Sermons & Homilies
Today, those who can, have gathered here to honor all the Saints of Russia. It is a land whose embrace of the Orthodox faith was paired with monasticism from its beginnings in the ancient Lavra of Kiev, and has influenced the world ever since. Although a godless and persecuting regime ruled over that land in the past century, the Christian faith was preserved, the blood of the martyrs watered the meadows of Rus’, and Christian life continues to flourish.
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Let us ask ourselves, am I seeking the love of God with my whole heart? Do I thirst for salvation? Or do I thirst for worldly things, for repose, for something that is fleeting? This is a very simple question. But we do not take it seriously. We would like to find something more interesting to do, and to occupy our mind with. But this is the most salvific.
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Our hearts are filled today with godly joy and pious glorying. What Christian soul can fail to be so moved at the commemoration of the two spiritual giants set before us? —the princes of the Church, the pillars of the Faith, the preachers of the truth, the crowns of the Hebrew race, the beloved friends and apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. Peter and Paul stand conspicuously at the head of the assembly of Apostles, amidst the Church triumphant, in ceaseless worship of the crucified Lord to whom they devoted their whole lives, sealing this gift with their own blood; and we on earth join in the heavenly chorus today, exulting in our God who is so wondrous in his saints. Since we already know of their glorious end, we ought to consider as well their inglorious beginnings, and how they attained such unspeakable glory.
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The Apostle Paul, who is unsurpassed in his reasons for pride, now admits, “in me, no good doth lie.”
The Apostle Peter, faithful in his family’s trade and employment, abandoned all to receive a hundredfold and heaven’s enjoyment.
Born a Jew and then set apart, is circumcised in flesh, and now also in heart.
Toiling all night, Peter’s nets are all bare, ‘til he obeys Christ’s bidding; now, no room to spare.
A Hebrew of Hebrews with a pedigree to boast, now born from above to labor the most.
A man of the earth with his hands in the waters, now netting for Heaven new sons and daughters.
We stand at a spiritual crossroad today—two martyrs with insuppressible love for Christ are both commemorated today: St. George—the glorious, faithful and pure lover of Christ who was filled with divine love from His youth; and St. Photini—the repentant Samaritan woman, who, after Christ came to her and revealed her sins and told her plainly that He was the long-awaited Messiah of the Jews and the Savior of all mankind; after this, she acknowledged her sins, cast them aside and went straightway in her zeal with haste to preach this Good News to all her kinsman and fellow-neighbors.
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