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Claire

Prayer is the Light of the Soul
St. John Chrysostom

The highest good is prayer and conversation with God, because it means that we are in God’s company and in union with him. When light enters our bodily eyes our eyesight is sharpened; when a soul is intent on God, God’s inextinguishable light shines into it and makes it bright and clear. I am talking, of course, of prayer that comes from the heart and not from routine: not the prayer that is assigned to particular days or particular moments in time, but the prayer that happens continuously by day and by night.

Indeed the soul should not only turn to God at times of explicit prayer. Whatever we are engaged in, whether it is care for the poor, or some other duty, or some act of generosity, we should remember God and long for God. The love of God will be as salt is to food, making our actions into a perfect dish to set before the Lord of all things.

Prayer is the light of the soul, true knowledge of God, a mediator between God and men. Prayer lifts the soul into the heavens where it hugs God in an indescribable embrace. The soul seeks the milk of God like a baby crying for the breast. It fulfils its own vows and receives in exchange gifts better than anything that can be seen or imagined.

Prayer is a go-between linking us to God. It gives joy to the soul and calms its emotions. I warn you, though: do not imagine that prayer is simply words. Prayer is the desire for God, an indescribable devotion, not given by man but brought about by God’s grace. As St Paul says: For when we cannot choose words in order to pray properly, the Spirit himself intercedes on our behalf in a way that could never be put into words.

If God gives to someone the gift of such prayer, it is a gift of imperishable riches, a heavenly food that satisfies the spirit. Whoever tastes that food catches fire and his soul burns for ever with desire for the Lord.

To begin on this path, start by adorning your house with modesty and humility. Make it shine brightly with the light of justice. Decorate it with the gold leaf of good works, with the jewels of faithfulness and greatness of heart. Finally, to make the house perfect, raise a gable above it all, a gable of prayer. Thus you will have prepared a pure and sparkling house for the Lord. Receive the Lord into this royal and splendid dwelling — in other words: receive, by his grace, his image into the temple of your soul.

Claire

(from The Communion of Love, Matthew the Poor Man, St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1984, pp. 138-139)

Suffering is our path to glory

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the crucified, for they shall be transfigured.
Blessed are those who are totally crushed, for they shall rule.
Blessed are the hungry, for they shall be filled.

All their sufferings will be forgotten and their tears will be wiped away. In their place a light will point to the horrors they underwent and the mystery of the glory that was the result. The greatness of human fortitude will be revealed along with the power of the merciful acts of God. Suffering will be seen to be almost ludicrously light in comparison with the glory that results from it.

One of the saints says that he saw in a vision a group of martyrs more dazzling in glory than the angels who appeared with them. Around the necks of those who had been beheaded he saw garlands of red flowers in the place where the sword had struck, and these shone and sparkled more brilliantly than any other light in the vision.

For Christ, the mystery of the cross is the mystery of His glory. The overwhelming suffering the Lord underwent, His psychological torment at the injustice and crookedness of his trial, the desertion of His disciples, the treachery of Judas, and the knowledge that the high priests had agreed with one of His disciples to put a value of just thirty pieces of silver on His life—all this was a path for Him to leave the world of passing trivialities and enter into the glory of the Father. We in every time and place must tread the same path. The cross with its enormous suffering cannot be compared with the glory it brought forth. The cross did not come by chance into the life of the Lord; He was born for it. “For this purpose I have come to this hour” (John 12:27). Man is born for suffering, and suffering was born for man. But at the same time the cross was not an irrevocable imposition on the Lord. We feel this from His words and are sure of it in view of His holiness and divinity. He made it irrevocable for Himself—“Shall I not drink the cup which the Father has given Me?” (John 18:11)—in order to share with us the inevitability of suffering. God manifested Himself in the person of Christ His Son as one compelled to suffer, in order to make suffering under compulsion equal to suffering by choice, so no one would be deprived of the mercy of God and the cross would be extended to include all who suffer unjustly.

Claire

Mercy

The book "Orthodox Worship" describes the meaning of the word mercy as follows:

The word mercy in English is the translation of the Greek word eleos. This word has the same ultimate root as the old Greek word for oil, or more precisely, olive oil; a substance which was used extensively as a soothing agent for bruises and minor wounds. The oil was poured onto the wound and gently massaged in, thus soothing, comforting and making whole the injured part. The Hebrew word which is also translated as eleos and mercy is hesed, and means steadfast love. The Greek words for "Lord, have mercy," are "Kyrie, eleison" that is to say, "Lord, soothe me, comfort me, take away my pain, show me your steadfast love." Thus mercy does not refer so much to justice or acquittal a very Western interpretation but to the infinite loving-kindness of God, and his compassion for his suffering children.

From the Scriptures

Think of the people who approached Jesus with this simple prayer, "Kyrie eleison", "Lord, have mercy":

* The Canaanite woman whose daughter was tormented by a devil. She persisted in her plea for mercy until her daughter was healed.
* The man whose son was possessed by an evil spirit that threw him into the fire. He came to Jesus with the plea Kyrie eleison. The prayer was answered and his son was healed.
* The two blind men sitting by the road outside Jericho who cried out to Jesus, Kyrie eleison. That cry was heard by Jesus who healed both of them.
* A final example. Jesus is left alone with the adulteress. Misery is left alone face to face with mercy. And she hears from the mouth of Jesus the words, "Neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more." That is God's mercy.

In all these instances Kyrie eleison was not a prayer that people recited unthinkingly and mechanically, but a cry of sincere faith that came from their hearts, a cry of desperate need and dependence on Jesus. Such a prayer God will not despise.

Not What We Deserve

A precious story pictures a mother pleading with Napoleon to spare her condemned son's life. The emperor said the crime was dreadful; justice demanded his life. "Sir," sobbed the mother, "Not justice, but mercy." "He does not deserve mercy," was the answer. "But, sir, if he deserved it, it would not be mercy," said the mother. "Ah yes, how true," said Napoleon. "I will have mercy."

We dare not stand before the throne of God and ask that we be given what we deserve. Our only cry is, "Lord, be merciful." And the miracle is that there is mercy. At the very heart of the universe beats the heart of God's love. "I tell you," said Jesus about the publican, "this man went down to his house justified rather than the other."

Not My Rights

C. S. Lewis tells an interesting story in his book "The Great Divorce." A busload of ghosts is making an excursion from hell up to heaven with a view of remaining there permanently. They meet the citizens of heaven and one very big ghost from hell is astonished to find there a man, who on earth, had been tried and executed for murder.

"What I would like to know," he explodes, "is what are you doing here, you a murderer, while I a pillar of society, a self-respecting decent citizen am forced to walk the streets down there in smoke and fumes and must live in a place like a pigsty." His friend from heaven tries to explain that he has been forgiven, that both he and the man he had murdered have been reunited before the judgment seat of Christ. But the big ghost from hell replies, "I just can't buy that!" "My rights!" he keeps shouting, "I have got to have my rights the same as you!" "Oh no!" his friend from heaven keeps reassuring him, "It's not as bad as all that! You don't want your rights! Why, if I had gotten my rights, I would never be here. You'll not get your rights, you'll get something far better. You will get the mercy of God."

This is why we pray so often in the liturgy: "Lord, have mercy." This prayer, uttered with the least particle of faith, will open the way for God's forgiveness and for the coming of His kingdom in our hearts.

Another one of the most precious prayers of the Orthodox Church the Jesus Prayer claims nothing but God's mercy: "Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner."

St. Isaac the Syrian said once:

"Never say that God is just. If he were just you would be in hell. Rely only on His injustice which is mercy, love and forgiveness."
"Have mercy upon me, O God ... according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions." (Ps. 51.1)

What You Need Is Mercy

Once a woman hired an artist to paint her portrait. When he finished it, the woman complained that the portrait didn't do her justice. The artist laughed and said, "Lady, you don't need justice. You need mercy."

One man said, "This is what I felt Jesus was saying to me as He looked down from the cross. He said, 'You don't need justice. You need mercy. Here is the mercy you need. It's being poured out for you by the love of God. In spite of your tainted past, God loves you and wants to cleanse you.' "

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb. 4.16).

"Why Should I Let You into Heaven?"

What if you die and appear before God. And this can happen at any moment since we are but a heartbeat away from Him. And God asks you, "Why should I let you into heaven?" What would you say?

One person replied, "Like the publican I would fall to my knees, beat my breast, and with my eyes cast on the ground, I would plead, 'Lord, be merciful to me, the sinner.' "

Or, I would say as the prodigal did in the Gospel lesson, "Father I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of the hired servants."

"Even if we reach the summit of virtue, we are saved only by God's mercy," said St. John Chrysostom.

But God who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) and raised us up with Him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Eph. 2:4-6).

Be Merciful as God Is Merciful

We cannot pray for mercy without being willing to extend mercy on in presenting Jesus' teaching, "Should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you"

The mercy we ask for is the mercy we must give to others. Lord, have mercy and make us merciful.

A dying Christian was asked on his death bed, "Are you going to receive your reward?" "No" he breathed. "I go to receive not my reward but God's mercy." That is the point of Jesus's parable about the two debtors (Matt. 18:23-35). Matthew uses a form of the same Greek word eleis

Prayer from the Triodion

"As the Prodigal Son I come to Thee, merciful Lord. I have wasted my whole life in a foreign land; I have scattered the wealth which Thou gavest me, O Father. Receive me in repentance, O God, and have mercy upon me."

Claire

Vasily Polenov, Christ and the Woman Sinner, 1888

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John 8:1-11

1But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" 6They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

11"No one, sir," she said.
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared."

Claire

Taking the veil, Mikhail Nesterov

A Deacon, Andrei Ryabushkin, 1888

Claire

Candles give light. They remind us of Christ Our Savior, Who said “I am the Light of the world.” (John 9:5). They represent the light of Christ coming into the world, as a symbol of light (life) dispelling darkness (death).

Candles give warmth. They remind us that we must also give warmth to those around us, especially those who are cold and needy — to warm them with our love.

Candles are not permanent. They remind us that our time of life here on earth is fleeting, and that every day our life grows shorter until it is extinguished.

Candles bend but do not break. A wax candle has the wonderful property of being able to be bent in a full circle without breaking, but can then be straightened out again. They remind us that we must be able to withstand challenges and sorrows that we face in our lives without breaking. Though these sorrows may bend our resolve, we can become straight once again.

Candles can be both hard and soft. They are hard when they are cold, but become soft when they are warmed. In the same way, our hearts are hard when cold, and we must warm them with love of God and of our fellow man in order for them to be soft again.

Candles shed tears. When burning, the wax of a candle causes little drips to form and run down the candle that look like tears running down our face. They remind us that we must shed tears over our sins, and out of compassion for others.

http://orthodox.net

Taxman

Here is one by Mattia Preti (died 1699) not shown anywhere else as it is in the apartment of one of my wife's relatives in MaltaGC
It is of Christ just after being removed from the Cross.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e113/Pondero/dcp_2056.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e113/Pondero/dcp_2057.jpg

Claire

Claire

Embracing Weaknesses: 2 Corinthians 11:21-12:9, especially vss. 8, 9: "...I pleaded with the Lord three times that [the thorn in the flesh] might depart from me. And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you; for My strength is made perfect in weakness.'"

Beloved Brethren, we follow a Lord Who treasures men and women who will sever their ties to the world's sources of strength and cast themselves entirely on His "spiritual" might. Let us reflect on what it means to take up such a challenge from the Lord by considering the example of the Apostle Paul. He chose to embrace virtues which his opponents called weaknesses (vss. 21-23). He promoted unpopular truths (vss. 22-26). He associated himself with weak, struggling people (vss. 28-29), and he embraced a life of real, personal limitations (vs. 27,30,7-9).

In practice, the majority of people view the virtues of humility, forgiveness, service, love, and the refusal to dominate as noble ideals, but in action as weaknesses. Especially such virtues are rejected in the day-to-day struggle of the world by those driven to win, bent on self-aggrandizement, and set on personal advancement. The actual truth is that these evangelical virtues require enormous spiritual strength, as the lives of Christ and the Apostles demonstrate.

In this world, to champion majority prejudices and popular programs gains support. To stand for what is despised does not gain approval. All 'successful' politicians know this well. St. Paul could not have taken a worse stance than admitting Gentiles to the Faith while not requiring them to adopt Jewish practices, for becoming Jews provided a safe haven within the dominant Greco-Roman society and culture.The Apostle's honest stance was the harbinger of the Church's two-century-long rejection, a persecution that lasted until St. Constantine put a stop to the slaughter of Christians. Nevertheless, St. Paul embraced the weakness of a true but unpopular minority teaching and life, and he did so willingly (vss. 24-26).

The Apostle served the struggling communities he planted. He did not dominate them, but unflinchingly shared both their defeats and their struggles (vs. 28). No source of strength there! His opponents, however, tried to 'use' the new communities for personal advantage. For the love of the Faithful, for you and for me, St. Paul embraced the 'weakness' of service. O Holy Apostle Paul, "plead that the Church may preserve thy good confession unto her last breath."

Finally, let us mention St. Paul's physical ailment, his "thorn in the flesh," whatever it was. Theories range from poor eyesight, earaches, headaches, to epilepsy. Like the Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Apostle asked three times that it "might be removed," but then he accepted the physical weakness as the will of the Lord (vss. 7-9). God does use our weaknesses if we will embrace them, offer them to Him. The Apostle's opponents ridiculed his physical problems, pointing to them as a 'sure' sign that St. Paul was outside God's favor. Nevertheless, Christ gave His Saint special strength in the affliction.

May I live henceforth, O Master, my great Benefactor, not unto myself but unto Thee.

This meditation provided by DYNAMIS

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