Homily One on the Fifth Sunday of Luke (St. Justin Popovich)

Homily One on the Fifth Sunday of Luke
 22nd Sunday after Pentecost 

By St. Justin Popovich

(Delivered on November 1, 1965 at the Ćelije Monastery)

Today we have received an all-seeing eye: you and I, all of us. An all-seeing eye. And we have seen and learned a great mystery. There are only three worlds: Earth, Paradise, and Hades. Earth lies between Paradise and Hades, and from it lead only two paths: one to Paradise and the other to Hades. This is the truth revealed by today's Holy Gospel. The Lord Christ Himself opened His heavenly mouth. God spoke and opened all the worlds, lifted the veil from them, and the mystery of God now stands revealed before us: Earth, Paradise, and Hades. Earth populates both Paradise and Hades. This is the terrifying thing about earthly life, brothers. That is why it is frightening to live on earth, for the earth supplies inhabitants to Paradise and, alas, to Hades as well. We human beings live on this earth as in a nursery, an immortal nursery. It produces immortal beings, human beings.

Homily on the Fifth Sunday of Luke (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov)

Homily on the Fifth Sunday of Luke 

22nd Sunday after Pentecost

Akathist to the Venerable Sergius

On Suffering and Patience

By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov

(Delivered on November 5, 1962)

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit!

"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Luke 9:23).

Dear brothers and sisters, the goal of our life is the salvation of the soul. There are many paths leading to this goal, and all of them are blessed. But of all these paths, the sorrowful path—the path of the cross—is one of the shortest. Therefore, we must not only refrain from becoming hardened in our sorrows, and not only endure them with patience, but also give thanks to God for them. Yet, because of our faintheartedness, we fear sorrows and do not wish to believe that they are beneficial to our souls, beneficial because only "through many tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). Each of us has been given a burden here that must necessarily be carried to the grave. And each must carry it alone, although at times we do receive support and encouragement in spirit from those close to us. But blessed is the one who calls upon the Lord, rather than people, for help.

Homily Three on the Fifth Sunday of Luke (St. John of Kronstadt)

 

Homily Three on the Fifth Sunday of Luke  
(22nd Sunday After Pentecost)

On the Rich Man and Lazarus

By St. John of Kronstadt

The Gospel reading for today, on the one hand, reproves and admonishes the luxurious, pampered, arrogant, and hard-hearted rich, who feast "sumptuously every day" and give no thought to pleasing God, to the true nourishment and true, unceasing, heavenly joy of the spirit, or to showing mercy to the poor. On the other hand, it pours heavenly consolation into the souls of the poor wretches of this world, who are despised by their wealthy fellow men, who lose themselves in their riches and pleasures. The Lord Jesus Christ, every word of Whom is truth, depicts the fate after death, the eternal and unchanging destiny of both: the unbearable torment of such rich men in the flames of Gehenna, and the consolation of the poor, such as Lazarus, in the bosom of Abraham, in the dwellings of the righteous. He recounts the rich man's plea to Abraham and Lazarus for help, and the decisive refusal to grant him even what appears to be the most insignificant assistance. He speaks of the impassable chasm between hell and heaven, between the place of torment for sinners and the place of blessedness for the righteous. Then He speaks of the rich man's second request to Abraham, asking him to send Lazarus to the house of his father to bear witness to his five brothers, who, like him, live in luxury, idleness, and merriment, concerning the existence after death of terrible torments for sinners. He also relates the second refusal to grant this request, as being unfounded and unreasonable.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: November 1

The Month of November

The 1st Day

63. Those Who, When Setting Out on a Journey, Entrust Their Families to the Protection of the Saints of God Do Well

(From the Life of the Holy Unmercenary Physicians Kosmas and Damian)

Some Christians, when setting out on a long journey, have the custom of praying with particular fervor to certain saints of God, asking for their help and intercession, and entrusting their families, during the time of their absence, to their protection and guardianship. Certainly, Christians who act in this way do well; for the saints of God, seeing their particular faith, love, and devotion toward them, also repay love with love, and in fact become the protectors and guardians of their families during their absence. That this is indeed true can be seen from the following example.