31 October 2020

The Christian Faith

The Christian faith has only one object: the mystery of Christ dead and risen. But this unique mystery subsists under different modes: it is prefigured in the Old Testament, it is accomplished historically in the earthly life of Christ, it is contained in mystery in the sacraments, it is lived mystically in souls, it is accomplished socially in the Church, it is consummated eschatologically in the Heavenly Kingdom. Thus the Christian has at his disposition several registers, a multi-dimensional symbolism, to express this unique reality. The whole of Christian culture consists in grasping the links that exist between Bible and Liturgy, Gospel and Eschatology, Mysticism and Liturgy. The application of this method to Scripture is called spiritual exegesis; applied to liturgy it is called mystagogy. This consists in reading in the rites the mystery of Christ, and in contemplating beneath the symbols the invisible reality.

                    Jean Daniélou

 30 October 2020

Other Cries of Faith

Every time you meet another human being, you have the opportunity. It's a chance at holiness. For you will do one of two things. Either you build her up, or you will tear her down. You will create, or you will destroy. And the things you dignify or deny are God's. They are made, each one of them, in God's own image... Turn your face truly to the human before you and let her shine.

                    Walt Wangerin, Jr.

 28 October 2020

On Good Deeds

The most precious crown is reserved in heaven for those who do all that they do as zealously as possible: for to do good deeds in not enough by itself; we must do them well.

              Saint Ignatius of Loyola

 27 October 2020

On Serving Others

To serve others, I need gentleness, humility, abjection, and charity. In every sick person I should see, not a human being, but Jesus, and so should show him respect, love, compassion, joy, and gratitude at being able to serve him, zeal and gentleness. I should serve the sick as I do the poor, making myself do the lowliest services for them all, as Jesus washed the apostles’ feet. I must tolerate the presence of evil people, as long as their wickedness is not corrupting others — as Jesus tolerated Judas.

        Blessed Charles De Foucauld (1858-1916)

 26 October 2020

Time to be Silent

When you feel the assaults of passion and anger, then is the time to be silent as Jesus was silent in the midst of His ignominies and sufferings. O holy silence, rich in great virtues! O holy silence, which is a key of gold, keeping in safety the great treasure of holy virtues!

                Saint Paul of the Cross (1694-1775)

 25 October 2020

On Reparation

Trials and tribulations offer us a chance to make reparation for our past faults and sins. On such occasions the Lord comes to us like a physician to heal the wounds left by our sins. Tribulation is the divine medicine.

               Saint Augustine

 24 October 2020

Meditate on the Words of God

Meditate daily on the words of your Creator. Learn the Heart of God in the words of God, that your soul may be enkindled with greater longings for heavenly joys.

             Saint Gregory the Great (c. 540-604)

23 October 2020

The Mystery of Repentance

The mystery of repentance is the greatest and most blessed mystery, which prepares us perfectly beforehand for Heaven…There is no sin on earth which is unforgivable for the person who will repent, and for the God of love Who receives him.

                 Elder Ephraim of Philotheou

 22 October 2020

Hear the Word of God

The nature of water is yielding, and that of a stone is hard. Yet, if you hang a bottle filled with water above the stone, so that the water drips drop by drop, it will wear a hole in the stone. In the same way, the Word of God is tender and our heart is hard. So, when people hear the word of God frequently, their hearts are opened to God.

             Saint Poeman (c. 340 – c. 450)

 21 October 2020

Our Appetite for Sin

All of the Israelites left Egypt, but in the desert many of them had second thoughts and wanted to return. In the same way, some resolve to avoid sin, but they look back at Sodom even while fleeing it. They give up their sins, but go right on talking about them, desiring them. If you want to live a devout life, you are not only required to stop sinning but also to lose your appetite for it.

                   Saint Francis de Sales

 20 October 2020

To Become Holy

Every Christian should find for himself the imperative and incentive to become holy. If you live without struggle and without hope of becoming holy, then you are Christians only in name and not in essence. But without holiness, no one shall see the Lord, that is to say they will not attain eternal blessedness. It is a trustworthy saying that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). But we deceive ourselves if we think that we are saved while remaining sinners. Christ saves those sinners by giving them the means to become saints.

               Saint Philaret of Moscow (1782-1867)

 19 October 2020

The Psalms

The psalms have also a wonderful power to awaken in our hearts the desire for every virtue. Athanasius says: ‘Though all Scripture, both old and new, is divinely inspired and has its use in teaching, as we read in Scripture itself, yet the Book of Psalms, like a garden enclosing the fruits of all the other books, produces its fruits in song, and in the process of singing brings forth its own special fruits to take their place beside them.’ In the same place Athanasius rightly adds: ‘The psalms seem to me to be like a mirror, in which the person using them can see himself, and the stirrings of his own heart; he can recite them against the background of his own emotions.’

                 Saint Pius X (1835-1914)

 18 October 2020

Spiritual Communion

Spiritual communion is highly beneficial; through it you can recollect yourselves in the same way after Mass, for the love of this Lord is thereby deeply impressed on the soul. If we prepare ourselves to receive Him, He never fails to give in many ways we do not understand.

                       Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

 17 October 2020

The Bible

The Bible is a scented garden, delightful, beautiful, it enchants our ears with birdsong in a sweet, divine, and spiritual harmony, it touches our heart, comforts us in sorrow, soothes us in a moment of anger, and fills us with eternal joy.

                      Saint John of Damascus

 16 October 2020

On Prayer

Why in our fear of not praying as we should, do we turn to so many things, to find what we should pray for? Why do we not say instead, in the words of the psalm: I have asked one thing from the Lord, this is what I will seek: to dwell in the Lord’s house all the days of my life, to see the graciousness of the Lord, and to visit his temple. There, the days do not come and go in succession, and the beginning of one day does not mean the end of another; all days are one, simultaneously and without end, and the life lived out in these days has itself no end.

So that we might obtain this life of happiness, he who is true life itself taught us to pray, not in many words as though speaking longer could gain us a hearing. After all, we pray to one who, as the Lord himself tells us, knows what we need before we ask for it.

Why he should ask us to pray, when he knows what we need before we ask him, may perplex us if we do not realize that our Lord and God does not want to know what we want (for he cannot fail to know it) but wants us rather to exercise our desire through our prayers, so that we may be able to receive what he is preparing to give us. His gift is very great indeed, but our capacity is too small and limited to receive it. That is why we are told: Enlarge your desires, do not bear the yoke with unbelievers.

The deeper our faith, the stronger our hope, the greater our desire, the larger will be our capacity to receive that gift, which is very great indeed. No eye has seen it; it has no color. No ear has heard it; it has no sound. It has not entered man’s heart; man’s heart must enter into it.

In this faith, hope and love we pray always with unwearied desire. However, at set times and seasons we also pray to God in words, so that by these signs we may instruct ourselves and mark the progress we have made in our desire, and spur ourselves on to deepen it. The more fervent the desire, the more worthy will be its fruit. When the Apostle tells us: Pray without ceasing, he mans this: Desire unceasingly that life of happiness which is nothing if not eternal, and ask it of him who alone is able to give it.

                    Saint Augustine (354-430)

 15 October 2020

The Divine Scriptures

I desire and exhort my brethren to show all possible respect to the Divine Scriptures wherever they see them, and if they should be found in any improper place, or scattered about in a disrespectful manner, let them collect and put them in a becoming place as far as possible, in order to show reverence to the words of the Lord. For many things are sanctified by the Word of God, and the mystery of the Adorable Sacrament of the Altar is accomplished by the power of the words of Jesus Christ.

                      Saint Francis of Assisi (1181–1226)

 14 October 2020

On Holy Scriptures

In all things that you find in the Holy Scriptures, seek out the purpose of the words, that you may enter into the depth of the thoughts of the saints and understand them with greater exactness. Do not approach the reading of the Divine Scriptures without prayer and asking the help of God. Consider prayer to be the key to the true understanding of that which is said in the Holy Scriptures.

                  Saint Isaac of Syria (Seventh Century)

 13 October 2020

Our Struggle Against Sin

Our effort and struggle against sin is powerless without the help of God. For this reason we must make an effort and pray, that the Lord help us in this so important an endeavor. The Lord helps those that take care and labor. He strengthens those that struggle and crowns the victorious.

                       Saint Tikhon (1724-1783)

 12 October 2020

Life Up the Heart

Following the greeting, “The Lord be with you,” which you know so well, you heard the words, “Lift up your heart.” Now the whole life of true Christians is a matter of lifting up the heart. To lift up the heart is a duty of Christians who are such in very fact and not in name alone. To lift up the heart — what does this mean? It means that you must trust in God, not in yourself since God is so superior to you. When you trust in yourself, your heart stays fettered to the Earth, not fixed on God. So when you hear the priest say, “Lift up your heart,” you respond, “We have lifted it up to the Lord.” See to it, then, that your response rings true,

                       Saint Augustine

11 October 2020

Behold Christ Crucified

Behold Jesus Christ crucified, Who is the only foundation of our hope; He is our Mediator and Advocate; the victim and sacrifice for our sins. He is goodness and patience itself; His mercy is moved by the tears of sinners, and He never refuses pardon and grace to those who ask it with a truly contrite and humbled heart.

                Saint Charles Borromeo (1538-1584)

 10 October 2020

Travelers on a Journey Back to Eden

Our Lord’s words teach us that though we labor among the many distractions of this world, we should have but one goal. For we are but travelers on a journey without as yet a fixed abode; we are on our way, not yet in our native land; we are in a state of longing, not yet of enjoyment. But let us continue on our way, and continue without sloth or respite, so that we may ultimately arrive at our destination.

 

                 Saint Augustine

 9 October 2020

Trials and Prayer

The current pandemic is a serious challenge that gives us the opportunity to see the power of prayer and requires us to exacerbate personal spiritual deeds in order to deliver our people from the destructive [virus]. From every test, and from the current one, there are two [results]: either a person will be broken inside, losing faith and hope in God's help, or will come out of the situation strengthened with the realization that everything is happening according to the Almighty's will.

                              Patriarch Kirill of Moscow

 8 October 2020

Giving to One in Need

If you give something to one in need, let the cheerfulness of your face precede your gift, and comfort his sorrow with kind words. When you do this, by your gift the gladness of his mind surpasses even the needs of his body.

                     Saint Isaac of Syria

 7 October 2020

Patient in Suffering

Everyone who loves God shows himself patient and steadfast in times of suffering. Whoever bears them bravely becomes strong and obedient to God, and whoever enters the path of following the will of God conquers his natural weakness. On the other hand, whoever does not recognize his own powerlessness is proud and not inclined to submit himself to the will of the Lord. Whoever does not submit to it and hopes only in his own power does not receive the power and help of God and, not having been strengthened in spirit, cannot become patient. But whoever does not endure misfortune and afflictions has not faith, and whoever does not have faith, does not love God.

                       St. Alexis of Senaki

 6 October 2020

Our Will and the Will of God

Here is the luminous teaching of our Savior: Thy will be done. (Matt. 6:10). Whoever sincerely pronounces this prayer leaves his own will and puts all things in the will of God. But the will inspired by the demons consists is self-justification and trust in ourselves, and then they easily subject a man who receives this sort of thought.

                    St. Barsanuphius

 5 October 2020

Music in the Church

When music replaces the Gospel and the Sacraments as the perceived means of grace in a Christian congregation, the Word of God is marginalized, the faith of the hearers is put at risk (as they are drawn from sure foundation of the proclamation of Christ to the sinking sand of human activity), the understanding of ministry itself is confused, and division is assured.

                           Phillip Magness

 4 October 2020

We Have Only One Enemy

It is joyful to feel that we do not and cannot have any enemies among men, but only unhappy brethren, who are deserving of pity and help, even when, through misunderstanding, they become our enemies and fight against us. Woe! They do not understand that the enemy is found within ourselves, and that first of all one must cast him out of oneself, and then also help others to do the same. We have only one enemy: the devil and his evil spirits. But man, no matter how far he has fallen, never loses certain sparks of light and goodness which may be blown into a bright flame. But for us there is no reason to fight against people, even when they consistently send against all kind of blows and rebukes ... To fight against people is to take a false position of our enemies. Even if we succeed, we gain nothing from this fight, but rather become estranged from our own success.

Martyr Roman Medved, Letter to His Daughter from the Gulag, 1932

3 October 2020

On Holy Scripture

In all things that you find in the Holy Scriptures, seek out the purpose of the words, that you may enter into the depth of the thoughts of the saints and understand them with greater exactness. Do not approach the reading of the Divine Scriptures without prayer and asking the help of God. Consider prayer to be the key to the true understanding of that which is said in the Holy Scriptures.

                             St. Isaac the Syrian

2 October 2020

On Service to Our Neighbors

In my view there is nothing so frigid as a Christian who does not care about the salvation of others. It is useless to plead poverty in this respect, for the poor widow who put two copper coins in the treasury will be your accuser. So will Peter who said, 'Silver and gold have I none,' and indeed Paul was so poor that he often went hungry and without the basic necessities of life. Nor can I plead humble birth because the apostles were of humble origin and from obscure families. You cannot claim lack of education because they too were illiterate. And do not plead sickness because Timothy suffered poor health and was often ill. All of us can be of service to our neighbor if only we exercise our responsibilities.

              John Chrysostom

1 October 2020

On the Church

When are we living in Christ? When we live according to His Gospel and His Church. For He Himself, and not only His Gospel, is in the Church with all of His perfections and virtues. The Church is the eternally living Body of the God-man Christ. In her we find the medium of the holy mysteries. In her we find the means of holy good deeds. Our Lord Jesus Christ abides inseparable from the Church in this world. He abides with each member of the Church throughout all ages. He has His entire self for us in the Church, and continually gives Himself to us entirely, so that we might be enabled to live in this world as He lived.

                    St. Justin Popovich