Basil: tranquility

Wednesday, January 2, 2019
    Feast of Basil the Great & Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops, Teachers, 379 & 389
    Commemoration of Seraphim, Monk of Sarov, Mystic, Staretz, 1833
Meditation:
“Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro:
    He bustles about, but only in vain;
    he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it.
“But now, Lord, what do I look for?
    My hope is in you.”
    —Psalm 39:6-7 (NIV)
Quotation:
    We must try to keep the mind in tranquility. For just as the eye which constantly shifts its gaze, now turning to the right or to the left, now incessantly peering up or down, cannot see distinctly what lies before it, but the sight must be fixed firmly on the object in view if one would make his vision of it clear; so too man’s mind when distracted by his countless worldly cares cannot focus itself distinctly on the truth.
    ... St. Basil the Great (330?-379), Saint Basil, the Letters, tr. Roy Joseph Deferrari, Martin Rawson, Patrick McGuire, London: William Heinemann, 1950, p. 9 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 39:6-7; Isa. 45:22; Matt. 6:24; 13:22; Mark 4:19; Luke 8:14; John 1:29; 8:56; Phil. 3:20; 1 Tim. 6:9-10; 2 Tim. 2:4; Heb. 12:1-2; 1 John 2:15-17
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, teach the eyes of my heart constantly to gaze upon You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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