tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201317082024-03-23T05:14:44.013-05:00Die Schreiben von SchreiberWriting to you live from somewhere in the land of Peniel.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10495442586676966060noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-89507948183479340132023-04-18T16:43:00.001-05:002023-04-18T16:43:36.155-05:00Israel, the Church, The New Israel, Replacement Theology, Judah, The People of God, and So On...<p> In the beginning, God created a home that He shared with Adam and Eve. After a while, Adam and Eve left. When they were outside the home and the locks were changed, they were exceedingly sad. God promised them that One would come from her offspring and would bring the key to a new home. This created the Church; the People of God who lived with hope and faith in the Promise God made.</p><p>Adam and Eve had sons. Cain did not want to be in the Church. His ego and pride were so great that what happened in the Church made him so mad he killed his brother. This created another church, a false church with the self as its god, culminating in Lamech, the archetypal sinner. </p><p>Mankind grew and spread out over the earth. The church of the self grew also and was a blight upon creation. God baptized the world to wash away sin. Noah, his sons, his wife, and his son's wives, 8 souls in all remained after the baptism. They were the Church; the People of God, and they settled the land.</p><p>Ham, unable to live by the law of love in the Church; the People of God, shamed his father. The church of the self was reborn after a short hiatus and continues to this day.</p><p>Mankind grew and spread out over the earth. The Church; the People of God, and the church of the self carried on until one day the collective pride of the people of the church of the self grew so great that they made a plan to build a tower upon which they would climb to heaven and capture God Himself, drag Him down to earth, and make Him do their bidding.</p><p>God saw. He confused their tongues and divided them into separate nations and dispersed them in the earth. To each nation He assigned an angel to guide the people of earth away from the church of the self and back to the Church; the People of God. The Angels saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful. They saw the church of the self and liked its doctrine and a deal was struck. Mankind would worship the prideful angels, offer some of their women to them, and in exchange, the angels would reveal knowledge to mankind. Knowledge that they were not ready to have. The church of the self gave birth to the church of sexual gratification and the churches of the demons.</p><p>God saw. He remembered His promise to Adam and Eve: New keys to the new home He had made for them and the Church; the People of God, and so He looked down and chose a man and said "You, offspring of Eve, will be the father of the People of God, and from your offspring will come the One with the keys to the new home."</p><p>The man had a son, and he had a son, and he had many sons, and they all remembered the promise of God. This large family God defined as the People of God and there were clear boundaries and indications of membership in the Church; the People of God. God preserved them and did many miracles for them, but some of them wavered between the Church: the People of God, and the church of the self and its affiliates, many, many of them deciding in their hearts that the church of the self is where their allegiance lay. Even so, they were in the Church; the People of God, for it was possible to be a scoundrel without the courage of your convictions to leave. Still, His promise was to all of them. People from other nations could and did become part of the Church; the People of God. Others did leave for the church of the self.</p><p>There was much turmoil and destruction, but the Church; the people of God continued to exist. They remembered the Promises and lived in faith and hope. </p><p>One day, a Son was born who turned out to be the One with the keys to the new home. He taught the Church; the People of God, in words and deeds, and at the climax of His life, He opened the way home and unlocked the doors. The Church; the People of God, now knew the way back to a Home shared with God!<br /><br />The Church; the People of God, suddenly began to grow in number and in boldness in the face of the church of the self and all its affiliates, and people were coming back into the Church; the People of God after the way had been opened. There were still many people in the church of the self, because neither God, nor the Son, nor the Church used force or violence to bring people in. Just the message of the Promises Made and the Promises Kept.</p><p>The Church, the people of God, grew and spread out over the earth. The Church, the people of God now existed under the headship of 5 Brothers. The church of the self continued. Some within the Church; the People of God, were enticed by the church of the self, and their pride began to swell. As a result, one of the 5 Brothers left the gathering of Brothers and went out on his own, claiming to be "the Church," but he had left the other Brothers and the union and communion of hearts and minds and consensus about the Promises Made and the Promises Kept.<br /></p><p>The Church; the People of God, were saddened, but their Brother would not listen and his pride grew. Meanwhile, the 4 remaining brothers had many struggles and trials and were fighting just to survive, but they remained together. Eventually the Church; the People of God gave birth to other Brothers.<br /></p><p>The Brother who went out on his own had sons who also had the mind and heart of the church of the self, and they left their father. They, in turn had sons, who had sons, who had sons, who continue to this day to leave their father because of their heritage of pride.</p><p>Many of the sons of the lone Brother have shards and fragments from the Church; the People of God, but being separate, they don't have the fullness of the Promises Made and Promises Kept. They imagine for some reason that the Church; the People of God at some point became "invisible" and nebulous and no one could really know where it is. But the Church; the People of God continued under the guidance of the elder Brothers in consensus about the Promises Made and Promises Kept. They were clear about it, they were clear about gathering together, and as in the old days, there were clear boundaries and indications of membership. They were baffled by this assertion from those who had left them, that they had somehow become "invisible" and that the church of the self was a part of the Church, the People of God, tho they would not leave the church of the self and come in to the Church; the People of God.</p><p>The People of God have been since the expulsion from Paradise. They have had different names throughout time, but no one replaced them, there have not been different versions of them, they are no longer geopolitically identified for the boundaries have expanded to cover the earth. They have continued, unbroken, unto this very day, to live in faith and hope in God and the Promises Made and the Promises Kept. The Church; The People of God are still here, and still have clear boundaries and indications of membership. Its earthly membership is completely visible within these clear boundaries. Come inside. The Orthodox Church awaits you!<br /></p>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-91880301310921669552023-03-15T10:30:00.001-05:002023-03-15T10:30:49.513-05:00Psalm 114<div><i>I am filled with love,</i><i><br /></i></div><div><i>for the Lord will hear the voice of my supplication. </i><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Does this not immediately give peace to your heart? The Lord <i>will hear</i>
us when we call to Him.There's never a time when He ignores us. Even if
we feel that way, even if we are having a "dry time," God has not left
us, and He has not stopped His ears to the sound of our prayer. Whatever
the reason for the feeling of spiritual dryness, we can know for
certain that He is faithful to His promise to never leave us nor forsake
us. He will hear the voice of our supplication!<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><i>For He hath inclined His ear unto me, </i><i><br /></i></div><div><i>and in my days will I call upon Him. </i><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>He
has inclined, He has bent toward us. He has approached us to hear our
prayers like when we speak to one another closely and we move in to hear
better. We will call upon Him because He has invited us to do so. Ask.
Seek. Knock. "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." He will
lean in to hear your every word and thought.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><i>The pangs of death have encompassed me,</i><i><br /></i></div><div><i>the perils of hades have found me. </i><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Tribulation and sorrow have I found, </i><i><br /></i></div><div><i>and I called upon the name of the Lord: O Lord, deliver my soul.</i> <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Life
in this broken world besets us with troubles of all kinds. The pangs of
death are in every ache, every illness. The perils of hades swarm like
biting flies in the constant barage of media around us. Tribulation and
sorrow find us, and we find them, without even looking. The blessing in
these troubles is that they drive us into the arms of Him Who Hears and
we cry "O Lord! Deliver my soul!"<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Merciful is the Lord and righteous,</i><i><br /></i></div><div><i>and our God hath mercy. </i><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>And
when we cry, He hears and has mercy. We are born in sins: He washes us
in Baptism. We sin: He gives us confession and absolution. We weaken in
our fervor: He gives us His body and blood to forgive and revive us. He
gives us every good and perfect gift, because our God hath mercy. Even
the trials are a gift because they are opportunities for growth in Him.
"This was needed for my salvation."<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Lord preserveth the infants;</i><i><br /></i></div><div><i>I was brought low and He saved me.</i> <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>We
must have faith like a child, and the Lord preserves us. When we are
troubled, He looks at His children in danger and scoops them up in His
arms.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Return, O my soul, unto thy rest, </i><i><br /></i></div><div><i>for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. </i><i><br /></i></div><div><i>For He hath delivered my soul from death,</i><i><br /></i></div><div><i>mine eyes from tears, and my feet from sliding. </i><i><br /></i></div><div><i>I will be well-pleasing before the Lord in the land of the living.</i><br /></div><div><br /></div>We can return to our rest in God because He hath regarded the lowliness of all His <i></i>children and has had mercy as he promised. He said "He who believes in Me will never <i>NEVER </i>die!"
He will wipe away every tear from our eye. He will preserve our coming
out and our going in. We are well-pleasing before the Lord, because He
has made us so. Let us cling to Him alone. Let us hate evil, for this is
the fear of the Lord. Let us recieve His gifts as often as we can. Let
us fight to stay near Him, to keep our garments clean and to live out
our days in a way that is well-pleasing to Him because He continues to
hear us and forgive us and embrace us and call us back to Himself.<br /><br />Glory to God for His unfathomable love!<p> </p>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-14525055430585026002023-03-10T14:43:00.001-06:002023-03-10T18:02:59.698-06:00The End of My Days<blockquote>O Lord, make me to know mine end, and the number of my days, what it is, that I may know what I lack. Behold, Thou hast made my days as the spans of a hand, and my being is as nothing before Thee. Nay, all things are vanity, every man living. Surely man walketh about like a phantom, nay, in vain doth he disquiet himself. He layeth up treasure, and knoweth not for whom he shall gather it. And now, what is my patient endurance? Is it not the Lord? Yea, my hope is from Thee.</blockquote><p>These words from Psalm 38* are a bold request to the Lord. Can you imagine knowing the very day of your death? Only a few saints were ever given this foresight, and when it happened it was "you will repose in three days." Not a lot of warning. </p><p>Based on the fact that very few saints were given this gift and those that were had only a few days before their end, it's reasonable to conclude that we can't handle it. If we knew that specific date appointed for us, I think there are two ways most of us would go with that information. Either we'd spend the time in debilitating anxiety, worsening as each day passed, or we'd pass the days in licentiousness and only "get serious" at the end. </p><p>So what do we do with this? Memento Mori, my friends. Many Orthodox prayers and the words of many saints and fathers call us to "Remember our death." By this remembrance we can have a daily moment to think about it, to remember that we are dust and to dust we shall return, and that tomorrow is not promised. We can repent as if we were to die today, and serve others as if we were to live forever.</p><p>Remembering death is a way to <i>confront</i> it. Death has been destroyed by Christ's death, and so it should not be a source of fear for us. It has been converted from gloomy end into the doorway to eternity with God. We have feelings of mourning and loss when a loved one reposes, but we do not mourn without hope, as St. Paul wrote. Death has been defeated, and we can now confront it boldly, with confidence in Christ. We are His body! Death has no power over us. Rather it is the way to the shedding of sin and all its effects and the entry into paradise. <br /></p><p>How, exactly, do we remember death? In addition to contemplating within ourselves the frailty of life, there are some ways to confront death, to get "in his face" about the beating and defeat suffered at the hands of Christ our God. Most importantly is to <b>attend funerals</b>. It saddens me to see a funeral with 25 people in church. If the deceased is a member of your parish you <i>must</i> go to the funeral. That's my opinion. The family needs you, and the decedent needs you more than anyone! You go there to pray for the soul, that God would receive her with open arms. You go there to pray for and comfort the living who must continue for a time bereft of their beloved. The hole in their heart will never be completely closed, but your love can help fill it in a little bit. Go with boldness in the Name of Christ. Give the last kiss to the one who was part of you. Proclaim victory over death, and think about your own funeral. Get the book "A Christian Ending: A Handbook for Burial in the Ancient Christian Tradition" and read it.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_f7pyuoj33foPUhM23S3lVuRGLcYYm8mmJbybqo9b-fcDJ155yaQlJ88KB1i2ck-XV-bXsI8jEXSIBjK6urO-kDse5Iy3HsGJnGbx8bTV5mKmb4-R2XIAbv-n1_vhqwJTDoQHCjT4_RnHkEh75PxBf3zDbs-FbodwJpzZZyZoZIzMLIKMiw/s640/ossuary.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="640" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_f7pyuoj33foPUhM23S3lVuRGLcYYm8mmJbybqo9b-fcDJ155yaQlJ88KB1i2ck-XV-bXsI8jEXSIBjK6urO-kDse5Iy3HsGJnGbx8bTV5mKmb4-R2XIAbv-n1_vhqwJTDoQHCjT4_RnHkEh75PxBf3zDbs-FbodwJpzZZyZoZIzMLIKMiw/s320/ossuary.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Another way to remember and confront death with its weakness and defeat is to pray for the dead. My personal policy is that if I hear of someone's death from someone, I figure God wanted me to know about it so that I could pray for the repose of that person. So if someone says "hey, my mom passed away" I get the name and add it to my list. If I hear it from family, friends, fellow parishioners, coworkers, neighbors etc. that name goes on the list. Folks on the news, not so much. I give a lot of weight to the personal connection that brought it to my attention. And when a name is on the list, it's not taken off the list until I die or God grants me a vision of that person in paradise and he/she lets me off the hook. Prayer for the dead, every day, brings you face to face with the defeated foe, and as your list gets longer and longer, the more it means. But don't just rush through the names. Pronounce each one clearly and truly remember them before the Lord.<p></p><p>God has made our days as the span of a hand, and our being is as nothing before Him. This knowledge drives us to repentance. We are short-lived and vapor, as it were. There's no influence, no power to exert over God, no convincing. We poor sinners have only this plea: Have mercy on us, O God. We have been allotted enough time to repent, we must use it wisely. Fr. Seraphim Rose said "It's later than you think." <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQuCBWURT4tF16UwJMG_YGD7cap-NGvaWKwGAYX-qoyi0AfSvmn6OyPV8M0k19PVwr8N07NyTCROJOCqtAcAcQfi3XhgTCIYmtnCRfaw3g7JV4Ssc5uYU2BuKH4O4-9DfEVIQSDT-V1oMZG1LFQfBw0u6sFaa9sZMFpnEXRmI1q7vBtzMtCw/s813/quickly%20forgotten.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="813" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQuCBWURT4tF16UwJMG_YGD7cap-NGvaWKwGAYX-qoyi0AfSvmn6OyPV8M0k19PVwr8N07NyTCROJOCqtAcAcQfi3XhgTCIYmtnCRfaw3g7JV4Ssc5uYU2BuKH4O4-9DfEVIQSDT-V1oMZG1LFQfBw0u6sFaa9sZMFpnEXRmI1q7vBtzMtCw/s320/quickly%20forgotten.jpg" width="295" /></a></div>Memento Mori. Remember death, and live for God. "And now, what is my patient endurance? Is it not the Lord? Yea, my hope is from Thee. [...] <span class="italicSmall"> </span>
Hearken unto my prayer, O Lord, and unto my supplication; give ear unto my tears. Be not silent, for I am a sojourner with Thee, and a stranger, as were all my fathers.
<span class="italicSmall">
</span>
Spare me, that I may be refreshed before I go hence, and be no more." We will be no more on this earth, but we will be forever with the Lord and each other in Paradise if we remember death and live like we know the number of our days and that number is small. Let us repent, pray, give alms. Let us live with watchfulness and be attentive. Let us live without fear of death, which has been subdued by our God and must now serve Him!<br /><p></p><p> </p><p>*Psalm 38 in the Septuagint is Psalm 39 in Bibles based on the Masoretic text, which would be most of them. The Orthodox Study Bible and the Psalters made specifically for Orthodox Christian worship use the Septuagint numbering. <br /></p>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-55335498459226824682022-12-26T13:20:00.006-06:002022-12-26T21:27:58.225-06:00Christmas Conceptions and Nativity Notions<p> The Christmas season began yesterday with the celebration of the Birth of Christ for those using the Revised Julian Calendar. For others on the Julian Calendar, there are a few days yet until the celebration begins. Yes. Christmas <i>begins</i> on Christmas day...not thanksgiving or November 1st as the commercial interests around us would have us believe. But that's another blog entry.</p><p>Yesterday we celebrated at my eldest daughter's house. It was s wonderful day. All the kids were there, our grandson, and our two grandkids who will be making their appearances in 2023! It was a full house, full of warmth and love, great food and drink, and all the trappings of a wonderful holiday family gathering.</p><p>After the lovely charcuterie and amazing meal, we gathered in the family room where I put forth the following conversation-starter:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Setting aside all the cultural aspects of Christmas, and focusing only on the religious part, stated in it's most blunt terms: Christmas is the day we celebrate the birth of the kid God had to kill because He was angry about our sins.</p></blockquote><p> I then asked around the room if those present understood that to be an accurate statement or their understanding of the day. Not counting me, there were 8 others present. The responses ranged from flat out "Yes" to other variations uncomfortable with the bluntness of the phrase I used, or desiring to focus on some other aspect such as "the birth of the King," but nobody said "no, that's wrong." I rephrased the statement this way: "Christmas is Christ's birth, the point of which is to be sacrificed to pay God for the offense and injustice of our sin." This way of stating it was more palatable and got more agreement.</p><p>But it's wrong.</p><p>In the view stated above, first, God has been offended, or He's angry about something we did. This is not true because God is unchanging and it is impossible for me to change His countenance. I cannot make God angry because I cannot change God. </p><p>Secondly, angry God demanding retribution for sin so He won't be angry anymore shifts the problem. It makes God the one with the problem and God is thus the one who needs to change. In reality, sin is my problem, and I am the one in need of changing.</p><p>Third, if God needs a payment, that implies that God is lacking something, which is impossible. In fact, a "payment" for a "debt" has never been the case. Why were there sacrifices in the OT? Well, let's take a step back and ask what is sin? Sin is a stain on ourselves and on the creation because of our continual falling short of the original "good"-ness God pronounced on the completion of creation. Sin's stain is something that brings death. The Bible says that "life is in the blood" of living things. So the sacrificial system was for taking the "life-stuff" from the sacrifice and using it to smear or cover the "death-stuff." This covering system is a way to manage sin, but it's not a solution. It's a band-aid until you can get stitches. Furthermore, if sacrifice was a "payment," there would not be a sliding scale. Sin is sin and if the "payment" for sin was a goat, why were there provisions made for poor people to sacrifice birds instead? Or why, at passover, were families allowed to get together and share the lamb, and not mandated to each kill their own lamb? Because the blood of the sacrifice covered those who ritually participated, it was not about payment.</p><p>So a sacrifice is needed, but it's not a payment or a punishment, and Christ's sacrifice on the cross was <i>His own, voluntary</i> sacrifice. His blood is the solution that wipes away all sin, and it was given by Him willingly.</p><p>So Christ was not born to suffer punishment in our stead or pay a price, as if God were some kind of sadist. He came among us to <i>be </i>with us, be <i>one of us</i>, to show us what it is to live in communion with God the Father and love our neighbor. By taking on our nature and our flesh and our life, He participated in every aspect of our life and sanctified every part of it, from conception, birth, childhood, maturing, adulthood, all the way up to and through death, He lived our experience with us and sanctified it for us. </p><p>To distill it down, look at Hebrews 2, "he himself likewise partook of the same things [flesh and blood], that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery." Christ came to open to us the way to everlasting life.</p><p>God is not angry. He removed himself from the Garden after the fall because he loves us and knew that it would be bad for us to be in his presence with the stain of sin. He barred us from the tree of life because if we ate it and lived forever with the stain of sin, we would be demons. He loves us too much to let that happen. He came in the flesh on Christmas because of love and he laid down his life because of love. Everything is because of His love for us, not because of his anger or need to beat up or kill someone. He did and does everything because he wants to be with us, forever. What a glorious thing!</p><p>These are the things I told my family. I hope this knowledge is uplifting. When I first contemplated it, I was nearly moved to tears. <br />Thank God for his unfathomable love.</p><p>For more expansion of Biblical concepts and perspectives you never considered before, I recommend the "Lord of Spirits" podcast with Fr. Stephen and Fr. Andrew, who greatly influenced this post.</p><p><br /></p>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-82803775945222333182022-05-23T21:53:00.000-05:002022-05-23T21:53:05.073-05:00Virtues in Death<p> Death is painful for those who remain after the loss of a loved one. But death is a gift. If we did not die, we would live forever in corruption and brokenness, alienated from God. He used to walk in the garden with Adam and Eve, but after their fall, there was separation. To end that separation and enter upon the way to everlasting live in union with God, we must die, or the separation would be eternal.</p><p><br /></p><p>There is no other school like that of death. Nothing else teaches us, over and over, the importance of love, forgiveness, relationship with each other, and most importantly, with God Himself. Nothing prepares the soil of the heart as when the plow of death carves its furrows.</p><p><br /></p><p>Death says "I will not accept your wealth or your goods. Material is useless." So we must learn that money and property must be put in their proper place, far lower in importance than God and our neighbor.</p><p><br /></p><p>Death says "I can not wait until tomorrow or another day. There is no other time. There is no more time." We must learn that our moments are few and precious. Do we use them on truly important things? Or fritter them away on that which does not profit our soul or serve our neighbor?</p><p><br /></p><p>Death says "That way are the demons, and this way is to God." We must learn to shun the former and draw near to the latter, for that to which we cling in this life will cling to us in the next.</p><p><br /></p><p>It is important for us, it is good for us to stand up and look death in the face. To attend the death bed of friends and family, to weep bitterly and be washed with tears of grief, to love and support and empathize with the bereaved, to see it through to the very end, even, as I saw and participated in this weekend, unto the shoveling of dirt upon the grave, the final tuck-in to rest for the departed. All of this, taken into ourselves will be tremendously painful, but I believe it is also immeasurably good for us and for our neighbors through what it teaches us. God works in all things, even death, for the good of those who love him.</p><p><br /></p><p>Death teaches many lessons and says many things to us to prepare us and impress upon us the importance and imminence of that hour when lessons will be finished. Ultimately, we will stand before God, and what He says will be final: "Come, you who are blessed by my Father," or "Depart from me."</p><p><br /></p><p>Memento Mori, dear ones. We are going to die.</p><p><br /></p><p> πππ£ππ ππππππ’ππππ π ππ ππππ‘β ππππππππ ππππ¦ π£πππ‘π’ππ . πΌπ‘ πππππ‘π πππππ; ππ‘ ππππππ‘ππ π‘βπ ππ₯πππππ π ππ π πππ-ππππ‘πππ ππ πππ π‘βππππ ; ππ‘ ππ π ππππππππ ππ βπππ; ππ‘ ππ π‘βπ πππ‘βππ ππ ππππ¦ππ πππ π‘ππππ ; ππ‘ ππππ’πππ ππ’ππππππ ππ π‘βπ βππππ‘ πππ πππ‘ππβππππ‘ ππππ πππ‘πππππ π‘βππππ ; ππ‘ ππ π π ππ’πππ ππ ππ‘π‘πππ‘ππ£ππππ π πππ πππ ππππππππ‘πππ. πβππ π ππ π‘βπππ π‘π’ππ πππππ’ππ π‘βπ π‘π€πππππ ππππ ππ πΊππ. πΌπ πππππ‘πππ, π‘βπ ππ’πππππ ππ πππππ π πππππ π‘βππ’πβπ‘π ππππ π‘βπ βππππ‘ ππππππππ ππππ¦ ππ π‘βπ πΏπππβπ πππππππππππ‘π . πβπ βπππ β βππ’π-ππ¦-βππ’π π π‘ππ’ππππ ππ π€βππβ π π ππππ¦ ππ‘βπππ‘ππ ππ πΆβπππ π‘ πππ πππππππ βππ ππ </p><p>ππ‘π πππ ππππππ πππ¦ π‘βππ ππ’πππππ ππ π‘βπ βππππ‘.</p><p>-ππ‘. πβππππ‘βπππ ππ πππππ</p><p><br /></p><p>The Lord Almighty grant us a quiet night, and peace at the last.</p><p>Amen.</p>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-48667568610658032502022-05-04T12:28:00.001-05:002022-05-04T12:37:52.208-05:00What Are You Reading?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcEXYInuDqc2cWDIIQrKRfuqNscG9CL9ZL-TX-AnViVefz2PnFj-oCX_nGuvcSdNfO-Hpt4kxp1_STAv6Ym4PGzV2kTr2D8YOwhXJ21QBMhVXtTxgjRRPaUc17zzcHX7sZQL_haoklCXANCxrD4QmDtPGAYWNsdGXl1J4HsWoyCliiISVBbg/s768/books.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcEXYInuDqc2cWDIIQrKRfuqNscG9CL9ZL-TX-AnViVefz2PnFj-oCX_nGuvcSdNfO-Hpt4kxp1_STAv6Ym4PGzV2kTr2D8YOwhXJ21QBMhVXtTxgjRRPaUc17zzcHX7sZQL_haoklCXANCxrD4QmDtPGAYWNsdGXl1J4HsWoyCliiISVBbg/w399-h266/books.jpg" width="399" /></a></div><br />We've just come through Great and Holy Lent and have celebrated Pascha, the resurrection of our Lord, God, and Savior, Jesus Christ from the dead. It is common among Orthodox Christians to add to their reading list during the fast as part of the increased spiritual training in which we endeavor to engage and through which we hope to grow in fervent love for God and our Neighbor. It is a good thing.<p></p><p>But...(You knew that was coming) Like so many other things, we must use balance and sobriety when we embark on such a task, and we must have our priorities in order.</p><p>So what should I read?</p><p>"Spiritual reading" is ok, but what you absolutely cannot do without is the Scriptures and the prayers. So if you're looking for something to read, read the Gospels and the Psalms. Then add Proverbs. Then add the Epistles, then the Prophets. Read the Gospel every day. We pray "Blessed art Thou, O Lord, teach me," "give me understanding," and "enlighten me with Your statutes." We need to be reading those statutes all the time in order for that to happen.</p><p>The demons rejoice when anything distracts us from the Gospel and Prayer, whether it be fatigue, illness, TV or even spiritual books. They will even use "spiritual gifts" to persuade you that you are blessed and holy in order to achieve your distraction. St Nicetas, Bishop of Novgorod is an example. He thought he could live as a solitary and ignored the counsel of his abbot. He began to hear a voice praying with him and "the lord" spoke to him and "angels" appeared to him to pray in his place, instructing him to read books and teach others instead of praying himself. He did it, and he always saw the angel praying while he busied himself with other things. People were amazed at his wisdom and gifts. The fathers of the monastery discovered that, while St. Nicetas could quote the Old Testament from memory (tho he had never read it), he had developed an aversion to the New Testament. By the prayers of the fathers, Nicetas was delivered from his delusion, his "miracles" ended, and he was later given genuine sanctity.</p><p>That's a spectacular example, but it doesn't have to happen with such outward public glitter. You can privately experience heightened "religious feelings" or a sense enlightenment. Or, you could spend a lot of time reading spiritual works and just be too tired to say your prayer rule or read the Gospel for the day. The last is perhaps the most subtle and heinous derailment of the spiritual life.</p><p>So if you want to read more, that's great. It's certainly better than watching TV. (If you want to read heavier books like the ones mentioned above, maybe talk to your priest first.) But remember balance and sobriety. If you want to read 10 pages or 10 minutes of a spiritual work, read <i>at least</i> 10 pages or 10 minutes of the Gospels, Psalms, and other Scripture, and <b>ALWAYS</b> leave time for your prayers. Your prayer rule is not the last resort, not something I'll do "if I have time." It is essential, more necessary than a meal or a chore. If you don't have a set prayer rule, talk to your priest. If you do have a set prayer rule, talk to your priest about it occasionally anyway so that it's always appropriate for you. You don't keep training wheels on a bike forever. Conversely, every ride is not a sprint or marathon. Times and seasons and conditions change. Your priest will help you.</p><p>So read the Gospel every day and say your prayers every day. If you have time for something additional, then add it in as a lower priority item.<br /></p>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-16628972241163289922022-04-06T14:17:00.000-05:002022-04-06T14:17:35.669-05:00A Discouraging Word<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-NS6Jm7lZbZKHnCFUyAaRT3B3yplI8AKisJmWSoWYQMMdW_6mdSW_DONvLcLocagY8okzyFRjwTXbPiFZyV_h6FiquSuEsbgpuLm2nn0wHOsWrFzq4rduM-B6wRgyiCf-T9FhCa2XEkjTAIaaLK-XNgRvkuPc32VrpPe6obxOGzC0MiHdsg/s800/overheard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="800" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-NS6Jm7lZbZKHnCFUyAaRT3B3yplI8AKisJmWSoWYQMMdW_6mdSW_DONvLcLocagY8okzyFRjwTXbPiFZyV_h6FiquSuEsbgpuLm2nn0wHOsWrFzq4rduM-B6wRgyiCf-T9FhCa2XEkjTAIaaLK-XNgRvkuPc32VrpPe6obxOGzC0MiHdsg/w400-h224/overheard.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />I was at a party. The attendees, tho not all directly acquainted, were all connected by having the guest of honor as a relative/friend "in common." As happens in the milling about and socializing, conversations take place and pieces of them are overheard by non-participants. I happened to catch a snippet where a relative mentioned an opinion that was contrary to the guest of honor's opinion and planning. No doubt the family member made the comment with the best of intentions, surely out of love and concern. They're family, after all. Still, it was in direct opposition to the intentions and plans of the guest of honor. Not that there was any threat to health or life of anyone. Nothing was dangerous, just a difference of opinion on a mundane matter.<p></p><p>Later on, I casually mentioned to my friend that I heard this family member wasn't on board with the chosen course of my friend. In doing so, I caused hurt to my friend and put the face of the family member on my offense, injuring two with one sin. It upset my friend to hear it, and it increased tension in their family. Who knows how bad it might get or how long it might take to resolve?</p><p>All that can be certain is that I hurt two people, sticking my nose where it didn't belong because I had overheard a few words with no context. It was easy to hurt them, because there were virtually no repercussions for me.</p><p>Did I intend to sin and hurt these two people? No. Was I careless? Yes. I did not guard my tongue. I should have forgotten every word that was not addressed to me. I should have remained silent.</p><p><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs 10:18-20&version=NKJV"></a></p><div class="singleverse-text text-html"><i>In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise. </i>- Proverbs 10:9<br /></div><p> </p>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-57699373390100541402022-03-22T13:51:00.000-05:002022-03-22T13:51:28.205-05:00That's Entertainment<p><i>When the demons see that in the very beginning we intend to keep aloof from the witty lecture of a coarse leader, as from an infectious disease, then they try to catch us by two thoughts, suggesting to us: βDo not offend the story-teller,β or: βDo not appear to love God more than they do.β Be off! Do not dally, otherwise at the time of your prayer the jokes will recur to your mind. And not only run, but even piously disconcert the bad company by offering for their general attention the thought of death and judgment. For perhaps it is better for you to be sprinkled with a few drops of vainglory, if only you can become a channel of profit for many.</i></p><p><i>-Saint John of Sinai, The Ladder of Divine Ascent</i></p><p><i> </i></p><p>"The witty lecture of a coarse leader."<i> Sorry, what?</i> St. John is writing in this chapter about the dangers of verbosity and joking. Proverbs cautions us that "In the multitude of words sin is not lacking,<br />But he who restrains his lips is wise." St. John warns that a person who tends toward vulgar language and joking should be avoided when he gets going on a speech. There is high probability for sin. He wrote a few paragraphs earlier that "the offspring of chatter and joking is lying," and lying, violating the command against false witness, is sin.</p><p>The demons want you to stick around and listen anyway. <i>"If you get up, you'll cause a scene! You'll call attention to yourself and your piety! That would be pride!" </i>Why do the demons care? Why would they try to trick you to stay? St. John tells us: Later, when we are sitting quietly, saying our prayers, the jokes and the vulgarity will return to our thoughts and distract us or derail our prayer. He goes so far as to say it might even be a good thing to prick the conscience of the speaker and listeners a little bit, so that they might take care. You might get "a few drops" of vainglory on yourself, but you might save the whole group, or even part of it, from sin and distraction.</p><p>Interesting. I don't know about you, but I don't sit for too many lectures. Is this "relevant?"</p><p>Upon reflection, yes, it is. I may not be in a classroom or lecture hall, but I do take in more than my fair share of "lectures." When I read this paragraph from <i>The Ladder</i>, I couldn't help but think about TV, Movies, Radio, and Internet media.</p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3IoDxlEJ7zbVML-2dnM0R51q78XJBEtX1NV_sO-zwJUt8EUGsVAWANJox_gNfM1OyMk7xgdwzeRq6HJjxZ4p-6uNHlW6VSYI6ZRt2z0n-bv9V_r3j60N5l1sfsSeuXga8g8QXUjGrI2_pl121vIV6LMUnFYenPxtFjv-w7go6pllmIo7d9A/s305/no-tv.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="305" data-original-width="305" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3IoDxlEJ7zbVML-2dnM0R51q78XJBEtX1NV_sO-zwJUt8EUGsVAWANJox_gNfM1OyMk7xgdwzeRq6HJjxZ4p-6uNHlW6VSYI6ZRt2z0n-bv9V_r3j60N5l1sfsSeuXga8g8QXUjGrI2_pl121vIV6LMUnFYenPxtFjv-w7go6pllmIo7d9A/s1600/no-tv.png" width="305" /></a></i></div><i><br /></i> <br /><p></p><p>It seems to me to be kind of a perennial question: Can Christians watch TV etc? What's the harm? Is there any problem, or, since it's fictionalized, is it OK? What if tremendous evil is depicted, but the "good guy" wins? Is non-fiction TV always ok?</p><p> For me, today, multimedia is the witty lecture of my course leader. If you don't think you're being lectured, you need to pay closer attention! Some of the lecturing is indeed innocuous: How to cook a steak? What is Ohm's Law? How does hydroelectric generation work? Interesting and informative lectures are good for us. They make us wiser and broaden our horizons. But some of the other lecturing is not at all appropriate for Christians. They can be as subtle as the vaguely missing dad or as bald-faced as the homosexual kiss in Buzz Light-year's origin story coming soon to theaters near you.</p><p>Murder, sex, divorce, abuse of people and substances, greed, every vice is presented to us hundreds of times a day. Our coarse leaders (because we voluntarily submit to them) pelt us with messages and values that go completely against what is good, what God has revealed to us as the way to live with and for Him.</p><p><span class="text Phil-4-8" id="en-ESV-29434"><i>"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."</i> -Philipians 4:8</span></p><p>Dwell on these things. Intentionally put these good things in your mind, and then consider them, reason them out. Do this instead of submitting to the coarse leaders of our multimedia buffet, and when you settle down to pray, you will not be distracted by images of naked people and killers. The dissatisfaction and consumerism won't have you coveting more while you pray to Christ who had no place to lay His head.</p><p>Am I demanding "<b>YOU MUST CUT OUT ALL TEH THINGS!!!11one</b>" ?? </p><p>No, and I'm not about to tell you what you can or can't do/watch. I <i>am</i> suggesting that I must do a better job, and I need to give serious consideration to what I allow inside my head. It's true, "you can't unsee that," and once it is in there, it will float to the top often at the worst time. I think if we are to be serious Christians, we all need to do that. We need to vet our leaders, and if their lectures are too coarse, we need to fire them and kick them out of our homes, and we shouldn't be afraid to say that we don't consume certain media because it is counter to our Christian values. </p><p>"Always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that is within you." You can do that when your dwell on "whatever is true" etc.<br /></p>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-39997845483994245252022-03-13T15:42:00.002-05:002022-03-14T13:18:09.570-05:00I Don't Know if You Know Who I Am<p> Ladies and Gentlemen Please<br />Would you bring your attention to me?</p><p>I want to tell you a little bit about myself. There is no more important topic, after all.</p><p>I'm an Orthodox Christian because I did a lot of research and I read a lot of books which led me to decide that Orthodoxy was the correct faith, and so I should be there since I know the truth.</p><p>You can see me in church. I mean, how could you miss me? Have you seen my vestments? They are legit! I got them custom tailored by monks in Holy Rus! I chose them because they are the most vivid colors and the brightest gold. The embroidered cross on my back really sparkles. So I spend most of the liturgy in the altar, the holiest place, of course. Where else would I be. But when I come out, you can see my piety and devotion in my bows and movements. And the voice! Oh have you heard me chanting? It's pretty much what angels sound like. By the way, when I do come out of the altar, you'll see me limping. That's because I'm just like Saint Paul, and the Lord has given me a thorn in the flesh. It indicates to you that I'm a really holy person. If I wasn't, I'd just walk around like a normal guy, but my bad leg really keeps me humble.</p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: trebuchet;"><i>Hello...? Can you hear me?</i></span></p><p>Have you met me? I hope you get the chance. I'm a very pious fellow, and if you meet me, I'm sure it will be edifying for you, like meeting an elder on the Holy Mountain, but local. Because I make it easy for you. I will impress you with flowery language about how I will pray for you. I'll have lots of spiritual quotes and stuff to show you how nice it is that I pray for you.</p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: trebuchet;"><i>Oh God! Help me! It's happening again.</i></span></p><p>My prayers are effectual because I'm pretty righteous. When I have a bad thought or temptation appear in my mind I quickly swat it away, because I'm advanced in the struggle for holiness. You might not know it, because my humility is pretty comprehensive, so I don't talk about it. But you can tell by my devout behavior, that's my "wink wink." On top of that, I am always at church. If the doors are unlocked, I'm in there. I probably got there before the priest because I'm holier than he is. He really doesn't know as much as I do, and I don't think he's as holy as I am. That's ok, he can learn from me too. Glad to help.</p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: trebuchet;"><i>Help me! I'm trapped in this hell of pride. My shoulders are dislocated because I constantly pat myself on the back. My back is sore and bruised from all the self-congratulatory slapping. My cheeks hurt from the constant self-assured smile.</i></span></p><p>So after Liturgy I will come over to coffee hour. I'll be late because I stay behind in the altar to pray the post-communion prayers with the priest. So I'll be "fashionably late" or maybe "piously late." That's another indication of how holy I am. Once I sit down you can gather around me and hope to catch some tidbit of wisdom or insight to cherish. I'm smart. Smarter than most people. Probably smarter than you. Definitely more holy.</p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: trebuchet;"><i>Please don't feed him! Don't praise me, but give glory to God. I am glad to be used by God, but all glory is His. I am just a tool. </i></span></p><p>Oh Look! Is he trying to get a word in? Ha. That fool.</p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: trebuchet;"><i>Forgive me. Pray for me.</i></span></p><p>Aw, poor thing. He pretends not to love the attention and honors he gets. See his humility? Yeah, sure. He "struggles" with pride, and then he writes on the internet about it in some public soul-bearing. Well done! Well done! See how humble we are? More than you, for sure.</p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: trebuchet;"><i>That is <b>not</b> what this is about! Please. I am a wretch and no man. Friends, pray for me. Forgive me. I don't know how to deal with this. When you say nice things, I love it because you care, but I also love it because I think I deserve it. When I swat away pride, like a boomerang, it comes back and says "hey, that was a good job avoiding that temptation. You should be proud."</i></span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: trebuchet;"><i>Forgive me, friends. Pray for me. because</i></span></p><p><i style="color: #2b00fe;">I</i><b>I</b><i style="color: #2b00fe;"> am</i><b>am</b><i style="color: #2b00fe;"> pride</i><b>pride</b>.</p><span></span>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGtKxxcNosw-c2916_pxgE6i6tIeNbbTvI4AuMqIsUS81zSr7Az-5w9JmxRAlgoo-yzfww6IhJNjQjer4eD7lX_nfQKV-A_Kaz930KDyEQ4vVfHVr06O_WpLIL-GI4Fj8M9gMuBsTbh-xKnen26_d6mRvz8w6-tDZsDMnJ6-GPzLYgJxTfAQ=s1046" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1046" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGtKxxcNosw-c2916_pxgE6i6tIeNbbTvI4AuMqIsUS81zSr7Az-5w9JmxRAlgoo-yzfww6IhJNjQjer4eD7lX_nfQKV-A_Kaz930KDyEQ4vVfHVr06O_WpLIL-GI4Fj8M9gMuBsTbh-xKnen26_d6mRvz8w6-tDZsDMnJ6-GPzLYgJxTfAQ=s320" width="275" /></a></div><br /><p>I am not quite as schizophrenic as this, and not that arrogant! I don't actually think that way about people, clergy, or myself. But I do go back and forth with pride. God has given me some gifts, and I want to serve His church and his people, and I have lot of love for His flock. I enjoy using His gifts for the edification of His people, but I often feel pride creeping up on me, and then when I notice it, I'm proud of that. Ha! It's a feedback loop.</p><p>When you compliment me, I am encouraged and humbled. Thank you. My reaction is my responsibility. Please don't read this and think that you shouldn't encourage and uplift others. I am trying to work on my dispassion. Here's a story to explain it better, from the desert fathers:<br /></p><p>A novice went to his abbot for help with dispassion. The abbot sent him to the cemetery with orders to shout curses and reviling at those buried there, so he did this all day long. The next day the abbot sent him back to the cemetery with orders to shower the dead with flowery praises. This the novice also did for the entire day.</p><p>On the third day the abbot asked his novice "How did they react to your curses?"<br />"There was silence, father."<br />"And when you praised them, how did they react?"<br />"They didn't, father. It was again silent."<br />"When you achieve the same reaction whether people praise you or criticize you, you will have dispassion."</p><p>God help us all.</p>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-86247934089138897852022-02-14T13:59:00.001-06:002022-02-14T13:59:51.977-06:00Another Christian Ranting about Sex!<p> Let us start with the crown jewel of Holy Tradition: The Sacred Scriptures. We know in the commandments of God we are told "You shall not commit adultery." Generally people understand this as not having sex with a person other than the one to whom you are married. That's partly correct.Jesus became man and dwelt among us and taught us the commandments are much deeper than they first appear. Regarding this command, He said if we even look at another person and think lustfully about them, we have committed adultery. "Great multitudes" followed Jesus, (Mat. 4) and when He saw them, He went "up on a high mountain" where they came to Him (Mat. 5). It was here on this mountain that He told the multitudes about how the commandments are not only about outward actions, but also about the nous, the "heart" of men and women. </p><p>Was He only speaking to married people when He said this? Probably not. A "multitude" is going to represent the society from which it is drawn, so it is very reasonable to assume there are men, women, young, old, married, single, widowers and widows in the multitude. </p><p>Back to the heart: Jesus says that what goes into us is not what makes us unclean, but what comes out of the heart. In Matthew 15 He says "out of the heart come forth evil thoughts: murders, adulteries, fornication, theft, lies, blasphemies. These are the things that defile a man, not eating with unwashed hands." Notice that adultery(Gr:<i>moicheiai</i>) and fornication(Gr:<i>porneai</i>) are mentioned as distinct categories in the original text. This means that if we were to say "adultery applies to marriage, but consenting single adults aren't married, so they are exempt," we would be shown untrue by Christ's warning that mentions both adultery and fornication, or "hooking up."</p><p>Christ hearkens all the way back to the beginning when He says "But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female.' 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh"(Mk 10). This is Christ's example: One man, one woman, married, one-flesh union. It is the typological depiction of Christ and His Bride, the Church. Paul affirms it in Ephesians.</p><p>Speaking of St. Paul, in Ephesians 5 he says "For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God." It's a sentiment he repeats to the congregation at Corinth where he adds the emphasizing sentimentment that "the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord!" He also writes to his spiritual son and young pastor Timothy saying that fornication is "contrary to sound doctrine."</p><p>God and the Church have, since the beginning, forbidden sex outside of marriage. It's evident, but why? What's the harm in consenting adult "hook ups?"</p><p>Let's consider human sex as opposed to animal mating. Mating is driven by hormones, instinct, the seasons. It is an "animal impulse" by which the species survives. Dogs mate. Puppies are born. There's no "Call you tomorrow" or any feeling of responsibility or any bond. Human intercourse, on the other hand, is a much deeper event. We have the gift of intellect and free will, emotions, and so forth. No act of human intercourse is sterile and free from the deeper aspects of the act. The intimacy, the knowledge, the familiarity, the vulnerability. There is no "utilitarian sex" among humans, even in cases of masturbation, sex with one's self. Hook ups and all other out-of-wedlock sex thwart God's purpose for the act. The emotional, psychological or spiritual connection are absent or avoided or destroyed. There is no possibility for love, self-transcendence, sacrifice, or growth. </p><p>The life of a Christian is a life of daily repentance and pursuit of holiness. "Draw near to God." "Do not neglect good works." "Offer your bodies as a suitable offering to God." "A sacrifice unto God is a broken spirit. A broken and humble heart God will not despise." "The greatest of these is love."</p><p>Love is the cause and reason for marriage and sex. Love is all the things in 1 Corinthians 13, but in a single word, Love is "Kenosis," self-emptying, exemplified by Christ. "[T]hough he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied(Gr:<i>ekenosen</i>, from <i>kenosis</i>) Himself, by taking the form of a servant"(Phil 2) Christ God emptied Himself of righteous power and authority because He did not want to frighten us, His creatures, His beloved. He came, rather, empty, and humble, not to be served, but to serve, as a way to draw us to Himself by His absolute and perfect LOVE. This was not a feeling, but an ACT. All love, not just marital love, is kenotic.</p><p>Sex for self pleasure, for mechanical release, for better sleep, stress relief, or any other rationalization we come up with, is not love, and it is not good use of the gift of sex. It stems from egocentric individualism, and this is a prison of isolation from others. We must break free from our jail cell. </p><p>So, again, proper use of sex, in a proper context of marriage is "kenotic" or self-emptying. It seeks the other, not the self. It raises up, embraces, protects, nurtures, supports, and yes, pleases the other person. By this outward attention to the other, the spouse, we learn to humble ourselves, to sacrifice for our spouse, to transcend ourselves and join to our spouse, to grow with our spouse together in the marital union, in the image of God, in the image of Christ and His Bride the church. Proper sex honors God, not in some weird way like "lord we're doing this for your glory." That would be bizarre and uncomfortable. No, sex honors God in an organic way, the way an apple on an apple tree honors God because it is doing what God created it to do. "And God saw that it was Good."</p><p>Anything else is sin, and sin is to fall short, to miss the mark, to not hit the bull's eye. We have to practice so that we can hit closer to the bull's eye, and as part of that practice, we have to confess to God our failure. In the Sacrament of Confession, God will forgive, and He will add His Grace to you, so that you can arise without shame and try again. Married people can and do fail in this as well and the prescription is the same: Confess. Arise. Make a new beginning. Repeat.</p><p>All of this having been said about sex, it is important to say that sex is not the center of Christian life and morality. All sin is a symptom of our common illness. Some sin has greater repercussions among our neighbors, which makes it "bigger sin" from our perspective, but it's all sin. Stealing pens from the bank is as bad as masturbation. Dishonoring your mother is as bad as internet porn.</p><p>No, the center of Christian life and morality is Christ, is kenotic love, is spiritual warfare to resist the demons and "clean house" inside ourselves. Every effort is a small step in the right direction, and all efforts together will combine to strengthen you across multiple fronts in the war against sin and the flesh and its passions, and Christ will be with you, and He will help you, for without His help, you can do nothing.</p><p>Go to Confession. Receive the Body and Blood of our Savior Jesus Christ, <i><b><u>frequently</u></b></i> for the further forgiveness of sins. In these lifelines from God, He comes to <b>you</b>. Like the father of the prodigal, He <i><b>runs</b></i> to you and throws His loving arms around your neck. He gives you His grace, gives you <i>Himself</i>, and strengthens you to be able to "work out your salvation with fear and trembling." Like the Prodigal, come to your senses and turn to Him.</p><p><br /></p><p><i>PS: After all this writing about love, marriage, and sex, I just realized it's Valentine's day. HAHAHA.<br />Happy Valentine's day, dear reader. I love you. Pray for me.</i></p>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-31864452018496483192022-01-09T13:00:00.002-06:002022-01-09T13:05:30.857-06:00The Jesus Prayer<div><i><b><u><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: left;"><b><u><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGByHOMlpzfVhA0H-HPVb7NDxn07ASRY2UD9fxkRs9itUT5TLpGIttRI66Jy8aBxkUW13K68z9PdboDNwQQeJ4nlUkAL8Dls9RgrA_PIaBiit5Pf77LwNHXia4O6ICf8XJJB3qSUgeOw1QceCFJv8ikDh6_Pc9MzGCr0lYQMIqOJYY4BI37Q=s960" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGByHOMlpzfVhA0H-HPVb7NDxn07ASRY2UD9fxkRs9itUT5TLpGIttRI66Jy8aBxkUW13K68z9PdboDNwQQeJ4nlUkAL8Dls9RgrA_PIaBiit5Pf77LwNHXia4O6ICf8XJJB3qSUgeOw1QceCFJv8ikDh6_Pc9MzGCr0lYQMIqOJYY4BI37Q=w397-h298" width="397" /></a></div></u></b></i></div></u></b></i></div><div><br /></div><div>"<b>Pray without ceasing.</b>" How, exactly, are we to do that? I can't just sit and pray all day. I have responsibilities: A job, a family, etc. And what would I pray about? I'm not good with words, and even if I was, surely I would run out of thoughts to pray about. </div><div><br /></div><div>The answer to every question about this is the Jesus Prayer.</div><div><br /></div><div>Let's look at the prayer itself, in smaller parts:<br /><b>"Lord Jesus Christ." </b>The Name above all names at which every knee shall bow and every tongue confess. The titles Lord and Christ, the anointed one of God. As the song says, there 's power in the Name. When we call upon the Name of the Lord, we worship Him(Ps 116), we draw near to Him, and He draws near to us (Ja 4:8). How long have I lived my life attending services on Sunday but leaving and spending the rest of the week drifting away? But if I call on His Name throughout the day, I call to mind His imminent presence and I maintain closeness with Him. I repent, literally turning toward Him.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>"Son of God." </b>Who He is. As we sing in the Liturgy, the "only begotten Son and Word of the Father, Who for our salvation willed to be incarnate of the holy Mother of God and ever virgin Mary." Who for our sake became man. The Eternal Logos Who was with God and is God since before the creation. He Who made all things that were made. He Who opened to us the way to everlasting life. When we say this clause, we are making an honest assessment of who Jesus is. We'll make another assessment in a minute.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>"Have mercy on me." </b>What He does. This is the prayer of all saints and all Christians. It is the cry that opens the ultimate prayer of repentance, Psalm 50. It is the call of the blind man over the crowd "Son of David! Have mercy on me!" and when they tried to hush him up, he cried out all the louder! When we pray for God's mercy, we confess that we are out of order, sick, dysfunctional, and that we need His mercy to heal us. It is said that the Greek "eleison," have mercy, is related to the Greek "eleon," olive or olive oil (I don't remember at the moment). The "word play" calls to mind anointing with oil and sees Jesus' mercy on us as enveloping like anointing with oil.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>"A sinner."</b> This is just a frank assessment of our condition. We fall short of the Glory of God at every moment, and that is what sin is: to miss the mark. There are acts of sin, and there is the condition of sin, and we obviously find ourselves in this condition. Sinner is not something we wallow in. It's not a title we grasp with any sort of pride or hubris with a sneer. It's not a resignation or a goal. It's just a confession. God says of the Prophet-King David, a saint, that he is a man after God's own heart, whom God loved and whom He took from Jesse and following sheep to shepherd His people Israel. Yet, this "man after God's own heart" admits "I know my iniquity, and my sin is ever before me." When he lost sight of his condition, bad things happened, like adultery and murder. When Nathan showed David his sin and brought him back to his senses, he repented and authored that most excellent of repentant prayers.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><u>Practically speaking...</u></b></div><div>So what about our questions above? How does this look in practice? It is a short and simple prayer, so it can be said when doing things that don't require absolute focus and concentration. Driving? Say the prayer. Brain surgery? Pray before and after. :-) Be sure to add five minutes of sitting still and saying the Jesus prayer, focused on the words, to the end of your prayer rule. Say it when you're sick. Say it as you drift to sleep. Say it as often as you can. Be like that widow at the door of the judge, constantly seeking mercy. This is no "vain repetition" because you don't stand on street corners saying it out loud so others can see you. You say it silently, in your heart.</div><div>Orthodoxy involves the body mind and heart in prayer, so get a prayer rope and use it when you say the prayer. Hold one knot and say the prayer, move to the next knot and say it again. When you get all the way around to the cross, say the Lord's prayer, then "Rejoice O Virgin Theotokos, O Mary, full of grace...", and start again.</div><div>What about other people? Modify it to "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on Scott" and go through your prayer list. Pray for family and friends, and you can add "for healing" or "bless their family" or whatever specific concern, or none. He knows! As you enter the Life of Christ through prayer, and use the Jesus prayer more and more, it will become natural. You may have prayed for everyone you know and all the concerns you have or know about, so just go back to "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner" and after a while, something will come to mind. Since you're already praying, just add it in to your cycle, and then move on. There's no need to search for lofty words. As a matter of fact, when you've used up all your words but you're still very concerned, just repeat "...have mercy on [name(s)]" of the people. It's an extraordinary act of love to lift them up by name before the throne of God. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><u>One Caveat</u></b></div><div>We pray because God invites us into this communion with Himself. We are not reciting a mantra while clutching a talisman. It's not magic. We do not seek or try to conjure visions, etc. When we say the Jesus prayer, we focus on the words and the others for whom we pray. Do not allow yourself to fall into any traps about visions or personal holiness, etc. That is a quick way to delusion and falling. Pray the words. If your eyes are closed, and your mind wanders with images, open your eyes and look at your icons. Discipline your intellect.</div><div><br /></div><div>God bless you, and draw near to you as you draw near to Him.</div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-3948768857383168322022-01-08T21:56:00.003-06:002022-01-09T11:03:15.803-06:00Mary: Did YOU know...?<p> This is a combination of a series of Facebook posts I made some time ago:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWgDhmY15T6jXpHQhA9Cbx4SubPrpA-4ylCHmRYZY0-PMRAIkWq7PBYkX-qERb-Jhmz_DXhtVBN2E2DwYaUoKI-sQyz2P90VktGyjRIk_PYNtzDEDDLBG0FvywgFM6r_AkL2tC/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="469" data-original-width="625" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWgDhmY15T6jXpHQhA9Cbx4SubPrpA-4ylCHmRYZY0-PMRAIkWq7PBYkX-qERb-Jhmz_DXhtVBN2E2DwYaUoKI-sQyz2P90VktGyjRIk_PYNtzDEDDLBG0FvywgFM6r_AkL2tC/w400-h300/image.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>Did <i>you</i> know...Mary is the greatest woman who ever lived.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The archangel Gabriel and her cousin, St. Elizabeth both confess in Scripture "Blessed art thou among women." She was chosen by God to conceive, enflesh, birth, nurture, and raise "very God of very God, of one essence with the Father!" He who can not be contained condescended to be contained in her womb. She is the first Christian to receive the Savior, and she did so in ways no one else could ever do.</div><div>She found favor with the Father, was overshadowed by the Spirit, and gave birth and raised the Son.</div><div>(Icon: Our Lady of the Sign, depicting Christ's conception in her womb as she says "May it be done unto me." Her arms are open to us in an invitation to also receive the Savior of our souls.)</div><div><br /></div><hr /><br />
<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTTLpRxbgRfBgwl8AXibewv3AX8x-XRRBoDJ_SQ7m-kEVRNRHGcVZz2n3AtiLOVjBFDL1sKnQiz4Al2mm88G6mW-y2tnvUZ-a4VKyzSWmG4d-4-4of0bwfWSfTtatSmSO50m-W/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="417" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTTLpRxbgRfBgwl8AXibewv3AX8x-XRRBoDJ_SQ7m-kEVRNRHGcVZz2n3AtiLOVjBFDL1sKnQiz4Al2mm88G6mW-y2tnvUZ-a4VKyzSWmG4d-4-4of0bwfWSfTtatSmSO50m-W/w427-h640/image.png" width="427" /></a></div><div><b>Did <i>you</i> know...Mary is the model of a life of faith.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>When God's Angel came to her with His amazing message, in faith, Mary responded: "Be it unto me." She said YES. Much like Noah building the Ark, or Abram being called to leave his homeland, and going, Mary's faith is seen in her actions, actions more personal, intimate, and part of her being than any other. Her faith in action is demonstrated again at the wedding in Cana where she glorifies her Son and her God by telling others "Whatever he tells you, do it." This is her example and advice to us all.</div><div>(Icon: Wedding at Cana)</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikXb3Qb357BekPyXIco3r05_mJslhRop-Tmp7PaNxY5CM1zA95v_BAbECoI4230gjGTRwLSpTF_MRdAWsXqNDeYn4BhE1dbD2S0Aep1zoWNj2QZ2XsP57149_y9TYvw3KfEK39/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="488" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikXb3Qb357BekPyXIco3r05_mJslhRop-Tmp7PaNxY5CM1zA95v_BAbECoI4230gjGTRwLSpTF_MRdAWsXqNDeYn4BhE1dbD2S0Aep1zoWNj2QZ2XsP57149_y9TYvw3KfEK39/w313-h400/image.png" width="313" /></a></div><br /><div><b>Did <i>you</i> know...Mary is the "Mother of God."</b></div><div><br /></div><div>This is a tough one for some, but since we confess that Jesus is "true God of true God, of one substance with the Father," that is, Jesus is God, and He was born of Mary, then Mary is the Mother of God or Theotokos.</div><div>This title does not mean that she is the progenitor of the un-originiate, eternal Father, or the Spirit Who proceeds, but it confesses the true Godhead of her Son Jesus.</div><div>To honor and confess Mary as Mother of God, Theotokos, is to confess and glorify as God, her Son, who is God.</div><div>(Icon: Mother of God, Tenderness)</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0WJeUAepWsimMpmGvc6jYrZy6lI-jJxNF00t0j3-nz8Bp60_VOKgc8e7oRUVtRw3kzrbKJCPP0Pyt1QGGnE5E0onxzmGVCgKiipVFFN7GQSSC3ha5o2tuFTcjMJhIPmQDyvG/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="497" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0WJeUAepWsimMpmGvc6jYrZy6lI-jJxNF00t0j3-nz8Bp60_VOKgc8e7oRUVtRw3kzrbKJCPP0Pyt1QGGnE5E0onxzmGVCgKiipVFFN7GQSSC3ha5o2tuFTcjMJhIPmQDyvG/w358-h450/image.png" width="358" /></a></div><b>Did <i>you</i> know...We are to bless and honor Mary.</b></div><div><br /><div>We learned earlier that the Archangel Gabriel (who speaks only what God speaks) calls Mary Blessed among women. We also saw that Saint Elizabeth made the same confession. . Scripture also says that ALL generations will call her blessed. All the Church throughout all of history has done so, until the past few centuries.</div><div>Mary is <i>not</i> worshipped. God alone is worshipped. Mary is honored and blessed, she is venerated by the faithful, in accordance with the Scriptures, and, because Christ is our Brother, we honor Mary as our Mother too.</div><div>In the language of the Church, borrowed in the Protestant hymn "Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones" (John Athelstan Lurie Riley, 1858-1945) she is called:</div><div>"Higher than the Cherubim, More glorious than the Seraphim, Bearer of the eternal Word, Most gracious," </div><div>and she is asked to lead the praises of God.</div><div>The earliest record of worship of the Church include such high honors for Mary.</div><div>Sadly, in our day, many denominations and people have dogmatically stood against the Word of God in their refusal to bless Mary. May it not be so.</div><div>(Icon: The Visitation. Elizabeth, on the right, greets Mary as blessed and the "Mother of my Lord.")</div></div><div><br /></div><div><hr /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLZMQ-4CdFK1oYSsHoL4iHwLHaXkdk7gp4lzXf4_RtF8xJPo9wosHThOm6iCMeTw-EJ3DreIxn9JVUqWH5pHqNjFGsIYncjllAdqwoT8TwxbfiDE6-I_Lqw5qp5EllUkR4w7nE/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="417" height="433" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLZMQ-4CdFK1oYSsHoL4iHwLHaXkdk7gp4lzXf4_RtF8xJPo9wosHThOm6iCMeTw-EJ3DreIxn9JVUqWH5pHqNjFGsIYncjllAdqwoT8TwxbfiDE6-I_Lqw5qp5EllUkR4w7nE/w289-h433/image.png" width="289" /></a></div><div><b>Did you know...Mary's virginity was preserved for the rest of her life.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>"Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces toward the east, but it was shut. And the LORD said to me, `This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the LORD God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut.β " - Ezekiel 44:1-2.</div><div>In the traditional interpretation of this passage, Mary is the temple and Christ is the Prince of Peace. The gate mentioned is seen as a picture of Christβs passage through the door of Maryβs womb. This opinion was also held by some of the Reformers.</div><div>But the Bible says Joseph knew her not *until* Jesus was born, right?</div><div>Right. But that doesn't necessarily mean after He was born, anything changed. Jesus said, "I will be with you until the end of the age," but surely, he didn't mean He would leave us in eternity.</div><div>But the Bible says Jesus had brothers and sisters, right?</div><div>Right. But the word could mean cousins. Also, Lot and Abram were called Brothers, but they were nephew and uncle. Same with Jacob and Laban. Many in the early church taught that the "brothers and sisters" were children of Joseph from a previous wedding and that he was a widower.</div><div>Consider the Communion utensils in church: We use a plate and a cup and a pitcher, and other things in the service of the Eucharist. These vessels are set aside for this special purpose, and the "ordinary use" of such things would never be considered. You would not serve pretzels and cola in them. They hold the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Similarly, Joseph, being a faithful Jew looking forward to the advent of the Messiah, it's not too far a stretch, especially after the conversations with angels, that he would not have dared to pursue the ordinary marital activities, but would rather see himself as the guardian of the blessed virgin and her Son.</div><div>(Icon: The Nativity of our Lord. Mary, in iconography, is depicted with three stars on her garb, on her shoulders and one on her head, representing her virginity before, during, and after the birth of Christ.)</div><br /></div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-78221158348949434092022-01-05T13:30:00.001-06:002022-01-09T11:03:38.629-06:00Perspective on The Saints<p>Many people have various ideas concerning the Saints of Christianity. Many Protestants, while acknowledging a few of them by calling them "Saint Paul" or "Saint Luke," fall into two camps. The more "evangelical" denominations generally don't recognize many, if any non-biblical persons as saints, to my knowledge. The "Mainline Protestants" like Methodists, Anglicans, Lutherans etc, do recognize other saints, to a limited degree. Coming from Lutheranism, I know they acknowledge Saint Augustine, Saint Lucia, and others. Ironically, Martin Luther, the Reformer who is credited with "restoring the Gospel" is not recognized as a saint, and no person is considered a saint, in the narrow sense, since the Reformation. In Lutheranism (I'm not sure about others), there is a broad, general sense of saint-hood, and it's generously applied to pretty much all those who have departed this life apparently in the faith. But that's it. Saint is a title applied specifically to some heroes and giants of the Faith, but it's just an honorific.</p><p>On the other hand, Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians, while having a broad and a narrow sense of the term, are usually speaking more specifically when talking about saints. They recognize specific people as Saints because the person in question has been "glorified" by God and there has been evidence of their elevated sanctity in life, death or after death.</p><p>For examples:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>St. John Chrysostom, St. Basil, and St. Gregory gave us treasures of theological writings and liturgies.</li><li>St. Maximus and other "confessors" boldly proclaimed the Faith in the face of persecution. </li><li>St. Mardarije of Libertyville IL, a tireless bishop who worked for unity and established a monastery reposed in 1935. He was glorified as a Saint in 2015. In 2017 permission was given to open his grave, and upon doing so, his body was found intact, not reduced to dust, and when the coffin was opened, a sweet aroma filled the tomb. An eyewitness account is <a href="https://wadiocese.org/news_170520_1" target="_blank">here</a>.</li><li>Others have appeared to people, or their graves/bodies stream a sweet smelling holy oil which has healing properties. There are many many examples.</li></ul><p></p><p> Saints continue to be revealed to and recognized by Orthodox Christians. They give the Saints great honor and often seek their help. That's a step too far for Protestants, for a few reasons that are not the point of this post, like the mechanics of "dead people" hearing you, etc.</p><p>Some theories about the Orthodox and Roman Catholic honor paid and prayers to the Saints have sprung up in the last 500 years. A very popular theory is that the average Christian was scared of a stern God, and thus they, like a little child might "ask mom," decided to seek the help of St. Mary and others. Others may think they just added more people to "worship" or just made up fantastic stories.</p><p>These are misconceptions. Here is how the Orthodox Christians think about the Saints.</p><p>The Saints are <i>given</i> to us by God. We didn't invent them, they didn't <i>take</i> a position, none of the hagiography is our creation for whatever purpose one might imagine (idolatry, softening a stern God, etc).</p><p>Rather, God <i>gives</i> us saints and He gives them work and parameters, and the Saints generally work, and sometimes specifically are sent to help, strengthen, and encourage us to struggle for our salvation, to "work [it] out," in order that we recognize God's mercy and love and worship and draw near to <b><i>Him</i></b>.</p><p>Another misconception is an assumed dualism between God and the Saints, as if there is some conflict between them. <i>Either </i>God <i>or</i> the Saints. This is a false dichotomy. The Saints are the friends of God. They do not contradict or oppose Him in any way, on any point. They do not detract from God because the honor given to the Saint is a recognition of the Glory of God in and through that person's life, thus honoring the Saints honors God, Who <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">alone </u>is worshiped.</p><p>Like the creation, parents who love us, sacraments, scripture and tradition, prayer, food, sunshine, and everything else, the Saints, their stories, and their continued activity (chiefly prayer for us) are all gifts from God.</p>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-37200835187933274872019-12-16T10:45:00.003-06:002022-01-09T11:05:15.471-06:00Their angels always see the face of my Father <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />A bit of pious opinion.<br />
But first, a story!<br />
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It was Thursday evening and we were in the living room watching TV when Lucas, my 9 year old nearly-nonverbal son with Down syndrome quickly turned to me as if prompted and said "Dad! DAD! Gramma!"<br />
"You want to call Gramma and Grampa?"<br />
"Yes."<br />
"Why don't we call them on the weekend? It's late, they're an hour ahead of us, so it's later there. Wait and we'll call them this weekend."<br />
He sat back down on the couch and seemed to be Ok with that answer, but a few minutes later he sprang back up and said, kind of urgently, "DAD! Gramma!"<br />
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We were only watching TV, so I stopped the show we were watching and we got a phone which I dialed for him. They answered, and he babbled away to them about sundry things we couldn't really decipher. He, thinking ALL phones work like smart phones on video calls, walked around the house and pointed the cordless handset at the various Christmas decorations we have here and there.<br />
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After several minutes, I took the phone from him and talked to my parents. My dad, after I got on the line, said "Well, I shoulda called you sooner, but I'm going in to have a heart catheter done tomorrow morning."<br />
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This is where I'll end the story. I'll let you know that the procedure went well and my dad went home without complications, but that's not the point.<br />
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The point is that my son somehow knew it was important to call Gramma and Grampa, and because of his prompting, I was able to tell my dad I love him and then to pray for him and solicit the prayers of many others for him.<br />
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I don't believe in "coincidence."<br />
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I have a theory about children, especially tiny ones, but it also can extend to Lucas. I have held this theory for many years, having 6 children and seeing a certain behavior in all of them. When they are tiny and unable to speak to us, I notice they look up a lot, at the ceiling, at the sky, and they babble and giggle and smile. What are they looking at? Why are they smiling and babbling?<br />
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I believe the very young and innocent babes see and talk with their Guardian Angel, and others who love them and reside in the unseen spiritual world around us. I think that between conception and some point in the process of cognitive development is a period of sweet communion with God and the angels, Saints and ancestors. They are allowed to see what we can't because they are simple, trusting, and innocent, which brings them so close to the kingdom of God that they, for a time, nearly bridge the space between here and there.<br />
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As they grow, and learn, their attention turns to the things of this world, and at some point they cross a line where reason and rationality and self-interest sever them from the presence of the Spiritual and they forget and become concerned only with the temporal. This is aided by adults, the media the kids consume, teachers, day cares, etc. etc. I can't say if the parting is a sweet farewell or a sad fading away, but at some point they become "too smart" to see, hear, or talk to angels.<br />
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In thinking about the combination of Lucas' urgent prompt to call my parents and this theory I have about children, a "spiritual meaning" of Scripture began to occur to me.<br />
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An aside: in the ancient Church there were two major schools of theology. The Antiochian School was primarily concerned with a more literal, typological understanding of the Scriptures. The Alexandrian School focused on allegorical or "spiritual meaning" of the Scripture.<br />
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Regarding a "spiritual meaning," this is not to say that Genesis is not a record of things that actually took place with real people in real time, but it is to say that there is an <i>additional</i> meaning that is not quite so clear on the face of the words.<br />
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Back to my thoughts: A spiritual meaning of early Genesis: <br />
1 - Adam and Eve were created in innocence and purity, and God walked with them in the cool of the evening. Because of their unstained purity they enjoyed communion with God.<br />
Adam and Eve are the young children who, untainted by worldly matters, enjoy this special communion.<br />
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2 - Later, the serpent tricked Eve and she at of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and subsequently gave it to Adam who also ate. The communion with God was then severed.<br />
The serpent is still the serpent, but also represents the rest of the fallen world and its impact on the little ones, even those who love them most.<br />
Eating of the tree is the gaining of their own "knowledge of Good and Evil." Through the cares of the world and increasing knowledge/worldly wisdom, the little ones partake of the "fruit" and their communion is severed.<br />
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Like I said, this is my own pious opinion. You may have objections, which I might be able to address, or which might prove cogent arguments against something here, but in any case, I am not inclined to disbelieve that Lucas has a "hotline" of sorts into mysterious and spiritual things that comes directly from his relationship to God. A faith and love I hope to have in a fractional amount some day after much striving.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-72230299119509863732019-06-07T13:10:00.002-05:002022-01-09T11:06:18.552-06:00Barking up the Wrong Tree<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="dj1cu" data-offset-key="8l7nn-0-0" style="background-color: white;">
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If we could get the right people elected, if we could get the right laws passed...
This is looking in the wrong place, for the wrong answer.
Jesus said there will always be poor people, and that we should help them. He did not say we should pass laws so that we don't have to get our hands dirty dealing with the poor ourselves, nor did He say that we should MAKE other people help them by force of government.
It is for us to do.
Jesus asked, "When the Son of Man returns, will He find faith?" Seemingly rhetorically telling us that things are going to get tough. He said we must take up our cross, an implement of torturous death, and follow Him. He did not say "things are looking up! It's only gonna get better from here!"
Helping the poor, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, burying the dead, these are the lot of Christians while at the same time suffering and persecution are the reward. Or do we think we deserve better than what they did to our God?
Government is not the answer. Heaven will not come by Congress, the Courts, or the President. The answer is to look to Christ, to obey His commands, to live life in the Liturgy where we are sustained in this vale of tears. We need to raise our kids morally. We need, above all, to trust in God and remember our death. This gloomy portal is but the door to life eternal.
Jesus said also that He has gone to prepare a place for us, and He will take us to Himself there in the Father's house.
So let us cling to His promises, receive His Sacraments, teach our children in the way they should go, and look forward to our passage from death into life. Let us give up striving, anger, and anxiety about elections and legislatures, politicians and celebrities. Instead let us strive to serve our neighbor, to obtain and cultivate the Virtues, to see Christ in our fellow man, and to trust in God, Who loves us beyond all imagination!</span></div>
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Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-33331701759674047682019-05-02T11:07:00.000-05:002019-05-21T11:03:06.904-05:00Monastics in the World: Steps Toward Oblation - Lesson 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>1. What are the impulses or inspirations that have led me to consider embracing βmonasticβ values while continuing to live and work βin the worldβ?</i></b><br />
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I don't think I can cite a single inspiration or a time that I began to feel a draw towards a life of prayer and closeness to God. Rather it has been with me for quite some time now. Maybe it was begun by my father saying a bedtime prayer with me as a young child, but I have long felt an impulse for a life of prayer and drawing near to God. It's only grown stronger with time.<br />
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It is ironic, because I was raised Lutheran, and Luther had little use for monastics. He famously said in a sermon that the barmaid does more and greater good works, and he would trust her more when she unloads a cart of supplies for her tavern, than if all the Carthusian monks were to kill themselves with all their singing. Luther was not lukewarm on the subject, and so neither are the Lutherans in general. For my desire to lead a quiet, separate life of prayer, I got around that attitude by saying it would be nice to operate a "retreat center" but I would have run it like a monastery: the hours would be prayed, meals taken in common, dress code, manual work, silence, etc.<br />
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But I am a family man of little means, so buying a large property and erecting my dream pseudo-monastery would never be realized, and I knew that. But that didn't stop the desire. So we instituted a "Family Altar" time and every evening we put candles on the coffee table, read some devotional material, said prayers and sent the kids off to bed. The routine grants some stability to our always-changing lives. Over time we added a crucifix, then a couple icons, and now we have a very nice "prayer corner" and it has become my favorite room in the house.<br />
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Having become Orthodox, and gaining a new understanding of Prayer as Communion with God, prayer has become even more important to me. I think I always knew there was more to it that what I learned as a Lutheran, but it wasn't a conscience thought I could articulate. I just knew that the Jesus prayer was changing my world, and increased general prayers were also bringing peace. My new understanding, coupled with Saint Seraphim's admonition to "acquire the Spirit of Peace" has led me to my current position on the road of salvation where, even if I can't be a monk shut away on a mountainside somewhere, I can do my part as salt and light in the world with frequent prayer and trying to exude peace to those around me.<br />
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<b><i>2. How do I plan to go about dwelling βin Godβs sanctuary,β while living my life in the βhome, the forum, or even the theaterβ?</i></b><br />
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This is certainly a challenge in our modern culture of constant noise and distraction. Met. Anthony Bloom wrote in "Beginning to Pray" that we can't stand even five minutes of silence with ourselves, or anyone else, for that matter. Having jobs and relationships in the world, I have to interact with the world, but as an oblate, I need to be intentional about guarding myself against the spirit and mind of the world. As Fr. Josiah Trenham recently remarked in a sermon: It's not enough to avoid participation in the "mind of the world," but I must actively resist. My active resistance takes the form of creating quiet solitude where ever I am able in order to step into "God's Sanctuary." This could be driving with the radio off, cutting the grass with earmuffs on, taking a short break in an unused conference room or even a stairwell, and in all of these moments of respite, to say the Jesus prayer or some other prayer to God and truly be present in that moment.<br />
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Even in those places and times when I can't create quiet, if I carry in my heart "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" and try to "pray without ceasing," this will help me maintain closeness and communion with God through the midst of life's hustle and bustle.<br />
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<i><b>3. To what degree do I allow the testimony of the Scriptures to shape and govern my life, my family, and my work?</b></i><br />
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The goal is 100%, but I know I don't reach it by a long shot. Add improper understanding to my general shortcoming, and we get farther away from the mark. The Church has helped me correct my course and, especially in my interpersonal dealings, God has helped me to see others as people He loves. That aspect has been blessed with improvement that outpaces my workplace performance. I work in IT, which can often be lonely and detached, and I really like interacting with people, so I struggle there. My prayers include asking God to make me the person other people need me to be according to that vocation; dad, husband, employee, etc.<br />
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<i><b>4. Compare the description of the Jerusalem Church in Acts 2 with your experience of the Church. How might oblation in the spirit of St Benedict change the way things are right now?</b></i><br />
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Selling their belongings and having all things in common is the cenobitic way of life, and to me it sounds wonderful. Compared to my own experience of the Church, obviously we don't all do that. We live in the world and we work and raise families in our communities. Great and Holy Lent, Holy Week, and Pascha, which we just finished, come the closest to Act 2 Church, in my experience. We meet many days of the week for services and fellowship and mutual struggles. I am always melancholy when bright week comes and the frequent assembly with my brothers and sisters comes to an end. The tomb stands empty...and so does my calendar.<br />
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But every Lord's Day, we do still gather to continue in the Apostles' teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of the bread, and <b>ΟΞ±αΏΟ </b>ΟΟΞΏΟΞ΅Ο ΟΞ±αΏΟ, <b>the</b> prayers, the Liturgy.<br />
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As an Oblate, although my monastic community is at a distance, spiritually we have "all things in common" in that we pray together, communicate with each other, and that I try to send material support to them as I am able. I think that also in the local parish, the Benedictine spirit, the guidance of The Rule helps me to be more truly present with my fellow parishioners and to manifest the monastic community among them. It heightens how I see them, the importance I place on being with them, the support I give them materially and (especially) spiritually, and it keeps me in mind of my need to welcome them as Christ and to prefer nothing above the work of God with and for them.<br />
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<i><b>5. Do you practice a form of prayer like the Jesus Prayer or the repetitive prayer described by Abba Isaac? Why or why not?</b></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvuHAHMPI_W1NilzoqbyLFnz4lgEqQ_woA9kNd4kLV-8twqyntTlSDDcOH3mRgw7xHtCe8Z-i0gqpO20aQ-6JfZpbXc3r2X1Aw6flUUsmux1o1F-wWXkgoLONmnK9voYXmysIL/s1600/praying-monk.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="690" data-original-width="755" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvuHAHMPI_W1NilzoqbyLFnz4lgEqQ_woA9kNd4kLV-8twqyntTlSDDcOH3mRgw7xHtCe8Z-i0gqpO20aQ-6JfZpbXc3r2X1Aw6flUUsmux1o1F-wWXkgoLONmnK9voYXmysIL/s320/praying-monk.jpg" width="320" /></a>YES! What could be better than to employ the tools received from my fathers, tools with proven history? I don't make up new liturgies every week. Similarly, I don't need to make up my own prayers every time. Of course there are times when I have the environment and devotion of mind to speak to God freely from my heart about things, to give thanks or make petition or intercede for situations with specific details, but as I go about daily life and I desire to be in communion with God via prayer, the Jesus prayer fits the bill perfectly.<br />
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In Information Technology we have a tool for monitoring system responsiveness called a "Heartbeat." If the system has a good heartbeat, we can tell at a glance that is is up, available, and communicating with the central servers. Even if the majority of the processing power is employed on other tasks, the heartbeat maintains contact.<br />
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The Jesus prayer is my heartbeat, my tie back to God whilst I cannot give 100% of my brain power and attention to Him alone. It also works great as intercession for others by the small alteration of replacing "me a sinner" with a person's name. "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on Susie." If I lifted up the specifics of my prayer for Susie at an early time, then I can use this modification to continue my prayer for her without concerning myself about being eloquent or wording things in a correct and interesting way. God knows. <br />
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The Jesus prayer, the hourly prayers of St. John Chrysostom, and other brief prayers are rightly called "arrow prayers" in that they allow us to shoot off a note to God, to stay connected to Him, while we do the work of our vocations in the places where He has called and placed us. They are a priceless treasure handed down to us from our Mother the Church, along with longer prayers, prayer hours, hymns, and liturgy.<br />
<br />Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-34580524632434671142019-05-02T07:44:00.001-05:002022-01-09T11:08:18.083-06:00Fear<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span data-offset-key="6r98n-0-0"><span data-text="true">"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="72njl-0-0"><span data-text="true">Therefore if someone or something is attempting to give you a spirit of fear, it is not of God, but the devil, and should be avoided and actively resisted by the people of God.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="aki2l-0-0"><span data-text="true">I'm not talking about sudden fear that is a natural response to stimulus perceived as danger. If a Semi tractor-trailer starts to drift into your lane, there's going be fear! And that's a good thing! But it's a momentary thing arising from the accident of our circumstances. </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="4n97k-0-0"><span data-text="true">What I <b>am</b> talking about is the "steady state" of fear to which so many things around us actively and intentionally contribute. It's a means to control us. If we constantly fear this thing and those people, we're very suggestible, and if our fear leads us to hate or mistrust our fellow man, we are very controllable. </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="2nup5-0-0"><span data-text="true">Measles, the wall, immigrants, the flu, the "caravan," the liberals, the progressives, Ebola in your vegetables, on and on and on.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="976fv-0-0"><span data-text="true">"Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple."</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="fgi72-0-0"><span data-text="true">Note them and avoid them. Turn off the TV. Reduce your "Friends" list and the things you "Follow" and your general exposure to the Internet. Don't take the bait that is everywhere. Be discerning, patient, and calm. "Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthyβmeditate on these things." All the energy wasted fearing and hating and being suspicious would be so much more well-spent in prayer and charity. <br /><br />"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God."</span></span></div>
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Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-82465874070686840422019-04-05T10:26:00.001-05:002022-01-09T11:08:36.760-06:00Favored One<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Angel Gabriel came to the Virgin Mary and said "ΧααΏΟΞ΅ ΞΊΞ΅ΟΞ±ΟΞΉΟΟΞΌΞΞ½Ξ·!" "Greetings O Favored One" says the ESV in Luke 1:28.</div>
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The second Greek word [pronounced ke-char-ih-toe-MEH-nee] is a little deeper than that, tho. "O Favored One" seems like the Angel is using a nice descriptive term to politely address the Virgin; a few words to tell her that God thinks she's cool.</div>
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But the word is a verb in the perfect tense, which denotes completeness. The mood is participle, which allows it to act as an adjective.</div>
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My amateur armchair Greek translation would be something like "Greetings to you who are highly-favored by and filled with the grace of God because of your receptivity to Him."</div>
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This is no ordinary woman! Because she was raised in the Temple (like Samuel), because she was humble and spent her life learning the Hebrew Scriptures, because she loved God, she was already filled with grace. This is why the Archangel Gabriel, who stands before God and is a commander of the Heavenly Hosts, was sent to HER with this greeting. IT was not a random thing. God didn't spin the "Wheel of Virgins" or roll some dice.</div>
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So Gabriel goes on: "The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women." [...] "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God."<br />The Lord is with you, you have found favor with God! James is right: "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."</div>
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"And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."</div>
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The Virgin conceives the Inconceivable.<br />Her womb contains the Uncontainable.<br />Her breast feeds Him who feeds all creation.<br />Her lap is the throne of the Most High God.</div>
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Her humility, nearness to God, grace-full-nessresult in her "Yes." Be it unto me according to your word. This response in cooperation with God brings about the incarnation. In her, highly favored, full of grace, blessed among women, the Lord God was pleased to dwell and to take flesh and blood from her, for the salvation of mankind. He takes our nature upon Himself, complete and identical in all ways to our nature, sanctifies it, and raises it to heaven to sit on the Throne of God, at the right hand of the Father.</div>
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Rejoice! O Virgin Theotokos! Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, for you have born the Savior of our souls!</div>
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More honorable than the Cherubim and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim! Thou who without corruption barest God the Word and are truly Theotokos, we magnify thee!</div>
Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-61563994772291824962019-03-28T11:13:00.003-05:002019-03-28T19:13:53.406-05:00Two Stories on the Veneration and Intercession of the Saints<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><u>On the veneration of Mary and the Saints</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><b>Part 1 - Praise travels uphill:</b></u></span><br />
My parents visited me a few weeks ago and on that Sunday they went with me to church. They met some of my new friends, one of whom especially said some really nice things about me and closed with "of course, that's all a reflection on you and is to your credit." <br />
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And I thought "what a great explanation of veneration of Mary and all the saints!" God is glorified in His saints, and the great things we say about them are *because of Him* and therefore praise of Him, ultimately. <br />
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We call Mary Mother of God because of her Son. We call her "More Honorable than the Cherubim" etc because those bodiless powers serve God and He rides/sits on the Cherubim, but He <i><b>lived inside and took flesh</b></i> from Mary. <br />
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We could go on and on, and the Church does in the daily honoring of Her saints with hymns. Reading these short daily verses, you can see that the honor given the Saints is due to and passed on to God. <br />
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"Praise ye God in His saints; praise Him in the firmament of His power."<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><u>Part 2 - Intercession of the Saints</u></b></span></div>
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A man who enjoys adventure sports was riding his mountain bike on some steep terrain. Heading into a curve with too much speed, he crashed and slid in the dirt over the edge of a precipitous drop. Horrified, a hiker who witnessed the incident ran to the edge. Peering over, he saw the cyclist laying on his side, bloodied, and clinging to a sapling growing on a narrow ledge above a vertical drop of several hundred feet.<br />
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"SAVE ME!" cried the injured man when he saw the face looking down from above him.<br />
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The hiker ran back to the crashed bike and hurled himself down the trail to the parking lot where he found another cyclist pulling in. He rode up to the vehicle and said breathlessly "You gotta save this guy! He fell over the edge up there on the point!"<br />
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The guy in the car says "Get in!" and they speed off down the road to the ranger station. Arriving and entering, the men both start to frantically tell the ranger about the problem, but all the ranger understands is that these two guys are talking about saving an injured party up on the mountain. Knowing the terrain is too rough for vehicles, he tells them to calm down and picks up the microphone to the radio on his desk. Keying the mic he calls to the airborne division, describing to the dispatch and the helo pilot and rescue medic the location of a man in need of rescue on the side of the mountain.<br />
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The helicopter is on scene in minutes, arriving just as the ranger, the hiker, and the motorist get to the edge above the ledge where the unfortunate cyclist is still clinging to the tree, but obvious to everyone, he is in very bad shape.<br />
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Finding the cyclist's contact info in a bag on the mountain bike, he has called the wife of the injured man and told her that he had been hurt and was being airlifted to the hospital in the valley. She says she'll meet them there.<br />
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As the helo lands and the injured man is wheeled in, his wife is shocked by his appearance and begins to weep. The trauma doctor and team meet the gurney and start rushing down the hall to the OR as the wife cries out in tears "Save my husband!"<br />
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The cyclist did make a full recovery after a long surgery and much rehab. He's back on his bike, but maybe rides a little slower.<br />
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But...who saved the cyclist? The hiker? The motorist? The ranger? The pilot? The medic? The Doctor?<br />
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This is the invocation of the Saints. We ask the Saints to pray for us; to "save us" by going to God on our behalf, as we also go to God, just like our friends on this side of heaven "save us" from the trials we ask them to pray for as they do pray and share our need with others.<br />
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Our friends, saintly and earthly, see that we are in dire straits, clinging to a little sapling, on the edge of doom and despair. We ask them to "save us," to pray for us, and they do, and they go and tell their prayer chains and FaceBook friends, and the word spreads, and soon our hikers have hailed our motorists, and so on, setting into motion our rescue from danger.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-86066912347857025152019-03-28T10:23:00.002-05:002019-03-28T19:15:50.726-05:00Remembering My First Visit to a Monastery<span id="docs-internal-guid-154ecb31-7fff-9fd6-df5d-0e7d08caabaa"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the Spring of 2017 I made my first Pilgrimage: I visited an Orthodox Monastery. Here are my recollections of the weekend as I recorded them the day I returned:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial;">I was blessed with holy oil from a myrh-streaming icon on Mount Athos. I prayed more than ever in my life. I had a bird teach me about the Jesus prayer. I read three books, and as much as I could, I participated in, or more accurately, was swept along, in prayer hours and Divine Liturgy.</span><br />
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<span style="text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial;">I was ready to die. I longed for it. But not in a morbid way.</span><br />
<span style="text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial;">It was so calming and peaceful, and all that I saw, read, prayed, and participated in made me feel that I just wanted to depart and be with the Lord. I was calmly confident in it, looking forward to it. When Father showed me the wood shop and told me that caskets for the cemetery were made there, I had to stop myself from asking him to make me one.</span><br />
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<span style="text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial;">Don't know if that makes sense, but it's how I felt, and it felt good.</span><br />
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<span style="text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial;">And about the bird:</span><br />
<span style="text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial;">Saturday night as I lay in bed, I was praying the Jesus prayer, which I had done most of the day. I lost count before lunch.</span><br />
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<span style="text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial;">As I lay there praying, memory of a somewhat contentious conversation I recently had about the prayer came into mind.</span><br />
<span style="text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial;">At that very moment, a bird outside my window sang her short, beautiful song. Then she did it again, and again, as birds do. After the third time (right?) the following complete thought occurred to me all at once:</span><br />
<span style="text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial;">This bird's song was as beautiful after many repetitions as it was the first time. Yet she was not doing it to puff herself up, or for vainglory. This is what she knows, and she sings with humility and faith. Likewise, the Jesus prayer, or any other prayer, even if oft-repeated and lacking "originality" or flowery language, is beautiful to God when prayed in humility and faith.</span><br />
<span style="text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial;">The next morning (today, Sunday) the Gospel was "consider the birds [...] are you not more important than them?" And I thought this kind of confirmed it...</span><br />
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<span style="text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial;">It really struck me that this bird came to my window at dusk. I am used to a chorus of birds at dawn, but don't remember ever hearing much as "we have come to the setting of the sun." Perhaps she was singing "O Gladsome Light." :-D The Monastery is </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.archangelmichaelskete.org/" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Holy Archangel Michael and All Angels Skete</a><span style="text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in Wetherby MO.</span></span></span></div>
Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-78738621634104244962019-03-27T12:23:00.001-05:002019-03-27T12:23:17.772-05:00A Killer on the Loose<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />I killed a man. He was a good man. Well, he would have been had I not snuffed out the light in his eyes. He was on track to be a saint; a decent man, on about Jesus all the time and how he wanted to "be perfect" as he says Jesus told him to be. He wasn't terrible to be around, just one of those "mildly annoying" Christians. And for no good reason, I killed him. <br /><br />You see, we were driving one day, and when we got off the freeway there was a guy standing on the side of the road begging. Our would-be saint said we should give him some cash, but I said "nah, he looks like the same guy that was here last time. He's probablty scamming." And I killed our would-be saint over a couple bucks.<br /><br />I do it over and over. I kill again and again. Every time I stop from helping someone out, every time I pass judgement instead of give alms, every kind word unsaid, all my sin kills again the saint that God desires me to be. The good man is put to death and the scoundrel continues on, whistling a tune, and spending the money on his own passions. The money that belongs to the poor.<br /><br />It's not my job to assess the neediness of the beggar. It's my job to give. It's my job to feed, to clothe, to shelter, to listen, to encourage. It's my job to love. When I fail by action or inaction, I kill a saint, and I hurt the poor and downtrodden, and my sin has broken the whole world.<br /><br />Forgive me, brothers and sisters.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-37743141225621495902019-03-21T11:32:00.002-05:002019-03-28T19:09:58.971-05:00Control, Love, and Prayer: Steps to Oblation - Lesson 2In Lesson Two in "Steps Toward Oblation," these thought provoking questions are asked. Warning: some of this is deep, and some of this reveals my hypocrisy and wretched sin. I hope we can still be friends! ;-)<br />
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<b>1. Am I ready to let God take control of my life? Are there areas in which I would prefer to hold onto the illusion of self-determination? </b><br />
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Of course not! Wretched man that I am, I fight for control almost every moment. Only with concentration and intent do I ever come close to loosening my death grip of my own so-called "control" of my life. I have to remember that God is with us, that He loves me. The morning prayer of St. Philaret helps me, especially when I pray<br />
"Teach me to treat all that comes to me<br />
throughout the day with peace of soul,<br />
and with the firm conviction that Thy will governs all.<br />
[...]<br />
In unforeseen events, let me not forget<br />
that all are sent by Thee."<br />
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So I say "yes" anyway. I say "yes" knowing that I will be stubborn, forgetful, careless, unthinking, and I will resist actually letting God have control, knowing ultimately that my struggle is futile. In my "yes" is a prayer: "God, help me to become the man You want me to be, help me to yield to You, to imitate your Son, to cling to nothing but You and trust You in and for all things."<br />
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With reflection, specific areas where I like to think I'm in or should be in control are varied. In spiritual matters, I like to tell God "hey, ya know, I've been pretty good about praying, but every time I pull my hands down and look at them, no fire. When are you gonna do something REALLY exciting for me?" This arrogance even in the face of some inexplicable events proves that I am just like the stiff-necked Israelites who, tho miracles happened every day for them, still grumbled. I also think God should make me some kind of big shot so that people will surround me and want me to pray for them and speak tidbits of wisdom, and He should probably give me a fast track to the diaconate because I'd be good for the team. Better than anyone else, really.<br />
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I'd also like to be in control of interpersonal things, or maybe just control other people. I'd rather not have to work, too, if we're talking about my druthers.<br />
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It's bad. May God forgive me and draw me near to Himself and give me a spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love, and through the grace of the sacrament of Confession, give me the will and strength to release all pretense of control and trust in Him alone.<br />
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<b>2. What is love? How do I know that God loves me? </b><br />
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Love is: There are many lists, including 1 Corinthians 13. But deeper than a feeling of infatuation or a textbook definition, what is love as noetic experience? Love is focused on its object. Love wants the best for the beloved, even if that is not what is best for the lover. Love serves, and when served, love appreciates and deepens but does not say "I deserve!" Love gives of self, of time, of resources, of skills, of life. Love draws near. Love smiles, love encourages, love builds up, love supports. Love cries. (At this very moment in my reflection, I was interrupted by an Instant Message. It was from my octogenarian friend Doris from Minnesota. She had seen pictures of the devastation wreaked by historic flooding here in Nebraska and she wrote to ask if we were OK and assure us of her continued prayers for us. Doris is love.) Love mourns. Love rejoices. Love seeks what has been lost. Love shares both burdens and joys. Love touches. Love notices. Love looks deeply, intently. Love puts down the smartphone, stops the TV. Love is <i>face-to-face</i>. Love does not blame. When love observes sin it is saddened, not angered. Love communicates, remembers. <br />
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Ultimately, Love is Kenosis, emptying one's self for another. Jesus' perfect and complete love for the Father is evident in His emptying of Himself in absolute submission to the Father. When we empty ourselves for others, when we give up our will for our neighbor, that is love.<br />
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<i>Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.</i><br />
I know that God loves me because His revelation tells me. I experience God's love chiefly in the Sacramental life of the Church, and especially in that pinnacle which is the Eucharist, where God gives me His body and blood to unite me to Himself in such a thorough and intimate way that it can only be called a Mystery.<br />
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I also experience God's love in others. When they love me and do loving things to or for me, it is the love of God shining through them, for the love of others is the gift of God. A mother changes a dirty diaper; God loves. A wife prepares a nourishing meal; God loves. A friend's embrace; God's love. A doctor heals; God loves. On and on.<br />
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God's love is also revealed in the creation: The beauty of blue skies, the sparkling crystal blanket of newly fallen snow, the warmth of the sun, the wine that makes glad the heart of man and the bread to strengthen his heart, the companionship of animals. The beauty all around us. The orderliness of creation shows His love: electricity, physics, chemistry, etc. always work the same, every time, the formulas always work because God loves us.<br />
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<b> 3. What do I have to do to "make time" for the Work of God? </b><br />
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As a husband and father of 6 kids of widely ranging ages, things can get busy. When are they not busy? Before everyone wakes up and right before bed time. I must, therefore, make time for prayer by setting my alarm a little earlier so I can rise and pray in the quiet of early morning. I also must be disciplined enough to stop the evening activities in time to pray before I go to sleep. If I fail, then I'll end up staying up later than intended. Additionally, if there is a service or activity at church, I will arrive early enough to say prayers before the iconostasis and the altar. It has been helpful to recognize the pattern of my days and schedule prayer into regularly occurring opportunities. That way when it's time, this is what we always do: we pray at this time or that time. If it's the same time every time, then making time becomes less of a sudden realization that there's something I <b><i>have</i></b> to do and more of a thing I look forward to, which makes it more enjoyable, relaxed, and beneficial.<br />
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<b>4. Reflect on your experience of using "written" prayers. What is their value?</b><br />
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Written prayers are a lifesaver thrown as I drown in a confluence of cares and words. When I am stuttering and fumbling for what to say, the beautiful, rich, deep prayers that have been handed down to us rescue me from my foolishness and give me the words to say. It is as if the Fathers and Elders and Saints are there themselves leading me in prayer. They are a priceless treasure, much like the Divine Liturgy itself.<br />
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<b> 5. What is the "prayer of the Church" and how is it related to personal prayer? </b><br />
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The prayer of the Church is that ongoing prayer which allows us to say "Who art at all times and in every hour worshipped and glorified." The Hours of the Daily Office ensure that throughout all the earth, the church is praying at all times. (A frightful thought, to consider if that prayer ever stopped!) In relation to my personal prayer, it is an umbrella to protect us from the rain or a safety net that we rely on to uphold and protect us. It informs and supports our personal prayer, and carries it along like setting our tiny paper boat onto the running waters of the river of the Church at prayer. In our Antiochian parish, as the priest makes the Great Entrance with the gifts, the prayer of the Church is in full force, and as he passes us, we parishioners reach out and touch his vestment, symbolically attaching our prayer as he approaches and enters the Altar. This is the Prayer of the Church carrying my personal prayer along to God.<br />
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Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-27604086976495178202019-03-17T17:58:00.001-05:002022-01-09T11:09:37.724-06:00About Mary, About Christ<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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β’<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mary, like Samuel, was born to aging, childless parents as an answer to prayer.<br />
β’<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mary, like Samuel, was dedicated to God from her youth by her parents.<br />
β’<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mary, like Samuel, was taken to the Temple at three years old, where she lived until her betrothal to Joseph at 12 or 13 years old.<br />
β’<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mary conversed with the Archangel Gabriel.<br />
β’<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mary was overshadowed by God the Holy Spirit.<br />
β’<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mary lent her flesh and blood to create God's incarnate body; He who created everything there is.<br />
β’<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mary contained God in her womb; Him whom the entire cosmos cannot contain.<br />
β’<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mary gave birth to God; He who gives life to every living thing.<br />
β’<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mary nursed God at her breast; Him who nourishes all creation.<br />
β’<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mary changed God's diaper and bathed Him; He who cleanses us that we may be whiter than snow.<br />
β’<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mary taught God to walk; He who calls us to and leads us on the path of righteousness and Whose Spirit leads us in the land of uprightness.<br />
β’<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mary taught God to speak; The Word made Flesh.<br />
β’<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mary (and Joseph) protected God from wild beasts and men who would harm Him; He Who defeats our eternal enemies.<br />
β’<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mary (and Joseph) raised God in the faith of their fathers; He Who is the Author and Finisher of our faith.<br />
β’<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mary intercedes with God on behalf of others; To Him Who promises the prayer of the righteous avails much.<br />
β’<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mary tells others to obey and trust God; Him Whose will is perfectly obeyed by Angels.<br />
β’<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mary walked with God to His death; He Who conquered death.<br />
β’<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mary received God the Holy Spirit on Pentecost with the Apostles.<br />
β’<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mary encouraged God's disciples and apostles.<br />
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Contrary to what I thought most of my life, Mary is not a footnote or random character in Christian history. Sheβs not just a woman God asked for a favor. Sheβs not someone we bring out at Christmas as long as sheβs with the rest of her family and we put her back in the closet on January 6.<br />
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Mary is a pillar of Christianity, and all these confessions of the excellence of Mary are nothing less than confessions of the Godhead of her Son, Jesus. He IS God, eternally begotten, not made. To disagree with these points is to become Arian, which is heresy.<br />
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If you are reticent to acknowledge our most glorious Lady the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, examine why that might be. God loves His mom. You should too.<br />
<br />Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-48582629586591836212019-03-03T17:45:00.003-06:002022-01-09T11:10:50.515-06:00A Challenging Lent Suggestion<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-0f6aa0b5-7fff-10c6-6f90-0c831533bf65" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">βLove your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.β</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Matthew 5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">βIn humility count others more significant than yourselves.β</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Philippians 2</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Inspired by Father Barnabas Powell, St. Macarius the Great, and, of course, the Scriptures, I offer this encouragement to my fellow Christians as a sort of βLenten Challenge.β</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ash Wednesday is this week, March 6, for Western Christians, and the first day of Lent for Eastern Christians is Monday, March 11.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lent, as you know, is a time of repentance and preparation for the events of Holy Week and, ultimately, Easter or Pascha. Traditionally, whether Eastern or Western, Christians have utilized certain tools to aid them in their repentant preparation: Fasting, Prayer, and Alms-giving. However, the fathers of the church have said that observing a fast to the strict letter of the law is worthless if we still harbor anger, resentment, and other vices when it comes to our fellow man.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hence, this message for you. I ask you, encourage you, I challenge you to take up the following discipline and prayer for the whole of Lent:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you hear or see something terrible on Facebook or other media, when the TV news is horrible, when you experience something bad directly at the hands of another person, whenever these things happen and you begin to feel in your gut that rising feeling that always happens, stop it. Take a deep breath to loosen the tightening stomach, and arrest the angry thought before it takes shape. Simply say to yourself βthat is not allowed here.β then say the following prayer:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">O Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God who came into the world to save sinners, of whom *I* am chief. I recognize from Your Scriptures that all people are created in the image of God. But as one ill with the sickness of sin, I also recognize the symptoms of my disease, and I fear for my neighbor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I pray Lord, have mercy on [specific person/group]. Deliver [him/her/them] from the influence and attack of the evil one and his demons. Shine forth Your light upon [him/her/them] and dispel the shadows of sin and evil. Let [him/her/them] hear the truth of Your Gospel, grant them repentance unto faith and ultimately, life everlasting. Forgive [them] all their sins, and forgive me also, Lord, for I am Your sinful and unprofitable servant, and to You I offer all glory, honor, and worship, together with Your Father Who is without beginning, and Your All-Holy, Good, and Live-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, what if you're in traffic and someone cut you off? Take a deep breath, stop the cursing thought, and say a shorter prayer: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lord have mercy on that guy and protect them and those around him, that we all arrive safely.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I challenge you, and it will be challenging, to practice this throughout Lent. Take control of yourself and your thoughts. Draw near to God. See His creatures with His love. Be saddened by the effects of sin in your brothers and sisters, not angry, and direct your displeasure toward the βprincipalities and powersβ against which we fight. Never confuse the person created in God's image with the sin with which they are afflicted.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'd wager that if you give it a good try, it might change your life and the way you see others. I'm going to try. Come with me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With love,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brother Arsenios </span></div>
<br />Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20131708.post-69541483289863454922019-02-18T14:13:00.001-06:002019-03-28T19:11:45.016-05:00Steps Toward Oblation: Lesson One<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As you may know, this novitiate year includes a booklet of 12 monthly lessons for me to read and they conclude with a few questions for me to reflect on. I answer the questions and send them to my mentor.<br />
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Here is lesson one:<br />
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1. How might Benedictine discipline positively influence my life? How might it challenge me?<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">By commitment to prayer, the Scriptures, and learning and living by the Holy Rule, I hope my life will be positively influenced by being placed within this framework that is designed to help me βprefer nothing to Christ.β Being a βfamily manβ in the world, I pray that any advancement God would grant would radiate out from me and enrich the lives of those around me, as Saint Saraphim famously said; βAcquire the Spirit of Peace and a thousand souls around you will be saved.β I hope to acquire that Spirit of Peace that God might use me to encourage others; my family, coworkers, and everyone I meet.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span> <span style="color: blue;">How might it challenge me? Three to six hours of football, or several episodes of TV doesnβt seem like too much in one day, but adding Lectio Divina and the Rule to my day could be βa lotβ some days. My hypocrisy and sloth are nearly boundless. I will need to be on guard against my passions and pray that God strengthen my desire for those things that are beneficial. Right now, in these first days of my novitiate, thatβs all I can see as possibly challenging. It may come to pass that I find something in the Rule that is challenging, but being so new, I donβt know what that might be. Fortunately, I have been appointed a mentor, and between him and the Abbot, I hope to be able to receive guidance through any challenging demands of the Rule and general application of it to my life. </span><br />
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2. What is the role of community in the Christian life? What benefits do I hope to gain β or share with others β by embracing a common discipline of prayer and reflection?<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">No one is saved alone, says Alexi Khomiakov. God is a Triune Communion. God invites us into Communion with Him, and with that Communion, into Communion with the others who are also βthe Body of Christ and individually members of it.β We must be in community, in Communion, because we are weak and need the help of those around us. We need friends to open the roof and lower us down to Jesus when we have fallen upon our own lameness, and we need to be the friends to bring the others along, to pray for, support, encourage and love our fellows. To offer ourselves as Christ did for us. To receive our brothersβ and sistersβ sacrifice humbly with love. These things, like exercise, build strength in the Body of which we are a part. These things I hope to gain and share with my family, my fellow Benedictines, as well as my brothers and sisters in my parish.</span><br />
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3. What in my life impairs my ability to βprefer nothing to Christβ in my everyday experiences? What can I do to change or lessen these circumstances?<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Saint Isaac of Syria wrote that "Ease and idleness are the destruction of the soul and they can injure her more than the demons." Every night in Small Compline of the Eastern Rite I pray admitting to the Theotokos that βwith the heartsease of life's pleasures [I] am become a thrall in mind.β A full pantry of delicious foods, hot water, a million choices of places to eat and a million other choices of mind-numbing βentertainment,β and, generally, the ease and pleasure of life in todayβs βfirst worldβ is probably the biggest impairment. We have it easy, and we can forget that we must rely on God for everything. Coasting along with the rest of the world, paying no mind to avarice, lust, gluttony, and sloth, that is a huge temptation. Working out our salvation is hard because we can get used to the ease of life, and to turn away from it is sometimes embarrassing and always more work that coasting along. We donβt want our friends and neighbors to think we are βweird.β Yet these traps are all around us and pose a serious threat. I must be wary, and willing to bear the uncomfortable feelings of keeping my focus on Christ. I must watch my tongue, I must control my thoughts and appetites, I must diligently place myself in the care of the only Lover of Mankind every moment of every day and ask His help to take the narrow way.</span><br />
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4. As the novitiate year progresses, what might I do to help myself remain steadfast in my pilgrimage of faith, as guided by the Holy Rule?<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">I hope to make at least a few trips to the monastery this year. Quarterly would be great, but I donβt know exactly how often I will be able to make it. I also will join the Monday evening phone calls as much as possible. Additionally, this series of lessons with the questions should serve well to keep my focus on the things I have committed to do with the help of God. My spiritual father and I have talked about regularly meeting to talk about it, and most importantly, I believe, keeping my prayer rule is absolutely essential. Through times of sweetness and times of drought or trial, the ordering of time through the prayers of the Church remain a solid and dependable framework built upon The Rock. Time in prayer is time spent with God, and it is only with His help that Iβll be able to do anything. My prayer is that Heβll grant me success.</span><br />
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Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10724010539548978167noreply@blogger.com0