Maronite Meditations

We are going to work through some of Sebastian Brock’s invaluable book The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and theSpiritual Life . It is an anthology of materials from Syriac writers,beginning at the very start with Aphrahat...

We now consider the significance of what Blosius has to say about life, and how that melds into what he wrote about the oneness of God, and how that unfolds in the world.

We do a simple breathing meditation based on this statement by Blosius: "When he is occupied with conversation and business, if he is unable to attend freely to God, he must yet beware of entirely leaving the inner...

Blosius says that we can divide our attention when working in the world: we are aware of what we are doing and “must yet beware of entirely leaving the inner chamber of (our) heart.” Yet we must return to contemplation...

Blosius said that even when we are occupied with conversation and business, we are able to attend to God, not entirely leaving the inner chamber of our hearts. He suggested two prayers or aspirations. First, one suited...

The editor of Blosius' book distinguishes ordinary andextraordinary contemplation. He wrote: “…ordinary contemplation means a close union with God in intellect and will, which is the result of faithful correspondence to...

We meditate upon the teachings of contemplative teachings of Blosius: Francois-Louis de Blois, Blosius the Venerable, was born in October 1506. He has been called “the Doctor of the presence of God.” It is said that...

Meditation, contemplation, and mysticism are conceptsthe meaning of which is forever changing. They have meant different things in different religions throughout the world. Even within one faith in one place and at one...

I critique the notion that we can use the Q hypothesis to reconstruct the distinctive theology of Ss Matthew and Luke.

Many academics assert that the names of the Gospels are not originals, and the evangelists were anonymous. I suggest this goes far beyond the evidence. The Gospels were produced in a specific historical context: the...

Prof Bart Ehrman dogmatically states as a fact that the books of the New Testament were written “to different communities …” We have recently seen that some, at least, of the evidence presented for this theory could be...

We continue last week's critique of Ashton's argument that there was a "Johannine community" for which the Gospel was written (as opposed to for all Christians." We explore, along the way, the "fallacy of the fatal...

We consider a question which most people may not realise is contentious: the assertion that the Gospel of St John was theproduct of a so-called “Johannine Community.” I consider what the late John Ashton said about it...

For the lecture notes: https://www.fryuhanna.com/2026/05/05/maronite-meditation-74-internal-evidence-for-the-authorship-of-the-gospel-according-to-st-john/ We continue with our examination of how the late George...

For the lecture notes: https://www.fryuhanna.com/2026/04/29/maronite-meditation-73-did-st-john-write-his-gospel-external-evidence/ We shall begin to examine the evidence around the authorship of the Gospel of St John...