Oblate Daily Friday, September 5, 2014 / August 23, 2014 Apodosis of the Dormition [East] Martyr Luppus, slave of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica St. Callinicus I, patriarch of Constantinople [West] Hieromartyr Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons Sts. Eutychius and Florentius of Nursia Martyr Tydfil of Merthyr Tydfill St. Nicholas of Sicily, ascetic on the island of Euboea [SB: Holy Rule] Chapter 65 - Of the Prior of the Monastery (cont.) We foresee, therefore, that for the preservation of peace and charity it is best that the government of the monastery should depend on the will of the Abbot; and if it can be done, let the affairs of the monastery (as we have explained before) be attended to by deans, as the Abbot shall dispose; so that, the same office being shared by many, no one may become proud. If, however, the place require it, or the brotherhood reasonably and with humility make the request, and the Abbot shall deem it advisable, let the Abbot himself appoint as Prior whomever, with the advice of God-fearing brethren, he shall select. But let the Prior reverently do what his Abbot hath enjoined on him, doing nothing against the will or the direction of the Abbot; for the higher he is placed above others, the more careful should he be to obey the precepts of the Rule. If the Prior be found disorderly or blinded by vainglory, or hath been proved to be a contemner of the Holy Rule, let him be admonished up to the fourth time; if he doth not amend, let the correction of the regular discipline be applied to him. But if he doth not amend even then, let him be deposed from the office of priorship, and another who is worthy be appointed in his stead. But if even afterward he be not quiet and submissive in the brotherhood, let him also be expelled from the monastery. Still, let the Abbot reflect that he must give an account to God for all his judgments, lest perhaps envy or jealousy should sear his conscience. [Lectio Divina] Mark 4:7 7 And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. [Daily thoughts from St. Theophan the Recluse] Behold, there went out a sower to sow (Mark 4:3). Since the time that this Sower went out to sow, He has not ceased to sow. In the beginning He sowed personally, then through the Apostles, and at last through Divine Scripture and Divinely wise teachers. To this day the word of Gods truth is being sown everywhere. Just be prepared to manifest yourself as good ground, and you will be sown without fail. God will raise up what has been sown. How do you make yourself into good ground? With attention and study of the word of God, sympathy and love toward it, and readiness to immediately carry out what you learn. With such a mind-set, not a single word will lie on the surface of your soul, but all will enter within. Uniting with the elements of the spirit which are dear to it, it will take root and sprout. Then, being nourished -- from above through spiritual inspirations, and from below through good desires and labors -- it will grow into a tree and will flower and give fruit. God Himself arranged everything around us this way, and this is why we cannot but be amazed at our fruitlessness. But all of this is due to our inattentiveness and carelessness.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 05:37:26 +0000
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