On this Sunday before the Exaltation of the Cross, two of the epistle readings (2 Corinthians 4:6-15 and Galatians 6:11-18) relate directly to the cross. St Paul states emphatically: “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” What does it mean to “glory” in the cross? People glory in many things – wealth, attractiveness, popularity, political correctness, having a good marriage, job, etc. None of these things is glorying in the cross. We answer this important question, and also why we who are “new creatures” because of the cross “have this treasure in earthen vessels”.
Author: seraphimholland
Orthodox Christians Prayer for 40 Days for Life Vigil: October 19th, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Prayer outside Southwestern Late-term Abortion Facility, 8616 Greenville Ave., Dallas. Descriptions of how to participate. I support this endeavor, which is being organized by Fr Seraphim Hipsch, of our sister parish of St Sava. Included is an EXCELLENT discussion of what sin is, a must read. Excerpt: … What is sin? This is a critical fact to bear in mind. What is sin? Sin is a parasite, thriving off the negative / death-ward choices and actions that we as mankind make. This sin, this cancer conceals the eyes of our hearts from the One who truly loves.
Sunday Before the Exaltation of the Cross We are saved from the poison of our passions and sin through the Cross. Exegesis of John 3:13-17. Text and Audio.
An explanation AND APPLICATION of the Gospel on the Sunday before the Exaltation of the Cross, John 3:13-17, which has the famous verse: John 3:16. The more important part of the passage describes the standard with the serpent on it which Moses lifted up in the wilderness. The cross and the resurrection must be thought of in the same "breath;", and how we must live because of the cross. Excerpt … Our poison is sin. Our poison is passions. We are saved from our passions and sin through the Cross. Why? Because the Son of Man has the authority to lay down His life and to take it up again. And He would shortly lay down His life and take it up again. He has the authority to change our nature such that we no longer would be held by death. That is what happened after His death on the Cross. He descended into Hades of His Own will and filled Hades with His divinity and broke the gates of Hades. We sing about this in Pascha, and actually we sing about it every Saturday evening . And in breaking those bars, breaking the bonds that hold humanity when they die, He made us capable of ascending. …
Beheading Of The Glorious Prophet Forerunner And Baptist John Hidden Addictions And Passions Kill.
The story of the beheading of John the Baptist shows us how an ordinary life ends in death. Herod was an ordinary man, since he was ruled by his passions and sins (lust,adultery,ambition,drunkeness) and because of his indulgence in his passions, most if which he was not aware of, he was also a coward, and when he made an unwise oath, he was unwilling to renege on it to save face. Therefore, he had Saint john beheaded, who then passed into eternal life, and Herod continued his descent into eternal death. We explore especially how hidden passions (present in all of us!) can kill the soul.
Service Commemorating the Ten Year Anniversary of September 11, 2001 Served in churches of the Greek Archdiocese, Metropolis of Atlanta.
The original text of this service was received in email from my father in law in an image file. The language has been changed to reflect liturgical usage, and common Orthodox hymns changed to the versions sung in our church. We did not use this service[4], but is an example of what was done in another local church on this somber day. This small supplicatory service (paraklesis) was served after Divine Liturgy
Beheading of the Glorious Prophet Forerunner and Baptist John. Exegesis of Vespers Readings
The Vespers parables for the commemoration of the beheading of John the Baptist contain many prophesies concering him, and also an incredibly poetic and accurate description of the human condition and the solution for it, which John announced – the Messiah. The following is a short exegesis of these readings.
Beheading of the Glorious Prophet Forerunner and Baptist John Possibilities and clarity.
Thoughts concering the Kontakion of the feast of the beheading of the Forerunner, and the precious gift of clarity of thought sometimes given especially during the early morning liturgy. The beheading of the Forerunner and Baptist John teaches us about the transitoriness of life, and about courage and cowardice. We look at the Kontakion especially, and the actions of Herod, Herodias and Solome. ?The glorious beheading of the Forerunner was part of God?s dispensation that he might proclaim to those in Hades the coming of the Savior, that Herodias who demanded the iniquitous murder, therefore lament. For she loved not the law of God nor the age of life but rather this one, false and fleeting.”
Prayerful Commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of the Terrorist attacks of 9-11 (2001)
Note from Priest Seraphim: Prayers like this brought me to Orthodoxy. This is how Orthodox Christians commemorate important events, with sober, humble, and theologically rich prayer. An aspect that particularly attracted me was how in our prayer we ?blame? ourselves. For instance, the terrorist events remind us of our condition, and we do not focus on the sins of strangers who committed these acts. To me this is just telling the truth about ourselves, and reaching out to God with no pretences, much like in the Psalter. We are never far from talking about the human condition (a condition, which always fascinates, thrills and saddens me, all at the same time), and how the incarnation, the Holy Spirit, and all aspects of God?s grace and reaching out to man heals human nature so it can be united to God. Our prayer, if experienced in all of its scope, shows clearly that we know salvation is the perfection and elevation of the human soul to God, and not only forgiveness of sins. I did not experience these feelings in the public prayer when I was not Orthodox (although I did feel it in a germinal form when I read the Psalter). The mindset in our prayers truly led me to Orthodoxy. It feels very freeing to say out loud what is wrong with me (in our prayers), and at the same time, approach God with confidence and hope. I suppose that someone reading this may be experiencing the feelings I once had, and if so, I encourage you to investigate Orthodoxy. You can read books, and learn our theology, but I think you will really find rest when you experience our prayer. Come to many services, especially our Vespers and Matins services, and give it some time, because our manner and content of prayer is very different from what is normally seen in the West.
Pilot and govern me into thy sheltered port for thou art author of good things and staff of the faithful – Exegesis of Ode 3 Irmos of the Paraklesis CanonPolit
Exegesis of the Irmos from Ode 3: “I have thee as the shelter and defense of my life, thee the Theotokos and Virgin, pilot and govern me into thy sheltered port for thou art author of good things and staff of the faithful, o thou only all lauded one. ” There are many beautiful scriptural allusions here, such as, “sheltered port”, “staff of the faithful” (an allusion to the rod of Aaron that budded – a symbol of the Theotokos, which refers to her ever-virginity”, “author of good things”. We also discuss the spirit of this canon and what is the most important thing to “get out” of it.
Understanding the human condition. Demonic audacity. Small Paraklesis Canon Ode 6
Explantion of the entire 6th Ode of the Paraklesis Canon. How to look at the human condition. Elias, Job, Jonas, Moses, David, Peter and many others in Scripture recognized their corruption and need for God. This is nuerotic to the world but completely normal and essential to the Christian. Also a detailed converstation about “demonic audacity”