Daily Meditations Archives - Page 31 of 342

Saints Cosmas and Damian

11/01/2023

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on November 1, 2021 In times of great fear, need and uncertainty throughout history we have found ourselves going to visit our priests and doctors. It makes sense to look at the history of the church to learn about how people dealt with these issues and those who stood out as paragons of virtue. We are sharing this story of tremendous saints of our faith who met the challenges of their times with their

In Defense of Hallowe’en

10/31/2023

By Father Lawrence Farley As I recall, I was always a black cat—not so much because black cats were thought to be evil and witch’s familiars or anything. I just loved cats, and so thought black cats were cool. My neighbour usually dressed up as a hobo, but me—I was always a black cat. I would plan my costume weeks in advance, and help Mom make up the goody-bags of candy we distributed (including those

The Danger and Shame of Forgiveness

10/30/2023

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, December 20, 2021 Forgiveness is so terribly hard. On a psychological level, it feels dangerous. The shame engendered by any insult or injury is our experience of vulnerability, and we instinctively react to protect ourselves. That, we must understand, is not a sin, it is an instinct that is a gift from God. The example of Christ, who did not “turn His face from the spitting and the shame,” is also

Sacrifice and Worship

10/27/2023

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, November 21, 2017 In the 1970’s, the BBC did a series, “The Long Search,” in which Ronald Eyre explored various religions. To my mind, it remains the best such series I’ve seen. When it came to Christianity, the series wisely presented three separate treatments: the Orthodox, the Catholics and Protestants. In its program on Orthodoxy, Eyre traveled to Romania, which was then under the boot of Ceausescu and official “atheism.” The

Feast of Great Martyr Demetrios, The Myrrh-Streamer

10/26/2023

26 October 2021 Saint Demetrios suffered in Thessalonica during the reign of Galerius Maximian (c. 306). He belonged to one of the most distinguished families of the province of Macedonia and was widely admired not only because of his noble ancestry and grace of bearing, but also for virtue, wisdom and goodness of heart surpassing that of his elders. The military expertise of Saint Demetrios led Galerius, as Caesar of the Eastern Empire, to appoint

On Loneliness and Real Communication

10/25/2023

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on September 18, 2021 Saint Nicholas Velimirovich Don’t be afraid to be alone. People are alone if they don’t know God, even if they have dealings with a large number of other people. Even in a densely-populated society, people like this would say- and, in fact, some actually do say- ‘I’m bored. I don’t know what to do with myself, everything’s a burden’. Those are souls empty of God, husks without a pit, ash

The Transparent World

10/24/2023

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, October 15, 2017 The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. (8:5-15) “…there are many ways of ‘being’ in a place.” This was written by the wonderful Catholic mystic Teresa of Avila. She was writing about entering the Interior Castle, the interior kingdom of heaven. By this she means the soul. Then she says, “But since we are already there, how can I speak of

Apostle James, the Brother of our Lord, First Bishop of Jerusalem

10/23/2023

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on October 23, 2017 James W. Lillie Saint James was the son of Joseph the Betrothed from his (first) marriage. He was blessed by God while he was still in his mother’s womb and was so righteous in his life that all the Jews called him the “Just”. Even from a very early age, James lived a very ascetic life. He did not partake of wine or other strong drinks. In imitation of Saint

Consent to Reality

10/20/2023

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, July 22, 2018 Catholic philosopher, Alasdair MacIntyre (After Virtue), has presented perhaps the most cogent account of our modern cultural landscape. It is not an account of how one set of ideas gave way to another set of ideas, but how a once-upon-a-time consensus gave way to our current collection of competing truth-claims and world-views. Indeed, he demonstrates (Whose Justice, Which Rationality) that our present confusion is not primarily represented by

A Life of Luminous Actions

10/19/2023

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, October 29, 2017 Mystics like De Chardin believed that the luminous heart of Christ is the center of the cosmos. We agree, of course. Professor Jaroslav Pelikan said that the problem with modern theology is that it has lost sight of the Cosmic Christ. True Christianity always rests in the revelation that Christ is Forever and All-Encompassing. The reason we have forgotten him, I believe, is encapsulated