You are blessed by the Lord who made heaven and earth
Psalm 113: 23
“The true vision of God consists in this, that the soul that looks up to God never ceases to desire Him.”
Saint Gregory of Nyssa
the fingerprint of God
The heavens declare the glory of God;
The firmament shows the creation of His hands.
Day to day utters speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
The Orthodox Study Bible: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today’s World
Psalm 19:1-3
In the beginning God created; that is to say, in the beginning of time.
St. Basil the Great
The world was not conceived by chance and without reason, but for an useful end and for the great advantage of all beings, since it is really the school where reasonable souls exercise themselves, the training ground where they learn to know God; since by the sight of visible and sensible things the mind is led, as by a hand, to the contemplation of invisible things. For, as the Apostle says, the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made.
St. Basil the Great
on righteousness – loving neighbor as ourselves
O come ye faithful, let us work the works of God in light. Let us walk honestly as in the day, let us cast away from ourselves every unjust writing against our neighbor and not put a stumbling block as an occasion for his falling on the way.
Friday Vespers
1st Week of Great Lent
mystery of silence
Words are instruments of this world,
but silence is a mystery of the age to come.
Saint Isaac of Syria
grace.thanksgiving.joy
Great are the works of the Lord, Sought out in all things with regard to His will; Thanksgiving and majesty are His work, And His righteousness continues unto ages of ages.
Psalm 110 : 2-3
Bless the Lord all you birds of heaven,
And sing a hymn to Him
and exalt Him
beyond measure unto the ages
Daniel 3:80
eucharisteo
For I have “learned” in whatever state I am, to be content : I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:11-12
Lord it is good that we are here.
living water
“There is a kind of love that is similar to a brook after a rainfall, which quickly ceases after the rain stops. But then there is a love similar to a spring, which erupts through the earth and never ceases. The first love is human love, and the second love is Divine Love.”
Saint Isaac of Syria
maternal boldness
Through the prayers of the Theotokos
Savior save us
Beneath your compassion we take refuge
Virgin Theotokos
Despise not our prayers in adversities
But deliver us from harm
only pure only blessed one
a little lower than the angels
“He created us when we were not,
and for our sakes, made all things that are seen:
heaven, sea, air, all that is in them, living creatures, plants, seeds…
Into us alone — of all that are in earth,
He breathed the living soul that we have.
Saint John Chrysostom
patience and peace
All of them say that the perfection of the Christian life is in extreme humility. This means that patient long-suffering is what we most need in this life. We must bear everything patiently and forgive all. If we have good thoughts and desires, these thoughts will give us peace and joy even in this life, and even more so in eternity.
gladsomelife.com 