Blest are the single-hearted; for they shall see God. Blest are the peacemakers; they shall be called children of God. [Matt. 5:6-91 The opportunities for satisfying the hunger for holiness are immediately at hand if we are sensitive to the needs of others. Every now and then we are prompted to offer some kind of assistance at considerable cost to ourselves. This offer has to be appropriate to our state of life; at the same
Numerous are the passages which tell us about watchfulness, thus securing it scripturally. We shall refer to a few selectively. There is a passage in the Old Testament which is a true neptic treasure: “Take heed to thyself that there be not a secret thing in thine heart, an iniquity …”(1). Attention to yourself, fathoming inside the abyss of your heart to the extreme limits of your conscious or unconscious personality is the manifestation, practice
By Melinda Johnson Bargaining with God in prayer is such a common human behavior that it’s part of our culture. How many times have you seen a character in a movie, hands clasped, drenched in tears, promising, “God, if you will just [fill in the blank], I promise you I’ll never [fill in the blank] again!” Scenes like this appear in novels too, and many of us have caught ourselves doing something like this in
The Love of Enemies The theologians of violence forget the Beatitudes. The theologians of non-violence forget that history consists of tragedies. But amongst the violence of history, it is the duty of Christians to manifest the love of enemies, which is the strength of Christ himself. The love of enemies, exercised in the most extreme circumstances, is the only cure for our political neurosis, the desire to escape one’s own death while projecting it on
There is a false form of honesty that suggests that nothing should remain hidden and that everything should be said, expressed and communicated. This honesty can be very harmful, and if it does not harm, it at least makes the relationship flat, superficial, empty and often very boring. When we try to shake off our loneliness by creating a milieu without limiting boundaries, we may become entangled in a stagnating closeness. It is our vocation
The three logismoi of the intellectual realm are the thirst for glory, envy, and pride (hybris). Thirst for glory is constant boasting in the presence of others. One does everything purely to be seen by people. Evagrius puts it this way: “The thought of the thirst for glory is a truly difficult companion. He likes to come forth in persons who desire to live virtuously. He awakens a desire in them to tell others how
By Seraphim Danckaert Meaningful spiritual guidance is not always easy to find, especially nowadays. St. Paul reminds us: “For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers,” (1 Corinthians 4:15). Yet, within the Church, God has called forth true spiritual fathers in all epochs and places. These fathers, like St. Paul before them, beget us anew through the Gospel, and call us to salvation in Christ Jesus.
In the Orthodox Church it is customary, on the day following the Great Feasts of the Lord and the Mother of God, to remember those saints who participated directly in the sacred event. So, on the day following the Theophany of the Lord, the Church honors the one who participated directly in the Baptism of Christ, placing his own hand upon the head of the Savior. St John, the holy Forerunner and Baptist of the
By Father John Breck On January 6, Christians of Western tradition (Roman Catholics and Protestants) commemorate the Epiphany or manifestation of the newborn Christ to the Magi. To Orthodox Christians, this day celebrates the Theophany or revelation of the Holy Trinity, not at Christ’s birth, but at his baptism in the Jordan River. It marks a significant interruption in the sequence of Scripture passages read at this time of year, by inserting the baptismal scene
The Fiery Furnace As WELL AS BEING THE SCENE of a theophany, the fiery furnace is persistently referred to as a type of the Virgin Birth: The furnace moist with dew was the image and figure of a wonder beyond nature. For it burnt not the Children whom it had received, even as the fire of the Godhead consumed not the Virgins womb into which it had descended. Therefore let us sing in praise: Let
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