Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Forgetting wrongs

You will know that you have completely freed yourself of this rot [of remembering wrongs], not when you pray for the person who has offended you, not when you exchange presents with him ... but only when, on hearing that he has fallen into bodily or spiritual misfortune, you suffer and weep for him as for yourself.

St. John Climacus

Mud

Man is mud whom God has commanded to become god.

St. Gregory of Nyssa (via Fr. Stephen)

Faith

Is faith to be understood simply as a mental exercise, or is it somehow something more? [...]

When speaking of faith, we are describing a relational trust that is rooted in our participation in the life of God. St. Paul says that “faith works by love” (Gal. 5:6). Marriage, at its best and highest moments, can have something of this experience on a human level. The relationship is more than mental and emotional. It is physical and involves a union with the other than can only proceed from trust, freedom and love. It would not be wrong to describe such a relationship as faith. The Church asks husbands and wives to be faithful – which means far more than simply avoiding sex with other persons. It is little wonder that marriage is a common image used for the relationship between God and His Church.

Fr. Stephen