30 September 2024
We affirm therefore that the fire which is sent forth by Christ is for
men's salvation and profits': God grant that all our hearts may be full
thereof. For the fire here is, I say, the saving message of the Gospel, and the
power of its commandments; by which all of us upon earth, who were so to speak
cold and dead because of sin, and in ignorance of Him Who by nature and truly
is God, are kindled unto a life of piety, and made "fervent in
spirit," according to the expression of the blessed Paul. And besides this
we are also made partakers of the Holy Spirit, Who is as fire within us. For we
have been baptized with fire and the Holy Spirit. And we have learnt the way
thereto, by what Christ says to us: for listen to His words; "Verily I say
unto you, that except a man be born of water and spirit, he cannot see the
kingdom of God."
St. Cyril of Alexandria
Where God's Angel Abide
29 September 2024
Let every one of you have the Holy Scripture and read from it, since these are God’s word, they teach us how to live and prepare for the future life. Pray at home daily, and on Sundays and holidays, come to church, to this holy place which is devoted to service to God, where God's angels abide and pray together with you.
St. John Maximovich
Let every one of you have the Holy Scripture and read from it, since these are God’s word, they teach us how to live and prepare for the future life. Pray at home daily, and on Sundays and holidays, come to church, to this holy place which is devoted to service to God, where God's angels abide and pray together with you.
St. John Maximovich
Underserved Love
28
September 2024
We Lutherans are subject to a special temptation. We have been so much assured that our
standing with God is based entirely on God's free and undeserved love and not
on any action of ours that the devil is right there to suggest: "Well, if it not based on any action of
yours, your actions don't matter. You
have a nice cushion to rest on there.
You have complete forgiveness in Christ.
So do as you please. You are
always forgiven." There is no more
hideous mockery of Christ and Calvary than that. Christ died in our place so we may not be
condemned and punished for our sins. He
takes all that for us so we may be forgiven and may know the living God as a
God who graciously involves Himself with us and we with Him. Are we, then, to make of this the basis for a
life that contradicts that we are involved with Him?
Dr. Norman
Nagel
The Host of Angels
27 September 2024
Let us think of the whole host of angels, how they stand by and serve his will, for Scriptures say: "Ten thousand times ten thousand were doing service to him, and they cried out: Holy, holy, holy, Lord Sabaoth; the whole of creation is full of His glory." Then let us gather together in awareness of our concord, as with one mouth we shout earnestly to him that we may become sharers in his great and glorious promises.
Clement of Rome
Let us think of the whole host of angels, how they stand by and serve his will, for Scriptures say: "Ten thousand times ten thousand were doing service to him, and they cried out: Holy, holy, holy, Lord Sabaoth; the whole of creation is full of His glory." Then let us gather together in awareness of our concord, as with one mouth we shout earnestly to him that we may become sharers in his great and glorious promises.
Clement of Rome
Hurricane Helene
26 September 2024
Lord of heaven and earth, You hold all things in Your hands. Once again, as a storm cause chaos and suffering for many, we humbly beseech You to have mercy. We pray with the Psalmist and all those in the storm's path, "Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me." Grant that all in Helene's path may find earthly shelter, but most of all in You, whose Son, our Savior Jesus Christ? is our recue, rock and strong fortress. Though Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lord of heaven and earth, You hold all things in Your hands. Once again, as a storm cause chaos and suffering for many, we humbly beseech You to have mercy. We pray with the Psalmist and all those in the storm's path, "Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me." Grant that all in Helene's path may find earthly shelter, but most of all in You, whose Son, our Savior Jesus Christ? is our recue, rock and strong fortress. Though Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Mystery of Our Reconciliation
25 September 2024
Lowliness is assured by majesty, weakness by power, mortality by eternity. To pay the debt of our sinful state, a nature that was incapable of suffering was joined to one that could suffer. Thus, in keeping with the healing that we needed, one and the same mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, was able to die in one nature, and unable to die in the other.
St. Leo the Great
Lowliness is assured by majesty, weakness by power, mortality by eternity. To pay the debt of our sinful state, a nature that was incapable of suffering was joined to one that could suffer. Thus, in keeping with the healing that we needed, one and the same mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, was able to die in one nature, and unable to die in the other.
St. Leo the Great
Mary the Mother of God
24 September 2024
It was fitting that she, who held the creator in her lap as a baby, should rest in the tabernacle of God.
St. John of Damascus
It was fitting that she, who held the creator in her lap as a baby, should rest in the tabernacle of God.
St. John of Damascus
On Repentance
23 September 2024
For that no man on earth was righteous, Paul declared, saying, For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 And by this too the others were comforted, I mean, the guests. Why, I am so far, says He, from loathing sinners, that even for their sakes only am I come. Then, lest He should make them more careless, He staid not at the word sinners, but added, unto repentance. For I am not come that they should continue sinners, but that they should alter, and amend.
St. John Chrysostom
For that no man on earth was righteous, Paul declared, saying, For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 And by this too the others were comforted, I mean, the guests. Why, I am so far, says He, from loathing sinners, that even for their sakes only am I come. Then, lest He should make them more careless, He staid not at the word sinners, but added, unto repentance. For I am not come that they should continue sinners, but that they should alter, and amend.
St. John Chrysostom
The Holy Spirit
22 September 2024
When you consider creation I advise you to first think of Him who is the
first cause of everything that exists; namely, the Father, and then of the Son,
who is the creator, and then the Holy Spirit, the perfecter... The Originator
of all things is One: He creates through the Son and perfects through the
Spirit.
St. Basil the Great
Under the New Covenant
21 September 2024
What did he mean? He here indicates baptism and forgiveness through grace. This happened not under the law, but under the new covenant. For under the law there was punishment and torture and penalty punishing those who transgressed its edicts. Under the new covenant, grace and forgiveness of wrongdoings and absolution.
St. John Chrysostom
What did he mean? He here indicates baptism and forgiveness through grace. This happened not under the law, but under the new covenant. For under the law there was punishment and torture and penalty punishing those who transgressed its edicts. Under the new covenant, grace and forgiveness of wrongdoings and absolution.
St. John Chrysostom
Turn You Home Into Heaven
20 September 2024
Where the husband, and the wife, and the children are in accord and united by the bonds of virtue, there is Christ among them.
Saint John Chrysostom
Where the husband, and the wife, and the children are in accord and united by the bonds of virtue, there is Christ among them.
Saint John Chrysostom
My Love of God
19 September 2024
All I can say about my love of God is, Lord help me in my lack of it.
Flannery O'Connor
All I can say about my love of God is, Lord help me in my lack of it.
Flannery O'Connor
Why We Are Joyful
18 September 2024
All men have an equal part in the great reason why we are joyful, for our Lord, who is the destroyer of sin and death, finding that all are bound under condemnation, is come to make all free!
Pope St. Leo the Great
All men have an equal part in the great reason why we are joyful, for our Lord, who is the destroyer of sin and death, finding that all are bound under condemnation, is come to make all free!
Pope St. Leo the Great
Careless or Harmful Speech
17 September 2024
God has surrounded the tongue with a double wall—a barrier of teeth and the fence of the lips—in order that it may not easily and heedlessly utter words it should not speak. Keep it curbed within your mouth.
St John Chrysostom
God has surrounded the tongue with a double wall—a barrier of teeth and the fence of the lips—in order that it may not easily and heedlessly utter words it should not speak. Keep it curbed within your mouth.
St John Chrysostom
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 1:18-25
16 September 2024
Those who wish to be saved should meditate on the cross of Christ, they
should cling to the cross, they should carry their cross, mortifying their
bodies (that is, concupiscence), and they should follow Christ in this world,
who was once in the world. And now that he lives in eternity, they should
follow him outside this world to live in eternity. And this is the singular and
most true theorem of all religion: either we remain in this world, or we flee
the world. The wisdom of worldly philosophy does not proclaim this; nor do the
commentaries of the philosophers contain this.…
For now Christ is no other than God and the most blessed Son of God in
eternity. He was crucified for us, and then and now he was all-powerful and
all-knowing. In him alone people ought to place all their wisdom, strength, and
glory; they should boast in him alone. And thus God chooses things that are
foolish, impotent, ignoble, contemptible, and things that are not, lest people
think that they might boast in wisdom, power, nobility, and honor. But they
should ascribe the only cause for boasting to God alone, and pay attention to
him alone.
Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples
The Liturgy
15 September 2024
The music, the prayers, the bowing and raising, the incense - all of it
was breaking my defenses. That's what good liturgy does. It breaks your heart
open and turns you toward God.
Fred Bahnson
On Repentance
14 September 2024
How pitiful I am; and how pitiful is my daily repentance, for it has no firm foundation. Every day I lay a foundation for the building, and again with my own hands I demolish it. My repentance has not even made a good beginning as yet; yet there is no end to my wicked negligence.
St. Ephraim the Syrian
How pitiful I am; and how pitiful is my daily repentance, for it has no firm foundation. Every day I lay a foundation for the building, and again with my own hands I demolish it. My repentance has not even made a good beginning as yet; yet there is no end to my wicked negligence.
St. Ephraim the Syrian
Law and Grace
13 September 2024
So great, then, is the difference between the law and grace, that although the law is undoubtedly of God, yet the righteousness which is of the law is not of God, but the righteousness which is consummated by grace is of God. The one is designated the righteousness of the law, because it is done through fear of the curse of the law; while the other is called the righteousness of God, because it is bestowed through the beneficence of His grace, so that it is not a terrible but a pleasant commandment, according to the prayer in the psalm: Good are You, O Lord, therefore in Your goodness teach me Your righteousness; that is, that I may not be compelled like a slave to live under the law with fear of punishment; but rather in the freedom of love may be delighted to live with law as my companion. When the freeman keeps a commandment, he does it readily. And whosoever learns his duty in this spirit, does everything that he has learned ought to be done.
St. Augustine
So great, then, is the difference between the law and grace, that although the law is undoubtedly of God, yet the righteousness which is of the law is not of God, but the righteousness which is consummated by grace is of God. The one is designated the righteousness of the law, because it is done through fear of the curse of the law; while the other is called the righteousness of God, because it is bestowed through the beneficence of His grace, so that it is not a terrible but a pleasant commandment, according to the prayer in the psalm: Good are You, O Lord, therefore in Your goodness teach me Your righteousness; that is, that I may not be compelled like a slave to live under the law with fear of punishment; but rather in the freedom of love may be delighted to live with law as my companion. When the freeman keeps a commandment, he does it readily. And whosoever learns his duty in this spirit, does everything that he has learned ought to be done.
St. Augustine
The Great Physician
12 September 2024
The great Physician of souls, who is the ready liberator not only of you but also of all who are enslaved by sin, is ready to heal your sickness. From Him come the words, 'Those who are well have no need of a Physician, but those who are sick... For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.' What excuse have you, what excuse has anyone, when He speaks this way? The Lord wishes to cleanse you from the trouble of your sickness and to show you light after darkness.
St. Basil the Great
The great Physician of souls, who is the ready liberator not only of you but also of all who are enslaved by sin, is ready to heal your sickness. From Him come the words, 'Those who are well have no need of a Physician, but those who are sick... For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.' What excuse have you, what excuse has anyone, when He speaks this way? The Lord wishes to cleanse you from the trouble of your sickness and to show you light after darkness.
St. Basil the Great
Incarnation of the Word
11 September 2024
It was our sorry case that caused the Word to come down, our transgression that called forth His love for us, so that He made haste to help us and appear among us.
St. Athanasius the Great
It was our sorry case that caused the Word to come down, our transgression that called forth His love for us, so that He made haste to help us and appear among us.
St. Athanasius the Great
The Tree in Paradise and the Wood in the Cross
10 September 2024
I ask you to consider the example of the tree in paradise and the wood in the cross. My point is that just as the first tree, though green, bore death, the wood of the cross, though dry, gave birth to life.
St. John Chrysostom
I ask you to consider the example of the tree in paradise and the wood in the cross. My point is that just as the first tree, though green, bore death, the wood of the cross, though dry, gave birth to life.
St. John Chrysostom
No Self Conflict
9 September 2024
So let us not be at enmity with ourselves, but change our way of life without delay. For Christ who is God, exalted above all creation, has taken away man's sin and has re-fashioned our fallen nature. In the beginning God made man in his image and so gave proof of his love for us. If we obey his holy commands and learn to imitate his goodness, we shall be like him and he will honor us. God is not beggarly, and for the sake of his own glory he has given us a share in his divinity.
Saint Hippolytus of Rome
So let us not be at enmity with ourselves, but change our way of life without delay. For Christ who is God, exalted above all creation, has taken away man's sin and has re-fashioned our fallen nature. In the beginning God made man in his image and so gave proof of his love for us. If we obey his holy commands and learn to imitate his goodness, we shall be like him and he will honor us. God is not beggarly, and for the sake of his own glory he has given us a share in his divinity.
Saint Hippolytus of Rome
On Prayer
8 September 2024
When the Spirit dwells within a person, from the moment that person has become prayer, the Spirit never leaves them. For the Spirit himself never ceases to pray within us. Whether we are asleep or awake, from then on prayer never departs from our soul. Whether we are eating or drinking or sleeping or whatever else we may be doing, even if we are in the deepest of sleeps, the incense of prayer is rising without effort in our heart. Prayer never again deserts us. In every moment of our life, even when it appears to have ceased, prayer is secretly at work within us continuously.
Isaac of Nineveh
When the Spirit dwells within a person, from the moment that person has become prayer, the Spirit never leaves them. For the Spirit himself never ceases to pray within us. Whether we are asleep or awake, from then on prayer never departs from our soul. Whether we are eating or drinking or sleeping or whatever else we may be doing, even if we are in the deepest of sleeps, the incense of prayer is rising without effort in our heart. Prayer never again deserts us. In every moment of our life, even when it appears to have ceased, prayer is secretly at work within us continuously.
Isaac of Nineveh
The Lord
6 September 2024
This is the Son of the carpenter, who skillfully made His cross a bridge
over Sheol that swallows up all, and brought over mankind into the dwelling of
life.
St. Ephraim the Syrian
The Church
5 September 2024
The tabernacles or tents that Peter wanted to build for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah are now built for us by God when this church becomes God’s temple in which ordinary bread and wine are transformed into the sacrificed body and blood of Christ. The elements of the Holy Communion become for us and all God’s people that heavenly manna to sustain us in our exodus as we pass with Moses through the sea and with Jesus through His death into Canaan and the promised land of the resurrection, so that we are transformed and transfigured into the likeness of His glory.
David P. Scaer
The tabernacles or tents that Peter wanted to build for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah are now built for us by God when this church becomes God’s temple in which ordinary bread and wine are transformed into the sacrificed body and blood of Christ. The elements of the Holy Communion become for us and all God’s people that heavenly manna to sustain us in our exodus as we pass with Moses through the sea and with Jesus through His death into Canaan and the promised land of the resurrection, so that we are transformed and transfigured into the likeness of His glory.
David P. Scaer
On Mercy
4 September 2024
For it is not enough to show mercy, but it behooves us to do it with a largeness and an ungrudging spirit, or rather not with an ungrudging, but even with a cheerful and rejoicing one, for not grudging does not amount to rejoicing.
St. John Chrysostom
For it is not enough to show mercy, but it behooves us to do it with a largeness and an ungrudging spirit, or rather not with an ungrudging, but even with a cheerful and rejoicing one, for not grudging does not amount to rejoicing.
St. John Chrysostom
Mary, the Mother of God
3 September 2024
That is the way in which this mother serves me and us all with her own body. Really we all ought to be ashamed with all our hearts. For what are all the maids, servants, masters, mistresses, princes, kings, and monarchs on earth compared with the Virgin Mary, who was born of royal lineage, and withal became the mother of God, the noblest woman on earth? After Christ, she is the most precious jewel in all Christendom. And this noblest woman on earth is to serve me and us all by bearing this child and giving him to be our own!
Martin Luther
That is the way in which this mother serves me and us all with her own body. Really we all ought to be ashamed with all our hearts. For what are all the maids, servants, masters, mistresses, princes, kings, and monarchs on earth compared with the Virgin Mary, who was born of royal lineage, and withal became the mother of God, the noblest woman on earth? After Christ, she is the most precious jewel in all Christendom. And this noblest woman on earth is to serve me and us all by bearing this child and giving him to be our own!
Martin Luther
God's Favor
2 September 2024
God's gracious favor toward us was so great that it is impossible for a creature to decide which deserves the most amazement: that God has lowered himself to our level of servitude, or that God has carried us off to the dignity of his divinity.
St. Peter Chrysologus
God's gracious favor toward us was so great that it is impossible for a creature to decide which deserves the most amazement: that God has lowered himself to our level of servitude, or that God has carried us off to the dignity of his divinity.
St. Peter Chrysologus
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)