Quote of the Day: From the Didache

The way of life, then, is this: First, you shall love God, Who made you; second, love your neighbor as yourself, and do not do to another what you would not want done to you. And of these sayings the teaching is this: Bless those who curse you, and pray for your enemies, and fast for those who persecute you. For what reward is there for loving those who love you? Do not the nations do the same? But love those who hate you, and you shall not have an enemy.

Quote of the Day: Elder Ephraim of Philotheou

Compel yourselves; say the prayer; stop idle talk; close your mouths to criticism; place doors and locks against unnecessary words. Time passes and does not come back, and woe to us if time goes by without spiritual profit.

Quote of the Day: St. Raphael of Lesbos

Have faith that is as unshakable as a rock, so that nothing frightens you...the person who has deep faith within himself, fixes his attention on the good path, and seeks to improve the condition of his soul and to adapt his thought to the good is happy... The happiness of man consists in faith in God and in good acts which are done with love.

Quote of the Day: Elder Ephraim of Philotheou

Is there anyone who has entered paradise by a different path, a path without temptations, whom we can imitate? No. All the saints passed through fire and water, through various temptations and afflictions, and they glorified God with their patience and received crowns of eternal glory...when we are still in our youth, we must be tempted, for youth is easily derailed. In time, the war will cease and the desired grace will come. Just have courage and patience. Do not despair, no matter how much the passions may fight you...do not lose courage in the struggle; our Christ is invisibly standing by.

Quote of the Day: Fr. Alexander Elchaninov

"In our present life everything is so uncertain, insecure, painful, almost intolerable, that death in no way appears as something terrifying. I often think of death as a calm and luminous haven, where there is no sickness, no sadness and, in particular, no parting. When, during morning and evening prayers, I pray for my loved ones in minutes of sadness, I am almost glad to think that I will soon be with them, and their life seems more certain than our phantom existence."

From page 117 of "The Diary of a Russian Priest," a posthumous compilation of the notes of Fr. Alexander Elchaninov, a Russian Orthodox priest who served in the south of France after the Bolshevik Revolution.

"When Taking Cover Is Not Enough"

An excellent article by Archimandrite Meletius (Webber), Abbot of St. John of San Francisco's Monastery in Manton, California, on contentiousness and argumentativeness in parish life can be found here.

Quote of the Day: Fr. Seraphim (Alexiev) of Knyazhevo

"The deeper the sorrow, the closer God is; the darker the night, the brighter the stars."

Quote of the Day: St. Niphon

Whoever says that it is impossible to be saved with a wife and children is a deceiver. Abraham had a wife and children and three hundred and eighteen servants, and also much gold and silver, and he was called the friend of God! Many servants of the Church have been saved, and many lovers of the desert; many aristocrats, and many soldiers; many craftsmen, and many farm laborers. Be devout towards God and loving towards men, and you will be saved.

Watz Speling?

I was up till well past my normal bedtime last night grouting a kitchen floor, so I apologize in advance for any and all spelling and/or grammatical errors in today's posts :-/! I've already corrected a couple and I'm sure I'll have had to fix many, many more by the time the day is done :-)! Thank you for your patience!

Former Malankara Orthodox Catholicos Visits Dubai

During a visit to St. Thomas' Cathedral in Dubai, UAE, retired Catholicos Baselios Mar Thoma Didymos I of the independent Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church spoke on the need of the faithful in Kerala and throughout the world to attend the divine services regularly, pray daily, and keep the fasts to provide the younger generations of the Church with a spiritual inheritance worthy of emulation. He also spoke against alcoholism, which is a growing problem in all segments of society in Kerala.

The retired catholicos is in Dubai as part of a week-long visit to the Malankara Orthodox Church in the United Arab Emirates that will include services at the cathedral in Dubai and the parish churches in Sharjah, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaymah, al-Ain, and Abu Dhabi. More on the Catholicos' visit can be found here.

Quote of the Day: St. Basil the Great

He who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.

Quote of the Day: St. Irenaeus of Lyons

The glory of God is in man fully alive.

Quote of the Day: St. Basil the Great

Not the power to remember, but its very opposite, the power to forget, is a necessary condition for our existence.

Quote of the Day: Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Kiev

"We are temporary visitors here on earth, who must drink from the chalice of the Lord until our death, which will not tarry, and if we sense that it does, then we must think even more about our passage through death and prepare for it with prayer and struggle.

American Thanksgiving

It's the eve of Thanksgiving here in the United States and because of some somewhat last minute family commitments I will be spending the holiday and the rest of the week on trains, buses, and highways up in Washington :-). Hopefully I'll learn whatever lesson God keeps trying to teach me with all of this traveling and when I come home Sunday I'll be done with it for a while ;-). I may post over the holidays, but don't hold your breath ;-). So, in the meantime, if you're in the United States or an American living abroad, then I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving wherever you are! Everyone else have a nice late fall week ;-). Glory to God for all things!

Quote of the Day: St. Tikhon of Voronezh

"We see the water of a river flowing uninterruptedly and passing away, and all that floats on its surface, rubbish or beams of trees, all pass by. Christian! So does our life...I was an infant, and that time has gone. I was an adolescent, and that too has passed. I was a young man, and that too is far behind me. The strong and mature man that I was is no more. My hair turns white, I succumb to age, but that too passes; I approach the end and will go the way of all flesh. I was born in order to die. I die that I may live. Remember me, O Lord, in Your Kingdom!"