икони ценииконихолни масиI’ve been slow on my posting lately as I prepare for my MA exit exam.  I must translate the concluding myth from the Phaedo from Greek into Latin then write a commentary in Latin.  Needless to say, I have plenty to keep me busy.  Soon enough, though, expect some meditations on the Imitation of Christ.

“All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man  dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a  better language, and every chapter must be so translated. God  employs several translators: some pieces are translated by age, some  by sickness, some by war, some by justice. But God’s hand is in every  translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again  for that library where every book shall be open to one another.”

—from John Donne, Meditation XVII.

“One should seriously inquire if to live in a world permeated with God  and the knowledge of God is something they themselves truly desire. If  not, they can be assured that God will excuse them from his presence.  They will find their place in the “outer darkness” of which Jesus spoke.  But the fundamental fact about them will not be that they are there, but  that they have become people so locked into their own self-worship and  denial of God that they cannot want God.”

“Whereas the primal relationship of man to man is a giving one, in the state of sin it is purely demanding. Every man exists in a state of complete voluntary isolation; each man lives his own life, instead of all living the same God-life.”

From The Communion of Saints, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

And this from a man who truely gave.  “Greater love hath no man than this…”

“In a very unique setting over Earth’s colorful horizon, the silhouette of the space shuttle Endeavour is featured in this photo by an Expedition 22 crew member on board the International Space Station, as the shuttle approached for its docking on Feb. 9 during the STS-130 mission. Image Credit: NASA -> You can download the full size (5349×4012!) image here.”

(via Monoscope)

“So blindly do we all rush in the direction of self-love, that every one  thinks he has a good reason for exalting himself and despising all others in  comparison.”

-From Institutes of the Christian Religion, by John Calvin.

How easily would I take these words of Calvin and bring them to my neighbor and say to him, “Look! See! This is what I have been trying to tell you.”  All the while ignoring the finger that points at me. Κύριε Ιησού Χριστέ, Υιέ του Θεού, ελέησόν με τον αμαρτωλόν.

“The philosophy of living with an underlying motive of doing  everything for one’s own personal peace and comfort rapidly colors  everything that might formerly have come under the headings of  “right” and “wrong.”  This new way of thinking adds entirely new  shades, often in blurring brushstrokes of paint that wipe out the  existence of standards or cast them into a shadow that pushes  them out of sight. If one’s peace, comfort, way of life, convenience,  reputation, opportunities, job, happiness, or even ease is threatened,   “Just abort it.” Abort what? Abort another life that is not yet  born. Yes, but also abort the afflictions connected with having a  handicapped child, and abort the burdens connected with caring  for the old or invalid. Added swiftly are the now supposedly thinkable attitudes of aborting a child’s early security in his or her  rights to have two parents and a family life; aborting a wife’s need  for having her husband be someone to trust and lean upon; aborting   the husband’s need for having a companion and friend as well  as a feminine mate; aborting any responsibility to carry through a  job started.”

-From Affliction, by Edith Schaeffer.