Reflections – Page 23

In the Joy of His Creatures

A Harris Hawk, seeking her food from God.

Greetings on the Feast of the Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon! To this very day, and through his holy prayers and healings, he’s been very helpful with family and friends!

When God, who is absolute fullness, brought creatures into existence, it was not done to fulfill any need but so that his creatures should be happy to share his likeness, and so that he himself might rejoice in the joy of his creatures as they draw inexhaustibly upon the Inexhaustible. ~ St. Maximus the Confessor

He will cover you under his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge. ~ Psalm 91:4

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? … St. Matthew 6: 25-34

My rejoicing heart has taken flight!

One of my most favourite birds in the world – a falcon, flew to – and landed on my gloved arm (several times)!

My wonder-cup brims and runneth over with spiritual delight and gratitude to God – for allowing me the honour and privilege of interacting with these wild and majestic creatures… A day I’ll always treasure and remember.

Thank you God, for your Gift of Nature!

Dormition of St. Anna

Church Icons of The Most Holy Theotokos – Image by Iulia Radu from Pixabay

Greetings on this wonderful Feast! What a glorious day! Our priest brought a small relic of St. Anna (from Mt. Athos) this morning for the parish to venerate after Divine Liturgy. Blessed joy!

Greetings on the Dormition of St. Anna the mother of the Theotokos. (Julian Calendar July 25/Aug. 7)

Beautiful Icon of St. Anna

St. Anna (Ann or Anne, from Hebrew Hannah – means favour or grace) is descended from the lineage of King David, and the mother of the Virgin Mary, and grandmother of Jesus Christ.

O Godly-minded Anna, thou didst give birth unto God’s pure Mother who conceived Him Who is our Life. Wherefore, thou hast now passed with joy to thy heavenly rest, wherein is the abode of them that rejoice in glory; and thou askest forgiveness of sins for them that honour thee with love, O ever-blessed one. ~ Troparia

Sagacity of Silence

Words are instruments of this world, but silence is the mystery of the age to come. ~ St. Isaac of Syria

Silence is the cross on which we must crucify our ego. ~ St. Seraphim of Sarov

Very desirable is the prayer of the heart. Very desirable is the silence of the heart. ~ St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

It is good to learn to pray without words, with the breath and beating of our hearts, for silence is the perfect prayer. Silence is the language of God. We learn His language as we do other languages, through listening intently and practicing what we hear. ~ Fr. Antony Hughes

Have Icon, Will Travel

“Travelling” Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos and our Lord Jesus Christ, on cabin’s dining room table. It is diptych style, with two icons hinged together and a latch door to shut during transit. This beautiful Icon was a gift from our dear friend Elizabeth.

Icons in churches and houses are necessary because they remind us of the immortality of saints; that they live unto Him, (St. Luke 20:38) that in God they see, hear, and help us. ~ St. John of Kronstadt.

Whether camping, glamping, going on a road or business trip, besides having a pre-trip blessing, a portable icon is also important to bring on our travels. (Or to have during a hospital stay.) For years we carefully brought and used a small, blessed, paper Icon when going/staying anywhere.

Upon reaching the destination, place your travelling icon either facing east in your room, or where you will most easily see it for prayer, and to help bring one’s vacationing attention back to God.

If possible, do also bring a small container of Holy Water on your trip for daily use and to also bless your cabin or hotel room, etc. upon arrival. Sprinkle the walls, windows and doorways with it, using the sign of the Cross… each time saying, “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.”

May the dear Lord bless you on your travels, and bring you back from your journey again in peace, health and safety.

Kindling the Flame

Sunset on the Strait of Juan de Fuca

If but ten among us lead a holy life, we shall kindle a fire which shall light up the entire city. ~ St. John Chrysostom

We must become enlightened bearers of the light within us, the Light of God, the very spark… of God’s divinity. ~ St. Gregory of Nyssa

There is Always Hope

Kayaking Into Diamonds – Strait of Juan de Fuca

I have consciousness of my sinfulness, but I live with hope. It is bad to despair, because someone who despairs becomes embittered and loses his willingness and strength. Someone who has hope, on the contrary, advances forward. ~ St. Porphyrios

On a recent holiday we watched a kayaker glide rapidly along a sea of glass, seemingly unaware of having passed through a brilliant, sparkling corridor of sunbeams. Suddenly, they reversed course and came to a contemplative standstill, drinking in the glittering vista. Then they paddled forward, into the Golden Avenue of dazzling diamonds dancing on the water… and were swathed in Light.

Begin With Thanksgiving

Image by ElenaOlesik from Pixabay

We must begin with thanksgiving for everything.
The beginning of joy is to be content with your situation.
~ St. Ambrose of Optina

From Flower to Flower

Image by sharkolot from Pixabay

Be like little bees that go about from flower to flower and gather only the nectar from which they can make honey. A bee flies from flower to flower – to many flowers. But bees don’t stay where there’s no nectar from which they can make honey – they flee. So, may you collect from everyone only what is good and beneficial to you. Let the rest just slip by, as though through raindrops. ~ Elder Paisios; A Little Corner of Paradise

Our Lord Jesus Christ deserves unending praise!

For all His known and unknown blessings…

For helping us to find and grind the good wheat…

For wisdom to avoid indigestible chaff.

While threshing and milling a myriad of useless thoughts and actions over stressful situations… Mercifully, and with God’s help (again), it recently occurred to me I’d reacquired an ugly old habit of hovering over stinky, nectarless, flowers. Phew!

Thank you for your prayers. They mean a lot to me!

Jesus, beautiful goodness, adorn me with flowers of good thoughts and feelings. ~ Ikos 6; Akathist for Holy Communion

Not of This World

Photo Art by Juliana

There is an ineffable instant in the Liturgy’s Eucharistic Anaphora where heaven and earth converge in Divine Sanctification- unfettered by time or space.

This is a Great Mystery.

Truth is the Beverage of Life

Image by Manfred Richter from Pixabay

One should not seek among others the truth that can be easily gotten from the Church. For in her, as in a rich treasury, the apostles have placed all that pertains to truth, so that everyone can drink this beverage of life. She is the door of life. ~ St. Irenaeus of Lyon

For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. ~ Psalm 100:5

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. ~ St. John 1:14

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. ~ St. John 4:24

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. ~ St. John 8:32

For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth…~ Ephesians 5:9

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. ~ 1 John 3:18