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Reflections and Daily Inspiration
The Freedom Bestowed by the Cross
The Good Shepherd sacrifices His life for the sheep. The sacrifice of the Cross is His cost for calling man by name, in other words, liberating him. Liberating him from the curse of the law, from the curse of the false teachers, false prophets, who are thieves and robbers. Now man is able to move freely; to act personally; to be moved by love; to find the ecstatic love, the God who formed him; to enslave his freedom, willingly, to Him; to give his life in order to receive it (see Jn 10:18); to give it in order to save it. And there is no other way of saving one’s soul apart from losing it, for the sake of the Lord and of His Gospel: to see your life and your joy extending without end, as a blessing for all.

- Elder Vasileios  
TODAY'S RECOMMENDATION
Be the Bee #61 | What is Orthodox Christianity?

Some say Orthodox Christianity is one of the world's best kept secrets. So let's talk about what Orthodoxy is. At it's core, Orthodoxy is about the Gospel, the Good News of our new life in Christ. And there's a lot more to say, so we're going to spend a few weeks answering some of the basic questions people have about the Faith.

FROM THE NEWS
SAINT OF THE DAY
The Holy Martyr Sabbas Stratelates (“the General”) of Rome (272)

This glorious Sabbas lived in Rome during the reign of Emperor
Aurelian and held the rank of general. By ancestry, he was of a Gothic tribe. He often visited Christians in prison and assisted them from his own estate. Because of his great purity and fasting, God gave him authority over unclean spirits. When Sabbas was accused of being a Christian, he courageously stood before the emperor, threw down his military belt, and openly confessed Christ the Lord. Sabbas was tortured in various ways: he was flogged, scraped with iron claws, and burned with candles. He did not succumb to these deadly tortures but appeared alive and healthy. His military companions, seeing that God was obviously helping him, embraced the Christian Faith, and seventy of them were immediately beheaded by order of the emperor. Christ the Lord Himself appeared in a great light to St. Sabbas in prison and encouraged His martyr. After that, Sabbas was condemned to death by drowning. He was thrown into a deep river, where he gave up his soul to God in the year 272. His soul went to the Lord, to Whom he had remained faithful through many tortures.