Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. μακάριοι οἱ εἰρηνοποιοί, ὅτι αὐτοὶ υἱοὶ θεοῦ κληθήσονται. We attained the highest summits of the Beatitudes with the merciful and the pure of heart. But what do you do when you’re at the heights of Christian faith, spirituality and commitment to Jesus? You …
After a Billion Years…
The anticipation has been building the last few days that a big announcement would be made today, and sure enough it came this morning. Gravitational waves have been detected for the first time, the result of two black holes colliding and merging a billion years ago. Einstein predicted their existence a hundred years ago when …
Blessed are the pure in heart
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” μακάριοι οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ, ὅτι αὐτοὶ τὸν θεὸν ὄψονται. With this beatitude we are at the absolute summit. This is the holy of holies of the holy of holies! I looked at close to 50 translations. The majority say “pure in heart.” Jesus …
Blessed are the merciful
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." μακάριοι οἱ ἐλεήμονες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἐλεηθήσονται Today we enter the holy of holies of the Beatitudes. Everything so far has been preparation. Poor in spirit, meek, mourners, hungry and thirsty for justice - qualities that describe the disciple who follows Christ. "But I will show you …
Blessed are the hungry and thirsty
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice/righteousness, for they shall be filled/satisfied.” μακάριοι οἱ πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην, ὅτι αὐτοὶ χορτασθήσονται. (No attempt to expand my notes into something more readable. The audio file is much better.) What do you desire? What do you long for? Wealth? Recognition? A happy marriage? Successful …
“Blessed are those who mourn”
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4) A wonderful, reassuring promise: those who mourn will be comforted. But what kind of mourning is Jesus talking about? Certainly the mourning that we all experience when we lose someone. But that’s not a uniquely Christian thing. All people mourn! Remember what …
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”
In his commentary, Gregory of Nysa - whose feast is today, January 10th - skipped the second beatitude in order to ask a question about the third beatitude: Is it a step down from the first beatitude? From kingdom of heaven down to earth? But didn’t the Word come down to this earth, to meet our lowliness? …
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“Blessed are the poor in spirit”
There is no other way to be raised up to God but by constantly looking upwards and having an unceasing desire for sublime things, so as not to be content to stay with what has already been achieved, but to regard it as loss if one fails to attain what lies above. ουκ έστιν …
A Burning Love for Christ
And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. (Acts 6:5) These were the first deacons of the church. Stephen was a deacon in the original sense of the word. He served, he ministered …
The Divine Child
A sermon by my beloved professor of liturgical theology, Father Alexander Schmemann of blessed memory: The Divine Child. Fr. Schmemann was a remarkable teacher, a true visionary, an advocate of genuine Orthodoxy rather than the false, pretentious versions that are on the increase, especially in North America. He worked tirelessly for ecclesiastical unity, but his …
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