Daily Meditations Archives - Page 204 of 333

A Layman in the Desert (Preface, Part IV)

01/09/2017

There is a second key mistake that we often make in our assumptions about the essential nature of life in the world, which mistake makes monastic literature difficult to approach. We often conceive of worldly life as merely a kind of default existence that anyone who is not specially called to monasticism or ordination simply ends up leading. We assume that it is only the monk, nun or priest who has a special call, while

The Feast of Theophany. The Manifestation of God

01/06/2017

And when Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on Him; and lo, a voice from heaven, saying “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” -Matthew 3: 16-17 (Gospel of Epiphany) The Feast we celebrate on January 6 is known by several names. One is the Baptism of Christ.

The Twelfth Day of Christmas. Live Right!

01/05/2017

For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men, training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions and to live sober, upright and godly lives in this world, awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. -Titus 2: 11-13 (Epistle from Liturgy of Epiphany) No one likes to be told to wait. We tend to want things, as one restaurant ad puts

The Eleventh Day of Christmas. The Voice in the Wilderness

01/04/2017

As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the Prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” -Luke 3: 4-6 (Gospel from

The Tenth Day of Christmas. A Spiritual Inventory

01/03/2017

Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. -Matthew 3:5-6 (Gospel from Royal Hours of Epiphany) Christ is born! Glorify Him! St. John the Forerunner was known as the Baptist, because he was baptizing people in the River Jordan. In the Jewish faith, one entered the faith through the ritual of circumcision. Periodically thereafter, people

The Ninth Day of Christmas. A Worthy Epitaph for a Life Well Lived

01/02/2017

As for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already on the point of being sacrificed, the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and

The Circumcision of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia

01/01/2017

On the eighth day after His Nativity, our Lord Jesus Christ was circumcised in accordance with the Old Testament Law. All male infants underwent circumcision as a sign of God’s Covenant with the holy Forefather Abraham and his descendants (Gen. 17:10-14, Lev. 12:3). After this ritual the Divine Infant was given the name Jesus, as the Archangel Gabriel declared on the day of the Annunciation to the Most Holy Theotokos (Luke 1:31-33, 2:21). The Fathers

The Sixth Day of Christmas. Promises Kept

12/30/2016

But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Rise, take the Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.” And he rose and took the Child and His mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus reigned over Judea in place of his father Herod, he

The Fifth Day of Christmas. Rachel Is Still Weeping for Her Children

12/29/2016

Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel

The Fourth Day of Christmas. We Have to Take the Same Journey

12/28/2016

Now when the magi had departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy Him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This