Theosis From The East
From the Hymns of St Ephrem the Syrian
4th Century
The Most High knew that Adam had wanted to become a god, so He sent His Son who put him on in order to grant him his desire.
Free will succeeded in making Adam's beauty ugly, for he, a man, sought to become a god.
Grace, however, made beautiful his deformities and God came to become a man.
Divinity flew down to draw humanity up.
For the Son had made beautiful the deformities of the servant and so he has become a god, just as he desired.
Far more glorious than the body is the soul, and more glorious still than the soul is the spirit, but more hidden than the spirit is the Godhead.
At the end, the body will put on the beauty of the soul, the soul will put on that of the spirit, while the spirit will put on the very likeness of God's majesty.
He gave us divinity, we gave Him humanity.
Quoted Hymns on Faith, Hymns of Paradise, Hymns on Virginity, and Nisibene
Hymns as found in The Luminous Eye - The Spiritual World Vision of Saint Ephrem the Syrian
(1985 - Sebastian Brock - pages 152-154)
2010-09-26
2010-09-24
OUR LOVED ONES PASS BY. THEY DO NOT PASS AWAY!
OUR LOVED ONES PASS BY.
THEY DO NOT PASS AWAY!
by
A. Noradunkian
1994
Today we are witnessing the victory of arrogant death, who proudly is challenging the hope of mankind by saying, "I am the end of all life, I am the annihilation of all essence. Even the ancient gods were not immune to me, the old heroes - Achilles and Hector became victims to my authority and command". Those haughty words and proud challenges were also made at the Crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. But the life of the Life-Giver did not end at the crossroad of death. Death could not swallow up Life. Life will never turn to tragedy. Life represents the positive dimension of the cosmos when it is ingrained with love.
At every tolling bell there stands the life-giving Jesus Christ saying with certainty, "I am the Resurrection and I am the Life. I have overcome death". This is not a theoretical statement. It is a historical fact whose living proof is the living Church for the last 20 centuries. There is no any other organization in this world which has lasted 20 centuries with so many heroic martyrs, except the Church of Jesus Christ to testify for the fact of the triumphant Resurrection.
Humanity will rise again not because it is righteous, good and holy, but because God loves mankind. Humanity is God's children. God cannot forsake mankind. He cannot abandon it. Humans are His highest creation made in His image. Mankind may become prodigal and may even deny the Lord like St. Peter. But mankind belongs to God, He loves all men and women. God's love and mercy are inexhaustible. God is not covetous or stingy. Rather His loving-kindness, generosity, and mercy are inexhaustible. Humans can endure injustice, pain and misery but there are things which humans can not tolerate and allow, such as hypocrisy, dishonor and death. Death is the adversary, the treason and the violation of life.
Today, God is calling each one of us to believe, to hope, to love and to wait for the day of the Resurrection. Today, mortal man walks with a pain and a sorrow in his heart. But tomorrow, on the day of Resurrection, he will march with a victorious torch of life in hand to his Redeemer and God.
From the Armenian Church Discussion Group
2010-09-06
PUT DESPAIR TO OBLIVION
PUT DESPAIR TO OBLIVION
And since I put you up, my fruitless soul As target facing my inherent gaze, So, stoning it with verbal pebbles, As if you were a wild tameless beast, I will relentlessly throw stones at you.
And although they will never call me righteous, However, at the start of my response, As spoken by the wizard, I will begin a voluntary combat With myself, as if I were a foe.
And, while confessing mysteries concealed, That do concern my thoughts, As sinful acts that have already happened, I will present to you, my God and Lord, For, what will be the measure of my soul's sins, What measure will apply to me from your unending mercy,
So that the grace obtained from you
By many times exceed my greatest sins,
The more incurable and aching are wounds consuming me, The brighter will be your divine skill, O healer of the heaven, The more I multiply my debts, The more commendable will always be your charity, O grantor of the benefits, As spoken in your blessed parable, For, out of you are both salvation and redemption, You renovate with your right hand, And strengthen with your finger, You justify using your will, And comfort with your unction, And you encourage with the dew of your grace.
You grant relief
And put despair to oblivion,
You dissipate the gloom of grief,
Convert to happiness a mournful wail.
To you are due the blessings and praise in higher heaven From all forbearers and their descendents, All through the ages.
Amen!
...
St. Grigor Narekatsi, 10th Century
The Book of Sadness
A Word To God From The Depth Of My Heart Chapter IX Part C Translated from the Armenian By Hachatoor Hachatoorian Pages 48-49 "NAIRI" Yerevan, Armenia 2007
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And since I put you up, my fruitless soul As target facing my inherent gaze, So, stoning it with verbal pebbles, As if you were a wild tameless beast, I will relentlessly throw stones at you.
And although they will never call me righteous, However, at the start of my response, As spoken by the wizard, I will begin a voluntary combat With myself, as if I were a foe.
And, while confessing mysteries concealed, That do concern my thoughts, As sinful acts that have already happened, I will present to you, my God and Lord, For, what will be the measure of my soul's sins, What measure will apply to me from your unending mercy,
So that the grace obtained from you
By many times exceed my greatest sins,
The more incurable and aching are wounds consuming me, The brighter will be your divine skill, O healer of the heaven, The more I multiply my debts, The more commendable will always be your charity, O grantor of the benefits, As spoken in your blessed parable, For, out of you are both salvation and redemption, You renovate with your right hand, And strengthen with your finger, You justify using your will, And comfort with your unction, And you encourage with the dew of your grace.
You grant relief
And put despair to oblivion,
You dissipate the gloom of grief,
Convert to happiness a mournful wail.
To you are due the blessings and praise in higher heaven From all forbearers and their descendents, All through the ages.
Amen!
...
St. Grigor Narekatsi, 10th Century
The Book of Sadness
A Word To God From The Depth Of My Heart Chapter IX Part C Translated from the Armenian By Hachatoor Hachatoorian Pages 48-49 "NAIRI" Yerevan, Armenia 2007
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CITIZEN OF TWO WORLDS
CITIZEN OF TWO WORLDS
Since through his body and soul man becomes a participant in both the intelligible and the sensible, he is a citizen of two worlds, yet a whole being, with a special vocation to spread the grace of God through the whole of creation, animate and inanimate. He is superior to the angels, because, as he is made in the image of God, he can be open to the entire universe, the sensible as well as the intelligible. He is akin to God and matter, a member of both families, made to enjoy both the divine and the terrestrial. In him and through him, matter too is to be redeemed. That is why Christ became man and assumed a material body. Man in Christ is the Savior of the world: he restores it to God so that it may be filled with his glory.
...God includes the whole universe in his creation as well as in redemption in Christ. This does not remove all distinctions between humanity and the rest of creation. Humanity has a special vocation as the priest of creation, as the mediator through whom God manifests himself to creation and redeems it. But this does not make humanity totally discontinuous with creation, since a priest has to be an integral part of the people he represents. Christ has become part of creation, and in his created body he lifted up the creation to God, and humankind must participate in this eternal priesthood of Christ.
Metropolitan Paulos Mar Gregorios
The Human Presence: Ecological Spirituality and the Age of the Spirit Pages 65 and 89, Amity House, New York 1987 First Published by the World Council of Churches 1978
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Since through his body and soul man becomes a participant in both the intelligible and the sensible, he is a citizen of two worlds, yet a whole being, with a special vocation to spread the grace of God through the whole of creation, animate and inanimate. He is superior to the angels, because, as he is made in the image of God, he can be open to the entire universe, the sensible as well as the intelligible. He is akin to God and matter, a member of both families, made to enjoy both the divine and the terrestrial. In him and through him, matter too is to be redeemed. That is why Christ became man and assumed a material body. Man in Christ is the Savior of the world: he restores it to God so that it may be filled with his glory.
...God includes the whole universe in his creation as well as in redemption in Christ. This does not remove all distinctions between humanity and the rest of creation. Humanity has a special vocation as the priest of creation, as the mediator through whom God manifests himself to creation and redeems it. But this does not make humanity totally discontinuous with creation, since a priest has to be an integral part of the people he represents. Christ has become part of creation, and in his created body he lifted up the creation to God, and humankind must participate in this eternal priesthood of Christ.
Metropolitan Paulos Mar Gregorios
The Human Presence: Ecological Spirituality and the Age of the Spirit Pages 65 and 89, Amity House, New York 1987 First Published by the World Council of Churches 1978
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ROOM FOR EVERYBODY
ROOM FOR EVERYBODY
Everyone is useful in the Church. Every person has something to offer; there's plenty of room for everybody, for those who have a mild character and for those who may be strict and demanding. The Body of the Church resembles the human body. Just as we need both sweet and sour foods, even bitter herbs, because each food has something to contribute in substance and vitamins, so too the Body of the Church needs every one of us.
Each person complements the character of the other, and we are all obliged to tolerate not only the spiritual temperament of others, but also their human weaknesses
Now, unfortunately, there are those who have irrational expectations from other people. They expect everyone to be like them, to have their spiritual temperament; and if the other person does not meet their standard, if they are a bit more lenient or more austere, they are eager to find them non spiritual.
...
Elder Paisios of Mount Athos.
From a daily pastoral message via email of Gail Sheppard
032709
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Everyone is useful in the Church. Every person has something to offer; there's plenty of room for everybody, for those who have a mild character and for those who may be strict and demanding. The Body of the Church resembles the human body. Just as we need both sweet and sour foods, even bitter herbs, because each food has something to contribute in substance and vitamins, so too the Body of the Church needs every one of us.
Each person complements the character of the other, and we are all obliged to tolerate not only the spiritual temperament of others, but also their human weaknesses
Now, unfortunately, there are those who have irrational expectations from other people. They expect everyone to be like them, to have their spiritual temperament; and if the other person does not meet their standard, if they are a bit more lenient or more austere, they are eager to find them non spiritual.
...
Elder Paisios of Mount Athos.
From a daily pastoral message via email of Gail Sheppard
032709
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"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT
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THE JOY OF FREEDOM
THE JOY OF FREEDOM
God alone is truly and absolutely free. He alone is totally free from extraneous conditioning or even non-voluntary inner compulsion. He alone can say: "let be" and it is done. He alone is not caused, but is truly the uncaused cause. Man, as creation, would appear to be totally caused by the Creator, and therefore not free. But that is precisely the ambiguity of man. He is created. Yet he is also a creator, because he is made in the image of the Creator. The image is what is constitutive of man as man, distinguishing him from other animals. What is at the depth of human nature is not his sin, but his freedom. Because at the depth he is free, therefore at the depths he discovers also the source of his freedom, namely the Creator God. That does not mean, however, that God is simply the ultimate depth or ground of our own being. That He may well be, but it is more correct to put it this way: He is freedom; we are made in His image, therefore we find freedom in our depths; when this freedom discovers the love and the wisdom that also lie at the depths, we experience that freedom as direct access to God. That is joy. That is adoption to sonhood. There prayer is learned.
But the way to the depths can never be found in isolation. That road passes through the depths of other people. Even the omphaloscopia (navel-gazing) of the Athos hesychasts was not an attempt to find God in the depths by self-isolation. Freedom, love and wisdom are all maintained and transmitted in community. It is as the community reconciled by the Spirit encounters God in His grace, and renders to Him its self-oblation in loving self-surrender and in identification with the oblation of Christ on the cross that man in community experiences the joy of freedom. This Eucharistic encounter with God is what makes man authentically human. Here he experiences liberation from that awful dilemma of man - that if he approaches the Holy God he dies, and if he does not, he dies also.
...
Metropolitan Paulos Mar Gregorios
The Joy of Freedom: Eastern Worship and Modern Man Pages 65-66 The Christian Literature Society, Madras, India 1986 first published in 1967
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God alone is truly and absolutely free. He alone is totally free from extraneous conditioning or even non-voluntary inner compulsion. He alone can say: "let be" and it is done. He alone is not caused, but is truly the uncaused cause. Man, as creation, would appear to be totally caused by the Creator, and therefore not free. But that is precisely the ambiguity of man. He is created. Yet he is also a creator, because he is made in the image of the Creator. The image is what is constitutive of man as man, distinguishing him from other animals. What is at the depth of human nature is not his sin, but his freedom. Because at the depth he is free, therefore at the depths he discovers also the source of his freedom, namely the Creator God. That does not mean, however, that God is simply the ultimate depth or ground of our own being. That He may well be, but it is more correct to put it this way: He is freedom; we are made in His image, therefore we find freedom in our depths; when this freedom discovers the love and the wisdom that also lie at the depths, we experience that freedom as direct access to God. That is joy. That is adoption to sonhood. There prayer is learned.
But the way to the depths can never be found in isolation. That road passes through the depths of other people. Even the omphaloscopia (navel-gazing) of the Athos hesychasts was not an attempt to find God in the depths by self-isolation. Freedom, love and wisdom are all maintained and transmitted in community. It is as the community reconciled by the Spirit encounters God in His grace, and renders to Him its self-oblation in loving self-surrender and in identification with the oblation of Christ on the cross that man in community experiences the joy of freedom. This Eucharistic encounter with God is what makes man authentically human. Here he experiences liberation from that awful dilemma of man - that if he approaches the Holy God he dies, and if he does not, he dies also.
...
Metropolitan Paulos Mar Gregorios
The Joy of Freedom: Eastern Worship and Modern Man Pages 65-66 The Christian Literature Society, Madras, India 1986 first published in 1967
032509
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"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
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Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
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FASTING AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS
FASTING AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS
When fasting, you should fast in body, and in heart; abstaining from meat, gossip and slander. Do not say - this person is good or this person is bad. The fasting tongue is better than the fasting mouth; and when the heart abstains from wrath, that it better than both.
...
Fasting is an essential function for every Christian in this world. Christ Himself fasted, although He did not need to, but He wanted to teach us that the trials of the devil can only be controlled through fasting. By fasting we also receive spiritual gifts, become closer to God, and our prayers are accepted.
...
St Isaac the Great said, "A little cloud can obscure the sun, but after having passed, the sun reappears as it was." The same thing applies to the tribulations faced by [a true Christian], although they are difficult, they enlighten his soul after they pass.
Thank God who allows temptations and for all good things that work together for the good of them who love and trust in the Lord. And I, myself, as you know, have received many spiritual benefits. This is one of God's blessings.
...
Saint Pope Kyrollos the Sixth
Christian Behavior According to Saint Pope Kyrollos the Sixth
By: Pope Kyrollos VI Sons
Pages 7 and 43 and 68
St. Mina Monastery Press, Cairo, Egypt, 2000
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transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
When fasting, you should fast in body, and in heart; abstaining from meat, gossip and slander. Do not say - this person is good or this person is bad. The fasting tongue is better than the fasting mouth; and when the heart abstains from wrath, that it better than both.
...
Fasting is an essential function for every Christian in this world. Christ Himself fasted, although He did not need to, but He wanted to teach us that the trials of the devil can only be controlled through fasting. By fasting we also receive spiritual gifts, become closer to God, and our prayers are accepted.
...
St Isaac the Great said, "A little cloud can obscure the sun, but after having passed, the sun reappears as it was." The same thing applies to the tribulations faced by [a true Christian], although they are difficult, they enlighten his soul after they pass.
Thank God who allows temptations and for all good things that work together for the good of them who love and trust in the Lord. And I, myself, as you know, have received many spiritual benefits. This is one of God's blessings.
...
Saint Pope Kyrollos the Sixth
Christian Behavior According to Saint Pope Kyrollos the Sixth
By: Pope Kyrollos VI Sons
Pages 7 and 43 and 68
St. Mina Monastery Press, Cairo, Egypt, 2000
032009
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"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
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Sponsored by Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
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Madison, Wisconsin 53704
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transfiguration@usa.com
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FRAGRANCE OF GOD
I
We make a big mistake when we devalue the body and the senses. Our senses are important stepping-stones on the path to God and Paradise. When I kneel in my garden, the aromas of the plants may overwhelm me, yet I may not see any save those immediately in front of me. When I kneel in prayer, God's presence permeates my entire being, though He remains invisible to my eyes.
It is true that, when all is said and done, we must transcend our fallen senses, including the sense of smell, for higher spiritual senses of a life unaffected by sin. Yet with the proper discipline even our earthly senses may assist us in the journey to God. God has filled the whole of Creation with signs of His existence, signs that our senses can apprehend and that our minds can translate into knowledge of Him...
God has created human nature with the capacity to resonate with the pulse of Divine Life. But sin has damaged this ability. It has put not only our senses "out of tune" but also the whole human instrument in disrepair. That is why we are unable to experience God in the garden with the same intimacy, harmony, and intensity of Adam and Eve before the Fall. That is what makes gardening such a bittersweet activity...
II
God wants us to hear His footsteps in the garden, to feel His embrace and kisses among the lilies, to feed on Him at the Tree of Life, and to breathe in His life with the fragrance of the rose, as did Adam and Eve. God wants us to inherent eternal life. But these things can come about only if we reorient our senses, tune our human instrument, so that we are able to respond to the grace that permeates ordinary life.
Christians are the "real" realists. The Son of God, by His incarnation, has demonstrated that the world is filled with symbols of God. These symbols that God has planted in the world testify not only to his existence but also to the goodness of His Creation. By the example of His own life, Christ teaches us that through our senses we may commence our spiritual journey, and that He will receive us into Paradise in the full integrity of our humanity, body and soul united, and together in communion with Him.
Vigen Guroian
Fragrance of God
Wm B Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids MI 2006 pages 11 & 15; pages 16-17
031809
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Sponsored by Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
We make a big mistake when we devalue the body and the senses. Our senses are important stepping-stones on the path to God and Paradise. When I kneel in my garden, the aromas of the plants may overwhelm me, yet I may not see any save those immediately in front of me. When I kneel in prayer, God's presence permeates my entire being, though He remains invisible to my eyes.
It is true that, when all is said and done, we must transcend our fallen senses, including the sense of smell, for higher spiritual senses of a life unaffected by sin. Yet with the proper discipline even our earthly senses may assist us in the journey to God. God has filled the whole of Creation with signs of His existence, signs that our senses can apprehend and that our minds can translate into knowledge of Him...
God has created human nature with the capacity to resonate with the pulse of Divine Life. But sin has damaged this ability. It has put not only our senses "out of tune" but also the whole human instrument in disrepair. That is why we are unable to experience God in the garden with the same intimacy, harmony, and intensity of Adam and Eve before the Fall. That is what makes gardening such a bittersweet activity...
II
God wants us to hear His footsteps in the garden, to feel His embrace and kisses among the lilies, to feed on Him at the Tree of Life, and to breathe in His life with the fragrance of the rose, as did Adam and Eve. God wants us to inherent eternal life. But these things can come about only if we reorient our senses, tune our human instrument, so that we are able to respond to the grace that permeates ordinary life.
Christians are the "real" realists. The Son of God, by His incarnation, has demonstrated that the world is filled with symbols of God. These symbols that God has planted in the world testify not only to his existence but also to the goodness of His Creation. By the example of His own life, Christ teaches us that through our senses we may commence our spiritual journey, and that He will receive us into Paradise in the full integrity of our humanity, body and soul united, and together in communion with Him.
Vigen Guroian
Fragrance of God
Wm B Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids MI 2006 pages 11 & 15; pages 16-17
031809
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"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
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Sponsored by Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
IMAGE OF THE TRUE LIGHT
IMAGE OF THE TRUE LIGHT
He [God] did not make the heavens in his image,
nor the moon, the sun, the beauty of the stars,
nor anything else which you can see in the created universe.
YOU ALONE are made in the likeness of that nature which surpasses all
understanding;
YOU ALONE are a similitude of eternal beauty,
a receptacle of happiness,
an image of the true light;
and if YOU look up to Him,
you will become what He is,
imitating Him who shines within you,
whose glory is reflected in your purity.
Nothing in all creation can equal your grandeur.
All the heavens can fit into the palm of God's hand;
the earth and the sea are measured in the hollow of His hand.
And though He is so great that He can grasp all creation in His palm,
you can wholly embrace Him; He dwells within you,
nor is He cramped as He pervades your entire being, saying:
"I will dwell in them and walk among them" (2 Corinthians 6:18).
Mar Gregorios Nyssa
Glory to Glory: Texts from Gregory of Nyssa's Mystical Writings
by J. Danielou (SVS Press 1979) pages 162-3
031109
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"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT
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621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
He [God] did not make the heavens in his image,
nor the moon, the sun, the beauty of the stars,
nor anything else which you can see in the created universe.
YOU ALONE are made in the likeness of that nature which surpasses all
understanding;
YOU ALONE are a similitude of eternal beauty,
a receptacle of happiness,
an image of the true light;
and if YOU look up to Him,
you will become what He is,
imitating Him who shines within you,
whose glory is reflected in your purity.
Nothing in all creation can equal your grandeur.
All the heavens can fit into the palm of God's hand;
the earth and the sea are measured in the hollow of His hand.
And though He is so great that He can grasp all creation in His palm,
you can wholly embrace Him; He dwells within you,
nor is He cramped as He pervades your entire being, saying:
"I will dwell in them and walk among them" (2 Corinthians 6:18).
Mar Gregorios Nyssa
Glory to Glory: Texts from Gregory of Nyssa's Mystical Writings
by J. Danielou (SVS Press 1979) pages 162-3
031109
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
or subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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Sponsored by Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
STANDING IN THE TEMPLE
STANDING IN THE TEMPLE
Just as he did a thousand years ago, so today the simple believer goes to church in order primarily to "touch other worlds" (Dostoevsky). In a sense, he is not interested in worship, in the way in which experts and connoisseurs of all liturgical details are interested in it. And he is not interested because "standing in the temple" he receives all that for which he thirsts and seeks: the light, the joy, and the comfort of the Kingdom of God, that radiance which, in the words of the agnostic Chekov, beams from the faces of the "old people who just returned from the church."
What use could such a believer have for complex and refined explanations of what this or that rite represents, of what the opening or closing of the royals doors is supposed to mean?
He cannot keep up with all these symbolisms, and they are unnecessary for his faith. All he knows is that he has left his everyday life and has come to a place where everything is different and yet so essential, so desirable, so vital, that it illumines and gives meaning to his entire life.
Likewise he knows that this other reality makes life itself worth living, for everything proceeds to it, everything is related to it, everything is to be judged by it - by the Kingdom of God it manifests.
And, finally, he knows that even if the individual words or rites are unclear to him, the Kingdom of God has been given to him in the Church: in that common action, common standing before God, in love and unity.
Father Alexander Schmemenn
The Symbol of the Kingdom - chapter article Orthodox Synthesis: The Unity of Theological Thought Edited by Joseph J. Allen Pages 45-46 SVS Press, Crestwood, NY 1981
031109
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"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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Sponsored by Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
Just as he did a thousand years ago, so today the simple believer goes to church in order primarily to "touch other worlds" (Dostoevsky). In a sense, he is not interested in worship, in the way in which experts and connoisseurs of all liturgical details are interested in it. And he is not interested because "standing in the temple" he receives all that for which he thirsts and seeks: the light, the joy, and the comfort of the Kingdom of God, that radiance which, in the words of the agnostic Chekov, beams from the faces of the "old people who just returned from the church."
What use could such a believer have for complex and refined explanations of what this or that rite represents, of what the opening or closing of the royals doors is supposed to mean?
He cannot keep up with all these symbolisms, and they are unnecessary for his faith. All he knows is that he has left his everyday life and has come to a place where everything is different and yet so essential, so desirable, so vital, that it illumines and gives meaning to his entire life.
Likewise he knows that this other reality makes life itself worth living, for everything proceeds to it, everything is related to it, everything is to be judged by it - by the Kingdom of God it manifests.
And, finally, he knows that even if the individual words or rites are unclear to him, the Kingdom of God has been given to him in the Church: in that common action, common standing before God, in love and unity.
Father Alexander Schmemenn
The Symbol of the Kingdom - chapter article Orthodox Synthesis: The Unity of Theological Thought Edited by Joseph J. Allen Pages 45-46 SVS Press, Crestwood, NY 1981
031109
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Sponsored by Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
TOWARDS HOLINESS
TOWARDS HOLINESS
The Inaccessible One has become accessible, the transcendent God has taken flesh and dwelt among us. The holiness which surpassed every human notion and was a separation reveals itself to be otherwise: the very holiness of God can become infinitely close without becoming any the less mysterious; it becomes accessible without our being able to possess it; it lays hold of us without destroying us. In this perspective we can understand the words of St Peter in his General Epistle, that we are called to become partakers of divine nature...
All holiness is God's holiness in us:
It is holiness that is participation and, in certain way, more than participation, because we participate in what we receive from God, we become a revelation of that which transcends us. Being a limited light, we reveal the Light. But we should also remember that in this life in which we are striving towards holiness, our spirituality should be defined in very objective and precise terms.
When we read books on spirituality or engage in studying the subject, we see that spirituality, explicitly or implicitly, is repeatedly defined as an attitude, a state of soul, an inner condition, a type of interiority, and so on.
In reality, if you look for the ultimate definition and try to discover the inner core of spirituality, you find that spirituality does not consist of the states of soul that are familiar to us, but that it is the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in us, by us, and through us in the world.
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
God and Man, Pages 81-82
Hodder and Stoughton
Revised 1974 international paperback (1971 first edition)
030609
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Sponsored by Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
The Inaccessible One has become accessible, the transcendent God has taken flesh and dwelt among us. The holiness which surpassed every human notion and was a separation reveals itself to be otherwise: the very holiness of God can become infinitely close without becoming any the less mysterious; it becomes accessible without our being able to possess it; it lays hold of us without destroying us. In this perspective we can understand the words of St Peter in his General Epistle, that we are called to become partakers of divine nature...
All holiness is God's holiness in us:
It is holiness that is participation and, in certain way, more than participation, because we participate in what we receive from God, we become a revelation of that which transcends us. Being a limited light, we reveal the Light. But we should also remember that in this life in which we are striving towards holiness, our spirituality should be defined in very objective and precise terms.
When we read books on spirituality or engage in studying the subject, we see that spirituality, explicitly or implicitly, is repeatedly defined as an attitude, a state of soul, an inner condition, a type of interiority, and so on.
In reality, if you look for the ultimate definition and try to discover the inner core of spirituality, you find that spirituality does not consist of the states of soul that are familiar to us, but that it is the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in us, by us, and through us in the world.
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
God and Man, Pages 81-82
Hodder and Stoughton
Revised 1974 international paperback (1971 first edition)
030609
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Sponsored by Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
GOD'S RELATIONSHIP OF LOVE
GOD'S RELATIONSHIP OF LOVE
Why has God allowed the angels and man to sin? Why does God permit evil and suffering? We answer: Because he is a God of love. Love implies sharing, and love also implies freedom. As a Trinity of love, God desired to share His life with created persons made in His image, who would be capable of responding to Him freely and willingly in a relationship of love.
Where there is no freedom, there can be no love.
Compulsion excludes love; as Paul Evdokimov used to say, God can do everything except compel us to love Him. God, therefore - desiring to share His love - created, not robots who would obey Him mechanically, but angels and human beings endowed with free choice. And thereby, to put the matter in an anthropomorphic way, God took a risk: for with this gift of freedom there was given also the possibility of sin. But he who takes no risks does not love.
Without freedom there would be no sin. But without freedom man would not be in God's image; without freedom man would not be capable of entering into communion with God in a relationship of love.
Archimandrite (now Bishop) Kallistos Ware
The Orthodox Way
pages 75-76
St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, New York
1st Paperback Edition 1979 (Revised since this edition in 1995)
030409
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Sponsored by Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
Why has God allowed the angels and man to sin? Why does God permit evil and suffering? We answer: Because he is a God of love. Love implies sharing, and love also implies freedom. As a Trinity of love, God desired to share His life with created persons made in His image, who would be capable of responding to Him freely and willingly in a relationship of love.
Where there is no freedom, there can be no love.
Compulsion excludes love; as Paul Evdokimov used to say, God can do everything except compel us to love Him. God, therefore - desiring to share His love - created, not robots who would obey Him mechanically, but angels and human beings endowed with free choice. And thereby, to put the matter in an anthropomorphic way, God took a risk: for with this gift of freedom there was given also the possibility of sin. But he who takes no risks does not love.
Without freedom there would be no sin. But without freedom man would not be in God's image; without freedom man would not be capable of entering into communion with God in a relationship of love.
Archimandrite (now Bishop) Kallistos Ware
The Orthodox Way
pages 75-76
St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, New York
1st Paperback Edition 1979 (Revised since this edition in 1995)
030409
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
"A Little Spiritual Help" is for
HEALING LIFE, DEEPENING FAITH, ENRICHING PRACTICE, and REFRESHING SPIRIT
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualhelp/
Subscribe: spiritualhelp-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Sponsored by Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Parish
621 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite B3
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Sundays 9:30am ~ 608.242.4244
transfiguration@usa.com
http://www.maruroopa.blogspot.com/
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