"The fathers...kept the commandments; their successors wrote them down; but we have placed their books on the shelves. And even if we want to read them, we do not have the application to understand what is said and to put it into practice; we read them either as something incidental, or because we think that by reading them we are doing something great, thus growing full of pride. We do not realize that we incur greater condemnation if we do not put into practice what we read..."
St. Peter of Damaskos
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Feast of Pentecost - May 23, 2010
With the feast of Pentecost .
In the scripture, every single one who have been baptized are saints .To this sainthood are we called . Christians should take up the challenge to live in obedience to the Spirit. ( HG Mar Ivanios , Kottayam)
Read the message of our Bishop - http://www.ds-wa.org/thirumenis-message.htmlScripture
Readings - : ◦Evening ■St. John14:15-31 ◦Morning ■St. John 15: 20 -25
◦Before Holy Qurbana ■Numbers11: 16 - 35 ■I Samuel 10:9-15 ■II Kings 2:14 -17 , 12: 1-27 ■Ezekiel 11: 17-20, 36: 25 - 27 ■Isaiah42: 1- 27 ◦
Holy Qurbana ■Acts 2: 1-13 ■Galatians5 : 16 - 26 ■St. John 15: 1 - 14
◦Service of the First kneeling ■Genesis11: 1-9 ■II Kings 2 ; 14 - 17 ■Acts 19:1-7 ■I Corinthians 14: 20-25 ■St. John14: 1-17
◦Service of the Second Kneeling ■Ezekiel 37: 1 - 14 ■Joel2:25-32 ■Acts10: 34 - 48 ■I Corinthians 12: 12 - 27 ■St. John 14: 25 - 31
◦Service of the Third Kneeling ■Judges13 : 24- 14: 7 ■Ezekiel 47: 1-12 ■Isaiah47: 1- 1 ■Acts 2: 1-21 ■I Corinthians 14: 20 - 33 ■St. John 16: 1 - 15
In the scripture, every single one who have been baptized are saints .To this sainthood are we called . Christians should take up the challenge to live in obedience to the Spirit. ( HG Mar Ivanios , Kottayam)
Read the message of our Bishop - http://www.ds-wa.org/thirumenis-message.htmlScripture
Readings - : ◦Evening ■St. John14:15-31 ◦Morning ■St. John 15: 20 -25
◦Before Holy Qurbana ■Numbers11: 16 - 35 ■I Samuel 10:9-15 ■II Kings 2:14 -17 , 12: 1-27 ■Ezekiel 11: 17-20, 36: 25 - 27 ■Isaiah42: 1- 27 ◦
Holy Qurbana ■Acts 2: 1-13 ■Galatians5 : 16 - 26 ■St. John 15: 1 - 14
◦Service of the First kneeling ■Genesis11: 1-9 ■II Kings 2 ; 14 - 17 ■Acts 19:1-7 ■I Corinthians 14: 20-25 ■St. John14: 1-17
◦Service of the Second Kneeling ■Ezekiel 37: 1 - 14 ■Joel2:25-32 ■Acts10: 34 - 48 ■I Corinthians 12: 12 - 27 ■St. John 14: 25 - 31
◦Service of the Third Kneeling ■Judges13 : 24- 14: 7 ■Ezekiel 47: 1-12 ■Isaiah47: 1- 1 ■Acts 2: 1-21 ■I Corinthians 14: 20 - 33 ■St. John 16: 1 - 15
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Towards a direction
I remember today my grandmother , Mariamma Varghese, of eternal memory ,of her praying the 7 times daily prayer , of her continuing perserverence of keeping the Lents and fasts by living the life of the Church day by day each year of her life.
As I think of her today , the question comes to mind on what kept her going day by day, while for me it is an anticipation that on the coming Monday , Holy Lent begin ,and I must try to keep away from what binds me during this Lenten period.
I regret not getting the answer from her while growing up ,but think for her was not the goal of getting to heaven after this life ,but an attempt to a Christ centred life, right here ,begining here by focusing and living it out by what the Church taught .
I pray that strengthened by the faith that the fathers and mothers departed this life , each of us instead of thinking of what we will be after 50 days of Lent , begin the journey in the direction a direction oriented on our Lord and God Jesus Christ knowing that He is the Way and in Him is the journey of the Church and each of us .
May God bless you
February13,2010
As I think of her today , the question comes to mind on what kept her going day by day, while for me it is an anticipation that on the coming Monday , Holy Lent begin ,and I must try to keep away from what binds me during this Lenten period.
I regret not getting the answer from her while growing up ,but think for her was not the goal of getting to heaven after this life ,but an attempt to a Christ centred life, right here ,begining here by focusing and living it out by what the Church taught .
I pray that strengthened by the faith that the fathers and mothers departed this life , each of us instead of thinking of what we will be after 50 days of Lent , begin the journey in the direction a direction oriented on our Lord and God Jesus Christ knowing that He is the Way and in Him is the journey of the Church and each of us .
May God bless you
February13,2010
Sunday, December 27, 2009
December 27 - 'Feast Of The Slaughter Of The Infants'
In between the Nativity of our Lord and God, and New Year celebration, the significance of this feast sometimes lose its importance.
However as the Church consider it very important to be included as a feast in the liturgical life of the Church, It bothers me every year and try to ask others to reflect too a bit on it.
Today the world suffers with many innocent children killed by Hunger and Famine, slaughtered by War, Murdered by mothers even in wombs by Abortion, Mothers forced to have no choice than Abort, and while political agendas continue on just as it was for King Herod.
And
In the agenda of our Shepherds of the Church is the rush to built orphanages, are we turning a blind eye by not looking at the root cause? Should not these questions be thought through by each of us ?
• How did we as individuals and together as Church in which the Holy Spirit dwells in it's fullness contribute to this?
• How did we fail to respond to mend the broken and strained tension this world torn with sin and bearing the consequences of disobedience is facing?
• How did we the Church whose sole purpose, as His instrument for existence is to continue the Saving MISSION of Jesus Christ the Savior and God of all fail to guide those who by Baptism and Chrismation are its members?
• How have we become so complacent to become so secular hypocritical, unfaithful adulterous pretenders, failures who cannot raise eyes to ask God for Mercy and be sanctified by full participation in the liturgical life of Church lest alone become points of light and a royal priesthood separated out of the world, in the world yet not of the world?
Though this season is a time to be thankful to God for all the blessings we each have received by His mercy, it is also time we have reflect and cry out for the innocent victims today in this world, in our midst. For the children murdered by abortion, for children of female infanticide, for the innocent children of women assaulted & abused by men, for innocent children of those that we call fallen woman, for those children helpless to have been born from Aids parents, for those innocent children having to suffer cancer or other deadly diseases and for the orphans and for those children who become victims due to famine, war and conflict. Also, let us pray for the traumatized having to give up their children by abortion, for those who had to live bearing shame for their children day by day.
This is also a time when as individuals and Church we show ourselves totally against abortion, against killing of innocent children even if in the name of compassion, even for medical research like stem cell research.
Lord Have mercy on us
However as the Church consider it very important to be included as a feast in the liturgical life of the Church, It bothers me every year and try to ask others to reflect too a bit on it.
Today the world suffers with many innocent children killed by Hunger and Famine, slaughtered by War, Murdered by mothers even in wombs by Abortion, Mothers forced to have no choice than Abort, and while political agendas continue on just as it was for King Herod.
And
In the agenda of our Shepherds of the Church is the rush to built orphanages, are we turning a blind eye by not looking at the root cause? Should not these questions be thought through by each of us ?
• How did we as individuals and together as Church in which the Holy Spirit dwells in it's fullness contribute to this?
• How did we fail to respond to mend the broken and strained tension this world torn with sin and bearing the consequences of disobedience is facing?
• How did we the Church whose sole purpose, as His instrument for existence is to continue the Saving MISSION of Jesus Christ the Savior and God of all fail to guide those who by Baptism and Chrismation are its members?
• How have we become so complacent to become so secular hypocritical, unfaithful adulterous pretenders, failures who cannot raise eyes to ask God for Mercy and be sanctified by full participation in the liturgical life of Church lest alone become points of light and a royal priesthood separated out of the world, in the world yet not of the world?
Though this season is a time to be thankful to God for all the blessings we each have received by His mercy, it is also time we have reflect and cry out for the innocent victims today in this world, in our midst. For the children murdered by abortion, for children of female infanticide, for the innocent children of women assaulted & abused by men, for innocent children of those that we call fallen woman, for those children helpless to have been born from Aids parents, for those innocent children having to suffer cancer or other deadly diseases and for the orphans and for those children who become victims due to famine, war and conflict. Also, let us pray for the traumatized having to give up their children by abortion, for those who had to live bearing shame for their children day by day.
This is also a time when as individuals and Church we show ourselves totally against abortion, against killing of innocent children even if in the name of compassion, even for medical research like stem cell research.
Lord Have mercy on us
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Studying , Reading without acually Living!!!!
To try to discover the meaning of the commandments through study and reading without actually living in accordance with them is like mistaking the shadow of something for its reality. It is only by participating in the truth that you can share in the meaning of truth. If you search for the meaning without participating in the truth and without having been initiated into it, you will find only a besotted kind of wisdom. (St. Gregory of Sinai, On Commandments and Doctrines 22, in The Philokalia, Vol. IV)
Oh God, Direct our will to live !!
Oh God, Direct our will to live !!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Sanctification Sunday November 1, 2009
In the Orthodox Church from the Indian and Syrian tradition , the Liturgical Cycle starts on the First Sunday in November or 30th or 31st October should they fall on a Sunday. This is intentional with 8 Sundays,each having a significance, before the Church come together to celebrate the Nativity of our Lord and God.
This Eucharist reading the fathers chose for this Sunday are
Mathew 16:13-23, I Peter 2:1-12, I Corinthians 3:16-16,6:15-20
The Epistle reading points out to us how we may grow up in our salvation as a people of God and how we and the Church are consecrated 'Set apart' as Holy and pure with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in it's fullness . The Gospel reading points us on true confession of our God on who He is His revelation and when we do not have in our mind His will and things we can become stumbling blocks and be worthy to called 'Satan'
Now that we have known this, let us seek His help and encourage one another as we celebrate the Feast of the Church to live out our lives for His Glory
This Eucharist reading the fathers chose for this Sunday are
Mathew 16:13-23, I Peter 2:1-12, I Corinthians 3:16-16,6:15-20
The Epistle reading points out to us how we may grow up in our salvation as a people of God and how we and the Church are consecrated 'Set apart' as Holy and pure with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in it's fullness . The Gospel reading points us on true confession of our God on who He is His revelation and when we do not have in our mind His will and things we can become stumbling blocks and be worthy to called 'Satan'
Now that we have known this, let us seek His help and encourage one another as we celebrate the Feast of the Church to live out our lives for His Glory
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Elevation of The Life Giving Cross
In our Malankara Orthodox Church prayer book , we see two different versions of the prayers before Holy Qurbana called Sleebah ( Cross )and Kymtha ( Ressurection)
It is believed that St . Helena mother of Emperor Constantine found the Cross in which our Lord and God was crucified and when it was raised up elevated by St. Macarius the Patriach of Jerusalem, all the people bowed down and cried out Lord have Mercy.
The Life- Giving Cross - On the three components of the Life-Giving Cross and our own cross.
We are now glorifying the Life-giving Cross of our Lord. On this occasion it would be quite fitting, dear brethren, to remember how the Church and the Holy Fathers and spiritual instructors teach us to look upon the Life-giving Cross and the bearing of our own cross.
The great spiritual instructor in faith, Saint Theophanus the Recluse, said that the Cross of Christ was threefold. The cross which each Chris-tian must bear in his life is also threefold, similar to the Life-giving Cross which, according to prophecy, was composed of three tree varieties (cypress, pine and cedar). Thus, in bearing our own cross, we see three sides to it, three crosses which merge into one.
The first of these crosses is the cross of fallen mankind. This cross was described briefly but accurately and powerfully by the Apostle Paul, who said of himself: “I know not what I do: the good which I wish to do - I do not; the evil which I do not wish to do - I do.” And man is a captive of his sin - this is the sin of fallen mankind from which no one can escape, and of which the same Saint Theophanus said: “Imagine a man who has a rotting and foul-smelling corpse firmly attached to his back: wherever he goes, wherever he runs, he is unable to escape from this horrible foul decay. It follows him persistently, pursues him relentlessly.”
The second cross is the one which we usually understand as being our own cross: this is the combination of all the sorrows, all the misfortunes, all the difficulties of which our lives are composed. This, precisely, is what is meant by bearing one’s cross. But that is not yet all.
The holy fathers say: here is a man surrounded by affliction, illness, misfortune. As soon as he gives himself up completely into the will of God, saying that the Lord does everything well and, therefore, whatever may be sent to him on this path of the cross, he accepts it all as being good - as soon as he says this in his heart (says Saint Theophanus) - everything will disappear as if by magic. Everything around him remains the same: the same afflictions, the same worries, but it is he who has changed and sees everything differently. Thus must a man have the firm conviction that the Heavenly Father will not give him a stone in place of bread.
If God sends us difficulties, that means they are needed and are to our benefit. The elder Ambrose of Optina said: “Whatever will be, will be, and what will be, will be whatever God gives us, and God gives us everything for our good.”
The last component of our cross is such that Saint Theophanus spoke of it with his usual deep humility. He said: “That cross is known only to those who have attained a high spiritual level. Such a person has already overcome all temptations, has easily overcome all difficulties. But there are higher temptations - the temptations of pride, the temptations of vainglory, the temptation to consider oneself, through one’s spiritual labors, as being better and higher than others. This cross is the heaviest to bear and is known only to those who, albeit with great difficulty, have overcome it.”
Saint Theophanus says that each Christian must be a cross-bearer. The life of each Christian begins with a cross: he is baptized and a cross is placed around his neck at the very moment of his entering the bright sacrament of baptism. When he is buried, the cross remains with him, and a cross is also placed over his grave, indicating that a faithful Christian is buried there.
Let us keep that in mind, my beloved, and let us always wear a cross, which strengthens us and saves us in difficult circumstances. Do not forget, Christian soul, of the strength of the cross, and that with the power of His Cross the Lord will always save you from all possible misfortune. Amen.
Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky )
It is believed that St . Helena mother of Emperor Constantine found the Cross in which our Lord and God was crucified and when it was raised up elevated by St. Macarius the Patriach of Jerusalem, all the people bowed down and cried out Lord have Mercy.
Below is a short article on the Cross by a 20th Century contemporay saint of the Russian Church .
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Life- Giving Cross - On the three components of the Life-Giving Cross and our own cross.
We are now glorifying the Life-giving Cross of our Lord. On this occasion it would be quite fitting, dear brethren, to remember how the Church and the Holy Fathers and spiritual instructors teach us to look upon the Life-giving Cross and the bearing of our own cross.
The great spiritual instructor in faith, Saint Theophanus the Recluse, said that the Cross of Christ was threefold. The cross which each Chris-tian must bear in his life is also threefold, similar to the Life-giving Cross which, according to prophecy, was composed of three tree varieties (cypress, pine and cedar). Thus, in bearing our own cross, we see three sides to it, three crosses which merge into one.
The first of these crosses is the cross of fallen mankind. This cross was described briefly but accurately and powerfully by the Apostle Paul, who said of himself: “I know not what I do: the good which I wish to do - I do not; the evil which I do not wish to do - I do.” And man is a captive of his sin - this is the sin of fallen mankind from which no one can escape, and of which the same Saint Theophanus said: “Imagine a man who has a rotting and foul-smelling corpse firmly attached to his back: wherever he goes, wherever he runs, he is unable to escape from this horrible foul decay. It follows him persistently, pursues him relentlessly.”
The second cross is the one which we usually understand as being our own cross: this is the combination of all the sorrows, all the misfortunes, all the difficulties of which our lives are composed. This, precisely, is what is meant by bearing one’s cross. But that is not yet all.
The holy fathers say: here is a man surrounded by affliction, illness, misfortune. As soon as he gives himself up completely into the will of God, saying that the Lord does everything well and, therefore, whatever may be sent to him on this path of the cross, he accepts it all as being good - as soon as he says this in his heart (says Saint Theophanus) - everything will disappear as if by magic. Everything around him remains the same: the same afflictions, the same worries, but it is he who has changed and sees everything differently. Thus must a man have the firm conviction that the Heavenly Father will not give him a stone in place of bread.
If God sends us difficulties, that means they are needed and are to our benefit. The elder Ambrose of Optina said: “Whatever will be, will be, and what will be, will be whatever God gives us, and God gives us everything for our good.”
The last component of our cross is such that Saint Theophanus spoke of it with his usual deep humility. He said: “That cross is known only to those who have attained a high spiritual level. Such a person has already overcome all temptations, has easily overcome all difficulties. But there are higher temptations - the temptations of pride, the temptations of vainglory, the temptation to consider oneself, through one’s spiritual labors, as being better and higher than others. This cross is the heaviest to bear and is known only to those who, albeit with great difficulty, have overcome it.”
Saint Theophanus says that each Christian must be a cross-bearer. The life of each Christian begins with a cross: he is baptized and a cross is placed around his neck at the very moment of his entering the bright sacrament of baptism. When he is buried, the cross remains with him, and a cross is also placed over his grave, indicating that a faithful Christian is buried there.
Let us keep that in mind, my beloved, and let us always wear a cross, which strengthens us and saves us in difficult circumstances. Do not forget, Christian soul, of the strength of the cross, and that with the power of His Cross the Lord will always save you from all possible misfortune. Amen.
Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky )
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