Reflections

On humility

2009-10-01T18:04:00.002-04:00

God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. (James 4:6)

Every othodox christian knows that humility is one the chief virtues. Without humility, no other virtue will be of benefit. Quite on the contrary, virtue without humility is harmful to an ascetic. Self-opinion and pride darken the reason and bring one to perdition.

However, it is very sad that for many humility is an unfamiliar term considered to mean a certain modesty, quiet character, and alas, at times even weakness. Therefore, many attempt to fulfill the commandments of God, attempt to live according to the Holy Gospel without this blessed helper and soon experience the waning of strength, despondency, anxiety, sadness, despair of attaining the goal of christian life: the kingdom of heaven and the eternal union with God.

In order to evaluate the meaning of the word humility properly, one must consider the fact that it stems from the greek word irine, which means peace. It is quite possible that the word serenity, serene, is related to what we call humility. Thus, we can understand that there is no humility in confusion. The holy fathers say that where there is peace, there is God. In one of the priest's exclamations during the divine services God is referred to as the King of peace. The holy apostle Paul teaches that the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Consequently, humility is none other than the state of being in peace, in a peaceful and leveled state of the soul. It is only in this state that the soul is filled with the light of God, with His grace, and it is only in this state that it actively experiences the communion with God.

Thus, humility is the firm foundation upon which the house of all the virtues is built. Christian life is inconceivable without humility.

What are the impediments to the acquiring of humility? Attachment to transitory world. Here, for better clarity, we could juxtapose humility with worldliness, where in the first case, humility is union with God, and in the other, worldliness is the collection of all the passions. Humility is love toward God. Worldliness is love and lust toward the transitory world and all that belongs to it. Therefore, pride, love of honor, vainglory, avarice, envy, lust and other passions are an impediment in the acquiring of humility and, with it, of the grace of God.

St. Seraphim of Sarov said that the goal of the christian life is the acquisition of the grace of the Holy Spirit. Consequently, it can be said that the goal of the christian life is the acquisition of humility, of God`s peace in one`s soul.

Humility is the renunciation of the world.
Humility is the purity of heart.
Humility is the complete submission to the will of God.
Humility is the gratitude toward God for all things.
Humility is the pure prayer of the heart.
Humility is the foretaste of the kingdom of God already in this life.
Humility is the true union with God.

Appendicitis

2009-09-14T18:23:00.002-04:00

There lived a boy. Each summer, much like other children of his age, he spent at his grandmother's place. He spent entire days playing with friends, running through the streets, riding a bike, playing soccer, playing hide and seek, playing war; he came home only to eat, to grab some candy to take outside, and toward evening, to sleep.

A few days in a row his right side was hurting. The pain was getting worse slowly and finally got so bad that, when he woke up one morning, he was moving from the bed to the couch and back from the couch to the bed to get some relief. The pain didn't go away and when his grandmother came home for lunch, he barely ate a tip of the spoon's worth of mashed potatos and begged to go back to bed.

- Is it your appendix? - asked the grandmother. - I don't know. - It hurts terribly. - The boy was looking at his grandmother while she approached the phone. - Should I call an ambulance? - No... - Can a person die from an appendicitis? - Yes, if it ruptures. - Then, call an ambulance. The fear of death outweighed the fear of the examination by a doctor.

The ambulance was quick. The male nurse felt the boy's stomach and said that he should be examined by a surgeon. With tears the grandmother sent the boy to the hospital and went to ask to leave early from work in order to follow her grandson. At the hospital, after a short examination, the surgeon said: "Immediately into surgery".

The grandmother's call saved the boys life. His appendix started rupturing shortly before the surgery. Later on, the doctor said that the next day would have been too late.

Epilogue

There are moments in life when it is critical to ask for help in time. One may have an "appendicitis" in one's soul, an "appendicitis" that has to be properly cleaned, or entirely removed, in order to avoid spiritual death.

Unrepented sins contaminate the soul, make it dark, unhappy, restless, deprived of inner peace. Remembering of wrongs, envy, anger, avarice, lust, moral downfalls, lies, laziness, pride, self-love, self-will, and other sins and passions poison the heart, make it hard, cold, cruel, unable to love.

The one, who has experienced a serious illness, values good health above money and worldly goods. Let us, therefore, before all else take proper care for the well-being of our soul. Let us cleanse our hearts with sincere repentance. Let us forgive our offenders and enemies. Let us abandon excessive anxiety about the coming day. Then, we will come to know how invaluable the spiritual health is.

60th anniversary of the Holy Trinity parish in Toronto 1949 - 2009

2009-09-05T11:15:00.001-04:00

The 60th anniversary of the Holy Trinity parish will be celebrated on Sunday, October 25th, 2009. The solemnities will be headed by His Eminence the Very Most Reverend Metropolitan Hilarion, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, together with His Eminence Most Reverend Bishop Gabriel of Montreal and Canada, and other guests.

The greeting of Metropolitan Hilarion will be on Sunday, October 25th, at 9:30 AM. After the Divine Liturgy, at 2:00 PM, there will be a festive reception at the Crystal Grand Banquet Hall located at Unit 4, 2110 Dundas St. East. (2 lights west of highway 427).

$60 tickets ($30 for children) may be ordered and purchased from the sisterhood treasurer Kaleria Antonovna Poroshina at (905) 884-0804.

Glory be to God for all things!

2009-09-04T00:42:00.001-04:00

It is somewhat hard to comprehend fully, yet it is the true way to happiness: to thank God for all things. Swayed by our habitual self-centeredness, we are often disappointed, distressed, and even angered when things don't seem to go the way we want. We so often forget that what we want may not be good for us.

Let St. Ambrose of Optina be a good example to us. It is said that to the question of how things were going for him he always replied: "Everything is perfect, everything is going my way!" Of course, people were baffled by his answer. He explained it quite simply, he said: "I always want things to be the way God wants them. Things always happen God's way. Then, everything is always my way".

If only we could be so smart and so pure of heart. :)