"Our biological life is threatened... by radiation that we will inevitably face due to our proximity to the Middle East and all related calamities—famine, plague, earthquakes, and submersions.
Saint Cyprian had an additional sin that was not only his personal fall into magic. Through magic, he led many people into the demonic influence of sorcery, drawing many with his reputation and his powers as a powerful sorcerer. Throughout his life, Saint Cyprian brought these actions before him in daily repentance.
This is the only way we can begin to understand what our deacons and priests say in the Liturgy. What do they say? 'Let us complete the remaining time of our life in peace and repentance.' They ask our God to grant us the grace to complete, meaning to finish, the rest of our lives in peace and repentance. And while there may be wars around us, arguments, divorces, poverty, and calamities in our families, a person who lives in repentance feels this paradox within—a deep peace! A profound peace! And even in a stormy sea, the ship of the body and soul can move forward.
So, my brothers and sisters, pray also for me who speaks these great words. Let us give importance to this message from the church, 'Let us complete the remaining time of our life in peace and repentance.' You see, even external wars have come to our neighborhood. Lebanon is close by, as are Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, which is being bombed after it has also bombed others. Thus, there is a kind of fairness in God's plans. So, it seems that, at least in the immediate years ahead, we will not live in much peace... Rather, we will live with continuous rumors of wars, and while we may not be in the war zone in Cyprus, we are in the gray zone. This makes the instruction given by the Deacon at each Liturgy—'Let us complete the remaining time of our life in peace and repentance'—even more urgent because our daily lives are under threat. Our biological life is threatened... by radiation that we will inevitably face due to our proximity to the Middle East and all the related calamities of famine, plague, earthquakes, and submersions.
So, it is no coincidence that contemporary saints like Saint Elder Ephraim of Arizona, Saint Mother Galaktia of Crete, and others from the recent past, like Saint Alypia of Kyiv and Saint Jonah of Kyiv, prophesied what poor Ukraine is living today. These saints told us that three great sins of the 21st century would bring about the Great World War. Humanity as a whole will be tested.
One sin is abortion, the unrepentant abortions. The second, they said, is unnatural sins, both within marriage and outside of it. And our lawmakers, the so-called wise men, have legalized these and even made them law. The third sin relates to Saint Cyprian. It is sorcery, the widespread practice of magic happening today, even among us Orthodox. These three sins have gathered so much demonic energy that they have given the devil the right to cause major destruction worldwide.
This is why we Christians who participate in the Liturgy have a very great power and potential, I would say, if our hearts truly feel what I have repeated today. Despite our own mistakes and passions, let us feel during the Liturgy that the rest of our life will be in inner peace and repentance. I wish you the repentance of Saint Cyprian and the peace of Saint Justina. Please wish them for us as well. They are very necessary in the times we are counting, in the days we will go through, in the years to come."
Morphou Neophytos: "Let us complete the remaining time of our life in peace and repentance" (10/2/2024)
No comments:
Post a Comment