* September 2 is the anniversary of the repose of Hieromonk Seraphim Rose. I plan to post extensively on Father Seraphim throughout this week.
UPDATED 9/5/2013, 6:30PM EDT
If there is any danger in venerating the saints, it is that we may become a little complacent about our heroes. But the goal of the Christian Life is not hero worship, but theosis, to become "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4), through the acquisition of the Holy Spirit.
The Christian life is always tied to the practice of it, which includes ascetical efforts (prayer, prostrations, fasting), charitable acts (almsgiving), and heeding the call to "deny oneself, take up one's cross, and follow Christ." This is what makes the saints stand out, and it is what we are to be mindful of when we venerate the saints. They show us it is possible to repent, deny ourselves, persevere, be faithful, love God, and love our neighbor. And they exhort us to follow them and join them in the heavenly realm.
For this posting during the Week of Blessed Hieromonk Seraphim of Platina, I've selected a number of special recordings to rouse us all to acts of faith. Except for Living the Orthodox Worldview, most of these are available as MP3 downloads. Play in your browser, or download to your iPod, computer or other device.
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God's Revelation to the Human Heart
MP3, Play in Browser, 1 hr, 10 min.
The introduction and first several minutes of the recording are read by a monk of St Herman Monastery, then Fr Seraphim's voice completes the recording. This is a very unique and much beloved talk of Father Seraphim's.
“When conversion takes place, the process of revelation occurs in a very simple way—a person is in need, he suffers, and then somehow the other world opens up. The more you are in suffering and difficulties and are ‘desperate’ for God, the more He is going to come to your aid, reveal Who He is and show you the way out.…”
—Fr. Seraphim Rose
What does man seek in religion, and what should he seek in it? How does God reveal Himself in order to bring man to a knowledge of the Truth? How does suffering help this revelation to occur? Fr. Seraphim Rose addressed these and other issues during a lecture at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1981. GOD’S REVELATION TO THE HUMAN HEART is a transcription of that lecture, together with the question-and-answer session that followed between Fr. Seraphim and the university students.
Drawing upon a wealth of sources—the Holy Scriptures, patristic writings, the Lives of ancient and modern saints, and accounts of persecuted Christians in today’s world—Fr. Seraphim leads the audience to the core of all Christian life: the conversion of the heart of man, which begins to burn with love for Christ and transforms one into a new being.
$5.00, 48 pages, full color cover, paperback
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CD Recording, 71 minutes
$12.00 — St Herman of Alaska Press
Transcript
Living the Orthodox Worldview is a recording of a lecture given by Fr. Seraphim Rose at the 1982 St. Herman Pilgrimage at the St. Herman Monastery in Platina California. It was the final pastoral talk of Fr. Seraphim's life, the fruit of his spiritual growth as an Orthodox Christian and his matured outlook as an Orthodox pastor. It contains many of the themes that he emphasized during the final years of his life, especially the need to have one's Orthodox Faith enter into and transform the whole of one's existence. This recording also gives ample evidence to Father Seraphim's pastoral warmth, and his gentle sense of humor.
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Signs of the End of the World
MP3 in two parts
Transcript (at Orthodox America)
This widely circulated talk from 1981 was recorded at the now famous visit Father Seraphim made to UC Santa Cruz.
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Special 3-Part Interview
The next three recordings are from Ancient Faith Radio's special series in 2007 commemorating the 25th anniversary of the repose of Blessed Hieromonk Seraphim Rose.
Kevin Allen of The Illumined Heart traveled to St Herman of Alaska Monastery in Platina, California, to interview two of Father Seraphim's spiritual sons: for segments 1 and 2, Hieromonk Damascene, Fr. Seraphim's biographer and keeper of his legacy, and for the third segment, Hieromonk Gerasim, who in 2007 was still abbott of St Herman Monastery.
Father Seraphim Rose - Spiritual Father
Part 1 of 3 — August 31, 2007 Length: 46:49
Fr. Seraphim Rose - The Man, The Struggler
Part 2 of 3 — September 01, 2007 Length: 47:30
Fr. Seraphim Rose - Prayer and Orthodox Spirituality
Part 3 of 3 — September 02, 2007 Length: 60:00
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Fr. Seraphim Rose in Greece
June 10, 2009 Length: 14:33
Over the last ten years, a great interest has arisen in Greece in the writing and life of America's own Fr. Seraphim Rose. Fr Peter Alban Heers relates how, in a country steeped for two millennia in Holy Othodoxy, Father Seraphim Rose is revered as a patristic authority.
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Heavenly Realm (Book Review)
July 19, 2010 Length: 13:59
Nicholas Chapman reviews Heavenly Realm: Lay Sermons by Fr. Seraphim Rose, published by St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood. Mr. Chapman keenly relates convergent elements in the theology and emphasis of Fr. Seraphim Rose and Fr. Alexander Schmemann, who during their ministries disagreed strongly on certain points, yet in retrospect are quite readily harmonized.
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Russian Orthodox Podcast, Episode 33
Fr. Seraphim Rose's Profound Influence on Our Times
September 5, 2010 Length 23:05
Unfortunately, this excellent podcast is only available now as an archive download from the ROCOR Podcast website. But thank God it's still available!
Download zip file for September 2010, Episodes 33-36.