The Gift Of Tears

I am a man given to tears. It must be in my DNA. At my wedding, all the men cried and the women didn't. My first memorable encounter with the God With No Name came at age six. I was moved to tears when I recognized His presence and heard his voice in my soul. To this day, tears flow at His presence. Tears also flow at the presence of my own sins, especially during times of repentance.

One of the things I have had to work through, since becoming Orthodox, is the idea of  "passionless worship". It took me at least three years to understand that passionless is not the same as being emotionless. Passionless, in this context, refers to not being motivated or led by self-promotion. Was Christ emotionless when he wept at hearing the news of the death of His friend?

"Jesus Wept."

Was Christ emotionless when he sweated drops of blood as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane?

A few months ago, I was moved to quiet tears at the sight of a Bishop being ordained. It was a holy, reverent moment, and the awesomeness of our Holy God, conferring on a mere man such an anointing, was overwhelming. A nearby priest, seemingly uncomfortable at my quiet display, ordered me, "Don't Cry. Just be aware that there is work to do."

Would one say, "Don't cry, Jesus. Suck it up. Yes, your friend is dead, and his loved ones are grieving,  but there is work to do", or "Hey Christ! Why so emotional? You don't have to work up a bloody sweat over things. Don't be such a winer. There is a lot of work to do."

Passionless worship is not emotionless worship- Christ forbid! We cry both for joy and for sorrow and both are holy.

St. Symeon the New Theologian said, "God has removed all tears from the face of this earth by means of baptism, having poured out richly His Holy Spirit. But, as I have heard from the Holy Scriptures, certain adults, upon being immersed in this baptism, have shed tears, because they were pricked by the descent of the Spirit. They were not painful and laborious tears, but sweeter than honey by virtue of the working and the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Indeed, tears are a gift from God to his human creation.

THE GIFT OF TEARS

St. Simeon the New Theologian

"What an unutterable wonder! That when tears are shed from the bodily eyes they invisibly flow over the soul and wash away the impurity of sin. They shake and burn out the demons as they fall to the ground and make the soul free of the invisible bonds of sin.

O, Tears, that flow because of that divine radiance and that open heaven and bring divine comfort. Again and I say this repeatedly, stirred by delight and pleasure: Where there is an abundance of tears, my brothers, with true knowledge, there also is illumination in the divine light. Where there is the shining of that light, there too is the bestowal of good blessings and the seal of the Holy Spirit embedded in the heart.

Tears work within us a divine fire of contrition. Without tears and constant compunction no man has ever been cleansed or has become holy or has received the Holy Spirit or has seen God or knows that He dwells with him. Without repentance there are no tears; without weeping there are no tears. Let no one say it is impossible to weep everyday...then it is impossible to repent each day. If repenting and weeping and shedding tears is impossible, then to be humble and to pray unceasingly would also be impossible.

Man should not pass through even one single day without repentance and tears. If he has no tears, he should ask God for them with all his strength and with all his soul. There is no other way by which  he can remain sinless and pure in heart."

Where Ecumenism Leads

The "Fear" of Gay Marriage

AP/PORTLAND, Maine – Cecelia Burnett and Ann Swanson had already set their wedding date. When they joined about 1,000 other gay marriage supporters for an election night party in a Holiday Inn ballroom, they hoped to celebrate the vote that would make it possible.

Instead, they went home at midnight, dejected and near tears after a failed bid to make Maine the first state to approve same-sex marriage at the ballot box.

"I'm ready to start crying," said Burnett, a 58-year-old massage therapist, walking out of the ballroom with Swanson at her side. "I don't understand what the fear is, why people are so afraid of this change.

"It hurts. It hurts personally," she said. "It's a personal rejection of us and our relationship, and I don't understand what the fear is."

Cecelia, 
The reason you don't understand is because your standard of morality is based on personal relativity and not on the fact that there is a God who created you and knows better than you what you need in order to live a fulfilling life here and in the life to come. Homosexuality is an aberration, perversion, and anomaly of God's design of creation. Does not your very anatomy tell you that? Marriage is a sacramental covenant established and ordained by God, between a man and a woman. The reason you don't understand is because those who "fear" gay marriage do so based in the fear of God, not fear of gays. The word "fear" here, does not mean "to be afraid", but, rather, "respect." The majority of Americans, and in fact, the majority of cultures across the world, do not fear (respect) any rights that are elevated above that which God says is right. It's that simple. Now do you understand what the fear is? Perhaps, acquiring a little fear of God may help you.

The Altered State Of A Southern Baptist Icon

This is the portrait of B. H. Carroll, D. D. (pro causa honoris) that hangs beneath the rotunda of the B. H. Carroll Memorial Building on the campus, in Ft. Worth, Texas, of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, the institution that he founded in 1908. Among Texas Baptists, the esteem accorded to "old Dr. Carroll," as he is fondly called, is comparable to the veneration that communicants in the Church of Rome routinely accord to saints.

This portrait of old Dr. Carroll was made from life and, in it, the viewer will observe that, at some time after its completion, a surgically inclined artist removed three fingers from its subject's left hand. For this amputation, the reason was not that of any defect in the hand; but it was, instead, because of what the hand was grasping, that is, a perfectly honest stogie. Although Dr. Carroll, an ardent Prohibitionist, was strong against beverage alcohol, his devotion to other Southern agricultural products certainly did not exclude tobacco.

It was in the aftermath of the First World War that the Texas Baptists finally decided, en masse, that tobacco was a pernicious species of plant sown, nurtured, and harvested in the blighted fields of sin. Because the portait of Dr. Carroll, on account of the cigar, was thus and then perceived not as a source of spiritual uplift but as a medium of temptation, it became necessary to excise the offending object and, with it, the good pastor's tempted fingers.

The portrait of Dr. Carroll, in its present condition, is as pure and chaste as any English war-memorial. It is religiously correct. And, at the disfiguring result of the procedure by which Dr. Carroll's right hand no longer needs to know what his left hand is doing, Machiavelli nods.

(From http://gennotes.150m.com/verita.html

JTO Editor's Note: Nice Orthodox Beard. Don't you think?

You May Be An Ecumenist If...

You may be an Ecumenist if...

1. You refer to Muslims and other non-Christian groups as “brothers” or commune with those who do.
   
   
2. You consider the Roman Catholic Church a “sister” church to Orthodoxy or commune with those who do.
   
   
3. Your heiarchs concelebrate with Roman Catholics or Anglicans and you have not called for them to be deposed.
   
   
4. You are in a jurisdiction that is part of the World Council of Churches.
   
   
5. You are in a jurisdiction that is part of the United Nations World Council of Religious Leaders.
   
   
6. You are in a jurisdiction that does not require unbaptized protestant converts to be baptized.
   
   
7. You don't think the baptismal mode of triple immersion is a big deal.
   
   
8. You willingly commemorate a Bishop who has committed doctrinal heresies.
   
   
9. You commemorate a Bishop who has proven himself unworthy to hold the office.
   
   
10. You are in a jurisdiction that is a member of SCOBA.
    
    
11. You think the word “canonical” applies only to jurisdictions under the Patriarch of Constantinople.
    
    
12. You think that the Patriarch of Constantinople is not a heretic, even when he promotes that all religions are equal paths to heaven.
    
    
13. You remain in a jurisdiction in communion with the Patriarch of Constantinople even though you know he is a heretic.
    
    
14. You think Monophysites were given a bad rap by four of the Ecumenical Councils who denounced them as heretics.
    
    
15. You have ignored the fact that the Patriarch of Antioch concelebrates with Monophysites in opposition to four of the Ecumenical Councils.
    
    
16. You refer to the Genuine or True Orthodox jurisdictions as “uncanonical”, “schismatic”, or not one of the “major” orthodox groups.
    
    
17. You believe and repeat the propaganda that there are millions of Orthodox believers in North America when there are actually less than five hundred thousand.
    
    
18. You have been told and you believe that Genuine and True jurisdictions are small and insignificant, when they make up at least 10% of the jurisdictions in North America alone.
    
    
19. You think that the larger of “Orthodox” groups must be the more orthodox of the Orthodox groups just because they are the larger of the Orthodox groups.
    
    
20. Your Priest, Bishop, Metropolitan or Patriarch tells you that it is wrong to question a Priest, Bishop, Metropolitan or Patriarch and you believe them.
    
    
21. You are not certain what “World Orthodoxy” means.
    
    
22. You know what “World Orthodoxy” means but think it is a good thing and not a bad thing.
    
    
23. You don't believe that the Moscow Patriarchate is state-own and KGB operated and you name one of your children Sergi.
    
    
24. You don't know the significance or origin of the New Calender/Old Calender issue or you don't care and you name one of your children Meletios.
    
    
25. You have no idea that Freemasons are in the seat of power in most jurisdictions of World Orthodoxy or you don't care.
    
    
26. You are a Freemason.
    
    
27. You think the movement toward a One World Church is the unity the scriptures speak of rather than the devise of anti-Christ.
    
    
28. You have decided that every orthodox group has problems of some kind so you will just stay where you are.
    
    
29. You ignore the Early Church Father's practice of denouncing and separating themselves from heretical Patriarchs and Bishops and Priests and you attack those today who would follow their example.
    
    
30. You think Ecumenism is a good thing. 

(c) 2009 Nathan Lee Lewis- Journey To Orthodoxy

Bartholomew Endorses Muslim Religion as God-Blessed

So, you still don't believe there is anything called World Orthodoxy, Ecumenism, or a movement toward a One World Church?  If your diocese, jurisdiction, or bishop is in communion with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew then this is what you believe:

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew issues message for the End of Ramadan
Istanbul, Turkey
9/21/2009
It is with feelings of love and respect that we convey to all Muslims around the world our heartfelt congratulations and best wishes upon the occasion of the end of Ramadan.

After this extended period of fasting, which has also been a time of reflection, prayer and almsgiving, the time has come for each to celebrate their labor and receive their just reward from above.

In the spirit of peace, love and understanding we wish you once again a blessed celebration, praying that God Almighty grant you every spiritual blessing from above in the hopes that the world may live as one.

At the Ecumenical Patriarchate, 7th of September 2009

Your fervent supplicant before God,

+ BARTHOLOMEW
Archbishop of Constantinople,
New Rome and Ecumenical PatriarchIstanbul, Turkey

Ask your priest this Sunday if
1. he thinks it is fine to offer best wishes to a heretical Christ-hating religion...
2. he encourages heretics to celebrate their actions and expect to receive "just rewards from above"...
3. he also prays that God will grant heretics "every spiritual blessing from above"...

If your priest does not think, encourage or pray in this way, ask him why he or your church is in communion with the Patriarch of Constantinople who does. While you are at it, you might ask him why there were representatives of the Greek Orthodox Church concelebrating with the Pope at his mass recently. But, it doesn't really matter. According to all SCOBA members, by their participation in the World Council of Churches and the UN religious unity movement, all religions are equal paths to God. So just pick one.

Read: Why We Left...Where We Went...

Attacking The Messenger-According To Winston Churchill

It never ceases to amaze me the number of people who choose to attack not the content of what you say but the fact that you said it. Please allow Winston Churchill to lend some sense to the matter...

"True genius resides in the capacity for evaluation of uncertain, hazardous, and conflicting information." 


"We occasionally stumble over the truth but most of us pick ourselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened." 

"The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is." 

"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." 

I AM STOCACUS!  

The Three Pillars Of The Power Of The Antichrist UPDATE: 1/15/2015

The Global Religion is here. There are only two religions on the planet, the True Orthodox Church and the Global Religion of the Antichrist which is Ecumenism. Listen to this Holy Monk explain in clear terms the three pillars of power that the Antichrist is using to dominate the population of the Earth.

Global Economy

Global Politics

Global Religion

With these three pillars established, the AntiChrist will set himself up as head. But one breath from Christ Jesus will topple the Kingdoms of this world.

[UPDATE: The videos are no longer available.  The comment section still has valuable information.]

Depose Or Remove!

In this provocative word from Orthodox Prophets website, only two options are given in dealing with heretical bishops who are participating in the coming One World Church. Click: Depose or Remove!

Fearless Faithful

Commendation to Jason Barker for signing his name to his thoughtful article:

The Antiochian crisis and its resemblance to cultic thought and action.

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Jason has joined the ever increasing number of Fearless Faithful Antiochian laymen and clergy who are realizing the merits of this quote from the King of Jerusalem in the movie The Kingdom of Heaven:

"You see, none of us choose our end, really. The King may move a man, a father may claim a son, but remember that, even when those who move you be kings or men of power, your soul is in your keeping alone. When you stand before God, you cannot say, 'But I was told by others to do thus, or that virtue was not convenient at the time'. This will not suffice.”