We have a Public prayer list, (http://docs.google.com/View?id=dzgvjb6_16f2pcdrhn ) which we use in our regular Monday Moleben, and also in special petitions in all Divine Liturgies we serve. Some people we know personally, but many times we have never met them or they live far away. Many are Orthodox Christians, and these we also commemorate in the Proskimidie of the Divine Liturgy, and many are not. It does not matter: if someone asked, we pray. Many times a person is on our prayer list for a long time and I have no idea how to contact them or find out how they are doing. Other times, I am able to ?check in? and know something of how their life is turning out. This is always a great consolation ? to see the object of our prayer doing well. Here are some recent ?answers? to prayer.
Author: seraphimholland
The Gadarene Demoniac. The various temptations of the demons. Without the help of God we would not survive them, and without this cardinal virtue we will never be victorious over them.
The demons can tempt man in many ways, and the exorcism of the Gadarene demoniac shows three aspects of their warfare against man. We are shown that without God, we would be annihilated by the demons, and that their most deadly attacks are invisible to most people. If we want to be rid of the demons and their influence, there is one thing that we must do.
Let us not grieve when we make a slip, but when we become hardened by it
Icon of St Isaac the Syriuan with a saying of his (Let us not grieve when we make a slip, but when we become hardened by it.)and commentary including the aphorism
Words of wisdom from a 6 year old: Key to living a good life: You have to twy!!
In your younger grandchildren’s typical wide-eyed excited manner of telling things, with her precious childish lisp she said to them:
“I finally know de secwet to being good in chuwch! – twy!! It’s so much easier to be good when you twy!”
The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Everything in life is a trade. How do we always make good trades?
The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus is quickly explained, then we talk about the important and frightening words: “Remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.” Our Lord is giving us an immutable principle, which we can use as a sort of mnemonic device to judge everything we do. This is difficult without much change, and the Apostle Paul offers the way to accomplish this massive task of proper trading: “I am crucified with Christ: neverthless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God”
Confession of sins in the Scripture.
Here is a list of Scripures to use as talking points to teach about confession. I just threw this together. I have another one started with gleanings fomr the Fathers. I would appreciate additions, and more commentary about Psalm 50. I have not checked all Psalm references to correspond to the Septuagint.
The longer explanation of the Parable of the Sower, the purpose of life and how to be good ground – Take heed therefore how ye hear!
The parable of the sower is a rare parable, in that it is explained by the Lord Himself. This explanation is actually longer than most people think and we discuss what His other words, which are not part of the traditional reading, mean. These include “No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel” and “Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.” Together with the parable, the explanation teaches us the basic purpose of life and how to be “good ground”.
Hieromartyr Lucian of Antioch, a living antiminsion
An exhortation to partake of the Holy Eucharist, based upon the example of Hieromartyr Lucian of Antioch, a living antiminsion.
He fulfilled the words: “being made conformable unto his death”. His zeal for the Eucharist rebukes our lukewarm age. Commemorated Oct 15
And the Lord is become a refuge for the poor man, a helper in times of well-being and in afflictions. (Psalm 9:8) Laziness, forgetfulness and ignorance
try to read or listen to the Psalter daily. It is the church?s hymnal, and the depth of feeling, and combination of sadness and gladness always moves me. If we lived our life and prayed with the feeling that is in the Psalms, we would not be beset by the mediocrity we mostly settle for.
Today, one of the Kathismas I listened to was the second. Psalm 9 particularly caught my attention. I share some of my feelings about it, in the great hope that you would take up the Psalter and learn from it how to pray, and to live. Other than the Gospels, I think it is the most important book in Scripture ? it teaches us about Christ, and life and death, and how to pray and think and live in any situation in life.
9:8 And the Lord is become a refuge for the poor man, a helper in times of well-being and in afflictions…
And the Lord … said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still." – The mystical and very practical meaning of these words. 3rd Sunday of Luke
Only the Lord has the authority to tell us to “weep not”. There is an epidemic of dysfunctional sadness in the world today; it is being treated by many partial solutions that often increase the despair and emptiness: medications, entertainments, passions. After His command to the Widow of Nain, the Lord mystically gives us the path we must travel in order to fulfill His command to “weep not” – “And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still.” There is no other path that leads to true happiness. We explore the mystical meaning of these words, also incorporating an epistle read today: “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” and “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”, and offer many practical suggestions on what we must do to live according to these words. the only key to happiness is here. The World does not have it; only Christ does, and through the healing of the Widow of Nain and the exhortation of St Paul to the Galatians, the path to it is clearly explained.