Category: meditations
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In the Glory of the Cross
FROM the Office of Readings for the Blessed Virgin Mary on Saturday: The cross is our trophy raised against the demons, our sword against sin and the sword Christ used to pierce the serpent. The cross is the Father’s will, the glory of the only-begotten, the joy of the Spirit, the pride of the angels,…
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Solar Wind
EACH STAR HAS A field of energy that is going both outward and inward. The outward energy we call a “wind” because it is unseen and “blowing” outward from the star: it is the light, itself, actually. If you can see the star you are “in” the wind from that star. Our star, Sol, being…
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To be Normal Again
YOU ARE ALL Arresting love and I cannot turn away from your light. The closer I get the more all other loves are revealed to be either actually you or not worthy of my attention at all. And the light burns my eyes. Certainly the burning is only the darkness falling away, yes, I know.…
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Yeah. That’s Not You
VEDIC ANTHROPOLOGY responds to the question of Divine Transcendence vs Immanence by way of the Mahāvākyas, the Great Sayings of the Upanishads. These are four in number and they highlight the lack of division between self (which is an illusion) and the universal consciousness. The wiki sums this up with, “They all express the insight…
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Sheer Poetry
The reason, however, why the philosopher may be likened to the poet is this: both are concerned with the marvelous. – St Thomas Aquinas WHEN THIS QUOTE Surfaced in my Twitter timeline this morning, there was first an urgent recourse to Google. The reader is strongly advised to Google any random quotation: so many float…
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Cheap Thomism
When I first converted to Orthodoxy, entering the Church in 2002, I asked Fr Victor Sokolov (Memory Eternal!) to bless my apartment. Upon arrival, he did a sort of brief inspection of my space including a long perusal of my bookshelves. At that time my library was much larger than it now is, containing the…
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The Mystery of Reality
This is part of a series of posts on the invocations of the Jesus Psalter. There is a menu of these posts at the bottom. The invocations will be considered thematically. Jesu, Jesu, Jesu, grant me grace to remember my deathJesu, Jesu, Jesu, send me here my purgatory BE CAREFUL what you pray for, the…
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7LW: Father
This is the final post in a series on the Seven Last Words of Our Lord from the cross. There is a menu and a posting schedule at the bottom of this post. Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit. WITH GOD AS OUR Father brothers all are we.” That’s a line from the…
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Accompanying
WHEN I ENTERED the Church in 2002 my Spiritual Father, Victor Sokolov (may his memory be eternal!) heard my life confession which included my sexual past. He didn’t ask questions as I read off several pages of text I had written up for this. I followed a preparation for confession that I found online, drawn…
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7LW: Telos
This is the sixth in a series of posts on the Seven Last Words of Our Lord from the cross. There is a menu and a posting schedule at the bottom of this post. It is finished. Perelandra Is CS Lewis’ brilliant and engaging meditation on the Fall. It takes place on Venus in the…
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7LW: Thirst
This is the fifth in a series of posts on the Seven Last Words of Our Lord from the cross. I used this same text last year: but I was limited to a five-minute talk. This is the director’s cut, slightly up-dated because it’s a year later. There is a menu and a posting schedule…
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7LW: Eloi
This is the fourth in a series of posts on the Seven Last Words of Our Lord from the cross. There is a menu and a posting schedule at the bottom of this post. I’m late on this one. I had a termpaper for Church History. Sorry! My God, My God why hast Thou forsaken…
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The Mystery of Relationship
This is part of a series of posts on the invocations of the Jesus Psalter. There is a menu of these posts at the bottom. The invocations will be considered thematically. Jesu, Jesu, Jesu, grant me grace to fear theeJesu, Jesu, Jesu, grant me grace to love thee THERE ARE SEVERAL Of the invocations that…
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7LW: Behold
This is the third in a series of posts on the Seven Last Words of Our Lord from the cross. There is a menu and a posting schedule at the bottom of this post. Behold Your Mother. IWONDER ALWAYS Why Jesus took this moment to address his Mother as “woman”. In the gasping asphyxiation of…
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7LW: Today
This is the second in a series of posts on the Seven Last Words of Our Lord from the cross. There is a menu and a posting schedule at the bottom of this post. Today you will be with me in Paradise. PUT YOURSELF ON THE CROSS next to Jesus there. We want to imagine…
Orthoparadoxy 