Jesus Prayer

The Jesus Prayer set to music by John Michael Talbot.

Download AAC file here if Flash player doesn't work.

Morning & evening prayers

In the morning I greet my God and resolve to give no room to sin,
But rather consecrate the day to You
Abiding firm and mastering the passions;
For wickedness would bring dishonour upon my greying hairs and upon the table at which I minister.
I pray You, O my Christ, bring this beginning to a happy end.
----
I deceived You, Word of God, in very truth when I consecrated this day to You.
Now night comes upon me,
And my own light is not undimmed.
This I prayed over and foresaw, but in part my feet have stumbled and on me darkness fell, that hater of salvation.
Rekindle my light, O Christ, and shine on me again.

St. Gregory the Theologian

Virtues

He who seeks humility from God but does not accept the person that God sends him so as to humble him, doesn't know what he is asking for, for virtues are not purchased like groceries (as many kilos as we want). Rather, God sends us people for us to be tested, to exert ourselves, acquire virtues, and be crowned.

Elder Paisios, Epistles

On questioning

On this account, the Watcher [Gabriel] had saluted Mary as a pledge of great peace for the whole world.

"Hail Mary, our Lord is with you," he was saying to her, "you will conceive and bear a son in your virginity."

She said to him: "How will this be as you say, since I am a virgin and there is no fruit of virgins?"

In that moment it was very necessary to question, so that the mystery of the Son dwelling in her might be explained to her.

[...]

Eve had not questioned the serpant when he led her astray, she who by her will kept silent and firmly believed the treachery.

The latter maiden heard truth from the faithful one, nevertheless in this way she had sought out an explanation.

The former heard of becoming a goddess from a tree, but she did not say: "How will what you mention ever happen?"

The Watcher told this one that she would conceive the Son of God, but she did not accept it until she was well informed.

That she in her person would ascend to the divine rank, the virgin wife of Adam did not doubt the liar.

To this one who would bear the Son of God it was told, but she inquired, sought, investigated, learned and then kept silent.

See now how much more beautiful is the latter than the former; because of her beauty, the Lord chose her and made her his Mother.

Jacob of Serug, On the Mother of God (Mary Hansbury, translator)
Homily 1, pages 31-33

I recommend this episode of the Word from the Fathers podcast.

Fathers in Christ

I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me.

St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 4

May we all have such fathers.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver

"Eunice Kennedy Shriver's heart for the most vulnerable among us will be deeply missed," said Jane Abraham, General Chairman of the Susan B. Anthony List. "She fought for the dignity inherent in every human life, born and unborn. Her legacy will serve as a life-affirming example to young women everywhere, and for that we are so blessed."

US News & World Report

Iraqi Shiites turn the other cheek

“Let them kill us,” said Sheik Khudair al-Allawi, the imam of a mosque bombed recently. “It’s a waste of their time. The sectarian card is an old card and no one is going to play it anymore. We know what they want, and we’ll just be patient. But they will all go to hell.”

NY Times

Harlots & tax collectors

Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.

Jesus, Matthew 21

Shame & strength

It is the same in the sacrament of confession: the more shame we feel when we make ourselves naked before God, the more strength is given to us to overcome sin and the passions.

Archimandrite Zacharaias, The Enlargement of the Heart

Dallas Schoo interview

Recorded a 5-minute interview this morning on KBCO with Dallas Schoo, Edge's guitar tech.

If the player doesn't work you can download the aac (1 MB) or the mp3 (4.7 MB).

Update 3/6: What they played on the radio was an edited version of the entire conversation. You can download to the entire mp3 here. (10.8 MB, ~10 minutes)