Ξένες γλώσσες

Were one to attempt to describe in a single sentence the role and aim of the Church, one might say that ‘The aim of the Church is to manifest God to the world’. In order to achieve this aim, the Church uses theology, which expresses the faith of the Church in two ways: either with words or images. But the potential of both words and deeds to make God manifest is necessarily very limited, which is why, if we’re going to understand their content properly, any approach to them needs to be made with great care and with due appreciation of the requirements involved. A typical example of the use of images to express the faith of the Church is ...

What can be more wonderful and pleasant than love for your neighbour? To be able to love is bliss, to hate is torture. Love for your neighbour is the path that leads to God, because Christ, the true God, was pleased to be mystically embodied in each of our neighbours.

Father Gheorghe Calciu (November 23, 1925 – November 21, 2006) I spoke of Your testimonies before kings, and I was not ashamed (Psalm 118:46). Father Gheorghe Calciu was born in the Danube Delta, in Mahmudia, where the propitious blend between the land’s richness and the sky’s beauty reflected into the pious hearts of the countrymen. That blessed place, which Father loved tenderly until the end of his life, fostered the love for God and nation in his soul —a love which later brought him as far as the confession of martyrdom. Since the time he was in school and while yet a student at the Spiru Haret High School in Tulcea, Father chose to serve the suffering; exceptionally gifted in literature, famous among ...

It seems thousands of years removed from us, but it was not so very long ago that life was marked out by religious feasts. Although everyone went to church, not everyone, of course, knew the exact contents of each celebration. For many, perhaps even the majority, the feast was above all an opportunity to get a good sleep, eat well, drink and relax. And nevertheless, I think that each person felt, if not fully consciously, that something transcendent and radiant broke into life with each feast, bringing an encounter with a world of different realities, a reminder of something forgotten, of something drowned out by the routine, emptiness and weariness of daily life. Consider the very names of the feasts: Entrance ...

Slander is the most disgusting form of hatred and wickedness and the most painful wound for those who suffer it. Slander’s the defensive weapon of inferiority. Because it can’t conceal its nakedness and meanness of spirit, it attempts to blacken those who are superior, in order to vindicate itself- or so it thinks. Since it’s a false and unjust plot, it’s the worst wound for those who suffer it.

If you need to go through a thick forest or a reed-bed, you have to use your hands to push aside the twigs, branches, bushes, all the impediments in order to forge a path and make your way forward. This is what should happen in our soul, as well, with sinful thoughts: we should push them aside and move on.

1. I mentioned to you on another occasion, my Christian friends, that our Church, like the caring mother it is, uses this period of winter- when living conditions have always been difficult- to present us with Sunday Gospel readings that sharpen our awareness of our brothers and sisters who are suffering. So, last Sunday we heard about the Good Samaritan and today about the foolish rich man, which is a parable similar in content to the former. 2. Listen. The rich man in the parable didn’t become rich from the goods he acquired that year; he was already rich from previous years. So he had no worries about how he was going to get through the next year. He could easily ...

Don’t confuse people, who are images of God, with the wickedness they bear inside therm. This evil is merely incidental, it’s their misfortune, their sickness, the devil’s deceit. Their real being, the image of God, is always there inside them.

Today’s passage from the Apostle Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians emphasizes the unity of the One Holy Church of Christ. This unity is needed for the baptized members of the Church among themselves, and with the body of the Church. The unity that the Apostle Paul speaks of is supported by the fact that: First, there is One Faith in the Church. The right faith, as Christ has taught, and the Apostles of Christ have shared. This faith we have received from our Fathers, should in our present day be passed on to those who come after us, free of misinterpretations and alterations. Unity among Christians with different dogmatic beliefs cannot exist. We see it in the heterodox, who interpret the Gospel ...

Our enemy the devil’s been engaged in manslaughter from the outset and it’s his permanent task to hinder and harm our salvation in any way he can. It’s not strange that he wars against us, because he had the gall to fight against Our Lord Jesus Christ. But by His own example, the Lord taught us how to fight against him who’s bothering us.

When you see the devil at the throat of your child, instead of becoming angry with your offspring for going astray, speak to God about it. Whatever you’d have said to the child (because they’d react badly, given their character), tell it to God. Get down on your knees and, by God’s grace, your words will be passed on to the child.

Examine your self, who you are. Get to know your nature, that is, that your body’s mortal and your soul’s immortal. Look at yourself carefully, so that you recognize the health and sickness of your soul.

The devil doesn’t have foresight, nor does he know what people are thinking. He draws conclusions from the impulses of our emotions and then stimulates our members and senses with corresponding, impassioned thoughts. When he sees that our intentions are inclining towards an image conjured up by our imagination, whether it’s real or in the mind, he realizes that that’s where our desire and purpose lie. He then brings up a suitable occasion in order to subject his victim through the nature of his will.

We recently posted an article on the importance of spiritual reading here http://bit.ly/2F4xYBq. The position of the Church has always been, however, that we need help and guidance if we’re to understand Scripture in depth. Thus, as early as the Apostolic age (Acts 8, 30-31), Philip encounters an Ethiopian reading the Book of Isaiah. ‘Do you understand what you’re reading?’ He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ This is a strange answer because the man can obviously read and the words are simple enough, a lamb being led to slaughter, but it’s only when Philip explains the deeper meaning of the prophecy that the man can understand. The passage also illustrates the need for humility in approaching the Scriptures: ...

Christian love moves in a circle. First comes love for yourself, then love for your friends and, finally, love for God. Christ took our love for our self as the standard for measuring our love for our enemies and our love for God. He said: ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself’.

We need fear and trembling in case we look down on others, in case we hold them accountable for our own calamities, because that would be a falling away from God. Saint Isaac the Syrian stresses: ‘Nobody else is ever to blame for your transgressions; They’re always your fault’. Other people aren’t responsible for your tiredness, your sins and your changes of heart.

Today’s Gospel reading is the well-known parable of the Good Samaritan. The immediate message of the reading is obvious- that we should aid those in distress- but the following commentary puts this teaching into context. Christ is approached by a lawyer, asked a question meant to trick Him and asks the lawyer what the law says on the subject. The Lord then goes on to narrate the parable. When He finished, He asked the lawyer which of the people involved have performed his duty to his neighbour and the lawyer replied that the Samaritan had. ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself’ was a commandment of the Law of Moses for the Jews. The critical point, however, which was the subject ...

We can’t be with Christ and with the evil one. We have to decide. What does the Lord want? Truth, justice and faith. And what’s in our heart to be on our lips. Not the heart to say one thing and the lips another.

The Apostle Paul, in today’s passage from the 2nd Epistle to the Corinthians, illustrates for us the great help that the worker of the Gospel receives from God. Our faith that God has given us is a treasure, and strengthens us in our human weakness. In order for the Apostle Paul to demonstrate how weak he feels as a human, he compares himself and all those who preach the Gospel of Christ with ceramic utensils, which break very easily. Despite this frailty, he continues on with Christ who never abandons him in his struggle, and he always succeeds. According to the Apostle, this weakness of those who work for the Gospel is a benefit. He explains why: If we, who preach ...

Holy Communion is a sacrament of humility. I don’t mean the humiliation of the Lord’s sacrifice on the Cross, but something else. The tiny contents of a small spoon are Christ Himself, our great God, the all-powerful Creator of the universe. This is an astonishing event that demands great faith and stability.