My visit to Glorious Ascension Monastery

[Steve]

I got your e-mail, Nicholas, as well as noticing you lurking at Nicholas' forums. I thought it was time to come over here and see how you all are. I appreciate your concerns. I do apologize for the long wait on posting or even lurking over here. I have to confess I am a little ashamed - I feel so unworthy to post things Orthodox with those who are Orthodox - and it has a lot to do with my current status. There is peace in my household between my wife and I. Yet the old yearning I have for us to be Orthodox has not quelled or gone away. I covet your prayers but I feel so unworthy to converse things Orthodox with you all. My consolation is that Christ our Lord declared the thief on the cross would be with Him in Paradise and that is my hope for me too. I still keep up the prayers of the hours and repeat the Jesus prayer when I can remember to which is often and is a blessing to me.

I'll lurk but will probably not enter into much e-conversation. I will peruse the prayer list and pray for you all. This board has always been a blessing to me and I appreciate you all.

Your servant, Steve

[Justin Kissel]

I'm not sure whether to compliment your mindset or encourage you to post more! Do what you think you ought to, but know that you are welcome to post here any time, and that we are still praying for you.

[OrthodoxyOrDeath]

Steve, (in greek your name means Cross - Stavros)

This is the last evening I'm posting outside of the scripture study until the fast is over, so I promise not to bite until then.

I had a Baptist friend who I worked with a few years ago. He came down with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). It attacks the nerves and over the course of a year or so, it renders them useless. A person slowly looses control of his muscles, his speech, and eventually he cannot breath anymore. The only thing not effected is eyesight and the mind.

I desperatley tried to get him into the Church while he was still able. We often had long, heartfelt conversations. He came to visit our church but ultimatley would not change a thing.

I tell you this story because he would often reflect that on the side of his church their were three crosses. One the Lord's, and one of the other two belonged to the theif who simply showed faith, and entered with Christ into paradise.

By this, my friend Bob believed by faith alone he was saved and that there was no need for the Church. I know you did not mean this, but it struck a chord.

I tell you this now because this story also demonstrates why we need the Church. As I often explained to my friend Bob, the theif was indeed with Christ in paradise because as the Church teaches, Christ entered Hades for three days, and wherever Christ is, that is paradise. So perhaps the theif heard Christ preaching in Hades, which is what He did, and was saved. But perhaps not. The only thing I know is that my friend Bob was misled and was without baptism.

So Steve, don't procrastinate. Passions stick to our beings like a shell sticks to a turtles body. They compose a second nature, an evil nature. To tansform the evil nature is not a light undertaking as the ancient Greeks used to say.

Didn't one other ask a small delay of the Lord? In Matthew 8:21 the disciple said he needed to bury his dead father: "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." But the Lord said to him, 'Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.' This may seem callous after all, what more noble casuse is there than to bury your own father!!! St. John Chrysostom says about this that it was by this prohibition that the Lord wanted to teach everyone vividly that "there is no thing under heaven more nessesary" than to eagerly hurry and submit ourselves to Christ and to not postpone for one instant.

And as it was with the disciples, "they immediatley left everything and followed Christ".