eternal joy – Blisswood

Cloak of Humility

September 2024 on Cameron Lake, BC – Canada

Greetings on the Saturday after Holy Theophany!

…Wonderful is God in His works! Through all His works, He teaches us humility and obedience. He hides Himself behind His works, as the sun at night behind the shining of the stars, as a nightingale in the bush behind its song. He lends light to the sun, and the sun shines as though with its own light, while the fact that it is God’s light is ignored. He lends a voice to His thunder and His winds, and they are heard; but He is not heard. He lends beauty to His mountains and meadows, and they are resplendent in beauty as though it were their own, while God’s beauty remains shrouded in mystery. He lends beauty and fragrance to the flowers of the field, and the beauteous flowers give off their fragrance as though it were their own; while God’s fragrance goes un-noticed. He lends strength to every creature, and each creature preens itself in front of the others, showing off its strength as though it were its own; while God’s immeasurable strength neither preens itself nor cries for attention. He lends of His mind to men, and men cogitate and think as though with their own minds; while God’s mind stands in a calm from tumult, turning from the world’s praise. So God teaches us humility. All that He does, He does both in accordance with His own nature and for the sake of men, that man may be ashamed and aware of his foolish pride; that man may not be puffed up with himself, having of himself no good work; but that he should let his works go before him, and he walk behind them, as God does with His works, scarcely seen or heard, as a shepherd behind his large flock… ~ Homily Excerpt on Theophany by St. Nikolai Velimirovic

Autumnal Reflection

Image by Sven Lachmann from Pixabay

Whoever plants a tree, plants hope, peace, and love and has the blessings of God. ~ Elder Amphilochios of Patmos

A subscriber inspired today’s post and most of the following is in her words. She shared that autumn is her favourite time of year, and when walking in the nearby woods, she can’t resist picking up leaves to take home and photograph – there’s so many beautiful colours! They’re a good reminder of how things are on this side… being beautiful for a time, but then fading and ending up on the compost heap sooner or later. Those brilliant, glowing leaves, give us a glimpse of a beauty that is eternal, and what awaits us on the other side.

Thank you M. in Denmark!

Fragrant, Sweet, Blooming

Image by Christiane from Pixabay

All who ask receive, those who seek, find, and those who knock it shall be opened. Therefore, let us knock at the beautiful garden of Scripture. It is fragrant, sweet and blooming with various sounds of spiritual and divinely inspired birds. They sing all around our ears, capture our hearts, comfort the mourners, pacify the angry, and fill us with everlasting joy. ~ St. John of Damascus

They Dance for Joy

Detail of Mosaic Panel of Creation – St. Sophia Orthodox Church – Canada

…angels… are always being filled full of light, becoming ever more radiant and making blessed use of their natural ability to change. They dance for joy around the First Light, look continuously towards Him and are enlightened directly by Him, as they tirelessly sing the praises of the Fount of Light and, being ministers of light, transmit illuminating grace to those lower beings who are being enlightened. ~ St. Gregory Palamas

Christ, the Sun of righteousness (Malachi 4:2), is without beginning and pre-eternal. He is both immutable and unchangeable, as with Him there is no variableness, nor shadow of turning (James 1:17). He is without end, never-setting, beaming out the true and heavenly light of day without evening, in which the spirits of the righteousness live with the good angels. When this present age reaches its end, the righteous shall also have their bodies with them, as heirs of the light and sons of the true day. That day continues forever without evening, and neither has, nor ever did have, a morning, since it has no beginning. ~ St. Gregory Palamas

On occasion, I’ve orchestrated group observation with my youth choir to demonstrate how we, as created beings, are unable to fully comprehend the concept of Eternity or Pre-eternal.

After first discussing general definitions of the two words, we’d continue with the next part of the exercise. For just a few minutes, (it’s too difficult to try longer) we silently contemplate the concept of what Eternal means. How God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are Pre-Eternal (beyond time and space)… and have always “been” even before anything else existed. No beginning, no end. ✠

The attempts to try and wrap our mortal minds around the notion of eternal and pre-eternal is humbling and revealing.

Spontaneous laughter and amazement conclude these experiments. Exclamations from the youth range from “Wow, that’s impossible!” to “My brain exploded!”

God is simultaneously everywhere. (Yet another wondrous point to ponder!) He is the beginning, the continuation, the Life and Light of everything that exists. In His great and loving goodness, the Way to salvation is revealed through His Only-Begotten Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ… the Sun of Righteousness, the Dawn and Dayspring from on high.

And so, like the angels, let our souls rejoice and dance with joy; radiantly infused with the Pre-eternal Divine Light, and Peace… which surpasses understanding.

✠ Excellent Post Script from Anastasia, who shares: “A priest once said in my high school religion class: “Eternity is not a “line”. It is a “point”, and we are standing in it.” As he said that, he drew a line and then a dot on the board. I’ve remembered it these 50+ years it impressed me so.

Fullness of Blessing

Through the Holy Spirit comes our restoration to paradise, our ascension into the kingdom of heaven, our return to the adoption of sons, our liberty to call God our Father, our being made partakers of the grace of Christ, our being called children of light, our sharing in eternal glory, and, in a word, our being brought into a state of al “fullness of blessing,” both in this world and in the world to come, of all good gifts that are in store for us, by promise hereof, through faith, beholding the reflection of their grace as though they were already present, we await the full enjoyment. ~ St. Basil the Great, on the Holy Spirit

The Bible Is

Pink Phlox, Globe Thistle, Chamomile, amid Porcupine Grass – Our Garden, 2004

Christ is Risen!

The Bible is a scented garden, delightful, beautiful. It enchants our ears with birdsong in a sweet, divine and spiritual harmony, it touches our heart, comforts us in sorrow, soothes us in a moment of anger, and fills us with eternal joy. ~ St. John Damascene

Having read Holy Scripture very carefully, you should also read the holy Fathers who interpret the Scriptures. You will receive no less delight from reading the Fathers than you do from the Scriptures. The Fathers develop the hidden meanings in Scripture and with their own writings help us to understand what we did not before. Because of that philosophic axiom that all men by nature seek knowledge, we must say that great delight follows naturally when we learn about hidden and unknown matters. This is why there will be ineffable joy and gladness that will come to your soul from the interpretations and the words of the holy Fathers. You too will be shouting, as did David, those enthusiastic words in the Psalms. ~ St. Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain

Our religion is perfectly and profoundly conceived. What is simple is also what is most precious. Accordingly, in your spiritual life engage in your daily contest simply, easily, and without force. The soul is sanctified and purified through the study of the Fathers, through the memorization of the psalms and of portions of Scripture, through the signing of hymns and through the repetition of the Jesus Prayer. Devote your efforts, therefore, to these spiritual things and ignore all the other things. ~ St. Porphyrios

In order to fulfill the commandments of Christ, you must know them! Read the Holy Gospel, penetrate its spirit and make it the rule of your life. ~ St. Nikon of Optina

Truly He is Risen!