Matt. 6:22-23).  How can we avoid such darkness?  By obtaining the virtues and being filled with the gladsome Light Who is Christ.  Only by discretion can we assure that the virtues will endure in us to the end (2.2.4; 2.4.4), because thoughts and deeds themselves proceed from discretion (2.2.6).  We always have the free will to discretely allow or disallow whatever thoughts come into our minds.  Thus, discretion is needed to preserve inner peace.

A Pilgrim's Way

"If Christ was punished on our behalf, then we are never forgiven, because punishment and forgiveness are mutually exclusive.... This is the concept of God, which is really the foundation of modern atheism." - Archbishop Lazar Puhalo