tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20095628431921268222024-03-13T14:26:18.192-07:00If You Will, You Can Become All FlameCarloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03670360109098788884noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2009562843192126822.post-68592970661362446102013-02-11T15:42:00.003-08:002013-02-11T15:42:44.752-08:00The Liturgy of the Hours - Compline"It is greatly to be desired that the laity should take part in the recitation or singing of Vespers or Compline.” - Pope Pius XII
At the End of the Day
Compline is the final Hour of the Solar Day, and the second Hour of the Liturgical Day. The word Compline, comes from the Latin Completorium, which means to have “Finished Work”. Roughly corresponding to the time frame of 8 - 10pm, Compline Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03670360109098788884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2009562843192126822.post-2541658819542102012013-02-07T00:30:00.000-08:002013-02-07T00:33:38.291-08:00The Liturgy of the Hours - Vespers
“Sunrise and sunset are not anonymous moments in the day. They have unmistakable features: the joyful beauty of dawn and the triumphant splendour of sunset follow the cosmic rhythms that deeply involve human life. Furthermore, the mystery of salvation that is actuated in history has moments linked to various phases of time. So it is that together with the celebration of Lauds at daybreak, and Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03670360109098788884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2009562843192126822.post-41686426748268962922013-01-23T22:12:00.000-08:002013-01-23T22:15:13.840-08:00The Liturgy of the Hours - An Introduction
“I would like to call everyone to pray the Psalms, to become accustomed to using the Liturgy of the Hours, Lauds, Vespers, and Compline. Our relationship with God can only be enriched by our journeying towards Him day after day.” - Pope Benedict XVI
The Liturgy of the Hours, the Holy Hours, the Divine Office, the Daily Cycle; all of these are different names given for the eight periods of Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03670360109098788884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2009562843192126822.post-76307982636623593032012-12-08T00:17:00.004-08:002012-12-08T00:17:54.826-08:00What do you want from Christ?What do you want from Christ?
I think this passage will offer a wonderful meditation for us though our Advent journey.
Luke 18:35-43 The Healing of the Blind Man
"At that time, as Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.’ Then he shouted, ‘Jesus, SonCarloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03670360109098788884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2009562843192126822.post-19702818606138057892012-12-02T09:08:00.002-08:002012-12-02T09:09:20.720-08:00Tribulation and Struggle
Tribulation and Struggle
It’s amazing to see just how many people seek an easy out of any tough situation these days. Whether’s its held under the banner of being “non-confrontational” or a genuine attempt at apathy, no one seems to try anymore. Sadly, many Christians have succumbed to this but, this is nothing new under the sun. Since the very first centuries, Christians have been finding waysCarloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03670360109098788884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2009562843192126822.post-29521180308026896552012-04-08T18:19:00.000-07:002012-07-03T18:29:58.225-07:00Happy Pascha 2012!Today is the Day of the Resurrection! A Blessed Pascha to you all!
For any readers who may not know what Pascha means or the origin of the term, here is and explanation of the term attributed to Saint Augustine of Hippo:
"Pascha
(Passover) is not, as some think, a Greek noun, but a Hebrew: and yet
there occurs in this noun a very suitable kind of accordance in the two
languages. For Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03670360109098788884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2009562843192126822.post-76333688089222723162012-04-06T18:15:00.000-07:002012-07-04T00:58:37.529-07:00On the Passion of Our LordA Blessed Good and Holy Friday to all of you!
Here are a few words to consider as we worship and commemorate the passion of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Saint
John Chrysostom in one of his homilies on the passion of
our Lord, speaks about the necessity of writing this mystery in our
minds. By remembrance of that mystery, we are humbled and take honor in being called
Christians.
“What
couldCarloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03670360109098788884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2009562843192126822.post-24016145513101793692012-04-03T18:08:00.000-07:002012-07-03T18:08:38.548-07:00Saint Hesychios the Presbyter and WatchfulnessHere is a little bit on Watchfulness and what it means,
and why we need to be attentive to ourselves and our relationship with
God.
In the Byzantine tradition, the first three nights of Holy Week serve as
reminders for us to be watchful over our hearts. These are called the
Bridegroom services and they are based upon Jesus own words in his parable
of the virgins and the bridegroom. The Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03670360109098788884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2009562843192126822.post-55839344591830483582012-03-23T00:52:00.000-07:002012-07-04T00:56:37.557-07:00On Repentence
Considering as it is Lent, we should consider the words of our Lord, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." (Matthew 4:12-25)
But what does this mean you ask? We should consider the Greek word Metanoia, which means a change of mind in a lasting sense, like a commitment. We should change our hearts and minds from seeking everything that is not God, to embracing, choosing the Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03670360109098788884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2009562843192126822.post-34280109320237644422012-03-20T21:56:00.000-07:002012-07-04T00:04:10.994-07:00Suffering and the Cross by Saint John of RigaHoly Martyr, John of Riga tells us, that when our suffering may seem unbearable, we should look to the Cross and Christ. In meditation and remembrance of his passion, we can see how one should suffer affliction. We see how Jesus, the God-Man, took bodily torture and death and endured it bravely. In his humanity, we see by example the way by which we are to bear our crosses.
The Cross also Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03670360109098788884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2009562843192126822.post-20411640327432723942012-02-29T18:28:00.000-08:002012-07-04T00:07:08.716-07:00On the Passions
I
hope you are all having a Blessed Lent! Remember, Lent is not just
sorrow and somberness. It is a “Bright Sadness” as Father Alexander
Schmemann calls it. Amid the remembrance of the Crucifixion and our own
lowliness we have the celebration of the Annunciation, which heralds
the beginning of our Salvation, and the Feast of Feasts, the
Resurrection at our journey’s end! “Be of Good Cheer,Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03670360109098788884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2009562843192126822.post-85362204765349388592012-02-04T23:19:00.000-08:002012-07-04T01:01:14.772-07:00On the Christian Family and Martyrdom
How many of you have said to yourself "this isn't about me" or "that will never happen". Well, the devil has many snares set up for us. Many of them much subtler than we think. Some of you may be in the position of having parents or family members who as Saint Nikolai Velimirovich says "want a secure life" for you and your siblings. In doing so, they fret and worry needlessly, and in Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03670360109098788884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2009562843192126822.post-60813708078364565222012-01-31T22:00:00.000-08:002012-07-04T00:05:58.003-07:00On the HeartHere are a few quotes perhaps you can chew on in your mind over the next few days regarding the heart.
Saint Makarios the Great, is an epic ascetic of the Egyptian Desert. He is known for his battles with demons, austere piety, and his counsels on the Heart. This quote is amazing for its summation of just what lies within our heart. Within our conscience. Not only is the pit of our secret Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03670360109098788884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2009562843192126822.post-348549291915824192011-12-24T22:05:00.000-08:002012-07-03T22:06:09.093-07:00A Blessed Feast of the Nativity 2011Wishing a Blessed Nativity Season to all of you! Here are a few words from the Holy Fathers on this wonderful day!
Saint John Chrysostom before a grand audience at the Church of Holy Wisdom on a warm December night had this to say about the joyousness of the day:
"All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead here on earth, and man in heaven. He who is above, now for our Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03670360109098788884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2009562843192126822.post-69698245566435222462011-04-07T10:43:00.000-07:002012-07-02T23:29:10.139-07:00On Guarding the Heart
About Guarding One’s Heart
I mentioned briefly that guarding one’s heart will be helpful in the battle against Logisimoi. While a must-have weapon against the distractions of the devil, we should not limit this merely to a mental exercise of “mind over matter”. Rather, one’s heart, our conscience, should be transfigured in Christ. We should strive to keep it free of corruption: from our own Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03670360109098788884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2009562843192126822.post-37055880952231253162011-03-03T10:32:00.000-08:002012-07-02T23:28:42.811-07:00On LogisimoiWhat are Logisimoi?
One of the most difficult tasks, but one which must be undertaken, is the guarding of one's self from the distraction and despondency that can occur from Logisimoi, Greek for "random" or "distracting" thoughts. These thoughts seemingly arise from nothingness, or a foreign line of thought, but serve only one purpose: to distract your attention from God. It can be the most Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03670360109098788884noreply@blogger.com0