Transfiguration
“The Transfiguration is a consummate affirmation of the worth of the sensible and of matter.”- Anestis Keselopoulos, Man and the Environment
Other
Presupposition
“Every created thing presupposes God’s love.” – Anestis Keselopoulos, Man and the Environment
Autonomy
“The Fall consists in making matter and the world autonomous” – Anestis Keselopoulos, Man and the Environment
The True Order
“The icon… heralds the restoration to creation of its true order.” – Anestis Keselopoulos, Man and the Environment
Beyond Description
“For Thou being God uncircumscribed, without beginning and beyond speech…” – from the Blessing of Water for Holy Baptism
The Lapsed and the Poor
“… in Africa, if not in the East, the Church treated as ‘lapsed’ not only those who had sacrificed but also those who had been able to buy certificates from friendly commissioners.” — Chadwick
Legalizing the Faith
(Saint) “Constantine favored Christianity among the many religions of his subjects, but did not make it the official or established religion of the empire.” – Chadwick
The Lord is Risen
Thou, O Savior, didst come forth unbegotten
From the Virgin’s womb, leaving her virginity unsullied;
Just so now Thou hast abolished Death in death.
Thou hast left in the tomb the fine linen of Joseph,
But Thou hast raised from the tomb the ancestor of Joseph;
For Adam came following Thee; Eve came after Thee,
Eve serves Mary,
But all the earth is prostrate before Thee as it sings the song
of victory:
“The Lord is risen.”
Kontakia of Romanos, On the Resurrection I
Suddenly Joy
Suddenly sorrow has been changed to joy,
And all has become joyous and a cause for rejoicing;
I do not hesitate to say, ‘I have been glorified as Moses,’
For I have seen, I have seen — not on the mountain but in the tomb,
Not concealed by a cloud, but by flesh,
The Lord of the Immortals and of the clouds,
Lord of old, now and forever;
And He said, ‘Mary, hasten and tell
Those who love Me that I have arisen;
Take Me on your tongue, like a branch of the olive
To the descendants of Noah; announce the good news,
Pointing out to them that death is destroyed and that He has arisen,
He Who offers resurrection to the fallen..’
The Kontakia of Romanos, On the Resurrection VI
Writing as Religious Defiance
“My parents taught me to believe that through the creative act, we’re able to transcend and give a response to desecration.” – Atom Egoyan
Distinctions of Grace
The glorious fount of Him Who was sitting
at the well as Giver of drink to all,
flows to each according to His will:
Different springs according to those who drink.
From the well as single undifferentiated drink
came up each time for those who drank.
The Living Fount lets distinct blessings
flow to distinct people.
St. Ephrem the Syrian, Hymns.
Akathist Hymn
A Rampart art thou for virgins and all that have recourse to thee, O Theotokos and Virgin, for the Maker of heaven and earth prepared thee, O Immaculate One, and dwelt in thy womb, and taught all to cry out to thee: Rejoice, Pillar of virginity. Rejoice, gate of salvation. Rejoice, Leader of spiritual restoration. Rejoice, Bestower of divine goodness. Rejoice, for thou didst regenerate those conceived in shame. Rejoice, for thou didst admonish those despoiled in mind. Rejoice, thou who dost bring to naught the corrupter of hearts. Rejoice, thou who dost give birth to the Sower of chastity. Rejoice, bridal Chamber of a seedless marriage. Rejoice, thou who dost join the faithful to the Lord. Rejoice, fair Nursing-Mother of virgins. Rejoice, bridal Escort of holy souls. Rejoice, thou Bride unwedded.
The Lessons: The Sunday of the Prodigal
From the Prophet St. Isaiah: Comfort, O comfort my people; says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for her sins. A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all the people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” When the poor and needy seek water and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation may spring up, and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also; I the Lord have created it. …
The Treasure of the Church
St. Lawrence was summoned to the Emperor, who demanded he turn over to him the treasure of the Church. St. Lawrence ‘s response was to beg for time, which he received.
He then went and redistributed the material wealth of the Church to those who needed it (legend says that it was Lawrence who sent the Holy Grail to Spain for safekeeping), and afterward he gathered up a great number of the homeless, the blind, the lame, the maimed, the lepers, orphans and widows. He brought all these before the Emperor, and declared, “Here before you. These you see are the treasure of the Church.”
Angered at his audacity, the enraged prefect ordered that St. Lawrence be grilled alive on a gridiron. At one point during his torture, St. Lawrence joked with his executioners, “You may turn me over now, I’m done on this side.” And a little later, he added, “I believe I am quite done. You may now eat.” In Rome there is a shrine commemorating Lawrence that includes the gridiron used in his death. Perhaps in keeping with his humor, St. Lawrence is the patron of cooks.
One writer says, “As Lawrence reminds us, the treasures of the church are the sick, the poor, the least of these and those who have been thrown outside the camp by those who pretend to be the ones in power.” and “On the street-corner, holding a cup and asking for change, is the wealth and treasure of the church.”
Bloodguiltiness and States
“The world is soaked with mutual blood. When individuals commit homicide, it is a crime; it is called a virtue when it is done in the name of the state. Impunity is acquired for crimes not by reason of innocence but by the magnitude of the cruelty.”– St Cyprian of Carthage, To Donatus, chapter 6
“I’m a rational anarchist… A rational anarchist believes that concepts such as ‘state’ and ‘society’ and ‘government’ have no existence save as physically exemplified in the acts of self- responsible individuals. He believes that it is impossible to shift blame, share blame, distribute blame . . . as blame, guilt, responsibility are matters taking place inside human beings singly and nowhere else . But being rational, he knows that not all individuals hold his evaluations, so he tried to live perfectly in an imperfect world . . . aware that his effort will be less than perfect yet undismayed by self-knowledge of self-failure.” – Bernardo de la Paz