flowers – Page 6 – Blisswood

Sunday of All Saints

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. ~ Hebrews 12:1-2

Since the 4th century All Saints’ Day is celebrated on the first Sunday after the Great Feast of Pentecost. Today we commemorate all saints from everywhere… from the time of Adam until the end of the world. We honour the known and unknown… Whether they be men, women or children… these shining clouds of witnesses have lived to the fruition of Holiness.

All the Saints are like fragrant flowers in God’s Heavenly Garden.

Kontakion (a little hymn) of All Saints: The universe offers to Thee, O Lord, as the Planter of Creation, the God-bearing martyrs as the first-fruits of nature. By their prayers, O Most Merciful One, through the Mother of God keep Thy Church, Thy estate, in deep peace.

Sermon on Sunday of All Saints ~ Igumen Zacchaeus Wood

Alleluia!

Alleluia was inherited by the first Christians from Hebrew worship. It means Praise God.

The Polyeleos is the most festive part of the Matins service. The word comes from the Greek polys (much), and eleos (mercy). The Polyeleos Hymn consists of parts from Psalms 134 (Praise the name of the Lord, Alleluia) and Psalm 135 (Give thanks to the Lord, Alleluia) The Polyeleos singing is accompanied by multiple repetitions of For His mercy endures forever. During this part of service all the vigil lamps in the church are lit and blaze joyously.

Polyeleos (Much Mercy)

Be the Bee

…if you ask a fly, “Are there any flowers in this area?” it will say, “I don’t know about flowers, but over there in that heap of rubbish you can find all the filth you want.” And it will go on to list all the unclean things it has been to. Now, if you ask a honeybee, “Have you seen any unclean things in this area?” it will reply, “Unclean things? No, I have not seen any; the place here is full of the most fragrant flowers.” And it will go on to name all the flowers of the garden or the meadow. You see, the fly only knows where the unclean things are, while the honeybee knows where the beautiful iris or hyacinth is. As I have come to understand, some people resemble the honeybee and some resemble the fly. Those who resemble the fly seek to find evil in every circumstance and are preoccupied with it; they see no good anywhere. But those who resemble the honeybee only see the good in everything they see. The stupid person thinks stupidly and takes everything in the wrong way, whereas the person who has good thoughts, no matter what he sees, no matter what you tell him, maintains a positive and good thought. ~ St. Paisios of Mt. Athos

The bee is more honoured than other animals, not because she labours, but because she labours for others. ~ St. John Chrysostom

The bee is small among flying creatures, but what it produces is the best of sweet things. ~ Wisdom of Sirach 11:3

Blessing of Bees and Beehives Prayers

Father Innocent, the Beekeeper

Mosaic of Life

Mosaic from 5th century church – Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, Italy

Today is the Third Day of Holy Trinity.

The Lord grant thee according to thy heart, and all thy purposes fulfill. ~ Excerpt from Second Antiphon at Pentecost

Sometimes life may resemble a mosaic… with seemingly random bits of broken, snaggy shards, that cut and wound – like painful memories. When the Holy Spirit speaks to our heart, the Healing Balm of Forgiveness lovingly smooths residual roughness… transforming chaos to harmony. Through the Holy Spirit, we are strengthened and renewed. There is peace. Clarification. Understanding. We joyfully begin work on becoming a small part of the larger picture… the beautiful, tangible, and divinely designed mosaic of creation -As we were meant to.

Every one of us is in the image of God, and every one of us is like a damaged icon. But if we were given an icon damaged by time, damaged by circumstances, or desecrated by human hatred, we would treat it with reverence, with tenderness, with broken-heartedness. We would not pay attention primarily to the fact that it is damaged, but to the tragedy of its being damaged. We would concentrate on what is left of its beauty, and not on what is lost of its beauty. And this is what we must learn to do with regard to each person as an individual, but also, and this is not always as easy, with regard to groups of people, whether it be a parish or a denomination, or a nation. We must learn to look, and look until we have seen the underlying beauty of this group of people. Only then can we even begin to do something to call out all the beauty that is there. Listen to other people, and whenever you discern something which sounds true, which is a revelation of harmony and beauty, emphasize it and help it to flower. Strengthen it and encourage it to live. ~ Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh

Pentecost Greetings

Icon of the Holy Trinity – St. Sophia Orthodox Church, Canada

Greetings on Great and Holy Pentecost!

Fifty days after Great and Holy Pascha, we celebrate the wonderful, joyful Great Feast of Pentecost. This important day commemorates the fulfillment of Christ’s promise to his disciples and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon them, and later…. on us. This day is often called the birthday of the Church. The disciples were gathered in prayer at Jerusalem, waiting as Christ had commanded… when a mighty wind was heard, and tongues of fire appeared over their heads. A multilingual crowd heard the disciples preaching about Christ… miraculously speaking to the multitudes in their various native languages.

Preparing for Pentecost, people clean and decorate their homes and icon corners with herbs and green tree branches, that symbolize rebirth of all life through the Holy Spirit.

Today Churches are decorated with flowers, and greenery. Fresh grasses and herbs are strewn on the floors. Everything is vibrant. Small floral bouquets are often held by the faithful at the Liturgy. Sometimes people take the flowers they held at church and afterwards place them in their home’s icon corner, or to the grave of a loved one, or give them to someone who is sick, or elderly.

The Holy Spirit is is the Giver of Life, and clergy wear green vestments in honour of the Holy Spirit. Parishioners also wear green or white in celebration.

It is also said to be traditionally (with a small “t”) windy at Pentecost, to remind us of Holy Spirit.

Today is the first of the Three Days of the Holy Spirit.

May you find and enjoy a delightful, refreshing breeze today!

The Holy Spirit is life and life, the noetic Source of life – the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of understanding, good upright, noetic, possessing dominion, cleansing transgressions: God and deifying, Fire and transcending fire, speaking, acting, distributing gifts, by Whom all the prophets and divine apostles and martyrs have been crowned. Strange is the report, strange is the sight – fire distributed in the bestowal of gifts. The Holy Spirit has always been, is now and ever shall be, having neither beginning nor end, but one with the Father and the Son: life and life giving; goodness itself and source of goodness, through Whom the Father is made known and the Son is glorified, and is known by all: one power, one unity, one worship, of the Holy Trinity. ~ Matins at Pentecost Vigil

…The closer we approach God, the closer we approach each other, just as the closer rays of light are to each other, the closer they are to the Sun. In the coming Kingdom of God there will be unity, mutual love and concord. The Holy Trinity remains eternally unchanging, all-perfect, united in essence and indivisible... The One, Indivisible Trinity ever remains the Trinity. The Father always remains the Father, the Son remains the Son, the Holy Spirit remains the Holy Spirit. Besides Their personal Properties, They all share all in common and in Unity. That is why the Holy Trinity is One God. ~ St. John Maximovitch of Shanghai and San Francisco

Growing in Good Soil

It had been planted on good soil by abundant waters, that it might produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble vine. ~ Ezekiel 17:8

And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.’ ~ St. Matthew 13: 3 – 9

And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold. ~ St. Mark 4:8

And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold. As he said these things, he called out, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’ ~ St. Luke 8:8

As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. ~ St. Luke 8:15

Bee Ye Kinde

And bee ye kinde one to another, tender hearted, forgiuing one another, euen as God for Christs sake hath forgiuen you. ~ Ephesians 4:32; from the 1611 Original King James Version with archaic English spelling.

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. ~ Ephesians 4:32; the Authorized King James Version, the Cambridge edition with updated English Spelling from 1769.

It is beautiful.

The most accurate translations available [of the Bible] in English are the King James (or Authorized) Version (KJV or AV), the New King James Version (NKJV), and The English Standard Version (ESV)… The King James is in fact generally so accurate that one could reconstruct the original text with a high degree of accuracy by translating the text back into Hebrew and Greek, though unlike many [other] translations that are so woodenly literal they actually distort the meaning of the text… ~ Fr. John Whiteford

The Beauty of the Lord

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. ~ Psalm 48:1-2

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

Every Flower Breathes

My daughter’s wedding bouquet, arranged with some of our garden flowers.

Christ is Risen!

By the power of the Holy Spirit every flower breathes. Thy breath I feel in the quiet movement of the fragrant fields. Observing the harmony of colours I admire Thee. Wherever I look, I see all around me the beauty of the Great One in the little. Glory and thanks to the life-creating God Who covers the earth with flowery meadows, crowns the fields with golden ears of grain and embellishes them with blue cornflowers, and my soul with the joy of contemplation. Be glad and sing to Him: Alleluia! ~ Kontakion 3; The Akathist of Thanksgiving by Met. Tryphon of Turkestan

As the field is adorned by a multitude of flowers, so should the field of my own soul be adorned by all the flowers of virtue; as the trees bring forth flowers and afterwards fruit, so must my soul bring forth the fruits of faith and good works. ~ St. John of Kronstadt

Truly, He is Risen!

The Feast of Life

Monastery Gardens – Meteora, Greece 2006

Christ is Risen!

Memory Eternal Faith!

Beautiful Beatitudes!

Thou broughtest me into this life as if into a wonderful garden. I see the sky deep and blue, the birds as they chirp in flight; I listen to the soothing rustle of trees and the sonorous sound of waters; my mouth is enjoying fragrant and succulent fruits. How wonderful it is in Thy world and how joyous it is to be Thy guest! ~ Ikos 2; Akathist of Thanksgiving

Glory to Thee for the feast of life! Glory to Thee for the scents of lilies of the valley and roses. Glory to Thee for the abundance and multiplicity of earthly fruits. Glory to Thee for the glistening of morning dew. Glory to Thee for the joyous smile of dawn with which Thou dost waken me. Glory to Thee for eternal life and the kingdom of heaven. Glory to Thee, O God of the ages! ~ The Akathist of Thanksgiving by Metropolitan Tryphon of Turkestan; discovered in the personal effects of Hieromartyr Grigori Petroff (+1942)

Truly He is Risen!

Soul Refreshment

Christ is Risen!

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes… More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. ~ Psalm 19:7,8,10

Truly He is Risen!