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Forgive me, everyone, for not getting back to your comments the last two videos. There was a lot to do at our Monasteries, both on Mull and Iona, and I personally had a rather difficult time with my migraines. Thank you for being so patient and so understanding with me, I see it and I appreciate it. May we all be blessed, my dear ones.
Fr., I have been getting migraines due to my Chiari malformation. I recently got an occipital release tool and it helps, so maybe it would help yours too. Will pray for you.
I was born Catholic, but i left in 2018 when i was born again by the Spirit of God, and when i started Reading the Bible. I see myself as non denomination but lately i have been so fed up and tired of the division in the protestant church, there are no order and millions of doctrines, i hunger for a Christ like fellowship with true believers, who didnt make a religion out of a specific thing in the Bible, but love the whole bible and the whole truth, and showing love to everyone and not condemnation, how will we win people to Christ with this Pride, that you are better than everyone else. I see myself as a sinner and every year i see myself even worse of a sinner because i understand who i am, and that im nothing without Jesus Christ. Nothing
I’m in the hospital waiting room as my wife is prepped for her C section today. I feel so blessed and happy for this channel. You “dear ones” appreciate you Father.
Christ is THE Truth, dear one, we all struggle to reflect something of Him unto ourselves and those around us. But the Truth, the Absolute and Complete Truth is always available to us in the Sacraments, by communing in His Body and Blood during the Divine Liturgy. May we all be blessed, dear one.
Thank you Father Seraphim for the light you throw around. Too true I stand before the Lord charged with sin. But there is hope, my orthodox catechism has started, please pray for me as I pray for you. 🙏🙏🙏
Amen Father, I have never been condemned by Christ but I have been by other Christians, especially other denominations. I am protestant but I learn and grow from all of Christ's children, thank you for this message.
Dear brother in Christ, I am Catholic, you are Protestant, and yet here we are conversing on a channel moderated by Orthodox Christians. Isn't that wonderful? The true light of God's love evidently shines in such a way that everyone can see it. I am sorry if anyone has ever condemned you for being Protestant. Each of us comes from our own space, culture; each has a slightly different understanding of theological principles. However, at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is whether we do things in our lives out of a motive of genuine love for one another. Everything else will turn to dust. And just as dear Father Seraphim said: what is true love, our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us. He said, "Love your enemies." By this, he meant that we should love absolutely everyone in this world, as they are all born of the love of the same God the Father, just as we are. Even if we ever do something wrong due to our fallen human nature and limited abilities, if we only have that love in our hearts, about which Lord Christ speaks to us, we can hope to be saved through his infinite grace. And because we know how merciful he is, yet we are full of sin, therefore our repentance can be genuine. Let us repent, pray, and hope for the salvation of us all. All the best, dear brother.
Father please pray for me, I am a schizophrenic afflicted by delusions that make me think I'm either God or Satan, and that I am incapable of loving. Please pray for me
You are man. We are created beings. Do not act on your thoughts and do prostrations. You can be healed of these delusions through denying the passions. Understand the nous. We have these battles. Only seek the truth.
Thank you!!! Just a little bit ago I was so discouraged and afraid after watching a different video and I cried and told God I really need your help with this. I poured my heart out to him. I keep running into videos that make me feel like I'm doomed no matter how hard I try. Just minutes after begging God to help me, I came to your video and I knew right away that God lead me to it. Everything you said was exactly what I needed to hear. ❤ God bless you! Thank you so much!
You don’t know me dear Fr Seraphim, but your words here are exactly what I need right now, before the Great Fast begins. I can even say Christ has spoken to me through you. Say a prayer for me, dear Fr, and for my husband Seraphim and daughter Seraphima, for our salvation.
Thank you Father for the reminder that the condemning voices inside of us are not God and it most cases not even our own. They have been placed there by others throughout our life. Pray we have the grace and strength to ignore these “negative voices” and draw closer to Christ and His love this Lenten season. Thanks you so much for being a bright light on Utube!
Father Seraphim, you are so eloquently spoken. This video has come at the right time for me personally. This weekend I am going to become a catechumen, and one thing that has been tearing me up inside is the spirit of condemnation that exists on the internet. Thank you for snapping me out of my funk and getting me back to the source of love. Glory to god, thanks Fr. Seraphim!
My dear sibling in Christ, if you can avoid the internet as much as possible this entire Lent, you will never regret it. You would build a nest around your soul during this time, like a spiritual fortress, and you would be free from all the hatred that comes from the world, while feeling free to open yourself to all the love that your priest and local community no doubt have for you. This is a wonderful time to be a catechumen, may Lent give you all its spiritual gifts, my dear one. And remember us in your prayers
@@mullmonastery thank you for responding! That sounds like great advice, I will do what you suggest. My local parish is an incredible community and I will try to spend as much time with them as possible! :)
Jesus gave me a new heart. A new perspective but I kept my thick skin. it’s a tough world out there. Pick up that cross daily my Brothers and Sisters keep moving forward.
Dear Father Seraphim, thank you for your videos and support. People are lost today more than ever that I remember. Especially after so called pandemic. Many thanks 🙏
as a kid i used to love bickering and swear words but only now do i realise that i suffer from the passion of verbal bloodlust oh dear Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner please help me rid myself of this passion Amen ☦️
Sometimes we need pragmatical examples, with true and vivid witnesses of Christ involved into challenging situations which talk to our contemporary experience, and how they acted, so that we really get the teachings and understand how to apply. I think today we know the teachings and will to live by them, but we do not know how to apply.
Father thankyou for this, love is so beautiful I feel now after years that real love is for our FATHER our LORD JESUS CHRIST OUR SAVIOUR, other love is illusion not real,THANKYOU GOD FOR opening my eyes. HAVE MERCY on me a sinner ✝️ GOD BLESS YOU FATHER I WILL light a candle in your name on SUNDAY IN CHURCH✝️🙏🕯️
Father, can you also make a video on how not to find excuses for your sins before sinning? How not to explain away your sin? Thank you. I really appreciate what you do on this channel. What a timely video for Lent as well. I needed to hear about the killing of the plant.
Romans 8:1 therefore there is no condemnation for those in Christ who walk not by the flesh but the spirit. How could anyone confuse Christ with the devil! Also we will never be worthy of his salvation that’s the whole point of Easter and the whole point of our salvation. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten so to die for us that we may have eternal life. I agree with everything else you say brother and would urge you to accept the free gift of salvation in the Lord. If you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Christ is Lord you will have eternal life. I love you brother ✝️🙏🕊️
Salvation is a free gift from the Lord, my dear one, of course. But it takes a lot more than believing in your heart and confessing with your mouth to be grated that free gift. The devil believes and confesses that Christ is the Son of the Living God, but that does not lead to his salvation. Faith without deeds is dead, as the same Gospel teaches us and as two thousand years of spiritual experience have confirmed in His Church. I pray that we may all be blessed, and that we may all find our way to His salvation.
@@mullmonastery it means dying daily to self picking up your cross and serving the living God in spirit and truth. We work out our salvation in fear and trembling……if we are living for Christ we walk in his ways we are happy to work for his kingdom. We want to share the good news of the gospel. It is free gift to all. If you believe on Christ Jesus the son of God and that he was raised from the dead ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand side of the Father. Amazing grace abounds my brother 🙏🕊️✝️
I watched an NDE testimony of a Christian a few days ago and I am depressed. She talked about how she ended up in hell because of presumptuous sin she had committed. She had been a good and loving person, though. In her material, she goes on how tiny little things can put a human being to hell. She seems sane and educated enough for us to believe what she says if the Bible she quotes really means what she says. Now I’m thinking of dropping Christianity in favor of some non-fear-oriented spirituality. 😢
You always teach me something. Please, please don’t stop talking about God in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! Love is God’s answer to evil as light is to dark.
I’m following you since few days, looking for truth, and I feel you got some divine wisdom to share , therefore I’ve started to read the bible…. Nevertheless some verses make me doubt and put me off… like Genesis 3.16 “Then the Lord said to the woman: I will multiply and multiply your groans and your sorrows; you will give birth in pain, you will wait for the commandment of your husband, and he will control you.” I feel the love and compassion from Christ’s teachings but those kind of verses provoke the opposite in my heart and turn me away from faith.
Didn't Jesus call pharisees serpents and sons of the devil and flip tables over? He also called a woman a dog and resisted her attempt to receive healing.
Regarding the woman Christ called a dog. Christ knew that was the name many of the Jews had for this woman's people, but he also knew she was feisty enough to trust in Him totally and 'bark' back at Him. It was a teaching moment for His disciples, and that was the main reason why it happened. The woman (through Christ's love) knew that it wasn't an insult directed at her and she knew her daughter would be healed. Regarding the names given to the Pharisees: there is something called tough love and some sinners and hypocrites need it but He will not break the bent reed.
Father, my spiritual father recommended me to see your channel as a light for orthodox teachings. I must say I don't regret anything at all. Father please pray for an eventual orthodox mission here in my hometown in Northern Mexico. God bless you eternally
May God bless the work you are all doing there, my dear one. The first mission will be difficult, but after that you will see how Christ will multiply His word in abundance! Be blessed and please keep us in your prayers in Northern Mexico.
I am the one who has been completely failed by human beings and I’m fine with being alone, because I have no other choice. I’m ok with having only Christ, but I don’t hate them for it. I am of course saddened, but I forgive them. Praise God we can still experience love in our deepest sorrow.
For two thousand years, my dear one, from the mouth of Christ and the Holy Apostles to our contemporary Saints (St Silouan, for example) love of one's enemy is the only sure sign that one is on the right path. It is excruciating and it 'kills' you inside (the good death of which Christ spoke, the death to oneself which brings one to Life in Christ), which is why the world has always taken the much easier path to hatred, war and self-destruction (physical and spiritual). May Christ grant us one fracture of one second of His Love for those who crucified Him, and that would change our hearts forever.
@@mullmonastery Fr. your words are true in a world of darkness. I think you should pin this answer up above...others should see your answer because it is actually an answer to many. Blessings of Jesus Christ.
Glory be to God for all seeds of Light in our lives, dear one. We need to learn to focus more on these and to stop internalising and reflect the darkness around us. This would only increase the Light: in us and in the world. May we all be blessed, my dear one
Father, I am attending Divine Liturgy for the first time this Sunday. I am scared to stand out, experience judgment or make myself look foolish. I do not even know or understand all church traditions yet and I am scared that I will fail in this journey to build a relationship with God and become saved. Please pray for me to have peace and not approach this with dubiousness.
Hi, I just saw this comment and I wanted to tell you I hope you will feel welcomed at your church ❤ I am probably living on the other side of the world from where you are, but I am so happy to hear that you want to visit our orthodox home.. You already feel like a sister to me even though I know you haven't joined the church yet. I hope everything goes well, Stay brave! ❤❤ We love you! (and I know father Seraphim is praying too 😉😊)
Aw. You are such a beautiful human being, such a beautiful soul Father, and you are soooooo precious to God! We love you. Thank you for your sacrifices ❤❤❤
That is too kind to say, dear one. The beauty you perceive is almost certainly a reflection of your own and has nothing to do with me. Like everyone else, I am a fallen human being, struggling to keep my head above the surface and only being able to do so by the grace of God. May we all be blessed, dear one.
@@mullmonastery well, it’s the truth. And thank you for your kind comments. I can see your soul and how beautiful indeed it is. It just pours forth from you. I can’t help but see that! And yes we are all fallen and struggle. Oh the Lord knows my sufferings well. But I love Him immensely!! I have learned a lot from you and appreciate your videos. I will be praying for you and pray God will deliver you from your migraines. I know how those go and how debilitating they are. I am very broken literally (I was an athlete my entire life and now 50 years old and broken. Lol ) almost my entire spine is degenerated and am seeing a spine surgeon Monday. Every disc in my neck is pretty much destroyed and the same in my entire lower lumbar and some in my thoracic spine. I have the worst headaches every day of my life for probably eight months now most days of the week I have a headache. The pain is beyond intense in my neck, so after many failed conservative treatments, nothing has worked. I have a lot of praying and discerning to do regarding this appointment Monday. Surgery is the last thing that I want to do but I’ve been dealing with this for a couple of years now actually four years from my neck and then 25 years for the rest of my spine. But all to His Glory! Be well my sweet friend!
Glory be to God, dear one. That makes all of us grateful for Christ's gifts and for the work He blesses our Monasteries to do. Please remember us in your prayers.
I am a Catholic from Slovenia... Dear Father Serafim, I completely agree: love is the highest value towards which we must strive. Love will be the sole criterion by which we are judged. Love; everything else will turn to dust. I remember one of your recordings, dear Father Serafim, when you spoke about resetting our spiritual lives and urged us to sometimes remember deeply in our hearts the reason why we are Christians at all. For me, it was love. It was because of the existence of love that I became a Christian. And our God Jesus Christ, He Himself is love. Whoever has this love in their heart will never judge or condemn their fellow human being. Every person, born at any time on this planet, is born from the love of the same God in whom we believe, so we must always wish only good for every human being and also pray for their salvation. Especially for the unbelievers, we must pray and sincerely wish them well, for they do not know the love of Christ that we know. What a grace this is for us... I wish you all the best, dear Father Serafim, because of your infinite compassion and divine love, you are a true inspiration for all the people of this world.
May Christ bless His entire creation, dear one. We are all His work, we are His inheritance, we are the fruit of His Love - how can Love put forth fruit that is not compatible with Love? This is why He taught us to discern among those who claim to be His followers according to the fruit they bring: if they are rooted in God Who Is Love, what other fruit that love could they possibly have? And if they don't, if their fruit is self-righteousness and condemnation of others, then their roots are nourished by someone else, not God. Be blessed, my dear one, be blessed.
Father, truly you have helped me to become much closer to the truth of Christ than any other man. I have had no spiritual father for any direction, ever, in my life. You took that place with just these short videos. Which do many things. I find peace and prayer to be much more consistent and present in me since. Please pray for me that I will never stray from Christ, that I will be hired as a police man and that those who I interact with will see Christ through me. I thank you truly, from my heart. - Nikolas
My dear Nikolas, I pray Christ grants all the good things your heart desires, but you do not need my prayer. You have St Nicholas guarding over you - there is nothing (absolutely nothing) that he cannot or will not give you if the thing you ask for is for your salvation. If I could sign a contract entrusting my soul to the care of St Nicholas, I would sign it in a heartbeat. Don't waste this amazing gift, dear one. Ask for his intercession and you will see from your own experience how close and ready to help he is. Remember me in your prayers before him too.
Thankyou for your videos. I feel somehow comforted. I tried a new church and no ladies spoke to me. I guess i should go back but i feel like crying. I just want a church family. 😔
I am so sorry, dear one. Do not be quick to run away. Give them and yourself a second and a third chance. Remember that sometimes, Christ sends us in a place not only for our own growth, but also for the growth of that community. Give them time, allow them to be imperfect, then slowly and gently (by personal example, not by reproaching) show them how they should welcome a stranger. Perhaps no one welcomed them either, so they simply do not know how to do it. Fight for them and fight for yourself, dear one. We are all worth fighting for.
This can be the case in "old" parishes, where everybody already knows each other. It's easy (not nice, just easy) to overlook the newlings when you're eager to catch up with your friends. It can feel like a clique until they notice that you've been there several times. Then people will want to know what you're up to. Don't get discouraged, orthodox parishes with a missionary mindset are not the norm. As Father said, they might have no idea how to welcome and accommodate new faces.
That being said, I come from a reach out-oriented parish, and found it extremely difficult to fit into any other subsequent "regular" parish. I know the loneliness that comes with it.
This is such an important message! Jesus is my hero, my role model, my reason for living! And you are so right - I have never once felt condemned in His presence, sinner though I am. It was very good to be reminded of this today. God bless you ❤
I keep faith even though it’s been a tough three years. Faith will always defeat the enemy. Lord give me strength as a single mother I’m struggling to make ends meet. Both of my sons are special needs and require much from me. So Lord Jesus I turn to you as I struggle to buy groceries, and as I struggle to pay the rent every month. There are many different obstacles that I face. Sometimes I want to give up. But it’s great knowing I can turn to our Heavenly Father he is always there for us. God gives all of us strength to face another day.
Wonderfully said. The more we realize our own sin, the harder it is to judge and condemn others. Those who judge and condemn freely, tend to have little understanding of their own lack, or cannot believe they could ever be forgiven--but of course the can! If you want forgiveness, you must forgive.
Truly you speak the from the heart of Jesus. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! Listening to you speak is helping me so very much in my own spiritual journey. Thank you for your help and God bless you and your Brothers.
Mockery and humiliation is how those who serve evil attempt to control individuals. The only opinion we need to pay attention to is that of the Holy Spirit of Almighty God in Jesus Christ, Holy Yeshua Hamashiach.
Believing in the Lord Jesus is a process of forming a personal relationship with Him. As Lord Jesus says Peter: "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me." (John 21:22)
It is so beautiful when our hearts see clearly what Christ is calling us to change, my dear one. That is such treasure, such amazing opportunity to open ourselves to His presence and grace. May you be blessed beyond your hopes, my dear one, and please remember us in your prayers.
Actually modern psychologists suggest something similar. Make a list of your faults, opinions and thoughts and see who says the same outloud (family members, friends, celebrities, influencers, TV hosts, etc.) Cross them off your list. What's left is your original internal voice telling you something. And that's what you have to recon with.
A quotation that I find pertinent to the subject: "towards God, we should have the heart of a child, towards others, the heart of a mother, and towards ourselves, the heart of a judge" - St. Peter of Alcántara God bless you brothers and sisters, and thank you Father for the advice 🙏 cheers!
Father I hear many Christians saying God Bless Israel and support the killing and that saddens me ... they even say you are cursed if you don't Bless Israel ...I can't bless evil ..I believe Christ told us to love our enemies, love everyone ,help the needy ...what is your opinion ?? ...Thank you.. Kyrie Isouy Xriste Eleison emas tous Amartolous ☦️
My dear one, I try not to have opinions, because my human opinions are dust. I know from Christ that I need to pray and bless and hope for the salvation of all, including those (if not, especially for those) who do evil in the world. I also know from Christ that a murderer is still a murderer, despite my prayer for him. All that prayer does is it safeguards my own soul against hatred (which would make me equal in evilness with that murdered) and it intercedes for him, so God grants him the time and the means to repent before his death. In other words, pray for all, good or evil, but do not confuse the two.
@@mullmonastery ..Thank you father..Evlogison...but my answer is if we are cursed and damned if we don't Bless Israel like some say ...is it biblical ...Yes I pray for both the sinner the Good and evil
Christ is the Source of all good things, my dear one, and our greatest Hope. May we all see the fulfilment of His promise in our own beings when the time comes.
Hello, I'm currently 14 and have been with christ for 5 years, strong in my faith, and I've been close to christ, but now everything's gone heavily dry, please help me out.
Today God showed me that I have the heart of a murderer. Not that I actually murdered anyone, but that my hostility and judgemental attitude toward my neighbor was utterly bereft of love. This was very clear to me. Then I turned to this video and here you are speaking to the very thing that I see in myself. Thank you father for your teaching on this. So many times you have addressed issues that I struggle with. God bless you and thank you. I thank God for your voice and heart and allowing our Saviour to speak through you.
Thanks a lot for your true words father! I was having those thoughts lately and want to make a restart now that the fasting started. It was the perfect timing to hear your great advice! Your blessings☦️🙏🏻
Отче Серафим помолитесь c братьями о мире там где сейчас война. Особенно за Украину, Россию. Это война разделит пол мира и еще больше горе принесет всем. Прошу молитв сердечных с воздыханиями. Doamne miluieste.☦🙏🕊
War is the ultimate expression of hatred, my dear one, and as far from God as we can possibly fall while in this life. We all need to pray for peace and for the salvation of all.
Amen and a personal thank you for your prayers and words, yes, I’m always blessed to hear God’s voice of love through you - I’m amazed how each time, your words underline something He’s been teaching me. So sorry to hear the migraines have been bothering you again, with great respect, my humble prayers are with you dearest of brothers in Christ 🤗
Thank you Father for those encouraging words. Recently I went to confession and the priest told me to put a fence around the tree or its fruit will be stolen. I was confessing my problem of anger. He said that my anger will create bad effects on others. I have been pondering this in light of what you said in this video and Nicephorus the Solitary says about this, about the tree.
We love you in Christ too dear father. May the lord forgive us for every judgmental thought 🙏 I have come to recognize within me from my experience that if ever I feel judgment towards anyone , it is a sign of my own lack of repentance and its time go back to Christ. Pray for me lest He imparts the same judgment upon me 🙏😕
If we all took the time to stop as soon as we recognise the fire of judgement burning in us, and if we asked ourselves the reasons for the judgement, if we allowed ourselves to be cold and analytical about these reasons, we would always discover our own sinfulness hiding behind the judgement of others. But to stop oneself once that flame takes hold of one's heart is difficult, because its fuel is deep in all of us. Be blessed, my dear one, be blessed
