Beholding the Beauty

Today, we celebrate the memory of the Holy Prophet Joel. The epistle reading is from St. Peter's quotation of him at Pentecost. I have often thought it strange that St. Peter continues the quotation, of which he says Pentecost was the fulfillment, with the statement that there would be blood and fire and vapor of smoke, and that the Sun would be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and terrible Day of the Lord. Regarding the blood and fire, the Fathers are unanimous that this refers to the Incarnation, for the fire of the divinity came and dwelt bodily -- that is, in flesh and blood -- among us, and returned in this same body, and with the blood He shed for us, into the heavens, from whence He sent forth the Spirit. Likewise, the sun being darkened refers to both the darkening of the Sun at the crucifixion, and also that the pure doctrine of Christ would be obscured by the noxious smoke of heresies in the history of the Church from that day to this, particu...

Regarding the events of the End, as described in the Apocalypse, someone once asked St. Paisios, Elder, how soon will these events take place? His reply is very informative, and shows a fundamental difference from how so many think about "the signs of the times". He replied, They are delayed because of you and because of me, so we may be able to acquire a good spiritual state. God is being patient, because if they were to occur now you and I would be lost. (Note that this is a direct reflection of St. Peter's words, that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance, which were also given in answer to a similar question, "Where are the signs of his coming?") The Elder continued, "Nowhere in the teaching of Christ is there a specific reference to time. However, Sacred Scripture does say that the signs of the times will warn us of their coming. We must always be ready and shall see them when the time nears. The di...

You'll need to copy+paste+assemble this U. R. L.: https://[ put a www here ].[put "bitchute" here].[put "com" here ]/video/ddyFpJT7Zi4z/ Interesting questions asked!

Introduction In this post, I'm going to deviate from my usual political and religious observations/rants, in order document a technique I came up with that worked incredibly well for me. (That's past tense because of the huge caveat, which I will put in neutral terms without going into detail as to my life.) This technique is actually, I believe (clinical studies welcome) far more sanitary than using Toilet Paper, and in my opinion, informed by practical application, gives a far better bathroom experience as well. It's flat out superior technology! Caveat The huge caveat, though, is that people about whose opinion you may care (significant others, your children, houseguests, etc.) might think you've gone off your rocker. YMMV in that respect, and you may have to give it up to preserve your relationships. Method All that being said: here it is. If you want to sa...

What's so stinkin' frustrating is that if the Storm is real, we shouldn't know anything about it until it's either done or at least significantly in progress. So a real Storm looks exactly like no Storm at all until it hits. But how does one go about making decisions and living life without having seven heart attacks, three nervous breakdowns, and and conniption fit twice a day every day? As a Christian, I think I can contribute a little from my experience. I was raised with a very real expectation that Jesus would return at any moment. At any time, the skies could part, the trumpet blow, and the Christians all get rescued, while the rest of the world would then plunge into the Tribulation. But we still got on with our lives. We served Him however we could in real, "down to earth" ways, while we waited. We tried to live every day so as to be worthy of Him. Of course, now I've moved on from Rapture form of that belief. But I still do believe that He will re...

"The life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, 'No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood. And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, 'Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh:' for the life of the flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off." -- Lev. 17:11ff "The wages of sin is death...." -- Rom. 6:23a "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship [Gr. _koinonia_, 'co...

Introduction There are some who madly fight against the Tradition which the Church has received throughout the whole world, that our Lord was crucified on a Friday, and attempt to overthrow this taking as their key the sign given to that wicked and adulterous generation, that the Son of Man shall be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth , which is found in Matthew 12:40 . It is our purpose with what follows to show that they thus introduce an irreconcilable contradiction with ALL of the other Scriptures. Preparation To aid us in this task, we begin with the God-inspired Scriptures, which, as the beloved Paul says, are profitable for such reproof and correction and instruction. Here follows an exhaustive list of those sayings on this matter recorded in the Gospels, the Acts, and the Epistles — that is, the New Testament. (NB: All Scriptures quoted from the King James.) Matthew For as Jonas was thr...