My beloved children in Christ, may the grace of our Christ be with you and may the holy prayers of my holy father Joseph guard you powerfully in my absence, since the spiritual union in Christ of a good disciple with his Elder is never broken.
My dear children, who fill my wretched soul with fragrance, remember the words which I spoke to you when I was with you, for when you remember my words and keep them, you are under spiritual obedience, the best type of obedience. And one who has such obedience becomes like Christ Jesus, because Christ became obedient unto death, even death on a cross, wherefore His Father has exalted Him and given Him the name Jesus, and at the name of Jesus all the powers of darkness shudder and tremble (Phil. 2:8 ).
He who has obedience already in this life lives the life of the Spirit, which will be continued even after death, unto the ages of ages. Let us reflect that we were not crucified for our Christ, our Savior, but He for us monsters suffered the Cross, the Cross for the sake of obedience.
Elder Ephraim of Arizona
