Daily Meditations Archives - Page 250 of 351

Eighth Day of Christmas, St. Basil: A Proper Bishop

01/01/2016

By Father Lawrence Farley St. Basil lived and worked in the fourth century, when the Church was just starting to work hand in glove with the Roman state. The new relationship took some getting used to: before this, the Christians tried to avoid the State and its police whenever they could, since the coming of the Roman police (i.e. soldiers) was often a prelude to Christian martyrdom. Now the Roman State was everywhere inclined to

Seventh Day of Christmas, Happy New Me!

12/31/2015

By Father Stelyios Muksuris Happy New Me! Naturally, you might be thinking what sort of a peculiar wish this is that we make at the beginning of the New Year. We are all accustomed to exclaiming “Happy New Year!” as the clocks strike midnight on December 31st and the year rolls over to the first day of January. The celebratory atmosphere is highlighted by such festive items as colorful hats, scrumptious food, loud music, and

Sixth Day of Christmas, Meditation: The Work of Christmas Now Begins

12/30/2015

Meditation: The Work of Christmas Now Begins As we take down our Christmas decorations to store them in the attic or the basement, let us be careful not to take down Christ. He was meant not for the attic, but for the living room of your heart and mine the year round, After all, His presence with us is what Christmas is all about. Thomas Curtis Clark wrote, What do we observe on Christmas Day?

Fifth Day of Christmas, 14,000 Innocent Children: Christmas Has a Cost

12/29/2015

By Andrew Estocin Christmas can be too comfortable sometimes. As the Nativity Season unfolds, churches are celebrating the birth of Christ. Gifts are being shared, kitchens are busy preparing traditional foods, and retreat speakers have returned home from their visits to parishes. While all these events may be well intentioned, they frequently point us in the direction of nostalgia rather than a living faith. Nostalgia can often be unhealthy. The more we focus solely on

Fourth Day of Christmas, The Wise Men

12/28/2015

Meditation: The Wise Men When the wise men learned of the plot of King Herod to kill the Christ Child, they did not come back to Jerusalem, but “went another way,” according to St. Matthew. What did Matthew mean when he wrote that the Wise Men “went back another way?” No doubt he meant that they took another route so as to frustrate Herod’s murderous intentions. But is there not more to the words than

The Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

12/25/2015

The Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Bible Readings: Epistle: Galatians 4:4-7 Gospel: St. Matthew 2:1-12 Liturgical Services: Christ is born, glorify Him. Christ has come from the heavens. receive Him Christ is on earth, elevate Him. Sing unto the Lord, all the earth. And you nations, praise Him with joy, for He has been glorified —Vesper Service of the Nativity Your Nativity, O Christ our God, has shed the light of knowledge

Fortieth Day of Christmas Advent, For so has God Loved the World (Part II)

12/24/2015

But the road from Bethlehem to Zion is long, and is leading us through Gethsemane and Golgotha. Already in Bethlehem the newborn Godchild is presented with funeral offerings by the Wise Men from the East. “Today God leads the Wise Men to worship through the star, prefiguring His three-day burial in gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” The very doors of the Bethlehem cavern are nearly stained with the innocent blood of the children who were killed

Thirty-Ninth Day of Christmas Advent, For so has God Loved the World (Part I)

12/23/2015

By Father Georges Florovsky That we begin our reckoning of time with Christ’s birth is a fact which has long been but a mere convention for many. Seldom does one recall and recognize the great event from which we count time. So do we betray our ignorance and insensitivity. In ancient days, time was computed from the Incarnation of God the Word. It signifies that we live in a world which has been renewed and

Thirty-Eighth Day of Christmas Advent, Meditation: Other Gifts to Give

12/22/2015

Meditation: Other Gifts to Give In addition to the gift of time, another great gift we can all give is friendship. A little girl said once, “I don’t have any gifts, I can’t sing, I can’t paint, and I know I can’t write poetry. I just don’t have any gifts!” “Yes, you do-it shines out all over you,” her mother said quickly. “You have one of the best gifts of all-the gift of friendship. You

Thirty-Seventh Day of Christmas Advent, COME EMMANUEL, GOD WITH US! (Part II)

12/21/2015

We tend to engineer life more than just live it. We are all overstimulated and drowning in options. We are trained to be managers, to organize life so as to make things happen. This is what has built Western civilization. It is not all bad, but if you transfer that to the spiritual life, it is pure heresy. It doesn’t work. It is not Gospel. We might be economically rich but not usually spiritually fertile.