Daily Meditations Archives - Page 286 of 351

The Dormition of our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary (Part II)

08/15/2014

Then came the third hour (9 A.M.), when the Dormition of the Mother of God was to occur. A number of candles were burning. The holy Disciples surrounded her beautifully adorned bed, offering praise to God. She prayed in anticipation of Her demise and of the arrival of Her longed-for Son and Lord. Suddenly, the inexpressible Light of Divine Glory shone forth, before which the blazing candles paled in comparison. All who it saw took

The Dormition of our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary (Part I)

08/14/2014

After the Ascension of the Lord, the Mother of God remained in the care of the Apostle John the Theologian, and during his journeys, She lived at the home of his parents, near the Mount of Olives. She was a source of consolation and edification both for the Apostles and for all the believers. Conversing with them, She told them about miraculous events: the Annunciation, the seedless and undefiled Conception of Christ born of Her,

A Miracle in Greece: What a Weeping Icon Could Mean

08/13/2014

By Michael Lotti Just a few months ago, an icon of Archangel Michael on the island of Rhodes in Greece began weeping. What could this mean? The meaning of a miracle may seem obvious. Something remarkable happened, and it can only be attributed to God. It’s a miracle! Atheists, take note! But, in fact, miracles are not self-interpreting. That was the core of Jesus’ response to John the Baptist: When John, who was in prison,

Analyzing Our Thoughts and Feelings (III)

08/12/2014

Evagrius describes the second vice of lust as follows: “The demon of unchastity is concerned with greed for the body. Those who lead a life of abstinence find themselves more exposed to his assaults than others. For the demon would have them stop practicing this virtue. Anyway, so he would have them believe, it yields no profit. It is typical of this demon to play out before them impure actions, to dirty them, and finally

ARE WE TALKING ABOUT PSYCHOLOGY IN THIS SPIRITUALITY?

08/11/2014

Is psychology more practical than spirituality? Nothing is more practical than spirituality. What can the poor psychologist do? He can only relieve the pressure. I’m a psychologist myself, and I practice psychotherapy, and I have this great conflict within me when I have to choose sometimes between psychology and spirituality. I wonder if that makes sense to anybody here. It didn’t make sense to me for many years. I’ll explain. It didn’t make sense to

The Lord’s Prayer (Part IV)

08/08/2014

To be able to say the first sentence that we have discussed – ‘Deliver us from the evil one’ – requires such a reassessment of values and such a new attitude that we can hardly begin to say it otherwise than in a cry, which is as yet unsubstantiated by an inner change in us. We feel a longing which is not yet capable of achievement; to ask God to protect us in the trial

On the Temptations of Bureaucracy and the Power of Love

08/07/2014

By Father Lawrence Farley In the wee hours of the morning on April 30, 1945, Adolf Hitler dictated his final Private Testament. There was some urgency about this, for he was planning immediately afterward to marry Eva Braun and then, shortly after that, to avoid the earthly consequences of his past actions by putting a bullet through his head. Most of his final message was simply a rehash of the same old delusional stuff he

Fruit of the Transfiguration

08/06/2014

“Lord, it is good for us to be here” (Matthew 17:4) The feast of Holy Transfiguration falls near the end of the liturgical year. Only the Dormition of the Theotokos follows, to complete and close the cycle. Why now? The time of the event comes six days following the confession of St. Peter [Matthew 17:1, Mark 9:2], or “about eight days” [Luke 9:28], although that doesn’t fix the date precisely. Nothing is arbitrary. It comes

Treasures from our Subsequent Conversations (Part II)

08/05/2014

How Grace Comes “God sends His Grace to the man who submits himself to Him and asks for It. In order for Grace to come we need humility and certain patterns of behavior are necessary from us.” “Which mannerisms? What do you mean?” “I don’t know if I should tell it to you. It’s not proper. Something is written about this in the works of St. Isaac the Syrian.” He retrieved a book from the

We Live in the Shadowlands of Paradox

08/04/2014

All God appears to want from us is honesty and humility (and they are finally the same thing). If God is holding out for human perfection, God is going to have a long wait. There is no other way to read Jesus’ stories of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) or the publican and the Pharisee (Luke 18:9-14). In each story, the one who did wrong ends up being right—simply because he is honest and humble