Tag: Christianity

What is true fasting? Is it abstaining from non-fasting food, from surfing the net for hours, or is it more concentrated prayer? There are the following words in Psalm 50: A sacrifice unto God is a broken spirit; a heart that is broken and humbled God will not despise (Ps. 50:19). Our fasting must become a sacrifice to God. But what lies behind these words? Just before the beginning of the The Nativity FastThe Nativity Fast

“>Nativity Fast we asked some Russian priests to reflect on this subject.   

Priest Maxim Brazhnikov, rector of the Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in the city of Orsk (the Orenburg region):

When we say that fasting can be considered as a sacrifice to God, many people who have read the Gospel may argue: Why are we speaking about fasting as a sacrifice, if the Lord stated: I will have mercy, and not sacrifice (Mt. 9:13)? Does He really need this sacrifice? How does this agree with the Holy Scriptures? But the Lord also said through the Psalmist David in Psalm 50: A sacrifice unto God is a broken spirit; a heart that is broken and humbled God will not despise. It follows that already in the Old Testament and then, confirming this, in the New Testament the Lord says that a real sacrifice to God is not offering Him a calf, or the blood of a goat, or a sacrifice from the earthly fruits that the Lord gives to people. The most important sacrifice is a contrite and humble heart. And during the fast we must make even greater efforts to acquire humility.

Priest Maxim Brazhnikov     

In the Garden of Eden the Lord established for Adam this commandment: to not eat from one tree, although many other paradisiacal trees and the tree of life were given to him to eat from. It was important for Adam not to become proud and fall into a state where he would decide to become not just equal to God, but higher than Him.

It was then that this commandment, a kind of first fast, was ordained for man who was still sinless. It controlled the humility of his heart. Not the contrite spirit that modern Christians who fast should have, but the paradisal spirit of Adam, which would thus joyfully obey God. Accordingly, now, when we abstain from fruits of the earth—meat and milk products and other things—on the one hand, we limit our pleasures. But, on the other hand, we need fasting so that we can gradually get closer to our spirit, which should be contrite and humble.

Fasting is not only bodily, but also spiritual, in which we abstain from annoying sources of information that disturb our spirit, from watching the stream of news so as not to entrust our will to the media. In this way we call on our spirit to remember that it is dedicated to God. During the fast we must turn to the Lord all the time, and we take this time away from our pleasures and give it to God. Time is needed for intensive reading the Holy Scriptures, which is prescribed during fasting, for attending church services, and for abstaining from sources of information. Finally, a contrite and humble spirit is also distinguished by humbling our pride.

In some ways all this can be compared to a training process. An athlete trains a lot in his usual regime, but moments come when he must prepare for competitions, and then he trains more intensively and controls his nutrition.

Likewise, in our lives we must always be obedient to God and rooted in God, in spiritual life, in prayer, in reading the Holy Scriptures, and in our mind’s obedience to God. But there is a time of fasting, which we offer as a sacrifice to the Lord from all we do. And our spirit, created by God, must be healed of passions in order to spiritually celebrate the upcoming feast of the Nativity of Christ. So that on the feast we can think about why the Savior was born into the world and not about what delicious dishes we will enjoy. Thus, during the Nativity Fast, especially when winter comes in the European part of our country, it gets dark earlier and life becomes harder, we still keep our spirit joyfully rooted near God. Fasting becomes joy for us, like training for an athlete.

If we lived according to the worldly spirit, we would succumb to this autumn-winter gloom and only wait for the New Year (a very popular holiday in Russia), but we would not gain anything special from it. However, we are joyfully moving towards the feast of the Nativity. And a person who has fasted more than once and knows this feeling of joy receives a reward from the Lord. We offer our spirit as a sacrifice to the Lord and for this we are rewarded with the joy of the Savior’s coming into the world.

Archpriest Vladimir Sergeyev, Rector of St. John the Baptist’s Church in the city of Orel:

I believe that in Orthodoxy there should not be such a thing as “must do something”. Of course, God does not need our fasts—we need them. But I think the current system of fasting, which developed in the Church over the centuries, helps us identify ourselves. It shows that we belong to a certain religious tradition.

Archpriest Vladimir Sergeyev     

Once there was a different system of fasts in the Church of Christ; Christians fasted in a different way, and they were no less ascetical than we are now, observing all these fasts. Fasting is a time when we can really understand that the spirit is greater than the flesh, that we are not just a set of biological characteristics, and that we live not only according to the laws of biology, but that man is a spiritual being. And self-discipline, which is trained by fasting, when we can really show our will and abstain from something, is not needed by God, but by ourselves. We should perform a little feat for God’s sake. Fasting should not be an end in itself. An ancient rule says that during fasting we should spend less on food and give the saved amounts to those in need—this will be a true fast. And if we order lobsters… It is said that they are a kind of fasting food, but such a fast is definitely not pleasing to God. If we do charity work and help people, it’s another matter—this fasting is pleasing to God.

And we should also keep in mind that fasting without prayer is just a diet—it is useless in the spiritual sense. Satan does not eat or drink at all, but this does not bring him closer to God. The most important thing is a combination so that you can have harmony and integrity in your spiritual life. And what does it consist of? Of prayer, fasting and good deeds. In general, I think there should be some happy medium in spiritual life; there should be no leaps, like, “Today we fast to the point of self–torture, and tomorrow we will overeat.” It is no wonder that the royal, middle way leads to the Heavenly Kingdom. Therefore, fasting coupled with prayer and good deeds is what a Christian’s soul (and not only his body) will really benefit from. Although the body needs fasting as well. After all, the Lord gave us this fast, and through it He sometimes gives us some relief in illness. And fasting is contra-indicated for those who are seriously ill, for example, for diabetics. Such people need not sacrifice themselves. Sacrifice is not needed where it is not needed. So everything should be done wisely, with spiritual discernment.

Surely, fasting presupposes efforts, and we do not always look forward to it with joy as we should, but the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence (Mt. 11:12). The most important thing is to attune yourself for such a spiritual wavelength. In general, it’s not as hard to abstain from some kinds of food as sometimes it is from using your smartphone in order to kill time in the evening. By the way, you could add such a rule to your fasting regime with the blessing of your father-confessor. It will be a sacrifice to God if we do not scroll through the newsfeed, but will instead use this time to help our neighbors: bring food to elderly people, for instance.

Priest Roman Bamburov, rector of the Church in honor of the Renewal of the Temple of the Resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem, Smolensk:

It is important to realize that fasting is obedience to our Mother Church, of which Christ is the Head. There is no fasting outside the Church. Fasting is within church life. The Apostle Paul said that he bore the wounds of the Lord Jesus Christ on his body and boasted of these wounds and His cross. So we also bear the labor of fasting for the sake of Christ, for the sake of His Passion. We do not live by ourselves, but by His Cross having put on Christ, and fasting helps us in this. Without fasting a person is clothed in various extremes of sensual pleasures, entertainment, and a lax life. The path is too broad without holy fasting.

Priest Roman Bamburov     

Let’s not pity ourselves. The grace of God covers a multitude of infirmities and makes an old man into a new one. Let him who is able, get through the fasting period with only a cup of tea instead of his dinner or without breakfast. Fasting is not only about changing the quality of food, but also about reducing the number of meals. But, most importantly, everything must be done with humility, with repentance for your sins, with a gentle look at your neighbors, and with compassion.

Those who are quarrelsome, resentful, too judgmental, easily irritable and “toxic”, as they say now, have no fasting, even if they do not eat anything for days. Let’s not pity ourselves—let’s take pity on others so that fasting will not be for our condemnation.

Priest John Privalov, rector of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the village of Vorga (Roslavl Diocese, Smolensk region):

There is a wonderful word—humility. It is easy to understand and very difficult to put into practice. Humility means to accept all the tests of our faith with peace in our hearts [in Russian the words “peace and “humility” are cognates: compare “mir” and “smireniye”.—Trans.]; to react with peace of mind to troubles that our dear ones are faced with; to abstain with peace in our hearts from something that is not good for us, and, conversely, add something our souls will benefit from. This is true fasting: to “complicate” our lives humbly, voluntarily and with awareness of the need for these restrictions.

Why “complicate”? Because that’s how fasting seems to be at first glance. But this is not the case at all. We don’t feed a baby or a young child only on what is easiest to cook or only on what he wants to eat. We try to give him what is necessary and the best. But it’s not always as sweet as candy. In the Garden of Eden everything was perfect for Adam and Eve: complete abundance, no pain-filled labor for food, and just one rule that separated them from the fall.

Priest John Privalov     

So it comes from this that fasting is our small investment in the future of our soul, a sacrifice in the name of our salvation. A sacrifice to God is only in the very fact of our humility, patience and as proof that we are reasonable people who know how to restrict ourselves. A sacrifice unto God is a broken spirit; a heart that is broken and humbled God will not despise (Ps. 50:19).

Pope Francis prayed that Advent would be a time of spiritual renewal to build up a civilization of love.

“As we approach the Jubilee, I invite you to be pilgrims of hope and to reorient your life toward Jesus, also through your contribution to the material improvement, moral progress and spiritual development of the most fragile and needy, to help them achieve a life that responds to the dignity of children of God,” the pope said during an audience with Spanish volunteers at the Vatican Dec. 9.

Pope Francis met with representatives of “Manos Unidas,” a Catholic organization based in Spain that promotes aid and development in developing nations, particularly in the fight against hunger. The group, which was established by a group of women from Catholic Action in Spain, was celebrating its 65th anniversary.

The pope recalled his meeting June 15 with Cindy McCain, executive director of the U.N.’s World Food Program, who expressed how difficult it is to fully meet the needs of those who go hungry in the world.

He praised the women working with “Manos Unidas” for their “sensitivity and the strength of feminine genius” as they seek to eradicate “those evils that continue to strike so many nations.”

“We are accustomed with this chauvinist culture to considering women, I wouldn’t say as a pet dog or cat at home, but as a second-class human being,” even though women are “the ones who run the world and — some say — they are the ones who are in charge,” he said.

It’s true, he said. “Women keep the family going” and communities, by figuring out what is needed.

“Thanks to your characteristic intuition and reality as mothers, daughters, wives and mothers-in-law,” he said, they were following in the footsteps of Mary, whose heart is rooted in God, who is attentive to the needs of her children and who brings them the Lord’s consolation.

“She is the fully realized model of our humanity, through whom, by God’s grace, we can all contribute to the betterment of our world,” he said.

Manos Unidas’ work in fighting hunger, underdevelopment and a lack of education, especially by eradicating their structural causes, he said, “is only possible with a Christian vision of the human being, based on the Gospel and the social doctrine of the church.”

He said he hoped the season of Advent would lead everyone toward a “spiritual renewal in order to contribute to the much-desired construction of a civilization of love, in such a way that it will allow us to unite our filial love for God with love for our neighbor.”

San Francisco, December 10, 2024

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For three decades, the St. John of San Francisco Orthodox Academy, the first K-12 Orthodox Christian school in the United States, has cultivated generations of successful students in both academic excellence and deep faith.

Founded at the cathedral housing St. John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco’s relics, the Academy has been a beacon of hope in the Bay Area. Now celebrating its 30th anniversary, it faces significant challenges: Rising San Francisco operating costs and post-COVID demographic shifts threaten its ability to retain educators and support scholarship students.

St. John’s Academy offers an unparalleled educational experience, combining a rigorous, WASC-accredited academic program with Orthodox Christian values. Through its curriculum, liturgical life, and community service, the school embodies the legacy of St. John the Wonderworker, who dedicated his life to nurturing young people worldwide. Today, the Academy welcomes students from all backgrounds.

The school’s mission is for students in all grades to

• Know, understand and implement the basic beliefs and practices of the Orthodox Christian faith in one’s personal life
• Be prepared to live as a truly useful member of society who practices Christian citizenship towards others and true Orthodox piety towards God
• Be able to think critically and analytically
• Be able to express oneself in an effective and confident manner
• Acquire the motivation and ability to strive for intellectual excellence

At St. John’s, students in 6th grade and above also participate in a distinctive community service program requiring 30 hours of service per school year. While mandatory, this service is embraced as a way to develop conscientious Christian character. Students can fulfill their hours through school-organized activities like helping at events or singing in Church services, or they can create their own service projects.

Your donation will help ensure this cornerstone of Orthodox Christian education remains vibrant for years to come. Contributions directly support student scholarships, teacher salaries, and essential educational resources. This is more than preserving a school—it’s about maintaining a sacred space where children grow in faith, love, and knowledge.

The Academy has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help meet its financial needs. At the time of writing, $1,620 have been donated towards the $100,00 goal.

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In our troubled times, when the ideology of conformism and consumerism is increasingly gaining strength, many people find the meaning and the desire of the first Christians to suffer for witnessing Christ even unto death (cf. Phil. 2:8), incomprehensible and strange. However, even today, martyrdom for Christ’s sake is the building up of the Church of God, the continuation of apostolic service to the world. We have talked about this with Bishop Nestor (Donenko) of YaltaNestor (Donenko) of Yalta, Bishop

“>Bishop Nestor (Donenko) of Yalta, vicar of the Diocese of Simferopol and the Crimea, author of books and studies on the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia“>New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Orthodox Church who suffered for their faith between the 1920s and the 1950s.

Bishop Nestor (Donenko) of Yalta     

—Vladyka Nestor, you author books about the New Martyrs of Russia. Please tell us when and under what circumstances did this work begin? Why has this particular subject taken a central place in your books? After all, before ordination you were an sculptor. You could have chosen, for instance, the history of Crimean churches or icons, but still you chose the New Martyrs.

—You don’t choose the subject—the subject chooses you. With endless subtle intuitions and invisible connections, you come to what was predetermined for you from the beginning. Of course, the landscape is magnificent, the sea is glorious, the still life is fabulous, but since early childhood man as such has been at the center of my attention. Man is receptacle of that outer cosmos, which is smaller than that of the human soul.

Man is a grandeur that unites the earthly with the heavenly, and at the same time is the center of the world. The Kingdom of God is within you (Lk. 17:21), Christ says. If the Heavenly Kingdom is in you, then, in a sense, you are the center of this world. The only place where you can meet Christ is in the depths of your own heart. This makes man infinitely interesting, voluminous, problematic, dramatic and complex. He comes into contact simultaneously with the higher and the lower worlds, the eternal and the temporal, the earthly and the Heavenly, and it all happens to the same person. This is something that inevitably aroused my interest. Man himself and his life are dramatic if only because, unlike the animals, which are unaware of their ignorance, man knows about his lack of knowledge.

Any story is a life story. And when you come into contact with the “body” of a story, with its reality, you involuntarily begin to move towards greatness, something that is still beyond your comprehension. That’s why the lives of certain people were very interesting to me; and if you imagine the saints and the righteous, then coming into contact with their greatness, you begin to pull your inner self up to overcome the gravity of complacency and vulgarity.

If for example we can speak with other nations on equal terms, it is because we have Tolstoy and Pushkin, and they have Goethe and Schiller… The presence of great poets, writers, scientists, or generals gives us the right to speak on equal terms with representatives of another nation. And even more so the presence of saints, who are higher, greater and of a completely different order from great poets, writers, scientists, philosophers and playwrights. They give us the right to feel our birthright, to savor the spirit and eternity. And, therefore, transparent to the light of Christ, the Divine Light, which imposes a special obligation on us appropriate to legitimate and firstborn children. This is indeed a very interesting challenge that requires our spiritual mobilization. That’s why people, and above all, saints, have always been very interesting to me.

Parishioners of Sretensky Monastery with portraits of New Martyrs on the anniversary of the great consecration of the Cathedral of the New Martyrs on May 25, 2024     

—It’s amazing how you manage to have enough time and energy for all these diverse and painstaking labors! After all, your main ministry is being a bishop, and praying. Did you think in your childhood or youth that you would become a bishop?

—Any given person may have some intuition about himself. One day my cousin (he loved to read German books and used to come to the kitchen to share what he had read with his mother) quoted an old German proverb that stuck in my memory: “If you can’t imagine something in your mind, immediately delete it from your plans.” Indeed, it proved to be a guide for me: I immediately began to delete from my plans what I could not imagine. The world became transparent and clear to me. It became obvious that I would be a humanities scholar, and the world of culture would be my own, as opposed to the mathematical, managerial and other worlds.

It helped me identify myself and hear the calls coming from the other realm. Any development, if it is genuine, has the tangy taste of the lack of an alternative. As you develop, you realize that every step is cutting off something else. When you are fifteen, one thing is cut off, and when you are twenty-five or thirty—another is cut off. Clearly, at the age of thirty-five you can’t do what you did at fifteen—that is, over the years the situation becomes more ascetic. If in childhood you can study music, mathematics, painting and dancing simultaneously, then at forty-five you can only do what you are used to doing, and all other occupations will clearly end in failure.

But if we talk about our need to move up Jacob’s ladder, from the bottom up, that’s where the most interesting things begin. Not only does each step narrow your horizon of possibilities, it also lifts you off the ground you were trying to lean on. Every stumbling block in your life becomes a step up. Its purpose changes diametrically. You begin to experience what you stumbled over as a condition that lifts you higher. It takes a lot of effort, but it leads you in the only direction you need. Ideally, to the Throne of God Himself. This is the movement that I have always felt to be advantageous, desirable, often problematic, but without any alternative. You must choose something authentic and turn to it with all your being, with all your inner man, to what God wants from you. And it’s not always comfortable. Actually, everyone should hear the voice of Christ: Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden (Mt. 11:28); and, I have chosen you (Jn. 15:16).

—It is on the podvig of the confessors of faith that the Church is built and stands; it is through the blood of the martyrs that it is preserved and grows. Early Christians even sought to suffer for their faith. How can we explain this?

—Perhaps the Holy Hierarch St. Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky), Archbishop of CrimeaLuke (Voyno-Yasenetsky), Archbishop of Simferopol and of the Crimea

“>Luke, Archbishop of the Crimea, a confessor and wonderworker, a great saint who is highly venerated both in Russia and abroad, clearly defined this in his autobiography, ”I Loved Martyrdom…”This incredible figure and his divine greatness is the cause of astonishment, admiration, and divine consolation.”>I Came to Love Suffering. A secular, humanistic person will say, “What is suffering? It is undoubtedly bad, destructive, and unacceptable.” And would probably agree with that. God did not create suffering, and there is nothing good in suffering in itself. But if a great saint, an outstanding surgeon, a holy man says that he came to love suffering, then we should look at the object of such love. What did he love about suffering itself?

St. Luke, Archbishop of the Crimea     

If a person endures something (whatever it may be) for Christ’s sake, the Lord turns evil into good. “Where God wills, the order of nature is overthrown” (from the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete). In an incomprehensible way, the sufferings of the saints were transformed, became different in quality, acquired an absolutely different meaning, and served a completely different purpose that was contrary to their nature. Stepping upon the path of suffering, leaning on it and taking off from it, a person ascends higher and higher, because the Lord is looking at him. The gravity of sin, vulgarity and comfort is gradually destroyed, and the person ascends to the height of the spirit. On his own he would not have been able to go beyond what is human, mundane, domestic, and sinless. We are not talking about sins now.

When the time of persecution, sorrows, and illness comes, a person mobilizes and realizes that earthly life is a special space, that it is not a health resort or a sanatorium. There is little point in seeking pleasures and pleasant sensations—that is the greatest illusion. Meanwhile, suffering, illness, death, aging and all kinds of infirmities are an absolutely authentic part of our lives. And when a person accepts suffering and walks towards his fears and pain, he is on the right path. Because behind this pain, suffering, and illness Christ is always standing and waiting, to give the sufferer a crown of glory and praise. Suffering, no matter how great, has its limits. And there is always something beyond its boundaries.

If we look with the eyes of faith, we undoubtedly see the presence of Christ on the right and on the left, in front and behind, above and below, so that a person cannot slide even lower. The Lord humbles Himself before a person. He is not on the sidelines and does not look from the outside with an outsider’s gaze. He is at the center of any event, of suffering and pain of the person himself, his daily thoughts and feelings. He is in the midst of a storm and even a war. He is always at the center…

The apostles, frightened by the storm on the Lake of Gennesaret (the Sea of Galilee), saw Christ walking on the water, and immediately the Apostle Peter, despite the obvious danger, wanted to get down out of the “saving” boat and walk towards Him on the water. “Come to Me if you want,” Christ said (cf. Mt. 14:29), and the apostle walked on the water. Actually, this is the only genuine way out of a desperate situation. It would seem that a minute ago Peter wanted to scream in despair, because death was near, the boat was about to sink. Sometimes hope and the real way out are beyond our understanding, even our imagination, and are found in the space of a miracle of God. A similar miracle occurs to every person who is able to understand that the Lord is at the center of his personal storm and extends him His hand. Where the Lord is, there is peace and His Kingdom, and everything turbulent and destructive disappears.

    

—To modern people the desire of the first Christians to shed their blood for Christ is not entirely understandable; we perceive it more with our mind than with our soul and heart. Why is that? Can it explained by our lack of faith and love?

—How can we counter the ideology of comfort, consumerism and timeserving? In practice, not in theory. Only by Christian asceticism, in its highest and most authentic sense. By resistance to the spirit of comfort, illusions and demagogic security guarantees that sell so well through modern advertising. No matter how precious earthly life is, it is no more precious than eternity. The heavenly has an absolute advantage over the earthly, the eternal over the transitory, and the Divine over the human. If we do not come to love eternity, then the question is, what do we love? The endless slipping away of our lives? Yes, we can and should love life, but not more than eternity, like everything transitory. To be a Christian is nothing other than accepting the Cross of Christ and all suffering as part of the Cross. It is not power and strength that the Church honors, but its sacrifices—the holy martyrs. And the choice is in our hands.

—We often don’t have the heart to think about martyrdom.

—Any Christian is a martyr to one degree or another. In the world ye shall have tribulation (Jn. 16:33), the Lord says. And if a Christian has no enemies, he is not quite a Christian. Do you have any enemies?

—Probably. I write, and there are people who don’t want to hear about God.

—It can be said that the more subjective you are, the more Christian you are; the more of a personality you are, the more significant and serious are your enemies. If someone has no enemies, he is not yet a human being in the full sense and has not yet become a personality. People are often identified by what kind of friends they have: “Tell me who your friend is, and I’ll tell you who you are.” But it should be put this way: “Tell me who your enemy is, and I’ll tell you who you are.” To have an enemy is a huge gain, especially if you are aware of it and understand it. If a nation or an individual has no enemies, this is a metaphysical failure.

The Holy Hierarch Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich: Serbia’s New ChrysostomWhile the mere facts of Bishop Nikolai’s life inspire awe, such a skeletal portrait does not explain his spiritual magnetism and the soul-penetrating power of his writings. These were the fruit of his life-long striving to know and to serve the Truth, which, in turn, kindled a habit of ceaseless prayer and a practiced consciousness of continually abiding in the presence of God.

“>Nikolaj (Velimirovic) of Zica called enemies our “strict friends”, because they help us determine what we are, who we are and where we are going. Their help is unique if we want to see our shortcomings and flaws, because with friends we walk side by side towards the same goal, and, as a rule, out of love they often do not want to trouble us and disturb us with their reproaches. However, our enemy goes face to face and immediately points out all our flaws and defects and speaks harshly, scathingly about them. If we take it reasonably, in the Gospel spirit and soberly, then this is a strict friend.

St. Nikolaj of Zica —I would like to understand fully who an enemy is, since we’re talking about it. I remember the words by the Holy Hierarch Philaret (Drozdov): “Forgive your personal enemies…”

—”Forgive your personal enemies, destroy the enemies of your Fatherland, and abhor the enemies of God,” the holy hierarch said. But we must understand that “enemy” status may vary. There are “everyday” enemies when, for example, two women are arguing at the door of a block of flats. Enemies can also be political; some political bacteria may have flown into someone’s head, and a debate begins. There are also cultural enemies, when people have an ethnic incompatibility. There are also economic enemies, when there is a conflict of interests. All this must be discerned and taken into consideration. And the enemies of God, the heirs of Cain, stand quite apart. In our time they consciously and openly say “No!” to God.

But when you distinguish between these things, many thoughts and feelings fall into place.

—Some modern Christians who prefer comfort even deny the feat of martyrdom as inexpedient. How can such people live in a Church that is built on the blood of martyrs? All of us, both believers and non-believers, sooner or later have to go through trials, tribulations, and hardships. Christian life is by no means endless smooth sailing.

—We can say that everything authentic has a slightly bitter taste. Real life has a bitter taste. It is like an old door—always creaking. Normal human life is always complicated, painful and hard. This is a sign of its authenticity. If you live in continuous euphoria and pleasure, then you are either deluded or you have a latent form of schizophrenia. It’s false, it doesn’t happen this way. And comfort is perhaps the strongest and most dangerous drug in the modern world.

If we take the Lives of the saints, both ancient and modern, we will see that they fled from comfort. They deliberately sought an uncomfortable life—to the point that they chose God-forsaken and even dangerous places in which to struggle. They lived financially worse than they could have—that is, they prioritized continuous movement towards Christ with their mind and heart, with their whole being. And therefore, they had painful, strained relations with this world, because whoever is of this world is loved by this world. More precisely, this world makes use of such people. But those who love Christ are hated by the world—it is an unreconcilable conflict. We rarely talk about it and try not to think about it, but comfort is a highly marketable product, in great demand among our contemporaries.

​Dionysius. The “Descent into Hell” Icon, 1502     

Strangely enough, they trust the guarantees of those who sell illusions. In exchange for banknotes, they offer security, success and personal happiness. This is the sale of soap bubbles, fantasies, and very dangerous ones at that. Unfortunately, it is not only a waste of money and time, but also an attempt on one’s immortal soul. In exchange for eternity, a never-ending dead end is offered in the form of comfort and well-being, which has the appearance of a branch of hell.

To be continued…

Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill are threatening to oppose the U.S. government’s defense spending bill for the next fiscal year over its inclusion of language that would prevent the Department of Defense (DOD) from providing health care coverage that funds transgender drugs and surgeries for minors.

Although the current draft was the product of negotiations between Republican and Democratic lawmakers, some Democrats have considered abandoning the final version amid its inclusion of banning gender transitions for children.

“The final text includes a provision prohibiting medical treatment for military dependents under the age of 18 who are diagnosed with gender dysphoria,” Democratic Rep. Adam Smith, who serves as the ranking member for the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement.

“Blanketly denying health care to people who clearly need it, just because of a biased notion against transgender people, is wrong,” Smith continued. “This provision injected a level of partisanship not traditionally seen in defense bills. Speaker [Mike] Johnson is pandering to the most extreme elements of his party to ensure that he retains his speakership. In doing so, he has upended what had been a bipartisan process.”

Republican lawmakers included the language in the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2025, which was unveiled this past weekend. The primary function of the NDAA is to fund the nation’s military.

Republican lawmakers sought to include similar language related to gender transitions in last year’s NDAA but eventually abandoned the effort when they failed to get enough support in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Under the proposal, taxpayer-funded health care programs provided by the DOD for members of the military and their families would prevent any coverage of transgender drugs and surgeries for anyone under the age of 18. It would not affect these services for adults.

Currently, the DOD offers coverage for transgender drugs for all ages, which includes puberty blockers and hormones through its TRICARE program, which serves about 9.5 million service members, military retirees, and dependents. TRICARE does not currently provide coverage for transgender surgeries.

According to a study published by the American Public Health Association in 2023, at least 25,000 children sought treatment for gender dysphoria through TRICARE in 2017 — and about 900 received transgender drugs such as puberty blockers or hormones. It’s unclear whether those numbers have increased in recent years.

A Republican effort to end the DOD’s policy to fund travel for military members and their families to obtain abortions was ultimately removed from the NDAA proposal.

In a statement, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said lawmakers “remain determined to confront increasingly hostile threats from communist China, Russia, and Iran, and this legislation provides our military with the tools they need to deter our enemies.”

“This legislation includes House-passed provisions to restore our focus on military lethality and to end the radical woke ideology being imposed on our military by permanently banning transgender medical treatment for minors and countering antisemitism,” he added.

Smith’s objection to the NDAA proposal comes as activist groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) are urging Democrats to vote against the legislation.

“Medical care should stay between families and their doctors but this provision would baselessly and recklessly inject politics into the health care military families receive,” Mike Zamore, the ACLU national director of policy and government affairs, said in a statement.

“Nobody should have to choose between serving the country and ensuring their child has the health care they need to live and thrive,” he added. “Members of Congress must vote against the defense bill because of the inclusion of this deeply harmful, unconstitutional provision.”

The ACLU is currently representing Tennessee families who are challenging a state law that prohibits doctors from providing children with transgender drugs and surgeries. The United States Supreme Court heard the case’s arguments on Dec. 4.

(Story continues below)

Transgender issues dividing Congress

Most Democratic lawmakers openly support gender transitions for minors. However, following the 2024 election, the two House Democrats — Rep. Seth Moulton and Rep. Tom Suozzi — have accused their party of going too far to the left on issues related to transgenderism, particularly when it comes to biological boys who identify as girls playing in girls’ sports.

Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Roger Marshall is introducing a bill to prohibit surgical gender transitions of minors nationwide. The legislation is called the Safeguarding the Overall Protection (STOP) of Minors Act.

In a statement posted on X, Marshall, an OB-GYN physician by profession, said that most Americans “want a complete ban on any performance of mutilation, sterilization, and castration procedures on children,” which is what prompted him to introduce the bill.

As of December, transgender drugs and surgeries for children are prohibited in 24 states and another two states ban only the surgeries. Gender transitions for minors remain legal in the remaining 24 states and several have enacted laws that explicitly protect access to those drugs and surgeries.

President-elect Donald Trump has said he supports a federal law banning the surgical gender transitions of minors. Some scholars have argued that the incoming Trump administration could use regulatory authority to restrict the gender transitions of minors nationally.

In his first sit-down broadcast network interview since the election, President-elect Donald Trump said that in his first 100 days in office, he would focus on immigration as well as enacting tax cuts and tariffs.

During the interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” Sunday, the president-elect reaffirmed his support of in vitro fertilization (IVF), a fertility procedure opposed by the Catholic Church because it destroys embryonic life and separates conception from marriage. Trump also said he would “probably” not restrict the abortion pill, though he refused to commit to that, noting that “things do change.”

Immigration

Trump pledged that the first thing he would do is address the border issue, beginning with criminals who are in the U.S. illegally. He told NBC he would begin “rapidly” with criminals who are here illegally such as Venezuelan gang members and MS-13.

“We’re starting with the criminals, and we gotta do it,” he said. “And then we’re starting with others and we’re going to see how it goes.”

When asked about deporting everyone who has been living in the country illegally for years, he said: “Well, I think you have to do it.”

“It’s a very tough thing to do, but you have to have rules, regulations, laws; they came in illegally,” Trump said.

He noted that this is unfair for people waiting to come into the country legally.

“We’re going to make it very easy for people to come in, in terms of, they have to pass the test,” Trump said. “They have to be able to tell you what the Statue of Liberty is. They have to tell you a little bit about our country. They have to love our country.”

When asked about families with mixed immigration status, Trump said he wouldn’t split up families, saying the families could be deported together if they choose.

“I don’t want to be breaking up families, so the only way you don’t break up the family is you keep them together and you have to send them all back,” he said.

“We have to do our job,” Trump continued. “You have to have a series of standards and a series of laws.”

Trump also pledged to end birthright citizenship for children of immigrants.

When asked whether his plan violates the 14th Amendment’s guarantee that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside,” Trump said that he may have to turn to “the people,” but “we have to end it.”

Trump also pledged to “work with the Democrats on a plan” to help Dreamers (immigrants who came into the country illegally as children) stay in the country, noting that Republicans are “very open” to doing so.

The U.S. bishops in November urged the American government to reform the immigration system with “fair and humane treatment” of immigrants. The statement called for a system that “provides permanent relief for childhood arrivals, helps families stay together, and welcomes refugees,” while also “keep[ing] our borders safe and secure.”

In vitro fertilization

During his campaign, Trump promised free in vitro fertilization (IVF), either through the government or insurance mandates. In the interview, Trump reaffirmed his support for the treatment, calling himself “the father of IVF in a certain way.”

Trump cited his involvement in the Alabama IVF controversy earlier this year in which he voiced support for IVF. After the Alabama Supreme Court ruled in February that frozen human embryos constitute children under state statute, the Republican governor of Alabama, Kay Ivey, signed legislation granting clinics immunity when they “damage” or cause the “death” of human embryonic life in the process of providing in vitro fertilization (IVF) fertility treatments to women.

Trump noted that in response to the court decision he issued “a statement from the Republican party that we are all for IVF.”

“The Alabama Legislature met the following day and passed it,” he said. “It was a beautiful thing to see.”

But when asked where IVF was on his list of priorities, Trump noted that “we have a lot of other things.”

“We’re going to be talking about it,” he said of IVF. “We’ll be submitting in either the first or second package to Congress the extension of the tax cuts. So that might very well be in there, or it’ll come sometime after that.”

The Catholic Church has long opposed IVF as “morally unacceptable” because of the rejection of the natural procreative act of husband and wife, the commodification of the human child, and the destruction of embryonic human life, which is very common in the procedure.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that though “research aimed at reducing human sterility is to be encouraged” (No. 2375), practices such as IVF “disassociate the sexual act from the procreative act” and the act “entrusts the life and identity of the embryo into the power of doctors and biologists” (No. 2377).

Abortion pills

Trump reaffirmed that he would not restrict abortion pills, though he refused to commit to the position, noting that things sometimes change.

When asked if he would restrict abortion pills, Trump said: “I’ll probably stay with exactly what I’ve been saying for the last two years, and the answer is no.”

When asked if he committed to that statement, Trump noted that “things do change, but I don’t think it’s going to change at all.”

Medical or chemical abortions — abortions procured via a two-pill regimen — made up 70% of abortions in the U.S. in 2022, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

During the presidential campaign, Trump was criticized by pro-life advocates for his position that abortion law should be left for the states to decide. In June he said he agreed with the Supreme Court’s ruling on the abortion pill saying: “I agree with their decision to have done that, and I will not block it.”

The Catholic Church teaches that abortion is “gravely contrary to the moral law” and that “life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception” (CCC, No. 2271).

In my evangelical days, I often complained that Catholics exaggerated the role of the Blessed Virgin.

But it is history itself — salvation history — that has given her an outsized role. It is the Lord of history who cast her for such a part in the drama.

Her lines in St. Luke’s Gospel add up to far more than a cameo appearance. The story of redemption turns on her brief dialogue with the angel. Heaven awaits her response. The Church has ever since echoed her prayer, the Magnificat, especially in Advent.

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.

For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed;

for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his name. …”

Go and read the whole thing right now (Luke 1:46–55).

Mary of Nazareth gave us the model prayer of praise and thanksgiving. It is a model prayer for our coming Christmas. She taught the world the proper response to God who has made his dwelling among humankind — who has come to dwell in her flesh and in ours.

St. Luke presents the Virgin Mary as an icon of human freedom and dignity. There is nothing obsequious about her. She is “troubled” by the angel’s presence, but she still dares to inquire. Hers is an active and intelligent obedience.

Tradition honors Mary as the “Virgin of Tenderness,” and she is tender. Yet the lines of the Magnificat also show us a fierceness of fidelity. It is a quality God cultivated in Israel, a quality that enabled a faithful remnant to keep faith in spite of exile and oppression.

All of Mary’s qualities are graces from God. In her we see grace in an extraordinary degree because of the way God prepared her for her unique vocation.

But Catholic theology insists that grace builds upon nature. The God who created us is the same God who redeemed us and calls us. And so it is not at all fanciful for us to see Mary’s Magnificat as a window into her upbringing. Her ancestor King David was a shepherd of sheep before he became a shepherd of Israel. Mary’s fidelity, her knowledge of the history of Israel, her faithfulness to the Law of Moses, her reverence for the Temple, her habits of prayer, praise, and gratitude — all of these are a tribute to her family of origin and a childhood spent in the courts of the Lord.

Though her speaking role diminishes after Jesus’ childhood, she still looms large in the Gospel. She remains with him, and that seems perfectly in character. The young woman who would dare to question an angel would become the sort of older woman who could spend years following a son who had “nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20).

That is the tenderness and the tenacity God created, saw, and loved in Israel, his bride and daughter and firstborn. Those are characteristics that God gives as a grace and loves in his earthly family, beginning with his mother.

The U.S. bishops’ conference was among the groups that urged President Joe Biden on Dec. 9 to commute exiting federal death sentences before President-elect Donald Trump, who has sought to expand the use of capital punishment, returns to the White House.

Opponents of capital punishment have argued that Biden, a Catholic and the first U.S. president to have campaigned on an openly anti-death penalty platform, should follow through with concrete action in the post-election lame-duck period.

Pope Francis also indicated support for that effort, writing in a Dec. 8 post on X, formerly Twitter, “Let us #PrayTogether for those on death row in the United States. Let us pray that their sentences may be commuted, changed. Let us think of these brothers and sisters of ours and ask the Lord for the grace to save them from death.”

Let us #PrayTogether for those on death row in the United States. Let us pray that their sentences may be commuted, changed. Let us think of these brothers and sisters of ours and ask the Lord for the grace to save them from death.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) December 8, 2024

An action alert from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops stated, “As President Biden prepares to leave office, please urge him to commute all current federal death sentences to terms of imprisonment before his term ends.”

It stated, “President Biden has an extraordinary opportunity to advance the cause of human dignity by commuting all federal death sentences to terms of imprisonment and sparing the lives of the 40 men currently on federal death row.”

The message added the U.S. Catholic bishops “have long called for an end to the use of the death penalty,” citing a 1980 statement calling for its abolition, as well as the conference’s vote in 1974 to oppose the practice.

“They outlined concerns with the death penalty that remain relevant today, including that the death penalty extinguishes possibilities for reform and rehabilitation; the imposition of capital punishment involves the possibility of mistakes; the legal imposition of capital punishment in our society involves long and unavoidable delays; carrying out the death penalty brings with it great and avoidable anguish for everyone involved; and that capital punishment is carried out in an unfair and discriminatory manner,” the USCCB action alert said.

The Catholic Church’s official magisterium opposes the use of the death penalty as inconsistent with the inherent sanctity of human life, and advocates for the practice’s abolition worldwide. In his 2020 encyclical “Fratelli Tutti,” Pope Francis addressed the moral problem of capital punishment by citing St. John Paul II, writing that his predecessor “stated clearly and firmly that the death penalty is inadequate from a moral standpoint and no longer necessary from that of penal justice.”

“There can be no stepping back from this position,” Pope Francis wrote. Echoing the teaching he clarified in his 2018 revision of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the pontiff said, “Today we state clearly that ‘the death penalty is inadmissible’ and the church is firmly committed to calling for its abolition worldwide.”

In a separate message, a bipartisan coalition including Catholic Mobilizing Network, former prison officials, family members of homicide victims, civil rights advocates and pro-life advocates circulated a joint effort urging Biden to commute existing death sentences.

“As Catholics, we understand that every person is made in the image of God and that our Heavenly Father does not shut the door on anyone,” Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, executive director of CMN and Sister Rita Ann Teichman, a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph and chair of the group’s board of directors, wrote in the letter. “By commuting these sentences, you could use your constitutional authority in a way that would mirror the spirit of reconciliation during this special Jubilee 2025 year.”

“The death penalty has for generations been a veiled extension of our national legacy of racial terror and lynchings,” said Jamila Hodge, CEO of Equal Justice USA, another group involved in the effort, in that group’s message. “President Biden, like me a person of deep faith in God, has a historic opportunity to demonstrate mercy and the belief that we are all redeemable, by preventing an execution spree that will not make us safer, while moving us closer to reckoning with a system that unfairly targets Black people.”

Joia Thornton, founder and national director of the Faith Leaders of Color Coalition (flocc), said in the group’s letter that Biden “has a deep-rooted relationship with Black faith communities, and flocc represents more than 500 Black faith leaders, conventions, congregations and convocations in America.”

She said, “Commuting the federal death row would be an incredible milestone for those who believe life has value, mercy is encompassing and grace covers a multitude of sin.”

A few days after Lucia Herman had her first child, Danny, she and her husband brought their infant son to Mass. Like Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel, Herman was so grateful to God for the gift of this new life.

“I presented him to God. I remember saying, ‘Here is your child. Thank you. Help me become the mother that you want me to be so he can be the person that you have created him to be,’” she told Extension Magazine, the quarterly publication of the Catholic Extension Society.

Thirty years later, Herman was in Mass at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Knoxville, Tennessee, alongside her husband, Deacon Joe Herman. This time, their son was at the altar, being ordained as a priest for the Diocese of Knoxville on June 8.

The Catholic Extension Society supported his seminarian education as well as the faith journey of this family. Each year the Chicago-based nonprofit supports 400 seminarians on their path to the priesthood.

And Herman played no small role in her son’s journey to the priesthood.

She raised him and her two other children in the faith, despite many challenges. Herman had grown up in southern Arizona, an area where many more people shared her faith. When the family moved to Mountain City in northeast Tennessee, she found herself living in a place in which Catholics were an extremely small minority. There was no Catholic church in their town. They had to drive to North Carolina just to attend Mass.

“People used to say that we were not Christian because we were Catholic,” she said.

Father Tom Vos, a priest who was trying to build a church in Mountain City, noticed Herman’s commitment to the faith.

“I remember Father Tom coming to our front door saying, ‘OK, Lucia. It’s up to you,’” she recalled. The priest told her that if she wanted her kids to learn about the Catholic faith, she would have to start teaching them.

She and a few other parents started teaching religious education classes from home to prepare their children to receive the sacraments

She joined other families in the effort to raise funds to build a church. They began by converting a storefront into a chapel. Father Herman said one of his first memories as a child was hanging a crucifix up on a pegboard in this temporary space.

As part of the fundraising effort, Lucia Herman wrote letters to every Catholic parish in the country that had the same name as their future church: St. Anthony of Padua.

“We had yard sales, we had bake sales, we had all sorts of things to raise money to build this church,” she said.

In 2001, with support from Catholic Extension Society, they finally completed their new church.

As Herman raised her three children, she always made sure that prayer was part of their lives. “Prayer is a lot more than just words,” she said. “It’s an ongoing conversation with God.”

Prayer is what led Father Danny Herman away from a military career and into the seminary.

Father Herman initially wanted to go into the medical field. He was studying pre-med in college when he met a recruiter and decided to become a naval aviator instead. He trained in the Navy’s flight school for three years.

He began to realize that he was searching for joy and satisfaction in acquiring things and obtaining notoriety.

“I gained more satisfaction from people’s opinion of me rather than what I was actually doing,” he told Extension Magazine. He realized that he was unhappy.

He was a few months away from “getting his wings” and committing the next eight years of his life to being a naval aviator when he realized that, although he was successful in his training, he knew that there was something more he was supposed to do.

“I heard a voice in my heart just saying, ‘You’re not meant for this. I made you for something else.’ And I knew it was God through a life of prayer with family, and I knew that this was a discerning moment,” Father Herman said.

His commanding officer, a man of faith, was supportive of his decision.

“He recognized that I wasn’t running away from anything,” Father Herman said. “He told me, ‘I think you’re running towards something. And he allowed me to work with the chaplains for my last six months in military service.”

Father Herman said he values the risk management skills that he developed during his time in the military and has a special appreciation for military members and their families.

Then, Father Herman told his mother about his big life change.

“When he told me he had the calling, I was not surprised,” Lucia Herman said. At the time she had been attending Holy Hour and praying before the Blessed Sacrament. She was praying for a priest that could shepherd the growing faith community in northeast Tennessee, someone who understood the people and cared for them.

She was also praying for her eldest son because she knew he was struggling to find his true purpose in life.

“And God has a sense of humor,” she recalled. “Danny comes up and says that he has a calling to become a priest.”

Herman said she understood God’s message to her: “Well, there you are, Lucia. You wanted a priest. I’m asking for your son.”

Father Herman is now serving as associate pastor at the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral Parish in Knoxville.

Father Herman said that during his time in seminary, he developed a greater appreciation for his mother.

“I have never gone once without knowing that my mother loved me,” he said. “She was always there. I wasn’t always appreciative of the sacrifices she made for me.”

Lucia Herman has a special devotion to Our Lady. “I know that with her help I have been able to raise my kids and be a good wife with her example,” she said.

“I see the greatness of God in my children,” she added. “When they were conceived, when they were in my womb; what a beautiful thing. … My children are my happiness; they are God’s graces. What better way than to return my eldest to him?”

Christ Will Win in the EndAnother angel appears, surrounded by a cloud, descending from Heaven. Above his head is a rainbow, and his feet are like pillars of fire.

“>Part 21

​Taking Elijah and Enoch to Heaven, Merian, 17th C.     

Symbolic numbers

And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves (Rev. 11:9). Again we find this number, three and a half: three and a half year years, three and a half days, forty-two months.

The corpses will remain on the square for three and a half days. Is it possible to leave corpses on the street for three days, for people to look at them? Is this symbolic? Does this tell us that this death, this destruction, this humbling of the prophets will last for a time and continue for a certain period of time? Will people think: “Look, they were killed, we lost them, but it’s only temporary?” We don’t know.

And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth (Rev. 11:10). The inhabitants of the earth will rejoice that the prophets were killed. They’ll be happy, they’ll send each other gifts, saying: “Finally, they killed these prophets; now we can live in peace. After all, these prophets tormented us; it was hard with them; they caused us suffering. They did well to kill them.” The people will rejoice, they’ll exchange gifts, and the corpses will remain on the square for three and a half days.

However, what’s said then in the eleventh verse? And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them (Rev. 11:11). Again I say that we needn’t think that everything will happen exactly as it’s described. These are symbols, mysteries; they speak to us about other circumstances. Of course, it’s possible that this is exactly how everything will happen. It’s not hard for God. But it’s also possible that this is an allegory and everything will happen differently. It’s a mystery.

And they heard a great voice from Heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to Heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of Heaven (Rev. 11:12–13). On that day, a strong earthquake occurred, a tenth of the city fell and 7,000 people died. Again, the number seven. The rest were seized with fear; they were very afraid and glorified the God of Heaven.   

The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly (Rev. 11:14). “Will we see it too?” you might ask. You might say: “Fortunately, we’re already old now; we probably won’t see how all of this will happen.”

“The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ”

And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in Heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God (Rev. 11:15–16). As soon as this voice was heard saying that the kingdom of this world belongs to the Lord and His Christ, Who will reign unto the ages, twenty-four elders, who were before the throne of God and seated upon their thrones, fell upon their faces, worshiped God, and said: We give thee thanks, O LORD God Almighty, Which art, and wast, and art to come; because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast reigned (Rev. 11:17). Here is another mention of the Trinuness of God—Which art, and wast, and art to come—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He received great power and reigned.

And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth (Rev. 11:18). When the time of Jerusalem’s trampling is over, the prophets are killed. Their corpses remain on the road for three and a half days. God resurrects them. People are scared, there’s an earthquake, and many people die. The second woe passes and a third is approaching. The seventh angel sounds his trumpet and God is glorified. The presbyters say that the time has come for God to reign and to give reward to the prophets, the saints, to all those who love and fear His name.

And the Temple of God was opened in Heaven, and there was seen in His Temple the Ark of His Testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail (Rev. 11:19). These images guide us through upcoming events, but remain mysterious. It remains a mystery how we can interpret them.

Let’s move on to the next passage, which is easy to explain.

Unseen warfare

And there appeared a great wonder in Heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars (Rev. 12:1). After the Temple was opened in Heaven, there appeared a woman dressed in the sun, with the moon under her feet and twelve stars on her head. The Holy Fathers interpret this in two ways: that this woman is the Most Holy Theotokos, who bore Christ by the power of God, or that it’s the Church, which is clothed in the sun—in Christ, in the grace of the New Testament. The moon is the Old Testament, illuminated from the outside, by the light of the New Testament. On its head are twelve stars—the Holy Apostles, who confirm the Church. Now this woman appears, adorned in the sun, standing on the moon, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.

And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered (Rev. 12:2). She was ready to give birth. This reminds us of mankind, which suffered, was sick, and suffered unto the coming of the Nativity of Christ.

And there appeared another wonder in Heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads (Rev. 12:3). A terrible dragon, bright red with rage and malice, bursting with spite. It has seven heads and ten horns, and upon the seven heads a diadem.

And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man Child, Who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her Child was caught up unto God, and to His throne (Rev. 12:4–5). Here we see a prophecy about Christ. She gave birth to Christ, Who will shepherd all nations with an iron rod. Her Child was caught up to God and brought to the throne of God. The dragon, which was waiting for Him to be born, did not devour Him.

And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days (Rev. 12:6). You see what kind of spiritual warfare there is! From the very beginning, the devil has wanted to destroy Christ Himself: both as a living being, and His teaching—and he is waging a war against the Church. Of course, he couldn’t do anything to Christ because Christ is God, exalted at the right hand of the Father. The woman fled into the desert. The Church flees into the desert away from worldly reality. But we can say that the desert, with its monastic life throughout the ages, testifies to the truth of the Church, especially after persecution. Of course, the Church isn’t limited by place, but many holy people, whose lives convince us of the truth of the Church, were children of the desert. I mean the monastic order of ascetics who have left the world. It’s important here to understand how prudent we need to be, to understand the warfare that is being waged against the Church.

Have hope and trust in the Theotokos

Until I was forty, when I was a monk (first I was a simple member of the Church, then a monk, hieromonk, and igumen), I knew from experience how the devil fights with man, how he wages warfare within a family, in our personal life, in a monastery.

When I became a bishop, then I saw how the devil fights with the Church. It’s truly unbelievable, you can’t even imagine! Before I had this experience, I didn’t understand what terrible war was being waged against the Church. It’s unbelievable! It’s amazing how the Church has to navigate through these traps, to march through the turbulence that comes from us when we make mistakes. I’m not saying that only those who fight against us are to blame. We ourselves participate in this war through our mistakes and weaknesses. All of this affects the Church. But despite this, the Church lives on and continues, not being conquered by the strongest waves and shocks, like a boat in the midst of a raging sea. While we’re in this boat, life goes on.

Icon of the Church, the Ark of Salvation     

I’ll tell you about another instance that I learned about from another great saint of our times, so that you can imagine how they perceived these visions. One day he was in his room, in the city where he lived. He was praying, immersed in the difficulty of his situation, aware of his small human strength, struggling with his thoughts: “Do I really need to do all this? Who am I? Who appointed me to do this? What’s going to happen?” The situation was truly at the edge, and while he was praying, he was enraptured by the Holy Spirit, like St. John the Theologian.

He saw himself in the jungle, holding a small child in his arms. He had to run through the jungle, because wild animals were chasing after him to eat him. He had to run to escape. Snakes were crawling from the trees all around, trying to bite him. It was an enormous struggle to avoid being killed by animals and snakes from every direction! Then he realized that they were all hunting the baby in his arms. But he wasn’t a father; he had no children. He was a monk. He understood that they wanted to eat the baby. And so he ran and ran, with snakes, lions, and leopards all around him. He ran across rocks, stepping on stones, jumping over rivers. At one point, in a state of desperation, he saw before him a huge dragon that opened its mouth, preparing to swallow him. He knew that the end had come. Then in the midst of this tragic situation, he cried out: “Most Holy Theotokos, help me!”

As soon as he called to the Mother of God, he heard Her voice: “Michael.” Then the monk saw the Archangel Michael, who crushed the dragon with his sword, and after this the elder awoke.

He was completely exhausted. He thought about the meaning of this vision, about this chase, about the infant. He began to fervently pray to God, with tears, asking Him to explain the meaning of what he had seen. In prayer, he received a message from God: “You will have to go through everything you saw. The child is your soul. And all of these enemies aimed to destroy your soul. But have hope and trust in the Theotokos. She’ll help you overcome these trials.”

The elder especially venerated the Theotokos, the intercessor for all people, and the Archangel Michael, in whose church he served. The Archangel Michael was his protector.

This was not only experienced by the Apostle John the Theologian two thousand years ago, but by our contemporary also had a similar vision. The devil seeks to destroy our soul: He pulls us here and there, opens doors for us, overwhelms us with work. Everything we do, he throws to the wind: We go to print a page—it comes out with errors a thousand times; we build a house—hundreds of mistakes; the roof will leak, and it might even fall in on us. Whatever we set out to do, from the simplest to the most complex, we encounter him everywhere. Let us stand against him. Just as we played when we were children—running and pushing each other, that’s how he pushes us, wherever we go. He pushes us, we push him. Sometimes Christ comes and throws him into another corner, and we manage to get our work done.

Have peace. Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world (1 Jn. 4:4). The Greater One is Christ, Who is with us, while the devil is with the world.

To be continued…