![[double eagle]](http://stsymeon.com/dbleag2.gif)
No Distinction
"In God and in His Church there is no distinction between the living and the departed, but all are one in the love of the Father. Whether we are alive or whether we are dead, as a member of the Church we still belong to the same family, and still have a duty to bear one another's burdens. Therefore just as Orthodox Christians here on earth pray for one another and ask one another's prayers, so they pray for the faithful departed, and ask for the faithful departed to pray for them. Death cannot sever the bond of mutual love which links the members of the Church together. "
- Bishop Kallistos Ware - The Orthodox Church
Two Thoughts for St. Zacchaeus Sunday
"Then, what is the crowd (Luke 19:3) if not the confusion of the ignorant multitude which could not see the Crown of wisdom? Thus, Zacchaeus, as long as he is in the crowd, does not see Christ; he climbs above the crowd and sees Him, having transcended base ignorance, he deserved to perceive Him for Whom he longed. He fittingly added 'Because the Lord was to pass that way,' where was either the sycamore or he who would believe, so that He preserved the mystery and planted the Grace; for He had come thus, so that He would pass through the Jews to the Gentiles. "
- St. Ambrose of Milan
"When one Has looked upon Jesus, though he be of little stature like Zacchaeus of old (cf. Lk. 19:3), and climb up on the top of the sycamore tree by mortifying his members which are upon the earth (cf. Col. 3:5), and having risen above the body of humiliation, then he shall receive the Word, and it shall be said to him, This day has salvation come to this house' (cf. Luke 19:9). Then let him lay hold on the salvation, and bring forth fruit more perfectly, scattering and pouring forth rightly that which as a publican he wrongly gathered. "
- St. Gregory the Theologian
On Christ's Baptism
"Christ came for Baptism partly out of obedience towards the One Who sent John. As He Himself said, 'Thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness' (Mt. 3:15). Other reasons were to make Himself known, to make a beginning of guiding us towards salvation, and to confirm to His followers, Who were baptized in accordance with His teaching and commandments, that the Holy Spirit is given in baptism, and that through the Holy Spirit baptism is made a cleansing remedy for the stains sunk deeply into us, because of having been born and living in the passions. Although Christ had no need of cleansing even as man, since He was born of a pure Virgin and lived completely without sin, He was purified for our sake, just as it was for our sake that He deigned to be born.
"
- St. Gregory Palamas
The Gift of Baptism
"The gift which we have received from Jesus Christ in holy Baptism is not destroyed, but is only buried as a treasure in the ground. Both common sense and gratitude demand that we should take good care to unearth this treasure and bring it to light. This can be done in two ways. The gift of baptism is revealed first of all by a painstaking fulfillment of the commandments; the more we carry these out, the more clearly the gift shines upon us in its true splendor and brilliance.
Secondly, it come to light and is revealed through the continual invocation of the Lord Jesus, or by unceasing remembrance of God, which is one and the same thing. The first method is powerful but the second is more so; so much so that even fidelity to the commandments receives its full strength from prayer. For this reason, if we truly desire to bring to flower the seed of grace that is hidden within us, we should hasten to acquire the habit of this exercise of
the heart, and always practice this prayer within it, without any image or form, until it warms our mind and enflames our soul with an inexpressible love towards God and men.
"
- St. Gregory of Sinai
Candles
"A Christian should burn like a candle before God..."
"Candles appeared in all Orthodox Churches in the first centuries of our era. St. Eusebius of Caesaria records that during the Paschal vigil such a quantity of candles were lit by the faithful that the night itself became as day. There were wax candles the sizes of which made them look like actual pillars. In answer to the accusations of the schismatic Vigilantius, who berated the Orthodox for lighting candles in their churches during daylight also, St. Jerome (342-420) says 'in all Eastern churches candles are lit during the reading of the Gospel not only so as to shed light and dispel the gloom but also to proclaim one's joy.'
Over the centuries, the Orthodox candle has burnt gently and humbly and is now, as it was then, imbued with profound meaning, inalienable from our Orthodox divine services and Orthodox piety. Apart from the fact that the small sacrifice, the mite given by each Christian for the candle he lights, benefits the Church in real terms, by lighting a candle, each Christian enters into closer contact with the Church and the service, participating in it more actively and invisibly warming his soul by the visible light of the candle. We must understand that man's immortal soul dwells in man's mortal body.
The immortal soul cannot be indifferent to pious deeds committed by the body which is its home. As the body bows, so does the soul bow with it and grows obedient. We are human; we need to see, to feel, to smell and to hear. And in the Church, candles burn with the divine light; the ringing of bells sanctifies the air; incense reminds us of the fragrance of prayers; and from each icon the Savior Himself, the Mother of God and all the Saints mysteriously look at us and we look at Their holy images as two worlds come face to face: the dwellers of the Kingdom of God and we, the sinners.
Pious Orthodox people will preserve throughout the year the candles they light during the readings of the Passion Gospels on Holy Thursday. They make a sign of the Cross with these candles over the doors to their homes. They light them during difficult moments of their lives. On Pascha night, the candles burnt by the faithful transform their faces into living icons on which plays the light of God's grace...
But the candle has yet another profound meaning. The burning candle represents the entire life of the faithful, from birth to death. It stands for the inner flame of love for and devotion to God. A Christian should burn like a candle before God, and his whole being should gradually be consumed by this divine flame thus marking the end of his earthly life.
"
- Metropolitan Vitaly
Homily - About the Remembrance of the Imminent Separation of the Body
"Yes, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle (body) to stir you up by putting you in remembrancer knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ had showed me. " - 2 Peter 1:13-14
"Here is a good reminder to lovers of the body who, because of the body, forgot their souls. The body must be put off. No matter how costly we hold it to be, no matter how much worth we attach to it, no matter how much we caress and pamper it, we must put it off one day. 0 how powerful and truthful are these words - 'to put it off!' When the soul is separated from the body, the soul puts off the body as no longer necessary. Those who suffer shipwreck reach the shore on a plank. They come to the shore and discard the plank. When spring blossoms, the serpent sheds its skin and puts it off. When a butterfly wings its way out of the cocoon, the cocoon is put off. In the same manner the body is put off when the soul departs from it. No longer of use and without benefit, even harmful to other men, it is put off from the house, put off from the city, put off from the sun and is buried deep into the ground. Think about this, you who live in luxury and are adorned, you who are haughty and gluttonous!
As long as the soul is in the body, it should utilize the body for its salvation submitting to the law of God and performing the works of God. Do you see how the apostolic soul is a lover of labor! 'As long as I am in this tabernacle (body) to stir you up.' That task was given to him by God. He wants to conscientiously complete it to the end because he must put off his body. Brethren, let us labor first to embrace the apostolic warning and secondly, to remind others, all others, for whom we wish good. In haste we are approaching the shore of the other old world, as the hour hastily approaches when we must put off the bodies and, with a naked soul, appear before the judgment of God. What will we say at the Dread Judgment Seat of God? To what goals have we, in this earthly life, used the device from the earth, which is called the body?
0 Lord Jesus, our Righteous Judge, direct our mind to think of death and judgment. To Thee be glory and thanks always! Amen. "
On Prayer
"When we pray and God delays in hearing (our prayer). He does this for our benefit, so as to teach us longsuffering; wherefore we need not become downcast, saying: 'We prayed, and were not heard.' God knows what is profitable for a man. Rejoice in the Lord, leave off all your cares, and pray for me, 0 my beloved brother, one in spirit (with me). "
- Sts. Barsanuphios and John
Five Pearls from the Fathers
"A good man does not sell his inner freedom for money, even if he happens to be offered a huge sum. For things belonging to this life are like a dream, and the fantasies of wealth are uncertain and short-lived.
"
- St. Anthony the Great
"Those Christian communities who do not venerate the saints and do not call upon them in prayer lose much in devotion and in Christian hope. They deprive themselves of the great strengthening of their faith by the examples of men like unto themselves.
"
- St. John of Kronstadt
"Pitch Your tent within me, gracious Master; take up Your dwelling in me now and remain in Your servant unceasingly, inseparably to the end.
"
- St. Symeon the New Theologian
"Do not gravitate to the earth. All is corruptible; only the happiness beyond the grave is eternal, unchanging, and this happiness depends upon how we spend this life of ours!
"
- St. Theophan the Recluse
"It is impossible to spend the coming day in faith if we do not think of it as the last day of our life.
"