My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
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HOPE - THE FORTRESS OF LIFE
PSALM 90 (91)
He Who dwells under the shadow of the Most High, shall abide under the shelter of the God of Heaven. He will say to the Lord: "You are my support and my refuge, O my God: in Him, I shall put my trust." For He will deliver you from the hunter's snare, and from every troublesome slander. With His broad shoulders, He shall overshadow you, and under His wings, you shall rest secure; His truth shall cover you like a shield. You shall not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day; nor the thing that lurks about in the darkness, nor any calamity or the evil spirit at noon. A thousand shall fall at your side and ten thousand at your right, but nothing shall come close to you. Instead, you shall observe with your eyes and see the retribution of the sinners. For You, Lord, are my hope; You made the Most High my shelter. No evil shall come to you, and no pestilence shall approach your dwelling. For He will put His Angels in charge of you to protect you in all your ways. They shall tread upon the asp and the viper, and you shall trample upon the lion and the dragon. Because he hoped in me, I will deliver him; I will shelter him because He knew my name. He will call on me and I will answer him; I am with him in trouble and I will deliver him and glorify Him. I will satisfy him with a length of days and I will show him my salvation. Amen.
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"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the
Holy Spirit you may abound in hope" (Romans 15:13).
HOPE - JOY AND PEACE
Hope occupies the central place in the three: hope, joy and peace. The meaning of each of these three excellences should be understood in the background of the other two. Hope itself plays a role in activating faith and love; hope enriches faith by uplifting it to a deep conviction, and it keeps alive the content of love. It is because of hope that Christians expect with eagerness the fulfillment of the essence of this hope; salvation is a deep feeling of expectation, and as such gives wings to faith and love. For these reasons, we invoke Almighty God as the "God of hope" to make firm these three excellences as the foundation of the spiritual and moral life.
The Gospel of Christ is a Christian way of life; it is a daily experience in living. This way of living can be attained and safeguarded when the pious Christian delves constantly in the Divine Word, especially in the Gospel of Christ, when also he elaborates the Message of the Gospel in his thinking and meditation for an experience of his own; and then prayerfully invokes Almighty God to lift up his heart in the hope of the attainment of salvation and also the attainment of his expectations, of his hope...
"Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing steadfastly in prayer" (Romans 12:12).
"Rejoicing in hope" is the admonition of a great preacher who overthrew the power of evil. Apostle Paul fought the two battles and established his victory in the hope of a new destiny of life. Apostle Paul expresses his experience to each of us. Such rejoicing in hope lives in the hearts of the faithful; it becomes stronger at moments of tribulations; it becomes more fruitful in genuine love for others; it becomes more powerful in abhorring evil; hope's strength is derived from constant prayer and from practicing charity (Romans 12:9-13). (Source: O Logos)
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Beloved,
I ask all of you that you follow our holy Orthodox Christian traditions of praying unceasingly, of lighting your votive light (kandili) and offering incense, daily. All of these spiritual practices bring us the strength of faith and comfort. We are reminded through them of God's presence and of His unending love. If you have the service of the Small Paraklesis (Supplication) service to the Theotokos offer it daily. The Paraklesis service can be conducted by all at hope or any other place and is chanted in times of distress and sorrow of soul.
Let us turn to a few of the Hymns to the Theotokos and Mother of God
O Theotokos, we shall never be silent. Of your mighty acts, all we the unworthy; Had you not stood to intercede for us Who would have delivered us, From the numerous perils? Who would have preserved us all Until now with our freedom? O Lady, we shall not depart from you; For you always save your servants, From all tribulations.
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Deliver us, All of your servants, from danger, O Theotokos; After God, we all flee to you, For shelter and covering, As an unshakable wall and our protection.
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A fervent prayer, and wall most unshakable A merciful spring And shelter of all mankind; Fervently, we cry to you: Theotokos, our Lady, Come to us And from all dangers now deliver us The only protection who speeds to us.
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All those Do you shelter, O Good One, Those who in their faith flee unto you, With your strong hand, you protect; We who sin have no one else, Who intercedes for us Before God, praying endlessly, In ills and all dangers, For us who are laden with Our many sins and mistakes; Mother, of our God in the Highest Therefore, we fall down to you, humbly; From all misfortunes, keep your servants safe.
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My numerous hopes are placed Before you, most holy one; Mother of God, Guard me with care, within your sheltered arms.
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PLEASE KNOW THAT ALL OF YOU ARE ALWAYS IN MY PRAYERS. MAY OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST BLESS AND PROTECT EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU.
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!"-- Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George