joypeacehope: A Heap Of Ruins

Saturday, February 7, 2009

A Heap Of Ruins

"The days are coming when the world will go mad and those who are mad will look at those who are not crazy and say, you are crazy for you are not like us". St. Anthony of Egypt 251-356

"Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation,

And have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold,

Therefore you will plant pleasant plants

And set out foreign seedlings;

In the day you will make your plant to grow,

And in the morning you will make your seed to flourish;

But the harvest will be a heap of ruins" Isaiah 17

America, under the guise of peace and prosperity is bringing havoc, destruction, death and suffering to the entire world through food and medical technology that is leaving the earth and mankind in a massive heap of ruins. There has never been a more successful, powerful, evil, cunning, delusional or deceptive force acting upon the entire world to destroy mankind. What we are witnessing in our time is unprecedented, cataclysmic and so sophisticated as to deceive even the elect of God.

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:12

6 comments:

VanHelsel said...: Sir,
Obviously I'm missing something here because I'm a little confused. What or who specifically are you referring to when you say "food and medical technology" are having such a negative effect on the world?

-Jason; February 7, 2009 at 1:37 PM
Euphrosyn said...: Dear Ringo - The material available on this subject is incredibly vast, so I cannot provide you with a short answer. God promises that if we seek Him with our whole heart we will find Him. Such is the case regarding being able to grasp what I am saying here. God also gives a man the desires of his heart, so if you are truly desirous to learn more about this subject, God will bless your efforts.; February 7, 2009 at 10:15 PM
VanHelsel said...: Mr. Greenfield,
That's helpful, and I especially agree with that last part. I do understand that there is some reform needed in the areas of which you speak, but I was just curious to see if you had any particular examples in mind of if you were speaking more broadly (which it seems you were). Thanks.

-Jason; February 8, 2009 at 6:26 PM
Euphrosyn said...: I could spend all day every day for the rest of the year giving you examples but I think it would be better for you to search them out on your own. If you desire some direction, I would be glad to provide you with it.; February 8, 2009 at 6:42 PM
VanHelsel said...: Mr. Greenfield,
I would be very interested to learn more about these subjects. I have been particularly interested in the theology of food for the past few years. Have you ever read a book called "The Supper of the Lamb" by Father Capon? It's a great book and really got me thinking about things.

-Jason; February 11, 2009 at 5:05 PM
Euphrosyn said...: Soft food requires indulgence, hard food indulges self denial.
Soft food incites passions, hard food quenches passions.
Soft food weighs down the stomach, hard food sharpens the intellect and brightens the heart.

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.

But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”

Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you.

For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.; February 11, 2009 at 8:02 PM

"Anathema To Him Who Divides And To Him Who Confounds"

This statement was made by the most reverend bishops of the
Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon. As the mind of God was, so the seven holy councils of the first 800 years of the church spoke, establishing and confirming the great doctrines of the Christian church universal which stand firm and solid to this day and will for all eternity. In ignorance most Protestants and Romanists today aren't even aware of Byzantine history and the glorious reign of the church during the first thousand years of history after the coming of the Blessed One. If you knew that to not embrace the decrees and canons of these councils put you in an anathematized condition, would you not repent and return to the 'true faith' of your fathers? "Do not move the ancient boundary stone", so it states in the Proverbs and what happens when we do? We will be prosecuted and thus shall it be for us who violate these ancient decrees and canons of the Holy Ecumenical Councils.

Icon Of The Descent Into Hades

Jesus Christ stands on the doors of Hades and breaks them open. The doors are in the form of a Cross to remind us that Jesus shattered these doors through the power of the Cross. Christ is pulling Adam and Eve out of Hades or Sheol, the place of death. Notice the limp hand of both Adam and Eve. The limp hand symbolizes that it is through Jesus' power that they are taken to heaven out of this place of death. It is Jesus' death and that alone that has conquered death. Left of Jesus we see John the Baptist preaching about the one who is to come to Hades to save them. John the Baptist is Jesus' forerunner even in Hades. Next to John the Baptist is King David and King Solomon. Right of Jesus we find Abel, the first saint of the Old Testament. This icon is also called the Icon of the Resurrection.

Biography of Saint Basil, Fool for Christ

Saint Basil the Blessed, was born in December 1468 on the portico of the Elokhov church outside Moscow. His parents were commoners and sent their son to be trained as a cobbler. During Basil's apprenticeship, the master cobbler happened to witness an occurrence, which showed him that his apprentice was not an ordinary young man. A merchant had brought grain to Moscow on a barge and came in to order boots, specifying that they be made in a particular way, since he would not pick them up for a year. After taking the order, Saint Basil began to weep and said, "I wish you would cancel the order, since you will never wear them." Confused, the master cobbler questioned his apprentice, and he explained that the man would not wear the boots, for he would soon die. After several days the prediction came true.

When he was sixteen, the saint arrived in Moscow and began to display what is called "Yurodivy" or foolishness for Christ. In the burning summer heat and in the freezing Russian winters, he walked barefoot through the streets of Moscow. His actions were strange, for instance, he would topple kalachi and kvas stands in the marketplace. Angry merchants would throttle and beat Saint Basil, but he welcomed the abuse with joy and he thanked God for it. Soon after it would be discovered that the kalachi was poorly cooked, and the kvas was badly prepared. The reputation of St Basil quickly grew. People saw him as a holy fool, a man of God, and a denouncer of wrong.

Another story tells of a merchant who wanted to build a stone church in Moscow, but its arches collapsed three times. The merchant turned to the saint for advice, and he pointed him toward Kiev. "Find John the Cripple," he said. "He will advise you how to construct the church." Traveling to Kiev, the merchant sought out John, who sat in a poor hut and rocked an empty cradle. "Whom do you rock?" asked the merchant. "I weep for my mother, who was made poor by my birth and upbringing." Only then did the merchant remember his own mother, whom he had thrown out of the house. Then it became clear to him why he was not able to build the church. Returning to Moscow, he brought his mother home, begged her forgiveness, and built the church.

Preaching mercy, Saint Basil helped those who were ashamed to ask for alms, but who were more in need of help than others. Once, he gave away a rich imperial present to a foreign merchant who had been left destitute. Although the man had eaten nothing for three days, he was not able to beg for food, since he wore fine clothing. The saint harshly condemned those who gave to the poor for selfish reasons, not out of compassion, but hoping for an easy way to attract God's blessings. St Basil also visited the taverns, where he tried to see goodness, even in people who others had given up as lost, and to strengthen and encourage them by kindness.
Once Saint Basil even reproached Tsar Ivan the Terrible, saying that during the divine services the Tsar was preoccupied with thoughts of building a palace in the Vorobiev hills.

St Basil died on August 2, 1557. His body was buried in the cemetery of Trinity church, where in 1554, In an early icon, St Basil is portrayed as old, with white hair curling at his ears, and a short, curly white beard. He is completely naked, and holds a handkerchief in his hand. The veneration of St Basil the Blessed was always so strong that the Trinity temple and the attached Protection church were renamed for him as the famous St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. The saint's chains, his relics, are preserved at the Moscow Spiritual Academy.

RUSSIAN ICON "GUARDIAN ANGEL"

"Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven." Matt. 18:10 " Although we can not see them with our bodily eyes, we can see them clearly with the eyes of faith. Are we really so poverty stricken in sensitivity and spiritual awareness that we do not wish to believe anything except the easily visible world? Are our hearts so occupied with worldly vainglory that they love nothing which does not pertain to wealth and temporary pleasure?" The Guardian Angel pg. 10

Icon of the Holy Archangel Michael, Captain Of The Angelic Host.

Saint John Chrysostom The Golden Mouthed

St. Gregory The Theologian

St. Gregory the Theologian, when barely thirty years old, won acclaim throughout the region as a mighty warrior in the fight against paganism and heresy. He headed the reorganisation of the Orthodox Church which had been torn asunder by the heresy of Arianism from within and by the harassment of pagans without. In the course of this holy work, he achieved distinction as an orator, traditionalist, and a crusader that earned him the title of "Theologian" despite the opposition of Maximos the Cynic, who had been set up against him by the bishop of Alexandria. He was the instrument of God in unifying the Church into a cohesive unit that could withstand any internal or external pressure.

St. Basil the Great

St. Basil set Christian perfectionism as the goal of monastic life. The monks were to practice Christian virtues together, especially love; to practice obedience to a spiritual father; to practice chastity and poverty, and share the common goods of the monastery. After they achieved Christian perfection, they were allowed to come back to the world and help others to achieve Christian perfection. Thus, the monks had the mission of "social workers" as well. St. Basil's institutions, especially his Basileias, which was at the same time an orphanage, a "kitchen for the poor," and a school for the illiterate was in practice run by monks. This was St. Basil's way of utilizing the monastic movement to benefit the mission of the Church in the world.

Prayer of St. Ephram The Syrian 306-373

O Lord and Master of my life! Take from me the spirit of sloth, lust of power, meddling and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chasity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant. Yea, O Lord and King! Grant me to see my own errors and to judge not my brother; For thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen. (The church historian, Sozomen credits Ephrem with having written over three million lines of hymns, poems, homilies and biblical commentary). His works are known only within Orthodoxy. "The greatest poet of the patristic age and, perhaps, the only theologian-poet to rank beside Dante." — Robert Murray.