Tag: angels

Great and Holy Pascha

Thy Resurrection, O Christ our Saviour, the angels in heaven sing, enable us on earth, to glorify Thee, in purity of heart!

For our Orthodox Pascha is not just a festival, but the Festival of all festivals, an event for exceeding all the events of this world. Pascha shakes the whole cosmos: the sun, by our faith, dances and becomes iridescent with every colour of the rainbow, and all of creation rejoices. Some observe a magnificent silence, lacking the strength to express the inexpressible feeling of Paschal joy which fills their souls. Others hasten to share their feeling of the Paschal triumph. All people and all things begin to move, the tedious vanities of this world are cast aside, and all are transfigured. Pascha is, first of all, in us ourselves, in our hearts. God’s gift of the feeling of love penetrates our whole being, and we love each person and all things. This relates not just to the animal kingdom, but to the whole of creation, extending to the smallest blade of grass and the smallest flower. Nothing escapes our loving attention. May the Lord help us all to keep ourselves like this, for as such did the Lord create us… ~Paschal Epistle excerpt of Metropolitan Vitaly – May, 2000; The Two Thousandth Pascha of Christ.

The Pascha of the Lord is here!

Voices of Faith Hope and Love: St. Sophia Orthodox Church Virtual Youth Choir sing *Son Rise* in 2021. This song is a Paschal Poem, written by an 8 year old youth choir student, many years ago.

Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

Parish Youth Choir Sing Paschal Tropar

Paschal Sermon ~ St. John Chrysostom (347 – 407 AD)

Greeting you all with love and joy… Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

Have a Radiant and Blessed Bright Week!

Suffer the Little Children

 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. ~ Psalm 127:3

Train up a child in the way he should go:and when he is old, he will not depart from it. ~ Proverbs 22:6

See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. ~ St. Matthew 8:10

And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. ~ St. Matthew 18:2-5

… And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? ~ St. Matthew 21:16

People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. ~ St. Mark 10:13-16

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. ~ 1 Peter 2:2-3

Soul Food

Prayer is food for the soul. Do not starve the soul, it is better to let the body go hungry… ~ St. Joseph of Optina

You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body. ~C. S. Lewis

Through greed we underwent the first stripping, overcome by the bitter tasting of the fruit, and we became exiles from God. But let us turn back to repentance and, fasting from the food that gives us pleasure, let us cleanse our senses on which the enemy makes war. Let us strengthen our hearts with the hope of grace, and not with foods which brought no benefit to those who trusted in them. Our food shall be the Lamb of God, on the holy and radiant night of His Awakening: the Victim offered for us, given in communion to the disciples on the evening of the Mystery, who disperses the darkness of ignorance by the Light of His Resurrection. ~ Aposticha, Vespers – evening of Sunday of the Last Judgement

Do that which is good, and no evil shall touch you. Prayer is good with fasting and alms and righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than much with unrighteousness. It is better to give alms than to lay up gold: For alms doth deliver from death, and shall purge away all sin. Those that exercise alms and righteousness shall be filled with life: But they that sin are enemies to their own life. ~ Archangel Raphael, Tobit 12:7-10

 One should not think about the doings of God when one’s stomach is full; on a full stomach there can be no vision of the Divine mysteries. ~St. Seraphim of Sarov

It is necessary for a Christian to fast, in order to clear his mind, to rouse and develop his feelings, and to stimulate his will to useful activity. These three human capabilities we darken and stifle above all by ‘surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life’ (Lk. 21:34). ~ St. John of Kronstadt

Many human activities, good in themselves, are not good because of the motive for which they are done. For example, fasting and vigils, prayer and psalmody, acts of charity and hospitality are by nature good, but when performed for the sake of self-esteem they are not good. ~ St. Maximos the Confessor

Devils take great delight in fullness, and drunkenness and bodily comfort. Fasting possesses great power and it works glorious things. To fast is to banquet with angels. ~ St. Athanasius the Great

Let the mouth also fast from disgraceful speeches and railings. For what does it profit if we abstain from fish and fowl and yet bite and devour our brothers and sisters? The evil speaker eats the flesh of his brother and bites the body of his neighbour. ~St. John Chrysostom

Thrice Holy

Entrance with Trisagion Prayer in Ancient Greek

Trisagion from Greek, means thrice [tris] and holy [agios]. This Thrice Holy Prayer to the Holy Trinity is used during private prayer, and throughout the Church’s daily worship cycle.

Trisagion in English: Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.

Trisagion in Greek Pronounced: Agios O Theos, Agios Eeskhiros, Agios Athanatos, eleison imas)

History and Miracle of the Trisagion Hymn

Above, the hosts of angels sing praise; below, men form choirs in the churches and imitate them by singing the same doxology. Above the Seraphim cry out the Trisagion Hymn; below, the human throng sends up the same cry. The inhabitants of heaven and earth are brought together in a common assembly; there is one thanksgiving, one shout of delight, one joyful chorus. ~ St. John Chrysostom

The unceasing and sanctifying doxology by the holy angels in the Trisagion signifies, in general, the equality in the way of life and conduct and the harmony in the divine praising which will take place in the age to come by both heavenly and earthly powers, when the human body now rendered immortal by the resurrection will no longer weigh down the soul by corruption and will not itself be weighed down but will take on, by the change into incorruption, potency and aptitude to receive God’s coming. In particular it signifies, for the faithful, the theological rivalry with the angels in faith; for the active ones, it symbolizes the splendor of life equal to the angels, so far as this is possible for men, and the persistence in the theological hymnology; for those who have knowledge, endless thoughts, hymns, and movements concerning the Godhead which are equal to the angels, so far as humanly possible. ~ St. Maximus the Confessor

Our Little Nativity Crèche

Published in Home For the Holidays issuu magazine November 25, 2022 (page 16)

Treasures of Christmases Past

Opening boxes of Christmas ornaments is like greeting old friends again. They’re all special, inspiring, and priceless.

Included in our treasure troves are two tattered cardboard circles, with glittery bits of Christmas cards glued to the greasy back of a pizza box. In my mind’s eye I see our toddlers deep in concentration, their puckered little mouths moving rhythmically to each opening and closing of the blunt scissors… a testament to earlier times when sparse finances and homemade adornments were inspired through necessity.

A Queen’s Guard Soldier lies cupped in the palm of my hand. Although his paint is faded, he stands ever at attention as a wooden clothes peg. Our daughter made him in kindergarten, and the threaded loop through his skewed black pom pom hat disintegrated ages ago. He will be stationed on a tree branch, propped up beside the inevitable paper plate sprinkled with dried macaroni, and spray painted gold.

My mom’s embroidered blue bird roosts next to the dainty satin butterfly from my mother-in-law.

Meanwhile, the Three Wise Men bauble our 7 year old hand-sewed himself, is whimsically suspended near a flock of his origami pterodactyls.

At the top of the tree, reposing beneath a chipped Christmas Star is the large, red, paper angel-card my husband made for me the first year we dated. Although the angel wings have long since curled up at the edges, the sparkly Merry Christmas card greeting remains divinely intact.

Of course we own a few store bought decorations. One of which was a gift, a little Christmas Crèche. Although it wasn’t something we’d have bought for ourselves, this sweet little manger scene with animals quickly joined the cherished seasonal entourage.

In keeping with the situation, the Crèche is reverently displayed on top of our piano… despite the fact that one of the sheep’s plastic legs was completely gnawed off by our teething son (who, coincidentally, later became vegan).

Decades later, the precious little lamb continues to defy the law of physics and nobly stands guarding the manger crib, along with the pristine ox, and donkey.

To me, he’s much more than a simple 3-legged plastic lamb.

He’s an unsung model of hope and perseverance in adversity.

God bless us, everyone!

Who Walketh Upon the Wings of the Wind

When very young, I’d climb a mountainous chair and peer out the front room window to watch the sun rise. Dawn was breathtaking, and I used to think when the sun “woke up” it sleepily “yawned” out all those dazzling colours into the sky. When accompanied with birdsong, the combined beauty of it all made my little heart nearly burst with joy.

With a foretaste of paradise… years later… At the break of day, I stood on a tropical beach with warm, fragrant trade winds blowing, and these beautiful verses from Psalm 104 came to mind…

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…

Until the day break, and the shadows flee… ~ Song of Solomon 2:17

Rock-Solid

When we establish ourselves in God’s love, wisdom and salvation, it is through the Church that we acquire a rock-solid foundation.

St. John Chrysostom (4th century) reminds us: The Church is an enclosure, if you are within, the wolf cannot enter, but if you stray outside the wild beasts will get you… Do not wander from the Church; there is nothing more impregnable than the Church. She is your hope and your salvation. She is higher than the heavens, firmer than rock, wider than the world; she never grows old, but is forever renewing her youth.

The Church is holy. It is not of this world, but is in this world for its salvation. It is not divided by time or space. The Church is Alive with those who live right now with God, from all the ages – Past and Present…  The Angels, Saints, and the Righteous.

Enfolded within the Church, we are what we were created to be, by growing – in Communion with God. 

Beautiful Rock and Stone Scriptures

There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. ~ 1 Samuel 2:2

He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. ~ Psalm 40:2

Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? ~ Matthew 21:42

…like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. ~ Luke 6:48

 

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