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 A Monk's Wisdom!
Monastic Library † Teachings of the Fathers, Monks, and Saints
St. Michael's Monastery
My dear friends,
And pray ye without ceasing in behalf of other men; for there is hope of
the repentance, that they may attain to God. For “cannot he that falls
arise again, and he that goes astray return?” Permit them, then, to be
instructed by you. Be ye therefore the ministers of God, and the mouth
of Christ. For thus saith the Lord, “If ye take forth the precious from
the vile, ye shall be as my mouth.” Be ye humble in response to their wrath; oppose to their blasphemies your
earnest prayers; while they go astray, stand ye steadfast in the faith.
Conquer ye their harsh temper by gentleness, their passion by meekness.
For “blessed are the meek;” and Moses was meek above all men; and David was exceeding meek.
Wherefore Paul exhorts as follows: “The servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle towards all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves.”
Do not seek to avenge yourselves on those that injure you, for says [the
Scripture], “If I have returned evil to those who returned evil to me.”
Let us make them brethren by our kindness. For say ye to those that hate you, Ye
are our brethren, that the name of the Lord may be glorified. And let us imitate the Lord, “who, when He was reviled, reviled not again;” when He was crucified, He answered not; “when He suffered, He threatened not;” but prayed for His enemies, “Father, forgive them; they know not what they do.” If any one, the more he is injured, displays the more patience, blessed
is he. If any one is defrauded, if any one is despised, for the name of
the Lord, he truly is the servant of Christ. Take heed that no plant of
the devil be found among you, for such a plant is bitter and salt. “Watch
ye, and be ye sober,” in Christ Jesus.
The Holy Ignatius
His letter to the Ephesians, chapter 10
While he was on his way to Rome as a prisoner to be martyred for being a Christian.
Short history of The Holy Ignatius
taken from newadvent.org
Also called Theophorus (ho Theophoros); born in Syria, around the year 50; died at Rome between 98 and 117.
More than one of the earliest ecclesiastical writers have given credence, though apparently without good
reason, to the legend that Ignatius was the child whom the Savior took up in His arms, as described in Mark 9:35. It is also
believed, and with great probability, that,
with his friend Polycarp, he was among the auditors of the
Apostle St. John. If we include St. Peter, Ignatius was the third Bishop of Antioch and the immediate successor of
Evodius (Eusebius, Church History
II.3.22). Theodoret ("Dial. Immutab.",
I, iv, 33a, Paris, 1642) is the authority for the statement that St. Peter appointed Ignatius to the See of Antioch. St.
John Chrysostom lays special emphasis on the honor conferred upon the martyr in receiving his episcopal consecration at the hands of the Apostles themselves ("Hom. in St. Ig.", IV.
587). Natalis Alexander quotes Theodoret to the same effect (III, xii, art.
xvi, p. 53).
All the sterling qualities of ideal pastor and a true soldier of Christ were possessed by the Bishop of Antioch in a preeminent degree. Accordingly,
when the storm of the persecution of Domitian broke in its full fury upon the Christians of Syria, it found their
faithful leader prepared and watchful. He
was unremitting in his vigilance and tireless in his efforts to inspire hope and to strengthen the weaklings of his
flock against the terrors of the persecution.
The restoration of peace, though it was short-lived, greatly comforted him. But
it was not for himself that he rejoiced, as the one great and ever-present wish
of his chivalrous soul was that he might receive the fullness of
Christian discipleship through the medium of martyrdom. His desire was not to remain long
unsatisfied. Associated with the writings of St.
Ignatius is a work called "Martyrium Ignatii", which purports to be an
account by eyewitnesses of the martyrdom of St. Ignatius and the acts leading up to it. In this work, which
such competent Protestant critics as Pearson and Ussher regard as
genuine, the full history of that eventful
journey from Syria to Rome is faithfully recorded for the edification of
the Church of Antioch. It is certainly very ancient and is reputed to have been written by Philo, deacon of Tarsus, and Rheus Agathopus, a Syrian, who accompanied Ignatius to Rome. It is generally admitted, even by those
who regarded it as authentic, that this work
has been greatly interpolated. Its most reliable form is that found in the "Martyrium
Colbertinum" which closes the mixed recension and is so called because its
oldest witness is the tenth-century Codex Colbertinus (Paris).
To read this complete history report of st. Ignatius please go here: St. ignatius
Important Dates in December
December 1, Kalends of December
December 6, St. Nicholas; Bishop and Confessor
December 8, Conception of St. Mary; Virgin
December 19, Winter solstice
December 20, vigil
December 21, St. Thomas the Apostle
December 24, Vigil
December 25, Nativity of our Lord
December 26, St. Stephen; protomartyr
December 27, St. John apostle, evangelist
December 28, Holy Innocents, martyrs
December 31, St. Sylvester; Bishop and Confessor
Remember;
Fasts on Wednesdays and Fridays
Note: no fasting is allowed on Christmas day nor any of the twelve days following.
Let us help you in understanding.
In Christ,
Monk Michael.
Early Church
Fathers
The Seven Oecumenical Councils.
Important Links:
Daily Scripture Reading
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Some personal thoughts from the heart of Monk Michael.
Am I then become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? Galatians 4:16
Catechism! A basic understanding of the Christian Church! The Pentateuch:
CREATION (continued)
To all the saints who read these words;
There is one Father; creator of all that is seen and unseen.
There is one Lord Jesus Christ; the Only-Begotten Son of God, the very
Word of God who became flesh.
There is only one Holy Spirit of God; the Lord, the Giver of Life, who
has spoken through the prophets.
It is our job as created beings to worship the creator in truth, not as
we see fit. This series will take us through the scriptures and tell us
why this is so and how to do it. This is not a Bible study in the sense that we will receive instruction on the holy scriptures alone.
This is a study to show us why we are Christian and how to be so in the
manner that was given to us by Almighty God through His Son Jesus Christ
and with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
There were some questions asked in the last newsletter, what were they?
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But does the fact that heaven and earth was created out of nothing mean that nothing else existed at that moment?
Ans. We have absolutely no idea what God was doing or where He was before He
created our world. The issue is this; there are mysteries that we will
never have an answer to until we are face to face with our creator and
even then we may not know the answer. So why did I ask the question? To
introduce you to the idea that there are mysteries regarding our Creator
and our Lord and the Holy Spirit, it's very simple, it's a mystery and
therefore we are not allowed to know the answer. There are many mysteries
that we are going to come up against and we must accept them as exactly
what they are, mysteries.
- Therefore a man shall leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall be two in one flesh' come from?. The concept of mother and father did not exist in the beginning of the
creation of man, so how did this line become part of this creation story?
Meditate on this. ANS. The book of Genesis is believed to have been written by Moses under the
inspiration of God during the 40 year journey through the wilderness, this
of course is not in the beginning of time, Moses was a writer as well as editor in chief of the writings, this line was added
of course and was made to clarify and show the importance of marriage or
the union of male and female in a lifetime commitment. You ask how could
Moses add something to the Bible? Well, God did not dictate the Bible.
All writers wrote under the inspiration of God in their own words and clarified
what they thought needed to be clarified.
- So if we are created in God's own image and man was given free will along
with this great life and intelligence, what in the world happened and why?
ANS: 1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of the earth
which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman: Why hath God commanded
you, that you should not eat of every tree of paradise? 2 And the woman
answered him, saying: Of the fruit of the trees that are in paradise we do eat:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of paradise, God
hath commanded us that we should not eat; and that we should not touch it, lest
perhaps we die. 4 And the serpent said to the woman: No, you shall not
die the death. 5 For God doth know that in what day soever you shall eat thereof, your
eyes shall be opened: and you shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and fair to the
eyes, and delightful to behold: and she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat,
and gave to her husband who did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened: and when they perceived themselves to be naked, they sewed together fig leaves, and made themselves aprons. Ah yes, sin, the lust of the eye and the desire to have what we do not
need nor should have. This caused a direct disobedience of the children
of God, this freewill that we were given causes us much grief. The children of God were deceived by that old serpent, but how were they deceived? They knew without a doubt what was right and wrong, they knew what they could or could not do and what they should and should not do. They had a choice, they played a part in their own deception, they already knew what to do but instead they chose to ignore Almighty God, their Creator and to do what they themselves desired to do.
How often do we ourselves do this very same thing today? We know what is
right and wrong yet choose to ignore that which is right. It doesn't matter
whether we participate in the wrong, of course participation in the wrong
brings it's own set of judgements but turning a blind eye to wrong also
brings judgement. If you live in a country that allows you to vote for
new laws or government then you must participate in that in order to keep
out those who have no or limited moral value, by not caring for your neighbors
welfare you are also bringing judgement onto yourself. We must adhere to
the things that Jesus the Christ has given us or face the judgement. What
happened to Adam and Eve for their disobedience?
14 And the Lord God said to the serpent: Because thou hast done this
thing, thou art cursed among all cattle, and beasts of the earth: upon thy
breast shalt thou go, and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.
15 I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her
seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.
15 "She shall crush"... Ipsa, the woman; so divers of the fathers read this place, conformably
to the Latin: others read it ipsum, viz., the seed. The sense is the same:
for it is by her seed, Jesus Christ, that the woman crushes the serpent's
head.
16 To the woman also he said: I will multiply thy sorrows, and thy
conceptions: in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children, and thou shalt be under
thy husband's power, and he shall have dominion over thee. 17 And to Adam
he said: Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of
the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat, cursed is the
earth in thy work; with labour and toil shalt thou eat thereof all the days of
thy life. 18 Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou
shalt eat the herbs of the earth. 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou
eat bread till thou return to the earth, out of which thou wast taken: for dust
thou art, and into dust thou shalt return. 20 And Adam called the name of
his wife Eve: because she was the mother of all the living.
21 And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife, garments of skins, and
clothed them. 22 And he said: Behold Adam is become as one of us, knowing good and evil:
now, therefore, lest perhaps he put forth his hand, and take also of the
tree of life, and eat, and live for ever. 23 And the
Lord God sent him out of the paradise of pleasure, to till the earth from which
he was taken. 24 And he cast out Adam; and placed before the paradise of
pleasure Cherubims, and a flaming sword, turning every way, to keep the way of
the tree of life.
What should we gather from this issue? Remember that there are mysteries that we cannot understand and/or explain while in the flesh, Adam and Eve were created in God's own image, perfect without sin, sin was a choice that they made of their own freewill, the devil did not make them do it, Satan cannot make us sin, he can only play on our own lusts and imaginations and place thought in our mind but he cannot force us to do anything, it is our choice to do so, listen to the evil or listen to the good.
Should we choose to listen to the evil there will be judgement and punishment,
as we saw with Adam and Eve, we cannot escape it. Repentance, doing penance
for our sins will give us forgiveness but depending on the sin their will
be temporal punishment that we will not escape. Stealing or assault and
battery comes with temporal punishment, sexual sins come with temporal
punishment. As of this year, 2009, it is estimated that approximately 21%
of teenage girls in the United States now have a sexually transmitted disease.
Teenage girls, is this what you want for your children and grandchildren?
Sex outside of marriage (which consists of a relationship between a man
and a woman) is sin, period, think hard about this.
There are moral laws for a reason, almost 1/4 of young girls in the United States have some sort of sexually transmitted disease. When is this nation and the world going to wake up?It's time to change things now before it advances even farther. Work to
change the moral backbone of this nation and the world, fasting and prayer
is what is needed and those of you who are parents need to stop being so
self-centered and start teaching morals to their children and begin to
enforce a moral code in your own house.
In our next issue we will continue and discover how this seemingly minor
thing of a little disobedience of our original ancestors snowballs into
unimaginable things in this world.
May the Lord Bless you and keep you, may the Lord make His face to shine
upon you and be gracious unto you, may the Lord make His face to look upon
you and bring you peace: today, tomorrow and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Important Links:
Daily Scripture Reading
Write to us if you want to know more at;
monkmichael@newwarriorministries.com
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