Bishop Kallistos Ware on the Divine Liturgy part 1

Saturday Mass of Mary     

The Reading about our Lady by Kallistos Ware was moving at our Night Office. It was clear, deep and spiritual.

 COMMENT: 
Years ago we enjoyed Retreat talks at our Abbey.
Even the style of mysticism, think the vocabulary of Our Lady; Heavenly , Celestial Queen, "the love of the Celestial Queen is Unsurpassable", (Luisa Piccarreta). 

Published on 21 Aug 2012

April, 2011 – Metropolitan Kallistos Ware on the Divine Liturgy (first lecture) … presented to clergy from the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Atlanta at the Diakonia Center in South Carolina. Please enjoy and there will be more to come.

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Saturday, 20 June 2015

Mary Month Calendar June

Saturday Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary

This morning we had the Saturday Mass of Mary, I was reminded of the mid-week memorials of Our Lady of Walsingham and OL of Ransom. In fact, on every day of the year there are memorials, dedications, shrines, named of Our Lady. For the Saturday Mass of BVM, it is usually put among the Commons at the back of the Missal.

Even more appropriate is the Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Volume 1 Sacramentary and Volune II Lectionary.

With such an abundance of Marian memorials we celebrate this Saturday Mass in the spirit and help of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Saturday Vigil READING ABOUT OUR LADY

by Bishop Kallistos Ware.

In her recognition and acceptance of' her vocation, in her attitude of' receptivity, Mary stands before us supremely as the one who listens obediently in faith. Faith is the essence of Mary's response at the Annunciation, and faith presupposes listening. When we think of her obedience, it is important to give the word"obedience” its true and literal sense; both in Latin and in Greek it signifies 'to hear'. 'Let it be done to me according to your word', Mary replies to the angel. The Mother of God listens to God's word. The Gospel reading appointed for most feasts in her honour includes Christ's reply to the woman in the crowd:'Blessed rather are those who hear the word, of God and keep it.' This answer from a superficial point of view might seem to belittle the Holy Virgin, in reality indicates what is her true glory. She is blessed not merely by the physical fact of her child-bearing, but also and more fundamentally by the spiritual depth of her inner faith and attentiveness to God's word. Had she not first learnt to hear the word off God in her heart, she could never have born the Word Incarnate in her body.

Repeatedly the Gospels insist upon this characteristic of Mary as the one who listens. After the adoration of the shepherds, it is said that ‘Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart' Similar words after her discovery of the twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple: 'his Mother kept all these things in her heart'. The importance of listening is evident in Mary's own words to the servants at the marriage feast at Cana of Galilee: 'Do whatever he tells, you; listen, wait on God’. Once more the relevance - of Mary's example in our present age is easily apparent. Ours is an era in which words' can be multiplied with extraordinary facility - on the radio and television, on tape recorders, photocopiers, and word processors - but we have forgotten the art of" listening.

The Mother of' God, the one who listens, by her own example can help us to rediscover the lost dimension of inner space. Byzantine spirituality sees in her the model hesychast, a living icon of what it means to practise hesychia, stillness of heart. The words of the Psalmist - 'Be still, and know I God' apply exactly to her.

Mary Links Calendar http://www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm#JUNE JUNE