“But everyone does the work assigned to Him in such a way that, by repeating by heart some psalm or passage of Scripture, he gives no opportunity or time for dangerous schemes or evil designs, or even for idle talk, as both mouth and heart are incessantly taken up with spiritual meditations.” St. John Cassian,... Continue Reading →
On Idle Talk
"One ought to say nothing against an absent brother for the purpose of slandering him, even though what is said may be true, for that is detraction." St. Basil, Letter 22. 3. 8 This, in St. Basil's instructions to monks and lay people, is a healthy reminder for all of us
He Draws Near To Our Death
"Our whole nature had to be recalled from death to life. God therefore stooped over our dead body to offer His hand, so to speak, to the creature lying there. He came near enough to death to make contact with our mortal remains, and by means of His own body provided nature with the capacity... Continue Reading →
Our Death to Death and Rising to Life
“We must therefore avoid love of glory, the sister and neighbour of arrogance, which is not far distant from its borders. Let us flee the illustrious honour of the present life as something unjust, and instead let us seek the holiness found in humility, yielding to each other as the blessed Paul admonished us: ‘Each... Continue Reading →
Do not let your wounds fester
"Do not be surprised if you fall every day and do not surrender. Stand your ground bravely. And you may be sure that your guardian angel will respect your endurance. A fresh, warm wound is easier to heal than those that are old, neglected, and festering, and that need extensive treatment, surgery, bandaging, and cauterization.... Continue Reading →
The Firstborn From The Dead
"Not only was the creation of all existent things brought about by Him [The Son of God], but that when the original creation of man had decayed and vanished away, to use his [Paul’s] own language, and another new creation was wrought in Christ, in this too no other than He took the lead, but... Continue Reading →
Death is Distraught at His Entering In
As we have celebrated the Joyous and Bright Saturday, we contemplate the liturgical poetry of St. Ephrem the Syrian. Death is conquered by the one Who enters therein! Death says, "The death of Jesus is to me a torment. I prefer for myself His life rather than His death. This is the Dead One whose... Continue Reading →
The Loosing of Lazarus and Our Release from Sin
After the Lord cries out that Lazarus arise we read, "Jesus saith unto them, Loose him and let him go." And this too is representative of the general resurrection, when, being loosed from sin and the corruption of death, every one will be set free. For, falling into sin, we have wrapped the shame of... Continue Reading →
Prayer as Participation in God
For God is indeed present to all, but all are not present to Him. But then, when we have invoked It [The Trinity], by all pure prayers and unpolluted mind, and by our aptitude towards Divine Union, we also are present to It.
He shall give His angels charge over you- Our Temptation and Christ
Commenting on Satan's temptation to Christ, "Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’ and, ‘In their... Continue Reading →
The Life-Giving Blessing: Genesis and The Eucharist
We have already seen that the first chapters of Genesis have much to teach us. In extending our dialogue to the Eucharist we move to a consideration of food, Divine food. Following Genesis: The Book of The Promise we see what is revealed about the food which God once offered to us through the law... Continue Reading →
Let us amass the riches of Repentance
"Let all of us who wish to enter the sacred gate of the holy fast erase and banish all earthly thoughts from our hearts; and let us pass the whole of it in holy fashion in good works. We fast by abstaining not from food only, but also from bitterness and malice; and from every... Continue Reading →
