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The Confessor's Tongue for September 20, A. D. 2020 The Confessor’s Tongue for September 20, A. D. 2020 15th Sunday after Pentecost; Afterfeast of Elevation; Great Martyr Eustathius In honor of St. Maximus the Confessor, whose tongue and right hand were cut off in an attempt by compromising authorities to silence his uncompromising confession of Christ’s full humanity & divinity. Le A Word to Help Us in Hard Times All this is being waged during major feasts if you Metropolitan Neophytus of Morphou, Cyprus notice, first at Pascha, now on the feast of the The following I have included today not so much for any Dormition of the Theotokos, and mark my words, prophecies it may seem to contain—I cannot speak to those— next will be Nativity, so we need to be ready. but for the correction it offers us and the counsel it gives us. There are incredible events coming that we The days we are living are days of opportunity. cannot explain or understand, so we all need to When greater events unfold, we will need to realize increase our prayers. You want to help your family, that only silence and prayer are acceptable; all the yourselves? The embarrassment of wearing a mask will homilies will cease. I feel that these days are very not help you. Only to be joined with the body and near. We will have to evaluate ourselves and consider blood of Him who conquered death. Try to receive why God is allowing these very, very, very difficult Communion frequently, that is the only medicine and events to take place, that will affect us physically and that is the only vaccine. All the rest is intended to spiritually. Those things that we consider to be trials create problems between Russia and the USA, China may actually be our greatest opportunity for and Germany. forgiveness of sins and attainment of holiness. We Don’t be fooled. Every 100 years there are shouldn’t think like the Roman Catholics do, that the pandemics, this isn’t the first. Does God allow it? Yes COVID is a punishment from God, same as with the He allows it because of our sins. True repentance is earthquake and hunger that are coming. missing. True liturgical life is missing. Try to find It is amazing that God loves this generation so some time at night when it is quiet, for prayer, be it much, especially since we have forgotten Him. We 30 minutes or an hour. Do it for yourselves, for your are living in an idolatry relying with extreme family, for your country and for the entire world. Pray confidence in technology, medicine and vaccines, and for God’s mercy for the entire world. Open your heart masks which are simply muzzles. A mask covers the and speak with Jesus the way that you would speak to eyes, a muzzle covers the mouth…so you see what a your close friend. If you are embarrassed to speak clever use of words are being deployed, behind which with Jesus because you are not accustomed to doing hides “Alexeis” not “Tsipras” because he’s gone, but so, then speak with Panagia. She is our mother. When another one who when he will reveal his face, our we go to the other life we will understand, but only if Panagia (“All holy”, an endearing term by which the it’s not too late – how much love our Mother has for Greeks address the Theotokos) with Christ will make us and how we lost the opportunity to know her. him disappear forever. Just as each day we have time for food for our Our children are the real victims and this will be body, we need to have time for spiritual food. The seen clearly when the second “coronavirus” ends and souls of most of us are malnourished. Forget about hunger begins. That is when the children will ask us the phones and internet and media and TV’s etc. why we used everything up and didn’t leave anything Through word of mouth find a few good websites and for them. And you know why God allows all these focus on only those. Spend more time on your soul. things to take place? Because we denied His mother When a person first learns to pray he is sweetened the Panagia during these difficult days. We “use” her and wants to increase more and more. Only then do when we get a little sick, or we have a family problem. they understand how hungry their soul is for God, Recently, it was revealed to a man of God by Panagia because the soul is made by God, and belongs to Him. that in fact many prayers were raised during the Increase your prayers not just for your kids but for all pandemic; unfortunately the majority of those prayers the children in the world. First pray for every other were requests for health so that ultimately we could child and then for your own. When we have prayer preserve our physical life for maybe 10-20 more years. that is humble in this way, where we place our own There were very few prayers for eternal life or in needs last, it is not possible that Jesus and Panagia order to better get to know Panagia and her son who will not respond. gives us His body and blood at each Divine Liturgy. For so many years we did not understand that In fact, how many more were concerned about everything that takes place is because God wants to whether they will get sick through receiving Holy give us His mercy, to save us; since we didn’t Communion? You understand how much we hurt understand this, He must perform surgery and the Panagia, even we the clergy, when we all say different surgery began in March. Don’t be fooled by the news things and the people, when you come to Liturgy and reports about the actions of Turkey etc., those are are more concerned about whether you will get sick not the major news events. The major news stories are by how Holy Communion is distributed: We see those about the illnesses. The earthquakes and the practices emerge such as using multiple spoons and hunger that is coming. The shortage of goods and cloths and only God knows what else. fuel. Those are the big events that are coming. And this does not apply only to Cyprus or Greece, the entire world will experience these. God is very just. A publication of St. Maximus Orthodox Church, 2026 West Oak, Denton, TX, 76201 (940) 293-3032 The Confessor’s Tongue September 20, 2020; page 2 Whoever gives, God will give to Him, whoever has Balaam’s Donkey or Thoughts of a Sinner mercy, God will have mercy on him, in a miraculous Photius Kontoglou manner. We will live for the glory. Those that live. The poor manger where Christ is born is the And those that don’t live will have paradise. That is humble heart into which He enters and “makes a the value of everything. What’s the point of living dwelling.” He is never born in vain places. another 10-20 years without taking action to save our No book is so simple and so clear as is the Gospel. souls? What counts is what happens after. Will you And despite this, no book can be twisted so easily as see God? Panagia? What will you say you did with all the Gospel, because the human heart is wicked. that time that you had on earth. They will ask you to The more we feel in our hearts gratitude that we open your “passport” and show what you exist and for the whole world, and we want to give accomplished with all the years you had. Did you have thanks, the closer we come to the faith of Christ. We Repentance? Mercy? Forgiveness? want to cry, to forgive the wicked, and to give thanks That’s why I urge you aside from increasing your also for those things which previously had seemed bad prayers, to look to repentance and the mystery of to us. confession. And only when you participate in My soul is comforted when I look at the holy confession regularly should you receive frequent Holy icons of Byzantine iconography. I think I am reading Communion. If you don’t participate in the mystery the Gospel. This art is a healing for the eyes. of confession, you should not receive Holy “The Kingdom of God suffers violence, and the Communion at all. This is not to say that if you violent take it by force” (Mt 11:12). The Kingdom of participate in confession regularly that you can God is gained with struggle, with affliction, and with receive Holy Communion regularly. This is guidance harsh forcefulness on our bodies, and especially on that you must receive from your spiritual father. This our spirit, that is, on our egotism and our knowledge. applies to priests and Bishops and everyone. We sin The fewer words a Christian says, the more he daily and we must repent daily. Just as you eat daily learns; and the less he examines, the more he is and clean yourself daily. This is how God arranged illumined. everything, so that the body and the soul both have When someone has been healed of the rage to their needs and priorities met. Take care of your soul grab and rip people apart, treating his neighbor as you care for your body. When you sin, clean unjustly, people call that person lazy and indifferent, yourself with the mysteries of repentance, prayer and because all the activity of humanity is none other than Holy Communion.
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