27 Not Out

27*

Today is my 27th birthday.  I have basically spent the day watching cricket (another horrific performance from England's top order!) and am spending the rest of the day with my family.  I must confess, I am not big on birthdays but I think a birthday should be a day we should reflect on our mortality.

How many more years do I have left?  When will the end come?  Am I ready to meet my Lord?  How do I root out those hidden vices in my heart?

Condemned

Abba Poemen said: If we remembered that it is written, "By your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned," we would choose to remain silent.

-From the Desert Fathers 

The Stars

"Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them."

-Marcus Aurelius

Memory Eternal

Please pray for my two dear friends, Tim and Jesus, who both died last week, exactly two days of each other via automobile accidents.  They both had short innings, Tim was dismissed for 27 and Jesus for 25.

They have crossed over the bridge into the hereafter.


A pertinent sermon.

The Mystery of Iniquity

More savage violence in the war in Yemen.  The United States backed Saudi Coalition dropped a bomb on a school bus.  29 children perished in the attack.  These cowards have no fear or shame.  Oh Trump and Bin Salman, fear God.  Fear the Day of Judgment.

Also, another Israeli airstrike in my beloved Palestine led to the death of a pregnant woman and her child.  Oh blessed Theotokos, please intercede for them and for all innocent mothers and children who die at the hands of diabolical forces.

There is just so much senseless violence in this world. So much death. So much suffering.

My heart feels a deep pain everyday when I read what goes on in my land.  I am taking an indefinite leave of absence from my blog in order to retreat from the online world so I can engage in prayer and penance.  Please pray for me, the chief of sinners.

Protect Your Heart

When we sin, we shouldn't think of it as a legalistic failure.  Instead, we should think of it as a disease.  Sin is a disease.  If a disease is left untreated, it will grow throughout the body until it destroys your spiritual heart.

When sin destroys your heart, you will suffer spiritual death.  Is there anything worse that can happen to us?

Only God

“Everything in this life passes away — only God remains, only He is worth struggling towards. We have a choice: to follow the way of this world, of the society that surrounds us, and thereby find ourselves outside of God; or to choose the way of life, to choose God Who calls us and for Whom our heart is searching.”

-Fr. Seraphim Rose