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Once you discover Jesus Christ the world isn’t as important as you used to think it was. It’s dead unfulfilling and exhausting. Jesus Christ is the main focus from here on out.
As a new Orthodox Christian, worldly matters and desires and ambitions that once were so important -- now seem like mere distractions. Growth into Christ is the essential purpose of this life. It's as if I see the world in a new light.
Ive been a christian for around 2 years, and I have been attending Orthodox Liturgies for close to 1 month now. I can say the worst moments of anxiety, depression, anger, hypochondria and fear have been after I became christian.
Same for me. The closer I get to the Light of the World the clearer my sins become and I want to turn off the light to hide the ugliness of it. The Lord tells us to persevere. Feels like torture. Gotta be done. Aaargh!
This hits me like a train. Every word was like hammer. Teared to pieces... I mean in good way. I'm lost to world - cares, career, pleasures, business, dopamine addictions...this hit all the false gods I worship and serve. Need to return to Christ and His calling. The words at the end - I felt this fire...years ago...lost it...need to spark it again. Thank you for this message.
That is my problem now… I’m ashamed of how sinful I am mind and body wise. And the Gm fact that it has taken me this long to realize it and turn to God is mind blowing to me. I don’t know if God uses social media to talk to me or send me messages but I’m definitely taking this as one.
This has spoken to my current situation very clearly and directly. I have found myself overwhelmed with the weight and pain of my past sins, and in the anxiety I have found myself hiding from the Lord. Avoiding prayer, even avoiding to look at the icons in my house. However, today I struggled through my morning prayer and devotion, and was led to watch this video. Our Lord and God is truly great. Thank you Fr, please pray for me.
Your words are like raindrops on a desert to me. For the past year my heart has been grieving because of my past sins and the sins of the world. I seem to have lost all of my worldly ambitions and desires. I thought something was wrong with me for feeling like a sinful failure all the time. So, now I know this is a good thing and I am actually getting closer to God. Thank you for your words and may God bless you.
Iam.deeeeeply grateful that despite my sinful nature out of Love and mercy thinks i am worthy enough to come and make his home with me in Jesus Christ..It fills me with gratitude and joy..And of moves me to tears.....Be blessed Father to the core of your being...
May Christ bless and protect you, dear one. Follow Him with courage and patience, and He will guide us through all our darkness, all the way to His Light.
I had the honeymoon period you mention. I've been a Christian for 55 years. We need to balance disappointment in ourselves with the love and grace of God through Christ. His grace is greater than our sin
They offer temptations claiming you’re damned anyways so you may as well dig your hole deeper, but the reason they attack so hard is because you aren’t as damned as they would have you believe. If you were truly as damned as the enemy would have you believe, they would no longer attack you and leave you to your own devices to dig your hole deeper and deeper for yourself.
When saying The Act of Contrition (I'm Roman Catholic) I always feel deep sorrow for my sins when I say the following: I fear the loss of heaven and pains of hell BUT MOST OF ALL FOR HAVING OFFENDING YOU WHO ART ALL GOOD AND DESERVING OF OF ALL MY LOVE. I know how my sin disappointed the Lord.
I know that crushing feeling, my dear one. At the same time, you can place your sin before Him and allow Him to lift it up for you. You need to allow Him to do so, and that is a painful experience - it requires humility and acceptance that you too, like me also and like all human beings, have failed Him, abandoned Him and led Him to His Crucifixion. We all crave to be His 'heroes', and we all end up being those who crucify Him. But Christ is Love and His death is the source of our Life - if we hold on to Him, if we turn back to Him, if we act like the wonderful Apostle Peter, Christ can indeed turn us, who have crucified Him, into His heroes. he can do that for us; we cannot do that by ourselves.
I really needed this. I have prayed for people close to me and said lord I'd rather take their place in hell because I know they would not survive I have prayed lord ill take on that person's sin that persons illness or demon because that is what my heart feels I should do I questioned myself am i being a matere but it is what my heart truly belives so I thank jesus for you I know im on the right path god bless
Thank you Father for the words. I've had this video in my list since it came out. I've come back after I fell for such a long time. And I've been struggling even more now than before. I'm more aware and fall even more than before. It's so hard. I'm trying and I know that I have many struggles left. Please mention me once in your prayers
This is absolutely profound. As my health collapses, and the only thing keeping me afloat is Christ alone, you have no idea how much I needed to hear this right now. Glory to the Almighty Living God.
Nothing else compares to Christ Jesus. I once had a brief moment of doubt after returning to him, and he reminded me of what life was like before I converted. I never felt more alone and without life. I will never doubt Jesus again. That was years ago, and my life has been truly amazing since. Praise Jesus, for he is truly the only thing that really matters. 🙏 amen 🙏
Glory be to God for all things, dear one. If there is any fruit in any of us, it if from Him, through Him, for His love for us, sinners. May we all be blessed, dear one.
Thank you Fr. Seraphim. I often forget this - I feel like if I’m living the right way, then things should be easier. I look at people who seem to have fewer or smaller difficulties than me and I think, “Why is it better for them? I’m the one who goes to church!” I forget that by judging them, I’m actually doing the wrong thing, and that Christ never promised His followers an easy life on this Earth. He promised us eternal life with Him if we struggle to the end.
It's been a while since one of your RUclips videos popped up on my home page. Great to hear your message today, they are always encouraging. And yes, it's true, the engagement in worldly activities becomes more difficult once we become a Christian. Even if you try to hide it, they will know. The world hates those are not of the world.
Please pray for me, I want to overcome lust and truly live in God's word. Today is my serious day and I know tomorrow will be worse than today, yet still I want to stand still in God's word. I believe in Him, I believe in the words of God. God is good, we all created to glorify Him, may God bless us all and accompany our spiritual fights.
After I found your videos , I found a beautiful Orthodox Church to attend. I’ve been going for 6 months now. Your messages and prayers have been very important to me. Thank you so much. God bless you.
What you say I already know from experience, but you somehow know how to put into words what I cannot. You have reminded me so gently that praying for other sinners is valuable, whereas moaning over the state of sinfulness in me and the world is not. Thank GOD for you. 🙏
new catholic here: I am in a circle of confessing my sins, then doubting my confession was legit or I forgot something or made a mistake. Sometimes right after I cant even remember with 100% if I did confess something or forgot it. Then I fall into extreme doubt, fall back into sin again because of that feeling. I am trying to get a appointment with a priest with no avail for months now, nobody reacts. I need clarity finally. Haven't taken eucharist for months, feels so bad. I feel if I can finally make a good confession I am set.
Hey , just from experience, be careful not to fall into scrupulosity, it is hell on Earth. If you made a sincere confession you are forgiven even if you forgot something by a mistake. Trust what Christ said; if you confess He will forgive them. Dont trust feelings trust what Christ said.
Please pray for me. Totally believe i was born again, but dont seem to have same struggle with sin i did at start of my walk. Please pray im still His.
Certainly one thing I have learned (converted 3 years ago) and didn’t take me any time at all to understand and accept fully, is that Jesus NEVER promised roses and wine here on earth. He NEVER promised an easy life. Life comes with some very very heavy crosses. That’s ok. I have Him to help me carry them. So many people think when they become Christian that everything will be beautiful and essentially yes everything is beautiful but at the same time very very very difficult. If Satan leaves you alone then you need to start worrying. The closer one draws to God and the closer one is to God Satan fights so hard to drag you down. And he is very good at it, he has had how many thousands upon thousands upon thousands of years to practice. But I get to do all sorts of awesome things with my sufferings. I offer them up for the church for the salvation of sinners for the conversion of sinners I offer them up for the holy souls and purgatory and unite my suffering with that of Christ’s suffering, especially during His Passion, and abandonment on the cross. Our lives can be a continuous sacrifice offered to God. Let’s not waste what God gave us.
May God continue to bless you, dear one. Hold on to your father confessor and keep growing in Christ, and may the prayers of His Saints intercede for you always. Please remember us in your prayers too.
@@mullmonastery aw. Thank you. And may God bless you in abundance. And from the looks of things He already has. Yes I will keep you in my prayers. Absolutely I will offer Sunday Mass for you tomorrow!
This title/topic reminds me of the opening to St Teresa of Avila’s biography which has stuck with me for years “I beg of everyone who reads the story of my life to keep in mind how wretched it has been;and how, among the saints who have been converted to God, I have never found one in whom I can have any comfort. For I see that they, after our Lord had called them, never fell into sin again. I not only became worse, but as it seems to me, deliberately withstood the graces of His Majesty” And I think there’s a lot of truth in this realization. The closer I get to Christ the further I realize I actually am. Because the wisdom of man is ignorance to God and the goodness of man is complete wickedness in comparison to His infinite goodness.
God is a Unity of Himself and His Children. The Kingdom of God is like a fine landscape painting, however, it can Only be Seen and Known, by those who Become, a Natural Part of its Scenery.
True said, as more close to the light an object or we are, so more we see the dirt.. but we are to rejoice! Because Christ made us clean. And of course we cry for the fallen world..because we have the love of Him in us and we desperately want everyone to be saved. I don’t run from this world, I just try to do my best to make sense of my life here and of course to love.
Dear Father Seraphim I would like to ask a question that has lingered in my mind for some time now. I am an orthodox Christian and i believe wholeheartedly in God's goodness and care for every living thing,and nothing can shake my belief in Him and his Providence. But seeing countless of homeless people close to where i live,people infected by drug abuse and the reality of life threatening or crippling physical and mental conditions, as well and even especially the reality of the suffering of innocent animals,i feel a sense of unease. Is there something missing from my understanding of suffering? I get how it can lead to repentance and have spiritual benefits for us, but it is still a cruel sight when i come across it, and i struggle to see how animals fit in this understanding. As i said earlier,this isn't a threat to my faith, but it is a question that troubles me nonetheless. Why does it seem that nature is so cruel? Thank you in advance and may God bless you.
St Athenagorus - who in my mind is one of the most insightful of the earliest fathers - argued that “the Maker and Framer of the world distributed and appointed….a multitude of angels and ministers…to occupy themselves about the elements, and the heavens, and the world, and the things in it, and the godly ordering of them all.” Then he adds, “Just as with men, who have freedom of choice as to both virtue and vice….so is it among the angels. Some, free agents, you will observe, such as they were created by God, continued in those things for which God had made and over which He had ordained them; but some outraged both the constitution of their nature and the government entrusted to them” So too, Origen - held that every aspect of nature was under the care of “invisible husbandmen and guardians” (Against Celsus, 8.31). St. Gregory at a later date reiterates the prevailing view of the early church when he says, “In this visible world…nothing can be achieved except through invisible forces” (Dialogues, IV.5). “Natural” evil was consistently explained in the early church as resulting from these spirits rebelling against God and thus abusing their authority over creation. Hence, for example, Origen argued that famines, scorching winds and pestilence were not “natural” in God’s creation; they were rather the result of fallen angels bringing misery whenever and however they were able (Against Celsus, 8.31). These rebel guardians were also “the cause of plagues…barrenness…tempests
To be honest, we need and should feel discomfort when we witness suffering of others. Even more, we are to make their pain our pain. And this should lead us to help our brothers and sisters as much as we can (even if that means "just" including them to our prayers). Even though there's a sort of blessing in suffering and struggling when it is played willingly with God and for God (for that way become partakers in the suffering of Christ, which led to the salvation of all things), there's nothing beautiful in suffering itself, and it's not God's original plan. We humans are one family, and we are for our own parts responsible to the suffering and pain of others.
As an artist (a translator of literature), I would say not that we excel less in our work after accepting Christ into our hearts, we excel more, we reach a deeper and far more rewarding level, BUT that level often goes unrecognized, that is we receive less recognition and also perhaps financial reward. I also find that our stains become more visible in the light of Christ, but isn’t there a danger that we begin to focus on our own failings too much to the extent of becoming obsessed with them, to the exclusion of what is good? I don’t mean pride, God forbid, but if that’s all you think about there is a danger you can isolate yourself from the world and what is good in it.
Honestly, this is not what I imagined signing up for when I started my journey to orthodoxy from protestantism. Certainly not what you'd put in a brochure for orthodoxy....or the next Joel olsteen book 😅...but regardless, there is so much truth in this. As I was watching this video I got a text from my mom letting me know that my dad just tore a muscle in his back and will have to learn to walk again, if even possible. The timing was noticeable to me to say the least
My goodness, I woke up today at 0230 and I couldn’t go back to sleep. Then the sins of the past started hunting me. I searched online about sin that the Lord had forgiven but still hunts a person. An article appeared that talked about how God forgive sins but the enemy use them to hunt the person down and make him or her weary in order for them to give up. We must remember this scripture in Romans 8:33-39 “33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died-more than that, who was raised to life-is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[a] 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” When I read this scripture I felt confident that the Lord will not bring any accusations because of the blood of the Lamb to him praises and adoration forever Amen. Thank you for the video.
The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
awsome... and the second to last thing that he is quoted as saying is.... "why has god forsaken me" basically admitting that dirty pigs and criminals have more power on earth than G_d,....
I even read a comment once saying that that person was glad hell exists, because is Gods perfect justice. I believe even Jesus hurts about people being sent to hell, so I dont know how someone can be glad hell exists, knowing that so many souls are sent there to be tortured eternally.
Lord, let us merely be mirrors that thine light resplendent, may shine on and to brighten even the darkest corners of this tempestuous mortal plane; that others may - by Your Grace and by the Holy Spirit - be pardoned of their marching up and down the dead-ending crossroads of perdition Let us be mirrors of thine holy image, but let us be only reflections of thee, Sovran Lord; that the devils pride may lead us not to transgress thine Hallowed commandments And should we - by the four winds find ourselves turned away from the path of thine ebullient rays -if we are nudged or knocked by the absent-minded or the malicious alike even; to find that we are facing the devil’s darkness once again; Dear God may we turn back immediately towards your life-giving and unremitting beam And please Lord, let times like these be no more than passing glimpses of evil and let hell remain in the peripherals of those who serve You Let thine will be done through Your faithful servants and please give us - thine elect as well as those whom are otherwise to thee - the fortitude to move away from satanic things as briskly as one is able to cross themselves and to be terribly afraid - afraid of the Lord my God and not of the devil, that thine image illumine - thine all way shine, be on our heads that bow to thee perpetually May we be spotless and continue on the righteous path without future spots incurred, Bless us to be upright and blameless in thine eyes that we may share your light as quickly as it comes to us Let us never forget that darkness is merely the absence you, My God and we beseech thee to grant us the fortitude to lead us, with a single-minded purpose at heart and at hand; that our legacies be of kindness and all our days be testimonies of You Who is truth incarnate, Oh God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob Let our ways display your unabridged truth and this truth also; that darkness cannot transport from one mirror to another - and if in a mirror displayed is darkness - there the darkness will stay…. For we understand that only the light can travel beyond its origins and that darkness in its entire is simply nothing - thus in Jesus name we pray remain… Merely Mirrors, Amen
We must also keep in mind that Jesus died to cleanse us. We should be confident in him that he will bring us closer to him. Shame can be a tool of the evil one. It's because of Jesus we can be saved. He humbles us emencley, but we can not lose confidence in our salvation. It is faith that justifies us. Not our works. No human works could ever be enough.
Hi! I am an Orthodox,I don't go to church because all of my friends are atheists,I suffer from porn addiction from 12 or 13 years,now I am 31.How can I quit this.I never pray but now I try fasting
If all is silence and there is no word spoken is what you hear God or is it just the void calling to be filled with meaning, if there is a God then let him speak - but all those who speak of God and in his name - you will be judge by the words you speak - so it is wiser to choose silence unless you have the wisdom of God - and if you do not have the wisom of God you will only be noise in the ears of the true listeners - only those words that can all hear and they hear as being true is the wisdom from God and it will have substance and will be true for all to hear.
I hear what your saying. However we do live in this world. We don't need to follow the way Of the world. Yes we must follow christ. It's not transformation but a work in progress. We feel pain because the world this world is full of injustice. We are challenged daily. Once we accept christ and christ accepts us and he does unconditionally our Sins are forgiven. It's not magic. It's a new map, a personal road for you. We may be divorced in life but never from God. Yes we do have responsibilities towards this life, this planet this nature but we have to look at life through the lens of christ. Christ will position you in his will not yours. Imagine being on huge sailing ship. Yes you want to explore the ship. See the different views. Never forget your still on this ship. Blessings to all.
Thats exactly how i feel, better and righteous than other where their sins are more visible. True, Christ was truth saying prostitutes and other sinner Will be in heaven before u righteous (its not spot on citation of his words)
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May God bless us all!
Once you discover Jesus Christ the world isn’t as important as you used to think it was. It’s dead unfulfilling and exhausting.
Jesus Christ is the main focus from here on out.
As a new Orthodox Christian, worldly matters and desires and ambitions that once were so important -- now seem like mere distractions. Growth into Christ is the essential purpose of this life. It's as if I see the world in a new light.
Lord Jesus Christ son of God have mercy on me a sinner.
Ive been a christian for around 2 years, and I have been attending Orthodox Liturgies for close to 1 month now. I can say the worst moments of anxiety, depression, anger, hypochondria and fear have been after I became christian.
Hold on to Christ, dear one. Place your trust and hope in Him, and He will carry you forward when you yourself can no longer carry yourself.
Same for me. The closer I get to the Light of the World the clearer my sins become and I want to turn off the light to hide the ugliness of it. The Lord tells us to persevere. Feels like torture. Gotta be done. Aaargh!
This hits me like a train. Every word was like hammer. Teared to pieces... I mean in good way. I'm lost to world - cares, career, pleasures, business, dopamine addictions...this hit all the false gods I worship and serve. Need to return to Christ and His calling. The words at the end - I felt this fire...years ago...lost it...need to spark it again.
Thank you for this message.
❤✝ CHRIST IS RISEN ✝❤
❤💪🙏✝ GOD BE WITH US AGAINST EVIL AND TEMPTATIONS ✝🙏⛪🕊
Praying now to our Blessed Mother for you Fr. Bill and Fr. Seraphim....God knows what is best, trust Him....
That is my problem now… I’m ashamed of how sinful I am mind and body wise. And the Gm fact that it has taken me this long to realize it and turn to God is mind blowing to me. I don’t know if God uses social media to talk to me or send me messages but I’m definitely taking this as one.
This has spoken to my current situation very clearly and directly. I have found myself overwhelmed with the weight and pain of my past sins, and in the anxiety I have found myself hiding from the Lord. Avoiding prayer, even avoiding to look at the icons in my house. However, today I struggled through my morning prayer and devotion, and was led to watch this video. Our Lord and God is truly great. Thank you Fr, please pray for me.
It brings me comfort to hear someone talking about what is happening in side of me. Praise Lord Jesus.
Your words are like raindrops on a desert to me. For the past year my heart has been grieving because of my past sins and the sins of the world. I seem to have lost all of my worldly ambitions and desires. I thought something was wrong with me for feeling like a sinful failure all the time. So, now I know this is a good thing and I am actually getting closer to God. Thank you for your words and may God bless you.
Can't think of a more perfect example of what Christians should strive for. Thank you father Seraphim x
Iam.deeeeeply grateful that despite my sinful nature out of Love and mercy thinks i am worthy enough to come and make his home with me in Jesus Christ..It fills me with gratitude and joy..And of moves me to tears.....Be blessed Father to the core of your being...
May Christ bless and protect you, dear one. Follow Him with courage and patience, and He will guide us through all our darkness, all the way to His Light.
I had the honeymoon period you mention. I've been a Christian for 55 years. We need to balance disappointment in ourselves with the love and grace of God through Christ. His grace is greater than our sin
They offer temptations claiming you’re damned anyways so you may as well dig your hole deeper, but the reason they attack so hard is because you aren’t as damned as they would have you believe. If you were truly as damned as the enemy would have you believe, they would no longer attack you and leave you to your own devices to dig your hole deeper and deeper for yourself.
Orthodox catechumen here, from Germany😊 your videos help a lot!
All praise to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God bless you all.
When saying The Act of Contrition (I'm Roman Catholic) I always feel deep sorrow for my sins when I say the following: I fear the loss of heaven and pains of hell BUT MOST OF ALL FOR HAVING OFFENDING YOU WHO ART ALL GOOD AND DESERVING OF OF ALL MY LOVE. I know how my sin disappointed the Lord.
I know that crushing feeling, my dear one. At the same time, you can place your sin before Him and allow Him to lift it up for you. You need to allow Him to do so, and that is a painful experience - it requires humility and acceptance that you too, like me also and like all human beings, have failed Him, abandoned Him and led Him to His Crucifixion. We all crave to be His 'heroes', and we all end up being those who crucify Him. But Christ is Love and His death is the source of our Life - if we hold on to Him, if we turn back to Him, if we act like the wonderful Apostle Peter, Christ can indeed turn us, who have crucified Him, into His heroes. he can do that for us; we cannot do that by ourselves.
This gave me so much clarity on my life! Thank you
This is confirmation of the revelations god just gave me! Thanks Jesus
I really needed this. I have prayed for people close to me and said lord I'd rather take their place in hell because I know they would not survive
I have prayed lord ill take on that person's sin that persons illness or demon because that is what my heart feels I should do I questioned myself am i being a matere but it is what my heart truly belives so I thank jesus for you I know im on the right path god bless
Thank you Father for the words. I've had this video in my list since it came out. I've come back after I fell for such a long time. And I've been struggling even more now than before. I'm more aware and fall even more than before. It's so hard. I'm trying and I know that I have many struggles left. Please mention me once in your prayers
This is absolutely profound. As my health collapses, and the only thing keeping me afloat is Christ alone, you have no idea how much I needed to hear this right now. Glory to the Almighty Living God.
Thank you this really helps my journey as a Christian.
Nothing else compares to Christ Jesus. I once had a brief moment of doubt after returning to him, and he reminded me of what life was like before I converted. I never felt more alone and without life. I will never doubt Jesus again. That was years ago, and my life has been truly amazing since. Praise Jesus, for he is truly the only thing that really matters. 🙏 amen 🙏
Thank you for this teaching. Bless you in Jesus name.
True wisdom you have spoken. It is sad and happy truth, at the same time. ❤
Great video once again, thank you so much for your insights and wisdom!
Im sure you are very blessed for speaking the truth directly and simple. Thank you for your wisdom.
Glory be to God for all things, dear one. If there is any fruit in any of us, it if from Him, through Him, for His love for us, sinners. May we all be blessed, dear one.
Thank you for this.
Thanks father may God bless you always ❤
This is beautiful
Amen
An interesting and different perspective, thank you
This is so painful. I do get the total failure but with sin fully thriving.
Thank you Fr. Seraphim. I often forget this - I feel like if I’m living the right way, then things should be easier. I look at people who seem to have fewer or smaller difficulties than me and I think, “Why is it better for them? I’m the one who goes to church!” I forget that by judging them, I’m actually doing the wrong thing, and that Christ never promised His followers an easy life on this Earth. He promised us eternal life with Him if we struggle to the end.
God Bless you this teaching has helped me
I needed to hear this word, father. Thank you. Glory to God. Bless you and your community and mission.
☦️☦️☦️
It's been a while since one of your RUclips videos popped up on my home page. Great to hear your message today, they are always encouraging. And yes, it's true, the engagement in worldly activities becomes more difficult once we become a Christian. Even if you try to hide it, they will know. The world hates those are not of the world.
Thank you
Yes we all fall away at times, but thankyou FATHER YAHWEH for 1 John 1:9 in Lord Yeshua name
Father, thank you so much. This was very special and truly from the heart. You are my internet Spiritual Father, like it or not!
Dear fr Seraphim, this is such truth and insight. I never knew these things. You have given me a new way of thinking about my beliefs. ☦️🙏🏻🕊️
Please pray for me, I want to overcome lust and truly live in God's word. Today is my serious day and I know tomorrow will be worse than today, yet still I want to stand still in God's word. I believe in Him, I believe in the words of God. God is good, we all created to glorify Him, may God bless us all and accompany our spiritual fights.
After I found your videos , I found a beautiful Orthodox Church to attend. I’ve been going for 6 months now. Your messages and prayers have been very important to me. Thank you so much. God bless you.
Peace and grace Fr Seraphim thank you so much i really needed to hear this . I fully embrace and admire the Jesus within you. 🙏❤️
Beautiful message. Thank you.
This is very beautiful thank you my beloved Jesus Christ for this video and thank you father
Thank you so much for your mission and vocation to educate us. The Holy Spirit shines through you. Bless your soul 🙏🏿📿📿
Thank you Father for again speaking the truth in love.
What you say I already know from experience, but you somehow know how to put into words what I cannot. You have reminded me so gently that praying for other sinners is valuable, whereas moaning over the state of sinfulness in me and the world is not. Thank GOD for you. 🙏
This video described exactly how I had been feeling as of recently, thank you Father, pray for me.
May God bless you and protect you, dear one. Remember us in your prayers
Thank you Father.
new catholic here: I am in a circle of confessing my sins, then doubting my confession was legit or I forgot something or made a mistake. Sometimes right after I cant even remember with 100% if I did confess something or forgot it. Then I fall into extreme doubt, fall back into sin again because of that feeling.
I am trying to get a appointment with a priest with no avail for months now, nobody reacts. I need clarity finally. Haven't taken eucharist for months, feels so bad. I feel if I can finally make a good confession I am set.
Hey , just from experience, be careful not to fall into scrupulosity, it is hell on Earth. If you made a sincere confession you are forgiven even if you forgot something by a mistake. Trust what Christ said; if you confess He will forgive them. Dont trust feelings trust what Christ said.
Beautiful!!!
I suspect that you are exactly right.
Please pray for me. Totally believe i was born again, but dont seem to have same struggle with sin i did at start of my walk. Please pray im still His.
Thank you Father , May God be forever glorified .
Thank you so much, dear Fr. Seraphim. You touched many things in my heart that need Christ's healing.
Certainly one thing I have learned (converted 3 years ago) and didn’t take me any time at all to understand and accept fully, is that Jesus NEVER promised roses and wine here on earth. He NEVER promised an easy life. Life comes with some very very heavy crosses. That’s ok. I have Him to help me carry them. So many people think when they become Christian that everything will be beautiful and essentially yes everything is beautiful but at the same time very very very difficult. If Satan leaves you alone then you need to start worrying. The closer one draws to God and the closer one is to God Satan fights so hard to drag you down. And he is very good at it, he has had how many thousands upon thousands upon thousands of years to practice.
But I get to do all sorts of awesome things with my sufferings. I offer them up for the church for the salvation of sinners for the conversion of sinners I offer them up for the holy souls and purgatory and unite my suffering with that of Christ’s suffering, especially during His Passion, and abandonment on the cross. Our lives can be a continuous sacrifice offered to God. Let’s not waste what God gave us.
May God continue to bless you, dear one. Hold on to your father confessor and keep growing in Christ, and may the prayers of His Saints intercede for you always. Please remember us in your prayers too.
@@mullmonastery aw. Thank you. And may God bless you in abundance. And from the looks of things He already has. Yes I will keep you in my prayers. Absolutely I will offer Sunday Mass for you tomorrow!
You brought me to tears. Truth and beauty with the pain. His glorious cross is wondrously beautiful.
It's crazy how much I relate to this. Been struggling A LOT with Patience. Bless you, Father Serafim.
Amen 🙏 thank you
I WISH ONE DAY I COULD FIND THE WORDS TO EXPLAIN WHAT CHRIST DID FOR ME AS WELL AS THIS MAN. YOU ARE TRULY A GOD SEND. THANK YOU
This is my favorite video of yours thus far. ❤🙏🙏🙏
This title/topic reminds me of the opening to St Teresa of Avila’s biography which has stuck with me for years “I beg of everyone who reads the story of my life to keep in mind how wretched it has been;and how, among the saints who have been converted to God, I have never found one in whom I can have any comfort. For I see that they, after our Lord had called them, never fell into sin again. I not only became worse, but as it seems to me, deliberately withstood the graces of His Majesty”
And I think there’s a lot of truth in this realization. The closer I get to Christ the further I realize I actually am. Because the wisdom of man is ignorance to God and the goodness of man is complete wickedness in comparison to His infinite goodness.
Thank you, Father. This is just what I needed today. God bless you and your work. God bless the monasteries on Mull and Iona. 🙏♥️
Amen 🙏🏻☦️
God is a Unity of Himself and His Children. The Kingdom of God is like a fine landscape painting, however, it can Only be Seen and Known, by those who Become, a Natural Part of its Scenery.
Thank you for sharing wisdom
Thank you Father! I love your post ❤
True said, as more close to the light an object or we are, so more we see the dirt.. but we are to rejoice! Because Christ made us clean. And of course we cry for the fallen world..because we have the love of Him in us and we desperately want everyone to be saved. I don’t run from this world, I just try to do my best to make sense of my life here and of course to love.
Thank you.
PLEASE PRAY FOR ME.........
Always explained clearly and kindly.i thank you farther seraphim :) as much as I am able!
Dear Father Seraphim
I would like to ask a question that has lingered in my mind for some time now. I am an orthodox Christian and i believe wholeheartedly in God's goodness and care for every living thing,and nothing can shake my belief in Him and his Providence. But seeing countless of homeless people close to where i live,people infected by drug abuse and the reality of life threatening or crippling physical and mental conditions, as well and even especially the reality of the suffering of innocent animals,i feel a sense of unease. Is there something missing from my understanding of suffering? I get how it can lead to repentance and have spiritual benefits for us, but it is still a cruel sight when i come across it, and i struggle to see how animals fit in this understanding. As i said earlier,this isn't a threat to my faith, but it is a question that troubles me nonetheless. Why does it seem that nature is so cruel? Thank you in advance and may God bless you.
St Athenagorus - who in my mind is one of the most insightful of the earliest fathers - argued that “the Maker and Framer of the world distributed and appointed….a multitude of angels and ministers…to occupy themselves about the elements, and the heavens, and the world, and the things in it, and the godly ordering of them all.” Then he adds,
“Just as with men, who have freedom of choice as to both virtue and vice….so is it among the angels. Some, free agents, you will observe, such as they were created by God, continued in those things for which God had made and over which He had ordained them; but some outraged both the constitution of their nature and the government entrusted to them”
So too, Origen - held that every aspect of nature was under the care of “invisible husbandmen and guardians” (Against Celsus, 8.31). St. Gregory at a later date reiterates the prevailing view of the early church when he says, “In this visible world…nothing can be achieved except through invisible forces” (Dialogues, IV.5).
“Natural” evil was consistently explained in the early church as resulting from these spirits rebelling against God and thus abusing their authority over creation. Hence, for example, Origen argued that famines, scorching winds and pestilence were not “natural” in God’s creation; they were rather the result of fallen angels bringing misery whenever and however they were able (Against Celsus, 8.31). These rebel guardians were also “the cause of plagues…barrenness…tempests
To be honest, we need and should feel discomfort when we witness suffering of others. Even more, we are to make their pain our pain. And this should lead us to help our brothers and sisters as much as we can (even if that means "just" including them to our prayers). Even though there's a sort of blessing in suffering and struggling when it is played willingly with God and for God (for that way become partakers in the suffering of Christ, which led to the salvation of all things), there's nothing beautiful in suffering itself, and it's not God's original plan. We humans are one family, and we are for our own parts responsible to the suffering and pain of others.
As an artist (a translator of literature), I would say not that we excel less in our work after accepting Christ into our hearts, we excel more, we reach a deeper and far more rewarding level, BUT that level often goes unrecognized, that is we receive less recognition and also perhaps financial reward. I also find that our stains become more visible in the light of Christ, but isn’t there a danger that we begin to focus on our own failings too much to the extent of becoming obsessed with them, to the exclusion of what is good? I don’t mean pride, God forbid, but if that’s all you think about there is a danger you can isolate yourself from the world and what is good in it.
Beautiful
Honestly, this is not what I imagined signing up for when I started my journey to orthodoxy from protestantism. Certainly not what you'd put in a brochure for orthodoxy....or the next Joel olsteen book 😅...but regardless, there is so much truth in this. As I was watching this video I got a text from my mom letting me know that my dad just tore a muscle in his back and will have to learn to walk again, if even possible. The timing was noticeable to me to say the least
My goodness, I woke up today at 0230 and I couldn’t go back to sleep. Then the sins of the past started hunting me. I searched online about sin that the Lord had forgiven but still hunts a person. An article appeared that talked about how God forgive sins but the enemy use them to hunt the person down and make him or her weary in order for them to give up.
We must remember this scripture in Romans 8:33-39 “33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died-more than that, who was raised to life-is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[a]
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
When I read this scripture I felt confident that the Lord will not bring any accusations because of the blood of the Lamb to him praises and adoration forever Amen.
Thank you for the video.
I came across a saying. "Give up your Christianity ....and follow Christ."!!
🙏
The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
❤
❤🔥
awsome... and the second to last thing that he is quoted as saying is....
"why has god forsaken me"
basically admitting that dirty pigs and criminals have more power on earth than G_d,....
I even read a comment once saying that that person was glad hell exists, because is Gods perfect justice. I believe even Jesus hurts about people being sent to hell, so I dont know how someone can be glad hell exists, knowing that so many souls are sent there to be tortured eternally.
Lord, let us merely be mirrors that thine light resplendent, may shine on and to brighten even the darkest corners of this tempestuous mortal plane; that others may - by Your Grace and by the Holy Spirit - be pardoned of their marching up
and down the dead-ending crossroads of perdition
Let us be mirrors of thine holy image, but let us be only reflections of thee, Sovran Lord; that the devils pride may lead us not to transgress thine Hallowed commandments
And should we - by the four winds find ourselves turned away from the path of thine ebullient rays -if we are nudged or knocked by the absent-minded or the malicious alike even; to find that we are facing the devil’s darkness once again; Dear God may we turn back immediately towards your life-giving and unremitting beam
And please Lord, let times like these be no more than passing glimpses of evil and let hell remain in the peripherals of those who serve You
Let thine will be done through Your faithful servants and please give us - thine elect as well as those whom are otherwise to thee - the fortitude to move away from satanic things as briskly as one is able to cross themselves and to be terribly afraid - afraid of the Lord my God and not of the devil, that thine image illumine - thine all way shine, be on our heads that bow to thee perpetually
May we be spotless and continue on the righteous path without future spots incurred,
Bless us to be upright and blameless in thine eyes that we may share your light as quickly as it comes to us
Let us never forget that darkness is merely the absence you, My God and we beseech thee to grant us the fortitude to lead us, with a single-minded purpose at heart and at hand; that our legacies be of kindness and all our days be testimonies of You Who is truth incarnate, Oh God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
Let our ways display your unabridged truth and this truth also; that darkness cannot transport from one mirror to another - and if in a mirror displayed is darkness - there the darkness will stay….
For we understand that only the light can travel beyond its origins and that darkness in its entire is simply nothing - thus in Jesus name we pray remain…
Merely Mirrors, Amen
We must also keep in mind that Jesus died to cleanse us. We should be confident in him that he will bring us closer to him. Shame can be a tool of the evil one. It's because of Jesus we can be saved. He humbles us emencley, but we can not lose confidence in our salvation. It is faith that justifies us. Not our works. No human works could ever be enough.
Where do we read about st.Silvanos??
Wow 😅I got some humbling, I see
Hi! I am an Orthodox,I don't go to church because all of my friends are atheists,I suffer from porn addiction from 12 or 13 years,now I am 31.How can I quit this.I never pray but now I try fasting
If all is silence and there is no word spoken is what you hear God or is it just the void calling to be filled with meaning, if there is a God then let him speak - but all those who speak of God and in his name - you will be judge by the words you speak - so it is wiser to choose silence unless you have the wisdom of God - and if you do not have the wisom of God you will only be noise in the ears of the true listeners - only those words that can all hear and they hear as being true is the wisdom from God and it will have substance and will be true for all to hear.
Can someone post the name of the book or of the materials on what St Silouan said about suffering after converting? Thank you in advance.
Jesus Christ of Nazareth...
Love this channel! I have one question: is this church an Orthodox,like Russian,Ukraian,Romanian,Serbian etc.
Yes
I hear what your saying. However we do live in this world. We don't need to follow the way
Of the world. Yes we must follow christ. It's not transformation but a work in progress.
We feel pain because the world this world is full of injustice. We are challenged daily.
Once we accept christ and christ accepts us and he does unconditionally our
Sins are forgiven. It's not magic. It's a new map, a personal road for you. We may be divorced in life but never from God. Yes we do have responsibilities towards this life, this planet this nature but we have to look at life through the lens of christ. Christ will position you in his will not yours. Imagine being on huge sailing ship. Yes you want to explore
the ship. See the different views. Never forget your still on this ship.
Blessings to all.
🙏🏻🕊🤍 Amen
Thats exactly how i feel, better and righteous than other where their sins are more visible. True, Christ was truth saying prostitutes and other sinner Will be in heaven before u righteous (its not spot on citation of his words)