Troparion:
With the rivers of your tears,
you have made the barren desert fertile.
Through sighs of sorrow from deep within you,
your labours have borne fruit a hundredfold.
By your miracles you have become a light,
shining upon the world.
O John, our Holy Father,
pray to Christ our God, to save our souls.
Kontakion:
As ever-blooming fruits,
you offer the teachings of your God-given [...]
As I ended this post on The Moral Life in Christ course, a quote from St Irenaeus, “… God prepared man to become his friend …”, makes an easy transition to the first night of the Reading the Classics short course and St Teresa of Ávila, whom we looked at Wednesday and will look again [...]
Tonight was the 5th week of the Moral Life in Christ course and last night was the 1st week of the Reading the Classics: St Teresa of Ávila and St John of the Cross course.
The Moral Life in Christ Course, run by the Catholic Adult Education Centre, is proving to be rather more intense than [...]
From Archimandrite Sophrony’s His Life is Mine, a book I can highly recommend and of which more at another time.
O Lord Eternal and Creator of all things,
Who of Thine inscrutable goodness didst call me to this life;
Who didst bestow on me the grace of Baptism
and the Seal of the Holy Spirit;
Who hast imbued me with [...]
I know Pascha [Easter] may be a distant memory [though I like to believe its light and joy illuminates the rest of the year] but I was struck by several paragraphs in St Gregory of Nazianzus’ Oration 45: On Holy Pascha which I read last night in the fine book, Festal Orations. St Gregory [...]
All of the walking I did in Istanbul and Georgia rekindled my love of walking, and day bushwalks [hikes] in particular. So, after letting work, and life, get to me, over the past week, I was determined to escape today. And the Blue Mountains, despite where I was headed being forecast to [...]
Troparion – Tone 4:
As with fine porphyry and royal purple,
Your church has been adorned with Your martyrs’ blood shed throughout all the world.
She cries to You, O Christ God:
Send down Your bounties on Your people,
Grant peace to Your habitation, and great mercy to our souls!
Kontakion – Tone 8:
The universe offers You the God-bearing martyrs,
As the [...]
Troparion – Tone 8:
Blessed are You O Christ Our God!
You have revealed the fishermen as most wise;
By sending down upon them the Holy Spirit
Through them You drew the world into Your net.
O Lover of Man, Glory to You!
Kontakion – Tone 8:
When the most High came down and confused the tongues,
He divided the nations;
But when he [...]
…he watches the stars and by them he steers his ship, using them to direct him to harbor.
But a monk watches prayer because it sets him on the right course, directing him to that harbor towards which his way of life should lead.
A monk gazes at prayer at all times so that it may show [...]
Three new books, one re-read and one book finished after many, many months. With winter only a few hours away [though wintry weather Sydney-style [grey clouds; rain; cool nights] has been with us for a few days], thoughts are now turning to reading in bed with a nice cup of hot Milo.
Soul Music – [...]