Sermons & Homilies
In its simplicity, even a child could tell us that the purpose of this account is the importance of thankfulness to God, but what is the importance of thankfulness? Why be thankful? Is it only a matter of politeness or good manners or a sign of a well-bred individual? Perhaps we think there is a social code that is important to keep, which amounts to my being upset if you do not thank me for something I have done for you. Even if these questions are worthy of consideration, the point in question is much deeper and has further-reaching effects.
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The Mother of God truly perceived the holiness of the place she lived ... she strove to purify her heart in order that it might accord with the holiness of the place she dwelt bodily. Let us do the same.
This quintessential phrase of the Gospel of John — “come and see” — is exceedingly poignant. It occurs precisely three times in St. John’s Gospel.
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It is not his wealth which condemns the rich man but the inhumanity of his lack of compassion. “When a human feels pain - he is alive,” said Fr. Melchisedek of Optina, “but when a human feels someone else’s pain – [then] he is [truly] human.”
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It is the serpent of anger and wrathful condemnation that St. Joseph the Hesychast counsels us, in one of his letters, to suffocate through silence. When irritation and anger flare up in the soul, he says to shut the mouth of both body and soul in order that this serpent might suffocate and die.
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