tell the
TRUTH
BY BIRTH WE EXPERIENCE LIFE AND DEATH!
DOES DEATH NOT CONFIRM
THAT LIFE IS A TEMPORAY EXPERIENCE?
AND IS THERE NOT A BURN WITHIN THE HEART
THAT SAYS CHRIST IS INDEED THE RESURRECTION
AND THE LIFE?
Please note: Due to a lack of response, the 2 column version of the PARAGON, that granted quick access to the writings of the saints (still available at the bottom of the blog), has been returned to 1 column.
Today we honor
Saint Hilarion the New,
Abbot of the Dalmáton Monastery
Abbot of the Dalmáton Monastery
Hilarion was the abbot of the Dalmáton monastery in Constantinople. He was a disciple of Gregory of Decapolis and an imitator of the life of Hilarion the Great whose name he took. Hilarion was powerful in prayer, persevering and courageous in suffering. He suffered much for the sake of icons at the time of the evil iconoclastic emperors, Leo the Armenian and others. Later, the Emperor Leo was slain by his own soldiers in the same church and on the same spot where he first ridiculed holy icons and from which he removed the first icon. St. Hilarion was then released from prison but only for a short time. Again, he was tortured and detained in prison until the reign of the right-believing Empress Theodora. Hilarion was clairvoyant and a discerner. He saw the angels of God as they were taking the soul of St. Theodore the Studite to heaven. Pleasing God, he fell asleep and entered the Kingdom of God in the year 845 A.D. in his seventieth year.
Acts 23:1-11 KJV
23 And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.
2 And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth.
3 Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?
4 And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God's high priest?
5 Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.
6 But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.
7 And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided.
8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.
9 And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees' part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.
10 And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle.
11 And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.
Saint John 16:15-23 KJV
15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
17 Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?
18 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.
19 Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?
20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
If you scrolled to the bottom to check the length of St. Basil's writing
and decided you don't have time to read it or convinced yourself that you can put it off, you have likely beguiled yourself with "Distraction".
The value of what the saint says cannot be assessed with words,
nor can it be garnered from an impaired intellect,
but the soul that genuinely fears falling into the pit of separation
opens its meek door and is thereby granted an indication of
the way into the Kingdom of Heaven. (Pub.)
On Avoiding Distraction
by Saint Basil the Great
It is against the nature of things for one to become a master in metal working by practicing the potter's art, and athletic crowns are not won by enthusiasm for playing the flute. As each kind of mastery demands its own specific and appropriate training, so the discipline for pleasing God in accordance with the Gospel of Christ is practiced by detaching oneself from the cares of the world and by complete withdrawal from its distractions.
Therefore does the Apostle, although allowing marriage and deeming it worthy of blessing, oppose to it his own preoccupation with the concerns of God, as if these two interests could not be compatible, saying, [St. John 14:17] He that is without a wife is solicitous for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please God. But he that is with a wife is solicitous for the things of the world, how he may please his wife. [1 Cor. 7:3233] In the same manner, the Lord also bore witness to the guileless and single hearted attitude of His disciples, when He said, 'You are not of this world. [St. John 15:19] On the other hand, He declared that it is impossible for the world to have knowledge of God or even to receive the Holy Spirit, saying, 'Just Father, this world hath not known thee' and 'the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive.' [St. John 14:17]
Whoever, therefore, would be truly a follower of God must sever the bonds of attachment to this life, and this is done through complete separation from and forgetfulness of old habits. Unless we wrest ourselves from both fleshly ties and worldly society, being transported, as it were, to another world in our manner of living, as the Apostle said: 'But our conversation is in heaven, [Phil. 3:20] it is impossible for us to achieve our goal of pleasing God, inasmuch as the Lord said specifically: 'So likewise every one of you that doth not renounce all that he possesseth cannot be my disciple.' [St. Luke 14:33] And having done this, we should watch over our heart with all vigilance [Prov. 4:23] not only to avoid ever losing the thought of God or sullying the memory of His wonders by vain imaginations, but also in order to carry about the holy thought of God stamped upon our souls as an ineffaceable seal by continuous and pure recollection. In this way, we shall excel in the love of God which at the same time animates us to the observance of the Lord's commands, and by this, in turn, love itself will be lastingly and indestructibly preserved. The Lord proves this by saying on one occasion: 'If you love me, keep my commandments, [St. John 14:15] and again: 'If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love,' [St. John 15:10] and with still greater importunity: 'as I have kept my Father's commandments and do abide in his love. [St. John 15:10] ' By these words He teaches us always to place before ourselves as our goal, in undertaking a task, the will of Him who has enjoined the work, and to direct our effort toward Him, as He says in another place: 'I came down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him that sent me, the Father.' [St. John 6:38]
As the secular arts are directed toward certain specific aims and adapt their particular activities to these aims, so also, inasmuch as our actions have as their rule and guide the keeping of the commandments in a manner pleasing to God, it is impossible to do this with exactitude unless it be done as He wills who gave [the commandments]. And by our painstaking zeal to do the will of God in our work, we shall be united to God through our memory.
As the smith, when he is forging an axe, for example, thinks of the person who commissioned the task, and with him in mind calculates its shape and size, suiting his work to the wish of him who ordered it done (for if he is unmindful of this, he will fashion something quite different from what he was ordered to make) so the Christian directs every action, small and great, according to the will of God, performing the action at the same time with care and exactitude, and keeping his thoughts fixed upon the One who gave him the work to do. In this way, he fulfills the saying, 'I set the Lord always in my sight; for he is at my right hand, that I be not moved,' [Ps. 16:8] and he also observes the precept, 'Whether you eat or drink or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God.' [1 Cor. 10:31]
But he who departs from the strict observance of the commandment in performing his actions clearly shows that he has given small thought to God. Mindful, therefore, of the voice of Him who said: 'Do not I fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord? [Jer. 23:24] and again: Am I a God at hand and not a God afar off?'; [Jer. 23:23] also: 'Where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them, [St. Matt. 18:20] we should perform every action as if under the eyes of the Lord and think every thought as if observed by Him. Thus, fear will abide constantly within us who hate iniquity, as it is written, [Ps. 119:163] contumely, pride, and the ways of the wicked, and charity will be made perfect, [1 St. John 4:12] fulfilling the words of the Lord: 'I seek not my own will but the will of him that sent me, the Father.' [St. John 5:3] Our soul, also, will continue in the abiding conviction that good actions are acceptable to the Judge and Arbiter of our life and that the opposite conduct receives condemnation from Him. I think, moreover, it must be added that the Lord's commandments themselves cannot be performed with the intent of pleasing men. No one has recourse to an inferior, if he knows his superior is present. On the contrary, if it happen that an action is acceptable and pleasing to some illustrious personage while to one of lower degree it appears ill-advised and blameworthy, far more value is placed upon the approval of the superior and the inferior's disapproval is unheeded. But, if this is so among men, the soul that is truly prudent and sound and that possesses a firm conviction of the presence of God would surely not ever neglect to do what is pleasing to God and concern itself with the glory received from men, nor be careless of God's behests in subservience to human customs, [St. Mark 7:8] nor be ruled by common prejudice and influenced by honors and dignities. Such were the dispositions of him who said: 'The wicked have told me fables but not as thy law, O Lord,' [Ps.l 18:85] and again : 'And I spoke of thy testimonies before kings, and I was not ashamed.' [Ps. 119:46]
No comments:
Post a Comment