Priest Valery: We partake of the Body and the Blood of
the Lord — the Creator of the Universe does not reject us. Some people receive
God with joy; some receive him with awe, some with fear. One's personal
attitude determines the measure of God's closeness to him.
How long can we endure this communication — for
a minute, an hour, a day? How do we receive God? What happens? Do we change?
Unfortunately, our earthen vessel cannot keep these gifts intact. Nonetheless,
we should work hard in this direction. As long as we keep thinking about God,
we do not lose a connection to him.
Sermon after the All-Night Vigil on February 27, 2016
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As soon as self-righteousness creeps in, we do
not only take a step back — in fact, we go all the way back to where we
started. Seeing how ugly we really are, we come to realize that we have missed
the point and took a mirage for a real thing again: we claimed for ourselves
the light of Christ that used to make us holy, and it disappeared, while we and
our relationships with God became distorted again.
Whenever we realize it, we are given another
opportunity to restore our initial condition, i.e., God's image in us. The Lord
is ready to carry out this task all by himself; we only have to open our hearts
to him and admit our imperfections before him, showing him what we would like
to change. And the Lord will change us…
Sermon before a confession in the Boarding Home for Children with SpecialNeeds on February 26, 2016
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All temptations that we encounter are sent to us
in order to make our faith stronger and to motivate us to look at God, not at
ourselves.
Sermon after a moleben on February 26, 2016
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Sometimes people find it hard to make an effort
to simply listen to someone, to see someone, to talk with someone. You can avoid
doing all that — and this will be fairly normal. At the same time, we miss
something really important. What if we stop being afraid and finally take a
step towards another person? Probably, this will be our step towards God, too.
Even though this step towards God might sometimes be painful enough. Anyway, we
should not be afraid of pain and hardships: we've got to move forward.
Sermon after a Liturgy on February 29, 2016
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Priest George: Christianity cannot be a coin to exchange
in the gambling of politicians; it cannot be a tool to exert pressure and
influence, because the Church of God is not of this world, it is beyond it.
***
The image of Christ — the unfading and undying
image that is present in each Christian's heart — must direct the steps of a
Christians onto the road of peace.
***
We can only reach the Heavenly Kingdom if there
is charity, love, and mercy, even to our enemies, in our hearts. We will only
be able to enter the realm of God's love if we build our lives upon trusting
God instead of relying on other people's failures and misgivings to become
happier.
Sermon after the All-Night Vigil on February 29, 2016
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We must forever remember that our worth and our
glory have their roots in the One who was humiliated. Our love is in the One
who was betrayed. Our triumph is in the One who was crucified. Our life is in
the One who rose from the dead and gave us the chance of the eternal life.
***
If we want to be with God, we should treat other
people as He treats us. Only if we accept our neighbor and try to help him, we
accept God.
Sermon after a Liturgy on March 1, 2016
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Archpriest Andrew: Confession is filled with loving God,
trusting him and God's love to such an extent that this really is a great
Sacrament!
When a person says, «Yes, I am so-and-so…» and I
ask him, «Do you repent?» — «Yes, I do». — «May God forgive you». Is there
repentance? We don't know… What if people, after everything they have done,
really stop and say, «Enough! God has forgiven us. We must stop doing these
things!» But we go on living as if nobody forgave us.
Sermon after the Akathist to St Elisabeth on February 28, 2016
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The Great Lent is near. What will I renounce?
The sin. What is my sin? For instance, I like to talk too much, or I am quick-spirited
and demand too much from my loved ones, so I have to quit it. Repentance calls
for us to change our lives. It is a decisive action of getting rid of the sin.
***
I would like all of us to return to our Heavenly Father. He is waiting for
us. The Lord opens up his embrace on Golgotha and says, Come to Me, all
ye that labor and are heavy laden! He calls us home.
***
Spring is near, the spiritual spring when one
wakes up from their sinful hibernation, when they hear, «Wake up, O my soul,
why are you asleep? The end is near…» The Church wants to attune us to this
season. The Church helps us to see what we should change and how we should
adapt to start a life with God.
Sermon after a Liturgy on February 28, 2016
CONVERSATION