Written by Acknowledgments: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia
The
sign of the Cross has been used by Christians since the time of the Apostles.
It is a pious act, which the Orthodox Christians make in the following manner;
the thumb, the index and the middle finger of the right hand are joined
together, while the remaining two fingers are bent and touching the palm of the
hand. At first, the forehead is touched, then the breast, the right shoulder
and the left shoulder.
When the time comes for young people to choose their profession, cooperation between parents and children is necessary. We have seen many times that parents wish to see heir children take over their (parents’) profession and business. Often the children have o inclination to follow this profession, but many times they don’t want to go against their parents will or they don’t know what to choose
Written by Fr. Dionysios Listermann-Verling, MA, MDiv.
Years
ago, I was invited to attend an 8th grade class reunion. I had lost touch with
my classmates over the past thirty years so I decided to go. When I arrived at
the reunion I was startled to discover that I failed to recognize most of my
classmates. Many once familiar faces had changed and aged. I felt rather guilty
that many recognized me instantly while I did not have that same reaction. To be
truthful, it was as if I was roaming through a hall filled with strangers. Time
can do that; it can slowly blur images of memories which were once very vivid
and fresh.
Sooner or later, my dear Friends, young men and women as
well as parents will face the generative problem of their children. They will
face it because this instinct is natural; or better said, it was implanted by
God in the organism of every man and it presents itself on its own at a certain
age. Therefore, as we mentioned in our previous issue, in order to direct their
children correctly in the matter of the generative instinct, parents must take
under consideration other rules. They must avoid tempting, inciting and exciting this passion. Certainly the
environment that children are living in and are associating with does not help
in this matter.
Written by Fr. Dionysios Listermann-Verling, MA, MDiv.
On November 1, 1950, Pope
Pius XII in his encyclical Munificentissimus Deus, proclaimed to the world the
following:
“By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed
Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and
define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed
the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.”
What
is curious is that in this papal document no where is it mentioned that the
Virgin Mary actually died.
Spiritual Wisdom
