30 September 2021 Praying For Bad People
If
you see a man who has sinned and you do not pity him, the grace of God will
leave you. Whoever curses bad people, and does not pray for them, will never
come to know the grace of God.
Saint Silouan the Athonite (1866-1938)
29 September 2021 Self Examination
Examine yourself to see whether you have within you a strong sense of your own self importance, or negatively, whether you have failed to realize that you are nothing. This feeling of self-importance is deeply hidden, but it controls the whole of our life. Its first demand is that everything should be as we wish it, and as soon as this is not so we complain to God and are annoyed with people.
Saint Theophane the Recluse (1815-1894)
Examine yourself to see whether you have within you a strong sense of your own self importance, or negatively, whether you have failed to realize that you are nothing. This feeling of self-importance is deeply hidden, but it controls the whole of our life. Its first demand is that everything should be as we wish it, and as soon as this is not so we complain to God and are annoyed with people.
Saint Theophane the Recluse (1815-1894)
28 September 2021 Gift of Prayer and the Holy
Spirit
The reference to the gift of the Holy Spirit is rather unexpected in Luke 11:13. By it Jesus reminds us that the gift of prayer is connected with the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of prayer, the Spirit of grace and supplication (Zech 12:10). Even though people were created for prayer, it does not come naturally to fallen humanity. It is part of God's new creation by his life-giving Spirit. Both in our worship (Gal. 3:3; cf. John 4:23) and in our praying (Eph. 6:18; cf. Romans 8:15; Gal. 4:6), we need to be led by the Holy Spirit. So to overcome our inability to pray properly, Christ not only gives us his prayer; he also gives us the power to address his heavenly Father as his dear children by pouring out his Spirit in our hearts. The Spirit then helps to articulate our hidden needs and prompts us in what we say. Since we don't know how to pray, he takes over from us and intercedes within us by getting us to pour out our hearts to God (Rom 8:26-27). When we pray we don't just join in with Jesus who carries us along with himself; we go along with the Holy Spirit who moves within us and leads us with Jesus to God the Father.
The reference to the gift of the Holy Spirit is rather unexpected in Luke 11:13. By it Jesus reminds us that the gift of prayer is connected with the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of prayer, the Spirit of grace and supplication (Zech 12:10). Even though people were created for prayer, it does not come naturally to fallen humanity. It is part of God's new creation by his life-giving Spirit. Both in our worship (Gal. 3:3; cf. John 4:23) and in our praying (Eph. 6:18; cf. Romans 8:15; Gal. 4:6), we need to be led by the Holy Spirit. So to overcome our inability to pray properly, Christ not only gives us his prayer; he also gives us the power to address his heavenly Father as his dear children by pouring out his Spirit in our hearts. The Spirit then helps to articulate our hidden needs and prompts us in what we say. Since we don't know how to pray, he takes over from us and intercedes within us by getting us to pour out our hearts to God (Rom 8:26-27). When we pray we don't just join in with Jesus who carries us along with himself; we go along with the Holy Spirit who moves within us and leads us with Jesus to God the Father.
John W Kleinig
24 September 2021 On Blessings
Let us put into practice the supreme and primary law of God. He sends down rain on just and sinful alike, and causes the sun to rise on all without distinction. To all earth’s creatures he has given the broad earth, the springs, the rivers and the forests. He has given the air to the birds, and the waters to those who live in the water. He has given abundantly to all the basic needs of life, not as a private possession, not restricted by law, not divided by boundaries, but as common to all, amply and in rich measure. His gifts are not deficient in any way, because he wanted to give equality of blessing to equality of worth, and to show the abundance of his generosity.
Saint Gregory Nazianzen (329-c. 391)
Let us put into practice the supreme and primary law of God. He sends down rain on just and sinful alike, and causes the sun to rise on all without distinction. To all earth’s creatures he has given the broad earth, the springs, the rivers and the forests. He has given the air to the birds, and the waters to those who live in the water. He has given abundantly to all the basic needs of life, not as a private possession, not restricted by law, not divided by boundaries, but as common to all, amply and in rich measure. His gifts are not deficient in any way, because he wanted to give equality of blessing to equality of worth, and to show the abundance of his generosity.
Saint Gregory Nazianzen (329-c. 391)
23 September 2021 Access to God
St. Paul states in Rom. 5:2: 'We have obtained access to God in faith'—not through ourselves but 'through Christ.' Therefore we must bring Christ, come with Him, pay God with Him, and carry out all our dealings with God through Him and with Him. This is what St. Peter means here. He wants to say: We are looking forward with certainty to life, even though we are still on earth. But we owe all this to Christ’s resurrection from the dead, to His ascension into heaven, and to the fact that He sits at the right hand of God. For He ascended into heaven to bestow His Spirit on us, to give us a new birth, and to give us the courage to come to the Father and say: 'Behold, I come before you and pray, not in reliance on my petition, but my Lord Christ represents me and is my Intercessor.' These are all words of fire where there is a heart that believes. Otherwise everything is cold and does not go to the heart.
Martin Luther
St. Paul states in Rom. 5:2: 'We have obtained access to God in faith'—not through ourselves but 'through Christ.' Therefore we must bring Christ, come with Him, pay God with Him, and carry out all our dealings with God through Him and with Him. This is what St. Peter means here. He wants to say: We are looking forward with certainty to life, even though we are still on earth. But we owe all this to Christ’s resurrection from the dead, to His ascension into heaven, and to the fact that He sits at the right hand of God. For He ascended into heaven to bestow His Spirit on us, to give us a new birth, and to give us the courage to come to the Father and say: 'Behold, I come before you and pray, not in reliance on my petition, but my Lord Christ represents me and is my Intercessor.' These are all words of fire where there is a heart that believes. Otherwise everything is cold and does not go to the heart.
Martin Luther
22 September 2021 Loving God
We are to love God, then, because he loved us first. [1 Jn 4:19] The Passion on Calvary is a supreme declaration of love. It was to redeem us that you suffered so much, O Jesus. The least of your acts has infinite worth, since it is one of God’s acts, and would have been more than ample enough to redeem a thousand worlds, to redeem all possible worlds. But you suffered so much because you wanted to make us holy, to bear our burdens and to draw us into loving you freely. Loving is the most powerful way to attract love, loving is the most powerful way to make oneself loved. It is impossible for us to love him and not imitate him, to love him and not want to be the way he was, do what he did, suffer and die in torment because he suffered and died in torment. It is impossible to love him and want to be crowned with roses when he was crowned with thorns. We must love him as he has loved us.
Blessed Charles de Foucauld (1858-1916)
We are to love God, then, because he loved us first. [1 Jn 4:19] The Passion on Calvary is a supreme declaration of love. It was to redeem us that you suffered so much, O Jesus. The least of your acts has infinite worth, since it is one of God’s acts, and would have been more than ample enough to redeem a thousand worlds, to redeem all possible worlds. But you suffered so much because you wanted to make us holy, to bear our burdens and to draw us into loving you freely. Loving is the most powerful way to attract love, loving is the most powerful way to make oneself loved. It is impossible for us to love him and not imitate him, to love him and not want to be the way he was, do what he did, suffer and die in torment because he suffered and died in torment. It is impossible to love him and want to be crowned with roses when he was crowned with thorns. We must love him as he has loved us.
Blessed Charles de Foucauld (1858-1916)
21 September 2021
Good Contemplation
Good Contemplation
You
will note that the Lord establishes as the prime good contemplation, that is
the gaze turned in the direction of the things of God. Hence we say that the other virtues, however
useful and good we may say they are, must nevertheless be put on a secondary
level, since they are all practiced for the sake of this one. ‘You are full of worry and are upset over
many things when actually it should be over a few or even one.’ In saying this the Lord locates the primary
good not in activity, however praiseworthy, however abundantly fruitful, but in
the truly simple and unified contemplation of Himself. He says that not much is needed for perfect
blessedness. He means here that type of
contemplation which is primarily concerned with the example of a few saints. Contemplating these, someone still on the
upward road comes at last to that which is unique, namely the sight of God
Himself, which comes with God’s help.
Having passed beyond the activities and the ministry of holy men he will
live solely on the beauty and the knowledge of God. ‘Mary therefore chose the good part and it
will not be taken away from her.’ But
one must look carefully at this. In
saying ‘Mary chose the good part,’ He was saying nothing about Martha and in no
way was He giving the appearance of criticizing her. Still, by praising the one He was saying that
the other one was a step below her.
Again, by saying ‘it will not be taken away from her’ He was showing
that Martha’s role could be taken away from her, since the service of the body
can only last as long as the human being is there, whereas the zeal of Mary can
never end.
John Cassian (c. 360-435)
John Cassian (c. 360-435)
20 September 2021
In the Presence of God
Sit in the presence of the Lord every moment of your life, as you think of him and remember him in your heart. Otherwise, when you only see him after a period of time, you will lack freedom of converse with him, out of shame; for great freedom of converse is born out of constant association with him.
Saint Isaac of Syria
In the Presence of God
Sit in the presence of the Lord every moment of your life, as you think of him and remember him in your heart. Otherwise, when you only see him after a period of time, you will lack freedom of converse with him, out of shame; for great freedom of converse is born out of constant association with him.
Saint Isaac of Syria
18 September 2021
On Prayers
Your own
prayers…
Saint Theophan the Recluse
17 September 2021
On Divine Involvement
We believe that everything that happens is done with divine involvement. But if some think it's enough to pray and God will do everything for me, it's a deep misconception. Because God will never indulge in laziness, sloppiness, indifference, idle pastime, but God will always succeed in human efforts under two circumstances and two conditions: if it's real effort and if by doing this effort, a man does not attribute everything to himself, but turns to God with prayer and conscious of its limitedness, asks the Lord to help.
On Divine Involvement
We believe that everything that happens is done with divine involvement. But if some think it's enough to pray and God will do everything for me, it's a deep misconception. Because God will never indulge in laziness, sloppiness, indifference, idle pastime, but God will always succeed in human efforts under two circumstances and two conditions: if it's real effort and if by doing this effort, a man does not attribute everything to himself, but turns to God with prayer and conscious of its limitedness, asks the Lord to help.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow
14 September 2021
Holy Cross DayWith special reason, she [the church] celebrates the feast now at the beginning of autumn; the Cross is 'raised' against the rising darkness, a symbol of the might of hell. The Church wishes to 'raise the sign of the Son of Man' which will appear at His Second Coming (awaiting the parousia is thematic to the Church's Harvest Time). The feast belongs to the most ancient legacies of the liturgy and should be accorded greater attention.
Pius Parsch (1884 - 1954)
12 September 2021
Living By the Spirit
Your brother does not cease to be your brother because he slips or offends you; that is when he has most need of your love. Loving your neighbor as yourself means that you should not obey the sinful nature, which, when it is offended, hates and bites and devours. Rather, you should wrestle against it by the Spirit and continue loving your neighbor, although you find nothing worthy of love in him. Our righteousness is much more abundant than our sin, because the holiness and righteousness of Christ our Mediator far exceeds the sin of the whole world, and the forgiveness of sins that we have through him is so great that it easily swallows up all our sins, so long as we live by the Spirit.
Martin Luther
Living By the Spirit
Your brother does not cease to be your brother because he slips or offends you; that is when he has most need of your love. Loving your neighbor as yourself means that you should not obey the sinful nature, which, when it is offended, hates and bites and devours. Rather, you should wrestle against it by the Spirit and continue loving your neighbor, although you find nothing worthy of love in him. Our righteousness is much more abundant than our sin, because the holiness and righteousness of Christ our Mediator far exceeds the sin of the whole world, and the forgiveness of sins that we have through him is so great that it easily swallows up all our sins, so long as we live by the Spirit.
Martin Luther
11 September 2021
On the Tree of Knowledge
It was not in order to see outward things that “their eyes were opened,” because they could see such things already. It was in order that they might see the difference between the good they had lost and the evil into which they had fallen. That is why the tree is called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They had been forbidden to touch it because if they did it would bring on the experience of this distinction. It takes the experience of the pains of sickness to open our eyes to the pleasantness of health.
Augustine of Hippo
On the Tree of Knowledge
It was not in order to see outward things that “their eyes were opened,” because they could see such things already. It was in order that they might see the difference between the good they had lost and the evil into which they had fallen. That is why the tree is called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They had been forbidden to touch it because if they did it would bring on the experience of this distinction. It takes the experience of the pains of sickness to open our eyes to the pleasantness of health.
Augustine of Hippo
10 September 2021
On Temptation
If someone asks, therefore, why God allowed man to be tempted when he foreknew that man would yield to the tempter, I cannot sound the depths of divine wisdom, and I confess that the solution is far beyond my powers. There may be a hidden reason, made known only to those who are better and holier than I, not because of their merits but simply by the grace of God. But insofar as God gives me the ability to understand or allows me to speak, I do not think that a man would deserve great praise if he had been able to live a good life for the simple reason that nobody tempted him to live a bad one. For by nature he would have it in his power to will not to yield to the tempter, with the help of him, of course, “who resists the proud and gives his grace to the humble.” Why, then, would God not allow a man to be tempted, although he foreknew he would yield? For the man would do the deed by his own free will and thus incur guilt, and he would have to undergo punishment according to God’s justice to be restored to right order. Thus God would make known his will to a proud soul for the instruction of the saints in ages to come. For wisely he uses even bad wills of souls when they perversely abuse their nature, which is good.
Augustine of Hippo
On Temptation
If someone asks, therefore, why God allowed man to be tempted when he foreknew that man would yield to the tempter, I cannot sound the depths of divine wisdom, and I confess that the solution is far beyond my powers. There may be a hidden reason, made known only to those who are better and holier than I, not because of their merits but simply by the grace of God. But insofar as God gives me the ability to understand or allows me to speak, I do not think that a man would deserve great praise if he had been able to live a good life for the simple reason that nobody tempted him to live a bad one. For by nature he would have it in his power to will not to yield to the tempter, with the help of him, of course, “who resists the proud and gives his grace to the humble.” Why, then, would God not allow a man to be tempted, although he foreknew he would yield? For the man would do the deed by his own free will and thus incur guilt, and he would have to undergo punishment according to God’s justice to be restored to right order. Thus God would make known his will to a proud soul for the instruction of the saints in ages to come. For wisely he uses even bad wills of souls when they perversely abuse their nature, which is good.
Augustine of Hippo
7 September 2021
Opening Our Hearts
We open the door at the sound of his voice to receive him, when we freely assent to his promptings, whether secret or open, and when we do what we know we should do. He enters, then, to eat with us and we with him, since he lives in the hearts of his elect by the gift of love.
Venerable Bede
Opening Our Hearts
We open the door at the sound of his voice to receive him, when we freely assent to his promptings, whether secret or open, and when we do what we know we should do. He enters, then, to eat with us and we with him, since he lives in the hearts of his elect by the gift of love.
Venerable Bede
6 September 2021
Grieve, But Not Without Hope
Of necessity we must be sorrowful when those whom we love leave us in death. Although we know that they have not left us behind forever but only gone ahead of us, still when death seizes our loved one, our loving hearts are saddened by death itself. Thus the apostle Paul does not tell us not to grieve but “not to grieve like those who are without hope. Let us grieve, therefore, over the necessity of losing our loved ones in death but with the hope of being reunited with them. If we are afflicted we still find consolation. Our weakness weights us down, but faith bears us up. We sorrow over the human condition, but find our healing in the divine promise.
St Augustine Of Hippo
Grieve, But Not Without Hope
Of necessity we must be sorrowful when those whom we love leave us in death. Although we know that they have not left us behind forever but only gone ahead of us, still when death seizes our loved one, our loving hearts are saddened by death itself. Thus the apostle Paul does not tell us not to grieve but “not to grieve like those who are without hope. Let us grieve, therefore, over the necessity of losing our loved ones in death but with the hope of being reunited with them. If we are afflicted we still find consolation. Our weakness weights us down, but faith bears us up. We sorrow over the human condition, but find our healing in the divine promise.
St Augustine Of Hippo
5 September 2021
On Good Works
O God, how blind, no, how insane we Christians have become! When will there be an end of wrath, O heavenly Father? Our folly makes us mock, blaspheme, and condemn the tragedy of Christendom, for which we are to pray when we are gathered together in church and at mass. If the Turk destroys cities, country, and people, and lays waste the churches, we think a great injury has been done Christendom. Then we start complaining, and urge kings and princes to wage war. But when faith collapses, love grows cold, God’s word is neglected, and all manner of sin takes control, nobody thinks of fighting. In fact, pope, bishop, priests, and clergy, who ought to be the generals, captains, and standard-bearers in this spiritual warfare against Turks of a far deadlier spiritual kind, are themselves the very princes and leaders of such Turks, of a devilish army, just as Judas led the Jews when they took Christ prisoner. It had to be an apostle, a bishop, a priest, one of the best, who began the work of slaying Christ. And in the same way, too, Christendom is being destroyed not by the Turks, but by those who are supposed to defend it. And yet they go on being so senseless that they want to eat the Turk alive, and at the same time they set fire to their own house and sheep stall and let them burn away, sheep and all, and worry more about the wolf in the woods. That is how things are nowadays! This is the reward we have earned for our ingratitude for the unending grace Christ won for us freely with his precious blood, grievous labor, and bitter death.
Martin Luther
On Good Works
O God, how blind, no, how insane we Christians have become! When will there be an end of wrath, O heavenly Father? Our folly makes us mock, blaspheme, and condemn the tragedy of Christendom, for which we are to pray when we are gathered together in church and at mass. If the Turk destroys cities, country, and people, and lays waste the churches, we think a great injury has been done Christendom. Then we start complaining, and urge kings and princes to wage war. But when faith collapses, love grows cold, God’s word is neglected, and all manner of sin takes control, nobody thinks of fighting. In fact, pope, bishop, priests, and clergy, who ought to be the generals, captains, and standard-bearers in this spiritual warfare against Turks of a far deadlier spiritual kind, are themselves the very princes and leaders of such Turks, of a devilish army, just as Judas led the Jews when they took Christ prisoner. It had to be an apostle, a bishop, a priest, one of the best, who began the work of slaying Christ. And in the same way, too, Christendom is being destroyed not by the Turks, but by those who are supposed to defend it. And yet they go on being so senseless that they want to eat the Turk alive, and at the same time they set fire to their own house and sheep stall and let them burn away, sheep and all, and worry more about the wolf in the woods. That is how things are nowadays! This is the reward we have earned for our ingratitude for the unending grace Christ won for us freely with his precious blood, grievous labor, and bitter death.
Martin Luther
4 September 2021
Without Jesus
How dry and hard you are without Jesus! How foolish and vain if you desire anything but him! Is it not a greater loss than losing the whole world? For what, without Jesus, can the world give you? Life without Him Is a relentless hell, but living with Him is a sweet paradise. If Jesus be with you, no enemy can harm you.
Thomas à Kempis
Without Jesus
How dry and hard you are without Jesus! How foolish and vain if you desire anything but him! Is it not a greater loss than losing the whole world? For what, without Jesus, can the world give you? Life without Him Is a relentless hell, but living with Him is a sweet paradise. If Jesus be with you, no enemy can harm you.
Thomas à Kempis
3 September 2021
Christ Calling Us
All through our life Christ is calling us. He called us first in Baptism; but afterwards also; whether we obey his voice or not, he graciously calls us still. If we fall from our Baptism, he calls us to repent; if we are striving to fulfill our calling, he calls us on from grace to grace, and from holiness to holiness, while life is given us. Abraham was called from his home, Peter from his nets, Matthew from his office, Elisha from his farm, Nathanael from his retreat; we are all in course of calling, on and on, from one thing to another, having no resting-place, but mounting towards our eternal rest, and obeying one command only to have another put upon us. He calls us again and again, in order to justify us again and again,—and again and again, and more and more, to sanctify and glorify us.
Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
Christ Calling Us
All through our life Christ is calling us. He called us first in Baptism; but afterwards also; whether we obey his voice or not, he graciously calls us still. If we fall from our Baptism, he calls us to repent; if we are striving to fulfill our calling, he calls us on from grace to grace, and from holiness to holiness, while life is given us. Abraham was called from his home, Peter from his nets, Matthew from his office, Elisha from his farm, Nathanael from his retreat; we are all in course of calling, on and on, from one thing to another, having no resting-place, but mounting towards our eternal rest, and obeying one command only to have another put upon us. He calls us again and again, in order to justify us again and again,—and again and again, and more and more, to sanctify and glorify us.
Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
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