The Transfer of the Holy Relics of the Holy Great Martyr Theodore Tyro
Romans 1:18-27; Matthew 5:20-26
Read Romans 1:18-27
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
Every time I administer the Holy Mystery of the Anointing of the Sick, I am struck by one line from the prayer found in the service when the open Gospel book is placed on the head of the one being anointed. The line, which is from Ezekiel 33:11, is as follows: “God does not desire the death of a sinner but rather that he repent and live.”
God, in His inexhaustible love for us, desires that we constantly draw closer and closer to Him in our lives. God will never condone our sins which draw us away from Him and lead us into oblivion.
God, our Heavenly Father and Creator, has given us free will to choose the good. We are called by God to choose the good for the good leads us to Him. He will not force us to choose the good, to love Him, or to serve Him. It is up to us to choose the good so that it may draw us nearer to God rather than the evil that pulls us farther and farther away from Him.