What Sinning Means

If we ask ourselves what sinning means, we will find it is not simply a moral category of wrong acting. It is something which is deeper, more horrible in a way. It is a turning away, turning our back. There is a passage in one of the ancient writers in which it says something to the effect that to sin is like crossing a river. On one side of the river is God’s realm, on the other side of the river is the realm of Satan. And we choose to cross this river because, in that realm, on that side of the river, life is more interesting, more exciting, there is more to discover. And we leave God on the other side, alone, to cry over our betrayal, over us, because we have become orphans, because we are at the mercy of evil. But we have no care for him. That is what sin is.

It is a moment when we turn our back on God, because there are other things more exciting, more interesting to us than God. We are concerned with ourselves and with these things, not with the One who loves us to the point that, when we did not exist, he loved us into existence at a total risk to himself. I have quoted to some of you a passage from an ancient writer, I don’t remember who it is, who gives us an image of the counsel between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit before creation. The Father says, ‘My Son, let us create a world and man.’ And the Son says, ‘Yes, Father.’ The Father continues and says, ‘Yes, but man will betray his vocation. He will turn away from us and renounce us, and he will have to die. And then, to save him, you will have to become man, put on his mortality and die the death he has created and introduced into the world. You will have to die for him.’ And the Son answers, ‘Let it be so, Father.’ And then the world and man are created. This is the cost of sin for God. He is abandoned and rejected, like the father of the Prodigal Son. But he is also condemned to die our death, to suffer death and all the limitations of a life from which God is banished. This is God’s love for us.

This is the God to whom we say: ‘You are not interesting enough to me for me to renounce all other things. I am renouncing you. I am turning away from you. I will turn to you indeed when I need something, because you are not only the Creator, but the Provider, the Saviour and the Protector, but only then will I turn to you.’ Isn’t this what we do? Oh, we don’t speak as crudely as I am speaking now, but isn’t it what we do daily with regard to God?

+ Metropolitan Anthony Bloom, Diocesan Conference, Headington, 26–29 May 2000, in "Coming Closer to Christ," SPCK Publishing (November 19, 2009) 

The Way Of The Church Is Love

Such an important reminder (forgive me beloved if I've ever fed your fallen passions and fed mine. Pray for me a sinner):

"I once asked someone: "What type of warrior do you consider yourself to be? Christ's warrior or temptation's warrior? Are you aware that the evil of temptation also has its own warriors?"

A Christian must not be fanatic; he must have love for and be sensitive towards all people. Those who inconsiderately toss out comments, even if they are true, can cause harm.

Memory Eternal Sayedna Philip

Please remember Metropolitan Philip Saliba in your prayers. Memory Eternal.

http://youtu.be/L0WY9iBKs4M

Behind It All

“Our life is a short time in expectation, a time in which sadness and joy kiss each other at every moment. There is a quality of sadness that pervades all the moments of our lives. It seems that there is no such thing as a clear-cut pure joy, but that even in the most happy moments of our existence we sense a tinge of sadness. In every satisfaction, there is an awareness of limitations. In every success, there is the fear of jealousy. Behind every smile, there is a tear. In every embrace, there is loneliness. In every friendship, distance. And in all forms of light, there is the knowledge of surrounding darkness . . . But this intimate experience in which every bit of life is touched by a bit of death can point us beyond the limits of our existence. It can do so by making us look forward in expectation to the day when our hearts will be filled with perfect joy, a joy that no one shall take away from us.”

+ Fr Henri nouwen

A Prayer for Repentance

A Prayer for Repentance
by The Saint Abba Shenouda the Archimandrite

O God, forgive me, I am a sinner, for I cannot raise my eyes up to You because I am ashamed of my many sins. O God, forgive my sins and have mercy on me in Your kingdom. My Lord, I supplicate Thee and ask Thee for my wretched soul and body. Lord, grant me to do Your will and let Your mercy guide me. My Lord and God, forgive my sins and hide my iniquities, save me from Your wrath and anger. What shall I say when I come between Your hand and what will justify me when You judge me? Lord Christ, direct and shield me from the snares of the devil. Place Your peace and Your Holy Name on me, O Lord Who dwells in Heaven, so Your mercy might come and shield me. Do not deliver me in the hands of the enemy. I have cast all my worries on You, Christ, Son of God, do not leave me. If I lean towards evil, do not forsake me and do not let me walk according to my evil desires. Do not delay rebuking me until the day of judgement. Do not destroy me according to my sins. Cover the shame of my nakedness before Your fearful throne. Purify me, so I will not be defiled when I come before Your hands. O God, Lover of mankind, fortify my soul with Your Honorable Blood. Lord, subdue the desire to sin in me with Your fear. Awaken me from the slumber of negligence that springs out of the evil sin. Keep me from going astray and the slip of my lips. Let Your pure angel expel the blasphemies of sin. Prepare me so Your Holy Spirit might find me a temple for Him. Grant O Lord, my soul and spirit, to praise You all the days of my life. Answer me O Lord according to Your great mercy and accept my prayer and supplication in Your hands. Save me from sinning against You and grant me the way to do Your Will. Do not take away Your blessings from me and do not keep me away from Your help. Keep me a holy temple for You. Purify my heart, tongue and all my senses. Take away from me the stony heart and grant me a contrite one to worship You. Do not refuse me, for You have called me. Have mercy on me, You Who have the authority to grant mercy. Make me worthy to bless You all the time until my last breath. Confirm Your holy words in my heart and soul. Save me from all the snares of the evil one. Direct my life to the way it pleases You. Have mercy on me and listen to my cry. Answer my supplication and accept my prayer. Accept my prayer and do not keep away Your mercy from me. Let my prayer reach Your presence. Listen to my voice and let my cries reach You. Let my prayer be upright before You as the aroma of sweet incense in Your Hands. Do not judge Your servant for no one is faultless before You. For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the Glory, forever. Amen.

+++
From "Paradise of the Spirit" by Bishop Yoannis of Gharbia

Admiration for Creation

"I want to awake in you a deep admiration for creation, until you in every place, contemplating plants and flowers, are overcome by a living remembrance of the Creator. One blade of grass or one speck of dust is enough to occupy your entire mind in beholding the art with which it has been made." 

+ St Basil the Great

"Even now more animals than you might expect are ready to adore man if they are given a reasonable opportunity: for man was made to be the priest and even, in one sense, the Christ, of the animals - the mediator through whom they apprehend so much of the Divine splendor as their irrational nature allows"

+ C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

Jean Vanier on Forgiveness

Forgiveness

by Jean Vanier (This post has been adapted with minor revisions from his book, "Becoming Human")


The Greek word for forgiveness is asphesis, which means to liberate, to release from bondage; it means the remission of debt, guilt, and punishment. It is used when the prison door is opened and the prisoner can go free. We humans are called to become free, to free others, to nurture life, to look for the worth and the beauty in each and every one of us, and to make of our world a beautiful garden where each person and each society can create a harvest of flowers and fruits, and so prepare the seeds of peace for tomorrow.

Silence

"If you love the truth, you should love silence. This will make you shine in the Lord as the sun, and will save you from the deception of ignorance. Silence will unify you with God Himself."

+ St. Isaac the Syrian

Union with God

"Union with God is not a subsidiary issue in faith or doctrine. It is the basis of all faith and doctrine. It is the ultimate aim of God for sending His only Son to the world to become man."

+ Fr Matta El-Meskeen

On Forgiveness Sunday

On Forgiveness Sunday
by Fr Alexander Schmemann
http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/forgivenesssunday.html

In the Orthodox Church, the last Sunday before Great Lent – the day on which, at Vespers, Lent is liturgically announced and inaugurated – is called Forgiveness Sunday. On the morning of that Sunday, at the Divine Liturgy, we hear the words of Christ:

"If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses..." (Mark 6:14-15)