Man is endowed with free will ( Part 2 ) - St. Nektarios of Pentapolis

On account of our ethical freedom,we are obligated to concern ourselves with our salvation; otherwise, we will perish. 

 

The Savior’s formal acknowledgment of our ethical freedom teaches us that our salvation is not achieved solely through the action of God’s grace alone, but simultaneously through man’s consent and action. Behold what the wise Holy Fathers of the Church say concerning this necessity. St. John Chrysostom states, “Even though the Grace [of salvation] is a gift, it saves them who want to be saved.”
St. Gregory the Theologian says, “
Salvation requires both us and God.”
Furthermore, the blessed Augustine says, “God Who created man without man [being involved], cannot save man if he does not want [to be saved].” Hence, we are explicitly and clearly taught that there are two factors that are
instrumental to salvation: i) man’s free will; and ii) God’s grace.

 
Indeed! God’s grace takes precedence in the work of salvation because the Savior came as a light to them in darkness.

 
He emitted the light of grace to them who were sitting in the darkness and shadow of death, He
sought the lost sheep, He recalled man who had gone astray by mystically speaking to his heart,
and He revealed to all the path to salvation. It is
Divine Grace that ultimately perfects and saves man. 

 
Even so, man’s will must be seen as the preceding
component in the chapter of salvation, because his free will is the principle lever that sets into motion the spirit which has been deactivated by sin. This is what propels man’s steps to follow the Savior. This is what provides the heart with the strength of self-denial. This is what lifts and carries the cross. Grace invites, disperses the darkness, and casts light upon every gloomy corner. 

 

It is still possible, however, for man’s free will, on account of negligence, foolishness, slothfulness and carelessness, and on account of the desire of the flesh, to disobey and to decide to close its eyes and remain in the darkness, to walk the exact-
opposite path leading to perdition, and to choose
to carry out the contrary.

 
Therefore, it is necessary for us to desire our salvation in order for us to seek it. It is necessary for us to want to hear in order to listen to the voice of Him Who calls us. It is necessary for us to want to see in order to open our eyes and allow them to be filled with immense light. It is necessary for us to take action in order to follow the Savior. It is necessary for us to want to deny the old man, along with the passions and desires, in order to lift the cross on our shoulders. It is necessary for us to want to walk along the narrow and sorrowful path
in order to enter through the narrow gate of Paradise.

 

http://www.stnektariosmonastery.org/

Kiss (Don't Shake) the Priest’s Hand ( Church Etiquette )

The traditional way to greet a bishop or priest is to ask his blessing and kiss his right hand. How do you do this? Approach the bishop or priest with your right hand over your left and say “Father (“Master,” in the case of a bishop), bless.” When the faithful receive such a blessing it is understood that Christ Himself offers the blessing through the hand of the priest or bishop. That being said, it is not "offensive" to reach out to shake their hand, thus not "expected" nor assumed from those who are not of the tradition of the Church.

Saints and Their Intercessions ( St. Silouan the Athonite )

To many people the Saints seem far removed from us. But the Saints are far only from people who have distanced themselves – they are very close to them that keep Christ’s commandments and possess the grace of the Holy Spirit. In heaven all things live and move in the Holy Spirit. But this same Holy Spirit is on earth too. The Holy Spirit dwells in our Church; in the sacraments; in the Holy Scriptures; in the souls of the faithful. The Holy Spirit unites all men, and so the Saints are close to us; and when we pray to them they hear our prayers in the Holy Spirit, and our souls feel that they are praying for us.
The Saints live in another world, and there through the Holy Spirit they behold the glory of God and the beauty of the Lord’s countenance. But in the same Holy Spirit they see our lives, too, and our deeds. They know our sorrows and hear our ardent prayers. In their lives they learned of the love of God from the Holy Spirit; and he who knows love on earth takes it with him into eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven, where love grows and becomes perfect. And if love makes one unable to forget a brother here, how much more do the Saints remember and pray for us!
The holy Saints have attained the Kingdom of Heaven, and there they look upon the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ; but by the Holy Spirit they see, too, the sufferings of men on earth. The Lord gave them such great grace that they embrace the whole world with their love. They see and know how we languish in affliction, how are hearts have withered within us, how despondency has fettered our souls; and they never cease to intercede for us with God.
The Saints rejoice when we repent, and grieve when men forsake God and become like brute beasts. They grieve to see people living on earth and not realizing that if they were to love one another, the world would know freedom from sin; and where sin is absent there is joy and gladness from the Holy Spirit, in such wise that on all sides everything looks pleasing, and the soul marvels that all is so well with her, and praises God.
Call with faith upon the Mother of God and the Saints, and pray to them. They hear our prayers and know even our inmost thoughts. And marvel not at this. Heaven and all the saints live by the Holy Spirit and in all the world there is naught hidden by the Holy Spirit. Once upon a time I did not understand how it was that the holy inhabitants of heaven could see our lives. But when the Mother of God brought my sins home to me I realized that they see us in the Holy Spirit, and know our entire lives.
The Saints hear our prayers and are possessed from God of the strength to help us. The whole Christian race knows this. Father Roman told me that when he was a boy he had to cross the river Don in the winter, and his horse fell through the ice and was just about to go under, dragging the sledge with it. He was a little boy at the time, and he cried at the top of his voice: ‘St.Nicholas, help me pull the horse out!’ And he tugged at the bridle and pulled the horse and sledge out from under the ice. And when Father Matthew, who came from my village, was a little boy he used to graze his father’s sheep, like the prophet David. He was no bigger than a sheep himself. His elder brother was working on the other side of a large field, and suddenly he saw a pack of wolves rushing at Misha – Father Matthew’s name in the world – and little Misha cried out, ‘St. Nicholas, help!’ and no sooner had the words left his lips than the wolves turned back and did no harm either to him or his flock. And for a long time after that the people of the village would smile and say, ‘Our Misha was terribly frightened by a pack of wolves but St. Nicholas rescued him!’
And we know of many an instance where the Saints come to our help the moment we call upon them. Thus it is evident that all heaven hears our prayers.

(St. Silouan the Athonite by Archimandrite Sophrony Chap. XII On the Saints pp. 395-397)

Angel Did not Write down the Names of Those Who Took Communion with Unconfessed Sins

Rufinus the Presbyter. "Living of Desert Fathers."
(translated from Russian)
We cannot pass over in silence the inhabitants of the desert adjoining the Porfenian sea and bordering the area of the city Diolk. There we saw one wonderful priest, named Piammon, who was notable for the absolute humility and meek indulgence. He was given the grace of revelation. Once bringing the Bloodless Sacrifice to the Lord, he saw an Angel of the Lord near the Altar: he was holding a book in which he wrote down the names of the monks who approached to the Holy Altar. The elder carefully noticed whose names the Angel missed. After the end of the liturgy, he summoned separately each one of the missed by the Angel and asked him whether he had some secretly committed sin in the conscience. At this confession, he revealed that each of them was guilty of a mortal sin ... Then he persuaded them to bring repentance, and casting himself down before the Lord along with them, prayed with tears day and night, as if he was involved in their sins. And he was in repentance and tears until he saw the Angel again, standing before the Altar and writing down the names of those who were taking the Holy Mysteries. Having written down the names of everyone, the Angel even started to call each one by name, inviting to come to the Altar for reconciliation with God. And the elder, seeing this, understood that their repentance was accepted and happily admitted everyone to the Altar.

http://agapienxristou.blogspot.ca/2013/09/angel-did-not-write-down-names-of-those.html

Role of Family in Salvation

The issue of salvation is the main issue in the history of humankind as well as in the life of each individual. Salvation is true happiness. Everything else is based on our salvation. In this sense, our happiness is in our own hands. It is achieved by defeating sin. The immediate environment for struggle against sin is the family as well as all those living around us. We look at the environment and situation of our life as if it was something accidental, and we don’t view our family as the path given to us by God for our salvation. Life in a family seems to be something that happened by chance, and the most important aspect of family life evades our attention. According to the Apostle, family is a small church. It can especially help an individual in achieving the main goal of life. In family people look for happiness. But what do we mean by happiness? People usually give unclear answers to this question. This means that we don’t take from this God-given state that which is the most essential.

Both sinful and spiritually right life takes place inside a person, and the environment is a means by which the person must look inside. We already mentioned that sin is a separating force. I will explain it with an example from everyday life. Let’s say two people offended and insulted one another; they did not want to make concessions and went their separate ways. That’s an unhappy situation. This tells us that we must fight against sin for the sake of our own happiness, because anger is an unhappy part of our life. A human being is created with a desire for happiness and must and can learn to fight for his happiness against unhappiness, i.e. against sin in the environment that is especially close to him, close to him in the flesh. Powers of sin and holiness are in a person as if it were in a state of equilibrium. Depending on how we touch a person, the power of good or the power of evil begin to act in him and in the world around him. We always need an environment that would cleanse our inner world and would enable us indeed to come to know ourselves.

Environment outside home, being a chance interaction of people, does not server this purpose. When faced with strangers, a person hides his unrighteousness, drives it inside and tries to look good. A person is ashamed of what others might think of him, ashamed of the opinion of society and therefore does not show his true self. It is only in the family environment, to which we are accustomed, that the source of evil lurking in us begins to show up. In this respect a family environment is a necessary tool for self-understanding. No wonder that we are often afraid of this family atmosphere. Running away from it, we are interested in many things and entertain ourselves in various ways, just to escape from the environment that helps us to learn more about ourselves.

Why does the family appear to be the environment most conducive to salvation? Because in the family a person directly opens up his feelings, but when outsiders are present he hides his inner world. In society a person controls himself, he hides his irritation, tries to show himself other than he really is. He shows his outward, not his inner character. But in the family he is not trying to hide his condition, he will show it, won’t be ashamed to display his sinfulness by word or deed. And his hidden sinful world is open before the family, before his relatives and before the person himself. Thus, in a family environment, a person who pays attention to his own salvation can easier understand his sins and what separates him from others. It is important, however, that this realization of one’s inner world should lead one to fight against sin.