English Corner

[redemptor]

"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.
Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones which You have broken may rejoice.
Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with Your generous Spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You.
Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart –– these, O God, You will not despise,
Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; build the walls of Jerusalem.
Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering; then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen."

[tabitha]

Orthodox author Frederica Mathewes-Green was interviewed by National Review Online recently about the Orthodox faith, particularly why she became an Orthodox Christian.

Question: How does life in Christ differ from life without him?

Answer: In the book, I say that the Eastern Orthodox have not had a lot of practice explaining their faith to other Christians, and so aren'€™t familiar with many of the historic theological controversies of the West. But they did have lots of experience with non-Christians (Persians, Mongols, Muslims, Communists), and they "€œknew well how life in Christ differs from life without him."€

Now that you ask, I don'€™t really know how to express it! Christ is life. It'€™s having the Creator of the Universe with you. It'€™s having the source of all love with you. It'€™s indescribable. And it'€™s real, palpably real. I had a miraculous conversion experience, 41 years ago. I was hitchhiking around Europe (at that time, calling myself a Hindu), and went into a church to look around. I was looking at a statue of Jesus, and then I had an overwhelming sense of his presence, with me, within me. I "€œheard"€ him speak to me (not with my ears, but inside). It was kind of scary, and also really wonderful, and it turned my world upside down.

Ever since, all I have wanted is to be closer to him -€” to stay in his presence. When I became Orthodox some 22 years ago, I was amazed to find that that'€™s what it'€™s all about. It'€™s a "€œway",€ a program, a science, of union with God -€” 2,000 years of wisdom on how to safely, sanely, increase in the presence of Christ. That'€™s why I'€™m excited about Orthodoxy; it'€™s what I always wanted, and I didn'€™t even know it existed.

Full interview : http://www.nationalreview.com/articl...x-nr-interview

[tabitha]

Do not claim to have acquired virtue unless you have suffered affliction, for without affliction virtue has not been tested.

+ St. Mark the Ascetic

[tabitha]

Host Vladimir Morosan answers some very basic, fundamental questions regarding Orthodox music: Why do we sing in orthodox worship? What is the essence of that singing? And how does singing relate to our very core as human beings?

http://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts...othelord-intro

[tabitha]

My most holy Lady Theotokos, by thy holy and all-effective prayers drive from me thine unworthy servant all despondency, indecision, folly, carelessness, and all impure, evil and blasphemous thoughts, from my wretched heart and my darkened mind. And quench the flame of my passions, for I am poor and wretched, and deliver me from many cruel memories and deeds, and free me from all their bad effects; for blessed art thou by all generations, and glorified is thy most honorable name unto the ages. Amen.

[tabitha]

Knowledge, sensation, understanding, contemplation, insight and every movement of the intellect, everything in all things, should be directed towards God.

- Elder Joseph the Hesychast

[tabitha]

Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross

John 19.6-20, 25-28, 30-35

When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no crime in him.” The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by that law he ought to die, because he has made himself the Son of God.” When Pilate heard these words, he was the more afraid; he entered the praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave no answer. Pilate therefore said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore he who delivered me to you has the greater sin.” Upon this Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend; every one who makes himself a king sets himself against Caesar.” When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, and in Hebrew, Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote a title and put it on the cross; it read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek.

So the soldiers did this. But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfil the scripture), “I thirst.”

When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished”; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Since it was the day of Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the sabbath (for that sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him; but when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness – his testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth – that you also may believe.

1 Cor 1.18-24

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will thwart.” Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.