Truth – Page 2 – Blisswood

Let Us Make a Joyful Noise!

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Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. ~Psalm 100:1-5

…but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ… ~ Ephesians 5:18-20

Nothing elevates the soul, nothing gives it wings as a liturgical hymn does… We should offer up doxologies to God with fear and a contrite heart, in order that they may be accepted like fragrant incense… Nothing so arouses the soul, gives it wing, sets it free from the earth, releases it from the prison of the body, teaches it to love wisdom… as concordant melody and sacred song composed in rhythm. ~ St. John Chrysostom

Pray gently and calmly, sing with understanding and rhythm; then you will soar like a young eagle high in the heavens. Psalmody calms the passions and curbs the uncontrolled impulses in the body. ~ Evagrios the Solitary

To sing is to pray twice. ~ St. Augustine

Wherever there are spiritual melodies, there does the grace of the Spirit come, sanctifying the mouth and the soul. ~ St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain

Sing to God in love and humility of spirit, for the Lord rejoiceth therein. ~ St. Silouan the Athonite

Only ecclesiastical music can express the secret movements of the heart, which are completely different than what worldly music expresses. For this reason the two kinds of music are totally different, just as shown by the words: “sing” and “chant.” ~Photios Kontoglou

In case you haven’t yet discovered this wonderful site of hymnody (in multiple languages), please enjoy: The Rudder Internet Radio Station Streaming Orthodox Music 24/7

May your day be harmoniously tuned with the Spirit… in holy, heartfelt psalmody!

As Trees of the Wood

Image by Peter H from Pixabay

Let us strengthen our roots by unfurling our prayers!

…let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein. Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the Lord, because he cometh to judge the earth. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. ~ Chronicles 16:34

Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary. ~ Psalm 28:2

Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. ~ Psalm 63:4

Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven. ~ Psalm 85:11

Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens. ~ Psalm 123:1

For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.~ Isaiah 55:12

Let all the trees of the forest dance and sing, let all the trees clap their hands. ~ Sunday of the Cross

…All things become opportunities for us to be joined more closely with everything and everyone. They become occasions for thanksgiving and prayer. Live in the midst of everything, nature and universe. Nature is the secret Gospel. But when one does not possess inner grace, nature is of no benefit. Nature awakens us, but it cannot bring us into Paradise. ~ St. Porphyrios (Wounded by Love)

Through Stillness

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Monastery in Meteora, Greece

When you go forth, guard what you have gathered. When the cage is opened, the birds fly out. And then we shall find no further profit in stillness. ~ St. John Climacus (The Ladder of Divine Ascent)

Love of God proceeds from conversing with him; this conversation of prayer comes about through stillness, and stillness comes with the stripping away of the self. ~ St. Isaac the Syrian (The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life)

True wisdom is gazing at God. Gazing at God is silence of the thoughts. Stillness of mind is tranquillity which comes from discernment. ~ St. Isaac the Syrian (Homily 64)

Whatsoever Things…

Patio Nasturtiums, Roses and Chamomile Glow in Hazy Light

…whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. ~ Philippians 4:8

Call Unto Me

A Peaceful Morning Walk

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. ~ Jeremiah 33:3

He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. ~ Psalm 91:4

Truth is the Beverage of Life

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One should not seek among others the truth that can be easily gotten from the Church. For in her, as in a rich treasury, the apostles have placed all that pertains to truth, so that everyone can drink this beverage of life. She is the door of life. ~ St. Irenaeus of Lyon

For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. ~ Psalm 100:5

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. ~ St. John 1:14

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. ~ St. John 4:24

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. ~ St. John 8:32

For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth…~ Ephesians 5:9

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. ~ 1 John 3:18

Even When it’s Raining

The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all of us who are bowed down. ~ Psalm 145:14

It’s been said that sorrow looks back, worry looks around, but Faith looks up!

We glimpse this in our own gardens, with flowers blooming – regardless of debris from past storms.

For even when it’s raining, the Sun is shining above those clouds!

The fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth. ~ Ephesians 5:9

Mercy and Peace

Christ is Risen!

Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. ~ Psalm 85:10

Do not fight to expel the darkness from the chamber of your soul. Open a tiny aperture for light to enter, and the darkness will disappear. ~ St. Porphyrios

…man without God is but a firefly in the endless darkness of this universe. ~ St. Justin Popovich

Truly He is Risen!

Two Thoughts

A view over/above the Royal Doors to the altar’s rear wall, at St. Nicholas Orphanos Church, Thessaloniki – 2017 visit. The ancient interior frescoes are dated from 1310 – 1320 AD.

Greetings on Clean Thursday!

Understand two thoughts, and fear them. One says, “You are a saint,” the other, “You won’t be saved.” Both of these thoughts are from the enemy, and there is no truth in them. But think this way: I am a great sinner, but the Lord is merciful. He loves people very much, and He will forgive my sins. ~ St. Silouan the Athonite

May your Lenten Journey be peaceful and fruitful.

Lover of Silence

Greetings on Clean Wednesday.

These profound silence quotes are by the 7th century St. Isaac of Syria

If you love truth, be a lover of silence. In the beginning we have to force ourselves to be silent. But then, something is born that draws us to silence. May God give you the experience of this something that is born in silence.

Silence is the mystery of the world to come.

Humility collects the soul into a single point by the power of silence. A truly humble man has no desire to be known or admired by others, but wishes to plunge from himself into himself, to become nothing, as if he had never been born. When he is completely hidden to himself in himself, he is completely with God.

Above anything, welcome silence, for it brings fruits that no tongue can speak of, neither can it be explained.

Silence is a mystery of the age to come, but words are instruments of this world.

Not every quiet man is humble, but every humble man is quiet.

May your Lenten Journey be peaceful and fruitful.