Daily Readings & Meditations
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ELEVENTH WEEK AFTER PENTECOST |
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MON., July 21, 2008, SS. Simeon and John (Venerables); St. Ezekiel (Prophet)
2 Cor. 2:4-15 Matthew 23:13-22
Do
we have a career? We most certainly do. Do we know what it is? We might
and, then, we might not. The word career comes from the French meaning
highroad or racecourse. In other words, a career can be considered the
course a person’s life takes. What is the course our life has taken? To
further fine tune our definition, a career is considered to be a
profession or other calling which demands a special preparation and which
is undertaken as our life’s work. To what are we called to do for our
life’s work?
“The main aim of all rational creatures, defined by many
philosophers as the greatest good, is to become like God. Actually this is
not so much a discovery of the philosophers as something derived from Holy
Scripture. The Book of Genesis illustrates it when it describes the
original creation of the human race in the words: ‘God said, Let
us make human beings in our image and likeness. So God created human
beings in his own image, in the image of God He created them; male and
female He created them.’
Notice that it says: ‘God created human beings in His image’
and says nothing about likeness.
This means that the human race received the dignity of God’s
image at the beginning of creation, whereas the perfection of God’s
likeness is reserved for the end. Human beings must achieve it by
imitating God in His works. The possibility of perfection is there right
at the beginning by virtue of the image. In
the end, human beings will reach perfect likeness by means of their works.
This idea has been put forward in a clearer form by the Apostle
John. ‘Beloved, we are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what
we shall be, but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, for we
shall see Him as He is.’ [1 John
3:2]He refers to the end of all
things and, while simply admitting that the end is as yet unknown, he
expresses the hope that we shall be made like God by virtue of our good
deeds. Thanks to His intercession for us, we shall proceed from likeness to unity, since in the end, ‘God will
be all in all.’ [1 Cor. 15:28] In
the Garden of Eden our human race was the closest it was to the likeness
of God in the persons of Adam and Eve before they sinned. We start out in
life with the stain of that sinful nature in us until we are cleansed in
the holy waters of Baptism. We die with Christ and are raised into a new
life in God, the life that we had in the beginning. However, being human,
we need to prove that we are worthy of this new life by going through a
life of probation to determine our true character, the truth of who we
really are. Who are we as children of God? We are heirs to the throne of
God our Father. In other words, we are entitled to receive an endowment,
that is, a gift or quality from our Heavenly Parent, God our Father. And
what is this gift? It is the gift of becoming perfect like He is perfect [Matthew
5:48]. That is why He came to earth,
lowering Himself to become one like us so that He could raise us up to
become one like Him again. Our Father is calling us to a particular state
in life, eternal life, that is. Are we listening? Are we following His
lead? Are we choosing the right course to follow? Are we taking the right
road, the one that leads along the highroad that is less traveled and
leads to the elevation of our soul, or are we taking the low road that one
more traveled but which leads to the loss of our soul? “O most kind Father, because You are
God, and being moved by Your loving- kindness, You brought up all things
out of nothingness. Finally, by Your hand, You created us in your image.
But when we became corrupted by transgressing Your law, You redeemed us
because You love mankind. . . .O Lord, you love mankind; You are truly the
Son of the heavenly Father. You showed yourself to be one of us. You are
the Son of
TUE., July 22, 2008, St. Mary Magdalene (Equal to the Apostles)
2 Cor. 2:14-3:3 Matthew 23:23-28
God
wants us to be perfect as He is perfect. What then is a perfect human
being? Let’s just think for a moment about how we were created and how
we were saved from the clutches of Satan’s death-hold on us. We have
been made by the Father through the means of His Son when the Word was
spoken, and through His Holy Spirit when He breathed the Breath of Life
into us. We were also saved through the actions of His Son, who became one
of us, and His Holy Spirit, who descended upon us at Pentecost. Through
the sacramental life of the Church, which is the Body of His Son, we
become one with our God and the
“The human being, who conforms to the model of the Son, gives
glory to God because of having been made by the Father by means of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, the whole person is like God and not just a part: the
whole person, soul and body, receives the Spirit of the Father. This is
the perfect human being.
When the Spirit is united with the soul and with the body, then we
have the spiritual person, the perfect person, the human being in the
image and likeness of God.
If, on the contrary, the soul does not have the Spirit, we would
have a carnal and imperfect being. Such a person in having been created
would be in the image of God, but would have no likeness to Him.
Likeness to God comes only from the Spirit.” Now,
let’s just put this in the right perspective. Lest we forget, we are
spiritual people whose real home is in heaven with our heavenly Family. It
is the Spirit within us that gives us the likeness of God in us. When Adam
and Eve sinned, God took His Spirit from them. What happens when we sin?
God’s Spirit departs from us until we repent, ask for forgiveness, atone
for our sins and become determined not to sin again. Our Father knows that
in our weak human nature, we will sin again and again and again. This is
why Jesus tells the apostles that they must forgive over and over and over
again, for this is what our Father does for us. When we are forgiven by
our Father, we again become the “Bring together my scattered mind, O
Lord, and purify my hardened heart; grant me the repentance of Peter, the
sigh of the publican, the tears of the
adulteress, so that I may cry out to You with a loud voice: O God,
save me, for You alone are kind-hearted and love mankind.” – Prayer
from the Office of Matins on Tuesday, Tone 3
WED., July 23, 2008, SS. Trophimus, Theophilus and Companions (Martyrs)
2 Cor. 3:4-11 Matthew 23:29-39
Do
we think we are smart or wise? Do we realize the difference? Being smart
means that we are intelligent, know a lot of things and can even be
cleverly witty in what we say but also can be very impertinent and
presumptuous. On the other hand, being wise means we use our knowledge in
making good judgments. We use our commonsense instead of just showing off
our smarts. Both knowledge and wisdom, that is, how to use this knowledge
in the right way, go hand in hand. We need both in order to survive in
this world and to gain life eternal. With Vatican Council II, we were
given the instruction that we could do things on the basis of using our informed
right conscience. This is misinterpreted by many that, if what I am
doing makes me feel good, it is the right thing to do. They feel that they
are living according to their consciences. But, that is not what the
instruction from Vatican II says. They seem to forget about the being informed
part. We cannot make right decisions unless we know everything involved in
making the decisions. To what can we attribute the success of crime shows
such as, CSI, L.A.Law, NYPD, Law and Order. Sgt. Friday in “Dragnet”
used to say it loud and clear, “The facts, Maam. Just the facts.” If
the detectives do not know the facts involved, the clues are useless in
solving the case. The same goes for us in our spiritual life. If we do not
know the facts, that is, the teachings of Jesus Christ, how can we make
the right decisions in our life? As it says in the Book of Proverbs: “The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; wisdom and instruction
fools despise (1:7).”
Do we approach God with awe, an emotion mingled with reverence, dread and
wonder? Do we respect His words to us, His commands of how we are to live?
Do we know what His teachings should mean to us? Do we apply them in
making the decisions we need to make in our lives? Or do we act like some
people we have probably met, who, when, being shown how to do something,
repeatedly say, “I know. I know, I know?” Do we think we know everything there
is to know without consulting the Source of our Life? ARE WE INFORMED
enough to make the right judgments? As noted above, making the right
judgment is to know the teachings of God and then to use our wisdom in
applying this knowledge to determine right from wrong in whatever
decisions with which we are faced. Commonsense is us simply using our
knowledge of God’s ways to make our ordinary life a bit more
extraordinary, that is, to have our common life make sense in the eyes of
God. Yes, we might know it all, but do we show God that we know how to use
what we know in the right way? Are we head smart but dumb in our hearts,
the hearts that are to show God how much we love Him? We cannot become
perfect as He is unless we are also heart smart. Lest we forget, God has
given us both an intellect and a heart to use for His greater glory and
honor here on earth. And, not only that, but, if we use these gifts in the
right way, we also will be glorified for all eternity. “O Lord, hasten to open Your fatherly
arms to me, for I have foolishly wasted my whole life. Consider the
inexhaustible treasure of Your mercy, O Savior, and do not despise the
poverty of my heart. To You, O Lord, I cry out, filled with compunction:
Father, I have sinned against heaven and against You.” – Prayer from the Office of Tuesday Matins, Tone 1
THU., July 24, 2008, SS. Borys and Hlib (Martyrs); St. Christina (Martyr)
Rom. 8:28-39 John 15:17-16:2
The
difference between becoming better and trying to be better off is the
difference between wisdom and just being smart. Usually being better off
is applying our smartness to improve our earthly material status. Our ego
trips are in full command at these times. And we usually do not want to
just become better in a spiritual sense, because doing so does not seem to
add to our accumulation of earthly treasures. Do we realize that any of
these earthly treasures we have are blessings from God? What do we really
acquire on our own? We seem to forget that where our heart lies there is
where our treasure is. Are we fully aware that earthly treasures will pass
away, but our heavenly treasures last forever (Matthew
6:19-21)? Material treasures depend
on the unstable stock market and our economic outlook. Whereas our
spiritual treasures safely accumulate in our heavenly bank and are the
insurance that we need for eternal life. This is truly the only type of
life insurance we need. The following is a bit of food for thought:
“The world would be better off if people tried to become better.
And people would become better if they stopped trying to become better
off. For when everyone tries to become better off, nobody is better off.
But when everybody tries to become better, everybody is better off.
Everybody would be rich if nobody would try to become richer. And nobody
would be poor if everybody tried to become poorest. And everybody would be
what he ought to be if everybody tried to be what he wants the other
fellow to be.” (Christ-Bearers
Meditations for the Pre-Christmas Fast, Christmas and Theophany, p. 50) It
all boils down to the fact of whether we want to be rich in the eyes of
the world or in the eyes of God. Which one is better for us? Which one do
we prefer? Do we recall the parable of the rich man who built bigger barns
in which to store his goods only to die before he enjoyed the earthly
pleasures he was looking forward to? As Jesus said at that time, “Thus
it will be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich
in what matters to God (Luke
12:16-21).” What kind of a
spiritual bank account are we gathering for ourselves? Will it be worth
the dividend of an eternal life for us? Are we possibly in danger of short
changing ourselves? “O great and wonderful God, You govern
all things with Your indescribable goodness and rich providence. You have
provided us with the goodness of this world and have assured us, through
Your kindness, of attaining the promised kingdom. O Lord, through all the
blessings already received this day, You have kept us away from evil;
grant that we spend its remaining hours without blame before Your holy
glory, and that we may sing Your praise, O You, the only gracious one who
loves mankind. For You are our God, and we give glory to You, Father, Son
and Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.” – A
Prayer of Light from the Daily Office of Vespers
FRI., July 25, 2008, Dormition of St. Anna (Mother of the Theotokos)
Gal. 4:22-31 Luke 8:16-21
SAT., July 26, 2008, SS. Hermolaus and Companions (Priest-Martyrs); St. Parascevia (Venerable-martyr)
1 Cor. 1:3-9 Matthew 19:3-12
SUN., July 27, 2008, 11TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST; St. Panteleimon (Great-Martyr)
1 Cor. 9:2-12 Matthew 18:23-35
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Created on January 1, 2001
Updated 01/05/2003