Don't be fooled: all 'low' periods hide a spiritual treasure
Summary
TLDRIn this heartfelt video script, the speaker reflects on the beauty of the recent Orthodox Easter, expressing immense gratitude for the ordination of Father Fen into priesthood, which brings spiritual and practical blessings to their monasteries. The speaker also addresses the post-Easter lull, emphasizing the importance of this period as a deeply intimate time with the resurrected Christ. They encourage viewers to be aware of Christ's presence and to strive for spiritual growth through acts of love and sacrifice, knowing that salvation is a gift but requires personal effort to receive and cherish.
Takeaways
- 🙏 The speaker expresses deep gratitude for the prayers and support received, which contributed to a beautiful and peaceful Easter season at their monastery.
- 🎉 An apology is made for not recording the previous week due to the Holy Week observances in the Orthodox tradition.
- 🌟 The ordination of Father Fen into the priesthood is a significant event, bringing joy and a sense of fulfillment to the community.
- 👨🔬 The ordination allows for better organization of services and the potential for the speaker to live longer, healthier, contributing to the spiritual life of the community.
- 📣 The speaker acknowledges the support of the online community, who are vital to the monastery's ongoing operations and are kept informed of important updates.
- 🕊 The period after Easter, known as Bright Week, is described as a time of special intimacy with Christ, who is believed to be present in his resurrected body.
- 🚶♂️ The disciples' inability to recognize Christ on the road to Emmaus is used as a metaphor for the spiritual presence of Christ that may be unrecognized in daily life.
- 🛡 The speaker encourages the congregation to be vigilant in their spiritual battles, knowing that Christ is present and watching, even in times of struggle and sin.
- 💖 The importance of love, sacrifice, and acts of kindness is emphasized as a means to open oneself up to receive God's grace and salvation.
- 🙌 The speaker calls for a heightened awareness and presence during the period between Easter and Ascension, as a time when Christ's presence is especially tangible.
- ✝️ Salvation is presented as a pure gift of love from Christ, but one that requires personal effort and contribution to fully receive and cherish.
Q & A
What was the speaker's emotional state during the recent Pascha?
-The speaker was filled with joy and felt that it was perhaps one of the most beautiful Paschas they've had in the 15 years of the monastery's existence.
Why did the speaker apologize for not recording the previous week?
-The speaker apologized because it was Holy Week for the Orthodox, and they needed to preserve their strength and focus on the services.
What significant event occurred during Holy Week involving Father Fen?
-Father Fen was ordained into the holy priesthood by Bishop Athanasius from Rome on Palm Sunday.
What does having two priests at the monasteries mean for the community?
-It means they can better organize their services and have more holy services on both Mal and Iona, which is a great blessing for the community.
How does the speaker describe the period between Pascha and the Ascension of Christ?
-The speaker describes it as a special, intimate time with Christ, when He is present with them in His resurrected body.
What does the speaker suggest people struggle against during this period?
-The speaker encourages people to struggle against their passions, to fight and do battle, especially knowing that Christ is present with them.
What is the significance of the speaker's mention of 'Tabernacles' in the context of salvation?
-The speaker uses 'Tabernacles' as a metaphor for the human soul, which must be cleansed and made worthy to receive the presence of God.
How does the speaker view the relationship between Christ's gift of salvation and personal effort?
-The speaker believes that although salvation is a gift, personal effort and contribution are necessary to open oneself up to receive and preserve this gift.
What is the speaker's advice for those who feel lost after the height of Pascha and Holy Week?
-The speaker advises them to be more present and aware of Christ's hidden but real presence in their lives, and to continue to struggle in their spiritual journey.
How does the speaker describe the importance of being aware of Christ's presence during the period between the resurrection and Ascension?
-The speaker emphasizes the importance of being deeply aware of Christ's presence as it provides an opportunity for a more intimate relationship and a time for spiritual growth and battle against sins.
What is the role of the online community in supporting the monastery?
-The online community supports the monastery on a monthly basis, both in prayer and materially, which makes the monastery's life possible.
Outlines
🙏 Reflections on Easter and a New Priest
The speaker expresses profound joy and gratitude following a beautiful Easter celebration at their monastery. They apologize for not recording the previous week due to the Orthodox Holy Week and thank the audience for their prayers, which they believe contributed to the ordination of Father Fen into the priesthood. With two priests now, they foresee better organization of services and a longer, healthier life. The speaker also addresses the feeling of emptiness post-Easter, sharing their personal view that this period is a special, intimate time with the resurrected Christ, who is spiritually present with them.
🕊 The Presence of Christ in Our Lives
The speaker delves into the significance of Christ's presence in his resurrected body during the period between Easter and Ascension. They emphasize the importance of recognizing and being aware of this spiritual presence, drawing parallels to the disciples' encounter with the unrecognized Christ. The speaker encourages the audience to engage in spiritual battles and acts of love during this time, as Christ is closely observing their struggles and sacrifices. They highlight the message that salvation is a gift from Christ, but it requires personal effort and contribution to receive and maintain it.
🛐 Embracing Christ's Presence and Spiritual Challenges
The speaker continues to reflect on the tangible yet invisible presence of Christ during the period between his resurrection and Ascension. They stress the importance of being spiritually present and aware of Christ's presence in everyday life, suggesting that he may communicate through unexpected sources. The speaker challenges the audience to demonstrate love, patience, and forgiveness, especially towards those who wrong them. They conclude by reminding the audience that Christ is always present, witnessing their actions, and that their spiritual life is revealed through their deeds of love, not just words.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Christ
💡Pascha
💡Monastery
💡Bishop
💡Ordination
💡Prayer
💡Resurrected Christ
💡Ascension
💡Spiritual Struggle
💡Salvation
💡Community
Highlights
Christ is the reason for the speaker's joy and the beauty of the recent Easter celebrations.
The monastery on Mal and Iona has experienced one of the most beautiful Easters in its 15 years.
Apology for not recording the previous week due to Holy Week observances.
Gratitude expressed for prayers, particularly concerning the relationship with the Bishop.
Father Fen was ordained into the priesthood, a significant event for the community.
The ordination of Father Fen allows for better organization of services and potential for longer life for the speaker.
The importance of the online community's support for the monastery's ongoing needs.
The spiritual low point or 'lull' after Easter and the challenge of maintaining faith during this period.
The presence of the resurrected Christ with the community during the period between Easter and Ascension.
The need for awareness of Christ's presence and the importance of being present before Him.
The spiritual battle and the importance of striving against one's passions during this period.
Salvation as a gift from Christ, yet the necessity of personal contribution to receive it.
The role of the community in supporting the monastery and the speaker's prayers for them.
The concept of being a 'Tabernacle' for the Holy Spirit and the need to prepare oneself to receive God's presence.
The challenge to be more present and aware of Christ's presence during the period between Easter and Ascension.
The spiritual significance of acts of love and forgiveness as manifestations of faith.
The reminder that Christ is always present, regardless of one's spiritual state, urging for conscious awareness.
Transcripts
Christ is reason my dear ones Christ is
reason I have so much joy in me we've
had such a beautiful pasca everything
was beautiful everything was peaceful
everything was Grace filled and blessed
it has been perhaps one of the most
beautiful if not the most beautiful
pasca we've had on Mal and Iona in the
15 years of existence of our Monastery
here and um I need first to apologize
for not recording last week but it was
Holy Week for us for the Orthodox so I
needed to preserve my strength and my my
attention my focus on the
services and uh secondly I need to thank
you deeply and from the bottom of my
heart for keeping us in your prayers I
had asked you to keep us in your prayers
because I felt something was in the air
concerning our relationship with our
Bishop and I had a secret deep prayer
and hope in my heart that the bishop
would ordain father Fen uh our beloved
father Fen into the holy priesthood and
through your prayers and by the mercy of
God on Palm Sunday so two Sundays ago uh
Bishop athanasius from Rome was sent by
our own Metropolitan Joseph to come to M
he's been with us for 3 days and he
ordained father feeling into the
priesthood which means that now we have
two priests at our monasteries on Mal
and aona and that means that I have a
chance of staying healthier for a bit
longer and maybe living a bit
longer uh in practice it means that we
shall be able to better organize our
services and that there will be more
holy Services both on mall and on Iona
so it is an amazing blessing and I'm
overwhelmed and overflowing with
gratitude for the prayers you've offered
and for Christ who has listened to all
these prayers and has fulfilled this
deep deep prayer of my heart that we
should have a second priest here as it
is appropriate for two
monasteries now uh all of this is news
to you uh except of course if you are a
member of our online community the
community of the people who support our
monasteries on a monthly basis because
I've shared all of this with them
already they they are always with us
they always with us in prayer and
materially as well and I
am always interceding on their behalf
before God because you those who are
members of the community make our lives
here
possible for
today I wanted to address only one thing
and I I think it will be quite brief and
that has to do with this deep in our
spiritual life this kind of low Point
collapse after the you know the the
height of pasca and holy week and the 40
days of land there's this lull like no
man's land after pasca where nothing
seems to happen especially now during
bright week because the services are
very few and very very short
comparatively you know short for us the
Orthodox um and many of you this year
and in the past have written to say that
you feel lost as if there's nothing for
us to do anymore there's nothing no aim
no purpose placed before us and I've
always found this very strange because
for me this time is the most important
special intimate time with Christ even
more so than Holy Week at least for me
personally and that's because between
the resurrection and up to the moment of
his Ascension to the right side of the
father Christ is present here with us in
his spiritual body we have with us no
longer the um Christ before the
resurrection we have with us the
resurrected Christ we have with us
this mixture if you want to put it that
way this meeting place in his person of
of Christ in his body but in his
resurrected body Christ after his now
been crucified and resurrected before
his Ascension he's with us here he's
with us now here on this bench next to
me the fact that my eyes don't perceive
him and the fact that your eyes don't
perceive him has nothing to do with him
it's not about him not being present
it's got everything to do with our
inability with our eyes being closed and
blinded that story of the disciples
traveling towards ous and Christ me
meeting them along the way and them not
being able to recognize him but Christ
being there and walking with them and
hearing them and talking to them and uh
you know he asks them what are you
talking about and they are being a bit
ironic they would never be ironic with
Christ if they knew that it was Christ
speaking to them but it's
this this horrifyingly wonderful reality
of having with us in a way that is
inaccessible for us to see in an
invisible way for us having with us
Christ himself in his resurrected body
during these few days only between the
resurrection and his Ascension of course
we have God With Us throughout the year
of course we have God With Us at every
single moment of Our Lives you know when
we pray that um uh God should be present
in our lives that's a bit of a nonsense
prayer because God is present what we
should be praying for is that we are
present before him that we are aware of
his presence and that we ourselves
become present before him so we can pray
face to face person to
person this is a very special intimate
time when Christ is with us in the body
that will become proper to us as well
after the resurrection this is the
spiritual resurrected body of which we
shall all partake after the general
Resurrection this is our future reality
if we are found worthy to be saved and
there is something about knowing as you
eat that Christ is with you in his body
his resurrected body it's something to
know to keep in mind that as you drive
and as you work as you offer and you
spread love to your brothers and your
sisters or as you fall as you collapse
into your Darkness as you commit the
sins to which every single one of us is
by now addicted or uh they've become
habitual it's no
longer as it is during the rest of the
year but in a special way where Christ
is present in a more personal physical
way in our lives and this time more than
any time of the year I encourage you to
struggle against your passions to fight
to do battle to do violence as the
disciples the evangelist he said in
order to fight for the kingdom because
you've got Christ right here right here
by your side and you want him to see you
doing battle and you want him to see you
struggling even if you if you feel
you've reached the limit of your battle
the LI the limit of what you can offer
push through it my beloved one push
through it during this blessed holy
period between the resurrection and the
Ascension so that he may see you
struggling so that he may see you doing
battle out of love for him out of love
for his kingdom out of love for the
Salvation of all your brothers and all
your sisters every single human being
ever created from Adam and Eve until the
last person ever to be created by his
Blessed Hands now do the battle knowing
that Christ is watching you now put in
the sacrifice now put in everything
you've got and Beyond what you've got so
that he may see it and so that he may
reward you for your love and for your
sacrifice we all are saved through his
grace alone we all are saved and
salvation is nothing but pure gift
salvation is an act of love
101% nothing else but but an act of love
a gift from Christ's part towards us
sinners and yet as you well know from
the disciples the apostles through every
single generation of priests and Bishops
and so on up to us today up up to me The
Sinner up to our own father Fen who's
just been ordained a priest a few days
ago we've been taught that although
salvation is a gift and nothing else we
still need to put in our our nothingness
we still need to contribute to the best
of our ability because it is this battle
this contribution that opens us up to
his gift the fact that Christ wants to
save us doesn't mean that we are able to
receive that salvation the fact that
Christ has something to give us doesn't
mean that we are able to receive that
gift and then to hold it to guard it to
preserve it and to to live into eternity
with
it um the fathers compare us with
Tabernacles for the holy spirit for
Christ for the father for the Holy
Trinity for the love of God and his life
but we it's up to us to clean this
Tabernacle to make it worthy of
receiving the presence of
God I suppose all I want you to say
is be present during this period between
the resurrection and the Ascension be
more present than at any other given
time be more aware of Christ's hidden
spiritually hidden but so real presence
in our lives he may be speaking to you
through the person who annoys you he may
be speaking to you trying to to tempt
you as we say in order to see how much
love do you actually have how much
patience do you actually have how much
forgiveness are you willing to offer to
your brother and your sister who is
harming you or hurting you or sinning
against you how many times are you ready
to forgive are you willing to forgive 70
times seven a day as he teaches us are
you willing to turn the other cheek as
your brother or your sister is slapping
you are you will willing to bless the
one who curses you are you willing to
give to the one who steals from you your
your shirt also your
T-shirt this is the time when Christ
will tempt you in order to
see beyond our
words what is the reality of our
spiritual life because words are cheap
my beloved ones words are wor
earthless it is in these
acts of Love or lack of love for Christ
and our neighbor that our faith is
manifested and during this time between
the resurrection and the Ascension we
have God
himself Christ Our
Savior in his resurrected body present
with us
whatever you do if you fly up high
spiritually in your prayer and your acts
of Love or if you fall down into the
depth of sin and passion whatever you do
be
deeply painfully aware that Christ is
just here no matter how many doors you
might close to be alone Christ is right
here in that body of his that is able to
go through walls that is able to be
presented before you without you or I or
all of us being able to recognize him we
leave and breathe before his eyes we
stand and we fall before his eyes we
love and we hate before his eyes and at
no other given time during our year is
that so
US during these few weeks between his
resurrection and his Ascension into
heaven Christ is
reason my beloved ones and those of you
who are not Orthodox you should respond
he is reason
indeed I carry you here deep deep in my
heart I pray for you always thank you
for your prayers thank you for your
support thank you especially for those
of you who have signed up to our online
community and who are supporting us with
however and whatever you can but you're
doing it on a monthly basis which means
that we we know we can pay our
bills thank you and may God bless every
ouns of your body and of your soul my
beloved ones amen
amen amen
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