Feast Day: January 10th
The Life of Saint Gregory: In the year 381 Saint Gregory was one of the chief figures of the Second Ecumenical Council… At this Council, on the initiative of Saint Gregory, the Nicene Symbol of Faith (the Creed) was completed…
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Prayers
Kontakion – Tone 1: You kept watch with the eyes of your Soul, Holy Bishop, revealing yourself as a watchful Pastor for the world. With the staff of your wisdom and your fervent intercession, you drove away all heretics like wolves. You preserved your flock free from harm, most wise Gregory!
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“Peace is defined as harmony among those who are divided. When, therefore, we end the civil war within our nature and cultivate peace within ourselves, we become at peace.”
“If we truly think of Christ as our source of Holiness, we shall refrain from anything wicked or impure in thought or act and thus show ourselves to be worthy bearers of His Name. For the quality of Holiness is shown not by what we say but by what we do in life.”
“May we never risk the life of our Souls by being resentful or by bearing grudges.”
“Concepts create idols; only wonder comprehends anything. People kill one another over idols. Wonder makes us fall to our knees.”
“Sin is failure to grow.”
“He Who gives you the day will also give you the things necessary for the day.”
“and the creation, in the world and above the world, that once was at variance with itself, is knit together in friendship: and we … are made to join in the Angels’ song, offering the Worship of their praise.”
“Since with all my Soul I behold the face of my beloved, therefore all the beauty of His form is seen in me.”
“Christ is the artist, tenderly wiping away all the grime of sin that disfigures the human face and restoring God’s image to its full beauty.”
“Mine is to chew on the appropriate texts and make them delectable.”
“Just as at sea those who are carried away from the direction of the harbour bring themselves back on course by a clear sign, on seeing a tall beacon light or some mountain peak coming into view, so Scripture may guide those adrift on the sea of the life back into the harbour of the Divine Will.”
“As no darkness can be seen by anyone surrounded by light, so no trivialities can capture the attention of anyone who has his eyes on Christ.”
“For when one considers the universe, can anyone be so simple-minded as not to believe that the Divine is present in everything, pervading, embracing and penetrating it?”
“There is one antidote for evil passions: the purification of our Souls which takes place through the Mystery of Godliness. The chief act of Faith in this Mystery is to look to Him Who suffered the Passion for us. The Cross is the Passion, so that whoever looks to it is not harmed by the poison of desire. To look to the Cross means to render one’s whole life dead and crucified to the world.”
“Sick, our nature demanded to be healed; fallen, to be raised up; dead, to rise again… Closed in the darkness, it was necessary to bring us the light; captives, we awaited a Saviour… Are these things minor or insignificant? Did they not move God to descend to human nature and visit it, since humanity was in so miserable and unhappy a state?”
“Now there have been delivered to us in the Gospel three Persons and Names through Whom the generation or birth of believers takes place, and he who is begotten by this Trinity is equally begotten of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost —for thus does the Gospel speak of the Spirit, that “that which is born of Spirit is spirit,” and it is “in Christ “that Paul begets, and the Father is the “Father of all”.”
“Our human weakness is protected by the assistance of the Angels and… in all our perils, provided Faith remain with us, we are defended by the aid of Spiritual Powers.”