Paradise Archives - Page 7 of 9

Great and Holy Friday. Condemned by a tree, Saved by the Tree

04/14/2017

When Jesus had received the vinegar, He said, ”It is finished”; and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. John 19:30 (Gospel of the Ninth Hour on Good Friday Morning) In Genesis, we read that God created the world in “seven days.” We also know that God’s time doesn’t move according to our concept of time. So, the world wasn’t created in seven “literal” days, meaning seven 24-hour periods of time. Specific things

Monday of the Sixth Week of Lent. The Passover in the Old and New Testaments

04/03/2017

Since it was the day of Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with Him; but when they came to Jesus and saw that

Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent. Salvation is Possible Until the Very Last Moment, But Don’t Wait

03/31/2017

One of the criminals who were hanged, railed at Him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, ”Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And He

Friday of Cheese-fare. Behold, I Am the Handmaiden of the Lord

02/24/2017

And Mary said, ”Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38 (Gospel of the Feast of the Annunciation-March 25) If you were to divide the history of the world into chapters, the first chapter would be about the Creation of the World. In this chapter, the human race lived in complete harmony with its Creator, in an almost “god-like” state. The second chapter would

The Fourth Day of Christmas. We Have to Take the Same Journey

12/28/2016

Now when the magi had departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy Him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This

The Fourth Day of Christmas Advent. St. Ephraim the Syrian: If he was not flesh (Part II).

11/18/2016

St. Ephraim the Syrian: If he was not flesh . . . And if he was not God . . . If he was not flesh, who wept at Lazarus’ grave? And if he was not God, who by his command brought out one four days dead? If he was not flesh, who sat on the foal? And if he was not God, whom did the crowds go out to meet with glory? If he

The Beauty of God

08/17/2016

Western culture, having spread all over the world, has become so stretched, so cut off from the depths, that it lacks the strength to contain this great upsurge of life and enlighten it. Today it wavers between speculative high refinement and chaos. Only a renewed Christianity can open the ways of beauty. For beauty is one of the divine Names, perhaps the most forgotten, and the seal of the Well-Beloved on creation: ‘Set me as

Mary-Mother of God (Part I)

08/10/2016

GOD’S KENOTIC LOVE St. Paul had grasped the essence of God’s self-giving love as a kenosis, an emptying. That Greek word contains a great mystery for us. God’s outpouring did not begin only on the Cross when He, whose state was divine, did not cling “to His equality with God but emptied Himself to assume the condition of a slave … even to accepting death, death on a cross…” (Ph 2:6-8). God’s kenosis began when

REAL PEACE (Part VI)

06/22/2016

“So when we examine ourselves and discover that our behavior is similar to that of Christ, we can rejoice,” Fr. Maximos continued. “Otherwise we should humble ourselves. Never justify ourselves. Whoever tries to justify himself or herself will never reach metanoia.” “How does one humble oneself?” Maria wondered. “Thank God there are plenty of opportunities in our everyday life to humble ourselves! The more difficulties we have in life, the greater the opportunities for humility.”

Keeping Death before our Eyes Every Day (Part I)

06/21/2016

Keeping Death before Our Eyes Every Day In his Rule St. Benedict advises the monks to keep death before their eyes every day. In saying this, he summarizes what we are told in numerous stories about the monks: they lived in the awareness of their death. This makes them inwardly more vital and focused. Thinking about death liberated them from all fear. Thus a young monk asks an elder: “Why am I seized by fear

Archive

Great and Holy Friday. Condemned by a tree, Saved by the Tree

Monday of the Sixth Week of Lent. The Passover in the Old and New Testaments

Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent. Salvation is Possible Until the Very Last Moment, But Don’t Wait

Friday of Cheese-fare. Behold, I Am the Handmaiden of the Lord

The Fourth Day of Christmas. We Have to Take the Same Journey

The Fourth Day of Christmas Advent. St. Ephraim the Syrian: If he was not flesh (Part II).

The Beauty of God

Mary-Mother of God (Part I)

REAL PEACE (Part VI)

Keeping Death before our Eyes Every Day (Part I)

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