Homily during liturgy at our “Marshall house”, a house used for housing for parolees from Texas prisons. We mostly comment on St Pauls’ epistle to the Romans, which gives use the *reason* and the *energy* to do good things, and avoid sin. It is not about rules, in is about grace, and gratitude: “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.” And from the Gospel, “(He) … Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” 4th Sat after Pentecost Romans 6:11-17
YouTube:https://youtu.be/6og9xwEfA2g
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6og9xwEfA2g
Audio: http://www.orthodox.net/sermons/misc_2023+purpose-of-great-lent+seeking-after-beauty.mp3
Video: https://youtu.be/-WC-IjYwfUc
Some people need to think about the last judgment in order to be motivated but most people are motivated the most by beauty and feeling God move in their heart. This is the purpose of Great Lent, to seek after beauty and feel God move in our hearts. From a sermon Given on the Sunday of the Last Judgment, 2/19/2023 ns.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WC-IjYwfUc
St Maximus the Greek is the other “Maximus” commemorated on 21 January. The main commemoration is Maximus the confessor, but Maximus the Greek is every bit as edifying as his more illustrious companion. He was sent to Russia to help with translations and was imprisoned in a monastery and treated terribly. This was because of jealous and theological conflicts. He is therefore a man for our age because, today there are heretics wearing bishops robes who will persecute those whom they can when they are able. We should be prepared for this. So, therefore, St. Maximus teaches us that we should hold true to the faith even when we are persecuted, and sometimes we are persecuted by those who call themselves Orthodox. It is hard to maintain our temperament when those who are our supposed friends persecute us. We talk a lot about his canon to the Holy Spirit which he wrote it with charcoal on the walls of the cell. It is an amazing prayer that has aspects are so beautiful and unique Orthodox prayer, being deeply theological, thanking God especially for who He is in a theological way, deep compunction in prayer, and beautiful poetry.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6_rf8Ovn8A
What do you fear? For anyone paying attention to the times, the world can seem like a dark, foreboding place. The organs of our news media and social media spout a constant stream of violence, horror and anxiety. These things are meant to disturb us, but their reality is too often undeniable. How does a Christian deal with these things? What is the Christian response to fear?
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl98Uwrmts4
We start by asking why should you read the lives of the saints, and then give an example the venerable Vitalis who had the extraordinary ministry of seeking out prostitutes and paying them his wages so that they would stay for him all night in prayer and therefore not sin according to their trade for at least one evening. This is crazy love! He did things that we are not capable of but we are capable of something that the world might call crazy and we discussed a few practical possibilities.
YouTube:https://youtu.be/LbzUqeNHoYA
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbzUqeNHoYA
St. John the Theologian. God is Love. It is the purpose of our life to becoming like God, to be perfected in love.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g6Dv--ZzzE
Live Doodles #010 Priest-martyr Constantine the Russian +12/26/1742
The Martyrdom of Priest-Martyr Constantine the Russian, a priest in Constantinople, when it was under Turkish Rule. We was betrayed by a countryman, and in a drunken stupor, apostatized. When he came to himself, he went before the Turkish authorities and confessed Christ and was martyred.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/A-mm6eET_vs
Pray to these Saints! We are in difficult times, and need their assistance.
See: http://www.orthodox.net/trebnic/saints-pray-for-us+former-apostates-sinners-secret-christians.docx
http://www.orthodox.net/trebnic/saints-pray-for-us+former-apostates-sinners-secret-christians.pdf
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-mm6eET_vs
The Connection between Baptism and the Resurrection. Holy Saturday, 2023
It is appropriate on the Holy Saturday, when we proclaim the resurrection to compare baptism and the resurrection. The readings for the baptism service and this day are basically the same. We compare our baptism to Christ’s baptism and His resurrection.
Audio: http://www.orthodox.net/sermons/hw-06_2023+holy-sat+connection-baptism-and-the-resurrection.mp3
Video: https://youtu.be/duK9VQMJ-po
Audio and Video timestamps
0-1:00 The connection between the readings for Holy Saturday a traditional day for baptisms) and the Baptism service,
1:10 – 1:33 Everything we read, and pray, and know MUST be APPLIED to the way we live.
1:38 -2:08 “In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher.” (Matthew 28:1) Who was the “other Mary”?
2:25 – 4:58 ‘”And the angel answered and said unto the women...” (Matthew 28:5 ) God answers questions we do not ask, if we are open to the answers.
4:58 the connection between baptism and the resurrection.
6:15 – 11:24 Comparing our baptism to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:3-4,Christ’s death was voluntary, victorious , free, healing, one time. After His resurrection, His body was perfected, and in the light, and wholly with God, and eternal.
10:13 – 11:08 My favorite description of “heaven”, from 1 Thessalonians 4
11:08 – 14:26 “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.” (Romans 6:6-7)
12:23 – 12:57 The resurrection became even more important to me after my son +Daniel died (2017-06-11)
14:26 – 16:14 In our age of everyone making up an identity for themselves, always based on sin, we should IDENTIFY as being free from sin!
15:26 – 16:14 “Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:9-11)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duK9VQMJ-po