ON THE BETRAYAL OF JUDAS

ON THE BETRAYAL OF JUDAS
By St. John Chrysostom.
  Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the  chief priests, and said unto them, What will ye give me, and  I will deliver Him unto you? (Mt 26:14-15).
These words seem to he clear and not to hint at anything more, bur if vou carefully examine each word, you will find deep meaning and a great deal to contemplate.
First, the time. The Evangelist does not indicate it without cause. He does not simply say, One of the twelve ivent, but adds, Then one of the twelve ... went. Then. Tell me, when? And why does he indicate the time? What does lie want to teach me? He does not say Then for no reason: Speaking by the Spirit, he does not say anything at random or to no end. Therefore, what does this “then” mean?

Intentions (Saint John Chrysostom)

 

Wealth doesn’t destroy and neither does poverty. What does destroy is bad intentions, which cannot use either of these states properly.
Intentions beget more intentions and just as a flame burns more fiercely the more it’s fed with wood, the same is true of intentions. Evil and virtue aren’t the result of nature, but of the intentions.

>Saint John Chrysostom
Source:  pemptousia.com

http://www.diakonima.gr/2015/09/10/intentions-saint-john-chrysostom/

THER WILD BEASTS OF OUR PASSIONS by St. John Chrysostom, fourth century

THER WILD BEASTS OF OUR PASSIONS

by St. John Chrysostom, fourth century

The beasts of our passions

            How frivolous is the man who sees that his house is falling apart and instead of fixing it and shoring it up, he instead takes care of the yard around the house.  How imprudent it is of the person who is sick in body and instead of looking for a cure, buys beautiful clothes for himself.  This is exactly what we do with our souls.  When our souls have become depraved by our passions: through anger, vanity, sick desires and many other evil things, we do not seek to heal the soul.  We instead look to live irresponsibly, be hip and appear beautiful to the world.  If, for example, a wild bear gets loose from its pen and roams freely in the city, we protect ourselves from its attacks by staying in our homes to avoid being torn apart by its claws.  But when our souls are torn apart by many beasts we often remain indifferent to these attacks and continue to feed them by indulging our passions. 

we grasp at our kinship with the righteous rather …St John Chrysostom

Translation of the relics of St John Chrysostom the Archbishop of Constantinople

Commemorated on January 27

St John Chrysostom

O Lord Jesus Christ, open Thou the eyes of my heart, that I may hear Thy word and understand and do Thy will, for I am a sojourner upon the earth. Hide not Thy commandments from me, but open mine eyes, that I may perceive the wonders of Thy law. Speak unto me the hidden and secret things of Thy wisdom. On Thee do I set my hope, O my God, that Thou shalt enlighten my mind and understanding with the light of Thy knowledge, not only to cherish those things which are written, but to do them; that in reading the lives and sayings of the saints I may not sin, but that such may serve for my restoration, enlightenment and sanctification, for the salvation of my soul, and the inheritance of life everlasting. For Thou art the enlightenment of those who lie in darkness, and from Thee cometh every good deed and every gift. Amen.

To be truly rich we must learn to have need of nothing…St. John Chrysostom Archbishop of Constantinople

St. John Chrysostom Archbishop of Constantinople

on November 13

The mouth of a just man distils wisdom; the lips of men know graces. The mouth of the wise meditates wisdom;

…There is the wondrous vision which St. Cyril of Alexandia saw:

The uncle of the Patriarch of Alexandria Theophilos had St. Chrysostom as his enemy…Once he saw the Lady Theotokos together with St. Chrysostom, speaking together in an all-radiant and most-beautiful place. Beholding them, however, he desired to, and asked to go near them, but the divine Chrysostom rebuked them and hindered him.

St. John Chrysostom: On the Holy Theophany

by St. John Chrysostom
We shall now say something about the present feast. Many celebrate the feastdays and know their designations, but the cause for which they were established they know not. Thus concerning this, that the present feast is called Theophany -- everyone knows; but what this is -- Theophany, and whether it be one thing or another, they know not. And this is shameful -- every year to celebrate the feastday and not know its reason.
First of all therefore, it is necessary to say that there is not one Theophany, but two: the one actual, which already has occurred, and the second in future, which will happen with glory at the end of the world. About this one and about the other you will hear today from Paul, who in conversing with Titus, speaks thus about the present: "The grace of God hath revealed itself, having saved all mankind, decreeing, that we reject iniquity and worldly desires, and dwell in the present age in prudence and in righteousness and piety" -- and about the future: "awaiting the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ" (Tit 2:11-13).