THE CUP OF CHRIST St Ignatius of the Brianchaninov

THE CUP OF CHRIST

St Ignatius of the Brianchaninov

Two beloved disciples asked the Lord for thrones of glory - He gave them His Cup (Matt. 20, 23). 

The Cup of Christ is suffering. 

To those who drink of it on earth, the Cup of Christ allows us to partake of Christ’s Kingdom of grace; it prepares thrones of everlasting glory in heaven for them. 

We stand in silence before the Cup of Christ, nor can any complain about it or reject it; for He Who commanded us to taste of it first drank of it Himself. 

O tree of the knowledge of good and evil! Thou hast slain our ancestors in Paradise; thou hast deceived them with the delusions of sensual pleasure and reason. Christ, the Redeemer of the fallen, brought His Cup of salvation into this world to the fallen and to those who are exiled from Paradise. The bitterness of this Cup cleanses the heart from forbidden, destructive and sinful pleasure; through the humility flowing from it in abundance, the pride of fleshly understanding is mortified. To him who drinks of the Cup with faith and patience, everlasting life, which was and still is, lost to him by his tasting of forbidden fruit, will be restored. 

I will take the Cup of Christ, the cup of salvation (Ps. 115, 4). 

The Cup is taken when a Christian bears earthly tribulation in the spirit of humility, learned from the Gospel. 

The apostle Peter turned swiftly with an unsheathed sword to defend the God-man, Who was surrounded by evildoers, but the meek Jesus said to Peter: Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? (Jn. 18, 11) 

So when disaster compasses you about, you too should comfort and strengthen your soul, saying: The Cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? 

The Cup is bitter: at first sight all human reasoning is confounded. Overcome reason by faith and drink courageously of the bitter Cup: it is the Father who gives it to you, He who is all good and all wise. 

It is neither the Pharisees, nor Caiaphas, nor Judas who prepared the Cup; it is neither Pilate, nor his soldiers who give it: The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? 

The Pharisees think evil, Judas betrays, Pilate orders the unlawful killing and the soldiers of the government execute his order. Through their evil deeds, all these prepared their own true perdition. Do not prepare for yourself just such perdition by remembering evil, by longing for and dreaming of revenge, and by resentment against your enemies. 

The heavenly Father is almighty and all-seeing: He sees your affliction and if He had found it necessary and profitable to take the Cup away from you, He would certainly have done so. 

The Lord - as the Scriptures and Church history testify - has often allowed afflictions to befall His beloved and has often warded off afflictions from them, in accordance with the unfathomable ways of Providence. 

When you are faced with the Cup, turn your gaze from the people who give it to you, lift your eyes to Heaven and say: The Cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? 

I will take the cup of salvation. I cannot reject the Cup, the promise of heavenly and eternal good. The apostle of Christ teaches me patience when he says, …we must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God (Acts 14, 22). How can one reject the Cup, which is the means of attaining this Kingdom and growing within it? I will accept the Cup - the gift of God. 

The Cup of Christ is the gift of God. The great Paul writes to the Philippians: For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for His sake (Phil. 1, 29). 

You receive the Cup, which seems to come from the hand of man. What is it to you whether the bearer of the Cup acts righteously or unrighteously? As a follower of Jesus, your concern is to act righteously, to take the Cup with thanksgiving to God and a living faith, and to drain it with courage. 

In taking the Cup from the hand of man, remember it is the Cup of Him Who is not only innocent but also all holy. Thinking of this, remind yourself and other suffering sinners of the words that the blessed and enlightened thief spoke when he was crucified on the right of the crucified God-man: We receive the due reward of our deeds…Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom (Luke 23, 41-42) . 

And then, turning to the people, you will say to them: Blessed are you who are instruments of righteousness and of the mercy of God, blessed are you from henceforth and forever more! (If they are not in a fit state to understand and receive your words, do not cast your precious pearls of humility beneath the feet of those who cannot value them, but say these words in thought and heart). 

By this alone will you fulfil the commandment of the Gospel which says: Love your enemies, bless them that curse you …(Matt. 5, 44). 

Pray to the Lord for those who have offended you and outraged you, that what they have done for you should be repaid with a temporal blessing and the eternal reward of salvation, and that when they stand before Christ to be judged, it may be counted to them as if it had been an act of virtue. 

Although your heart does not wish to act in this way, force it to do so, because only those who do violence to their own hearts in fulfilling the commandments of the Gospel can inherit Heaven. 

If you do not have the willpower to act in this way, then you do not have the willpower to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look deep within yourself and consider searchingly: have you not found another teacher, the teacher of hatred - the devil - and fallen under his power? 

It is a terrible transgression to offend or oppress your neighbor; it is a most terrible transgression to commit murder. But whoever hates his oppressor, his slanderer, his betrayer, his murderer and whoever thinks ill of them and takes revenge on them, commits a sin very near to their sin. In vain he pretends to himself and to others that he is righteous. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer of man, proclaimed St John, the beloved disciple of Christ (I Jn. 3, 15). 

A living faith in Christ teaches us to take the Cup of Christ, and the Cup of Christ inspires hope in the heart of him who takes it, and hope in Christ gives strength and consolation to the heart. 

What torment - what torment of hell - to complain or murmur against the pre-destined Cup from above! 

Murmuring, impatience, faint-heartedness and especially despair are sins before God - they are the ugly children of sinful disbelief. 

It is sinful to complain of neighbors when they are the instruments of our suffering; still more sinful is it when we cry out against the Cup that comes down to us straight from Heaven, from the right hand of God. 

He who drinks the Cup with thanksgiving to God and blessings on his neighbor attains holy serenity, the grace of the peace of Christ. It is as if he already enjoys God’s spiritual Paradise. 

Temporal suffering has no importance in itself: we lend it significance because of our attachment to the earth and all corruptible things and through our coldness towards Christ and eternity. 

You are prepared to bear the bitter and repellent taste of medicine, to bear the painful amputation and cauterization of your limbs, to bear the long drawn-out suffering of hunger and prolonged seclusion in your room. You are prepared to bear all this to restore lost health to your body, which after it is healed will certainly fall ill again and die and rot. Bear then the bitterness of the Cup of Christ, which brings healing and eternal blessedness to your immortal soul. 

If the Cup seems to you unbearable and deadly, then it reveals that although you bear Christ’s Name, you do not belong to Christ. 

For the true disciples of Christ, the Cup of Christ is the Cup of joy. Thus, the holy apostles, after being beaten before the gathering of the elders of the Jews, went out from the presence of the Council rejoicing that they had been counted worthy to suffer shame for the Name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 5, 40-41). 

The righteous Job heard bitter news. Tiding after tiding came to pierce his steadfast heart; the last of these was the hardest - all his sons and daughters had been struck down suddenly by a cruel and violent death. In his great sorrow, the righteous Job rent his clothes and sprinkled his head with ashes. And then in submissive faith he fell down upon the ground and worshipped the Lord saying: I myself came naked from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, the Lord has taken away, as it seemed good to the Lord, so has it come to pass; blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1, 21). 

Entrust your heart in simplicity to Him by Whom all the hairs of your head are counted; He knows the measure of the healing Cup that you should be given. 

Look often at Jesus standing before those who put Him to death - He was as the lamb dumb before His shearers; He was delivered to death, to be slain as a defenceless sheep. Do not take your eyes from Him and your suffering will be transformed into heavenly spiritual sweetness, the wounds of your heart are healed with the wounds of Jesus. 

Suffer ye thus far, said the Lord to those who wished to defend Him in the garden of Gethsemane and He healed the ear that had been struck off (Lk. 22, 51). 

Thinkest thou, replied the Lord to him who had tried to take the Cup from Him, that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? (Matt. 26, 53) 

In time of misfortune do not seek the help of man, do not lose precious time and do not waste the strength of your soul in seeking this powerless help. Await help from God: by His command and in His own time people will come and help you. 

The Lord remained silent before Pilate and Herod; He made no attempt to justify Himself. You must imitate His holy and wise silence when you see that your enemies accuse you, with every intention of certain conviction; they accuse only with the purpose of hiding their own evil intention under the guise of judgement. 

Whether the Cup comes to you as a gradual gathering of clouds or as suddenly as a furious whirlwind, say to God, Thy will be done . 

You are a disciple, a follower and servant of Jesus. Now Jesus said, If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be (Jn. 12, 26). But Jesus spent His life on earth in sufferings; He was persecuted from His birth to the grave; from the time of His swaddling clothes malice was preparing a violent death for Him. Nor was malice satisfied by achieving such an aim, but it tried to uproot the very memory of Him from the earth. 

In following Him, all the chosen of our Lord pass along the road of temporary suffering to blessed eternity. As long as bodily pleasures dominate us, it is impossible for a spiritual state to prevail in us. 

That is why our Lord ceaselessly offers His Cup to those He loves, so as to keep them dead to the world and enable them to live the life of the Spirit. St Isaac the Syrian said, The man who is sent unceasing sorrow is known to be especially under God’s care. However, do not cast yourself boldly into the depths of sorrow, for that is proud self-confidence. Pray to God that He may turn every calamity and trial away from you; but when sorrows come of themselves, do not be afraid of them, do not think that they have come by chance, by force of circumstance. No, they are allowed by the inscrutable Providence of God. Filled with faith and the fortitude and magnanimity born of it, swim fearlessly amidst the darkness and howling storm into the peaceful harbour of eternity: the unseen hand of Jesus Himself will guide you. 

With reverent and deep reflection, learn the prayer which our Lord offered His Father in the garden of Gethsemane during the heavy hours of suffering that came to Him before His Passion and death on the Cross. With this prayer, meet and conquer every sorrow. O my Father, prayed our Saviour, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt (Matt. 26, 39). 

Pray to God to avert misfortunes and at the same time renounce your own will as sinful will, blind will; entrust yourself, your soul and body and your circumstances of today to the all-wise will of God. 

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matt. 26, 41). When you are surrounded by afflictions, pray more often, so that you may draw the specia1 grace of God towards you. Only with the help of special grace can we overcome temporal misfortunes. 

When you receive from Heaven the Gift of patience, be attentive and vigilant with yourself, in order to hold and keep within yourself the grace of God, in case sin should creep unnoticed into your soul or body and drive away this grace. 

But if with carelessness and inattention you let sin enter within you, and particularly the one sin to which your weak flesh is specially addicted and which stains the body and soul, then grace will depart, leaving you stripped and lonely. Then sorrow, given to you for your salvation and perfection, will trample you down, crushing you with sadness, depression, despair, as one who holds the gift of God but without due reverence to the gift. Hasten to bring your heart back to purity in true and resolute repentance and, through purity, to the gift of patience, since this gift of the Holy Spirit reposes only in the pure. 

The holy martyrs sang a song of joy in the midst of the fiery furnace, while walking on nails, on sharp swords, or sitting in cauldrons of boiling water or oil. So also your heart will rejoice when by prayer you have drawn to yourself the comfort of grace and kept it inside yourself by constantly watching over yourself. Then your heart will sing amidst misfortunes and terrible misery, with a joyful song of praise and thanksgiving to God. 

The mind, purified by the Cup of Christ, is endowed with spiritual vision, it begins to see the all-embracing Providence of God, invisible to the fleshly mind, to see the law of corruption in all things mortal, to see near at hand the immensity of eternity, to see God in His great works, in His creation and re-creation of the universe. Then earthly life comes to seem like a swiftly-ending pilgrimage, whose events are dreams, whose blessings are but brief visual delusions, short-lived because of the perilous misconceptions of the mind and heart. 

What fruit does temporary suffering bear for eternity? When Heaven was revealed to the Apostle John, with an innumerable gathering of bearers of light, dressed in white and celebrating their salvation and blessedness before the throne of God, one of the dwellers in Heaven asked him: What are these arrayed in white robes? And whence came they? And I said unto him, says St John the Divine, my lord, thou knowest. Then the dweller in Heaven answered St John, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of water: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes (Rev. 7, 13-17). 

Separation from God is everlasting torment in hell, everlasting contact with the devil and devilish people; with flames, bitter cold, the gloom of Gehenna; that is what may truly be described as suffering. That is torment, great, terrible and unbearable. Over-indulgence in the sweetness of earthly pleasures leads to great eternal suffering. 

The Cup of Christ saves from this torment whomever drinks of it with thanksgiving and praise to the all-blessed God, Who through the bitter Cup of temporal suffering gives man His boundless and everlasting mercy. 

On Loving One's Neighbor by St Ignaty Brianchaninov

On Loving One's Neighbor

St Ignaty Brianchaninov

What can be lovelier, more wonderful than love for one’s neighbor? To love is blessedness. To hate is torture. All of the Law and prophets are concentrated in love for God and one’s neighbor.

1 Love for one’s neighbor is the road by which we are led to love for God, since Christ deigned to mysteriously put on every one of our brothers, and through Christ, God Himself.

2 Do not think, beloved brother, that the commandment to love your neighbor is already near to our fallen hearts. No, this commandment is spiritual, but our hearts are lorded over by flesh and blood. This commandment is new, but our heart is old. Our natural love is corrupted by the fall; it must first be put to rest (this is commanded by Christ) and only then can holy love, love in Christ, be acquired from the Gospels. The qualities of the new man must be all new; not one of the old qualities is appropriate for him. Love, inspired by the movement of blood and the feelings of the body, has no value in light of the Gospel. And what value can it have, when one who swears to give his life for the Lord when his blood is hot, swears that he does not know Him only a few hours later, when his blood has cooled?

3 The Gospel rejects love dependent on hot-bloodedness, on the feelings of the carnal heart. It says, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’”

4 The fall of mankind subordinated the heart to the lordship of the blood, and through the blood, to the lordship of the prince of this world. The Gospels release the heart from this bondage, from this slavery, and bring it under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit teaches how to love one’s neighbor. True love that is sustained by the Holy Spirit is fire. This fire puts out the fire of earthly, carnal, fallen love.

5 “He who claims that he can have the one kind of love together with the other is deluding himself,” said St John of the Ladder.

6 How far has our nature fallen? He who is by nature capable of fiery love for his neighbor must exert a tremendous amount of willpower over himself in order to love him in the way the Gospels command. Fiery, natural love easily turns to disgust, to irreconcilable hatred.

7 Natural love has even been expressed with a dagger. Our natural love is covered in open wounds! What a terrible wound is passionate attachment! The heart possessed by passionate attachment is capable of any injustice, of any crime, if only to satisfy the cravings of its diseased, so-called love. “Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight.”

8 Natural love gives only earthly goods to the beloved; it does not even think of the heavenly. It battles against heaven and the Holy Spirit because the Spirit requires the crucifixion of the flesh. It battles against heaven and the Holy Spirit because it is under the dominion of the spirit of evil, the fallen and impure spirit. Let us approach the Gospels, dear beloved brother; let us look into this mirror! Looking at it, let us take off our old clothes into which we have been clothed by our fall, and let us decorate ourselves with a new robe, which is prepared for us by God. The new robe is Christ Himself. “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

9 The new robe is the Holy Spirit. “You are endued with power from on high,” said the Lord.

10 Christians are clothed with the qualities of Christ through the action of the all-good Spirit. Such a robe is possible for every Christian. The Apostle says: “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”

11 First, guided by the Gospels, throw off all enmity, remembrance of evil, anger, judgment, and everything else that acts against love. The Gospels require that we pray for our enemies, bless those who curse us, do good to those who hate us, and forgive our neighbor anything that he may have done against us. Whoever strives to emulate Christ, let him fulfill all these commandments through actions. It is not enough only to read the commandments of the Gospel with pleasure and to be amazed at the level of morality they contain. Unfortunately, many are content only with this. When you begin to fulfill the commandments of the Gospel through deeds, the lords of your heart will stubbornly battle against you. These lords are your own carnal state, which subjects your flesh and blood, and the fallen angels who dominate the carnal state of mankind. The carnal mind, its truth and the truth of the fallen spirits, will require that you do not dishonor yourself and your worldly situation, but protect it at all cost. But you must bravely withstand this invisible war, guided by the Gospels, guided by the Lord Himself. Sacrifice everything for the fulfillment of the commandments of the Gospel. Without such a sacrifice, you will never be able to follow them. The Lord said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself.”

12 When the Lord is with you, you can hope for victory—the Lord cannot be defeated. Ask the Lord to grant you this victory; ask it with constant prayer and tears. And unexpected grace will be given your heart; you will immediately feel a sweet satisfaction of spiritual love for your enemies. But the battle still awaits you! You must still be courageous! Look at the objects of your affection; are they still pleasing to you? Is your heart still attached to them? You must reject them. The Lord, the Giver of the Law of love, demands such a rejection from you not in order to deprive you of love and the ones you love. Rather, by rejecting carnal love tainted by sin, you will become capable of spiritual, pure, holy love, which is the highest blessedness. He who has felt spiritual love will only despise carnal love, seeing it for the unsightly parody of love that it is. How can one reject the objects of one’s attachment, which seem to have become physically bonded to the very heart of man? Turn to God with the words: “All these things, Lord, are Yours. Who am I? I am an inconsequential creature who has no value. Today I wander through the world, today I might be useful to my beloved in some way, but tomorrow I may die, and become as nothing to them! Whether I desire it or not, death will come, other situations may arise that separate me from those whom I consider my own, and they will no longer be mine. They were never in actual fact mine. There was some sort of relation between us, and being fooled by this relation I called and considered them my own. But if they were truly mine, they would forever remain in my possession. The creature belongs only to the Creator. He is their God and Lord. My Lord, to You I give Your own. I have attached them to myself unlawfully and uselessly.” It is better for them to be God’s. God is eternal, omnipresent, all-powerful, eternally good. To His own He is the most loyal, most dependable Helper and Defender. God gives all that belongs to Him to His people, and when God gives such a gift to man, man’s beloved becomes His own, at first in body, and eternally in spirit. True love for one’s neighbor is established on faith in God; it is in God Himself. “That they all may be one,” said the Saviour of the world to His Father, “as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us.”

13 Humility and loyalty to God destroy carnal love. That means that it lives through lack of faith and arrogance. Do whatever good you can—whatever the commandments declare—to your beloved ones; but always commit their care to God, and your blind, carnal, careless love will transform little by little into a spiritual, wise, holy love. But if your love is passionate, contrary to God’s Law, then reject it as foulness. When your heart is not free, this is a sign of passionate attachment. When your heart is enslaved, this is a sign of insane, sinful passion. Holy love is pure, free, entirely in God. It is the action of the Holy Spirit in the heart, depending on the extent of its purification. Having cast aside any enmity, any passionate attachment, and having rejected carnal love, strive to acquire spiritual love: “shun evil, and do good.”

14 Give honor to your neighbor as the image of God, honor him in your heart secretly, so that only your conscience may see it. Then your deeds will mysteriously act in concert with your spiritual disposition. While honoring your neighbor, make no distinction of age, gender, or social status, and slowly, holy love will begin to illuminate your heart. The reason for this holy love is not flesh and blood or the vagaries of emotion, but God Himself. Even those who are deprived of the glory of Christianity are not deprived of the glory that is given at their creation. They are still the image of God. If the image of God is cast out into the horrible flames of hell, even there I must honor Him. What do I care for the flames, for hell? The image of God has been cast there by the judgment of God. I must preserve my honor for the image of God, thereby preserving myself from hell. Even the blind, the leper, the mentally insane, the child at the mother’s breast, the convicted criminal—all these you must honor as the image of God. What business do you have with their diseases and their deficiencies? Watch over yourself, so that you might not be deficient in love. In each Christian, you give honor to Christ Himself, Who said for our instruction, and will again say when our eternal fate is decided: “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”

15 In your interaction with your neighbor, remember these words of the Gospel, and you will become a confidant of love for your neighbor. Thus, by being this confidant of love for your neighbor, you enter into the love of God. If you think that you love God, but in your heart lives an unpleasant disposition toward even one person, you are grievously self-deluded. St John the Theologian says, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar. And this commandment we have from Him: That he who loves God must love his brother also.”

16 The appearance of spiritual love for one’s neighbor is a sign of the renewal of the soul by the Holy Spirit. The Theologian says again: “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.”

17 The perfection of Christianity is contained in the perfect love for one’s neighbor. Perfect love for one’s neighbor is contained in love for God, which has no limit of perfection, which is eternal. Growth in God’s love is eternal, because love is eternal God.

18 Love for one’s neighbor is the foundation of all other love. Beloved brother! Seek to reveal in yourself true spiritual love for your neighbor; having acquired it, you will acquire love for God, and you will enter the gates of resurrection, the gates of the heavenly kingdom. Amen.

St Ephraem the Syrian Homily on the Sinful Woman

1. Hear and be comforted, beloved, how merciful is God. To the sinful woman He forgave her offenses; yea, He upheld her when she was afflicted. With clay He opened the eyes of the blind, so that the eyeballs beheld the light. To the palsied He granted healing, who arose and walked and carried his bed. And to us He has given the pearls; His holy Body and Blood. He brought His medicines secretly; and with them He heals openly. And He wandered round in the land of Judea, like a physician, bearing his medicines. Simon invited Him to the feast, to eat bread in his house. The sinful woman rejoiced when she heard that He sat and was feasting in Simon's house; her thoughts gathered together like the sea, and like the billows her love surged. She beheld the Sea of Grace, how it had forced itself into one place; and she resolved to go and drown all her wickedness in its billows.

2. She bound her heart, because it had offended, with chains and tears of suffering; and she began weeping (with herself): What avails me this fornication? What avails this lewdness? I have defiled the innocent ones without shame; I have corrupted the orphan; and without fear I have robbed the merchants of merchandise, and my rapacity was not satisfied. I have been as a bow in war, and have slain the good and the bad. I have been as a storm on the sea, and have sunk the ships of many. Why did I not win me one man, who might have corrected my lewdness? One man is of God, but many are of Satan.

3. These things she inwardly said; then began she to do outwardly. She washed and put away from her eyes the dye that blinded them that saw it. And tears gushed forth from her eyes over that deadly eye paint [stibium]. She drew off and cast from her hands the enticing bracelets of her youth. She put off and cast away from her body the tunic of fine linen of whoredom, and resolved to go and attire herself in the tunic the garment of reconciliation. She drew off and cast from her feet the adorned sandals of lewdness; and directed the steps of her going in the path of the heavenly Eagle. She took up her gold in her palm and held it up to the face of heaven, and began to cry secretly, to Him who hears openly: This, O Lord, that I have gained from iniquity, with it will I purchase to myself redemption. This which was gathered from orphans, with it will I win the Lord of orphans.

4. These things she said secretly; then began to do openly. She took up the gold in her palm, and carried the alabaster box in her hands. Then hastily went she forth in sadness to the perfumer. The perfumer saw her and wondered, and fell into questioning with her; and thus he began to say to the harlot in the first words he spoke: Was it not enough for you, harlot, that you have corrupted our entire town? What means this fashion that you show today to your lovers — that you have put off your wantonness and hast clothed yourself in modesty? Heretofore, when you came to me, your aspect was different from today's. You were clothed in goodly raiment, and brought little gold; and asked for precious ointment, to make your lewdness pleasant. But lo! Today your vesture is mean, and you have brought much gold. Your change I understand not; wherefore is this fashion of yours? Either clothe you in raiment according to your ability, or buy ointment according to your clothing. For this ointment becomes not or is suited to this attire. Can it be that a merchant has met you, and brings great wealth; and you have seen that he loves it not, the fashion of your lewdness? So you have put off your lewdness and hast clothed yourself in meekness, that by various fashions you may capture much wealth. But if he loves this fashion because he is a chaste man in truth, then woe to him! Into what has he fallen? Into a gulf that has swallowed up his merchandise. But I give you advice, as a man that desires your welfare, that you send away your many lovers who have helped you nought from your youth, and henceforth seek out one husband who may correct your lewdness.

5. These things spoke the perfumer, in wisdom, to the harlot. The sinful woman answered and said to him, to the perfumer after his discourse, hinder me not, O man, and stop me not by your questioning. I have asked of you ointment, not freely, but I will pay you its value not grudgingly. Take you the gold, as much as you demand, and give me the precious ointment; take you that which endures not and give me that which endures; and I will go to Him who endures, and will buy that which endures. And as to that you said, about a merchant; a Man has met me today Who bears riches in abundance. He has robbed me and I have robbed Him; He has robbed me of my transgressions and sins, and I have robbed Him of His wealth. And as to that you said of a husband; I have won me a Husband in heaven, Whose dominion stands for ever, and His kingdom shall not be dissolved. She took up the ointment and went forth.

6. In haste went she forth; as Satan saw her and was enraged; and was greatly grieved in his mind. At one time he rejoiced, and again at another he was grieved. That she carried the perfumed oil, he rejoiced in his inward mind; but that she was clad in mean raiment — at this doing of hers he was afraid. He clave then to her and followed her, as a robber follows a merchant. He listened to the murmurs of her lips, to hear the voice of her words. He closely watched her eyeballs (to mark) whither the glance of her eyes was directed; and as he went he moved by her feet (to mark) whither her goings were directed. Very full of craft is Satan, from our words to learn our aim. Therefore our Lord has taught us not to raise our voice when we pray, that the Devil may not hear our words and draw near and become our adversary. So then, when Satan saw that he could not change her mind, he clothed himself in the fashion of a man, and drew to himself a crowd of youths, like her lovers of former times; and then began he thus to address her: By your life, O woman, tell me whither are your footsteps directed? What means this haste? For you hast more than other days. What means this your meekness, for your soul is meek like a handmaid's? Instead of garments of fine linen, lo! You are clothed in sordid weeds; instead of bracelets of gold and silver, there are not even rings on your fingers; instead of goodly sandals for your feet, not even worn shoes are on your feet. Disclose to me all your doing, for I understand not your change. Is it that some one of your lovers has died, and you go to bury him? We will go with you to the funeral, and with you will (take part with you) in sorrow.

7. The sinful woman answered and said to him, (even) to Satan, after his speech: Well have you said that I go to inter the dead, one that has died to me. The sin of my thoughts has died, and I go to bury it. Satan answered and said to her, (even) to the sinful woman after her words: Go to, O woman, I tell you that I am the first of your lovers. I am not such as you, and I place my hands upon you. I will give you again more gold than before.

8. The sinful woman answered and said to him, even to Satan after his discourse: I am wearied of you, O man, and you are no more my lover. I have won me a husband in heaven, Who is God, that is over all, and His dominion stands for ever, and His kingdom shall not be dissolved. For lo! In your presence I say; I say it again and I lie not. I was a handmaid to Satan from my childhood unto this day. I was a bridge, and he trode upon me, and I destroyed thousands of men. The eye paint blinded my eyes, and (I was) blind among many whom I blinded. I became sightless and knew not that there is One Who gives light to the sightless. Lo! I go to get light for my eyes, and by that light to give light to many. I was fast bound, and knew not that there is One Who overthrows idols. Lo! I go to have my idols destroyed, and so to destroy the follies of many. I was wounded and knew not that there is One Who binds up wounds; and lo! I go to have my wounds bound. These things the harlot spoke to Satan in her wisdom; and he groaned and was grieved and wept; and he cried aloud and thus he spoke:— I am conquered by you, O woman, and what I shall do I know not.

9. As soon as Satan perceived that he could not change her mind, he began to weep for himself and thus it was that he spoke: Henceforth is my boasting perished, and the pride of all my days. How shall I lay for her a snare, for her who is ascending on high? How shall I shoot arrows at her, (even) at her whose wall is unshaken? Therefore I go into Jesus' presence; lo! She is about to enter His presence; and I shall say to Him thus: This woman is a harlot. Perchance He may reject and not receive her. And I shall say to Him thus: This woman who comes into Your presence is a woman that is an harlot. She has led captive men by her whoredom; she is polluted from her youth. But You, O Lord, are righteous; all men throng to see You. And if mankind see You that You have speech with the harlot, they all will flee from Your presence, and no man will salute You.

10. These things Satan spoke within himself. Then he changed the course of his thought, and thus it was that he spoke. How shall I enter into Jesus' presence, for to Him the secret things are manifest? He knows me, who I am, that no good office is my purpose. If haply He rebuke me I am undone, and all my wiles will be wasted. I will go to the house of Simon, for secret things are not manifest to him. And into his heart I will put it; perchance on that hook he may be caught. And thus will I say unto him: By your life, O Simon, tell me; this man that sojourns in your house is he a man that is righteous, or a friend of the doers of wickedness? I am a wealthy man, and a man that has possessions, and I wish like you to invite him that he may come in and bless my possessions.

11. Simon answered and thus he said to the Evil One after his words: From the day that (first) I saw Him I have seen no lewdness in Him, but rather quietness and peace, humility and seemliness. The sick He heals without reward, the diseased He freely cures. He approaches and stands by the grave, and calls and the dead arise. Jairus called Him to raise his daughter to life, trusting that He could raise her to life. And as He went with him in the way, He gave healing to the woman diseased, who laid hold of the hem of His garment and stole healing from Him, and her pain which was hard and bitter at once departed from her. He went forth to the desert and saw the hungry, how they were fainting with famine. He made them sit down on the grass, and fed them in His mercy. In the ship He slept as He willed, and the sea swelled against the disciples. He arose and rebuked the billows, and there was a great calm. The widow, the desolate one who was following her only son, on the way to the grave He consoled her. He gave him to her and gladdened her heart. To one man who was dumb and blind, by His voice He brought healing. The lepers He cleansed by His word; to the limbs of the palsied He restored strength. For the blind man, afflicted and weary, He opened his eyes and he saw the light. And for two others who besought Him, at once He opened their eyes. As for me, thus have I heard the fame of the man from afar; and I called Him to bless my possessions, and to bless all my flocks and herds.

12. Satan answered and said to him, to Simon after his words: Praise not a man at his beginning, until you learn his end; hitherto this man is sober and his soul takes not pleasure in wine. If he shall go forth from your house, and holds not converse with an harlot, then he is a righteous man and no friend of them that do wickedness. Such things did Satan speak in his craftiness to Simon. Then he approached and stood afar off, to see what should come to pass.

13. The sinful woman full of transgressions stood clinging by the door. She clasped her arms in prayer, and thus she spoke beseeching:— Blessed Son Who hast descended to earth for the sake of man's redemption, close not Your door in my face; for You have called me and lo! I come. I know that You have not rejected me; open for me the door of Your mercy, that I may come in, O my Lord, and find refuge in You, from the Evil One and his hosts! I was a sparrow, and the hawk pursued me, and I have fled and taken refuge in Your nest. I was a heifer, and the yoke galled me, and I will turn back my wanderings to You. Lay upon me the shoulder of Your yoke that I may take it on me, and work with Your oxen. Thus did the harlot speak at the door with much weeping? The master of the house looked and saw her, and the color of his visage was changed; and he began thus to address her, (even) the harlot, in the opening of his words: — Depart hence, O harlot, for this man who abides in our house is a man that is righteous, and they that are of his companions are blameless. Is it not enough for you, harlot, that you have corrupted the whole town? You have corrupted the chaste without shame; you have robbed the orphans, and have not blushed, and have plundered the merchants' wares, and your countenance is not abashed. From him your heart and soul labor to take. But from him your net takes no spoil. For this man is righteous and those with Him blameless.

14. The sinful woman answered and said to him, even to Simon when he had ceased: You surely are the guardian of the door; O you that know things that are secret! I will propose the matter in the feast, and you shall be free from blame. And if there be any that wills me to come in, he will bid me and I will come in. Simon ran and closed the door, and approached and stood afar off. And he tarried a long time and proposed not the matter in the feast. But He, Who knows what is secret, beckoned to Simon and said to him:— Come hither, Simon, I bid you; does anyone stand at the door? Whosoever he be, open to him that he may come in; let him receive what he needs, and go. If he be hungry and hunger for bread, lo! In your house is the table of life; and if he be thirsty, and thirst for water, lo! The blessed fountain is in your dwelling. And if he be sick and ask for healing, lo! The great Physician is in your house. Allow sinners to look upon Me, for their sakes have I abased Myself. I will not ascend to heaven, to the dwelling whence I came down, until I bear back the sheep that has wandered from its Father's house, and lift it up on My shoulders and bear it aloft to heaven. Simon answered and thus he said to Jesus, when He had done speaking: — My Lord, this woman that stands in the doorway is a harlot: she is lewd and not free-born, polluted from her childhood. And You, my Lord, are a righteous man, and all are eager to see You; and if men see You having speech with the harlot, all men will flee from beside You, and no man will salute You. Jesus answered, and thus He said to Simon when he was done speaking:— Whosoever it be, open for him to come in, and you shall be free from blame; and though his offenses be many, without rebuke I bid you [receive him].

15. Simon approached and opened the door, and began thus to speak:— Come, enter, fulfil that you will, to him who is even as you. The sinful woman, full of transgressions, passed forward and stood by His feet, and clasped her arms in prayer, and with these words she spoke:— My eyes have become watercourses that cease not from [watering] the fields, and today they wash the feet of Him Who follows after sinners. This hair, abundant in locks from my childhood till this day, let it not grieve You that it should wipe this holy body. The mouth that has kissed the lewd, forbid it not to kiss the body that remits transgressions and sins. These things the harlot spoke to Jesus, with much weeping. And Simon stood afar off to see what He would do to her. But He Who knows the things that are secret, beckoned to Simon and said to him:— Lo! I will tell you, O Simon, what your meditation is, concerning the harlot. Within your mind you imagine and within your soul you said, ‘I have called this man righteous, but lo! The harlot kisses Him. I have called Him to bless my possessions, and lo! The harlot embraces Him.' O Simon, there were two debtors, whose creditor was one only; one owed him five-hundred [pence], and the other owed fifty. And when the creditor saw that neither of these two had anything, the creditor pardoned and forgave them both their debt. Which of them ought to render the greater thanks? He who was forgiven five hundred, or he who was forgiven fifty? Simon answered, and thus he said to Jesus, when He had done speaking: — He who was forgiven five hundred ought to render the greater thanks. Jesus answered and thus He said: You are he that owes five hundred, and this woman owes fifty. Lo! I came into your house, O Simon; and water for My feet you brought not; and this woman, of whom you said that she was an harlot, one from her childhood defiled, has washed My feet with her tears, and with her hair she has wiped them. Ought I to send her away, O Simon, without receiving forgiveness? Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will write of her in the Gospel. Go, O woman, your sins are forgiven you and all your transgression is covered; henceforth and to the end of the world.

May our Lord count us worthy of hearing this word of His:— Come, enter, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom made ready for all who shall do My will, and observe all My commandments. To Him be glory; unto all the ages Amen. 

Palm Sunday - The Entrance of our Savior into Jerusalem

In the Icon of the Feast of Palm Sunday, Christ is the central figure, depicted seated upon the colt of a donkey as He enters Jerusalem, a fulfillment of the prophecy found in Zechariah 9:9 (1). Christ is blessing with His right hand, and in His left hand is a scroll symbolizing that He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah, the Anointed One who has come to redeem us from our sins and break the power of death. The colt, one of the animals that were considered unclean according to the Law, is symbolic of the inclusion of all peoples of all nations in the new covenant that will come through the death and Resurrection of Christ (Isaiah 62:10-11). It is also a sign that our Lord has revealed a heavenly and spiritual kingdom that offers true and enduring peace.

"...See your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." Zechariah 9:9 2. Christ blesses the crowd with His right hand and carries a scroll in His left.

On the left, the disciples accompany Jesus in His Triumphal Entry. Depicted on the right are the Jews who greet Him crying “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” The word “Hosanna” means “Save, I pray” or “Save now.”

The disciples accompany Christ on his entry into Jerusalem. The crowd greets Christ with palm branches and shouting "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"

The children are the small people who are greeting Christ with palm branches and laying these and their garments on the ground before Christ as tokens of honor for one who is acknowledged as a King. The city of Jerusalem is shown as the walled buildings, and the temple is depicted as the building with the dome.

The children also greet Christ with palm branches and lay their garments on the ground honoring Him as King. The walls of Jerusalem.

Orthodox Christian Celebration Of Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday is celebrated with the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostomos, which is preceded by the Matins (Orthros) service.

On this Sunday, in addition to the Divine Liturgy, the Church observes the Blessing and Distribution of the Palms. A basket containing the woven palm crosses is placed on a table in front of the icon of the Lord, which is on the Templon.

God is Everywhere . . . By Elder Joseph the Hesychast of the Holy Mountain Athos

God is Everywhere . . .

By Elder Joseph the Hesychast of the Holy Mountain Athos

“God is everywhere. There is no place God is not…You cry out to Him, ‘Where art Thou, my God?’ And He answers, “I am present, my child! I am always beside you.’ Both inside and outside, above and below, wherever you turn, everything shouts, ‘God!’ In Him we live and move. We breathe God, we eat God, we clothe ourselves with God. Everything praises and blesses God. All of creation shouts His praise. Everything animate and inanimate speaks wondrously and glorifies the Creator. Let every breath praise the Lord!”

A Life in Christ?

Anonymous

A response to an individual snared in always seeing people in a bad light. . . 

The question is: Do you want to continue only seeing people the way you usually do (i.e. their faults, sins, or even their attributes, etc.) or do you want to see them the way Christ sees them? How does Christ see them you may ask? He sees them as someone He loves infinitely and would give His life for. Do this and you will see Him everywhere, filling all beings and all things.

Creator or Creation? Saint John of Damascus

I do not worship matter. I worship the Creator of matter Who became matter for my sake . . .

Saint John of Damascus


“All we know of an angel is that it is incorporeal, immaterial, and only by comparing it with God-who is incomparable-can we see that it has some density and body after all, since in reality only God is truly immaterial and incorporeal.”

“Think of the Father as a spring of life begetting the Son like a river and the Holy Spirit like a sea, for the spring and the river and sea are all one nature. Think of the Father as a root, and of the Son as a branch, and the Spirit as a fruit, for the substance in these three is one. The Father is a sun with the Son as rays and the Holy Spirit as heat.”

“In former times, God, Who is without form or body, could never be depicted. But now when God is seen in the flesh conversing with men, I make an image of the God Whom I see.

“The whole earth is a living icon of the face of God. ... I do not worship matter. I worship the Creator of matter Who became matter for my sake, Who willed to take His abode in matter, Who worked out my salvation through matter. Never will I cease honoring the matter which wrought my salvation! I honor it, but not as God. Because of this I salute all remaining matter with reverence, because God has filled it with his grace and power. Through it my salvation has come to me.”

On How the True Faith has Come Down to Us Saint Silouan the Athonite

On How the True Faith has Come Down to Us

Saint Silouan the Athonite

The soul of all peoples always felt that God exists, even though they didn’t know enough to worship the true God. The Holy Spirit, however, taught the Prophets first, then the Apostles, after them the Holy Fathers and our Bishops and so the true faith has come down to us. We knew the Lord through the Holy Spirit. And once we knew Him, our soul became fixed in Him.

Know, you peoples, that we were made in order to glorify God in heaven, and don’t attach yourselves to the earth. Because God is our Father and He loves us as His greatly-desired children. People who don’t know Grace don’t seek it.

People have become attached to the earth and this is why most of them don’t know that there’s nothing earthly which can compare with the sweetness of the Holy Spirit.