st gregory palamas

by St. Gregory Palamas
from The Homilies, Mount Tabor Publishing, 2009, Homily 1, p. 4

Brethren, obey me as I come to you now and preach peace above all and towards all, according to the Lord's commandments. Share in this work by forgiving one another, if anyone has cause for complaint again another, as Christ forgave us, that you may become sons of peace, sons of God. He is your peace “who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition” (Eph. 2:14), abolishing enmity by His Cross. He said to His disciples, and through them to us, “into whatever town or house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house” (Lk. 10:5). The whole work of His coming is peace, for this He bowed the heavens and came down. David foretold of Him, “In his days shall righteousness flourish and abundance of peace” (Ps. 72:7). Again in another Psalm he said of Him, “For he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints, and to those who turn to him in their hearts” (Ps. 85.8).

by St. Gregory Palamas
from The Life of the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos, written and compiled by Holy Apostles Convent, p. 13.

'For her [the Theotokos'] sake, the God-possessed prophets pronounced prophecies, and miracles are wrought to foretell that future great miracle of the world, the Ever-Virgin mother of God. Generation after generation of vicissitudes and historical events, make a path to their ultimate destination, to the new mystery that will be a type of the future truth of the Spirit. The end, or rather the beginning and root of those earlier events and wonders accomplished in the virtues, of what was to be accomplished (in their daughter).' In another homily, he comments, 'all divinely-inspired Scripture was written for the sake of the Virgin who begat God.'

by Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick, originally posted on Roads From Emmaus

Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas, 2012

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.

Every single person, whether a man, a woman, or a child, has been given by God a deep, primal longing for Him.

We generally go through our days thinking of our desires for other things: I want breakfast. I want to sleep. I want to feel loved. I want some coffee. I want to get through this day. I want to finish this project. I want to buy a house. I want a car that won’t break down. I want to find someone who loves me. I want to be somebody. I want to make a difference. I want to get out of this traffic. I don’t want to die.

But if we really start to think about any one of our desires—pick one, any one—then we will find that they are fundamentally a desire for life. The desire for food is an obvious one, just like the desire not to die. But even our desires for possessions are about desiring life—we think they will help us feel alive, or at least that they won’t get in the way. A car that breaks down restricts my life, but a good car will get me there. Even the desire for accomplishment or love are about our desire for life.

But what is life, anyway? Is it simply to be animated, to be breathing and having our hearts beat rather than to be stilled and lying in a grave? Is it getting everything we want? Is it to “be all you can be”? Is it having a big list of accomplishments? Is it feeling safe, comfortable and secure? Is it even feeling content?

Those things are not life, but they do all point to what life really is.