28 Φεβρουαρίου 2017

Feast of St. John Cassian the Roman is on February 29, and for non-leap years on February 28. St. Cassian (360-435) was a monk, known for his mystical writings. He visited many Fathers in desert and wrote about their life and teachings. Because of his disagreement with St. Augustine’s teachings and Roman Church’s accusation for semi-pelagianism (although he also disagreed with Pelagius’ teachings), he was dismissed by Western Church. “If we had to beg a Lord, not to save our lives, but simply make us a little "kindness" – wouldn’t we fix Him our eyes and our hearts? Wouldn’t we literally "cream" from the front of his staff, with strong attention to receive his consent even with a nod? Wouldn’t we ...

We have become accustomed to thinking about ourselves and our dignity in terms of people after the fall, basing this on separation, self-alienation, individualization, self-reliance, fragmentation and narcissism. But the divine love revealed in the Only-Begotten Son and in His wholeness, finds its fulfilment and perfection in the Other, it increases infinitely through Him, since He’s consubstantial, or rather, one and the same as regards the Love of the Father, because He was begotten from it and emerged into the world through it. 5. In this fatherhood and childship there lies the joyous and eternal mystery of our human existence. Given that this relationship is an integral part of the mystery of the Divine Existence, it’s natural that we should seek ...

It’s well known that, in this period, we have two fasts. There are seven weeks of strict fasting, preceded by Cheese-fare week, making eight weeks in all. For many, this is a pleasant and desirable time, for others it’s difficult and for others again it’s not at all pleasant. We’ll try to offer a few thoughts on this period, as the fathers of the Church have described it. Let’s first recall Saint John the Damascan, who makes a general observation concerning holy Lent. He says to all of us: ‘Do not weaken the fast; for it contains the imitation of the way of life of Christ’. This is an important observation. Christ doesn’t weaken, that is, take the power away from ...

24. ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him’ (Matth. 25, 31), the Gospel says. Look and see before what a multitude we’ll be judged. The whole of humanity will be there. Just think how numerous the race of the Romans is, how the barbarian nations are made up of so many tribes and how many of all of them have died in the last hundred years. Reckon up how many of these tribes have been buried over the last thousand years. Count how many people have lived on the earth from Adam until now. Infinite hosts, and yet, a very few compared to the numbers of angels, who are certainly very many ...