1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! 2 My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. 3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. 4 Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise. (Selah) 5 Happy are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. 6 As they go through the valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength; the God of gods will be seen in Zion. 8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! (Selah) 9 Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed. 10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than live in the tents of wickedness. 11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly. 12 O Lord of hosts, happy is everyone who trusts in you.
Let the Reader understand…
Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
John 12:24
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Waiting…
for word from the Antiochian Archdiocese regarding the meeting of the Synod of Bishops. Prayers still, especially for Bishop Mark.
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From Stephen Crane…
A slant of sun on dull brown walls,
A forgotten sky of bashful blue.
Toward God a mighty hymn,
A song of collisions and cries,
Rumbling wheels, hoof-beats, bells,
Welcomes, farewells, love-calls, final moans,
Voices of joy, idiocy, warning, despair,
The unknown appeals of brutes,
The chanting of flowers,
The screams of cut trees,
The senseless babble of hens and wise men —
A cluttered incoherency that says at the stars:
“O God, save us!”
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A Little Prayer…
by Robert Service…
Let us be thankful, Lord, for little things –
The song of birds, the rapture of the rose;
Cloud-dappled skies, the laugh of limpid springs,
Drowned sunbeams and the perfume April blows;
Bronze wheat a-shimmer, purple shade of trees –
Let us be thankful, Lord of Life, for these!
Let us be praiseful, Sire, for simple sights; –
The blue smoke curling from a fire of peat;
Keen stars a-frolicking on frosty nights,
Prismatic pigeons strutting in a street;
Daisies dew-diamonded in smiling sward –
For simple sights let us be praiseful, Lord!
Let us be grateful, God, for health serene,
The hope to do a kindly deed each day;
The faith of fellowship, a conscience clean,
The will to worship and the gift to pray;
For all of worth in us, of You a part,
Let us be grateful, God, with humble heart.
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On Bishop Mark…
There are many things that I admire about Bishop Mark but among the chief is that it seems to me he truly believes the Church should be what what it claims to be “One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic” and Orthodox in the best sense of the word. Any group of people with enough money can put up a Cathedral, but people like Bishop Mark are numbered with those who build a Church. Axios!
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The Antiochian Archdiocese…
Synod of Bishops and Board of Trustees are meeting this weekend in Florida. Please remember Bishop Mark, all of our Bishops, and the Board of Trustees in your prayers. This is very important.
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Just reading a news story…
about the passing of Tom Bosley. Bosley is best known as the actor who played the father on the “Happy Days” TV series but what struck me was the nature of the announcement. The news of his passing didn’t come from family, friends, or the hospital but his agent. I guess you can’t even die in Hollywood without an agent.
That says something but I’m still trying to figure out what.
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Back in the day…
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The TV is full of ads…
for “fast money services” and “lay away” at your favorite store for Christmas. Hard times in the land of plenty producing the virtue of thrift by necessity or sending people in desperation for a quick fix.
There are natural limits, just so much of anything, and we’re in the process of finding this out once more. The princes we honored as long the goods kept coming have failed us again. Their story of everything for everyone with no cost has become a tale of long ago and far away. We are waking up from the dream and morning hurts out eyes.
The question is about what comes next. Will we grow up, face the dawn, and find a way out? Will we choose what’s real over the dream and find a new and wiser way? Or will we choose to be slaves to banks and governments and companies that tell us the prosperity they pitch to us on the TV is worth our soul?
Only time will tell, and much hangs in the balance.
The Beautiful Path 