VIII Pentecost. 8th Sunday after Pentecost. Western Rite

VIII Pentecost!

8th Sunday after Pentecost.

Western Rite

                                      

Greetings in Christ Jesus,

 

VIII Sunday after Pentecost

(Second Sunday of the cycle of six Sundays)

During this week:

At the Beginning of Night read the Gospel of St. John throughout this week.

Matins: Week VIII throughout this week, (St. john 20: 19-31) for the verses before the

Second Canticle of Moses, the Song of the Three Youths, and the Matins Resurrection

Gospel.

The Divine Liturgy:

Old Testament: Jer. 16:19-21 [S] (“O Lord, my might, and my strength, and my refuge

in the day of tribulation: to You the Gentiles shall come from the ends of the earth, and

shall say: Surely our fathers have possessed lies, a vanity which has not profited them.

Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods? Therefore behold I will this

once cause them to know, I will show them my hand and my power: and they shall know

that my Name is the Lord.”)

Epistle: II Corinthians 12:20-13:2 (St. Paul warns that he will judge those who cause

 strife in the Church.) “For I fear lest perhaps, when I come, I shall not find you such as I

 would, and that I shall be found by you such as you would not. Lest perhaps

contentions, envyings, animosities, dissensions, detractions, whisperings, swellings,

seditions, be among you. Lest again, when I come, God humble me among you; and I

mourn many of them that sinned before and have not repented for the uncleanness and

fornication and lasciviousness that they have committed. Behold, this is the third time I

 am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word stand. I

have told before, and foretell, as present and now absent, to them that sinned

before, and to all the rest, that, if I come again, I will not spare.”

Gradual and Alleluia: Psalm 86 (Heb. 87) The foundations thereof are in the holy

 mountains: The Lord loves the gates of Sion above all the tabernacles of Jacob. (Verses

6-7 may be used as the Alleluia.)

Gospel: Mark 4:24-34 (Measure for measure: we will get what we give. Also, the seed

in the earth, and the mustard seed. Jesus explains everything in parables.)

Friends,

In today’s prophecy we see the body of Christ. The gentiles have come to God through Christ because we have seen that the idols or gods man made are indeed false. What false gods exist today? Science and money are honored and revered and worshiped as gods. People in science, people who are rich, entertainers also are worshiped as idols. In spite of Jesus, man knd has not changed very much.

Oh friends how pitiful we are as Christians, in the second epistle to the Corinthians St. Paul was defending himself from among the accusations against him from the legalists, one of the accusations he had been accused of was skimming money from the contributions, in today’s epistle he went on from defending himself to begin pointing out the sins of the Corinthian church that he may still find there when he arrives. How easily do we fall while raising ourselves in our own mind? How easily are we blinded by our own sins and yet accuse others?

Our Lord Jesus Himself spoke out in parables so that those who thought that they could see and hear actually could not as they were blinded by their own pride, lust, envying, and arrogance as they believed that they already knew it all and yet knew little. My friends, we can never stop seeking, we must never become complacent in our intellect, this is when we begin to fool ourselves, we must prove all things, the spirit does not simply give but we must seek, do we not remember the story of the old woman before the judge when the judge granted her petition only because she appeared daily before him and would not let it rest?

Did not our Lord say that we are to be the same before the Father? (Luke 18:1-8). We must never stop seeking spiritual growth by the shedding of our own corruption and gaining the spirit of truth and love for one another. Did Jesus say; “forgive them Father for they know not what they do?” or did He say; forgive those whom you have given me because they believed me and should be saved? You know the answer. Love your enemies and pray for them, if your enemy thirsts give him water, if he is hungry give him bread.

Do you not ask a departed saint to pray for you while another Christian does? Do you accuse that one? The Christian church has done this from the beginning and nowhere was it condemned. The bones of the prophet Elisha brought a dead man back to life and yet while all call this scripture, there are those who bring accusation against those who still believe that this can happen. Why do we accuse one another? There is no law that says to believe or not to believe either of these things, so why accuse? Can either side prove either position?

Love one another, this is the command. If one says that Jesus did not come from the Father then this we know is untrue and this person is not truly Christian. If one says that Jesus did not rise from the dead then this we know is not true and this person is not a true Christian. From these things we stay away from and yet we pray for those who make these statements.

Today’s Psalm speaks of the gates of Zion and how the Lord loves them, it speaks of those who are born there and the Lord loves them. The new Zion, the New Jerusalem is being built, it is built by those who belong to the Christ Jesus, and we are all building blocks of the living Jerusalem. Do not remove yourself from the walls by hate and pride, arrogance and envy; keep yourself alive in Christ through the love of others and living the word of Christ in this world.

We must live our faith in spite of those who make the statement that they do not need God in their life to do good. We who believe still need our Savior because we sin everyday whether in thought, word or deed. There is no amount of good that we can do that will erase our sin once we have committed it. There is only our faith in Christ Jesus, our recognition of our sin, our confession, and repentance. This is our faith.

God can do all things; there is no situation that we get ourselves into that God cannot help us out of. Don’t think though that if there is some earthly penalty that we must pay that we will escape this because we suddenly come to God for help. We simply must have the faith and believe. Keep in mind however; God's plan is far above ours. We suffer and we have plenty coming based on what God Himself has in store for us whether it is for purging, for testing, or for reward or necessity for our life. God is in control.

We do not know when this will end and the new beginning will be, in spite of the many modern prophets who make a living selling Jesus and the destruction of the world; we have no clue when it will be. In the meantime, it rains on us all, haters and lovers of Jesus. The sun shines on us all, haters and lovers of Jesus. We remain together in this world until that day. So take a lesson from the readings. Continue to praise and worship Jesus the Christ and the Father through Him. Never cease to pray and live according to the gospel. Allow the Holy Ghost to guide you. Love God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your mind, and with all of your strength; love your neighbor as yourself. You never know whose life you will change because of this love of God in you.

The light has entered the world and the times; they are a-changing. 

If one does not have love for the soul of mankind and the desire that all come to the truth than one does not have Christ in them fully.

Little children, love one another; because this is our Lord’s command and if you fulfill this, nothing else is needed. Through love and because of love we will follow all of the commandments that we have been given. They are written on our hearts by the hand of Almighty God. We simply need to see them within us and follow.

Remember; if we confess our sins and repent, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity.

  

May the peace of our Lord Jesus the Christ be with you throughout this day and the rest of your life. May the Holy Spirit fill us all to overflowing so that everyone in whose path we cross may receive a blessing from our Lord Jesus the Christ.

In Christ.

   

Member of the Autocephalous Orthodox Catholic Churches of the Americas

St. Michael’s Monastery and the New Warrior Ministries Videos:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW8XyPtkmtu6a1vVg6MEiNg

Many Blessings!

+William

VII Pentecost. 7th Sunday after Pentecost. Western Rite. Salvation through Love.

VII Pentecost!

7th Sunday after Pentecost!

Western Rite

Salvation through Love!

                                      

Greetings in Christ Jesus,

(First Sunday of the cycle of six Sundays)

During this week:

The Beginning of Night: read the Book of Acts throughout this week.

Matins: Week VII throughout this week, for the verses before the Second Canticle of

Moses, the Song of the Three Youths, and the Matins Resurrection Gospel.

The Divine Liturgy:

Old Testament: Is. 49:8-13 (“Thus says the Lord: In an acceptable time I have heard

 you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you... That you might say to them that are

bound: Come forth: and to them that are in darkness: Show yourselves... They shall

not hunger, nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun strike them, for He that

is merciful to them, shall be their shepherd, and at the fountains of waters He shall give

 them drink...”)

Epistle: II Corinthians 1:12-20 (Our glory is in the grace of God... not according to the

flesh, as “it is” and “it is not,” but by the promises of God, “it is.” The Apostolic

Church emphasized this point of view when discussing God: rather than "You shall not"

of the Ten Commandments, "Blessed" of the Beatitudes.)

Gradual and Alleluia: Psalm 84 (Heb. 85) Lord, you have blessed Your land: You have

turned away the captivity of Jacob. (Verses 11-14 as Alleluia.) “...Mercy and truth have

met each other: justice and peace have kissed...”

Gospel: Matthew 22:23-33 (The Sadducees question Christ about the Resurrection citing

Deut. 25:5. “For in the Resurrection they shall neither marry nor be married; but shall

be as the angels of God in heaven.” “...He is not the God of the dead, but of the

living.”)

Friends,

What a grievous heartache the Body of Christ can be. In our prophecy today God has stated that He will send the Shepherd to shepherd the people, when this Shepherd came those who proclaimed the Law to the people did not recognize this Shepherd. Our Lord was grieved over Jerusalem.  Today the so called body of Christ does not recognize the Shepherd or the Christ. There are so many versions of Jesus on the market now and so many doctrines and ideas that the mind, if one is not careful, will become bogged down and become lost in frustration. Yet, this is not new to our age but has been from the beginning. Our epistle today is called 2 Corinthians as if the apostle Paul wrote only two letters but in fact he wrote others. After St. Paul established the church in Corinth they wrote him a letter; we see this in 1 Corinthians 7:1 now concerning the things whereof you wrote to me:

In 1 Corinthians 5:9 we see that St. Paul stated that he had written them a previous letter (now lost); I wrote to you in an epistle, not to keep company with fornicators. He wrote these things in the letter that we call 1 Corinthians, sometime after this he sent Timothy to the church in Corinth and Timothy returned with news that a group of Jewish - Christian missionaries were undermining Paul’s teaching and apostolic authority.

Paul visited the church a second time which did not turn out so well and one member caused him much grief which caused him to write another letter called the “letter of tears” 2 Corinthians 2:4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart, I wrote to you with many tears: not that you should be made sorrowful: but that you might know the charity I have more abundantly towards you.

2 Corinthians 7:8 for although I made you sorrowful by my epistle, I do not repent; and if I did repent, seeing that the same epistle (although but for a time) did make you sorrowful.

In today’s readings Paul is discussing his relationship with the Corinthians and the fact that his preaching was not carnal or from the flesh but from God.  Friends; the church today is not much different, how much proselytizing goes on in the church today? How many travel to other communities or other countries and stand outside the place of worship of a Christian church of another denomination handing out leaflets against that group in an attempt to bring those members into their own under the guise as the only ones having the truth?

All of Christianity’s groups claim to be the only one with the truth and everyone else is hell bound or misleading the flock. This is pride and arrogance. What is the bottom line in belief? Believe in the Lord Jesus the Christ who is the word of God in the flesh, the Son of God and the Son of Man. Being the word of God He is God, He came from God and returned to God. He came, taught, was crucified, died, and was buried, on the third day he rose from the grave, ascended and sits as the right hand of the Father.

The scriptures tell us to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost (Spirit), this gives us the Holy Trinity, and we are told in scripture that Jesus was born of a virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit. As the Son of God and the Son of Man; Jesus and Jesus alone is the only way to the Father, there is no other way. He is the door, He is the gate, and He is the shepherd. It is through Him that all things were created; 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him: and without him was made nothing that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

1 Peter 3: 18 Because Christ also died once for our sins, the just for the unjust: that he might offer us to God, being put to death indeed in the flesh, but enlivened in the spirit, 19 In which also coming he preached to those spirits that were in prison: 20 Which had been some time incredulous, when they waited for the patience of God in the days of Noe, when the ark was a building: wherein a few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water. 21 Whereunto baptism being of the like form, now saves you also: not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the examination of a good conscience towards God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 22 Who is on the right hand of God, swallowing down death, that we might be made heirs of life everlasting: being gone into heaven, the angels and powers and virtues being made subject to him.

The eternal life of man, of the undying soul, is verified by our Lord in today’s gospel. Live as if it is true, we are all in error, no one has all of the truth as they claim; “9 for we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away.”

Believe these things and gain life, if you love the Christ then you will hate the anti-Christ which includes all lying on our part, all pride on our part, all ego on our part. How do we see lies, ego, and pride in others and cannot see within ourselves where we fall short? We must remove the log first of all from our own eye, we cannot do anything true without the love of Jesus the Christ in us. If others are following these things that are written here, how can we who also are following these things here despise those others who do as well?

49 And John, answering, said: Master, we saw a certain man casting out devils in Your name, and we forbade him, because he follows not with us. 50 And Jesus said to him: Forbid him not; for he that is not against you, is for you.

34 A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another.

In today’s Psalm, just as in the words of Jesus, we see that our God is a forgiving God granting to us salvation if we fear Him, or in other words love Him and obey His commandments. In the words of our Lord; 15 If you love me, keep my commandments.

We must live our faith in spite of those who make the statement that they do not need God in their life to do good. We who believe still need our Savior because we sin everyday whether in thought, word or deed. There is no amount of good that we can do that will erase our sin once we have committed it. There is only our faith in Christ Jesus, our recognition of our sin, our confession, and repentance. This is our faith.

God can do all things; there is no situation that we get ourselves into that God cannot help us out of. Don’t think though that if there is some earthly penalty that we must pay that we will escape this because we suddenly come to God for help. We simply must have the faith and believe. Keep in mind however; God's plan is far above ours. We suffer and we have plenty coming based on what God Himself has in store for us whether it is for purging, for testing, or for reward or necessity for our life. God is in control.

We do not know when this will end and the new beginning will be, in spite of the many modern prophets who make a living selling Jesus and the destruction of the world; we have no clue when it will be. In the meantime, it rains on us all, haters and lovers of Jesus. The sun shines on us all, haters and lovers of Jesus. We remain together in this world until that day. So take a lesson from the readings. Continue to praise and worship Jesus the Christ and the Father through Him. Never cease to pray and live according to the gospel. Allow the Holy Ghost to guide you. Love God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your mind, and with all of your strength; love your neighbor as yourself. You never know whose life you will change because of this love of God in you.

The light has entered the world and the times; they are a-changing. 

If one does not have love for the soul of mankind and the desire that all come to the truth than one does not have Christ in them fully.

Little children, love one another; because this is our Lord’s command and if you fulfill this, nothing else is needed. Through love and because of love we will follow all of the commandments that we have been given. They are written on our hearts by the hand of Almighty God. We simply need to see them within us and follow.

Remember; if we confess our sins and repent, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity.

  

May the peace of our Lord Jesus the Christ be with you throughout this day and the rest of your life. May the Holy Spirit fill us all to overflowing so that everyone in whose path we cross may receive a blessing from our Lord Jesus the Christ.

In Christ.

   

Member of the Autocephalous Orthodox Catholic Churches of the Americas

St. Michael’s Monastery and the New Warrior Ministries Videos:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW8XyPtkmtu6a1vVg6MEiNg

Many Blessings!

+William

Spiritual Warfare. Video 1 Fear and Trembling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkSS2ypzQT0

VI Pentecost 6th Sunday after Pentecost Western Rite

VI Pentecost Western Rite

6th Sunday after Pentecost!

                                      

     

Greetings in Christ Jesus,

VI Sunday after Pentecost

 (Sixth Sunday of the cycle of six Sundays)

During this week: At the Beginning of Night read the Gospel of St. John throughout this

week.

Matins: Week VI throughout this week, for the verses before the Second Canticle of

Moses, the Song of the Three Youths, and the Matins Resurrection Gospel.

The Divine Liturgy:

Old Testament: Is. 44:24-28 [S] (“Thus says the Lord your redeemer, and your maker,

from the womb: I am the Lord, that make all things...” Then the Lord lists a few of His

works.)

Epistle: I Corinthians 7:24-35 (Concerning celibacy and marriage, and thinking about

 God, tribulation of women in marriage. Same Epistle almost as the Dormition of the

Blessed Virgin Mary.)

Gradual: Psalm 82 (Heb. 83) Deus quis similis. O God, who shall be like to You? Hold

not Your peace, neither be You still, O God. (Verse 19 as Alleluia.)

Gospel: Matthew 15:10-28 (“Not that which goes into the mouth defiles a man: but

what comes out of the mouth...” “Every plant which my heavenly Father has not

planted, shall be rooted up... blind and leaders of the blind...” Also: the woman who

says crumbs fall to the dogs has her daughter healed by Jesus, because of her faith, even

 though she is of Canaan. Jesus has mercy on those of the right faith, but not always

those who call themselves religious leaders.)

Friends,

What do we learn from today’s prophecy? Who else but Almighty God, the Creator of all things visible and invisible can accomplish all things? No one, there is no one who can do all things including the redeeming of our souls except God. This redeeming of course comes through our Lord and savior Jesus the Christ. Depending on what Bible translation that you are reading from you may find this at verse 25: who else will scatter abroad the sign of the ventriloquists and the divinations of their heart, turning their shrewd men backward and making their council foolishness.  What is this word ventriloquist? What is the meaning? Well, a ventriloquist is a person who speaks so that the voice seems to come from somewhere else. In the case of this prophecy the ventriloquist is someone who is speaking and pretending that he is speaking the words of God in prophecy, this ventriloquist is a false prophet. Be watchful and ever vigilant. Test all things to be sure of who we are following.

Our epistle may be somewhat difficult in the sense that it seems to be saying that all single men and women should remain single because when single they will devote themselves entirely to God but when married they will devote themselves to one another and to the world and less to God. Let’s take a look at this; Paul truly believed that the Lord Jesus was going to return shortly (along with the rest of the church as well, it was the general belief that Jesus return was soon to be) and that severe persecution was coming onto the church. Paul wanted to spare the saints of undue grief and concern in having a family during the severe persecution. It is true that one, whether male or female, remains single then one has more time to devote purely to the service of God. But yet Paul said other things as well. 1 Timothy 3:2 A bishop/Overseer then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach…

1 Timothy 5:14 I desire therefore that the younger widows marry, bear children, rule the household, give none occasion to the adversary for reviling…  So what is Paul saying in these various writings? In society young single men and women do not dedicate themselves to the Lord. That writing applies only to those who indeed have dedicated themselves to the Lord and His service, it is better to remain single with less pressure and worry or stress bit it is not a commandment, only a suggestion. Young men and women who dedicate themselves to the Lord and His service also have carnal desires, if this is a problem then one should marry so that the fighting of the desire doesn’t need to happen. Because Paul also said this; 

1 Corinthians 7:1 Now, to deal with the matters you wrote about.

A man does well not to marry. 2.  But because there is so much immorality, every man should have his own wife, and every woman should have her own husband. 3. A man should fulfill his duty as a husband, and a woman should fulfill her duty as a wife, and each should satisfy the other's needs. 4. A wife is not the master of her own body, but her husband is; in the same way a husband is not the master of his own body, but his wife is. 5. Do not deny yourselves to each other, unless you first agree to do so for a while in order to spend your time in prayer; but then resume normal marital relations. In this way you will be kept from giving in to Satan's temptation because of your lack of self-control.
Let me ask you this; how often does this happen in marriage, rarely I believe. A married person’s sex life is a joke in most of society. Among Christians who try to cram their beliefs and biblical understanding on others seem to completely neglect this. Jesus said to remove the log from our own eye. So, each situation is different, if one is able then celibate life is good, otherwise marry but in marriage do not live as if one is celibate. This is ridiculous and a very sad commentary on marriage today.

Jesus tells us that we are defiled by what comes out of our mouth because this comes from our heart. The words that we speak as well as our attitudes are a good indication of the state of our heart. Today’s passage speaks on things of the heart, lusts, fornications, adultery; these things come from the heart but what else comes from the heart? Faith; faith comes from the heart. Faith is knowing that Jesus can do anything and is always willing to help us for the betterment of our lives. The Canaanite woman asked Jesus to heal her daughter but Jesus refused stating that He was here for the chosen people and actually called her a dog which was a common term of the Jewish people for those of Canaan. But what did this woman do? She knew that Jesus was indeed the Messiah and she persisted in faith knowing that the all loving God would grant her request through faith. Of course through her persistence in humbleness and faith her request was granted.  She did not become arrogant, she did not become argumentative but she remained humble and persistent in her asking. This is a lesson for us, be humble and faithful regardless of circumstances. This is the Christian way.

So with the Psalmist let us remember that the true church will be persecuted; the world, even those who are enemies of one another will band together against the true church. Even those who claim to be the church will band with the world against the true church. Lest we forget, our battles are also against the spirit, we are under constant attack spiritually, our enemies are those who follow the spirits of the devil and are against God. The Holy Spirit teaches us to pray and also prays for us. We are surrounded by a Great Cloud of Witnesses that also pray for us and with us in which far too many of us ignore. Do not neglect this help. God can and will send our Guardian angel to us when needed, I know this from personal experience. Stay close to Jesus.

We must live our faith in spite of those who make the statement that they do not need God in their life to do good. We who believe still need our Savior because we sin everyday whether in thought, word or deed. There is no amount of good that we can do that will erase our sin once we have committed it. There is only our faith in Christ Jesus, our recognition of our sin, our confession, and repentance. This is our faith.

God can do all things; there is no situation that we get ourselves into that God cannot help us out of. Don’t think though that if there is some earthly penalty that we must pay that we will escape this because we suddenly come to God for help. We simply must have the faith and believe. Keep in mind however; God's plan is far above ours. We suffer and we have plenty coming based on what God Himself has in store for us whether it is for purging, for testing, or for reward or necessity for our life. God is in control.

We do not know when this will end and the new beginning will be, in spite of the many modern prophets who make a living selling Jesus and the destruction of the world; we have no clue when it will be. In the meantime, it rains on us all, haters and lovers of Jesus. The sun shines on us all, haters and lovers of Jesus. We remain together in this world until that day. So take a lesson from the readings. Continue to praise and worship Jesus the Christ and the Father through Him. Never cease to pray and live according to the gospel. Allow the Holy Ghost to guide you. Love God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your mind, and with all of your strength; love your neighbor as yourself. You never know whose life you will change because of this love of God in you.

The light has entered the world and the times; they are a-changing. 

If one does not have love for the soul of mankind and the desire that all come to the truth than one does not have Christ in them fully.

Little children, love one another; because this is our Lord’s command and if you fulfill this, nothing else is needed. Through love and because of love we will follow all of the commandments that we have been given. They are written on our hearts by the hand of Almighty God. We simply need to see them within us and follow.

Remember; if we confess our sins and repent, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity.

  

May the peace of our Lord Jesus the Christ be with you throughout this day and the rest of your life. May the Holy Spirit fill us all to overflowing so that everyone in whose path we cross may receive a blessing from our Lord Jesus the Christ.

In Christ.

   

Member of the Autocephalous Orthodox Catholic Churches of the Americas

St. Michael’s Monastery and the New Warrior Ministries Videos:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW8XyPtkmtu6a1vVg6MEiNg

Many Blessings!

+William