When We Are Fearful

How do we rid ourselves of fear and anxiety?

Our determination and resolve provokes Christian efficacy that is not only “self efficacy” but ‘God-empowered efficacy.’ Thus, we can join ourselves in concert with the words of the psalmist and say, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, who abides in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.’ For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence …” (Ps 90:1–3). Saint Augustine of Canterbury said we should “pray as if everything depends on God, and work as if everything depends on us”. In energizing our personal struggle, according to our good resolve and intention, we bring forth the power of the soul, and this in turn serves us as though it were a weapon, and we push forward without fear and anxiety.

Love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon

Photos: Once again the monastery is hosting a four day retreat for members of the Lay Brotherhood of Saint John the Wonderworker. The brotherhood, comprised of young men between the ages of 18 to 36, now numbers fifty-eight members.

Saturday May 28, 2016 / May 15, 2016
Fourth Week of Pascha. Tone three.

Synaxis of New Martyrs of Butovo (movable holiday on the Saturday after the Pascha).
Venerable Pachomius the Great, founder of cenobitic monasticism (346).
St. Isaiah, bishop and wonderworker of Rostov (1090).
The slain Crown Prince Demetrius of Moscow (1591).
Venerable Isaiah, wonderworker of the Kiev Caves (1115).
Venerable Pachomius, abbot and Silvanus of Nerekhta (1384).
Venerable Euphrosynus (Eleazar), abbot, wonderworker of Pskov (1481), and his disciple St. Serapion (1480).
Venerable Achilles, bishop of Larissa (330).
Venerable Pachomius, abbot of Nerekhta (1384), and St. Silvanus, of Nerekhta.
St. Macarius (Glukharev), archimandrite, of Altai (1847).
St. Barbaras the Myrrh-gusher of Greece (9th c.) (Greek).
St. Andrew the hermit and wonderworker (Greek).
New Hieromartyrs Pachomius, archbishop of Chernigov (1938), his brother Abercius, archbishop of Zhitomir (1937), their father Priest Nicholas Kedrov (1936), and their brother-in-law Priest Vladimir Zagarsky (1937).
St. Dymphna, martyr of Geel, Flanders (7th c.) (Neth.).
St. Arethas of Verkhoturye and Valaam (1903).
St. Hallvard of Husaby.

Scripture Readings

Acts 12:1-11

Herod’s Violence to the Church

12 Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. 2 Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. 3 And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was duringthe Days of Unleavened Bread. 4 So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.

Peter Freed from Prison

5 Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. 6 And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. 7 Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. 8 Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.” 9 So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.

11 And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.”

John 8:31-42

The Truth Shall Make You Free

31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”

34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

Abraham’s Seed and Satan’s

37 “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.”

39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.”

Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41 You do the deeds of your father.”

Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.”

42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.