We will not give up the Bible

Familiar tune, but unfamiliar words.

The Three Terrors!!

I came across this whilst 'stumbling'" The Three Tenors"

St Ahmed the calligrapher

More information at this link St Ahmed
An amazing story about this martyr, whom I had never heard of before

Beauty

"This world is the world of wild storm kept tame with the music of beauty." Tagore

"Flowers, shade, a fine view, a sunset sky, joy, Grace, feeling, abundance, and serenity, tenderness, and song, here you have the element of beauty." Amiel

Aspiration

"But I do hold to something more, far higher than the actual human, something to which it is human to aspire to seek to translate into life individual and communal: this something translates itself to me best as the Holy Spirit."

Art and the Artist

"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures."
Henry Ward Beecher.

Wonderful Singing from China

You can check out other songs from this Church.

Acceptance

The beloved of the Lord, he dwells in safety by him; he encompasses him all the day-long, and makes his dwelling between his shoulders. Deuteronomy 33:12

Passing Judgement or not

I've joined an Orthodox group on the Internet. One of the things that has surprised me is the amount of disagreement amongst so-called Orthodox. Some of them get very angry and call each other names. This seems to be very much at odds with much of the teachings of the Father's. Here below is a quote from St Macarius, the Great.
"Christians, therefore, should strive in all things and ought not to pass judgement of any kind on anyone not on the prostitute nor on sinners nor on disorderly persons. But should look on all persons with a single mind and a pure eye so that it may be for such a person almost a natural fixed attitude never to despise or judge or abhor anyone or divide people and place them into boxes.
If you see a man with one eye, do not make any judgement in your heart but regard him as though he were whole. If someone has a maimed hand, see him not as maimed. See the crippled a straight, the paralytic as healthy. For this is purity of heart, that when you see the sinners and weak, you have compassion and shown mercy toward them"  

Interesting news for Jews

I came across this in "Israel Alliance"
Below is a quote from part of the article....

"POPULATION IMPLOSION IN MUSLIM SOCIETIES
In sharp contrast to conventional wisdom, the UN Population Division reports a sharp decline of fertility rate (number of births per woman) in Muslim and Arab countries, except in Afghanistan and Yemen. The myth of “doubling Muslim population every 20 years” has been shattered against the rocks of modernity and reality. UNESCO’s Director-General, Koichiro Matsuura, stated, during a May 22, 2007 UNESCO conference on Population – From Explosion to Implosion:
“There is an abrupt slowdown in the rate of population growth… also in many countries where women have only limited access to education and employment… In the last fifty years, median fertility has fallen from 5.4 to 2.1 [births per woman]… There is not the slightest reason to assume that the decline in fertility will miraculously stop just at replacement level (2.1 births)….”
The collapse of Muslim fertility rates is a derivative of modernization, rapid urbanization and internal security concerns by dictators. They fear the consequences of rapid population growth, while economic growth lags far behind. As a result, the UN Population Division has reduced its 2050 population projections by 25 percent, from 12 billion to 9 billion, possibly shrinking to 7.4 billion.
For instance, the fertility rate in Iran has declined ­ as directed by its religious leaders – from 9 births per woman, 30 years ago, to 1.8 births in 2007. The Muslim religious establishment has also promoted decreasing fertility rates in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, from 8 and 7 births per woman 30 years ago, to less than 4 and 2.5 births respectively in 2007. Jordan, which is demographically similar to Judea and Samaria, and Syria have diminished from 8 births per woman, 30 years ago, to less than 3.5 in 2007. A substantial dive of fertility rates in Muslim countries – trending toward 2-3 births per woman – is documented by the Population Resource Center in Washington, DC.
According to demographic precedents, there is only a slim probability that high fertility rates can be resurrected following a sustained period of significant reduction."

Christ the Light of the World and The Awakening

The painting of Christ the Light of the world by Holman Hunt is one of his most famous paintings. The picture on the left is also by Hunt who  painted this secular version of his religious work,  In this picture a young woman starts up from the lap of her lover, struck by the sudden knowledge of her sin. The entire painting can be read for symbolism: the cat tormenting a bird, the scattered music sheets on the floor, the tangled embroidery threads,the discarded glove, and so on. Seeing these side by side one realises that what she hears is Christ knocking.

St Constantine Cyril Patron of Europe

The fresco St Cyril, dating from the ninth century in the underground basilica of St Clement, Rome.

We Remember The Most Holy Trinity

The Most Holy Trinity, icon written by Monika Glass. It is to be seen in Ballintubber Abbey, Co. Mayo, Ireland.

The icon takes us back to the oaks at Mamre: Abraham and Sara the unseen old couple have visitors. Their visitors are the Divine Presence. At table the Three are One. The icon, commissioned for Ballintubber Abbey, reminds us that the Trinity was central to St Patrick's spirirtuality.
There's an echo of St John's gospel in this icon, with Jesus speaking so strikingly of the Father and the Holy Spirit; echoes, too, of St Paul's greetings in his letters to the young Christian communities, and a sense of the wonderful hymns of praise to the Lamb of God in the Book of Revelation (4-5)
The icon is profoundly eucharistic. It is liturgy in itself: table, altar, chalice, meal, all lead us towards prayer and song, inspire us to praise, to share. The icon's colours, in their harmony and density, accentuate this aspect of celebration.

St. Kieran (Ciaran) of Clonmacnoise,

St. Kieran (Ciaran) of Clonmacnoise, also known as St. Kieran the Younger, was born around 512 AD in Connacht, Ireland, a town located in the northern part of County Roscommon. The son of Beoit, a carpenter and chariot-builder, Kieran inherited a love of learning from his mother’s side of the family, as his maternal grandfather had been a bard, poet, and historian. Baptized by deacon Justus (“the righteous one”), who also served as his first tutor, the boy Kieran worked as a cattle herder. Even this early in his life, stories testifying to Kieran’s holiness are told. Some later believed that his work as a herdsman foreshadowed the care he would offer the many who sought his wisdom.

Kieran continued his education at the monastery of Clonard, which was led by St. Finnian. Yet another story, that of the “Dun-Cow of Kieran,” is associated with his move to this abbey. What is quite certain is that Kieran quickly gained the reputation of being the most learned monk at Clonard, and was asked to serve as tutor to the daughter of the King of Cuala, even as he continued his own studies. His friend and fellow student, Columcille of Iona, testified to Kieran’s brilliance by saying, “He was a lamp, blazing with the light of wisdom.” Besides being renowned for his brilliance, Kieran also had a great capacity for friendship with other leaders of the early Irish church. In addition to Justus, Columcille, and Finnian, Kieran counted Enda of the Aran Islands as his mentor, and both Senan of Scattery Island and Kevin of Glendalough as friends and colleagues. Kieran’s years of residence at Clonard were also marked by miraculous events that benefited the entire monastery.

After completing his studies under Finnian, Kieran left Clonard and moved to the monastery of Inishmore in the Aran Isles, which was directed by St. Enda. While a member of this monastic community, Kieran was blessed with the vision of a great tree, which anticipated his own foundation of a renowned monastery. From Inishmore, Kieran went to visit his religious brothers at Isel in central Ireland. His stay here was brief, as the other monks envied his fame as a scholar, and resented what they considered his excessive charity to the poor. Asked to leave Isel, Kieran was led by a stag to Inis Aingin, or Hare Island. While he lived here for 3 years and 3 months, brothers from all over Ireland came to study under Kieran, and more miracles attested to his holiness.

Old Postcard of the Ferry Hotel Windermere

I have in my possession a booklet of old postcards of the Ferry Hotel on Windermere Lake. They are in a 'Duplex' book of ten pictures all of the Ferry Hotel in its heigh day. The hotel is now a research base for The Freshwater Research Association. I will publish some of the other photographs soon.

The Ferry Hotel Windermere Lake

City Building

City Building  Listen to Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson’s work long enough and you may wish to kill yourself