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Beloved parishioners, we are now embarking on the time of Great Lent, a period which will bring us to Easter. In this, we rather resemble the ancient Israelite people who left the country of slavery (Egypt) and made their way to the Promised Land. As is true with all our everyday affairs, a decision isn’t a result. Nobody gets to where they want to go automatically, all at once, just by deciding. It requires the effort of the journey and patience in the face of the current and concomitant difficulties we encounter in our progress towards our desired goal. This is the case with us, too. The time of Lent is associated with external difficulties (as with the Jews in the ...

My Christian brothers and sisters, what will become of our sins, the multitude of our great sins? With those we committed when we were young and those when we were grown. And even in old age we don’t abandon vile sin. And if you think about it, sin’s a terrible thing because it blemishes our beautiful soul; it takes away our joy and makes us sad; and, worst of all, it separates us from God. But I have to tell you that you should be happy, because the cure has been found for the soul that’s sinned and it washes and cleanses it of the ugliness of sin. And this remedy is the blood of Christ! Indeed. Christ’s death on ...

Strive and be vigilant for what is good, but without depending on your own capacities. Pray ceaselessly and assiduously to God and ask for his help. All our deeds depend not so much on us as on God’s mercy. And, however important we may think they are, they’re of no value unless they’re sanctioned by the blessing and approval of God. Saint Dimitri of Rostov

Despair is the lack of the awareness that God wants to give us eternal life. People are living in despair. It’s they who’ve condemned themselves to death. Saint Sophrony, Essex

Where there’s fear, there’s observation of the commandments. Again, where there’s observation of the commandments, there’s purification of the flesh, the nebula of which prevents the soul from seeing the divine radiance clearly. Where there’s clarity, there’s also divine illumination. Saint Gregory the Theologian

When the grace of God moved my heart to come to this blessed place of peace and prayer, it was February in the year of the Lord 1910. It was my desire to go to the Skete of Kavsokalyvia, where Saint Akakios, who was born in the same place as I was, had lived as an ascetic and where two brothers after the flesh, also from my birth-place, were living as hieromonks. One of these, the spiritual father Panteleimon, a most venerable and extremely virtuous monk, is perhaps the oldest among the Athonites still living, being now an elder of 103 years. It was, indeed, my decision after my arrival on the Holy Mountain to go and live as an ascetic, ...

Be vigilant and pray that you won’t be tempted. Don’t despair if you continually fall into old sins. Many of these are powerful by their nature and are reinforced by habit. As time goes by, however, and with care they’ll be overcome. Don’t despair over anything. Saint Nektarios of Pentapolis

Forgiveness The Cross was decided in the pre-eternal Council, so in a way God had forgiven us even before we fell. He took the risk of creation about which Father Sophrony speaks, for His purpose even before the foundation of the world was our salvation. And if the Lord had not said on the Cross, ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do’ (Luke 23:34), we would not be able to repent nor find forgiveness. It is His word that is active and gives the fruit of forgiveness to our repentance. The word of the Lord was said once and it remains for ever, and this is the miracle of forgiveness. Likewise, the Lord said once, ‘Take, eat; this ...

Our personal God gives meaning and purpose to our life. Human nature can communicate in energy with the distinct and interpenetrating persons of the Holy Trinity. Elder Efraim Vatopaidinos

Nobody’s been perfected by prayer. God sees the intention we bring to prayer, rather than the words we say while we’re praying or the number of times we cross ourselves. Dimitrios Panagopoulos

10. According to the Gospel for Meat-Fare Sunday all our affairs will be displayed for judgement. It says: ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him’. At his first coming, the glory of his divinity was hidden by the flesh he took from us, for us, which is now hidden with the Father in heaven, together with his divine flesh. But then he will reveal his glory in its fulness. He will be radiant, visible from east to west, illumining all things with the rays of his divinity. All over the world, the sound of the life-giving trumpet will be heard everywhere and, at the same time, all things will be summoned to ...

If our body is continuously in decline  and appears to be moving closer to death, let’s disregard it as being a wayfaring stranger and let’s direct all our care to our immortal soul. The body’s a faithless, temporary friend. Saint John Kronstadtskij

People who love in a spiritual way feel that, when they’re praying, they’re within God and within their brothers and sisters. They’re saddened that their siblings aren’t moving forward and pray for their progress. Saint Amfilohios Makris

6. Do you see that those living for Christ are filled with inexpressible joy and courage over what will happen immediately after this, while those who live according to the flesh are filled with shame, pain and dejection? As Saint Paul declares: ‘God will repay each person according to what they have done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil’ (Rom. 2, 6-9). In the time of Noah, when sin had increased and held sway over almost ...

In Cyprus the aethereal land, does the pure soul live? This was a poetic flight on the part of our national poet, Kostis Palamas. A question which then, of course, would have received a positive response, as being yet another confirmation of the universally recognized simplicity and exquisite purity of the Cypriote soul. If the same question were posed now, as part of a search for an answer to concerns over what we see and hear today, the yes or no answer would hang in the balance. If we take into account that Cyprus is vying for first place among the member states of the European Union in terms of corruption, then it comes as no surprise that the answer sought to the ...

Don’t lay the blame for what happens to you on other people. Although we have a tendency to attribute our problems to others, to their wickedness and incompetence, in reality they’re nothing other than tools in God’s hands. Tools he avails himself of to construct our salvation. Saint Makarij

1. Last Sunday, the Church commemorated the indescribable loving-kindness of God towards us, as presented in the parable of the saved Prodigal. This Sunday, it teaches about the future, most dreadful judgement of God, following a proper order and paying attention to the voices of the prophets: ‘I will sing to you, Lord, of mercy and judgement’ ; and ‘God has spoken once and I have heard these two things: that dominion is God’s and that mercy is yours, Lord. For you will recompense people according to their works’ . 2. So mercy and long-suffering precede divine judgement. God is distinguished by having and containing all the virtues, while, at the same time, he is just and merciful. Since mercy is ...

All these Sundays before Great Lent initiate us into the wisdom of repentance and every Sunday gives us constants, principles that we must keep throughout this period for our renewal. All the lessons we receive now are meant to help us realise the greatest task of our life, that of discovering our heart and become true images of God, able to converse with Him face to Face. The Sunday of Zacchaeus has two main major themes. The first is the significance of voluntary shame in cleansing ourselves from the shame of sin that we have accumulated in this life. The second theme is the desire of God. If our ascetical labours during Great Lent are to be perfect, we need ...

Keep your tongue and your lips sweet and you’ll be friends with everybody. Be careful not to chastise anybody for anything at all. Love doesn’t become angry, nor does it hotly berate anyone. Saint Isaac the Syrian

Prayer has great power. If you say the Jesus prayer, you can even bring a soul out of hell. Saint Efraim Katounakiotis