Marvel

Christ became man.  Marvel and wonder!

Beauty

"Unless we look at a person and see the beauty there is in this person, we can contribute nothing to him. One does not help a person by discerning what is wrong, what is ugly, what is distorted. Christ looked at everyone he met, at the prostitute, at the thief, and saw the beauty hidden there. Perhaps it was distorted, perhaps damaged, but it was beauty none the less, and what he did was to call out this beauty."

- Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh

Peace and Repentance

This morning at the Divine Liturgy, I was struck by the following words,

"That the rest of our life may be spent in peace and repentance, let us ask the Lord."

 May we all lead lives of repentance as we wait to meet Our Lord.

Heart

The heart must be purified daily.  The task is never completed until we reach the end.  O' Lord grant us internal stillness!

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

The Third Canticle: (The Praise of the Three Saintly Youths)

This magnificent ethereal hymn is prayed on Saturday evenings of the Nativity Fast in the Coptic Orthodox Church in Her Kiahk praises.  I would highly recommend attending this prayer for it has bought me deep consolations.

Monk from Mt. Athos Speaks About His Inner Warfare

Stranger

"Whoever fears God stands above all manner of fear. He has become a stranger to all the fear of this world and placed it far from himself, and no manner of trembling comes near him."

-St. Ephrem the Syrian

Serbian Orthodox Priest Praises the Modesty of Muslim Women

Things that are sacred and holy to God are veiled.  May our Catholic and Orthodox sisters learn from the testimony of the pious Muslims sisters on how to dress.  Women are special and they need to understand that dressing in revealing clothing will lead to suffering in this life and in the next.  If you are modest in dress, speech and action, you will attract a pious man and more importantly you will gain favor with your Lord.

All these modern trends that big business brainwashes you with is from the demons.  Tight and revealing clothes does not come from Christ.  This comes from Satan.  Resist this liar O' my beloved sisters with the armor of Christ! 

The Violent Bear it Away

"And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away."

-St. Matthew 11:12

Side note: [12] "Suffereth violence": It is not to be obtained but by main force, by using violence upon ourselves, by mortification and penance, and resisting our perverse inclinations.

Simpler

“The closer one approaches to God, the simpler one becomes.”

-St. Teresa of Ávila 

Mercy

“When you are about to pray to our Lady the Holy Virgin, be firmly assured, before praying, that you will not depart from Her without having received mercy. To think thus and to have confidence in Her is meet and right. She is, the All-Merciful Mother of the All-Merciful God, the Word, and Her mercies, incalculably great and innumerable, have been declared from all ages by all Christian Churches; She is, indeed, an abyss of mercies and bounties, as is said of Her in the canon of Odigitry.”

-St. John of Kronstadt

BBC: Extreme Pilgrim: Ascetic Christianity

O' Theotokos

We have walked on your path and have become drunk on Your love.  You have taken us far along the path of love and have stolen our hearts and now we belong totally belong to You.

Lord Have Mercy

A couple of days ago, I was driving and was listening to ABC Grandstand Radio which was playing the Australia v. India test match.  In the middle of a drinks break, the news was playing and told the listener about the deaths that occurred during the week.   Apparently a couple of young people died in a drug overdose and many more died in a dance party of some sorts.

Please keep these people in your prayers.  Let us keep in mind these folks who have died.  We too will have our expiration date one day.  Do we want to die in a dance party?  This life is a test and we have to be loyal to Christ and His Church.  Let us die in a proper state.

Please always keep in your prayers those who died in unfortunate situations.  Our Savior Christ died for all.  Those who died in such states are still better than me.  I am the worst of sinners.  Have mercy on me, O' Christ!

Love

O' Theotokos, if I have You, what else do I need?  Ever since I have been devoted to You, You have dominated my thoughts and dreams.

If You leave me, what am I to go?  We love you more than Majnun loved Layla.  Don't leave us, O' Mother of God.

The Month of Kiahk

Today is the first day in the month of Kiahk in the Coptic calendar.  In the midnight praises of the Coptic office, there is a special emphasis and veneration towards the Theotokos and hence this month has been called the "month of Mariam".

In 2009, the Theotokos appeared in Egypt during this month.  Here is a nice article on the apparition.

Plunge

"Humility collects the soul into a single point by the power of silence. A truly humble man has no desire to be known or admired by others, but wishes to plunge from himself into himself, to become nothing, as if he had never been born. When he is completely hidden to himself in himself, he is completely with God."

-St. Isaac the Syrian

Mercy

O' Lord, have mercy on all sinners.  Please be merciful to all.  Especially to those who reject Your Love.