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On the Beheading of St. John the Forerunner and Baptist
"Herod Antipas, son of the Herod who slew the young children in Bethlehem at the time of the birth of the Lord
Jesus, was a ruler of Galilee when John the Baptist was preaching. This Herod was married to the daughter of Aretas, an Arabian prince. But Herod, an evil branch of evil stock, put away his lawful wife and took Herodias, his brother
Philip's wife, to live with him while Philip was still alive. John the Baptist stood up against this lawlessness and strongly denounced Herod, at which Herod threw him into prison. At the time of some feast at his court in Sebastia in Galilee, Salome, the daughter of Herodias and Philip, danced for the guests. Herod, in his cups and carried away by her dancing, promised her whatever she asked, even to the half of his kingdom. Instructed by her mother, she asked for
the head of John the Baptist. Herod commanded that John be beheaded in the prison and his head brought on a platter. John's disciples took the body of their teacher by night and buried it, but Herod tore out John's tongue with a needle and then buried his head in an unclean place.
God's punishment was quickly visited upon this group of evildoers. Prince Aretas, to avenge his daughter's honour, attacked Herod with his army and brought him to his knees. The defeated Herod was condemned by the Roman Caesar, Caligula, to exile, first in Gaul and then in Spain. As exiles, Herod and Herodias lived in need and debasement until the earth opened and swallowed them up. Salome, Herodias' daughter, came to a bad end in the river Sikaris.
"
- St. Nicholai Zicha
Our Purpose in Life
"What, dear friends, is our purpose for living? According to the inspired teaching of the Holy Scripture, the purpose of our lives is sanctification; that is, to throw away the old man, the evil in
us, and put on the new man - virtue - to live a Christian life, one as Christ did, and to be awarded the Kingdom of Heaven, This purpose in life is not felt by many people, however.
Most people live for other purposes. Some live for riches, others, for pleasures and amusements, some for fame and worldly glory; and still others for knowledge. There is no thought of sanctification or eternal life. Others, however, believe in Christ and listen to His divine teaching, for they know that beyond any worldly purpose, there is a divine purpose for living, i.e.,
to become holy. 'Be ye holy; for I am holy' (I Peter 1:16).
Sanctification is the greatest purpose for living. Without sanctification, everything else is vain and perishable. Life only has meaning when it is intent on this purpose. To be sanctified, to become like a small Christ on earth and be given the Kingdom of Heaven! The beast which lives inside us, the proud ego, has to be annihilated, and we must become Christs to destroy the
hells which our lives now are, and make them into heavens.
"
- Metropolitan Augoustinos N. Kantiotes of Greece
About the Grace of God
"My Grace is sufficient for you." (2 Corinthians 12:9)
"The Lord did not even spare His Apostles from temptations. That is why He gave them Grace! When Satan himself began to malign the Apostle Paul, Paul prayed to God that Satan depart from him. To that, the Lord replied: "My Grace is sufficient for you!" That is, if you need to withstand Satan, for your endurance "My Grace is sufficient for you!" If you need to struggle with Satan, again "My Grace is sufficient for you!" if you wish to defeat Satan, again "My Grace is sufficient for you!" Grace is an all-inclusive weapon. Grace is stronger than all opposition, than all assaults, than all the powers of darkness. Grace is invincible and victorious. Brethren, that is why we should pray to the Lord to give us His All-powerful Grace. Grace is God within us. Grace is the Kingdom of God within us. When the Grace of God is within us, then day is within our souls. And day signifies light, knowledge and fearlessness. Brethren, we cannot here on earth implore a greater good from God than the Grace of God, If we were to receive the entire universe as a gift, that gift would be less than the Grace of God.
0 most abundant Lord, the inexhaustible source of the omnipotent Grace, sprinkle our hardened hearts with Thy Grace that we might weep before Thy most great goodness and our horrendous ingratitude!
"
- Prologue
Our Spiritual Struggle
"That which plays the most important role in the spiritual struggle is for a person to learn to humble himself, reproach himself, and justify his neighbor. Whoever has learned this philosophy is surely gathering already the most sweet fruit of freedom from passions. Otherwise, he will drag his passions along with him to his great and constant grief. My child, reproach yourself constantly. Do not consider yourself to be right; whenever you hear something bad being said about you, say, 'My brothers are right; that is how I am. I deserve even more slander because of my sins.' Always consider yourself lower than everyone and refrain from giving orders as one having authority. In short, humility in everything. "