Quote/s of the Day – 28 February – 1 Cor.inthians 13:1-13, Luke 18:31-43
Blind
“I have appeared to you for this purpose,
to appoint you as a servant and witness,
of what you have seen
and what you will be shown.
I shall deliver you from this people
and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you,
to open their eyes, that they may turn
from darkness to light
and from the power of Satan to God,
so that they may obtain forgiveness of sins
and an inheritance among those,
who have been consecrated by faith in me.”
Acts 26:16-18
“I was in the world like someone blind
and as though without God,
since I did not know my God.
Then You, in person, pitied me
and looked upon me,
when You shone Your Light into my darkness,
You converted me
and drew me to Yourself, O my Creator.
And when You had snatched me
out of the depths of the pit …
of this life’s pleasures and desires,
then You showed me the way
and gave me a guide
who would lead me
to Your commandments.”
St Simeon the New Theologian (949-1022)
“Our lamps are going out.”
Matthew 25:8
“I have not become as wise
as those five wise Virgins.
… But I have become the most wretched of the foolish ones
by failing to keep some oil for my lamp,
namely, mercy together with virginity
or, still more, the anointing from Baptism’s Sacred fount…
Therefore, the doors of the wedding hall
are closed to me too, in my negligence.
But, O my Bridegroom,
while I am still in my body here below,
listen to my soul, Your Bride…
From now on, I will cry aloud piteously,
“Oh, open to me Your Heavenly Door,
bring me into Your Wedding Chamber on high,
make me worthy of Your Holy Kiss,
Your pure and spotless Embrace.
Oh let me not hear the Voice saying
it does not know me!
I am blind; set alight with Your own Light
my spirit’s extinguished flame!”
St Nerses Chnorhali (1102-1173)
Armenian Bishop
“Spiritually, we are all blind
to a greater or lesser extent.
Do we understand the infinite truth,
beauty and goodness of God,
in Whom our true happiness consists?
Do we understand the emptiness
of the world, despite the glory of its transient beauty, which can never satisfy our hearts?
Do we understand our own nothingness
and our dependence on God for light and grace?
If we do not possess this lively faith
and our eyes are dazzled
by the glittering vanities of the world,
let us turn to Jesus and beseech Him:
“Lord, that I may see!”
Only the light which comes from You
is the true light which illumines every man
who comes into this world (Jn 1:9).”
Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
May the Lord Jesus Touch Our Eyes
By Origen (c 185-253)
Father of the Church
May the Lord Jesus touch our eyes,
as He did those of the blind.
Then we shall begin to see in visible things
those which are invisible.
May He open our eyes to gaze,
not on present realities
but on the blessings to come.
May He open the eyes of our heart,
to contemplate God in Spirit,
through Jesus Christ the Lord,
to whom belong,
power and glory,
through all eternity.
Amen.
AnaStpaul 