Let Us Pray

Let Us Pray

LET US PRAY
بسم الاب والابن والروح القدس اله واحد امين

When you pray:

Saint Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo and Doctor of the Church.   2nd Discourse on Psalm 33, §8; PL 36,312

"Going to your room is to return to your heart. Blessed are they who rejoice at returning to their heart and who find nothing bad there…

They are greatly to be pitied who, returning home, have to fear that they will be chased away because of bitter fights with their family. But how much unhappier are they who do not dare to return to their conscience for fear of being chased away through remorse for their sins. If you want to return to your heart with pleasure, purify it. “Blest are the pure of heart for they shall see God.” (Mt 5:8) Remove from your heart the stains of covetousness, the spots of miserliness, the ulcer of superstition; remove the sacrilege, the evil thoughts, the hatred. I’m not only speaking of that against your friends, but even of that against your enemies. Remove all that, then return to your heart and you will be happy".

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“Jesus took Peter, James, and John off by themselves with him and led them up a high mountain.” (Mk 9:2)

Everyone who sees Christ is not equally illumined by him, but rather, each one is illumined to the extent to which he is able to receive the light. The eyes of our body do not always receive the same amount of light from the sun; the more you rise up to a high place, the more you contemplate its rising from on high, the better you perceive its brilliance and its heat. In the same way, the more our mind goes up and rises towards Christ, the closer it is to the brilliance of his light in offering itself, the more magnificently and brilliantly it will be irradiated by his light. The Lord said this himself through the prophets: “Return to me… and I will return to you.” (Zech 1:3)…

So we don’t all go to him in the same way, but each person goes “according to his abilities.” (Mt 25:14) We either go to him with the crowds and he nourishes us with parables, so that we don’t collapse on the way from fasting (Mk 8:3). Or we remain constantly at his feet, concerned only with listening to his word, without ever allowing ourselves to be troubled by the many cares in serving (Luke 10:38f.)… Without doubt, those who draw near to him in this way receive much more light.

But if, like the apostles, we never go away, but “stand loyally by him in his temptations” (cf. Luke 22:28), he explains to us in secret what he said to the crowds, and he illumines us with even more light (Mt 13:11f.). Finally, if he finds someone who is able to go up to the top of the mountain with him, like Peter, James and John, that person is not only illumined by the light of Christ, but by the voice of the Father himself."

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"Attentiveness is the heart's stillness, unbroken by any thought. In this stillness the heart breathes and invokes, endlessly and without ceasing, only Jesus Christ who is the Son of God and Himself God. It confesses Him who alone has power to forgive our sins, and with His aid it courageously faces its enemies. Through this invocation enfolded continually in Christ, who secretly divines all hearts, the soul does everything it can to keep its sweetness and its inner struggle hidden from men, so that the devil, coming upon it surreptitiously, does not lead it into evil and destroy its precious work."
St. Hesychios the Priest.

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Contemplation From St. Theophan the Recluse:

"Now learn of another method of raising your mind from the sensory to the divine;-namely, through passing from the sensory to reflection on the incarnation of God the Word and on the holy mysteries of His life, passion and death. All the sensory objects of this world can serve as occasion for such reflection and contemplation, if, on looking at them, you traverse in your mind, as we described above, the thought that the Almighty God is the first cause of their existence and of everything in them-powers, perfections, functions, position among other creatures, and if you then think how great and measureless is the goodness of that same God when, being the sole cause of every created being, He desired to stoop to such humility and degradation as to become a man, to suffer and to die for men, allowing the very work of His own hands to rise in arms against Him and crucify Him.

            Thus, whenever you see, or hear of, or touch weapons, ropes, lashes, pillars, branches of thorn, nails, hammers or other such things, think in your mind how all these have once served as instruments of torture of your Lord.

            When you see poor homes, or live in such, bring to your memory the cave and the manger in which your Lord was born as man. When you see the rain fall, remember the drops of blood and sweat which fell from the divine body of the most sweet Jesus, sprinkling the earth of the garden of Gethsemane. When you see the sea and boats upon it, remember how your God walked on the waters and, standing in a boat, taught the people. When you see rocks, let them remind you of the rocks which were rent asunder at the moment of your Lord's death, and let the earth upon which you walk remind you of the earthquake, which followed upon Christ's passion.

            The sun should bring to your mind the darkness which covered it then; water should remind you of the water, mixed with blood, which flowed from the divine side of the Lord, when the soldier pierced it after His death on the cross. When you drink wine or some other drink remind yourself of the vinegar and gall, which they gave to your Lord to drink on the cross.

            When you dress, remember that the Immortal Word was clothed in human flesh, that you might be clothed in His Divinity. Seeing yourself clothed, think of Christ our Lord, Who let Himself be stripped, to be scourged and crucified for your sake. If a voice should seem to you sweet and attractive, transfer this feeling of fond attraction to your Savior, into Whose lips were poured all grace and sweetness, as is sung in the psalms: 'Grace is poured into thy lips' (Ps. xlv. 2); through the sweetness of His tongue, the people were ever following Him, reluctant to cease listening to Him, as St. Luke says: 'All the people were very attentive to hear him' (Luke xix. 48). When you hear the murmur and shouts of a crowd, think of the lawless cry of the Jews: 'Away with him, away with him, crucify him' (John xix. 15), which then assailed the ears of the Lord. When you see a beautiful face, remember that He, Who was 'fairer than the children of men' (Ps. xlv. 2), our Lord Jesus Christ, was crucified out of love for you, 'despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief' (Is. liii. 3). Every time the clock strikes, let it bring to your mind the exceeding sorrow which filled the heart of our Lord Jesus, when in the garden of Gethsemane He was troubled at the approaching hour of His passion and death; or imagine that your hear the blow of hammers which resounded when our Lord was being nailed to the cross. In general, I would say that every time some sad occasion occurs in your life or another's, bear in mind that every affliction, pain and sorrow of ours is nothing compared with the painful torment and wounds inflicted on the body and soul of our Lord during His passion suffered for our salvation."

Chapter 22 of Unseen Warfare

St. Theophan the Recluse

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"The eyes can distract the mind very quickly and cause it in a flash to slip into the place of sin. The eyes look upon something passionately; they fondly dwell upon the idol of beauty; in an instant it is impressed upon the mind; the soul is pleased by the sight of the idol; the mind transmits it appetite and desire to the heart, and the sin is committed without a witness, according to St. Basil. This then is what the Lord meant when He said: 'whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.' (Matt. 5:28). This is why Solomon reminded us: 'Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, Nor let her allure you with her eyelids.' (Prv. 6:25)."
St. Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain.

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A Prayer by St. Faustina (1905-1938)

I want to be completely transformed into Your mercy and to be Your living reflection, O Lord. May the greatest of all divine attributes, that of Your unfathomable mercy, pass through my heart and soul to my neighbor.
Help me, O Lord, that my eyes may be merciful, so that I may never suspect or judge from appearances, but look for what is beautiful in my neighbors' souls and come to their rescue.
Help me, that my ears may be merciful, so that I may give heed to my neighbors' needs and not be indifferent to their pains and moaning.
Help me, O Lord, that my tongue may be merciful, so that I should never speak negatively of my neighbor, but have a word of comfort and forgiveness for all.
Help me, O Lord, that my hands may be merciful and filled with good deeds, so that I may do only good to my neighbors and take upon myself the more difficult and toilsome tasks.
Help me, that my feet may be merciful, so that I may hurry to assist my neighbor, overcoming my own fatigue and weariness. My true rest is in the service of my neighbor.

Help me, O Lord, that my heart may be merciful so that I myself may feel all the sufferings of my neighbor. I will refuse my heart to no one. I will be sincere even with those who, I know, will abuse my kindness. And I will lock myself up in the most merciful Heart of Jesus. I will bear my own suffering in silence. May Your mercy, O Lord, rest upon me (...).
O my Jesus, transform me into Yourself, for you can do all things.
“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren > Romans 8 : 29 "

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"God is the teacher of prayer; true prayer is the gift of God. To him who prays constantly with contrition of spirit, with the fear of God and with attention, God himself gives gradual progress in prayer. From humble and attentive prayer, spiritual action and spiritual warmth make their appearance and quicken the heart. The quickened heart draws the mind to itself and becomes a temple of grace-given prayer and a treasury of the spiritual gifts which are procured by such prayer as a matter of course."    St. Ignatius Brianchaninov.

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Saint Hippolyt of Rome (? – around 235), Priest and Martyr
The Apostolic Tradition, 41

“Be on the watch; pray constantly”

Pray before your body rests in bed. And then, around the middle of the night, get up, wash your hands with water, and pray. If your wife is there, both of you pray together. If however, she is not yet a believer, withdraw to another room to pray, then return to your bed. Do not be lazy for prayer… We must pray at that hour, for the elders from whom we have this tradition taught us that at that hour the whole of creation is resting for a moment from praising the Lord. The stars, the trees and the waters stop for an instant, and the whole choir of angels who serve God praise him at that hour with the souls of the just. That is why the believers must hasten to pray at that hour.  The Lord also testified to this when he said: “At midnight someone shouted, ‘The groom is here! Come out and greet him!’” (Mt 25:6) And he goes on and says: “Keep your eyes open, for you know not the day or the hour.” (25:13) When the cock crows in the morning, when you get up, pray again.
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Saint Maxim of Turin (? – around 420), Bishop
Sermon 28

Forty days that lead us to baptism into the death and resurrection of Christ

“In a time of favor I answer you, on the day of salvation I help you.” (Isa 49:8) After quoting this, the apostle Paul continues with the words: “Now is the acceptable time! Now is the day of salvation!” (2 Co 6:2). I in turn call upon you to witness that now the days of redemption have come, now has come in a sense the moment of spiritual healing. We can take care of all of the stains from our vices, all the wounds from our sins, if we pray constantly to the doctor of our souls, if …we do not neglect any of his prescriptions…

The doctor is our Lord Jesus who said: “It is I who bring forth both death and life.” (Deut 32:39). The Lord first brings forth death, and then he gives back life. Through baptism, he destroys in us adulteries, homicides, murders and theft; then he brings us back to life as new persons in eternal immortality. We die to our sins, of course through baptism, we return to life in the Spirit of life… Let us surrender to our doctor with patience in order to regain health. Everything that he will have detected in us that is unworthy, soiled through sin, eaten by ulcers, he will trim, he will cut it, he will take it away, so that, once all the wounds inflicted by the demon have been eliminated, only what belongs to God will remain.

This is his first prescription: to consecrate forty days to fasting, to prayer, to vigils. Fasting heals flabbiness, prayer nourishes the reverent soul, vigils reject the devil’s traps. After this period of time given to all these observances, the soul that is purified and exhausted from so many practices, comes to baptism. It regains strength by plunging into the waters of the Spirit: everything that had been burnt in the flames of illness is born again in the dew of heaven’s grace… By means of a new birth, we are born again changed."

ملقين كل همكم على الله وهو يعولكم
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Blessed Charles de Foucauld (1858-1916), Hermit and Missionary in the Sahara
Meditations on the Holy Gospels (1898-1899)
“She has given everything”

“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” (Lk 23:46) That was our Master’s, our Beloved’s last prayer. May it be ours. And may it not only be the prayer of our last moment, but that of all our moments: “Father, I place myself into your hands; Father, I entrust myself to you; Father, I abandon myself to you. Father, do with me as pleases you; whatever you do with me, I thank you. Thank you for everything. I am ready for everything, I accept everything, I thank you for everything so long as your will is done in me, my God, so long as your will is done in all your creatures, in all your children, in all whom your heart loves. I want nothing else, my God. Into your hands I commend my soul, I give it to you, my God, with all the love of my heart, because I love you, and because in my love I need to give myself, to place myself into your hands beyond all measure. I place myself into your hands with infinite trust, because you are my Father.”

"We must pray that we may be constantly and firmly assured in our hearts that everything we have - both of soul and body, in prosperity and adversity, and all our possessions as well as all the circumstances of our life - come from God, from His Power, and not from nature or chance, or from ourselves. If you cease praying to God, you will soon forget your Benefactor, Creator, and Lord, and in forgetting Him you will fall into every evil. Therefore, you see that prayer always brings you real benefit."
St. John of Kronstadt.

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What Is Important

Fr. Alexander Schmemann (1949)

When controversies are ignited and flare up in the Church, which happens and has happened often, alas, we inevitably hear appeals from Church circles to cease these controversies in the name of peace and love.
Now, this would be cause for great joy, if only in these appeals there were no unmistakably different overtones: "Your controversy is not important. It is of interest to no one: only `specialists' and `scholars' can understand it, so all this argument leads only to seduction and harm."
And here we must point out to these accusers something very important which they have apparently forgotten. They have forgotten that peace and concord in the Church are inseparable from the Truth. An outsider who does not believe and is not part of the Church would smile and shrug his shoulders, "What is truth?" That is precisely Pilate's question to the Savior who stood before him. And the Savior did not respond, because and "outsider" does not believe in the possibility of Truth. For him the truth is always relative and measured according to advantage, improvement or expedience. But for us who know and believe that the Church is founded on the Truth made flesh, that all her life is in Him who said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life," for us there is nothing in the Church which is unimportant, because everything is measured by this Truth and is subordinate to it.
Yes, there have been many controversies in the Church, and its earthly history is replete with them. They occurred not only in times of trouble, like ours, but also when Church life flowered, in the golden ages of the Ecumenical Councils and the Fathers of the Church. Only then no one would have dared to acknowledge anything in the Church as unimportant. So for this cause they debated and for this cause they were persecuted and exiled for one word, for one "iota" (an accurate assessment of the Aryan controversy at the time of St. Athanasius the Great), that above all on earth they placed the Truth and fidelity to the Truth. And in these controversies there was more true love for the Church and her people, whom the Lord Himself through His incarnation deemed worthy of the knowledge of the Truth — more ardor, more faith than in the lukewarm "latitude" and "tolerance" of our time, when so much in the Church has become the portion of the clergy alone and the "specialists". We should not be seduced by controversies about how to plan our Church life in accordance with the Truth, because in these controversies there burns a living anguish for the Church and its destiny, but rather by the sea of indifference among the Church populace itself which surrounds these controversies and by the skepticism with which even religious people treat these "unimportant" matters.

Of course in our controversies there is so much human
passionateness, sinfulness and narrowness. They should and must be enlightened by prayer, love and patience. No one person embodies the Truth in its fullness, but each one is required to aspire to it, to call upon his spiritual intellect, his will and his heart to come to "the knowledge of the Truth." "Put everything to the test; hold fast what is good," says Paul the Apostle. And if in humility we attempt always to obey the Truth, if we try unceasingly to overcome all which is sinful and narrow for the sake of the Truth, then our controversies born of human weakness may lead to the glory of the Church, "for the strength of Christ is made perfect in weakness."
Priest Alexander Schmemann
The Word of the Church, Paris, December, 1949

PRAYERS

تعالو إلي يا جميع المتعبين والثقلي الأحمال وأنا أريحكم

THE PRAYER OF SAINT EPHRAIM THE SYRIAN

O Lord and Master of my life,
take from me the spirit of sloth, despondency,
lust of power, and idle talk;
But grant rather
the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love
to thy servant.
Yea, O Lord and King,
grant me to see my own transgressions,
and not to judge my brother;
for blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen

DEAR LORD:

The days and years have sped so rapidly by, and now I find that not only am I no longer young. I'm past the years called middle age.

I also find that as I continue to grow older, I truly need Your help and stamina to keep me close to Your house of prayer. The Devil would have me think of my aching bones and worn muscles.

It is true that at times I am unable to get out to church, although You know, Lord, how much I really want to come. Yet, I pray that I may not give in to Satan by using my minor aches and pains as excuses to stay home from worship on Sunday and Wednesday nights, opting to follow the easy way by watching TV.

Lord, as I near heaven's gate, may I be found more and more in prayer. Satan would try to deter me by whispering that I have prayed enough down through the years, and that since I am old, I do not need to spend as much time in that exercise. May I always remember that the Devil is a liar.

Lord, help me also with my Bible reading. You know how Satan tries to make us think that the stories recorded in Your Word are "old hat" by now. I have gone over them time and time again, but I know better than to believe I have learned everything there is to know about them. Take me back to the Book with a new zeal and a renewed ardor.

Help me to keep on serving by being faithful in my Sunday school class, by attending the monthly mission service downtown, by helping in the convalescent home outreach, by writing notes of cheer to others, by keeping myself joyfully active rather than becoming mousy and withdrawn, by being young at heart--even when my body tells me that old age is slowing me down.

Lord, the baits of Satan are a bit different for me now than they were when I was younger. I am no longer tempted by lustful pastimes or superficial pleasures. Yet I am tempted to boredom, even to monotony, and this spills over into my spiritual life.

Can I dare forget that it is still more blessed to give than to receive? Or that giving can be merely a cup of cold water in His name--a smile, a handshake, a call, a greeting card, a right attitude, an encouraging word, a pat on a child's shoulder, an uplifting word to a teenager, an intercessory prayer. There is still a great deal that I can do of worth.

Lord, my hands are not pretty like they used to be. They are not smooth and muscled like they once were. But they still can clasp another hand in Christ's love. They can make a pie for someone else. They can pick up a phone to call another person with the note of Christ's love and encouragement.

Lord, my mind is not always as alert as it once was. But it still recalls past answers to prayer, the wonderful services I have experienced, the memories of bodily healings and spiritual touches from heaven. So remind me to share my faith in Christ with those who are younger. Help me to encourage and lift those who are starting out on the Christian walk.

Lord, I see the teens and remember when I was young. But don't let me pass the youth by, myself contributing to the generation gap. Instead, help me to put my arm around their shoulders, to whisper in their ears that I am praying for them. It is easy to be critical. But, Lord, I want to love them.

Lord, I need You now as much as I've ever needed You. I am growing older. In the short time still allotted to me on earth, please make me more and more like you.      From; St-George & St-Joseph Church ,ca

"Be attentive to the thoughts of the mind. If some evil thought passes through you, do not get upset, for it is not the transient thoughts of your mind that the knowledge of the Lord of all observes, rather He looks at the depths of the mind to see if you take pleasure in that evil thought which resides there; for hateful thoughts float over the surface of the mind, but it is the senses that are lower down which can chase away hateful thoughts, which the Lord of all examines. He does not judge what just passes over the mind, but rather the thoughts that are lower down than those hateful ones, namely those which appear in the depths of the mind, which can drive them away with its hidden hand. For He does not pardon the thoughts which spring up from the depth of the mind, for it is they which should be chasing away those which pass over the surface of the mind; He judges those thoughts which have a passage into the heart."      ( St. John the Solitary )

Saint Francis of Assisi (1182-1226), Founder of the Friars Minor
Letter to the whole Order

“If only I can touch his cloak, I shall get well.”

Listen, my brothers. If the Blessed Virgin Mary is so honored – and that is justice – because she carried Christ in her most blessed womb, if Blessed John the Baptist trembled and didn’t even dare to touch the sacred head of his God, if the tomb in which the body of Christ was laid for a while is so venerated, how holy, righteous and worthy must that person be who touches Christ with his hands, receives him in his mouth and in his heart, and gives him to others as food, this Christ who now is no longer mortal, but who is eternally victorious and glorious, he upon whom the angels wish to gaze.

Behold your dignity, brother priests, and be holy, because he is holy (1 Pet 1:16)… What great misery and wretched weakness if, holding him thus in your hands, you are busy with something else in the world!

May every man fear, may the whole world tremble, and may the heavens exult when Christ, the Son of the living God, is on the altar in the priest’s hands. What admirable! greatness and what stupefying kindness! What sublime humility! The master of the universe, God and Son of God, humbles himself for our salvation to the point of hiding himself in a small host of bread. Behold, brothers, the humility of God. Give him the homage of your hearts. You too, be humble, because by him you are exalted. Don’t keep anything for yourselves, so that he who gives himself entirely to you might receive you entirely.

              Saint Therese of Lisieux on Prayer:

How great is the power of Prayer! One could call it a Queen who has at each instant free access to the King and who is able to obtain whatever she asks. To be heard it is not necessary to read from a book some beautiful formula composed for the occasion. If this were the case, alas, I would have to be pitied! Outside the Divine Office which I am very unworthy to recite, I do not have the courage to force myself to search out beautiful prayers in books. There are so many of them it really gives me a headache! and each prayer is more beautiful than the others. I cannot recite them all and not knowing which to choose, I do like children who do not know how to read, I say very simply to God what I wish to say, without composing beautiful sentences, and He always understands me. For me, prayer is an aspiration of the heart, it is a simple glance directed to heaven, it is a cry of gratitude and love in the midst of trial as well as joy; finally, it is something great, supernatural, which expands my soul and unites me to Jesus.

However, I would not want you to believe, dear Mother, that I recite without devotion the prayers said in common in the choir or the hermitages. On the contrary, I love very much these prayers in common, for Jesus has promised to be in the midst of those who gather together in His name. I feel then that the fervor of my Sisters makes up for my lack of fervor; but when alone (I am ashamed to admit it) the recitation of the rosary is more difficult for me than the wearing of an instrument of penance. I feel I have said this so poorly! I force myself in vain to meditate on the mysteries of the rosary; I don't succeed in fixing my mind on them. For a long time I was desolate about this lack of devotion which astonished me, for I love the Blessed Virgin so much that it should be easy for me to recite in her honor prayers which are so pleasing to her. Now I am less desolate; I think that the Queen of heaven, since she is my MOTHER, must see my good will and she is satisfied with it. Sometimes when my mind is in such aridity that it is impossible to draw forth one single thought to unite me with God, I very slowly recite an "Our Father" and then the angelic salutation ["Hail Mary, full of grace, etc.]; then these prayers give me great delight; they nourish my soul much more than if I had recited them precipitately a hundred times.

The Blessed Virgin shows me she is not displeased with me, for she never fails to protect me as soon as I invoke her. If some disturbance overtakes me, some embarrassment, I turn very quickly to her and as the most tender of Mothers she always takes care of my interests. How many times, when speaking to the novices, has it happened that I invoked her and felt the benefits of her motherly protection!

Saint Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church, from The Story of a Soul

A Prayer of Contrition

"O God, my eyes fill with tears when I think of my sins and ingratitude. Shall I ever be what You want me to be,
or is the striving for holiness a matter of rising and falling?
My weaknesses obsess me at times and Your Mercy is absent from my mind. Thoughts of despair fill my soul and I seem convinced that so holy a God would not love a weak creature like myself.
Give me the realization of Your love — the love that finds its joy in weakness."

St. Mary of Egypt:

"Gazing directly into her eyes I said, "Virgin and Lady, who gave birth to the Word of God according to flesh, I see now that it is not suitable or decent for me, defiled as I am, to look upon this picture of you, ever immaculate Virgin, who always keep you body and soul chaste and clean from all sin. Indeed, it would be right for you in your purity to reject and loathe my impurity. But God to whom you gave birth became man, as I have heard, to save sinners and call them to repentance.

"So help me, for I am alone and without any other help. Receive my confession, and give me leave to enter the church and do not deprive me of the sight of that most precious wood upon which was fixed God made man, whom you carried and bore as a Virgin and where he gave his blood for my redemption. O Lady, let the doors be opened to me so that I may adore the divine Cross. I beg you, from whom Christ took flesh, to guarantee my promise, which is, that I will never again defile my flesh by immersing it in horrifying lusts. As soon as I have seen the Cross of your Son, holy Virgin, I will go wherever you as my mediator for salvation shall order and lead.""     ( VOICES OF THE SAINTS )

Baudoin de Ford (? – around 1190), Cistercian abbot
Homily 6 on the Letter to the Hebrews, 4,12

"You cleanse the outside… Did not he who made the outside make the inside too?”

The Lord knows the thoughts and intentions of our heart. For there is no doubt that he knows them all, but we only know those that he reveals to us through the grace of discernment. For a person’s mind does not always know what is inside him, and even when he is dealing with his thoughts, whether they be voluntary or not, he thinks of them in a way that does not always correspond with reality. His gaze is so darkened that he doesn’t even discern with precision those that reveal themselves clearly to his mind.

For it often happens that, for some human reason or for a reason coming from the Tempter, a person sets out by means of his own thinking in something that only appears to be pious and that, in the eyes of God, does not at all deserve the reward promised to virtue. That is because certain things can take on the appearance of true virtue, as moreover also of vice, and can deceive the eyes of the heart. Through their seductions, they can trouble the vision of our intelligence to the point that it often considers realities to be good that are in fact bad; and the other way around, they can make our intelligence see something bad where in fact there is no evil. That is an aspect of our poverty and of our ignorance that we must deplore a lot and greatly fear…

Who can verify whether the spirits come from God unless that person has received discernment of spirits from God?… That discernment is at the source of all the virtues.

Prayer of St. Francis:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness joy.
O divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek:
To be consoled, as to console,
To be understood, as to understand,
To be loved, as to love,
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

King David, Psalm 130:

Out of depths I cry to you O Lord;
O Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
To my cry for mercy.
If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness;
Therefore you are feared.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
And in his word I put my hope.
My soul waits for the Lord
More than watchmen wait for the morning,
More than watchmen wait for the morning.

O Israel put your hope in the Lord,
For with the Lord is unfailing love
And with him is full redemption.
He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins. (Niv)

Roberto Masferrer: A Thanksgiving (1991)*

“We thank you Lord for our good life
for bread and wine, and loving wife.”
For all the ‘kids’, through all these years
so full of joy and so few tears.
We thank you Lord for all we’ve done,
for when we lost, and when we won.
For every time we stopped to pray,
for every smile in every day.
We thank you Lord for these good things.
We thank you Lord for what life brings.
We thank you Lord, we give you praise,
but most of all…

Please keep us in Your Grace.

* Written after returning from Operation Desert Storm.
Received from Dr. Masferrer (A prominent Neurosurgeon) from his project : a book of Poems, and Prayers.

Saint Isaac the Syrian (7th century), Monk in Ninive, near Mosul in present-day Iraq

Herod wanted to see Jesus

How can created beings contemplate God? The vision of God is so terrible that Moses himself said that he feared and trembled. For when the glory of God appeared on Mount Sinai (Ex 20), the mountain smoked and trembled with fear under the impact of the revelation; the animals that drew near the slopes died. The children of Israel prepared; they purified themselves for three days, following the order of Moses, so as to be worthy to hear God’s voice and to see his revelation. But when the time came, they could neither take on the vision of his light nor receive the strength of his thundering voice.

But now that by his coming he has poured forth his grace onto the world, he did not come down in an earthquake or in fire or by announcing himself with a terrible and strong voice, but rather like the dew on the fleece (Judg 6:37), like a drop falling gently onto the earth. He came among us in another form. For he covered his greatness with the veil of the flesh. He made a treasure of this flesh. He lived among us in that flesh, which his will had formed for himself in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, so that when we saw him as belonging to our human race and living among us, we might not be troubled by fear in contemplating him. That is why those who have surrounded themselves with the garment in which the Creator appeared, that is this body with which he covered himself, have put on Christ himself (Gal 3:27). For they wanted to carry in their inner person (Eph 3:16) the same humility with which Christ revealed himself to his creation and lived in it, as he reveals himself now to his servants. Instead of the garment of external honor and glory, they have clothed themselves with this humility.

Saint Cyprian (around 200-258), Bishop of Carthage and Martyr
The Lord’s Prayer, 14-15

“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Not that God do what he wants, but that we can do what he wants. Who can prevent God from doing what he wants? But we others, we are thwarted by the devil, who prevents us from obeying the will of God in everything, both interiorly and exteriorly. So we ask that his will be done in us. So that it might be done, we need his help. Nobody is strong through his own resources, but rather, his strength lies in the goodness and mercy of God…

The will of God is what Christ did and taught: humility in his conduct, solidity in his faith, modesty in his words, justice in his acts, mercy in his works, discipline in his habits. It is the will of God not to act wrongly towards anyone, to bear the wrong that is done to us, to maintain peace with our brothers, to love God with all our heart, to love him because he is the Father, and to fear him because he is God. Not to prefer anything over Christ, since he preferred us over everything, to adhere inviolably to his love, to stay benea! th the cross with courage and trust. When it is a matter of fighting for his name or his honor, to show constancy in our words; to prove that we trust in the midst of difficulties so as to bear the struggle, to be patient in death so as to obtain the crown. That is what wanting to be co-heirs with Christ means: to fulfill God’s precept, to do God’s will.



Saint Symeon the New Theologian (around 949-1022), Orthodox monk
Invocation to the Holy Spirit, Introduction to the Hymns, and # 17

How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

Come, Holy Spirit. Come, true light. Come, eternal life. Come, hidden mystery. Come, nameless treasure. Come, ineffable reality. Come, unending happiness. Come, light that never sets. Come, you who awaken those who are asleep. Come, resurrection of the dead. Come, oh Powerful One, who always makes and remakes and transforms everything simply by your will. Come, you who always remain motionless and who nevertheless are entirely in movement at every moment, so as to come to us who are lying among the dead, oh you who are above the highest heavens.

Come, eternal joy. Come, you who desired and desire my destitute soul. Come, you who are the Only One to the one who is alone, since as you see, I am alone. Come, you who separated me from everything and who made me solitary in this world. Come, you who yourself became desire in me, who caused me to desire you, the absolutely inaccessible One. Come, my breath and my life. Come, consolation of my poor soul. Come, my joy, my glory, my unending delight.

I give you thanks for having become one single spirit with me (Rom 8:16), without confusion, without change, without transformation, you the God above everything, and for having become for me all in all (1 Cor 15:28)… I give you thanks for having become for me the light that never sets, the sun that does not go down; for you have nowhere to hide, you who fill the universe with your glory! No, you have never hidden from anyone, but it is we who always hide from you, refusing to go with you…

So come, oh Master, set up your tent in me today (Jn 1:14); build your house and dwell in me, your servant, constantly, inseparably, until the end, oh you who are very good. And when I leave this world, may I also find myself again in you, oh you who are very good, and may I reign with you, God, who are above everything.

The reign of God
I will show you clearly that you must receive the whole Kingdom of Heaven here below if you also want to enter into it after your death. Listen to God speaking to you in parables: “To what shall I compare the reign of God? Listen well. It is like mustard seed which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and in truth, it became a large tree.” That seed is the Kingdom of Heaven, it is the grace of the divine Spirit, and the garden is the heart of each human being, where the one who has received the seed conceals the Spirit in the depths of his being, in his most inward parts, so that no one might see it. And he watches over it with all his care so that it might grow, so that it might become a tree that rises up towards heaven.

So if you say, “It is not here below that all who have fervently desired the Kingdom will receive it, but after death,” you are overthrowing the words of our Savior God. And if you don’t take the seed, that mustard seed, as he said, if you don’t sow it in your garden, you will remain completely sterile. At what other moment will you receive the seed if not now?

The Master says: “Here below, receive the deposit; here below, receive the seal. Light your lamp already here below. If you are sensible, I will become the pearl for you here below (Mt 13:45); here below, I am your wheat and like a mustard seed. Here below, I become leaven for you and I make your dough rise. Here below, I am for you like water and I become a soothing fire. Here below, I become your garment and your food and all your drink, if you desire this.” That is what the Master says. “Thus, if already here below, you acknowledge me as such, you will possess me there as well in an ineffable way, and I will become everything for you

Saint Symeon the New Theologian (around 949 – 1022), Orthodox monk
Ethics 5

“Son of David, have mercy on me”

My friend, you have learned that the Kingdom of Heaven is in you (Lk 17:21), if you wish, and that all the eternal goods are in your hands. So hurry to see, to take hold of and to obtain within yourself the goods that are reserved… Groan, prostrate yourself. Like the blind man in the past, you now also say: “Have mercy on me, Son of God, and open the eyes of my soul so that I might see the Light of the world that you are, oh my God (Jn 8:12), and that I too might become a child of that divine light (Jn 12:36). Oh clement one, send the Consoler upon me, as well, so that he himself might teach me (Jn 14:26) what concerns you and what is mine, oh God of the universe. Dwell in me, too, as you said, so that I in turn might become worthy to dwell in you (Jn 15:4). Let me know how to enter into you and to know that I possess you in myself. Oh invisible One, deign to take form in me so that, seeing your inaccessible beauty, I might bear your image, oh heavenly One, and I might forge! t all visible things. Give me the glory that the Father gave you (Jn 17:22), oh merciful One, so that, resembling you like all your servants, I might share your divine life according to grace and I might be constantly with you, now and always and forever.”

Saint Symeon the New Theologian ( 949 – 1022), Orthodox monk

“At that he touched their eyes”

     Let us seek him who alone can give us back our liberty. Let us pursue him constantly with our desire, him whose beauty wounds hearts, him who draws them towards love and who unites them to him forever. Yes, let us all run towards him by our actions. Let us not let anyone, whoever it might be, get ahead of us or deceive us and distract us from our search. Above all… let us not say that God never manifests his presence to human beings. Let us not say that it is impossible for people to see God’s light one day – or even to see it today. Thanks be to God, this was never impossible, on condition that a person desired it. Let us realize how beautiful our Master is! Let us not close the eyes of our heart to him by allowing ourselves become absorbed in the realities of this world. Yes, may our concern with matters of the earth not make us slaves of human glory to the point of making us abandon the one who is the light of eternal life.  Thus, let us all go towards him together, with one heart, one mind, with all our soul. Humbly, let us cry out to him, our good Master, our merciful Lord, to him who is “man’s only friend” (Wis 1:6). Let us seek him, for he will reveal himself to us, he will appear, he will manifest himself, he who is our hope.

"On the outside we may look like we are doing very well, but on the inside everyone of us has a major issue. Seneca, the ancient Roman philosopher, put it bluntly when he said, "We have all sinned. Some more. Some less." God's Word, the Bible agrees. It reads, "We have all sinned and fallen short of God's standard." (Romans 3:24) Sin, however, is not only doing harmful acts. It is anything that falls short of the standard of perfection that God envisioned for us. This includes nursing grudges and other negative emotions, pride, jealousy, mixed motives, etc. Most of us, too, are guilty of sins of omission; that is, not doing what we know we should and could do." (James 4:17).

Another misconception about God is that he is out to get us or to punish us for our sins. We bring sin's punishment on ourselves because sin has its own natural consequences. If we try to break the universal law of gravity, for instance, we can't. It will break us. Neither can we break God's universal moral law. When we do, it breaks us, and besides its painful effects in this life—suffering, sorrow, sickness and spiritual death—its ultimate and tragic consequence is eternal death or separation from God. (Romans 6:23)

We are like a burned out or "dead" electric light bulb that cannot respond to its power source. And because we are spiritually dead, we cannot respond to God's love and power either, without his first "fixing" us. Furthermore, because of our spiritual deadness, it is impossible for anyone to save him or herself. Only God can do this. This is why all the "good works" in the world cannot make us alive to God. Only when we see and admit this, is God able to "fix" us!"   ( From St. George & St. Joseph church, ca )

Prayer to Our Holy Guardian Angels:

Heavenly Father, Your infinite love for us has chosen a blessed angel in heaven and appointed him our guide during this earthly pilgrimage. Accept our thanks for so great a blessing. Grant that we may experience the assistance of our holy protector in all our necessities. And you, holy, loving angel and guide, watch over us with all the tenderness of your angelic heart. Keep us always on the way that leads to heaven, and cease not to pray for us until we have attained our final destiny, eternal salvation. Then we shall love you for all eternity. We shall praise and glorify you unceasingly for all the good you have done for us while here on earth. Especially be a faithful and watchful protector of our children. Take our place, and supply what may be wanting to us through human frailty, short-sightedness, or sinful neglect. Lighten, O you perfect servants of God, our heavy task. Guide our children, that they may become like unto Jesus, may imitate Him faithfully, and persevere till they attain eternal life. Amen

" أيتها السيدة العذراء واليك أتضرع وبك أستشفع واياك أدعو أن تساعدينى.. وعند مفارقة نفسى من جسدى احضرى عندى ، ولمؤامرة الأعداء اهزمى، ولأبواب الجحيم اغلقى، لئلا يبتلعوا نفسى، يا عروس بلا عيب للختن الحقيقى".

لألهنا كل المجد والكرامة الآن وإلى الأبد أمين

Man as Priest in Creation

Father Alexander Schmemann: For the Life of the World

"The world is a fallen world because it has fallen away from the awareness that God is all in all. The accumulation of this disregard of God is the original sin that blights the world. And even the religion of this fallen world cannot heal or redeem it, for it has accepted the reduction of God to an area called "sacred"/ "spiritual"- as opposed to the world as "profane". It has accepted the all-embracing secularism which attempts to steal the world away from God.

The natural dependence of man upon the world was intended to be transformed constantly into communion with God in whom is all life. Man was to be a priest of a Eucharist, offering the whole world to God in continual thanksgiving, and in this offering he was to receive the gift of life. But in the fallen world man does not have the priestly power to do this. His dependence on the world becomes a closed circuit, and his love is deviated from its true direction. He still loves, he is still hungry. He knows he is dependent on that which is beyond him. But his love and his dependence refer only to the world itself. He does not know that breathing itself can be communion with God. He does not realize that to eat can be to receive life from God in more than its physical sense. He forgets that the world, its air or its food cannot by themselves bring life, but only as they are received and accepted to God's sake, in God and as bearers of the divine gift of life. By themselves they can produce only the appearance of life.

When we see the world as an end in itself, everything becomes itself a value and consequently loses all value, because only in God is found the meaning (value) of everything, and the world is meaningful only when it understood as the "sacrament" of God's presence. Things treated merely as things in themselves destroy themselves because only in God have they any life. The world of nature, cut off from the source of life, is a dying world. For one who thinks food in itself is the source of life, eating is communion with dying world, it is communion with death. Food itself is dead, it is life that has died and it must be kept in refrigerators like a corpse.

For "the wages of sin is death." The life man chose was only the appearance of life... Man lost the Eucharistic life, he lost the life of life itself, the power to transform it into life. He ceased to be the priest of the world and became its slave."

" لا تخف لأني معك "

BE NOT AFRAID, JOHN PAUL II

طوبى للجياع والعطاش إلى البر، لأنهم يُشبعون (مت 5: 6 )



Meditations

the Passion Week

Jesus Christ to be Crucified

Places where Jesus went in his last 24 Hours

Chronological Order of the Orthodox Holy Week

First Hour: Farewell to His Most Holy Mother: Holy Thursday,
Second Hour: The Washing of the Feet to the Apostles: Holy Thursday,
Third Hour: The Sermon of the Last Supper, and the Legal Supper: Holy Thursday, Fourth Hour: Institution of the Eucharist and of the Priesthood: Holy Thursday,
Fifth hour: The First Hour of Agony in the Garden of Gethsemani: Holy Thursday,
Sixth Hour: The Second Hour of Agony in the Garden of Gethsemani: Holy Thursday,
Seventh Hour: The Third hour of Agony in the Garden of Gethsemani: Holy Thursday, Eighth Hour: The Arrest of Jesus... Judas: Good Friday,
Ninth Hour: Jesus arrested and bound to Jerusalem: Good Friday,
Tenth Hour: Jesus to Annas and Caiaphas: Good Friday,
Eleventh Hour: Jesus at the mercy of the soldiers and in prison: Good Friday,
Twelfth Hour: Jesus to Caiaphas again, and the Sanhedrin: Good Friday,
Thirteen Hour: Jesus to Pilate: Good Friday,
Fourteenth Hour: Jesus to Herod: Good Friday,
Fifteenth Hour: Jesus to Pilate again: Scourged, sentenced to Death: Good Friday,
Sixteenth Hour: The Way of the Cross: Good Friday,
Seventeenth Hour to Twenty-second Hour... 6 hours... Jesus on the Cross:
Good Friday, The Crucifixion: Good Friday, at 9 AM (Mark 15:25)...
Jesus died at 3 PM (Mark 15:33-34)
Twenty-third Hour: The Deposition from the Cross: Good Friday, from 3 to 4 PM
Twenty-fourth Hour: The Burial of Jesus: Good Friday, from 4 to 5 PM

The Seven Words of Jesus on the Cross:

    - First Word: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing": Lk.23:34.
    - Second Word: "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise": Lk.23:43.
    - Third Word: "Jesus said to his mother: "Woman, this is your son". Then he said to the disciple: "this is your mother": Jn.19:26-27.
    - Fourth Word: "And about 3 o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice: "Eli, Eli, lema sabackthani?" which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?": Mt.27:46, Mk.15:34.
    - Fifth Word: "I thirst": Jn.19:28.
    - Sixth Word: "It is finished", "it is accomplished": Jn.19:30.
    - Seventh Word: "Jesus, cried out in a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit": Lk.23:46.

The Paschal Sermon of St. John Chrysostom
Saint John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople

If any man be devout and love God, let him enjoy this fair and radiant triumphal feast. If any man be a wise servant, let him rejoicing enter into the joy of his Lord. If any have labored long in fasting, let him now receive his recompense. If any have wrought from the first hour, let him today receive his just reward. If any have come at the third hour, let him with thankfulness keep the feast. If any have arrived at the sixth hour, let him have no misgivings; because he shall in nowise be deprived therefore. If any have delayed until the ninth hour, let him draw near, fearing nothing. If any have tarried even until the eleventh hour, let him, also, be not alarmed at his tardiness; for the Lord, who is jealous of his honor, will accept the last even as the first; he gives rest unto him who comes at the eleventh hour, even as unto him who has wrought from the first hour.

And he shows mercy upon the last, and cares for the first; and to the one he gives, and upon the other he bestows gifts. And he both accepts the deeds, and welcomes the intention, and honors the acts and praises the offering. Wherefore, enter you all into the joy of your Lord; and receive your reward, both the first, and likewise the second. You rich and poor together, hold high festival. You sober and you heedless, honor the day. Rejoice today, both you who have fasted and you who have disregarded the fast. The table is full-laden; feast ye all sumptuously. The calf is fatted; let no one go hungry away.

Enjoy ye all the feast of faith: Receive ye all the riches of loving-kindness. let no one bewail his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed. Let no one weep for his iniquities, for pardon has shown forth from the grave. Let no one fear death, for the Savior's death has set us free. He that was held prisoner of it has annihilated it. By descending into Hell, He made Hell captive. He embittered it when it tasted of His flesh. And Isaiah, foretelling this, did cry: Hell, said he, was embittered, when it encountered Thee in the lower regions. It was embittered, for it was abolished. It was embittered, for it was mocked. It was embittered, for it was slain. It was embittered, for it was overthrown. It was embittered, for it was fettered in chains. It took a body, and met God face to face. It took earth, and encountered Heaven. It took that which was seen, and fell upon the unseen.

O Death, where is your sting? O Hell, where is your victory? Christ is risen, and you are overthrown. Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen. Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice. Christ is risen, and life reigns. Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave. For Christ, being risen from the dead, is become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. To Him be glory and dominion unto ages of ages. Amen.

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