Daily Meditations Archives - Page 246 of 327

Venerable John Climacus of Sinai, Author of “The Ladder”

03/30/2015

Saint John of the Ladder is honored by Holy Church as a great ascetic and author of the renowned spiritual book called THE LADDER, from which he is also called “of the Ladder” (Climacus). There is almost no information about St John’s origins. One tradition suggests that he was born in Constantinople around the year 570, and was the son of SS Xenophon and Maria (January 26). John went to Sinai when he was sixteen,

The Mystery of Christ

03/27/2015

By Fr. Antony Hughes But the Cross and Resurrection present an unprecedented challenge to us. The coming of Jesus is the invasion of Reality into our fallen world. To embrace the message of Christ means the end of delusion, the opening of new doors, the renewal of the mind. The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost punctuates the invasion even more, making it strikingly personal. Looking back I’ll bet the apostles said to themselves

New Seeds of Contemplation

03/26/2015

By Fr. Antony Hughes (Mark 10:32-45) In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ! I would love to make NEW SEEDS OF CONTEMPLATION by Thomas Merton the great Trappist monk and mystic required reading. It is a continual source of inspiration for me. I will refer to it in today’s sermon. When James and John heard Jesus tell of his

The Annunciation: Announcing the Incarnation

03/25/2015

By Father Steven Kostoff On March 25, we celebrate the Great Feast of the Annunciation to the Most Holy Theotokos. This great feast always falls during Great Lent, and when it falls on a weekday, it is the only instance during that season for which the full Eucharistic Liturgy is served for its commemoration—clearly a sign of the feast’s significance. Thus, the Annunciation is something of a festal interlude that punctuates the Eucharistic austerity of

WHEN YOU FAST: A REFLECTION ON GREAT LENT (Part II)

03/24/2015

By George Parsenios PhD A very helpful step in focusing on the inner drama of holiness is to avoid comparing ourselves with others, and the Church reminds us of this fact in various ways. On the 5th Sunday of Lent, for instance, we commemorate St. Mary of Egypt. She lived alone in the desert until she met St. Zosimas, who tells her story. We wouldn`t know anything about St. Mary, however, if St. Zosimas had

WHEN YOU FAST: A REFLECTION ON GREAT LENT (Part I)

03/23/2015

By George Parsenios PhD What appears to happen in the Passion of Christ and what actually happens are not at all the same. What appears to happen is not that extraordinary. The Romans crucified a Jewish man in order to keep public order. During their long rule over Judea, the Romans had killed many Jews, making the death of Jesus one among these many. But, only in appearance. The reality was very different. The Paschal

Three Steps to Everlasting Life (Fourth Sunday of Great Lent)

03/20/2015

By the Very Reverend Vladimir Berzonsky “For as Jonah was for three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40). On the fourth Sunday of the Great Lent the Holy Church honors the memory of St. John called Climacus, which means “The Ladder.” He’s called that because of the astounding book he

THE MEANING OF THE GREAT FAST (Part VII)

03/19/2015

By Mother Mary and Bishop Kallistos Ware We can apply this approach also to the question of abstinence from sexual relations. It has long been the Church’s teaching that during seasons of fasting married couples should try to live as brother and sister, but this does not at all signify that sexual relations within marriage are in themselves sinful. On the contrary, the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete – in which, more than

THE MEANING OF THE GREAT FAST (Part VI)

03/18/2015

By Mother Mary and Bishop Kallistos Ware The season of Lent, it should be noted, falls not in midwinter when the countryside is frozen and dead, but in spring when all things are returning to life. The English word ‘Lent’ originally had the meaning ‘springtime’; and in a text of fundamental importance the Triodion likewise describes the Great Fast as ‘springtime’: The springtime of the Fast has dawned, The flower of repentance has begun to

THE MEANING OF THE GREAT FAST (Part V)

03/17/2015

By Mother Mary and Bishop Kallistos Ware If we are to understand correctly the text of the Triodion and the spirituality that underlies it, there are five misconceptions about the Lenten fast against which we should guard. In the first place, the Lenten fast is not intended only for monks and nuns, but is enjoined on the whole Christian people. Nowhere do the Canons of the Ecumenical or Local Councils suggest that fasting is only for monks