Daily Meditations Archives - Page 168 of 333

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Friday of the Fourth Week of Pascha. Sin is Not a Moral Problem

05/04/2018

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, December 8, 2014 Many readers have never before heard that there is no such thing as moral progress – so I am not surprised that I have been asked to write in more depth on the topic. I will start by focusing on the question of sin itself. If we rightly understand the nature of sin and its true character, the notion of moral progress will be seen more clearly. I

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Thursday of the Fourth Week of Pascha. Man is an Idolater of Himself.

05/03/2018

From our own experience and from our observation of others we are aware that human nature is damaged. Damaged, first of all, within each one of us; the ‘self is a shadow theatre of neurotic characters, and it is they who are pulling our strings instead of the other way about. Our faculties are disunited and out of order. While the rational intelligence is busy making distinctions, the ‘heart’, in obedience to dark subconscious forces,

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Pascha. The Feast of Mid-Pentecost

05/02/2018

The great but often neglected feast of Mid-Pentecost (Wednesday of the fourth week after Pascha) brings together with magnificent hymnody the major themes of Pascha, Ascension, and Pentecost: The Resurrection and Christ’s glorification, together with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. On the eve of the feast we read a passage from the prophecy of Isaiah 55, which again focuses on the image of water: “Thus says the Lord, ‘Everyone who thirsts, come to the

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Pascha. When “I” Awakens.

05/01/2018

God’s enduring presence places the false self in a blessed insecurity. The false self is like a drop of stagnant water thrown into the raging furnace of the love of God. Even in our sins, in God’s eyes we remain the great pearl for which he has lost all upon the cross in order to possess us as his own. Even in the midst of revolt, we remain his one lost sheep for which he

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Monday of the Fourth Week of Pascha. Heaven: Universal Resurrection

04/30/2018

For Christians, Jesus Christ is the ultimate symbol of the universal pattern of union with the divine: “When Christ is revealed, and he is your life, you will be revealed in all your glory with him” (Colossians 3:4). God’s clear goal and direction for humanity is mutual indwelling, where “the mystery is Christ within you, your hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). Henceforth we know our true and lasting life in the new “force field” that Paul calls the

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Friday of the Third Week of Pascha. What Happens when we Play (Pray)

04/27/2018

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, November 13, 2014 In my previous article I compared children’s use of play to the place of ritual words and actions in the life of the Church. I absolutely did not mean to imply that one thing is like the other. I mean to say clearly that they are very much the same thing. And I say this both to change how we understand play as well as how we understand

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Thursday of the Third Week of Pascha. God Likes to Play.

04/26/2018

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, November 12, 2014 There are things that children understand instinctively. And the things that children know and understand are worth consideration. They have much to teach us. Among the most natural things children do is play. Depending on how you define play, it is among the first activities in which we engage. It comes to dominate the lives of children and is the hallmark of their existence. Play is what children do. It

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Wednesday of the Third Week of Pascha. Spiritual Despondency

04/25/2018

The word accidie [acedia] (translated as ‘despondency’ or ‘spiritual sloth’) means, etymologically, ‘lack of care’, i.e. about one’s salvation. With few exceptions, all humanity is now living in the state of accidie [acedia]. People have become indifferent about their salvation. They do not seek divine life. They confine themselves to forms of life which appertain to the flesh, to everyday needs, to the passions of this world, to mundane activities. God, though, created us out

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Tuesday of the Third Week of Pascha: The Paradox of Christian Life

04/24/2018

In Christ, our consciousness expands, our life becomes unlimited. In the commandment ‘Love thy neighbor as thyself, we must understand the words ‘as thyself in this way: every man, the ‘whole Adam’, is my being. The kingdom of Christ, writes Saint Silouan, is to bear in our heart the whole universe and God the Creator Himself. When you pray, pray for each and every one. And add: ‘By their prayers, by his/her prayer, have mercy

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Monday of the Third Week of Pascha. Saint George and the Dragon in Iconography.

04/23/2018

The wealth of images depicted in holy icons is overwhelming, yet one thing appears to unite them all. Despite not usually being painted in a naturalistic way, they are always concerned in depicting reality. In icons of the life of Christ, His Saints, or other historic events we are always presented with what happened, and the meaning behind what happened. The image of St George killing the dragon, on the other hand, appears more like