Photo of the Week

Jesus calls us o'er the tumult

Of our life's wild, restless sea;

Day by day His sweet voice soundeth,

Saying, "Christian, follow me."

- Verse 1 of the hymn "Jesus Calls Us O'er the Tumult," by Cecil Frances Alexander, 1852

Quote of the Week

"Even those who have renounced Christianity and attack it, in their inmost being still follow the Christian ideal, for hitherto neither their subtlety nor the ardor of their hearts has been able to create a higher ideal of man and of virtue than the ideal given by Christ of old."

- Fyodor Dostoevsky, from The Brothers Karamazov

Saturday Synaxis

May God in the plenitude of his love pour upon you the torrents of his grace, bless you and keep you in his holy fear, prepare you for a happy eternity, and receive you at last into immortal glory. Amen.

- Coventry Cathedral

Photo of the Week

Give to the winds your fears;

Hope, and be undismayed.

God hears your sighs and counts your tears;

God will lift up your head.

- Verse 1 of the hymn "Give to the Winds Thy Fears," by Paul Gerhardt, 1656

Quote of the Week

"Be great in little things."

- Francis Xavier, an early member of the Jesuits and a prominent 16th-century missionary

(Painting: "Francis Xavier," by Bartolome Esteban Murillo, c.1670)

No New Posts This Weekend

There will be no new posts for the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday slots this week, as I am attending the state convention meeting for my denomination. Normal posts will resume Monday.

Photo of the Week

O Cross that liftest up my head,

I dare not ask to fly from thee.

I lay in dust life's glory dead,

And from the ground there blossoms red

Life that shall endless be.

- Verse 4 of the hymn "O Love that Will Not Let Me Go," by George Matheson

Quote of the Week

"Thus receiving in a divine revelation the loveliest standard of truth [i.e., the Bible], let us preserve the treasures lying therein, adding nothing to it and in no way diminishing or distorting it. If we watch over the Scriptures we ourselves will be watched over by them, guarding them and being guarded."

- (Pseudo) Dionysius the Areopagite, a prominent writer and theologian from the period of the early church fathers

(Painting: "Dionysius the Areopagite Converting the Pagan Philosophers," by Antoine Caron, c.1570)

Saturday Synaxis

I thank you, Lord, for all the sins which I have not done, because you restrained me. I thank you for the sorrow I have felt for all the sins I have done. I thank you for all the people I have met, both friends and enemies. And I pray for them all, that they may all be your friends.

- Margery Kempe (late 14th - early 15th century)

Photo of the Week

(Remnants of an old Crusader church at the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem)

The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 

The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.

- Psalm 118:22-23

 

Quote of the Week

"Be intent upon the perfection of the present day, and be assured that the best way of showing a true zeal is to make little things the occasions of great piety."

- William Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life

(Painting: "Piety," by an anonymous British painter, c.1600)

Saturday Synaxis

O God, teach me to seek you, and reveal yourself to me as I seek; for unless you instruct me I cannot seek you, and unless you reveal yourself I cannot find you. Let me seek you in desiring you; let me desire you in seeking you. Let me find you in loving you; let me love you in finding you.

- Anselm of Canterbury

Photo of the Week

(Greek Orthodox Church in Cana, Galilee)

“Come and dine,” the Master calleth, “Come and dine”;
You may feast at Jesus’ table all the time;
He who fed the multitude, turned the water into wine,
To the hungry calleth now, “Come and dine.”

- chorus of the hymn "Come and Dine," by Charles Widmeyer, 1907

Quote of the Week

"My work is loving the world...

Let me keep my mind on what matters,

Which is my work,

Which is mostly standing still

And learning to be astonished."

- Mary Oliver, from her poem "Messenger"

(Painting: "The Flowering Fruit-Tree," by Carl Fredrik Hill, 1877)