Compassion on the thief

Hymn VIII.01.

There came to my ear

   from the Scripture which had not been read

a word that caused me joy

   on the subject of the Thief;

it gave comfort to my soul

   amidst the multitude of its vices,

telling how He had compassion on the Thief.

   O may He bring me too

into that Garden at the sound of whose name

   I am overwhelmed by joy;

my mind bursts it reins

   as it goes forth to contemplate Him.

Response: Hold me worthy that we may become heirs in Your Kingdom.

A tribute to St Ephrem the Syrian - Jan 28

Hymn I.15.
Woe to him who tries to hide
   his shameful deeds in the dark,
who does wrong and then tries to deceive
   those who have seen;
having gone in and committed some wrong
   he lies so as to deceive those who have heard.
May the wings of Your grace
   protect me,
for there the accusing finger
   points out
and daily proclaims
   the sinner's shame and hidden dealings.


Hymn II.01
Blessed is he
   for whom Paradise yearns.
Yes, paradise yearns for the man whose goodness
makes him beautiful;
   it engulfs him at its gateway,
it embraces him in its bosom,
   it caresses him in its very womb;
for it splits open and receives him
   into its inmost parts.
But if there is someone it abhors,
   it removes him and casts him out;
this is the gate of testing
   that belongs to Him who loves mankind.

Blessed is He who pierced

and so removed the sword from the entry to Paradise.

Hymn II.02.

Forge here on earth and take

   the key to Paradise;

the Door that welcomes you

   smiles radiantly upon you;

the Door, all discerning,

   conforms its measure to those who enter it:

in its wisdom

   it shrinks and it grows.

According to the stature and rank

   attained by each person,

it shows by its dimensions

   whether they are perfect, or lacking in something.

Hymn II.08

Who is capable of gazing

   upon the Garden's splendor,

seeing how glorious it is in all its design,

   how harmonious in its proportions,

how spacious for those who dwell there,

   how radiant with its abodes?

A prayer before confession

Of St. Symeon the New Theologian


O God and Lord of all!

Who hath the power over every breath and soul, the only One able to heal me, hearken unto the prayer of me, the wretched one, and, having put him to death, destroy the serpent nestling within me by the decent of the All-Holy and Life-Creating Spirit. And vouchsafe me, poor and naked of all virtue, to fall with tears at the feet of my spiritual father, and call his holy soul to mercy, to have mercy on me. And grant, O Lord, unto my heart humility and good thoughts, becoming a sinner, who hath consented to repent unto Thee, and do not abandon unto the end the one soul, which hath united itself unto Thee and hath confessed Thee, and instead of all the world hath chosen Thee and hath preferred Thee.

For Thou knowest, O Lord, that I want to save myself, and that my evil habit is an obstacle. But all things are possible unto Thee, O Master, which are impossible for man. Amen

My heart is in Your hands, Lord. Have mercy on me.

The Prodigal Son - Prayer

I am your son and I have sinned before Thee and I cry:

When I disobeyed in ignorance Thy fatherly glory, I wasted in iniquities the riches that Thou gavest me. Wherefore, I cry to Thee with the voice of the prodigal son, saying, I have sinned before Thee, O compassionate Father, receive me repentant, and make me as one of Thy hired servants.

Judging versus opinion

What is the difference between judging someone and voicing an opinion?

An opinion is simply your view, whatever that may be - but independant of what the other person may feel or think. Judging is when the independance disappears and you decide what is right for another, and coming to a fixed view about what is, however an opinion is an open view.

An opinion is usually voiced in a non aggressive way, as well.

She Walks in Beauty

by George Gordon Byron {born on January 22, 1788 in Aberdeen, Scotland, and inherited his family's English title at the age of ten, becoming Baron Byron of Rochdale}.

This blog is usually dedicated to enlargement of the heart, in a spiritual context, however I would like to break that style for this post and share a poem that I adore. Ironically, today is the date of the poets birth in 1788:

I.
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

II.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling place.

III.
And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

+ + +

When We Two Parted

by George Gordon Byron

When we two parted
In silence and tears,
Half broken-hearted
To sever for years,
Pale grew thy cheek and cold,
Colder thy kiss;
Truly that hour foretold
Sorrow to this.

The dew of the morning
Sunk chill on my brow--
It felt like the warning
Of what I feel now.
Thy vows are all broken,
And light is thy fame;
I hear thy name spoken,
And share in its shame.

They name thee before me,
A knell to mine ear;
A shudder comes o'er me--
Why wert thou so dear?
They know not I knew thee,
Who knew thee too well--
Long, long shall I rue thee,
Too deeply to tell.

In secret we met--
In silence I grieve,
That thy heart could forget,
Thy spirit deceive.
If I should meet thee
After long years,
How should I greet thee?--
With silence and tears.

On Love towards God

You say:

“I love God and have the Holy Spirit.”

But examine this closely, is this really so?

Are you faithful to God day and night?

If you have this uninterrupted love, then you are pure. How-ever, think about this. When earthly cares or various defiled and sly thoughts arise, are you then truly against them and does your soul want to love God and be wholly attached to Him?

After all, in distracting the mind with worldly and corruptible matters, earthly thoughts impede a person’s love for God and the continuous thinking about Him. It happens that a simple person enters into prayer, bends his knee — and his mind attains tranquility.

And the degree of his un-dermining the opposing wall of evil and the extent of his burrowing under it is the measure of its destruction, so that the person gradually attains spiritual direction and wisdom.

However, this level is not attained by the powerful of this world, nor the educated, nor writers.

- St Macarius the Great.