Ascension



St Augustine

 

Today our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven; let our hearts ascend with Him. Listen to the words of the Apostle: "If you have risen with Christ, set your hearts on the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God; seek the things that are above, not the things that are on earth. For just as He remained with us even after His ascension, so we too are already in heaven with Him, even though what is promised us has not yet been fulfilled in our bodies."' Christ is now exalted above the heavens, but He still suffers on earth all the pain that we, the members of his body, have to bear. He showed this when He cried out from above: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?" and when he said, "I was hungry and you gave Me food."

Why do we on earth not strive to find rest with Him in heaven even now, through the faith, hope and love that unites us to Him? While in heaven he is also with us; and we while on earth...

FASTING QUOTES



taken from Orthodox Prayer Life by Father Matta el- Miskeen

 

+ The table of a man who continually perseveres in prayer is sweeter than the scent of musk and the fragrance of perfumes, and the lover of God yearns for this as for a priceless treasure.

Take for yourself the remedy of life from the table of those who fast, keep vigil, and labour in the Lord, and so raise up the dead man in your soul. For the Beloved reclines in their midst bestowing sanctification and he transforms the bitterness of their hardship into his ineffable sweetness. His spiritual and heavenly ministers overshadow both them and their holy foods. I know one of the brethren who has seen this with his own eyes.

(St Isaac the Syrian, Homilies 15, in The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian, p 88)

 

+ There can be no knowledge of the mysteries of God on a full stomach.

(St Isaac the Syrian, Homilies 4, in Ascetical Homilies, p 33)

 

+ Fasting,...

Fasting



by Fr Matta el Miskeen

(from Orthodox Prayer Life)

 

“And when you fast, do not look dismal.”  (Mt 6.16)

 “That your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret.” (Mt 6.18)

 “Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life.” (Jn 6.27)

 “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work.” (Jn 4.34)

 “Woe to you that are full now, for you shall hunger.” (Lk 6.25)

 

FASTING BY ITSELF IS NOT A VIRTUE. It is nothing at all. Without prayer, it becomes a bodily punishment that induces spiritual aridity and bad temper. The same is true of prayer; without fasting, it loses its power along with its fruits.

 

We may liken fasting to a burning coal and prayer to frankincense. Neither has value without the other, but together, the sweet saviour of their incense fills the air.

 

Fasting calms the impulses of the flesh and quenches...

Lead us not into Temptation

Commentary on the Lord’s prayer



As we enter into the Second week of Lent, we focus on the temptation that our Lord Christ endured in the wilderness for our sakes. The following are two excerpts in commentary of the passage in the Lord’s prayer “And do not lead us into temptation” (Matt 6:13).

 

St Cyprian of Carthage

"Of necessity also the Lord has us ask, 'And do not allow us to be led into temptation.' In this part of the prayer he shows that the enemy is powerless against us without God's prior permission. Consequently, during temptation all our fear and devotion and attention should be focused on God, since evil has only such force as He permits (1 Cor. 10:13).

 

Scripture demonstrates this when it says, 'Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it; and the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hands (2 Kin 24:11-16).

 

Moreover, evil is given power over us according to our sins....