Prologue in Sermons: September 15

The World, the Flesh and the Devil

September 15

(From the Leimonarion: On Thoughts)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev 

There are temptations that draw us to sin. These temptations cannot come from God: He is holy, righteous, and every sin is repugnant to Him. They always come from the flesh, from the world and the devil. The flesh nourishes within itself the seeds of sinful desires and passions; in the world, wicked morals and customs and a seductive way of life draw those who are unstable in piety to sin; and the devil was a murderer from the beginning, says the Savior Himself (John 8:44). These temptations continue throughout life, and even the Saints themselves are not free from them. One monk, who lived in the desert, tormented by the lust of the flesh, came to the Venerable Pachomios and told him about his inner battle. “Child,” the Venerable One answered him, “do not be surprised at this. Now you see me as an old man, for forty years I have not left my cell and I care for my salvation; yet even to this day, a similar struggle troubles me” ("Prologue", Sept. 15).

The Cross – The Life-Bearing Plant (Photios Kontoglou)

Sketch of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross by Photios Kontoglou

 

The Cross – The Life-Bearing Plant

By Photios Kontoglou

“Come, all nations, let us venerate the blessed wood, through which eternal justice was accomplished.”

The Cross is the most honorable and holy symbol of all Christians. And yet, this Cross was, before Christ was crucified on it, a sign of dishonor, condemnation and curse, because the most terrible criminals were condemned to be nailed to it. Christ, who changed everything, also changed the meaning that the Cross had in the souls of people, completely changed their feelings and from a disgusting and cursed tool, transformed it into a venerable and beloved symbol.

Christians place the Cross everywhere, on the domes and bell towers of the church, in their homes, on women's ornaments, on their buildings, on flags, on the masts of ships, in high places so that it can be seen from afar. The old pious Christians, from the faith they had, saw it everywhere, even in natural phenomena, as Saint Justin the Philosopher and Martyr writes.

Homily One on the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov)

Homily One on the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord

By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov

(Delivered in 1961)

"Today, the Master of creation and the Lord of glory 
is fastened to the Cross, pierced in the side, 
tasting gall and vinegar,  and adorned with the sweetness of the Church, 
crowned with thorns."

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

Dear brothers and sisters, an involuntary sorrow fills our soul today, often pouring forth in tears, as we hear from the Gospel reading and the touching hymns the poignant narrative of the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ. Should we, as Christians, members of His Body, beneficiaries of His grace, not feel compassion for Him, wounded by the crown of thorns? Should we not grieve with all our hearts at the sight of the indescribable sufferings of our greatest Benefactor?

It is not only difficult, but positively impossible to imagine anything more astonishing than the spectacle of Golgotha. Here is the ineffable miracle of Divine love for the disobedient creation, man. It began, this miracle, in the earthly paradise, together with the creation of man, and was accomplished on Golgotha by the death of the God-man.

Homily Two on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (St. John of Kronstadt)

 

Homily Two on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross

By St. John of Kronstadt

Beloved brethren in Christ! We celebrate today the Exaltation of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. When Patriarch Makarios, one and a half thousand years ago, in the presence of Empress Helen and a multitude of people, raised the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, found by the Empress, then the Empress and all the people, looking at it with reverence and as if seeing the Savior hanging on it, all covered in blood and living out the last hours of His suffering life for us in inexpressible torment, fell down with fear and love and cried out with one voice: "Lord have mercy!"

September: Day 14: Teaching 2: Exaltation of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord

September: Day 14: Teaching 2: 
Exaltation of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord
 
(What the Cross of the Lord, Carried by the Church for our Salvation, Inspires In Us)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. On this great day the cross, solemnly brought forth to the church for our veneration and edification, itself teaches us the truths of salvation. Therefore I consider it useful to draw your attention to this cross and to explain somewhat what it inspires in us.

II. a) Whose cross is this? Who is depicted on it? What does it signify? This is the cross of Christ, on which the Only-begotten Son of God in the flesh is depicted; this is the great instrument with which God our Savior defeated the devil, our primordial enemy, destroyed his hellish kingdom, broke the bonds in which the human race enslaved by him was held, and opened for us the entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. This means that the cross of Christ is the greatest relic, for which we must have in our hearts and express outwardly the most sincere and deep respect. Therefore, those who look upon the holy cross without due reverence, bow down before it without a feeling of gratitude for the salvation granted to us through it, and depict it on themselves carelessly and without attention, act very badly and impiously. An ancient prophet once said: "Cursed is the man that does the work of the Lord carelessly" (Jer. 48:10). This threatening saying also applies to those of us who do not revere the cross of the Lord and treat it disrespectfully: for although the cross of Christ is externally, materially, constructed by human hands, in its essence, spiritually, it is the greatest work of the Wisdom and Providence of God.