{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Homily - St. Gregory Palamas Sunday","description":" Humans are created with an innate capacity to revel in God\u2019s glory, much like feeling the brief warmth of the sun after a long winter. This was intended to be our constant state, but we chose a different path. Yet, we still experience fleeting moments of transcendence\u2014times of special warmth, belonging, and comfort that can arise in church, through music, gardening, or savoring well-earned rest after a hard day\u2019s work. These moments stir something deep within us, a spiritual sense that hints at the divine. But we must ask: who is the God we encounter in these moments? Feelings, even spiritual ones, can deceive us just as our other senses do. Taste, meant to sustain us, has been twisted by culture into cravings for unhealthy foods that harm rather than nourish. Likewise, the pleasure of sex, designed to unite married couples and create families, has been perverted into experiences like pornography and extramarital affairs that erode true intimacy. So too, our spiritual sense can be manipulated by pride or a deceptive culture, leading us to relish experiences that feel good but draw us away from the true God toward spiritual ruin. The Orthodox Church, especially through Great Lent, offers a remedy to refine this spiritual sense. Fasting and denying cravings, almsgiving from a simplified life, frequent repentance like St. Ephraim\u2019s prayer, and earnest worship prepare us for the transcendent celebration of Christ\u2019s Resurrection. St. Gregory Palamas affirmed we can encounter God\u2019s grace through these practices, but he warned of false experiences that mislead. The Church trains us to discern the true God\u2014who loves and saves\u2014from idols of our own making or the world\u2019s fleeting promises. One day, we will all meet Him; let us prepare now to know Him truly.     ","author_name":"OrthoAnalytika","author_url":"http:\/\/orthoanalytika.libsyn.com","html":"