Feast Day: November 14th
& 2nd Sunday of Holy and Great Lent
The Life of Saint Gregory Palamas: There he engaged in the toils of the greatest Asceticism in the highest hesychia, with his Soul turned only towards God, and he became the most God-like mirror of the Holy Spirit, being raised, as few ever were, to the summit of praxis and Theoria. There, irradiated in his intellect by the contemplative splendors of the Spirit, he left to the Church of God, most-wise and most-Theological writings, as a memorial of Orthodoxy…
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Prayers
Apolytikion: Illuminator of Orthodoxy, support and teacher of the Church, the beauty of Monastics, the invincible defender of Theologians: Gregory, the Wonderworker, the boast of Thessaloniki, preacher of Grace, supplicate always that our Souls may be saved.
Kontakion: Holy and Divine instrument of Wisdom, joyful trumpet of Theology, with one accord we sing your praises, O Gregory inspired of God. But since you stand now in nous and spirit before the Original Nous, guide our nous to Him, O Father, that we may cry to you: Rejoice, preacher of Grace.
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Holy Sayings by Saint Gregory Palamas
“God is everywhere present. Only one thing is far away from His goodness: evil.”
“Even when you see someone committing a sin, do not reprove him. He is the wounded beauty of God too.”
“Repentance is the beginning, middle and end of the Christian way of life.”
“It is pointless for someone to say that he has faith in God if he does not have the works which go with faith. What benefit were their lamps to the foolish virgins who had no oil (Mt. 25:1-13), namely, deeds of love and compassion?”
“If you abstain from food while your sight lures you into adultery, inquisitiveness, and malice in the hidden place of your Soul, your hearing is open to insulting words, lewd songs and evil slanders, and your senses are open to whatever harms them, what is the benefit of fasting?”
“Humility is the chariot by which we ascend to God.”
“Let no one out of laziness or continuous worldly occupations miss these Holy Sunday gatherings, which God Himself handed down to us, lest he be justly abandoned by God… If you are detained and do not attend on one occasion, make up for it the next time, bringing yourself to Christ’s Church. Otherwise you may remain uncured, suffering from unbelief in your Soul because of deeds or words, and failing to approach Christ’s surgery to receive Holy healing.”
“The last Prayer He gave us when He Ascended to His Father establishes our love for one another: “Grant them that they may all be one” (John 17:21). May we not fall away from this Fatherly Prayer or reject our inheritance from the Heavenly Father, the seal and sign of our kinship with Him. Otherwise we may also reject our blessedness and our discipleship, and fall away from the life we have been promised. We may be shut out of the Spiritual Bridechamber and hear from the Father, the Author of Peace: “I
know ye not. Depart from Me, ye who are guilty of hatred, enmity and scandals” (cf. Matt. 7:23).”
“Faith and contrition make Prayer and supplication for the remission of sins effective, once evil deeds have been renounced, but despair and hardness of heart make it ineffectual. Thanksgiving for the benefits received from God is made acceptable by humility and not looking down on those who lack them.”
“If, however, you do not choose to live in virginity and have not promised God that you will do this, God’s law allows you to marry one woman and to live with her alone and to hold her in holiness as your own wife (cf. 1 Thess. 4:4), abstaining entirely from other women.”
“But let us, brethren, I beseech you, abstain from deeds and words hateful to God, that we may boldly call God our Father. Let us truly return to Him, that He too may turn back to us, cleanse us from all sin and make us worthy of His Divine Grace. Then shall we keep festival both now and forever, and celebrate in a godly and spiritual way the accomplishments of God’s promise, the coming of the All-Holy Spirit among men and His resting upon them; the fulfillment and perfection of the blessed hope in Christ Himself Our Lord.”
“He is not just everywhere, but also above all, not just in every age and time, but before them all. And, according to the promise, the Holy Spirit will not just be with us until the end of the age, but rather will stay with those who are worthy in the age to come, making them immortal and filling their bodies as well with Eternal Glory, as the Lord indicated by telling His disciples, “I will Pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever” (John 14:16).”
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“In her manner she showed that she was not so much presented into the Temple, but that she herself entered into the service of God of her own accord, as if she had wings, striving towards this Sacred and Divine love. She considered it desirable and fitting that she should enter into the Temple and dwell in the Holy of Holies”
“But how else can I fulfill my longing, settle my debt, or express my thanks for her countless gracious gifts to me, except by extolling her the best I can? … The Grace which I have already received promises forgiveness for me hereafter for what follows, and the unfailing love for mankind of the Ever-Virgin Bride is a continual presence among all those who hear – encompassing all things and holding them in being. For she is near and ever-standing by those who call upon her, through her tireless and most effective intercession to God her Son, which accomplishes all things for our good. Calling upon her with this faith, I hope to have her as my support to the end as I plunge now into the ocean of her wonders.”