15 October 2024
You are not big enough to accuse the whole age effectively, but let us
say you are in dissent. You are in no position to issue commands, but you can
speak words of hope. Shall this be the substance of your message? Be human in
this most inhuman of ages; guard the image of man for it is the image of God.
You agree? Good. Then go with my blessing. But I warn you, do not expect to make
many friends.
Thomas Merton
On Christian Dignity
14 October 2024
Be conscious, O Christian, of your dignity! You have been made partaker of the divine nature; do not fall again by a corrupt manner of life into the beggarly elements above which you are lifted.
Leo the Great
Be conscious, O Christian, of your dignity! You have been made partaker of the divine nature; do not fall again by a corrupt manner of life into the beggarly elements above which you are lifted.
Leo the Great
Our Lord Said
13 October 2024
For He said not, do not hate, but love; He said not, do not injure, but do good. And if any one should examine accurately, he will see that even to these things somewhat is added, much greater than they are. For neither did He simply command to love, but to pray.
St. John Chrysostom
For He said not, do not hate, but love; He said not, do not injure, but do good. And if any one should examine accurately, he will see that even to these things somewhat is added, much greater than they are. For neither did He simply command to love, but to pray.
St. John Chrysostom
Keep Our Eyes on Jesus
11 October 2024
When I read the Gospel and find there testimonies from the Law and from the Prophets, I see only Christ; I so see Moses and the Prophets and I understand them of Christ. Then when I come to the splendor of Christ Himself, and when I gaze at that glorious sunlight, I care not to look at the lamplight. For what light can a lamp give when lit in the daytime? If the sun shines out, the lamplight does not show. So, too, when Christ is present the Law and the Prophets do not show. Not that I would detract from the Law and the Prophets; rather do I praise them in that they show forth Christ. But I so read the Law and the Prophets as not to abide in them but from them to pass to Christ.
St. Jerome
When I read the Gospel and find there testimonies from the Law and from the Prophets, I see only Christ; I so see Moses and the Prophets and I understand them of Christ. Then when I come to the splendor of Christ Himself, and when I gaze at that glorious sunlight, I care not to look at the lamplight. For what light can a lamp give when lit in the daytime? If the sun shines out, the lamplight does not show. So, too, when Christ is present the Law and the Prophets do not show. Not that I would detract from the Law and the Prophets; rather do I praise them in that they show forth Christ. But I so read the Law and the Prophets as not to abide in them but from them to pass to Christ.
St. Jerome
Benediction Hand Gesture
10 October 2024
When giving a blessing or benediction, the pastor’s fingers may be held in a way which approximates certain letters which abbreviate Jesus Christ. The pastor’s index finger is held straight up, approximating the Greek I; his second finger is curved for the Greek C [Σ]; his third finger is crossed with the thumb for the Greek X; and his fourth finger is curved, for another Greek C [Σ]. This therefore makes for Greek letters: ICXC. These letters are often seen on icons as two words: IC XC. In the early Greek Bibles, a common way of abbreviating an often-used word was to write only the first and last letter of the word, with a line above the abbreviation. Thus, IC abbreviates IECOUC, or actually IESOUS, since the Greek C was an early form of S. In English, of course, it’s JESUS. The Greek XC abbreviates XRICTOC, which is CHRISTOS, or in English, CHRIST. In short, ICXC is IC XC, which means JESUS CHRIST. This, the pastoral benedictions are made with the sign of the cross, while the fingers designate the One who was crucified on the cross, namely JESUS CHRIST. The blessing is therefore made with a visible sign that it is Jesus Christ the Crucified who is the source and cause of the blessing given.
Burnell Eckardt
When giving a blessing or benediction, the pastor’s fingers may be held in a way which approximates certain letters which abbreviate Jesus Christ. The pastor’s index finger is held straight up, approximating the Greek I; his second finger is curved for the Greek C [Σ]; his third finger is crossed with the thumb for the Greek X; and his fourth finger is curved, for another Greek C [Σ]. This therefore makes for Greek letters: ICXC. These letters are often seen on icons as two words: IC XC. In the early Greek Bibles, a common way of abbreviating an often-used word was to write only the first and last letter of the word, with a line above the abbreviation. Thus, IC abbreviates IECOUC, or actually IESOUS, since the Greek C was an early form of S. In English, of course, it’s JESUS. The Greek XC abbreviates XRICTOC, which is CHRISTOS, or in English, CHRIST. In short, ICXC is IC XC, which means JESUS CHRIST. This, the pastoral benedictions are made with the sign of the cross, while the fingers designate the One who was crucified on the cross, namely JESUS CHRIST. The blessing is therefore made with a visible sign that it is Jesus Christ the Crucified who is the source and cause of the blessing given.
Burnell Eckardt
Faith as a Strong Foundation
9 October 2024
We know how, for the sake of the name of the Lord, trials have beset alike individuals and cities that have put their trust in Him. Nevertheless, one and all have passed away, and the distress caused by the days of darkness has not been everlasting. For just as when hail-storm and flood, and all natural calamities, at once injure and destroy things that have no strength, while they are only themselves affected by falling on the strong, so the terrible trials set in action against the Church have been proved feebler than the firm foundation of our faith in Christ.
St. Basil the Great
We know how, for the sake of the name of the Lord, trials have beset alike individuals and cities that have put their trust in Him. Nevertheless, one and all have passed away, and the distress caused by the days of darkness has not been everlasting. For just as when hail-storm and flood, and all natural calamities, at once injure and destroy things that have no strength, while they are only themselves affected by falling on the strong, so the terrible trials set in action against the Church have been proved feebler than the firm foundation of our faith in Christ.
St. Basil the Great
On Baptism
8 October 2024
Even as when he [the priest] baptizes, not he does baptize you, but it is God that possesses your head with invisible power, and neither angel nor archangel nor any other dare draw near and touch you; even so now also. For when God begets, the gift is His only.
St. John Chrysostom
Even as when he [the priest] baptizes, not he does baptize you, but it is God that possesses your head with invisible power, and neither angel nor archangel nor any other dare draw near and touch you; even so now also. For when God begets, the gift is His only.
St. John Chrysostom
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