As the liturgical hymn for the Nativity of Christ affirms, all of creation offers something to the newborn Messiah: the heavens offer a star, the angels a hymn, the shepherds their wonder, the earth a cave, and we (that is, the entire human race) the Most Holy Mother of God. But is it not appropriate that we, as individuals, should offer something as well, considering that we have received, through the Incarnation, the greatest gift of all--a gift of inconceivable value--the salvation of our immortal souls?
The exchange of gifts has become for many nowadays the main event of Christmas--often with little or no reference to the birth of Christ. So it is that this most important Holy Day is reduced to gross materialism--a buying frenzy--wherein the average American spends more time in Walmart than in church. We end up buying material things (most of which are made in China) for loved ones who probably need nothing and who already have so much stuff they don't know where to put it all. Hence the proliferation of yard sales in recent decades.
We thereby lose sight of the true spiritual meaning of the Feast--as the Church Fathers teach, the Son of God becomes man that the sons and daughters of man might become gods. So what can we offer to God when everything we possess--even life itself--is given by Him? Even in the Divine Liturgy, "Thine own of thine own we offer unto Thee...."
But that is the point: the only gift we can possibly offer back as a sacrifice is that which He has already given to us. So it is that Abraham was willing to offer up to God his only son Isaac--who was himself the gift of God's promise. God has also given us the gift of salvation, but this gift is not automatic. We are always free to refuse the gift, frittering away our God-given talents in vain and empty worldly pursuits. Or we can strive with all our strength to "work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling."
This is indeed the best gift we can offer back to God: striving to live a pious, holy and righteous life, doing all things to the glory of God. Truly the sacrifice most pleasing to God is "a humble and contrite heart," with the fervent desire to commit ourselves and our whole life to God--even, if the need arises, to suffer and to die for the sake of Christ and His Holy Church. In this way we will truly glorify God, Who was born in a cave and laid in a manger for our salvation. CHRIST IS BORN--GLORIFY HIM!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Sunday, January 3, 2010
SUNDAY OF THE HOLY FATHERS
"By faith, Abraham sojourned in the land of promise"--likewise, all those holy men and women of the Old Testament enumerated by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews, having endured many trials and tribulations and "having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise...."
Today's Gospel records the geneology of Jesus Christ from Abraham: this shows, first of all, that Jesus, though fully divine, was at the same time fully human. And because He assumed all the fullness of our human nature, He was truly able to heal of of the effects of the ancestral sin. As the holy Fathers of the Church affirm, that which is not assumed cannot be healed. But it is also significant that these ancestors suffered and died in expectation of the promised Messiah.
They lived by faith, hoping "for a city which hath foundations, whose maker and builder is God." Truly, as the Holy Apostle affirms, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for." Nor is this the vague hope spoken of by certain politicians, who promise (but can never deliver) some sort of secular utopia.
This is rather a hope firmly rooted in God's promises, and thus worth suffering and dying for--as the holy martyrs throughout history bear witness. And while the Old Testament saints lived in expectation of the Messiah's coming, we live in expectation of His Second Coming, the Parousia, when He shall come to judge the living and the dead and to establish an eternal Kingdom that shall never pass away.
Through the Nativity of Christ, God fulfills the promise of His salvation, but we still await in hope the final consummation of the ages, when Christ shall be all in all. Let us, then, faithfully endure all things for the sake of Christ our Savior and His Kingdom, that having endured in hope, we may be found worthy of the promise.
Today's Gospel records the geneology of Jesus Christ from Abraham: this shows, first of all, that Jesus, though fully divine, was at the same time fully human. And because He assumed all the fullness of our human nature, He was truly able to heal of of the effects of the ancestral sin. As the holy Fathers of the Church affirm, that which is not assumed cannot be healed. But it is also significant that these ancestors suffered and died in expectation of the promised Messiah.
They lived by faith, hoping "for a city which hath foundations, whose maker and builder is God." Truly, as the Holy Apostle affirms, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for." Nor is this the vague hope spoken of by certain politicians, who promise (but can never deliver) some sort of secular utopia.
This is rather a hope firmly rooted in God's promises, and thus worth suffering and dying for--as the holy martyrs throughout history bear witness. And while the Old Testament saints lived in expectation of the Messiah's coming, we live in expectation of His Second Coming, the Parousia, when He shall come to judge the living and the dead and to establish an eternal Kingdom that shall never pass away.
Through the Nativity of Christ, God fulfills the promise of His salvation, but we still await in hope the final consummation of the ages, when Christ shall be all in all. Let us, then, faithfully endure all things for the sake of Christ our Savior and His Kingdom, that having endured in hope, we may be found worthy of the promise.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
THE SABBATH IS MADE FOR MAN
Our Lord was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath when he saw a woman who had been suffering from a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years. As a result, she was all bent over and could not even walk. Feeling compassion for this unfortunate suffering woman, Jesus healed her by a simple word and the touch of His all-pure hands. I would imagine the woman cried tears of joy over her miraculous delivery, but the ruler of the synagogue was incensed. How dare He heal the woman on the Sabbath, when there are six other days of the week whereon he might do this "work?" (Strictly speaking, no work whatsoever was permitted on the Sabbath, and healing was technically considered work).
Our Lord's famous reply, however, put the ruler to shame: "The Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath." And if this is so regarding the Old Testament Law, h0w much more so concerning the law of love Christ came to proclaim? The rules and canons of the Church are, in fact, not meant to enslave us, but to liberate us. We have not been given a list of senseless and arbitrary rules and regulations, but rather a path to salvation and the means to follow it.
Christ's healing of the woman was an act of love, and the law of love surely supercedes any strict interpretation of the Law. In fact, the entirety of the Jewish Law has already been fulfilled in Christ, Who has revealed to us a new law of grace. Yet there remain many Christians to this day who believe if we are simply "good" enough and obey all the rules, God will reward us by allowing us to go to heaven when we die. But this is legalism pure and simple, and has nothing to do with the Christian revelation.
Surely the rules and guidelines we follow as Christians can never be viewed as ends in themselves. Their sole purpose is to provide for us the means of uniting our souls with God, and this union already is heaven for those who achieve it. But the biggest obstacle to this union is pride, which is why our Lord so roundly condemned the Pharisees: these people thought they were better than anyone else simply because they followed the letter of the Law. Having been thus blinded by the spirit of pride, they failed to see the forest for the trees: by focussing on the literal fulfillment of the Law, they lost sight of the supreme law of love.
This is why we must all, as St. Paul says, put on the "whole armor of God," because the Devil prowls about like a roaring lion ever seeking whom he may devour. And his greatest weapon is to instill in our hearts a spirit of pride. His goal is not so much to turn us all into atheists, but rather to make us think we are righteous and holy when in fact all of our righteousness is as filthy rags. "A humble and contrite heart Thou wilt not despise," says the Psalmist, and this indeed is the greatest armor of all against the wiles of the enemy and the surest path to salvation.
Our Lord's famous reply, however, put the ruler to shame: "The Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath." And if this is so regarding the Old Testament Law, h0w much more so concerning the law of love Christ came to proclaim? The rules and canons of the Church are, in fact, not meant to enslave us, but to liberate us. We have not been given a list of senseless and arbitrary rules and regulations, but rather a path to salvation and the means to follow it.
Christ's healing of the woman was an act of love, and the law of love surely supercedes any strict interpretation of the Law. In fact, the entirety of the Jewish Law has already been fulfilled in Christ, Who has revealed to us a new law of grace. Yet there remain many Christians to this day who believe if we are simply "good" enough and obey all the rules, God will reward us by allowing us to go to heaven when we die. But this is legalism pure and simple, and has nothing to do with the Christian revelation.
Surely the rules and guidelines we follow as Christians can never be viewed as ends in themselves. Their sole purpose is to provide for us the means of uniting our souls with God, and this union already is heaven for those who achieve it. But the biggest obstacle to this union is pride, which is why our Lord so roundly condemned the Pharisees: these people thought they were better than anyone else simply because they followed the letter of the Law. Having been thus blinded by the spirit of pride, they failed to see the forest for the trees: by focussing on the literal fulfillment of the Law, they lost sight of the supreme law of love.
This is why we must all, as St. Paul says, put on the "whole armor of God," because the Devil prowls about like a roaring lion ever seeking whom he may devour. And his greatest weapon is to instill in our hearts a spirit of pride. His goal is not so much to turn us all into atheists, but rather to make us think we are righteous and holy when in fact all of our righteousness is as filthy rags. "A humble and contrite heart Thou wilt not despise," says the Psalmist, and this indeed is the greatest armor of all against the wiles of the enemy and the surest path to salvation.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
THE RICH FOOL
In the Parable of the Rich Fool, a landowner has been blessed over the years with abundant crops. It finally gets to the point where he no longer has room to store it all, and so he comes up with a bright idea: he will tear down his old barns and build new and bigger ones. Then, having set aside so much, he will not be required to work anymore. Instead, he'll "eat, drink and be merry," devoting his life to the pursuit of pure pleasure. Unfortunately for him, however, "Man proposes, but God disposes." That very night God will take his soul and demand a reckoning.
"So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." Now the point of this parable isn't that we shoudn't make wise provision for our future and the well being of our loved ones. Surely God expects us to be responsible stewards of the material blessings He gives us, and especially that we should share these blessings with those less fortunate than ourselves. The problem is, the Rich Fool puts all of his hope and trust in these blessings, while forgetting their Source.
Rather than thanking God for His blessings and using his resources to better serve Him, he sees his good fortune as an opportunity to "take his ease." This seems to be the goal of most contemporary Americans--to get to the point where we can get by doing as little work as possible and can simply enjoy life. But the truth is, we haven't been put on this earth for the sake of our own personal enjoyment and happiness. Rather, the time allotted us has been given for repentance, that we might strive to work out our "own salvation with fear and trembling." And since we don't know when God will demand an account of our actions, it is imperative that we live each day as though it were our last.
Just like the human mind in the old commercial, the time given us by God is a terrible thing to waste. It would indeed be nice if our life were like a video cassette: we can pause it or rewind it any time we wish and start all over again. But the reality is, we only live once. There can be no second chances. All too quickly, time passes by relentlessly like sand through an hour glass, and before we know it, we've wasted the best years of our life in foolish and frivolous pursuits.
That is why we are called upon to "redeem the time," for the days we live in are evil and we can all too easily lose sight of "the one thing needful." The time we have been given in this life is our most precious resource, and it stops for no man. For this reason, today is the day of salvation: tomorrow it may be too late.
"So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." Now the point of this parable isn't that we shoudn't make wise provision for our future and the well being of our loved ones. Surely God expects us to be responsible stewards of the material blessings He gives us, and especially that we should share these blessings with those less fortunate than ourselves. The problem is, the Rich Fool puts all of his hope and trust in these blessings, while forgetting their Source.
Rather than thanking God for His blessings and using his resources to better serve Him, he sees his good fortune as an opportunity to "take his ease." This seems to be the goal of most contemporary Americans--to get to the point where we can get by doing as little work as possible and can simply enjoy life. But the truth is, we haven't been put on this earth for the sake of our own personal enjoyment and happiness. Rather, the time allotted us has been given for repentance, that we might strive to work out our "own salvation with fear and trembling." And since we don't know when God will demand an account of our actions, it is imperative that we live each day as though it were our last.
Just like the human mind in the old commercial, the time given us by God is a terrible thing to waste. It would indeed be nice if our life were like a video cassette: we can pause it or rewind it any time we wish and start all over again. But the reality is, we only live once. There can be no second chances. All too quickly, time passes by relentlessly like sand through an hour glass, and before we know it, we've wasted the best years of our life in foolish and frivolous pursuits.
That is why we are called upon to "redeem the time," for the days we live in are evil and we can all too easily lose sight of "the one thing needful." The time we have been given in this life is our most precious resource, and it stops for no man. For this reason, today is the day of salvation: tomorrow it may be too late.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?
A lawyer comes to Jesus and asks Him, "What is the greatest commandment of the Law?" Instead of answering directly, our Lord asks him what he thinks, and he replies, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy mind, and with all thy soul, and thy neighbor as thyself." Jesus replies that he has answered correctly, but the lawyer, "seeking to justify himself," asks, "And who is my neighbor?" For the Jews considered only their fellow Israelites to be their neighbors, which provided an exellent loophole for treating all others as outside the pale.
Now Jesus could have simply said, "Your neighbor is anyone in need--not just your fellow Jew." Instead, he tells a parable about a man (no doubt a Jew) who is set upon by thieves. A priest and a Levite both pass by and look upon the unfortunate victim and pass by, offering no help whatsoever. Perhaps they felt some desire to help, but you see, there was the risk of coming into contact with blood, and this would have rendered them ritually unclean, thereby requiring some rather extensive purification rites, which would have been just too inconvenient. Finally a Samaritan, a member of a race despised by the Jews, passes by. He not only offers immediate help, but takes the victim to an inn and takes care of him. Not only so, but when it is time for him to depart, he leaves money with the innkeeper and charges him to spare no expense in his care of the victim.
Finally Jesus asks the lawyer which of the three was neighbor to the man in need, and the lawyer answers rightly, "The one who showed mercy." Then Jesus says simply, "Go and do likewise." For indeed, it is only when we actually show mercy toward another that the relationship of neighbor comes about. Technically, both the priest and the Levite were neighbors to the victim, but only the despised Samaritan proved to be a neighbor in fact.
God says in the Scriptures, "I will have mercy and not sacrifice"--while the priest and the Levite are more concerned with preserving their ritual purity than in fulfilling the commandment of love. And so we all can easily fall into the trap of thinking we are faithful Orthodox Christians because we keep the fasts, say our daily prayers, attend church and receive Holy Communion--all the while neglecting those concrete acts of love that constitute the essence of the Christian life.
It is not enough to be perfectly correct in all of the outward aspects of the Faith if at the same time we neglect the command to be merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful. For even if we somehow manage to faithfully observe every single canon of the Church--that is, "the letter of the Law"--we are condemned for not keeping the most essential canon of them all, which constitutes the spirit of the Law--love of God and neighbor.
Today we celebrate the memory of the holy apostle Matthew, a former tax collector who (due to his profession) was in flagrant violation of the Jewish Law. Yet when Christ says to him, "Follow me," he gives it all up out of his love of God, while this very same love inspires him to sacrifice his whole life in service to his neighbor. Suffering gladly every hardship in order to preach the Gospel to those who are perishing, he finally dies a martyr's death. So may we all, through the prayers of the holy apostle Matthew, be strengthened in the Faith and inspired to follow his good example.
Now Jesus could have simply said, "Your neighbor is anyone in need--not just your fellow Jew." Instead, he tells a parable about a man (no doubt a Jew) who is set upon by thieves. A priest and a Levite both pass by and look upon the unfortunate victim and pass by, offering no help whatsoever. Perhaps they felt some desire to help, but you see, there was the risk of coming into contact with blood, and this would have rendered them ritually unclean, thereby requiring some rather extensive purification rites, which would have been just too inconvenient. Finally a Samaritan, a member of a race despised by the Jews, passes by. He not only offers immediate help, but takes the victim to an inn and takes care of him. Not only so, but when it is time for him to depart, he leaves money with the innkeeper and charges him to spare no expense in his care of the victim.
Finally Jesus asks the lawyer which of the three was neighbor to the man in need, and the lawyer answers rightly, "The one who showed mercy." Then Jesus says simply, "Go and do likewise." For indeed, it is only when we actually show mercy toward another that the relationship of neighbor comes about. Technically, both the priest and the Levite were neighbors to the victim, but only the despised Samaritan proved to be a neighbor in fact.
God says in the Scriptures, "I will have mercy and not sacrifice"--while the priest and the Levite are more concerned with preserving their ritual purity than in fulfilling the commandment of love. And so we all can easily fall into the trap of thinking we are faithful Orthodox Christians because we keep the fasts, say our daily prayers, attend church and receive Holy Communion--all the while neglecting those concrete acts of love that constitute the essence of the Christian life.
It is not enough to be perfectly correct in all of the outward aspects of the Faith if at the same time we neglect the command to be merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful. For even if we somehow manage to faithfully observe every single canon of the Church--that is, "the letter of the Law"--we are condemned for not keeping the most essential canon of them all, which constitutes the spirit of the Law--love of God and neighbor.
Today we celebrate the memory of the holy apostle Matthew, a former tax collector who (due to his profession) was in flagrant violation of the Jewish Law. Yet when Christ says to him, "Follow me," he gives it all up out of his love of God, while this very same love inspires him to sacrifice his whole life in service to his neighbor. Suffering gladly every hardship in order to preach the Gospel to those who are perishing, he finally dies a martyr's death. So may we all, through the prayers of the holy apostle Matthew, be strengthened in the Faith and inspired to follow his good example.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
OUR GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE
When Jesus cast the demons into the herd of swine and they plunged over a cliff and drowned, the Gadarenes were neither joyful nor astonished at this manifestation of God's power, but rather they were afraid, and they begged our Lord to depart from their region. Like many people today, they preferred God a safe distance away, not actively involved in their affairs. As the English saying goes, "God is in His heaven, and all's well on earth."
Like the Pharisees, the Gadarenes preferred the status quo, business as usual. They had no desire to "cast out into the deep" and perchance risk a first hand encounter with God. They were like the Grand Inquisitor of Dostoyevsky's tale, who demanded to know why Christ had to return to earth: the Church, after all, was doing perfectly well without Him.
Truly, "Our God is a consuming fire," and "It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God." To be sure, God is love. Thus, St. Paul shows us "a more excellent way." For even the greatest of spiritual gifts will eventually pass away, while of all things love alone is eternal. Indeed, apart from love, nothing we accomplish in the spiritual live has any value.
Nevertheless, God's love is a two edged sword: for the demons and sinners, it is a tormenting fire, while for the righteous, it is illumination and heavenly joy. The wicked fear God because His light reveals their works of darkness and brings down judgment upon their superficial, worldly and self-centered lives.
The truth is, Christ came to cast fire upon the earth; not to bring peace, but to initiate the final war between the forces of darkness and light. The question is, when push comes to shove, what side are we on? It is impossible to hide from God or to straddle the fence. If we are not for Him, then it stands to reason we are against him.
For truly, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand! And only those who sincerely repent, turning from the darkness of this world to the light of the living God, will be saved. Moreover, the sign of this Kingdom is the gift of healing given to His disciples--especially to the Holy Unmercenaries--the power to cast out demons and to cure every manner of disease.
For Christ did not come to condemn the world, but "to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."
Like the Pharisees, the Gadarenes preferred the status quo, business as usual. They had no desire to "cast out into the deep" and perchance risk a first hand encounter with God. They were like the Grand Inquisitor of Dostoyevsky's tale, who demanded to know why Christ had to return to earth: the Church, after all, was doing perfectly well without Him.
Truly, "Our God is a consuming fire," and "It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God." To be sure, God is love. Thus, St. Paul shows us "a more excellent way." For even the greatest of spiritual gifts will eventually pass away, while of all things love alone is eternal. Indeed, apart from love, nothing we accomplish in the spiritual live has any value.
Nevertheless, God's love is a two edged sword: for the demons and sinners, it is a tormenting fire, while for the righteous, it is illumination and heavenly joy. The wicked fear God because His light reveals their works of darkness and brings down judgment upon their superficial, worldly and self-centered lives.
The truth is, Christ came to cast fire upon the earth; not to bring peace, but to initiate the final war between the forces of darkness and light. The question is, when push comes to shove, what side are we on? It is impossible to hide from God or to straddle the fence. If we are not for Him, then it stands to reason we are against him.
For truly, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand! And only those who sincerely repent, turning from the darkness of this world to the light of the living God, will be saved. Moreover, the sign of this Kingdom is the gift of healing given to His disciples--especially to the Holy Unmercenaries--the power to cast out demons and to cure every manner of disease.
For Christ did not come to condemn the world, but "to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."
Thursday, November 12, 2009
GREAT MARTYR DEMITRIOS
Our Lord assures us, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you....If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you." This is another one of those "hard sayings" of the Gospel which so many would be Christians choose to ignore. Rather than courageously bearing witness to Christ before the powers of this world, these lukewarm Christians instead take the easier path, making friends with this world and accomodating their faith to worldly standards.
After all, we certainly do not wish to step on anyone's toes or to "offend" those who may feel uncomfortable with our convictions. In this relativistic society of ours, one of the gravest sins is to speak the truth as we see it, whatever the consequences. So what we are left with in the end is a watered down faith that is powerless to save ourselves or anyone else.
We would all prefer to have our cake and to eat it too. Why not enjoy all the benefits of a worldly life while still retaining the image of a "good Christian?" So it is we can faithfully attend church and go through all the motions of a pious life, all the while lacking the courage of our convictions.
The fact is, though, our faith is not meant to be a crutch to help us "get through" life, but rather a weapon to be used against the principalities and powers that rule this world. St. Dimitrios is an example for us all of what it means to bear witness to Christ in this fallen world. As the military governor of Thessalonica, he had attained a position of authority and power that most men would envy. Yet when the emperor ordered him to exterminate all the Christians in the city, he refused point blank. Instead, he chose the much harder path of obeying the King of Heaven. For this, he was stripped of his military rank, cast into prison and subjected to the most brutal torture. In the end, he was run through with spears and breathed his last as a true and faithful witness. Yet for this witness, he received the incomparable riches of eternal life in God's heavenly Kingdom.
It is true that we in this country no longer face literal martyrdom, though our turn may well be coming. As Blessed Seraphim Rose of Platina once stated, "What began in Russia will end in America." And for that matter, there are places in this world today where literal martyrdom is still a real and present danger. In any case, whatever the circumstances, a genuine Christian life must in some sense be martyric.
Self denial, accepting ridicule and abuse from those who hate us, striving to put Christ at the center of our lives--all of this and more is true martyrdom. But how is it possible for us fallen and sinful creatures to live such a life? St. Paul gives the answer: we must "be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus," all the while enduring "hardness, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus." This was the path chosen by St. Dimitrios. May we all, through his holy prayers, do likewise.
After all, we certainly do not wish to step on anyone's toes or to "offend" those who may feel uncomfortable with our convictions. In this relativistic society of ours, one of the gravest sins is to speak the truth as we see it, whatever the consequences. So what we are left with in the end is a watered down faith that is powerless to save ourselves or anyone else.
We would all prefer to have our cake and to eat it too. Why not enjoy all the benefits of a worldly life while still retaining the image of a "good Christian?" So it is we can faithfully attend church and go through all the motions of a pious life, all the while lacking the courage of our convictions.
The fact is, though, our faith is not meant to be a crutch to help us "get through" life, but rather a weapon to be used against the principalities and powers that rule this world. St. Dimitrios is an example for us all of what it means to bear witness to Christ in this fallen world. As the military governor of Thessalonica, he had attained a position of authority and power that most men would envy. Yet when the emperor ordered him to exterminate all the Christians in the city, he refused point blank. Instead, he chose the much harder path of obeying the King of Heaven. For this, he was stripped of his military rank, cast into prison and subjected to the most brutal torture. In the end, he was run through with spears and breathed his last as a true and faithful witness. Yet for this witness, he received the incomparable riches of eternal life in God's heavenly Kingdom.
It is true that we in this country no longer face literal martyrdom, though our turn may well be coming. As Blessed Seraphim Rose of Platina once stated, "What began in Russia will end in America." And for that matter, there are places in this world today where literal martyrdom is still a real and present danger. In any case, whatever the circumstances, a genuine Christian life must in some sense be martyric.
Self denial, accepting ridicule and abuse from those who hate us, striving to put Christ at the center of our lives--all of this and more is true martyrdom. But how is it possible for us fallen and sinful creatures to live such a life? St. Paul gives the answer: we must "be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus," all the while enduring "hardness, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus." This was the path chosen by St. Dimitrios. May we all, through his holy prayers, do likewise.
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