The frequent presence of the Christian in the Church on Sunday, as it is known, is indispensable. In the Temple the faithful renew the psychosomatic forces for the struggle of life. Especially, when the Church attendance is combined with receiving of the Holy Communion, then, the man walks in life with security. On the contrary, he, who doesn’ t worship, is nimble to the evil and heavily to the good. This removal from the Church carries a risk, because the Church is the spiritual pen that provides life and safety to the faithful, and outside of this, there isn’ t any safety and salvation. The believers who don’ t neglect the duty of the Church attendance receive God’ s grace, which gives them psychosomatic health, peace of heart, calm of conscience, enlightenment of the mind, and a lot of others benefits. And this, because the Grace of God secures and directs their steps, in order to walk according to the Will of God. So, not only in this life the man has God’ s blessing, but he will inherits the eternal life in The Kingdom of Heaven. Well, how the Christian not to perform the duty of the regular Church attendance with joy, and how not to come to the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist?
2
The Kingdom of God is the Paradise, the bliss, the joy, the delight and the inexpressible pleasure of the theory of the divine beauty. This state that is indescribable, has been presented by the Lord and as a grand dinner. Any man if he became a shareholder of this symposium , he would be magnetized so much so that he would sacrificed everything to remain there permanently. This made and the martyrs of the Church, who, having believed in this celestial blessedness, they were indifferent to the privations, the sufferings and the sacrifices and they felt all unworthy speech in order to gain the entrance of Paradise. Unfortunately, however, there were many who, although they were invited to become citizens of the Kingdom and to enjoy its benefits, they refused to respond to the invitation. Adhering to the desires of the earthly treasures, they preferred the temporary from the earthly, and the eternal from the heavenly. Their action this, reminds some people of the jungle who change their precious stones with fake ornaments. Others however, such as the tax collectors and sinners , they believed and were saved, althougt they didn’ t derive from the people of Israel. The Lord, said about that, many will come from east and west, from north and south, and once they believe and accept the invitation, they will sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of God, while the children of the Kingdom will stay out. The Apostle Paul says that the descendants according to the flesh are not the children of Abraham, but those who show with their works in their life, the faith of Abraham. For this reason, those who wants to be saved, they must take advantage of the opportunities that God gives, and they are many, et not postpone for tomorrow, because nobody knows what will happen tomorrow.
3
In every age God constantly does good people, although many are shown ungrateful. But,the Lord continues His work and leads people in the Church to heal from psychic injuries. That many are shown ungrateful shows that people, another little else too ,only in the difficult times of their life, they remember God, and then they beg Him to help them. But when they get rid of the evil that is found, they forget Him and they don’ t feel the need to please Him. However, despite of the ingratitude of the people, God doesn’ t cease to be charitable and to rise the sun for everyone. The ingratitude towards God harms mainly the ungrateful man, because ingratitude is a passion of the soul and has harmful consequences for him that shows it. However God does not be teased from any evil and the same He doesn’ t mind anyone. God offers the <<manne>> to the Israelites in the desert and ate it, and those instead to thank Him, they showed ingratitude and disobedience. Christ, lepers cleaned, the sick healed, dead raised, and the people instead of eucharisty, asked from Pilate to crucify Him. But, also today, althougt He does good to them with different manners many of them, turn their eyes elsewhere. This behavior is dangerous and poses unpredictable risks for all. There is a need, therefore, to give thanks continually to God, not only for the materials and spiritual goods that gives us, but also for the calamities that He follow us to find, because these have good results.
4
Unfortunately, each time has to present a lot of people who are served with a fury in the material hoarding. Although the psalmist says, if it still flows the wealth, to not attach your heart to Him, in spite of many people the heart and the thought, are captured to wealth. However, the daily experience teaches that the wealth does not remain permanently in the humans, but changes boss, after the rich got poor and were hungry. Importance, therefore, is the management of the wealth et not the hoarding. If the wealth is used in the manner in philanthropist, it leads to the salvation of man, as shown of many examples of the rich in the Bible. Typical is the case of Zackheou who gave the half of his possessions and Lord is not denied it, but He affirmed him for the salvation. It must not, therefore, the wealth becomes a barrier to the salvation of a man, but on the contrary it must be used as not it is his own, but of God, as indeed it is. As the treasurer who manages money don’ t consider his own, and so the rich have to feel as administrators of the goods that God gave them. Man must have in his mind that nothing was to life this, and nothing will take away from this. He must be confined in these that God has given to him with his honest work, because someone must feel rich when he is not grasping. So, the rich must think and the celestial treasures, which are acquired, when they are filled hungry, cloth naked, heal the sick and release prisoners. Thank Godness also,that there are and today rich people who think and act in this way.
5
As in every age, in contemporary, there are people who view obstacles in the life of Christians and they try voluntary or unintentionally, to prevent them from religious duties. Today, there are unfortunately people infidels and atheists, who persist to lure the faithful in the downhill of the loss. There are also people indifferent and cold, who represent the progressive and modern and they speak ironically the Christians as fools. So, with God’ s Grace, every believer is called to despise and overcome everything that stands in the way on the road of faith, that walks. He must not to give away to any obstacle, but to discipline in God et not the people. To do this, someone needs an unwavering faith and a clear conscience, so that, not only he is carried away by himself, but by his example, to help themselves and others to experience the truth of Christ and to be saved.
6
As is well known, Zacchaeus , because he was short in the body, he could not see Christ who was passing once on the road, which he would like very much. The Pharisees who had a great idea for themselves and they thought that these are the good children of God, they had condemned the tax collector Zaccheus as sinful and wrong, and for this reason he was despised. Christ, however, who knew the longing of Zaccheus to meet him, He did him the great honor to go to his house. This shows, that the Lord does not discriminate, because what interests him, is the salvation of every human being. This salvation, Zaccheus secured, when he said to Christ: Lord, half of my possessions give them to poor and if there is someone whom I’ ve wronged him, I attribute it of four times. This honest event of the tax collector, prouved that his soul hadn’ t been corrupted by his profession. Zaccheus, don’ t only open he door of his house, in order to accommodate Christ, but at the same time, he opened and the door of his heart to receive Him inside of it. Thus, he vindicated the word of the Lord that many of those who are considered to be first, will be last, and others are considered to be the last will turn out to be first. As the thief went to Paradise with the well-known words that he said to Christ, so and Zacckeus won the Kingdom of Heaven in his own way. This assured the Lord Himself with the words that He said: Today, salvation in this house has become. What happened with Zaccheus can be happen to any man, because Christ is ready to be hosted in the heart of everyone. And how not being a resident of this with the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist?
7
A guy who is considered by everyone a suspect and unwelcome, is the hypocrite. An hypocrite, as it is known, is the man who other feels, other says and other is doing. The hypocrite is setting up traps to other people with malicious intent to achieve their evil purposes. Of course, the first hypocrite was one of a great enemy of human race, the homicidal devil, who appeared as a serpent to the innocent and unsuspecting injuctions, and from one place he pretented that he cared about them and the other, pushed them to the violation of the divine command with all serious consequences for the all the human race.
Among the Israel people there was a class of people, known to as from the Bible Pharisees, who were, as a rule, hypocrites. They fasted, prayed in front of people and cried out their charity, in order to extort the praise of people, but deep down, they were thieves and predators and the exploiters of the weak. While they were trying to remove the straw from the eye of the other people, they could not see the beam in their eye. And of course, the pharisaic spirit unfortunately there is in every age, and so it is necessary to have the protection of Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of love, charity, humility, honesty and obedience to the will of God. Without the Holy Spirit man is spiritually dead.
8
Those who want to be saved, they have to empathise their situation and to procced to repentance and return to Christ. God waits for the return off all and He rejects none. As many times, and if the man falls, so many times he has to get up. Christ did not come to call righteous but sinners to repentance. Come to me all who are burdened and weary and I will give you rest, it sounds to say, and today His voice. By repentance the man is at peace with his consience, with his environment, and above all, with God. Repentance, is a gift of God to the people, it is station in their life and must be a turning of the mind and of the heart, a turning of the whole human existence, from darkness to light, from death to life, from devil to Christ. The feat of the prodigal to return to his father, is an example to all the people who feel their sin. The confession is a relief to the soul, and the remission of sins that comes of this, is the purification of the soul, from the dead works. After this remission, everything is like not to have done. We wish, of course, not had done, but after you have done, what is to done? We wish not to happen again, what has been done. But, if it happens again, because it definitely still something wrong happens, the confession, is a recurring Mystery, and so, finally, the sin of the upright will not stay.
9
The fact that God will judge the world and the crisis will become is more than certain, because He said the Lord Himself, foreshadowing the clutter in the world because of sin, seeking the souls of those who sacrificed their lives for the word of God and for the testimony of Christ, and for many other reasons. So the question for everyone is how will be able to enjoy eternal life and blessedness. This will be done, if previously ensure the vindication of this in front of the Judge. It is not reasonable to go to Heaven with his sins. Who would have thought it was right to go to a formal reception sleazy? If in such land-based gatherings of people are diligent with regard to their appearance, how they should be more diligent, when it comes to the eternal life where everything flashes of virtue and holiness ? It is necessary and imperative that the vindication, cleansing, sanctification, and the real love which is manifested the living and true faith. Of course, the spiritual struggle is difficult and is accompanied by sacrifices and crosses, but at the same time is glorious, beautiful and full of hope for the final victory. The means of sanctification are many and the Grace of the Holy Spirit is offered to the rich in those who participate in the life of the Church. So the crisis for which reason ceases to be a unsolvable problem.
10
As it is known, the value and the importance of fasting is very great, but alone this is not enough for the spiritual battle. There is a need to gather the faithful in prayer and communication with God. There is a need to come in contact with the floodgates of Divine Grace which have the psychosomatic existence. In this spiritual uplift man is cumbersome, because it meets reaction, and even from the inside of the world. He meets opposition from the lower self of which presents difficulties in the effort to prayer.
But the devil is trying to cause unrest and doubt about faith with a view to make the fighter christian to resign from the race. Sometimes it manages to hinder the spiritual progress of some christians, particularly those who have not been stabilized internally in the faith.So he sows doubts and panic, which is detrimental to the spiritual progress.
The spiritual struggle, however, is not limited only to fasting and prayer, but also in charity, which is a key element of any christian. The works of charity maintain unquenchable flame of faith in the soul of man. The good works are not only grateful to our fellow human beings, but also benefit ourselves and glorify God.
By John Dimos
www.sostikalogia.com
Translated by Angela B.
