Category: Catholic

Trust In Prayer — A man sat in his luxurious hotel room and dialed room service. He marveled that at the other end of the line was an individual waiting to respond to his every need. All he had to do was ask.

Many believe that prayer is supposed to work the same way. For them, God is at the receiving end and is expected to grant every request.

“And why shouldn’t it be?” they might ask. “Doesn’t God want me to get this new job? Doesn’t God want my marriage to work? Doesn’t God want my surgery to be successful?”

After all don’t we read in the Scriptures, “Ask and you shall receive?”

The answer is yes. God always wants what is best for us and every prayer is answered. But, not every prayer is answered as we expect it to be. In order to be able to accept God’s answers to our prayers, especially the unanticipated answers, we need to exercise patience, trust and openness to God’s will and His wisdom.

We see Saint Peter exercise this blind trust on the Sea of Galilee.

The disciples’ boat was being storm tossed and Jesus came walking on the water towards them. Then He issued a most unexpected command to Peter.

“Come,” Jesus said and Peter actually began walking on water towards Him.

It was only when Peter took his eyes away from Jesus and focused again on the perilous storm around him that he began to sink.

The same is true for us. When we trust God, He will lead us to safety. When we take our eyes away from Him, we become overwhelmed by the storms of life.

Courtesy of Holy Myrrh-Bearers Church of Swarthmore.

All Ate And Were Satisfied — Our Lord in a desert place changed a few loaves into many, and at Cana turned water into wine.

Thus before the time came to give men and women His own Body and Blood to feed on, He accustomed their palates to His bread and wine, giving them a taste of transitory bread and wine to teach them to delight in His Life-giving Body and Blood.

He gave them things of little value for nothing to make them understand that His supreme gift would be given yet more freely. He gave them for nothing what they could have bought from Him, what in fact they wanted to buy, to teach them that He asked them for not payment.

When it was not permitted them to give Him the price of bread and wine, which they could have done, they certainly could not pay Him for His Body and Blood.

Moreover, as well as giving freely He lovingly coaxed us, offering us these small things without charge to attract us and cause us to go and receive something greater and beyond all price.

He awakened our desire by things pleasing to the palate in order to draw us to that which gives life to the soul.

He gave a sweet taste to the wine he created to show how great is the treasure hidden in His Life-giving Blood

Saint Ephrem the Syrian

Courtesy of Holy Myrrh-Bearers Church of Swarthmore.

The authority of the Councils is based also on their ecclesiological grounding. A council is not an independent, autonomous body, additional, coming from outside, acting unilaterally. It is not the product of accidental circumstances in history and imposed afterwards. It is closely or rather organically, related with the very essence of the Church. The body of Christ is a living organism, destined to grow, to face difficulties during this process, to be implanted in other regions of the world needing inculturalization and a certain adaptation.

Such embodiment and multifaceted ministry creates problems, tensions, even divisions and in spite of the good will of the local bishop and pastors, the convocation of a major assembly is considered as a natural instrument, salutary and indispensable.

The official voice of the catholicity and the koimonia of all the sister churches, in harmony and guided by the Spirit, would only provide the new assessments, possible remedies and solutions.

The function of such a council was such that the opinions and requests at issues found expression from the very womb of the Church.

Once the decision was made, the people had a part in receiving it and publicizing it (Acts 15:22) as is seen in the first assembly of Jerusalem.

Metropolitan Emilianos

Courtesy of Holy Myrrh Bearers Church in Swarthmore, Pa.

Authority Of The Councils, Authority Of The Church

Undoing The Devil’s Tyranny — The divine nature of the only begotten Son was already scorching the demons in unspeakable flames. Christ was shutting up the fiercest demons in blocked roads. He was undoing the devil’s tyranny.

“You have come before the time,” they cried out. The knew from the Scriptures that Christ was going to come and would judge them. Treating the incarnation as if it had happened at the wrong time, they pleaded that He had come in an untimely way.

This misrepresentation is not surprising. In their deceptiveness, they did not hesitate to say even this. Yet, although they know that vengeance is to fall upon them, they still say haughtily, “What have you to do with us?”

They know that the final Judge in fact has a score to settle with them inasmuch as they had broken his commandments.

Saint Cyril of Alexandria

Saint Cyril of Alexandria lived in the fourth and fifth centuries was patriarch of Alexandria, Egypt starting in 412 A.D. It was time of riots and religious violence.

Make an effort then to meet more frequently to celebrate God’s Eucharist and to offer praise. For when you meet frequently in the same place, the forces of Satan are overthrown, and his baneful influence is neutralized by the unanimity of your faith. Peace is a precious thing. It puts an end to every war waged by heavenly or earthly enemies.

Saint Ignatius of Antioch

Saint Ignatius was the Patriarch of Antioch in early 2nd century and was martyred in Rome.

Nowhere In Israel Have I Found As Much Faith — The Lord Jesus agreed to go to the centurion’s house to cure his servant but he replied: I am not worthy to have you under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.

In protesting his unworthiness, the centurion showed himself worthy to have Christ enter not his house but his heart. Yet he could not have said this with such faith and humility unless he already bore within his heart the One he was too overawed to have within his house. In any case, there would have been no great happiness at the entry of the Lord Jesus within his wall if he was not present in his heart.

But what emboldened the centurion to act as he did?

I am under authority myself, he said, and have soldiers under me; and I say to one man, Go and he goes; to another, Come here, and he comes; to my servant, Do this, and he does it.

Now the man who said this was a Gentile as well as a centurion. He was a professional soldier and, as a centurion, acted according to his rank: subject to authority and exercise in authority, obeying as a subordinate and giving orders to those subordinate to him.

As for the Lord, though living among the Jewish people, He was already beginning to make it known that His Church would extend throughout the whole world into which He was about to send His apostles. Although the Gentiles would not see him they would believe in him, whereas the Jewish leaders who saw him would put him to death.

St. Augustine of Hippo

Courtesy of Holy Myrrh-Bearers Church

Prove Your Faith With Trust And Nothing Will You Lack — “Look at the birds of the air,” says Jesus. What a splendid example for our faith to follow! If God’s providence bestows an unfailing supply of food on the birds of the air who neither sow nor reap, we ought to realize that the reason for people’s supply running short is human greed.

The fruits of the earth were given to feed all without distinction and nobody can claim any particular rights. Instead we have lost the sense of the communion of goods, rushing to turn these goods into private property.

The birds do not know famine because the do not claim anything specially for themselves and neither do they have any envy of others.

Consider the lilies of the field: Not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed like one of these. If God so clothes the grass which is alive today and tomorrow is cast into the oven, how much more will he clothe one of you?

With the parable of flowers and grass the Lord urges us to hope that God will also be merciful to us. Nothing is more persuasive than a glance at unthinking creatures who have received such beautiful dress from Providence. Surely we should be all the more ready to believe that human beings, if they entrust themselves completely to God and free themselves of all their worries, will not lack anything.

Saint Ambrose of Milan

Saint Ambrose lived from about 340 to 397 A.D.

Courtesy of Holy Myrrh-Bearers Church

What Andrew And Simon Peter Left — How much did the poor fishermen leave behind? Someone may wonder: At the Lord’s beckoning, what or how much did these two fishermen, who scarcely had anything, leave behind?

Oh this my beloved , we should attned to one’s intention rather than one’s wealth. That person has left behind a lot who keeps nothingf or himself, who thous he ahas little, gives up everythgin.

We tend to be attached to those things we own, and those we scarcely own, we carefully hold on to.

Therefore Pter and Andrew left much behind when they left behind covetousness and the very desire to own. That person has left much behind who renounces with the thing owned the very coveting of that thing.

Therefore those poor who followed Jesus left behind jus as much as those less who did not follow him but were able to covet.

So when you notice that some have left a great deal behind, you need not say to yourself, ‘I want to imitate those who disdain the world but sorry, I have nothing to leave behind.’

You will leave much behind, my brothers if you renounce earthly desires.

External things, however small they may be, are sufficient for the Lord, since he looks at the heart and not at our material goods.

Nor does He judge by how much is involved in our sacrifice but from how much it is made. For if we judge by external goods, our holy merchants traded in their nets and vessels for the perpetual life of the angels.

Saint Gregory the Great

Saint Gregory the Great lived from 540 to 604 becoming pope in 590. The Gregorian chant is attributed to him.

Courtesy of Holy Myrrh-Bearers Church of Swarthmore.

What Andrew And Simon Peter Left

Saint Gregory All Saints Sermon — God is wonderful to his saints. He will give strength and power to his people. Consider the meaning of these prophetic words and try to understand them. The psalm says that God gives strength and power to all his people, for with God there is no partiality; nevethe less it is only in his saints that he fills us with wonder.

The Church of Christ honors even after their death those who have lived a truly godly life. Every day of the year it commemorates the saints who departed hence on that day, leaving this mortal life. It sets the life of each of them before us for our benefit, and also shows us how each died, whether they fell asleep in peace or ended their lives in martyrdom. On this day, however, the Church gathers them all together and sends up a common hymn in their honor.

My brothers and sisters, let us too honor the saints of God. How shall we honor them? By imitating them, by purifying ourselves from every stain of body and spirit, and by ceasing to sin until, by this abstinence, we are brought to a san ity like theirs.

On these festival days at least let us offer God bodies and souls that are acceptable to him, so that we too, by the prayers of the saints, main gain a share in their glory and eternal bliss. May we all attain to this by the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with his eternal Father and the most holy, good and life-giving Spirit belongs glory now and always and for endless ages. Amen

From a sermon by Saint Gregory of Palamas

Saint Gregory was an archbishop of Thessaloniki in the 14th century. He may be best known today for Hesychasm in which peace is sought through uninterrupted Jesus prayer.

Courtesy of Holy Myrrh-Bearers Church of Swarthmore.

Saint Gregory All Saints Sermon

The New Commandment, Love One Another

“I give you a new commandment,” said Jesus. “Love one another.”

He showed the newness of His command and how far the love He enjoined surpassed the old conception of mutual love by going on immediately to add: “Love one another as I have loved you.”

To understand the full force of these words, we have to consider how Chris loved us. Then it will be easy to see what is new and different in the commandment we are now given.

Do you not see what is new in Christ’s love for us? The law commanded people to love their brothers and sisters as they love themselves, but our Lord Jesus Christ love us more than Himself. He was one in nature with God the Father and His equal would not have descended to our lowly estate, nor endured in his flesh such a bitter death for us, nor submitted to the blows given Him by His enemies, to the shame, the derision, and ll the other sufferings that could not possibly be enumerated.

Nor, being rich, would He have become poor, had He not loved us far more than Himself. It was indeed something new for love to go as far as that!

Christ commands us to love as He did, putting neither reputation, nor wealth, nor anything whatever before love of our brothers and sisters.

If need be we must even be prepared to face death for our neighbor’s salvation as did our Savior’s blessed disciples and those who followed in their footsteps. To them the salvation of others mattered more than their own lives, and they were ready to do anything or suffer anything to save souls that were perishing.

The Savior urged us to practice this love that transcends the law as the foundation of true devotion to God. He knew that only in this way could we become pleasing in God’s eyes, and that it was by seeking the beauty of love implanted in us by Himself that we should attain to the highest blessings.

Saint Cyril of Alexandria

Courtesy of Holy Myrrh-Bearers Church

His Spittle Cleanses And So Does His Word — There is a blindness resulting from sickness which obscures the vision and is remedied by the passage of time. There is a blindness which is caused by some fluids and this, also, when the trouble is removed is generally cured by the skill of medicine. From this you may know that when one is cured who has been blind from birth it is not a case of skill but of power. The Lord gave health and He used no medicine, for the Lord Jesus healed those whom no one else had cured . . .

What did He wish in that He who gave back life at His command bestowed health by His Word saying to the dead: ” Come forth” and Lazarus came forth from the tomb; saying to the paralytic: “Arise, take up your pallet” and the paralytic arose and began to take up the pallet on which he was carried when he was paralyzed in all his limbs. Why, I say, did He spit and make clay and spread the clay over the eyes of the blind man and say to him: “To wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is interpreted “sent”)? So he went away and washed and began to see. What is the reason for this? An important reason, unless I am mistaken, for he whom Jesus touches sees more.

Notice at the same time HIs divinity and his sanctity. As the Light He touched and shed light; as Priest He fulfilled in the figure of baptism the mysteries of spiritual grace. He spat so that you might realize that the things within Christ are light. One who is cleansed by the means which Christ uses truly sees. His spittle cleanses and so does His Word.

Saint Ambrose of Milan

Saint Ambrose lived from about 340 to 397 A.D.

Courtesy of Holy Myrrh-Bearers Church