Role of the Father in the Orthodox Christian Family by St John Chrysostom

Available from Barnes & Noble Bookstores

"When we return home, let us prepare two tables, one for bodily food,
the other for that spiritual food which is the Holy Scripture.

Let the husband repeat what has been said in the holy assembly; let
the wife learn it and the children listen to it

Let each of you make your home a church.

Are you not responsible for the salvation of your own children? Are
you not likely to have to give an account of their upbringing?

Just as we, the shepherds of the flock, will give an account of what we
have done for your souls, so fathers of families will have to answer
before God for all the people in their home." St John Chrysostom
from "On Genesis", 6, 2 (PG53)

from 'Drinking from the Hidden Fountain' p.205, Edited by Thomas 
Spidlik and Translated by Paul Drake, Cistertian Publications 1994  

Human Relationships in the Light of Christ by Fr Zacharias Zacharou, Essex, GB

Have Peace in your Heart by St Isaac of Syria

This icon of St Isaac of Syria is available from Uncut Mountain Supply Icons

I found a most amazing passage from the writings of St Isaac of Syria,
in a little booklet entitled, "Daily Readings with St Isaac of Syria", 
Introduced and edited by A. M. Allchin, Translated by Sebastian
Brock, Templegate Publishers, Springfield Illinois 1990

It reads, " Someone who has actually tasted truth is not 
contentious for truth.

Someone who is considered among men to be zealous for truth has
not yet learned what truth is really like: once he has truly learnt it,
he will cease from zealousness on its behalf.

The gift from God and of knowledge of him is not a cause for turmoil
and clamour; rather this gift is entirely filled with a peace in 
which the Spirit, love and humility reside.

The following is a sign of the coming of the Spirit; the person whom
the Spirit has overshadowed is made perfect in these very virtues.

God is reality. The person whose mind has become aware of God
does not even possess a tongue with which to speak, but God resides
in his heart in great serenity. He experiences no stirring of zeal
or argumentativeness, nor is he stirred by anger. He cannot even be
aroused concerning the faith." p.61 translated by Dr. Sebastian Brock.

Of course, reading something like this has to make one wonder, How
often do we state the truth with such passion even anger, as if Truth
which is Reality Itself, was so fragile it needed our protection? Or 
even worse, what if all we are doing by affirming Truth (or our 
misunderstanding of it as mere facts) is affirming our egos, our self-
image and asserting ourselves in dominance over those around us?

We do well if, before we speak or act, we pause for a moment and 
make an honest assessment of our emotional and spiritual state.
We do even better if, more than anything else, we pursue a first-
hand personal experience of this Ultimate Reality, our Triune 
God in a spirit of peace, humility and love.

This longing for the Truth must be first and foremost a longing for
the transformation of our own hearts, that the prayer of our Lord
Jesus Christ be fulfilled in us, when He prayed, 

"Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into
the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes I 

sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in 

truth." John 17:17-19 NASB

Which means;
Sanctify them (Make them holy, preserve them in holiness, restore
them to spiritual health)

in the truth (in Me- "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no
one comes to the Father but through Me" John 14:6; John 15:15,
"apart from Me you can do nothing".)

Your Word is truth ( "In the beginning was the Word and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God John 1:1. Again the
Lord is saying, "I am the Word of God and I am the Truth")

As you sent Me (the Word of the Father and the Truth) into
the world, I also have sent them into the world (we must
become, by Grace, the very Word of God to our generation, the
Truth of God to our generation, not merely as ideology but in our
very beings, we must become a healing presence to those who are
broken and ill with the sickness of sin!)

For their sakes I sanctify Myself (I offer Myself on the cross
for their healing and restoration )

that they themselves also be sanctified in truth (that they
themselves be made holy- be healed- in Me)

This book is available from Amazon

Byzantium the Lost Empire

Purchase this DVD here


John Romer narrates this magnificent documentary about
the Eastern Roman Empire of Byzantium.

For more than 1,000 years, the Byzantine Empire was the
eye of the entire world – the origin of great literature, fine
art and modern government. Heir to Greece and Rome, the
Byzantine Empire was also the first Christian empire. Now,
after a year of filming on three continents, TLC unlocks this
ancient civilization, spanning 11 centuries and three
continents.

Pass through the gates of Constantinople, explore the
magnificent mosque of Hagia Sophia and see the looted
treasures of the empire now located in St. Marks, Venice.

Part 1 Building the Dream

Click on the link above for part 1 and then follow the rest in
YouTube or even better buy the DVD

No Ordinary People by C.S. Lewis

Source

C. S. Lewis' insights never cease to amaze me. I recently purchased
the Kindle edition of this devotional and needless to say, the 
collection of vignettes from various of the celebrated Oxford don's
works is deeply satisfying and thought provoking.

The one selected for the 8th of June particularly caught my 
attention;

"No Ordinary People 
There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere
mortal. Nations, cultures,arts, civilizations- these are mortal, and
their life is to ours as the life of a gnat.

But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub,
and exploit- immortal horrors or everlasting splendours. This 
does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn: We must 
play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact,
the merriest kind)  which exists between people who have, from
the outset, taken each other seriously- no flippancy, no 
superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be a real and
costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which, we 
love the sinner- no mere tolerance, or indulgence which parodies
love as flippancy parodies merriment.

Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbour is the holiest 
object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbour,
he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ vere latitat
(Latin for "really is hiding") - the glorifier and the glorified, Glory
Himself, is truly hidden.

from "The Weight of Glory". In 1941 Lewis preaches "The Weight of
Glory" in Oxford University Church of St Mary the Virgin."

from "A Year with C.S. Lewis" Reading for June 8th, by C.S. Lewis ,
published by Harper Collins, 2009.
Available from Amazon