#St. John Chrysostom

[godlovesyousoiloveyou]

“After sin comes shame; courage follows repentance.

Satan upsets the order; he gives courage to sin and shame to repentance.”

+ St. John Chrysostom

#another banger from st. john chrysostom #orthodox christianity #eastern orthodox #eastern orthodoxy #christianity #orthodox #orthodoxy #greek orthodox #church #orthodox church #serbian orthodox #christian quotes #quotes #st. john chrysostom

[dramoor]

“I implore you, brethren, never to break or despise the rule of this prayer: A Christian when he eats, drinks, walks, sits, travels or does any other thing must continually cry: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me.’ So that the name of the Lord Jesus descending into the depths of the heart, should subdue the serpent ruling over the inner pastures and bring life and salvation to the soul. He should always live with the name of the Lord Jesus, so that the heart swallows the Lord and the Lord the heart, and the two become one. And again: do not estrange your heart from God, but abide in Him, and always guard your heart by remembering our Lord Jesus Christ, until the name of the Lord becomes rooted in the heart and it ceases to think anything else.”

~St. John Chrysostom

#Orthodox Christian #saints #St. John Chrysostom #Jesus Prayer #pray continually #prayer of the heart #union with Christ in the Holy Spirit #God #abide in Christ #guard your heart

[momentsbeforemass]

The least of these

“I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.”

Then the righteous will answer Him and say, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison and visit you?”

And He will say to them in reply, “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for the least of these – my brothers – you did it for me.”

That’s the heart of today’s Gospel. Jesus is telling us who we’re really helping, when we help anyone in need.

If you and I want to get our hearts in sync with God’s heart, this is where we start.

Not because it’s nice to be good to other people. Although it is.

Not because Cain was wrong (see Genesis 4). Although he was – I am my brother’s keeper.

But because this is the place of beginning with God.

If you and I want to truly know God – not what someone told us about God, not what we think we know about God.

If you and truly want to know God, then this is where our relationship with God starts.

By finding Christ.

Not in the liturgy or the sacraments. Not in the prayerful rhythm of my favorite archabbey or the beauty of nature. Not even in a well-produced series on Netflix.

Not until I first find Christ in people in need.

In the words of St. John Chrysostom - “If you cannot find Christ in the beggar at the church door, you will not find Him in the chalice.”

Today’s Readings

#Least of these #Unto the Least of These #Finding Christ #Begin with God #Relationship #St. John Chrysostom #God #Jesus #Catholic #Christian #Church #Moments Before Mass

[orthodoxicons]

“Turn away from sin, for to sin may be human, but to persist in sin is not human, but utterly satanic.”

+ St. John Chrysostom, Exhortation to Theodore, 16.73-74

#orthodoxy #Christianity #Orthodox Christianity #human #quotes #sinning #to be human #St. John #St. John Chrysostom

[olicrosse]

When husband and wife are united in marriage they no longer seem like something earthly, but rather like the image of God Himself - St. John Chrysostom

#catholic #catholicism #catholic aesthetic #christianity #christian #religion #roman catholic #religious #st. john chrysostom

[eternal-echoes]

“Let us help and commemorate them. If Job’s sons were purified by their father’s sacrifice (Job 1:5), why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them.”

 – St. John Chrysostom

#Catholic #Christianity #quotes #St. John Chrysostom #Purgatory

[stjohncapistrano67]

#traditional catholicism #traditional catholic images #traditional catholic saints #traditional catholic saints quotes #traditional catholic father's and doctors of the church #st. john chrysostom #sermon for christmas morning #saint raphael at pintrest #saint raphael pins at pintrest

[church-history]

#catholic #christian #quote #st. john chrysostom

[foreverpraying]

Source of picture: https://apenitentialprayer.tumblr.com

“Pray, wherever you are, because you are the temples of God, for God lives not in man-made temples, but in your hearts.” St. John Chrysostom

#quotes #St. John Chrysostom #Pray #God #Jesus #Christ #Jesus Christ #Father #Son #Holy Spirit #Holy Trinity #christian religion #faith #hope #love #stress reliever

[daughter-of-mary]

#St. John Chrysostom #Quotes #Forgiveness #Jeans loves you #Orthodox

[godlovesyousoiloveyou]

#eastern orthodox #another banger from St. John Chrysostom #eastern orthodoxy #orthodox christianity #orthodoxy #greek orthodox #christianity #orthodox #orthodox church #serbian orthodox #church #st. john chrysostom

[dramoor]

#Orthodox Christian #saints #St. John Chrysostom #Love your neighbor #Love your enemies

[momentsbeforemass]

NPC’s

In the first century, Roman jailers were tortured and put to death if their prisoners escaped.

That’s the backstory to the jailer’s reaction to the earthquake at the jail in today’s first reading.

The foundations of the jail shake, the doors fly open, the chains are pulled loose.

The jailer sees this, assumes that his prisoners (Paul and Silas) have escaped, and prepares to kill himself. Because he knows what they do to jailers.

In that moment of despair, Paul calls out to the jailer, “Do no harm to yourself, we are all here.”

When they could have escaped, Paul and Silas didn’t. Why?

Because Paul and Silas know what they do to jailers.

It would have been so easy for them to run away after the earthquake. Paul and Silas had every reason to do it.

Their friends would have been so happy for them to be free. No one would have given the jailer a second thought.

But Paul and Silas? They knew what running away would mean for the jailer.

So, they stayed. And made sure that the jailer didn’t take his own life.

Why? What makes the jailer so special? All we know about him is his job. In the narrative, he’s part of the scenery, a nameless background character. In gaming terms, he’s an NPC (non-player character).

But that’s not how God sees things. In God’s eyes, there are no nameless background characters.

Paul and Silas are instruments of God’s grace, to be sure. But if we’re only looking at Paul and Silas, then we’ve missed the point of the earthquake at the jail and everything that followed.  

Everything that happened wasn’t done for show, so that people would be impressed with Paul and Silas.

As St. John Chrysostom tells us, it was all done for the jailer – “not for show but for salvation.”

It was all done so that someone who was part of the scenery, a nameless background character to everyone else, might know how much he mattered to God. That to God, “he was worthy of salvation.”

That is how God looks at each one of us.

Because in God’s eyes, there are no NPC’s.

Today’s Readings

#NPC #Background #God #Jesus #Catholic #Christian #Church #St. Paul #Non-player character #St. John Chrysostom #Salvation #Jail #Jailer #Moments Before Mass

[orthodoxicons]

“To surrender and fall into passions is the worst slavery, since freedom is only obtained by ruling over them”

- St. John Chrysostom

#orthodoxy #Christianity #Orthodox Christianity #quotes #St. John #St. John Chrysostom #slavery #passions #freedom

[ancestorsalive]

Those whom we love and lose are

no longer where they were before.

They are now wherever we are.

~ St. John Chrysostom

Mother Courage, 1986 etching by Betty LaDuke

#Mother Courage #1986 #etching #Betty LaDuke #Art #Ancestors Alive! #What is Remembered Lives #st. john chrysostom #art and soul #heart and soul #live #love #life #Ancestral Medicine #Ancestral Healing

[eternal-echoes]

“Sin make a man a coward. A life in the truth of Christ makes him bold.”

- St. John Chrysostom

#Catholic #Christiantiy #quotes #St. John Chrysostom #sin