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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ON SEPTEMBER 17th OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH COMMEMORATES THE HOLY MARTYRS FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE
They lived and suffered in Rome in the time of the pagan Roman emperor Hadrian. The wise Sophia (as her name--Sophia--wisdom, indicates) was left a widow and, as a Christian, steeped herself and her daughters in the Christian faith. At the time that Hadrian's persecuting hand stretched out over the virtuous house of Sophia, Faith was twelve years old, Hope was ten years old and Love was nine years old. The four of them were brought before the pagan emperor, with their arms entwined 'like a woven wreath', humbly but firmly confessing their faith in Christ the Lord and refusing to offer sacrifice to the pagan goddess Artemis. At the moment of their passion, the mother Sophia urged her valiant daughters to endure to the end: 'Your heavenly Lover, Jesus Christ, is eternal health, inexpressible beauty and Life Eternal. When your bodies are slain by torture, He will clothe you in incorruption and the wounds on your bodies will shine in heaven like the stars'. The torturers inflicted harsh torture on Faith, Hope and Love, one by one. They beat them, stabbed them and threw them into fire and boiling pitch, and finally beheaded them one after the other. Sophia took the dead bodies of her daughters out of the town and buried them, and stayed by their grave in prayer for three days and nights, then gave her soul to God, hastening to the heavenly company where the blessed souls of her daughters awaited her.
FOR CONSIDERATION
A God-fearing and faithful ruler is a blessing from heaven on his whole people. King Vatslav (Wenceslas) of the Czechs was such a ruler. His zeal for the holy things of the Faith and his strictness of life are reminiscent of the ancient ascetics. He devoted his days to administrative work and his night to prayer, and he often prepared and cooked the holy bread, most especially when he himself was to receive Holy Communion. He was concerned in the building of many churches, in which daily services were celebrated, and gave special care to the poor and needy. He was a lover of peace, although a great and fearless hero. When the neighboring prince, Radislav, invaded the Czech lands. Vatslav sent him a letter, asking him what had roused him to make war against him. Radislav replied haughtily that he was after the whole of the Czech lands and Vatslav's throne. Then Vatslav gathered together a large army and marched against his enemy. Then, seeing the two great armies, he mourned the coming loss of life and sent the following message to Radislav. 'The quarrel is between the two of us. You want to conquer this land, and I refuse to let you. Let us settle this matter by single combat. What purpose would be served by a bloody conflict between our two armies? Prince Radislav agreed single combat, and, being overcome by Vatslav, begged his forgiveness on his knees.
HOMILY
--on the unity of being of the Father and the Son.
"I and the Father are one" (John 10:30)
The greater the wonders (miracles) by the Lord Jesus Christ and the closer He approached to His death, the more openly He spoke of Himself. Numerous miracles and a period of time for assimilation worked on both the good and the evil: the good became receptive to the revelation of the high mysteries of God, and the evil became yet more darkened by their evil and incapable of appreciating these mysteries. Therefore the evil men "took up stones to kill him".
"I and the Father are one." The Father and the Son are one in their essential being, but are not one in person, for they could neither of them be called by two names --- Father and Son. All the Father's being is shared by the Son and by the Holy Spirit; but the Person of the Father is unique to the Father, as that of the Son is to the Son and that of the Holy Spirit is to the Holy Spirit. But, when the Divine Essence is in question, the Son can say: "I and the Father are one", and the Father can say: "I and the Son are one", and the Holy Spirit can say this of both the Father and the Son.
The unity of being that the Son has with the Father is expressed by the Lord Jesus in these further words: "The Father is in Me, and I in Him." Can the Divinity of the Son be more clearly put into words? Can the tongue of man more strongly express the unity of God in Three persons? The dogma of the Divinity of the Son of God, as the dogma of the unity of the being of God, is revealed and set forth by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Let no-one, then, embrace then, embrace the faith of deluded unbelievers and heretics who hold that the Lord Jesus did not Himself proclaim His Divinity, but this was a dogma added later to the Church. If Christ had not proclaimed His Divinity, why would the Jews have said to Him: "Makest Thou Thyself God?" And why did they take up stones against Him?
O Lord Jesus, Thou Son of God, one in being with the Father and the Holy Spirit, have mercy upon and save us by the Might and Goodness of The Divinity. To Thee be Glory and Praise forever. Amen. (Source: The Prologue from Ochrid)
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" -- Saint John Chrysostom
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With sincere agape in His Holy Diaconate (Ministry)
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George