Food for Thought – Page 46

The Heavenly Jerusalem

Altar mosaic in St. Sophia Orthodox Church, Canada: “Heavenly Jerusalem” based on 5th century church mosaic from Santa Maria Maggiore, the largest basilica in Rome, depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary as protectress.

The Most Holy Mother of God prays for us ceaselessly. She is always visiting us. Whenever we turn to her in our heart, she is there. After the Lord, she is the greatest protection for mankind. ~ Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. ~Hebrews 12: 22-24

The Lord bless thee out of Zion: and may thou behold the good things of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. ~ Psalm 128:5

The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead: and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction, But they are in peace. For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. In the time of their visitation they shall shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble: They shall judge nations and rule over peoples and the Lord shall be their King forever. Those who trust in him shall understand truth and the faithful shall abide with him in love; Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones, and his care is with his elect. ~ Wisdom of Solomon 3: 1-9

In loving memory of Cam and Andrea

“May they journey hand in hand to the heavenly Jerusalem.” *

* Quote by dear Anastasia

Wrapped in Light

Inspiring local sunset accompanied with a natural quartet of peaceful, lapping waves, tangy seabreezes, soft rustling cliff grasses, and the yodeling of gulls flying home to roost for the night.

Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind: Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire: Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever. Thou coverest it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains. ~ Psalm 104:1-6

The word inspire comes from Middle English enspire, derived from the Latin inspirare, which means to breathe or blow breath into. Inspire was originally used in the sense of divinity imparting a truth or idea to someone.

Watching the sunset above inspired my soul with a few recollective breaths of memory verse, from Psalm 104.

Almsgiving

Widow with the Two Mites – Mosaic, St. Sophia Orthodox Church, Canada

Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow putting in two mites *. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on. ~ St. Luke 21: 1-4. [* Mites, from the Greek lepta, meaning very small copper coins]

Almsgiving above all else requires money, but even this shines with a brighter luster when the alms are given from our poverty. The widow who paid in the two mites was poorer than any human, but she outdid them all. ~ St. John Chrysostom

Feeding the hungry is a greater work than raising the dead. ~ St. John Chrysostom

He who gives alms in imitation of God does not discriminate between the wicked and the virtuous, the just and the unjust, when providing for men’s bodily needs. ~ St. Maximos the Confessor

Love the poor, and through them you will find mercy... If you give something to one in need, let the cheerfulness of your face precede your gift, and comfort his sorrow with kind words. When you do this, by your gift the gladness of his mind surpasses even the needs of his body. ~ St. Isaac the Syrian

The bread you do not use is the bread of the hungry. The garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of the person who is naked. The shoes you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot. The money you keep locked away is the money of the poor. The acts of charity you do not perform are the injustices you commit. ~ St. Basil the Great

Clutter

High water mark on local beach, with a vibrant collection of organic debris.

Seek what suffices, seek what is enough, and don’t desire more. Whatever goes that beyond produces anxiety not relief: it will weigh you down instead of lifting you up. ~ St. Augustine

A true person with all his energy, spiritual first of all, struggles to simplify life, to understand what he lives by. Man wants to and must fight to get out of the maze… with all his temptations. A person who makes the purpose of his life the accumulation of property and money is a weak person, he is a victim of the evil one. Having acquired wealth, he gains the fear of losing them, becomes not their master, but a thoughtless guardian of the false treasures… Instead of keeping the word of the Lord, which is the essence of life, he keeps the fake treasures… and thus betrays himself…. ~Archimandrite Justin Parvu

The condition of our surroundings often seem to reflect our state of mind.

I lie here in corners, trussed and piled so high, And in chests I am locked so fast, I cannot stir; in packs low I lie. ~ says ‘Goods’ to ‘Everyman’ (from Everyman: a 15th century English morality play)

Is an item useful? Does it bring glory to God? Does the memory associated with this item instill simplicity of beauty and peace within my Christian home? There is indeed a spiritual benefit… of quiet calmness, which permeates a clean and orderly home.

For indeed, a house is a little church… ~ St. John Chrysostom

Echoes of Eden

Arbutus tree and wild golden yarrow flowers overlooking Finlayson Arm, BC. (Old English name for Yarrow was “Our Saviour’s Back.”)

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. ~ Psalm 121: 1-2

Let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. Let the rivers clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity. ~ Psalm 98: 7-9

I want creation to penetrate you with so much admiration that everywhere, wherever you may be, the least plant may bring to you the clear remembrance of the Creator. A single plant, a blade of grass, or one speck of dust is sufficient to occupy all your intelligence in beholding the art with which it has been made. ~ St. Basil the Great

The whole earth is a living icon of the face of God. ~ St. John of Damascus

Some people, to discover God, read books. But there is a great book: the very appearance of created things. Look above you! Look below you! Note it. Read it. God, Whom you want to discover, never wrote that book with ink. Instead, He set before your eyes the things He had made. Can you ask for a louder voice than that? ~ St. Augustine

God speaks to us through nature. We may hear His still, small voice, in the seas, the rivers, the mountains and hills; in refreshing breezes and warm sunshine. Long ago, God placed us in the Garden, to tend it, to dress it, and to keep it. Continuing the privilege of being His stewards of the land, we recognize the immense importance of protecting God’s wondrous Gift of Nature. Sometimes we may receive an unexpected blessing, and folded like petals close beneath our hearts, we are sweetly swathed in the unfading Echoes of Eden.

From creation, learn to admire the Lord! Indeed the magnitude and beauty of creation display a God who is the artificer of the universe. He has made the mode of creation to be our best teacher. ~ St. John Chrysostom

The Trees of the Wood

Sunset in west coast mountain woods, arbutus tree in foreground.

Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the Lord, because he cometh to judge the earth. ~ 1 Chronicles 16:33

Words are truly the image of the soul… Though you speak to yourself in secret, your words are examined in heaven. ~St. Basil the Great

What we say remains unto eternity. ~ Gerontissa Gavrielia

Enter eagerly into the treasure house (the heart) that lies within you, and so you will see the treasure house of Heaven. For the two are the same, and there is but one single entry to them both. The ladder that leads to the Kingdom (of Heaven) is hidden within you, and is found in your soul. Dive into yourself, and in your soul, you will discover the rungs by which you are to ascend. ~ St. Isaac the Syrian

Aroma of Christ

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? ~ 2 Corinthians 14-16

Great Sea of Being

God always was, and always is, and always will be. Or rather, God always Is. For Was and Will are fragments of our time, and of changeable nature, but He is Eternal Being. And this is the Name that He gives to Himself when giving the Oracle to Moses in the Mount. For in Himself He sums up and contains all Being, having neither beginning in the past nor end in the future; like some great Sea of Being, limitless and unbounded, transcending all conception of time and nature, only adumbrated [alluded] by the mind, and that very dimly and scantily. ~ St. Gregory the Theologian

Grace is Like a Bird

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. ~ Psalm 91:1,4

Birds fear the sight of a hawk, and those who practice humility fear the sound of an argument. ~ St. John Climacus

Try your best not to give in to anger. Anger drives grace from your soul. Grace is like a bird; when something scares it, it flies away. ~ Elder Sergei of Vanves

We should follow the example of the birds. They’re always joyful. Whereas we’re always bothered by something. ~Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica

Eye Hath Not Seen

Outdoor Mosaic, St. Sophia Orthodox Church, Canada

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. ~ 1 Corinthians 2: 9-12

The soul leaves all surface appearances, not only those that can be grasped by the senses but also those which the mind itself seems to see, and it keeps going deeper until by the operation of the spirit it penetrates the invisible and incomprehensible, and it is there that it sees God. The true vision and the true knowledge of what we seek consists precisely in not seeing, in an awareness that our goal transcends all knowledge… ~ St. Gregory of Nyssa