faith – Royal Doors

Jan

25

2017

Mark 11:23-26- Mind Your Manners

Faithcs lewis, faith, manners

Christ is Born! I have heard it said, that when you ask the Lord to move a mountain, don't be surprised if He hands you a shovel. Whatever the method of moving mountains, we need faith to see it through. In today's reading our Lord reminds us of His amazing power, as well as the awesome gift of faith through prayer. And yet we know that faith, which is necessary for our discipleship, can be a very difficult to find at times. The classic example of this is often seen in the cry of the father to Christ "Lord, I…

Mark 9:33-41- Chicken or egg? Faith or Works?

Faithcharity, faith, Lent, prostrations, repentance, works

Christ is Born! During our largest season of communal repentance- Great and Holy Lent- one of the ascetical practices we practice are prostrations. Over and over and over again we bow completely to the floor touching our heads on the ground. After the canon of St. Andrew, and over 300 prostrations later, it is fairly common to wake up sore the next morning. We bow down to the ground to show God reverence, but also to communicate with our own souls- to help us to repent! Many times we feel as though our actions are a one-way street which originate…

Mark 9:10-16- True Discipleship

Faithdisciple, faith, reason, transfiguration

Glory be to Jesus Christ! At first glance our reading today seems a little confusing, and no doubt, as it is a short passage which relates the conversation the Disciples have with Our Lord as they descend the mountain after the Transfiguration. We must remember that at the Transfiguration, Elijah appeared and spoke with Jesus (along with Moses) on the mountain. The experience of the Transfiguration naturally brought up many questions for the Disciples who misunderstood our Lord's passion prediction and the fact that Elijah was meant to appear on the earth once more before the end. Our Lord points to…