WEBVTT

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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and

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of the Holy Spirit. Amen. It was last year at

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this time, this very liturgical day, the day

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of the commemoration of St. John of the Ladder,

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that the liturgical services were closed. And

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we began a couple of months of divine liturgies

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with just Justin singing and me serving by myself

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and my family blood relatives here in the church.

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That was it. It was a time of testing. Let's

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say, let's not use the word test perhaps. Test

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means that there's going to be a scorecard when

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we're done, and you'll see how you were graded.

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God doesn't need to test you like that. Let's

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use the word, it was a trial. It was a difficult

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situation, and perhaps it was a training for

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us. The Lord trains us up in the circumstances

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we find ourselves. We have pledged to be his

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servants. When we became catechumens, we said,

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I renounce Satan, all his works, all his angels,

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all his service, and all his pride. We say it

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three times, I have renounced Satan. And then

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we go outside, we breathe on him, and we spit

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on the devil. Imagine. Imagine you go, I don't

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know, to what used to be Red's recovery room

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on 116 or the wagon wheel over there off of Mendocino.

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I've never been to either one, just to assure

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you of that. And you go in there and you yell

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and you wag your finger and you criticize somebody

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about the size of John Robert. And then you spit

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on him. And then you turn your back. What do

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you think is going to happen? you're going to

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go down. But you see, we spit on the devil, we

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turn our back on him, and we say, I unite myself

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to Christ. So everything that comes to us in

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this life, once we have done that, because as

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I've said to you many times, we give God permission.

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We put our life in his hands, willingly, because

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we know his love. Is immeasurable. We know his

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providence. Is so caring. Down. As Jesus says.

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Don't you know your heavenly father. Knows that

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you have. Each hair. Doesn't have to think that

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much about mine. Because there's not that much

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now. But he knows everything about us. So. What

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comes to us. We say. Is by God's hand. As miserable

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as all that was. And now here we are, liturgically

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speaking, exactly one year later. The commemoration

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of St. John of the Ladder. And you're here. And

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it's not just me and my family and the heavenly

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hosts. You didn't receive communion for some

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long period of time. I can't remember how many

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weeks, maybe it was two months. But you're here.

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You didn't reach out to the various blogosphere

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sites to condemn the various hierarchs that implemented

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the fact that we were shut down. You gave glory

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to God because you knew that your life is in

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his hands. Once we start to judge other people

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that make our lives, let's say, difficult, then

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we're sinning. I wasn't going to read anything

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from the latter to you today, but it's so compelling,

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it's so real, and it's so basic about judging

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others. I need to share that with you. The demons.

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Murderers as they are push us into sin. Or if

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they fail to do this, they get us to pass judgment

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on those who are sinning so that they may defile

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us with the stain which we ourselves are condemning

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in other people. Number 12. This is step 10.

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Number 12 of step 10. This is one of the marks

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by which we could recognize spiteful and slanderous

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people. They are piteously plunged in the spirit

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of hatred, and with pleasure and without a qualm,

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they slander the teaching or the affairs or achievements

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of their neighbor. Number 13, I have seen some

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committing the gravest sin in secret and without

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exposure. And in their supposed purity, they

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have harshly invaded and accused against persons

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Who have had a petty fall in public. Number 14.

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To judge others is a shameless arrogation of

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the divine prerogative. To condemn is the ruin

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of one's soul. Number 15. Even without any other

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passion. Self -esteem can ruin a man. And in

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the same way if we have formed the habit of judging.

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We can be utterly ruined by this alone. For indeed

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the Pharisee was condemned. For this very thing.

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And finally number 16. A good grape picker. Who

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eats the ripe grapes. Will not start gathering.

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Unripe ones. A charitable and sensible mind.

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Takes careful note. Of whatever virtues it sees

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in anyone. But a fool looks for faults. And defects.

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And as of such it is said. They have searched

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after iniquity. And in searching they are grown

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weary. Of searching. From the psalm. Do not condemn.

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Number 17. Even if you see with your eyes. For

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they are often deceived. So our lives carried

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on. And here we are. And here you are. And we

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need consolation once again. We want to be, as

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I was saying to somebody yesterday, and I heard

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from a priest in a sermon, we want things to

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go back to normal, don't we? But the priest said,

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normal is a setting on your wash machine. This

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is just life. And it's going to be full of trials

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and training. You pray for patience, guess what?

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God's going to send you someone that's difficult.

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You pray for humility, and you know what will

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happen almost immediately. Someone will humble

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you. You pray for understanding, and immediately,

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or soon thereafter, a naughty problem is going

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to be presented to you in which you have to discern

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and pray and ask God. So that you can carry through

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and figure out what to do. You pray for love.

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And God will send you a situation in which love

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is required. We can't learn any of the divine

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virtues. Much less not judging someone. Without

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the opportunities coming to us as a training.

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Be careful what you pray for in that case. I'm

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saying this today about a trial of faith because

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of this gospel. Note how it ends. Jesus felt

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that after that scene, that incredibly dramatic

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scene with the young man, who was going rigid

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and foaming at the mouth and flopping around

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and falling in the fire and in the water. Maybe

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someone today would say it's a grand mal seizure,

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but the text tells us he has a spirit, an evil

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spirit. And after that healing, Jesus says to

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the apostles, when they're questioning, why could

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we not do it? Because the Pharisees and the scribes

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were arguing with the apostles. Saying, you can't

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do anything. Your master's gone off. Where did

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he go? The mountain of transfiguration. He comes

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down and he sees this scene of arguing. And the

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apostles, as failures, publicly. You know, as

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a priest, this hits home rather powerfully. Your

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disciples could not do it. And it's true. Because

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we fail to do the thing that Jesus suggests.

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And that doesn't suggest, and he's not talking

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to monastics. He says this thing doesn't come

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out except by prayer and fasting. Prayer because

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it's to the almighty God and we have no other

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hope. Fasting because when we fast, we don't

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hope in ourself anymore. We have given that up

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because we know God will help us and fill that

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space. This father was tested. His face was tried.

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Jesus says, all things are possible if you believe.

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And the man, in his honesty, which we need at

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this time of Lent when we know we have failed

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so far. In his pain of heart, which we need if

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we're going to approach Holy Week. In his faith,

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because faith is a gift from God. It's not something

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we conjure up. No, it's a gift in the almighty

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God who has proven himself to us already on the

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cross, the grave, the tomb, and the resurrection.

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The man says those incredible words, immortal

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words. Lord, he says, confessing Jesus, I believe.

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And then he asks for something. And that tells

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us what we ought to do with our prayer. We confess

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God, and then we ask, Lord, I believe. Help my

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unbelief. And the boy is cured. This is our life,

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brothers and sisters. We're going to be tried.

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We're going to be tested, not so God can figure

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out what we're going to do, but so that we can

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be trained in the life of what it is to be a

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Christian. People have been reading this book,

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The Ladder of Divine Ascent now, for 1 ,500 years.

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It has changed men and women so that they become

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Christ -like. These aren't rules to follow. As

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you heard, they're short little sayings which

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guide us and keep us on the right path. In our

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modern way of thinking, we need all the society

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to work first. The right laws, the right programs,

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Money in the right places. This is nice when

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it can happen. But the Christian doesn't believe

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in that as the first thing. The Christian believes,

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Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. And the Christian

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embraces Christ wherever he or she is at. Because

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faith is the 30th step of the 30 steps. It's

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not the first step. And so we have to say, help

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my unbelief. And then we change. The individual

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is changed. The saint goes out into the forest

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for a thousand days and nights. Then multitudes

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come out and healings are flowing forth. The

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good news is being preached. And a hundred and

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how many years later, here we are, 200 years

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later almost, here we are, the church of the

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Cathedral of St. Seraphim. Never think that you

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have to be an activist before you are an activist

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with the Holy Spirit. Never think that you have

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enough faith so you will always say, Lord, I

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believe. Help my unbelief. So this is the message

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which the church gives us on this fourth Sunday.

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of the great fast as we get closer and closer

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to holy week we hear the lord's words the son

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of man is going to be arrested and crucified

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and he will rise on the third day amen