Archive for the ‘By occasion’ Category
Why did Peter weep?
To wash away the sin of denial, Peter needed the baptism of tears. From where would he get this, unless the Lord gave him this too? That is why the apostle Paul gave this advice to his people concerning deviant opinions and about how they should deal with them. He said they must be "correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant that they will repent and come to know the truth." (2 Tim 2:25) So even repentance is a gift from God. The heart of the proud is hard ground. It is softened for repentance only if it is rained on by God's grace.
Originally posted 2006-04-20 18:30:11.
Glorify Him; flee from vainglory! (John 12:44-50)
Why do you adorn your body, while your soul is neglected, possessed by uncleanness? Why don't you care as much about your soul as you do for your body?..
What madness is this! Shift this adorning within, put these necklaces about your soul. The things that you put around your body help neither to its health nor to its beauty, for it will not make black white, nor what is ugly either beautiful or good looking. But if you put them about your soul, you will soon make it white instead of black; beautiful and well favored instead of ugly and unsightly. The words are not mine, but those of the Lord Himself, who said, "Though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow." (Isa. 1:18)
Originally posted 2006-04-19 22:02:30.
We shall be raised therefore, all with our bodies eternal, but not all with bodies alike: for if a man is righteous, he will receive a heavenly body, that he may be able worthily to hold converse with angels; but if a man is a sinner, he shall receive an eternal body, fitted to endure the penalties of sins, that he may burn eternally in fire, nor ever be consumed. And righteously will God assign this portion to either company; for we do nothing without the body. We blaspheme with the mouth, and with the mouth we pray. With the body we commit fornication, and with the body we keep chastity. With the hands we rob, and by the hand we bestow alms; and the rest in like manner. Since then the body has been our minister in all things, it shall also share with us in the future the fruits of the past.
Originally posted 2006-04-23 10:32:59.
What does the aroma symbolize? (John 12:1-8)
The sweet odor symbolizes the good report which is earned by a life of good works; and the man who wins this, while following in the footsteps of Christ, anoints His feet (so to speak) with the most precious ointment. *Please note that this icon is of the sinful woman at the house of simon, not Mary in Bethany, which the fathers think annointed Christ in this gospel. But is inserted here to remind us of her love, repentance and humility.
Originally posted 2006-04-18 20:26:20.
John 20:17 – Jesus saith to her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended unto My Father.
The meaning of this saying is not easily understood by the vulgar, for a mystery underlies it; but we must probe it for our advantage. For the Lord will vouchsafe unto us the knowledge of His own Words. For He repulses the woman as she was running up to Him, and though she longed to embrace His Feet, He suffered her not; and, in explanation of His reason for so doing, said: For I am not yet ascended unto My Father. Read the rest of this entry »
Originally posted 2006-04-27 10:47:22.
Why did the Lord chose Judas if He knew that he was a traitor?
Judas chosen among the twelve apostles, and had charge of the money bag, to lay it out upon the poor, that it might not seem as though he had betrayed the Lord because he was not honored or in need. Therefore the Lord granted him this office, that He might also be justified in him; he would be guilty of a greater fault, not as one driven to it by wrong done to him, but as one misusing grace.
Originally posted 2006-04-18 20:09:49.
Abba Evagrius said, "Sit in your cell, collecting your thoughts. Remembering the day of your death. See then what the death of your body will be; let your spirit be heavy, take pains, condemn the vanity of the world, so as to be able to live always in the peace you have in view without weakening. Remember also what happens in hell and think about the state of the souls down there, their painful silence, their most bitter groanings, their fear, their strife, their waiting. Think of their grief without end and the tears their souls shed eternally.
"But keep the day of resurrection and of presentation to God in remembrance also. Imagine the fearful and terrible judgment. Consider the fate kept for sinners, their shame before the face of God and the angels and archangels and all men, that is to say, the punishments, the eternal fire, worms that rest not, the darkness, gnashing of teeth, fear and supplications. Consider also the good things in store for the righteous: confidence in the face of God the Father and His Son, the angels and archangels and all the people of the saints, the kingdom of heaven, and the gifts of that realm, joy and beatitude.
"Keep in mind the remembrance of these two realities. Weep for the judgment of sinners, afflict yourself for fear lest you too feel those pains. But rejoice and be glad at the lot of the righteous. Strive to obtain those joys but be a stranger to those pains. Whether you be inside or outside your cell, be careful that the remembrance of these things never leaves you, so that, thanks to their remembrance, you may at least flee wrong and harmful thoughts."
from "The Desert Christian," by Sr. Benedicta Ward, (New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., 1975), pp. 63-64
Originally posted 2006-04-23 10:19:08.
Why water?
But if any one wishes to know why the grace is given by water and not by a different element, let him take up the Divine Scriptures and he shall learn. For water is a grand thing, and the noblest of the four visible elements of the world. Heaven is the dwelling place of Angels, but the heavens are from the waters: the earth is the place of men, but the earth is from the waters: and before the whole six days' formation of the things that were made, the Spirit of God moves upon the face of the water. The water was the beginning of the world, and Jordan the beginning of the Gospel tidings: for Israel deliverance from Pharoh was through the sea, and for the world deliverance from sins by the washing of water with the word of God. Where a covenant is made with any, there is water also. After the flood, a covenant was made with Noah: a covenant for Israel from Mount Sinai, but with water, and scarlet wool and hyssop. Elias is taken up, but not apart from water: for first he crosses the Jordan, then in a chariot mounts the heaven. The high-priest is first washed, then offers incense; for Aaron first washed, then was made high-priest: for how could one who had not yet been purified by water pray for the rest? Also as a symbol of Baptism there was a laver set apart within the Tabernacle.
Originally posted 2006-04-19 22:29:33.
'And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit' (Acts 2:3-4).
They partook of fire, not of burning but of saving fire; of fire which consumes the thorns of sins, but gives luster to the soul. This is now coming upon you also, and that to strip away and consume your sins which are like thorns, and to brighten yet more that precious possession of your souls, and to give you grace; for He gave it then to the Apostles. And He sat upon them in the form of fiery tongues, that they might crown themselves with new and spiritual diadems by fiery tongues upon their heads. A fiery sword barred of old the gates of Paradise; a fiery tongue which brought salvation restored the gift.
Originally posted 2006-06-11 08:25:29.
Why did the Lord curse the fig tree?
Our Lord cursed the fig tree so the disciples might have confidence. For because everywhere He conferred benefits, but punished no man. He needed to demonstrate for them proof of His power to take vengeance for two reasons: first, so that the disciples might learn; and second, so that the Jews might learn, that He was able to blast them that crucify Him, but submitted of His own will and did not blast them. For it was not His will to demonstrate this vengeance upon men; but He furnished the proof of His might in taking vengeance on the fig tree. But when anything like this is done to places, to plants, or to animals, do not be curious, nor say that the fig tree was unfairly dried up because it was not the time of figs – for this it is the most trifling thing to say. Rather, behold the miracle, and admire and glorify its Maker.
Originally posted 2006-04-17 20:03:55.
Peter's Denial (Luke 22:31-39)
Out of twelve deserted; eleven remained loyal. The cross came; they fled; one remained – Peter, one with One. The one himself fled, and would that he had! He denied Christ. We may say, then, that the entire human race was lost. Because it had perished, the complaint of the Lord crucified is: "The wine press I have trodden alone, and of my people there was no one with me." (Isa 63:3) Then the psalm was fulfilled, "Help, O Lord! For no one now is dutiful." (Ps. 12:1-2) "There is none who does good, no not even one." (Ps. 14:1-3; Rom 3:12) He who has promise, "Even if I should have to die with You, or to be imprisoned, I will not deny You" (Matt 26:35; Mark 14:31) denied Him.
Originally posted 2006-04-20 17:52:12.
Why would we blame the Jews for their disbelief, when God has blinded their eyes?
They could not believe, because Isaiah so prophesised, as God told him what their situation would be. But, if you ask: what was the reason of their disbelief, I will instantly answer: They did not want to. As God foresaw their corrupted will, He so foretold His prophet, as the future is not hidden from Him….God blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, as He foresook them, and denied them His care.
Originally posted 2006-04-19 15:21:40.
He rides on a donkey and a young colt; not a chariot. You have a unique sign of the King who came. Jesus was the only king Who sat upon an unyoked foal, entering into Jerusalem with acclamations as a king. And when this king comes, what does He do??He sits upon a foal to give us a sign, where the King that enters shall stand. And He gives this sign not far from the city, that it may not be unknown to us. He gave a sign plain before our eyes, so that even if we are in the city, we may behold the place of the King. And the prophet again makes answer saying: ?And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives which faces Jerusalem on the east?? (Zech. 14:4) Does any one standing within the city fail to behold the place?
Originally posted 2006-04-17 20:01:29.
The Cross (John 12:27-36)
A marvelous and mighty paradox has just occured; for the death, which they thought to inflict on Him as dishonor and disgrace has become the glorious monument of victory against death itself. Therefore, it is also, that He neither endured the death of John, who was beheaded, nor was He sawn asunder, like Isaiah: even in death He preserved His body whole and undivided, so that there should be no excuse hereafter for those who would divide the Church.
Originally posted 2006-04-18 20:35:38.
Why was our Lord wearing white?
It is significant that Jesus is clothed in a white garment by Herod. It denotes His sinless passion; because the Lamb of God without stain and with glory accepted the sins of the world. (John 1:29) Herod and Pilate, who became friends instead of enemies through Jesus Christ, symbolize the peoples of Israel and the Gentiles, since the future harmony of both follows from the Lord's passion (Eph 2:13) First, the people of the nations capture the Word of God and bring it to the people of the Jew, through the devotion of their faith. They clothe with glory the body of Christ, who they had previously despised.
Note: Now our Lord is wearing the white garments, but in the next hour, they shall be crimson, reddened by our sins and stained by our iniquities.
Originally posted 2006-04-20 18:42:51.
