Any part of the Scripture you like to choose is inspired by God.  The Holy Spirit composed the Scriptures so that in them, as in a pharmacy open to all souls, we might each of us be able to find the medicine suited to our own particular illness.

Thus, the teaching of the Prophets is one thing, and that of the historical books is another.  And, again, the Law has one meaning, and the advice we read in the Book of Proverbs has a different one.

But the Book of Psalms contains everything useful that the others have.  It predicts the future, it recalls the past, it gives directions for living, it suggests the right behavior to adopt.  It is, in short, a jewel case in which have been collected all the valid teachings in such a way that individuals find remedies just right for their cases.

It heals the old wounds of the soul and gives relief to recent ones.  It cures the illnesses and preserves the health of the soul.

Every Psalm brings peace, soothes the internal conflicts, calms the rough waves of evil thoughts, dissolves anger, corrects and moderates profligacy.

Every Psalm preserves friendship and reconciles those who are separated.  Who could actually regard as an enemy the person beside whom they have raised a song to the one God?

Every Psalm anticipates the anguish of the night and gives rest after the efforts of the day.  It is safety for babes, beauty for the young, comfort for the aged, adornment for women.

Every Psalm is the voice of the Church.



Another way of prayer

Prayer is a request for what is good, offered by the devout of God.  But we do not restrict this request simply to what is stated in words... We should not express our prayer merely in syllables, but the power of prayer should be expressed in the moral attitude of our soul and in the virtuous actions that extend throughout our life... This is how you pray continually - not by offering prayer in words, but by joining yourself to God through your whole way of life, so that your life becomes one continuous and uninterrupted prayer.  

 

Suffering with a purpose

The Lord does not send suffering to the servants of God without a purpose.  It tests the genuineness of our love for God the Creator.  Just as athletes win crowns struggling in the arena, Christians are perfected by the trial of their temptations if they patiently and gratefully accept what God sends them.  Everything is ordained by the Lord’s love.  We must not be distressed by anything that happens to us, even if it affects our present weaknesses.  For although we don’t know why everything that happens to us is sent by God as a blessing, we should be convinced that everything that happens to us is for our good.  

 

Doctrine preserved in the Church

 

By the tradition of the Fathers, doctrine has been preserved by an unbroken sequence of memory down to our own day. 

 

On lost time

The time which you lend to God is not lost:  He will return it to you with abundant interest. 

Blessed are the peacemakers

Nothing is so characteristically Christian as being a peacemaker.  St. Basil the Great

You have many things to ponder. Ponder paradise, where Cain, who destroyed his brother through jealousy, does not return. Ponder the kingdom of heaven to which the Lord admits only those of one heart and mind. Ponder the fact that only those can be called the sons of God who are peacemakers, who, united by divine birth and law, correspond to the likeness of God the Father and Christ. Ponder that we are under God’s eyes, that we are running the course of our conversation, and life with God Himself looking on and judging, that then finally we can arrive at the point of succeeding in seeing Him, if we delight Him as He now observes us by our actions, if we show ourselves worthy of His grace and indulgence, if we, who are to please Him forever in heaven, please Him first in this world.  St. Cyprian of Carthage

Stand firm in the hope of the Resurrection

Bring out the gift of reason God has stored in our hearts.  Then when troubles surround us, we will remember that we are only human, and as we have already seen and heard, that life is full of misfortunes…Above all, reason will tell us according to God’s command that we who trust Christ shouldn’t grieve over those who have died.  For we hope in the Resurrection and in great crowns which the Master has stored to reward our great patience.  We must allow our wiser thoughts to speak to us in this melody.  Then perhaps we might experience slight relief from our troubles.  I urge you to stand firm, even if the blow is a heavy one. 

 

A tree is known...

A manifestation of God's love for us

These afflictions from the Lord, Who watches over us, do not happen to the servants of God without benefit, but for a trial of true love toward the God Who created us.  For as the toils of the contests lead the athletes on to their crowns, so also the test, through tribulations, leads Christians on to perfection, if we receive, with appropriate patience, and in all gratitude, what is dispensed to us by the Lord.  All things are directed by the goodness of the Master. 

 

On the beliefs and practices of the Church

Of the beliefs and practices whether generally accepted or publicly enjoined which are preserved in the Church some we possess derived from written teaching others we have received delivered to us “in a mystery” by the tradition of the apostles; and both of these in relation to true religion have the same force.  

And these no one will gainsay;—no one, at all events, who is even moderately versed in the institutions of the Church.  For were we to attempt to reject such customs as have no written authority, on the ground that the importance they possess is small, we should unintentionally injure the Gospel in its very vitals; or, rather, should make our public definition a mere phrase and nothing more.

For instance, to take the first and most general example, who is thence who has taught us in writing to sign with the sign of the cross those who have trusted in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ?  What writing has taught us to turn to the East at the prayer?  Which of the saints has left us in writing the words of the invocation at the displaying of the bread of the Eucharist and the cup of blessing?  For we are not, as is well known, content with what the apostle or the Gospel has recorded, but both in preface and conclusion we add other words as being of great importance to the validity of the ministry, and these we derive from unwritten teaching.  

Moreover we bless the water of baptism and the oil of the chrism, and besides this the catechumen who is being baptized.  On what written authority do we do this?  Is not our authority silent and mystical tradition?  Nay, by what written word is the anointing of oil itself taught?  And whence comes the custom of baptizing thrice? And as to the other customs of baptism from what Scripture do we derive the renunciation of Satan and his angels?  Does not this come from that unpublished and secret teaching which our fathers guarded in a silence out of the reach of curious meddling and inquisitive investigation?  

Well had they learnt the lesson that the awful dignity of the mysteries is best preserved by silence.  What the uninitiated are not even allowed to look at was hardly likely to be publicly paraded about in written documents.  



Everything is under God's loving care

A small sea urchin warns sailors about good or stormy weather.  When it sees a storm, it attaches itself beneath a large rock so as not to be swayed.  By this example, there is nothing that God neglects.  If God does not abandon the urchin, then He will also embrace each of our lives with the same loving care. 

 

On the Book of Psalms

The Book of Psalms contains everything useful that the other books have.  It predicts the future, it recalls the past, it gives directions for living; it suggests the right behavior to adopt.  It is, in short, a jewel case in which have been collected all the valid teachings in such a way that individuals find remedies just right for their cases. 

 



Make the effort...Jesus is merciful

Out of labor comes health, out of sweat salvation. Beware lest, from your wish to keep certain obligations, you break your obligation to God.  Do not sink back.  There is salvation; there is amendment.  The doors are not yet shut; the Bridegroom hears.  Make the effort.  Jesus is merciful, the Kingdom is at hand. 

St. Basil speaks about possessions

The bread you store up belongs to the hungry; the cloak that lies in your chest belongs to the naked; the gold you have hidden in the ground belongs to the poor. 

 

St. Basil the Great

(compilation by Pres. Candace

for a Junior Sunday School class)

 

St Basil was born in Cappadocia, which is in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey), in 329 AD. His whole family was devout and God-loving. His grandfather was martyred for not denying his faith in Jesus Christ; he was torn apart by hungry lions. His grandmother Macrina told Basil and his brothers and sisters this story of courage and faith in order to strengthen their own Christian faith.

St Basil's parents were called Basil and Emmelia, they had six children.  This was a most blessed family because both parents and all of the children became Saints in the Orthodox Church.

St Macrina was the oldest child, three of the boys became bishops. St. Basil became Bishop of Caesarea, St Gregory became Bishop of Nyssa and St Peter became Bishop of Sebaste. Basil's family had a good position in society, they had plenty of property and were wealthy.

Basil grew up and went to university, he studied Greek Literature, rhetoric (the art of speaking or writing well) and philosophy. He combined the ancient Greek spirit with his Orthodox Christian Faith. St. Basil is celebrated along with St. John Chrysostom and St. Gregory the Theologian as Saints of Education on 30 January.

St. Basil was tall, thin and had a long beard. He ate no more than was absolutely necessary for his survival; his food was poor and simple.  He chose never to eat meat.  He had just a couple pieces of clothing which were well worn, this again, being his choice.  St. Basil believed that we should be in control of ourselves at all times and have a blessed life of prayer. He said that we should season our daily work with the singing of spiritual songs (hymns) the same way that we season our food with salt when we cook.  He said that the sacred songs can only lift us up and give us joy and not sadness. Basil loved all people and devoted his life to helping all those in need; he was also a fighter for God's Truth. At the age of 28, St. Basil became a monk; at 35, he was ordained a priest and at 41, he was made Bishop of Caesarea.

Philanthropist is a Greek word meaning “friend of people” (philo + anthropos). St. Basil had great wealth but this did not interest him. Instead, he sold all his possessions and used the money to build orphanages, hospitals, homes for the aged, schools and monasteries. Our church has an organization named in honor of St. Basil—do you know what it is called?  It is called “Philoptochos,” and it means “friend of the poor,” (philo + ptochos).  

St. Basil was full of love and compassion for others—he was known to plead for mercy and forgiveness from the emperor on behalf of those in trouble or for those who had made mistakes. Another time, after an earthquake, he worked for days without sleep to dig through rubble with his own hands to save those who were trapped; he helped the injured and urged everyone to share their food with those who had none. St. Basil stood by the people and encouraged them throughout the catastrophe; he planted food in new areas and helped prevent the starvation of the people. After these things, St. Basil was made Bishop of Caesarea.

St Basil was responsible for starting monasteries where groups of monks live, work, worship, pray and dedicate their lives to God together. Up until that time, many monks lived as hermits (on their own) and not in communities. St. Basil devised strict rules for monks to follow, in order to live with each other and serve God properly. 

St Basil was not worried about offending anyone when it came to saying or doing what was right. His views often clashed with that of the emperor. One time, the emperor sent his prefect Modestus, with orders to make St. Basil support the false belief of Arius (also known as the Arian heresy) or resign from the Church. St. Basil refused to obey. Modestus threatened him and told St. Basil that he should fear him because he had the power to do anything he liked to him. Modestos told St. Basil that he could take his possessions, exile him, torture him and put him to death. St Basil said that these things did not trouble him. He said, "take my possessions, I have none except for the worn clothing I wear. Exile me, for wherever I go I am at home as all of the earth belongs to God. Torture me, I am already ill and weak and will not last long to be tortured. Kill me? I welcome death as it will bring me to God much sooner." Modestus was stunned by St Basil's answers and said that no bishop had ever spoken like this to him. St Basil replied that perhaps he had never met a real bishop before.

A saint's feast day is on the day he or she dies and goes to be with God—St. Basil died on January 1, 379. We remember and celebrate his memory on that day.

On January 1, we remember St. Basil’s day with vasilopita, a sweet bread dedicated to St. Basil.  It has a coin baked inside.  Why?

The Emperor Julian the Apostate (what is an apostate—do you know?)  It is someone who once followed the Orthodox Christian Faith and has turned away from it.  The Emperor Julian was once a schoolmate of St. Basil’s in Athens and they had studied the same things—even the Holy Scriptures.  However, instead of staying close to his Christian Faith, Julian turned away from it and his heart became cold and ugly toward God and the Christians.

Emperor Julian had a very high opinion of himself (that is called “pride”) and he marched off to war against the Persians with his troops with a plan to conquer both lands and people.  He sent a letter to St. Basil who was Archbishop of Caesarea at that time.  Although Julian and St. Basil knew each other for years, St. Basil did say the Julian was an unfit emperor and for good reason.  The Emperor’s letter stated that he required that St. Basil deliver one thousand pounds of gold to him by messenger.  He threatened that if he did not do this, Julian would destroy all the buildings of Caesarea and in their place, erect temples and statues of Roman gods in their place to humble the people and exalt himself.  Julian then closed his letter saying, “I have learned to know and condemn that which I once read,” in other words, he told St. Basil he rejected the Christian Faith he once received.

St. Basil did not waste time in writing back to Emperor Julian saying that his actions and words were shameful and that he disgraced the empire by his words and threats that sounded high and mighty but were actually the work of demons—in that Julian would insult the Church and lift himself up against God.  He went on to say how badly he felt for the ruin of Julian’s soul after they had studied the Holy Scriptures together and for the choices Julian was making.  He commented that if Julian had understood what he read, he never would have condemned it.

St. Basil went on to mention that he lived in poverty and that Julian was aware of it.  Nevertheless, St. Basil put together an offering for the Emperor from what he had—three barley loaves which would have been St. Basil’s food.  Julian accepted the gift, but in return, he gave St. Basil an insulting gift—grass from a pasture.

St. Basil responded by saying that he gave a gift from among the best he had to eat—from his own table and Julian had done the same.  This response, of course, angered Emperor Julian very much. 

Julian then threatened, “When I return from Persia, I will indeed burn down your city and take prisoner the foolish people there who have been led astray by you because you dishonor the gods (idols) whom I worship and you, too, shall receive a just reward!”

After returning to the city, St. Basil called the people to himself.  He told them about the emperor’s threats and counseled them saying, “Don’t grieve, fellow Christians, but consider what money you need to live on and bring whatever excess you have that we might gather it all together in one place.  Then, when we hear the emperor is returning, we shall cast heaps of money onto the road, that when he sees all the treasure, as the lover of money that he is, he will accept the offering and not follow through on his plan.”

Therefore, the Christians brought together a great deal of wealth, gold, silver and precious stones.  The items were placed under the care of the Church.

When St. Basil learned the Julian and the army were on their way back from war, he called together the multitude of Christians from Caesarea and commanded them to keep a three day fast.  Afterwards, he and the faithful went to the summit of the mountain called Didymos, to the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos.  There they prayed together that the will of the emperor would be changed and that the people might remain safe.

During that time, St. Basil received a heavenly vision.  He saw hosts of heaven (angels) encircling the mountain where they were praying.  He also saw a woman enthroned with great glory.  She said to the angels standing by, “Call Mercurios to me so that he might go and slay Julian the enemy of my Son.”  Who was the woman?  The Holy Theotokos, of course!  St. Basil then saw the holy Great Martyr Mercurios come and take up his weapons and leave. 

After this vision, St. Basil left the mountain with some of the clergy and went back into the city where the church of the holy Great Martyr Mercurios was.  Within that church were the relics (bones) of St. Mercurios and his weapons which were venerated or honored by the Christians.  One hundred years had passed since St. Mercurios’ martyrdom in Caesarea.  Upon entering the church, St. Basil could not find the Saint’s relics nor weapons.  He asked the keeper of the church’s vessels and he knew nothing about what had happened.  The Saint then realized that the vision he had seen was true and on that same night, June 26, 363, the ungodly apostate emperor was slain.  Saint Basil then returned to the mountain and announced, “Rejoice and be glad today, Christians!  Our prayers have been heard, a fitting punishment has come upon the ungodly emperor.  Let us offer thanks to God and go into the city, that each may receive back his money.” 

When the Christians heard this, they cried with one voice, “We thought to give the money to the ungodly emperor in exchange for our lives.  Now, shouldn’t we offer these gifts to the King of heaven and earth who granted us our lives?”  Now, St. Basil praised their eagerness.  He determined, however, that each should receive back one-third of their contribution.  The remainder of the money went to help the poor.

Regarding the portion of wealth that was returned, St. Basil had one-third of the treasure baked into large loaves of sweet bread, which were cut and shared among the people.  That is why we make Vasilopita (St. Basil’s bread) each year on January 1 and a coin is baked inside to remind us of St. Basil and what happened to the people of Caesarea in the four century.  The bread is blessed, the first piece cut is for our Lord, the second for the Theotokos and then for the poor and then to each member of the family.  If the coin is in the piece for the Lord or the Theotokos, it is given to the church.  If it is in the piece for the poor, give it to your church Philoptochos group. 

There are other episodes in St. Basil’s life that we could recount, but this will have to do for now.     

What do you think made St. Basil so great? Very few people in history have been given the title of "Great". Alexander the Great was so called because he conquered the world of his time. But St. Basil was called "Great" because he conquered (won over) the hearts and souls of men for Jesus Christ. He dedicated his life and all he had to fully loving and serving God and God honored him greatly because of it and countless numbers of people benefited from St. Basil’s love and generosity. 

St Basil, pray that we too may be unattached to personal things (possessions), become humble, compassionate, and loving toward others and burn with love for God.  Let us also be courageous in defending the One, True, Orthodox Christian Faith like you did. St. Basil, pray to God for us! 

Strong admonition

For whoever has the ability to remedy the suffering of others, but chooses rather to withhold aid out of selfish motives, may properly be judged the equivalent of a murderer.

Of further interest:  http://www.pravmir.com/psalm-50/

Calm yourself

Even if your soul should suffer somewhat from an offense, keep the sorrow within yourself. For it is said, “Within me my heart is troubled,” (Psalm 142:4), that is, the passion has not come out, but has been humbled like a wave that has broken up on the shore.  Calm your raging heart. Let your passions be ashamed at the presence of reason in you, as playful children are ashamed before a man commanding respect. 

A lament for sin by St. Basil the Great

St. Basil the Great left us with a lament for sin in which he recognizes many sins and identifies with them as the writer.  He has given us a useful guide for introspection to aid in preparation for Holy Confession.  It is also a light for those who wonder what they might bring to confession or if they actually have any sins necessary to confess. 

Weep over your sin: it is a spiritual ailment; it is death to your immortal soul; it deserves ceaseless, unending weeping and crying; let all tears flow for it, and sighing come forth without ceasing from the depths of your heart.

In profound humility I weep for all my sins, voluntary and involuntary, conscious and unconscious, covert and overt, great and little, committed by word and deed, in thought and intention, day and night, at every hour and minute of my life.

I weep over my pride and my ambition, my self-love and my boastfulness; I weep over my fits of anger, irritation, excessive shouting, swearing, quarreling and cursing;

I weep for having criticized, censured, gossiped, slandered, and defamed, for my wrath, enmity, hatred, envy, jealousy, vengeance and rancor;

I weep over my indulgences in lust, impure thoughts and evil inclinations; covetousness, gluttony, drunkenness, and sloth;

I weep for having talked idly, used foul language, blasphemed, derided, joked, ridiculed, mocked, enjoyed empty gaiety, singing, dancing and every pleasure to excess;

I weep over my self-indulgence, cupidity, love of money and miserliness, unmercifulness and cruelty;

I weep over my laziness, indolence, negligence, love of comfort, weakness, idleness, absent-mindedness, irresponsibility, inattention, love of sleep, for hours spent in idle pursuits, and for my lack of concentration in prayer and in Church, for not observing fasts and not doing charitable works.

I weep over my lack of faith, my doubting, my perplexity, my coldness, my indifference, my weakness and unfeelingness in what concerns the Holy Orthodox Faith, and over all my foul, cunning and reviling thoughts;

I weep over my exaggerated sorrow and grief, depression and despair, and over sins committed willingly.

I weep, but what tears can I find for a worthy and fitting way to weep for all the actions of my ill-fated life; for my immeasurable and profound worthlessness? How can I reveal and expose in all its nakedness each one of my sins, great and small, voluntary and involuntary, conscious and unconscious, overt and covert, every hour and minute of sin? When and where shall I begin my penitential lament that will bear fitting fruit? Perhaps soon I may have to face the last hour of my life; my soul will be painfully sundered from my sinful and vile body; I shall have to stand before terrible demons and radiant angels, who will reveal and torment me with my sins; and I, in fear and trembling, will be unprepared and unable to give them an answer; the sight and sound of wailing demons, their violent and bold desire to drag me into the bottomless pit of Hell will fill my soul with confusion and terror. And then the angels of God will lead my poor soul to stand before God's fearful seat of judgment. How will I answer the Immortal King, or how will I dare, sinner that I am, to look upon My Judge? Woe is me! I have no good answer to make, for I have spent all my life in indolence and sin, all my hours and minutes in vain thoughts, desires and yearnings!

And how many times have I taken the Name of God in vain!

How often, lightly and freely, at times even boldly, insolently and shamelessly have I slandered others in anger; offended, irritated, mocked them!

How often have I been proud and vainglorious and boasted of good qualities that I do not possess and of deeds that I have not done!

How many times have I lied, deceived, been cunning or flattered, or been insincere and deceptive; how often have I been angry, intolerant and mean!

How many times have I ridiculed the sins of my brother, caused him grief overtly and covertly, mocked or gloated over his misdeeds, his faults or his misfortunes; how many times have I been hostile to him, in anger, hatred or envy!

How often have I laughed stupidly, mocked and derided, spoke without weighing my words, ignorantly and senselessly, and uttered a numberless quantity of cutting, poisonous, insolent, frivolous, vulgar, coarse, brazen words!

How often, affected by beauty, have I fed my mind, my imagination and my heart with voluptuous sensations, and unnaturally satisfied the lusts of the flesh in fantasy! How often has my tongue uttered shameful, vulgar and blasphemous things about the desires of the flesh!

How often have I yearned for power and been gluttonous, satiating myself on delicacies, on tasty, varied and diverse foods and wines; because of intemperance and lack of self-control how often have I been filled past the point of satiety, lacked sobriety and been drunken, intemperate in food and drink, and broken the Holy Fasts!

How often, through selfishness, pride or false modesty, have I refused help and attention to those in need, been uncharitable, miserly, unsympathetic, mercenary and grasped at attention!

How often have I entered the House of God without fear and trembling, stood there in prayer, frivolous and absent-minded, and left it in the same spirit and disposition! And in prayer at home I have been just as cold and indifferent, praying little, lazily, and indolently, inattentively and impiously, and even completely omitting the appointed prayers!

And in general, how slothful I have been, weakened by indolence and inaction; how many hours of each day have I spent in sleep, how often have I enjoyed voluptuous thoughts in bed and defiled my flesh! How many hours have I spent in empty and futile pastimes and pleasures, in frivolous talk and speech, jokes and laughter, games and fun, and how much time have I wasted conclusively in chatter, and gossip, in criticizing others and reproaching them; how many hours have I spent in time-wasting and emptiness! What shall I answer to the Lord God for every hour and every minute of lost time? In truth, I have wasted my entire life in laziness.

How many times have I lost heart and despaired of my salvation and of God's mercy or through stupid habit, insensitivity, ignorance, insolence, shamelessness, and hardness sinned deliberately, willingly, in my right mind, in full awareness, in all goodwill, in both thought and intention, and in deed, and in this fashion trampled the blood of God's covenant and crucified anew within myself the Son of God and cursed Him!

O how terrible the punishment that I have drawn upon myself!

How is it that my eyes are not streaming with constant tears? If only my tears flowed from the cradle to the grave, at every hour and every minute of my tortured life! Who will now cool my head with water and fill the well of my tears and help me weep over my soul that I have cast into perdition?

My God, my God! Why hast Thou forsaken me? Be it unto me according to Thy will, O Lord! If Thou wouldst grant me light, be Thou blessed; if Thou wouldst grant me darkness, be Thou equally blessed. If Thou wouldst destroy me together with my lawlessness, glory to Thy righteous judgment; and if Thou wouldst not destroy me together with my lawlessness, glory to Thy boundless mercy!