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In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Glory to Jesus Christ, dear brothers and sisters!
First of all, my congratulations to you that you have received Holy Communion of saving Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today we have heard the Holy Liturgy and have been sanctified by the Holy Spirit to become stronger in our deed of spiritual growth. It is clear that then the trials for us increase proportionally. Because when we get more grace and do not have trials, this grace leaves us, but if we have trials, this grace will stay with us. So, do not surprise, because the time will come and we will be able to go through very difficult trials with the smile.
And the other people, who are without grace, start to tremble, to feel nervous when they have little problems. The person who stays at home and does not work, is upset and tortures himself or herself all the time, up to he/she does not go and buy some bread. It could be your parents or even you. But when the person works a lot, he has time to buy bread and to do all things and do not worry at all. So we have to grow and prepare to the near future, because people are not able any more to stand against these temptations and evil, which fall on the Earth. And that evil can gulf like storm or strong water all souls and Earth so the Earth will die.
The God's providence is the redemption of all people and Earth. And that is why the Lord, as we heard in the Gospel (Matthew.,VIII:28-34; IX:1), goes to the country of Gadarenes to sermonize. As He goes to Ukraine. And two possessed with demons came towards Him; they lived in the sinful society, which did not sanctify but desecrated only. And they took on themselves so much evil energy that had to sleep in the coffins. They were tied with chains, but they torn that chains and escaped, as it was said by other Evangelist(Luke, VIII:29),. People were afraid of them. Because if you get into their hands, you could be torn to pieces. It is like offenders, who used arms, who used knives and are racketeers. It is excessive evil.
The evil spirit enters their souls so much that it rules these souls. For example, after the Holy Liturgy you go outside; you have been sanctified, you have confessed but there is the dark energy waiting on the street to enter into someone. And it finds such people, who do not have God's protection; it enters into the person, if the person thinks about something bad, starts to wish bad to someone, or is irritated, or argues. The energy enters the person with its energy body and the person feels himself/herself badly during the first days after the quarrel, after that all. Later, this evil energy adapts in this person. The person calms somehow, but embitters on the world: "If it has happened with me, so I will act the same way, I will take vengeance." The bad energy is dissolving in the man's mind, and this man thinks that his basic nature is to be embittered, to be cruel, to be impertinent. Inch by inch he makes other sins, which are more aggressive. And it stats from any sin. It does not matter what was the reef on which the ship has stumble across: if even the little hole in the bottom has appeared, the water will come and the ship will bend on one side. And that ship becomes the old tub and you are afraid to step aboard, to sail somewhere to India, because you see that it could drown even in Dnipro river, not speaking about stormy sea. It is the same with people.
So these possessed with demons have collected so much bad energy that they ran across the fields and woods. And suddenly they ran towards Jesus. It was not written on Jesus that He was the God's Son. But they immediately recognized Him, because they felt His energy. And they felt badly near Him, they were burnt with His energy, they were hot. They started to shout: "And behold, they cried out, "What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time" So these bad spirits, fallen angels were able to go out on the Earth. And they have found the receptacle for themselves - it was human's body. If they didn't find the body, they would walk across the wood or seas and then the fallen Angel Satan would open the hatchway and drive them into the hell, where they suffered a lot. And why do they feel so badly there? What conditions do make the prisoners for each other: heavenly or hellish? Hellish.
So that bad spirits do not want to go there. And there is the logic of their request: "If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs." It was better for them to go into pigs rather then in hell. Yes? And Jesus said to them: "Go." And they went out of these two men and there were the herd of swine. All this country of Gadarenes was like a little area in big city. And these demons went into the swine. What was the reaction of swine? Were they happy? Did they start to grunt with pleasure? Or they started to scream, because they felt badly? Yes. They felt badly immediately.
When the evil spirit enters into the man, he feels awfully. Especially children feel awfully. Adults make hard energies; the energy of conflict is especially hard. And children become nervous; they sleep and get up badly. Children are brought to witches, who use magic, but witches do not drive out the evil Spirit, they adapt it to the child. Later the child grows up and this evil spirit starts to show itself. The child is naughty, if it wants something, it falls on the ground, kicks, slams the door - there is no grace in it any more. Do you understand? That is why you have to bring your children to the church, bring them here, that we pray and this grace will sanctify these children. The Holy Communion reinforces the grace. But it must be given not less that once a month and if to receive it a few times a month or every week the child will develop better, it will be calm and will be able to undergo all trials.
So, when the devils went into the swine, the swine felt themselves badly. What did they do? They started to run. Where? They ran to the sea. But the swine are clever. They are cleverer than dogs in six times, as the scientists have proved. Because it is enough for them to show some trick several times, and you have to show the same trick 5-6 times more for dogs and only then they will repeat it. So they ran and saw that there was a mountain, steep slope; they saw the sea and they understood that it will be end for them. Now, try to chase the swine away from the mountain that it jump and get smashed up; they will not do it. The swine are very clever. And there they felt themselves so badly that they were ready to jump from the steep slope. And they ran, fell from that steep slope and drowned in the sea. And that's it. Ant the herdsmen had to be happy that that two possessed with demons were healed and returned into their absolutely normal state, became people again. "Oh, we are happy that you had become people again". But they were not able to do it. They ran and told what had happened; the people came and you have heard what they said Jesus. They didn't say: "Come to us, we invite you to have dinner with us, you will sermonize." No, "They begged him to leave their region". What should Jesus do? He left hem and went on the other side of country of Gadarenes.
We have to work and to understand these things and do not accept the evil spirits in ourselves, even if we are provoked very much by evil power, which do not like us and which also ran when we build the temple. They scream: "Do not build here! Why are you building here? Do not do it! That is that Moses?" Why do they hate so much? Is it evil thing to walk along this road? Is it evil thing just to live in few plots from this old KGBists? What does rule them? The evil. And that is why they behave themselves like that. We have to understand the reason of evil and how it can rule people.
Dear brothers and sisters! We have to care that Ukraine would not become like the country of Gadarenes, which refused Jesus and told Him: "Run!" - And He will row across to the other land, to the other country and will sermonize there. So we have to recognize Him, to pray, to illuminate the hearts of other people, and not be afraid for our swine like that Gadarenens , who thought about material things, about swine and how they could not live without swine. But Lord can send much more. The aim is not to be pour. You can be rich if you love God - and that wealth will not prevent you from listening to Jesus. The Gadarenens had to feed swine but they did not listen Jesus. They had to be near swine, to listen to their grunting and to count how much money they would get for this swine or for that one and what they would do next. So what? They would smell their dung and would think like swine.
Everything is good when you follow God. If you love Lord, you will have swine, dung to manure the flowers or something else to have the crop. If it is with God, everything will be in harmony. If it is one-sided, it is bad for Ukraine. Ukraine will never become happy, even if to buy the best cars in the world. Ukraine will never become happy, if everyone will build the huge fortress on his land. We will not have love to each other; we will be afraid and hate each other. In such way Ukraine will not become the God's Kingdom. It will become the God's Kingdom when we will call Jesus Christ and will listen to Him, will try to live according to His knowledge, according to Commandments. Then our country will become the blessed God's Kingdom. And we are here for it. So, let's pray, "for where two gather in My name" - God receive our prayers.
Let's pray, may God bless, protect and lead us ahead.
Glory to Jesus Christ!
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Apostle (Romans, 10:1-10):
1Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.
2For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge
3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own,
they did not submit to God's righteousness.
4For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
5For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law,
that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.
6But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart,
'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down)
7 or "'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
8But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart"
(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);
9because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Gospel (Matthew, 8:28-9:1):
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28And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes,
two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way.
29And behold, they cried out, "What have you to do with us, O Son of God?
Have you come here to torment us before the time?"
30Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them.
31And the demons begged him, saying, "If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs."
32And he said to them, "Go." So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold,
the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters.
33The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything,
especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men.
34And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.
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1And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city.
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