Contemplating Beauty

When we contemplate Divine wisdom in the beauty of the created world, we are at the same time attracted still more strongly by the imperishable beauty of Divine Being as revealed to us by Christ. The Gospel for us is Divine Self-Revelation. In our yearning to make the Gospel word the substance of our whole being we free ourselves by the power of God from domination of passions. Jesus is the one and only Saviour in the true sense of the word. Christian prayer is effected by the constant invocation of His Name: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy upon us and upon Thy world.

~Archimandrite Sophrony -His Life is Mine

The Path of Beauty

In Psalm 23 we hear of the LORD leading us in 'paths of righteousness.' Paths are interesting things if you have ever noticed. How is it that designers set out their concrete sidewalks for pedestrians only for the pedestrians to take their own shortcuts, thus creating paths? We like our own paths, but the LORD has laid out for us the paths that are life and love. Often I thought that staying on the LORD's path involved alot of not doing the NO-NOs. Unfortunately this required too much thinking about the NO-NOs. I think it was Mark Twain who said something like, "If you spend all your time doing the do's of the Bible you would not have any time to do the don'ts." Another way to say that is if you learn to obsess on the beauty, love, joy, and hope of the LORD you will not stray from the paths of righteousness. St. Paul says this in Philippians.

Finally, brethren, 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 praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
Phil 4.8,9 New King James Version

May you walk the Path of Beauty today.

LORD in your Mercy, Brian+

Do the Laundry

Laundry is one of those Sisyphean tasks (always there). It never seems to be all done. I mean you can work all day, get it all washed, dried, and even ironed, and when you crawl into bed the laundry hamper will contain the dirty cloths you wore during the day. That's the way it is with Laundry.

I like to compare the laundry with salvation. I mean when does laundry become laundry? Dirty cloths in a hamper are dirty cloths in a hamper, but the dirty cloths become 'laundry' as soon as there is the intent to clean the cloths. Likewise, "To be saved" begins with intent to come to the LORD. And just as the laundry is not complete until the job is done, neither is our salvation 'done' until the Day of Christ Jesus. So one way we could look at our salvation is that it is found in a life of repentance: of constantly bringing our fouled and broken hearts to the LORD for healing and restoration. Doing the spiritual laundry.

"...being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ"
Philippians 1.6 New King James Version

Collects for the Conversion of Saint Paul

From the Book of Common Prayer

O GOD, who, through the preaching of the
blessed Apostle Saint Paul, hast caused the
light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world:
Grant, we beseech thee, that we, having his wonderful
conversion in remembrance, may show
forth our thankfulness unto thee for the same,
by following the holy doctrine which he taught;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

From the Book of Alternative Services

Almighty God,
by the preaching of your servant Paul
you caused the light of the gospel
to shine throughout the world.
May we who celebrate his wonderful conversion
follow him in bearing witness to your truth;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen

Collects for 3rd after Epiphany

From the Book of Common Prayer

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, mercifully
look upon our infirmities, and in all our
dangers and necessities stretch forth thy right
hand to help and defend us; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.

From the Book of Alternative Services

Almighty God,
by grace alone you call us
and accept us in your service.
Strengthen us by your Spirit,
and make us worthy of your call;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen

Struggle of Heart Prayer

I have many wonderful times of very heartfelt prayer, but in honesty my mind is easily distracted. Over the years I have used quite a variety of means for entering into deep prayer. I have fasted, sought silence and solitude, and used devotional tools such as prayer ropes and Icons. But I am flighty and restless. But I refuse to give up. The LORD IS, even if I am a wriggly child in His arms. If this is your sturggle here are a few words from Henri Nouwen's book, The Way of the Heart (Available from Amazon here)

The literal translation of the words "pray always' is "come to rest." The Greek word for rest is Hesychia, and hesychasm is the term which refers to the spirituality of the desert. A hesychast is a man or woman who seeks solitude and silence in the ways of unceasing prayer. The prayer of the hesychasts is a prayer of rest. This rest has very little to do with the absence of conflict or pain. It is a rest in God in the midst of very intense daily struggle. Abba Anthony even says to a fellow monk that it belongs :to the great work of a man...to expect temptations to his last breath." Hesychia, the rest which flows from unceasing prayer, needs to be sought at all costs, even when the flesh is itchy, the world alluring, and the demons noisy. Mother Theodora, one of the Desert Mothers, make this very clear:"...you should realize that as soon as you intend to live in peace, at once evil comes and weighs down your soul through accidie [sense of boredom], faintheartedness, and evil thoughts. It also attacks your body through sickness, debility, weakening of the knees, and all members. It dissipates the strength of the soul and body, so that one believes one is ill and no longer able to pray. But if we are vigilant, all these temptations fall away."

With that thought in hand, I am going to rest in some prayers,

LORD in your mercy, Brian+

The Wonder of God

‘There are many things I simply wonder at, but without fear, such as the beauty of Columns, a fresco, a body in the flower of youth. Again we wonder at the extent and unfathomable depth of the sea, but with fear , when we lean over its depths. It is like this when the prophet leans over the immense and unbound lake of God’s wisdom, and goes dizzy, amazed, he recoils with great fear, and cries out saying, ‘I confess to you that you have amazed me fearfully, your works are marvelous.’ And again, Your knowldge of me has amazed me: it is too strong for me, I cannot attain it’ (Psalm 138:6).
- St. John Chrysostom From The Wisdom of the Greek Fathers compiled by Andrew Louth

C.S. Lewis on Humility

If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed. From Mere Christianity

May God's grace give you the necessary humility. Try not to think - much less, speak - of their sins. One's own are a much more profitable theme! And if on consideration, one can find no faults on one's own side, then cry for mercy: for this must be a most dangerous delusion. From Letters to an American Lady

Do Hermits still exist??

A Wonderful article about a hermit from England.

HERE

Thanks to Rev. Everett Hobbes

Struggling with Prayer

We should not be surprised that many, if not most of us struggle with prayer. The fallen nature that affects us all desires to do its own thing, and submitting to and communing with God is not a desire of the flesh. It is a battle ground, and often we must discipline our wills, mind, and body to do prayer. Most of the time, thankfully, prayer is a delight, but lets not pretend that it is always easy.

The brethren asked Abba Agathon, "Amongst all our different activities, Father, which is the virtue that requires the greatest effort?" He answered, "Forgive me, but I think there is no labour greater than praying to God. For every time a man wants to pray, his enemies, the demons try to prevent him; for they know that nothing obstructs them so much as prayer to God. In everything else that a man undertakes if he perseveres, he will attain rest. But in order to pray a man must struggle to his last breath."
The Saying of the Desert Fathers

LORD, in your mercy, Hear our prayer. Brian+

Discipleship - Toughen up

I was a bit of a basketball player in my university years. A bench warmer on the junior varsity to tell the truth. I remember that our coach worked us so very hard during the practices. We were in shape, we knew the fundamentals, and we were a team. We could often beat teams that had far more skilled and experienced players simply because we kept those basics. It was hard work, but we did it together.

Discipleship, being a follower of Christ is no different. It requires work, and yes the closer you want to get to the LORD the more you will have to work. Some of the basics of that work are time tested and true - prayer, fasting, and alms-giving. Prayer, both private and public are fundamentals. All disciples of Christ must be people of prayer. Fasting is out of vogue today especially as a corporate discipline, but we can at least learn to fast during certain times of the Church year, from foods and or pass times in order to free our minds and bodies to worship and serve. Fasting also has the benefit of teaching our wills to be able to say 'no' to our desires. Finally alms-giving: practicing giving helps us to be more giving. The more you practice giving the easier giving will become.

So do you want to be a more committed disciple of Christ?? Then toughen up a bit. Start in on those basics, and get some 'exercise' advise from your priest.

As the Scriptures testify -
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27 The Holy Bible, New King James Version.)

Making a comment

I know that some of you who are reading this Blog might like to make an occasional comment on something you read.

To make a comment
1) Click on the comment link under the item.
2) Enter your comment
3) Under 'Comment as: SELECT PROFILE" click on Name/URL
4) Enter your name in the box
5) Leave the URL box empty
6) Click on "continue"
7} Click on "Post Comment"

Hope this helps. I'd love to hear from you.

Brian+

Reboot

It can happen easily enough. A few years ago our computer got a virus. How it happened I do not know, suffice to say that we lost partial control of our computer. It could have been far worst. For us, whenever we connected to the internet we were constantly rerouted to a gambling site. As long as we stayed off of the internet we could use the computer, use the wordprocessor, download pictures from the camera, listen to the music, play games, etc. But going on the internet was useless. We tried to remove the virus, but to no avail. In order to get rid of it we would have to reboot the entire computer - essentially we’d have to start with a clean slate, going back to the day the computer arrived at out home. All the files, pictures, emails, everything accumulated since owning the machine, gone!
I set out to back-up all the files I could.

I had never re-booted a computer before and to say the least I was anxious. What if I got it wrong? Would the computer ever work for us again? Would we have to buy a new one altogether? Fortunately I was able to reboot the beast and get on with life again. We lost all of our email addresses and saved messages, but everything else was fine! Whew! In order to prevent a virus takeover from ever happening again we installed an anti-spyware program along with an updated virus checker. No problems since.

The spiritual analogy is obvious. It is all to easy for the viruses of the world (sin) to creep into our hearts and take over. We to need to install a ‘virus check’ and keep it updated. The Lord invites us to accept Him into our hearts, and to walk in His ways. The install program is accepting Christ’s work upon the cross for the forgiveness of your sins. The activation button is the confession of your sins, and an earnest resolve to walk in newness of life. The virus check is the Holy Spirit in our hearts working with our conscience and will. To keep the system in top operating order we need to add knowledge of Scripture, prayerfulness, fellowship with other ‘rebooted’ people (committed Christians), and frequent participation in receiving the mysteries of the Body and Blood of our Lord in the Sacrament of Holy Communion.

Have you been rebooted? - Give you life to the Lord Jesus Christ!
Have you had your system updated lately? - Come to worship and fellowship.

YE that do truly and earnestly repent you of
your sins, and are in love and charity with
your neighbours, and intend to lead the new
life, following the commandments of God, and
walking from henceforth in his holy ways: Draw
near with faith, and take this holy Sacrament to
your comfort; and make your humble confession to
Almighty God, meekly kneeling upon your knees.

Brian+

The Ego-less Christ

To the question: “Why did the Son of God appear on earth in a human body and not in another form of creation?”, the brilliant St. Athanasius replied in this manner: “If they ask why did He not appear in some other better form of creation, for example: as the sun or the moon, or the stars or fire, or the wind but just as a man? Let them know that the Lord did not come to show Himself but to heal and teach sufferers. For, to reveal Himself only to amaze the viewers would mean to come for a show. It was necessary for the Healer and the Teacher, not only to come, but to serve for the benefit of the suffering ones and to reveal Himself as such so that this revelation would be bearable for the sufferers. .... What is, therefore, so unbelievable in this, that the Logos [The Word - The Son Of God] appeared as a man to save mankind?” Indeed, even as we ask the unbelievers of our day: In what form would you wish God to appear, if not as a man?

~St Athanasius

Thanks to Christ in our Midst

Not My Ego

I recently came across the following quote as posted on Christ in our Midst!

When you overcome one of the grosser passions, such as gluttony, unchastity, anger, or greed, the thought of self-esteem at once assails you. If you defeat this thought, the thought of pride succeeds it.

~Saint Maximos the Confessor, The Philokalia, Vol. 2, p. 92.

I find that when I honestly plunge the depths of my heart that this struggle of purity exists. Pride (which is egocentric) reveals its ugly head. Pride/Ego wants its way. It is the source of all my conflicts with others, And it is the source of all my self-righteous thoughts (I'm nicer than you, I am smarter than you, I am kinder than you, I am humbler than you, I serve more than you, I am less broken than you, etc, etc.). Pride/Ego is contrary to humility. Christ did not come for himself, he came for us. He did not come to satisfy and patch up the broken honour of the Father, He came to heal us, to restore us, to make us whole. He did not have any ego needs. And because he didn't, (which in my opinion is perfect love), he shows us that we too are to surrender our egos. To save our life, we must lose it. For me this means letting go of my shallow pride/ego needs, and living entirely for Christ, with Christ, and in Christ. I think this is the more excellent way of love that St. Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians 13. Here again I say, "although we are unworthy."

LORD in your mercy, Brian+

Pretending I have Something

My brother has a drawing of an obviously poor person, hung in his home. Underneath is a quip that says, "I have nothing, therefore everything is mine." It is paradoxical of course, but it matches the words of Christ during the Sermon on the Mount as recorded in Luke, "Blessed are the Poor, for yours is the Kingdom of Heaven." The poor possess all things in Christ. "The rich, He has sent empty away." Compared to the people of Haiti in all of the tragedy that is occurring there, not to mention large portions of the world, I am very rich. Great spiritual caution is set out for us wealthy. It is NOT wrong to be wealthy, but it is just a dangerous thing to ones spiritual health.

In the great Anglican offertory Sentence,
"...All the heavens and the earth are Thine, all things come of thee and of Thine own have we given Thee,"
we are confronted with the spiritual truth that we actually possess nothing. We are stewards; stewards not just of material things, but also of those we are blessed to love as family, those we are called to love as friend and stranger, AND stewards of our own bodies and souls.

In reality, (that is Truth) I possess nothing: I only think I do, I only can pretend to have something. All is the LORD's.

LORD in your mercy, Brian+

A Prayer from Parish Prayers, by Frank Colquhoun

O Thou, in whom we live and move and have our being: We offer and present unto Thee ourselves, all that we are and have, our thoughts and our desires, our words and our deeds, to be a living and continual sacrifice. We are not our own; therefore we would glorify Thee in our bodies and our spirits, which are Thine; through Jesus Christ our LORD. AMEN (William Knight)

We MUST be Humble

We often speak of the humility of Christ, but it is not a popular attribute. I/we would rather assert our opinions and get our way if at all possible. Lack of humility among the household of faith is the primary source of conflict, dissension, and general dysfunction. If Pride is the seed of all other sins, then humility is the seed of all virtue. I find that being genuinely humble to be a difficult undertaking, yet it is the call of Christ upon my life.

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2.5-8


God has a particular way of acting. There is a certain pattern to His behavior. When we look at the history of God’s actions from the beginning of the Old Testament to the end of the New, what do we see? God diminishes Himself. Everywhere and at all times, God reduces Himself; He makes Himself small. He humbles Himself and does whatever is necessary so that we might be saved.
In the person of Christ, we can see that humility is a quality of God. God is not God if He is not humble. And neither can I be like God unless I am humble. Indeed, without humility, I’ll become a demon. Humility must therefore be a condition of my being. I must embrace humility, knowing that, when I live in humility, I live in God.
What is humility? It is the life of God, the form of divine life, and we see this clearly in the life of Christ, who descended from heaven to extreme lowliness. In everything that concerns Him we find lessons of humility. He was born in a cave, and placed not in a crib but in a trough. He grew up in the house of a poor carpenter. He was subject to His mother and Joseph. He was taught, and applied Himself to lessons He did not need to learn. He accepted baptism from the hands of John His servant. When He was slandered and arrested and threatened with death, He did not make use of His marvelous powers (Mt. 26:53). He subjected Himself to temporal authority. He was brought before the high priest as if he were a common criminal, and then led to the governor. He silently bore insults and false accusations, and in silence He submitted to His sentence, although with one word He could have refuted the false witnesses. He was spat upon by the lowest and vilest of men. He surrendered Himself to death on the cross, the most shameful form of death known to man.
From His birth to the end of His life, He displayed humility in all things.
Following the example of Christ, humility is the distinguishing characteristic of the Christian life, and the foundation for our relation with God. The more humble we are, the more God will reveal Himself to us. And the more we know about God, the more humble we become. We need all the virtues, but without humility they achieve nothing. Even fasting, prayer, and love itself can do nothing without humility. But when prayer and fasting are joined with humility, we become the companion of God, and enter the divine environment in such a way that we become “gods” ourselves. We must not seek to know God, or anything else from or about God. We must rather humble ourselves. God will then come to us and give us that which we desire.
~The Way of the Spirit: Reflections on Life in God by Elder Aimilianos, Abbott of Simonopetra Monastery

Marriage - We are not our Own

A thought prompted by the reading for this Sunday - John 2.1-11

Marriage is more than your love for each other. It has a higher dignity and power, for it is God's holy ordinance, through which he wills to perpetuate the human race till the end of time. In your love you see only your two selves in the world, but in marriage you are a link in the chain of the generations, which God causes to come and to pass away to his glory, and calls into his kingdom.

In your love, you see only the heaven of your own happiness, but in marriage you are placed at a post of responsibility towards the world and mankind. Your love is your own private possession, but marriage is more than something personal—it is a status, an office. Just as it is the crown, and not merely the will to rule, that makes the king, so it is marriage, and not merely your love for each other, that joins you together in the sight of God and man.

As high as God is above man, so high are the sanctity, the rights, and the promise of marriage above the sanctity, the rights, and the promise of love. It is not your love that sustains the marriage, but from now on, the marriage that sustains your love.

--Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "A Wedding Sermon from Prison"

A Prayer for the Holy Estate of Matrimony

O LORD Jesus Christ, who by thy presence and first miracle at Cana of Galilee adorned and beautified the holy estate of matrimony: We beseech thee to sanctify the marriage bond in the life of our people, and to bless our homes with thine abiding presence; for the honour and glory of Thy Name. AMEN

A Prayer for the People of Haiti

God of all Creation,

Again we hear the wailing of mothers who have lost their children;
Again we hear the screams of injured people,
And the silence of those being pulled from the rubble, from the mud.
Again we catch a glimpse of the poverty
So many in this world live in;
Again we see families without food and water,
In a world with so many resources.

God, embrace those who suffer,
Give them solace and
Support them in their grief.
Keep our eyes and our hearts open.

Keep us from turning away.
We are called to witness the Crucified Christ
As we are called to witness to the
Pain and poverty of these victims.

Help us to your agents of healing,
Bringing the Light of your justice and peace
To all darkened regions of this earth.
Have mercy on us all, God of Heaven
And of Earth. Amen.

Prayer for Victims of the Mudslides and Earthquake
By: Education for Justice HERE

I Weave a Silence

I weave a silence...
I weave a silence on to my lips,
I weave a silence into my mind,
I weave a silence within my heart.
I close my ears to distractions,
I close my eyes to attractions,
I close my heart to temptations.
Calm me, O LORD, as you stilled the storm.
Still me, O LORD, keep me from harm.
Let all the tumult within me cease.
Enfold me LORD in your peace.
-Anon.
A Prayer from the Celtic Tradition