Prepare your soul for temptation (Saint Nicholas of Japan)

A sermon by St. Nicholas of Japan at the Council of the Japanese Church in July 1887

Holy Scripture says, "Son, when you come to serve the Lord God, prepare your soul for temptation. Prepare your heart and be patient. And do not be hasty in time of adversity. Cleave to Him and do not turn aside, that you may grow up in your latter end" ( Sirach 2:1-3 ). All of us here, of course, have come to serve God and thus know well that serving God means forcing ourselves to work. But we also know that this service also contains great joy. For the all-seeing God not only sees those who serve Him but also helps them, and the merciful One loves them. However, the path of serving God is filled with dangers and stumbling blocks, weaknesses and falls, and therefore Holy Scripture teaches us that if you want to serve the Lord God, then prepare your soul for temptations.

Life of Saint Nicholas of Japan (+1912)

Equal-to-the-Apostles Nicholas (Kasatkin) , the founder and first hierarch of the Japanese Church, is a prominent Russian missionary of the 20th century. Having died in 1912, he was canonized sixty years after his death (March 31, 1970).

This selfless missionary devoted his entire life and energy to preaching the Gospel and sowing the Word of God in the Land of the Rising Sun, and his apostolic labors bore rich fruit. Naganawa Mitsuo writes: "He left behind a cathedral, eight temples, 175 churches, 276 parishes, and raised one bishop, 34 priests, eight deacons, and 115 preachers. The total number of Orthodox believers reached 34,110…"

Archpriest I. Vostorgov , who visited Japan, wrote: "No one in Japan, after the Emperor, enjoyed such renown. In the Japanese capital, there was no need to ask where the Russian Orthodox mission was; it was enough to say the word 'Nikolai,' and literally every rickshaw driver immediately knew where to take a mission guest. The Orthodox church was called 'Nikolai,' and the mission site was also called 'Nikolai,' even Orthodoxy itself was called 'Nikolai.' Traveling through the country in the garb of Russian priests, we always and everywhere encountered kind glances, and in the greetings and conversations about us, we caught with our ears, amidst the incomprehensible words and expressions of an unfamiliar language, one familiar and dear one: 'Nikolai.'"

The renowned orientalist D. M. Pozdneev, who knew the saint closely, recalls: "Along with gentleness, he was a man of iron, unaware of any obstacles, a practical mind and administrator who knew how to find a way out of any difficult situation. Along with his kindness, he had the ability to be icy, unyielding, and harsh with people whom he found necessary to discipline with strict measures, to punish or stop for something. Along with his sociability, he possessed a very strong reserve, acquired through long experience and bitter trials, and it took much time and effort to earn his trust and frankness. Along with a certain childish naiveté of a cheerful conversationalist, he possessed the breadth of ideals of a great statesman, an endless love for his homeland, suffering with its sufferings, and tormented by its torments... Broad and holy ideals, an iron will, and an inexhaustible love of work—this is the essence of Archbishop Nicholas."

One cannot but agree with A. Platonova, the author of one of the saint’s biographies, who wrote: “It is the duty of every Russian person to know about him in as much detail as possible, because people like Archbishop Nicholas are the pride and adornment of their country.”

His activities were fraught with many sorrows. Archbishop Nicholas was persecuted from two sides: by the Japanese, as a Russian political agent, a spy, and an agitator sowing treason and sympathy for a perfidious, predatory Russia on Japanese soil; by the Russians, as someone telling Japan things about Russia it didn't need to know... The archbishop's activities were thus declared not only useless but also harmful, and many in Russia viewed him as an eccentric possessed by a strange mania. Archbishop Nicholas was saved for his work by two ideas that guided him throughout his life: the first was the idea of ​​apostolic service, the feat of spreading Orthodoxy among the pagans; the second was a fervent conviction that his work should stand apart from any connection with politics." And elsewhere: "He was imbued with something he kept within himself not for earthly purposes."

Homily for the Meeting of the Lord (Fr. Daniel Sysoev)

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!

I congratulate you all on the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord! This is the day when we celebrate the meeting of two Covenants: the Old Covenant, made with the people of Israel, and the New Covenant, made with the Universal Church, now including all nations. We must ponder the words of prophecy proclaimed by the ancient elder Symeon, taking the Creator of the Universe in his arms: "Now let Your servant depart in peace, O Master, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel." (By word — according to promise. By revelation — for enlightenment. By Gentiles — the nations.)

Life of Saint Brigid of Kildare (+525)

 

Saint Brigid, Abbess of Kildare

Commemorated on February 1/14

Dmitry Lapa

Icon of St. Bridget of Kildare (taken from "Come and See Icons")Saint Brigid (Brigida, Bridget), Ireland's most revered saint, lived in the second half of the 5th and early 6th centuries. She was born between 450 and 454 and died between 523 and 527. Her name means "light bearer" (other variations include "strength," "virtue," and "exalted"). The saint truly lived up to her name with the light of her virtuous life. She is often called the "Irish Mary" ^[1] and the "pillar of Ireland," and is venerated on the "Emerald Isle" alongside Saints Patrick and Columba. The figure of this great saint quickly became surrounded by legends, making Brigid not only the greatest Christian ascetic of the Irish land, but also one of the most popular figures in Irish folklore.

Soon after St. Brigid's death, and again in the late Middle Ages, numerous versions of her life were composed in Old Irish and Latin. The oldest surviving life was written in the mid-7th century by St. Cogitos, a monk of Kildare Monastery (feast day: April 18). Also worth mentioning are the 7th-century lives of St. Muirchu, a learned monk and historian from Leinster (feast day: June 8; he also wrote his version of the life of St. Patrick); St. Kilian, abbot of the monastery on the island of Inish Cultra (feast day: July 29); and St. Ultan, Bishop of Ardbraccan, a hymnographer and relative of St. Brigid (feast day: September 4).

Meatfare Saturday of Souls

 

ETERNAL MEMORY

Sermon for Meatfare Saturday of Souls

By Igumen Tihon


Today the Church pronounces words we have heard many times—and yet they are never familiar:
"Eternal Memory."

We pronounce them quietly, sometimes with tears, sometimes with an inner emptiness. But if you think about it, we are not asking that God not forget the deceased. God does not forget—forgetfulness is ours, not His. The memory of God is not a recollection of the past; the memory of God is life. To be in the memory of God means to be alive in Him.

The Three Saints as a Model of the Struggle for Faith (Metropolitan Augustine Kantiotis of Florina)

 

Our Orthodox Church is a Garden where flowers with an unfading fragrance grow. Among these spiritual flowers are the Three Holy Hierarchs whose memory we celebrate today: Saint Basil the Great, Saint Gregory the Theologian, and Saint John Chrysostom.

These saints were great fighters for the faith. Remember that our earthly life is a time of spiritual warfare, a battlefield... The Three Ecumenical Teachers are a model for us all.

* * *

Their era, like any other, was riddled with sins, vices, passions, crimes, temptations, errors, and all manner of heresies... but they did not succumb. They confronted all these challenges, waging an unwavering struggle. And thus became an example for those who defend the Christian faith.

On Christian upbringing of children (Hieromartyr Varlaam Ryashentsev)

Introduction

There seems to be no question more pressing and vital, more urgent and pressing, than the question of raising children. Indeed, it is the key to family happiness, the foundation of social well-being, the strength of nations, the beauty and happiness of life—but, strange as it may seem, it is also the potential source of the great misfortunes that darken a person's life. That is how great and important this question is.

Despite all this, no issue has always been treated by society with such inattention and disdain as the issue of education.

Modern intelligentsia are endlessly interested in and debated about forms of government, the foundations of social life, various philosophical and literary movements—but not about family and raising children. This is partly explained by the fact that the task of education is discreet and modest, yet it requires serious work, dedication, and even heroism. Modern man, however, is willing to accept and reconcile himself to anything, but not with dedication and heroism, for he views life from the standpoint of pleasure.

Without any interest in upbringing or understanding of it, modern parents entrust their children to the care of nurses, nannies, and various governesses, at best reserving for themselves only the most basic supervision and general instructions. This situation is abnormal: indeed, can a stranger, even a kind and decent one, replace a child's mother? After all, a child is flesh of its mother's flesh and bone; its soul is, as it were, a part of its mother's soul, and no power can compare to a mother's influence on a child. To entrust a child's spiritual upbringing to others is to abandon one's own child.

During school years, parents seem to care even less about their children: they shift all responsibility to the school, which is usually blamed for all their children's mental and moral shortcomings. This judgment is harsh and unfair. It's unfair because the foundation of character, all good qualities, must be instilled in a child from childhood, before school. For no school, even the most ideal, will do what parents neglected to do, much less correct what parents once sinned in. That's why the Apostle Paul commands fathers to bring up their children "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" ( Eph. 6:4 )—not teachers.

The soul of a small child is like wax, not yet defined. Parents give it its first form, and by the age of six to eight, the child's soul has already hardened within it. By this time, the child has acquired a certain character, certain and defined habits, which are difficult to change during school age, and nearly impossible to completely replace. When a sculptor makes a statue from a mass of molten metal, he can shape it into any number of forms until the mass hardens; but once the mass hardens, the sculptor is powerless: he can do very little. This comparison is entirely applicable to the soul of a child and its early development.

So, the upbringing of a child is, first of all, the work of the parents, and not of mothers and nannies and not of the school, because no governess can replace a child’s mother, and no school can do what a family can and should do.

The first evil of modern education is the oblivion of this truth.

Furthermore, the educational issues we are addressing are so diverse and complex that it is utterly impossible to cover them all in a brief overview. Thus, a distinction is made between physical, mental, and moral, or religious-moral, education. Physical education is emphasized in our age, but again, somewhat unsuccessfully, to the detriment of the child's spiritual and character development. Rightly or wrongly, intellectual development is also emphasized, imparting it primarily through secondary and higher education; the one, but most important, education—religious-moral, or Christian—is completely neglected.

They think that baptizing a child and giving them Holy Communion once a year is enough to ensure they grow up a Christian. Alas, this is far from enough. Don't we see how our children grow up irreligious—they pray little to God, don't know the prayers, and exhibit bad temperaments? At school, these negative traits develop further, ultimately degenerating into religious atheism and complete moral depravity. How can we recognize Christians in such children?

Today's parents don't care about their children's souls and their Christian growth. They worry about their health, academic success, good manners, music, and foreign language skills—but not about their souls. Of course, these concerns are also good; but forgetting the essential and eternal simply because of the secondary and temporary is unforgivable, sinful, and detrimental to children. The absence of a clearly defined and expressed Christian goal in upbringing is the second greatest evil, the root of countless misfortunes for children in this life, and perhaps even in eternity. The ancient Christians acted differently: they lived according to the Savior's commandment— "Seek ye first the kingdom of God... and all these things shall be added unto you" ( Matthew 6:33 ). But then, family life was elevated and happy, and both parents and children were saints.

Christian education consists of protecting the child's soul from evil and sin, conquering the rudiments of passion, and making it a temple of God. May the child grow up to be a vessel of grace, a child of God, the joy of angels, the hope of the Church, and the consolation of parents.

Now let's consider how this can be achieved in today's world, and how it would be possible to provide a Christian education to children even today. Of course, by the very nature of this essay, we will focus only on the most important and essential points, but parents and educators will easily be able to add to our discussion.

Life of Saint Nikita, Bishop of Novgorod (+1108)

 

Those brave warriors who are more worthy of respect than others are those who have the custom of fighting the enemy not in a general formation, but who rush at the enemy individually. Although the Lord allows them to fall temporarily many times, lest they become overweening, He never completely abandons them without His grace-filled help, but restores them and makes them invincible. One such brave warrior of Christ, Blessed Nikita, gained particular fame after St. Isaac the Recluse. The praiseworthy Polycarp, citing St. Simon, reports the following about him.

Who is a true Christian? (Saint Symeon the New Theologian)

 

1. A true Christian is one who, during his Baptism, sincerely confessed before God and the Angels that he has renounced the devil and all his satanic works and vowed to serve Christ the Lord, fulfilling all His holy commandments, and thus was granted the ability to mysteriously receive the hidden grace of God and to sense it in the spirit, that is, to recognize in the spirit that he has received it. As soon as one receives grace, he immediately turns away from carnal desires, begins to hate worldly lusts, and by the grace of God becomes invulnerable to them and dead to them; therefore, he fulfills the divine commandments of Christ with all joy and zeal, and his soul no longer desires any carnal pleasures, or acquisitions, or honor and glory, as if he were outside the body and outside the world, as the Lord says: " Ye are not of the world " ( John 15:19 ). Being thus united with the grace of the All-Holy Spirit, he always rejoices and sings: But I will rejoice in the Lord, I will rejoice in God my Savior ( Ps. 103:34 ; Luke 1:47 ).

An indication of the most necessary spiritual dispositions and virtues (Elder Nazarius of Valaam)

 

1

The head and beginning of all virtues is, as far as possible, unceasing prayer to our Lord Jesus Christ, or, as the expression adopted for brevity is called, the Jesus Prayer; of it the Apostle says: "Pray without ceasing" ( 1 Thessalonians 5:17 ). That is, we must always call upon the name of God, whether we talk, or sit, or walk, or work, or eat , or do anything else. For at all times and in every place it is fitting to call upon the name of God. For thus the temptations of the enemy are destroyed, writes Chrysostom. "Beat the warriors," says St. John Climacus, "with the name of Jesus, and you will not find a stronger weapon than this either in heaven or on earth." Prayer is the drive away of sorrow and despondency, the growth of meekness and freedom from anger, the offering of joy and thanksgiving; and countless blessings are acquired through prayer.