fogbow

Reflections in the Fog

Blessed Feast!

He’s another saint one of my favourite saints!

This 7th century saint is the first known English author of the earliest recorded (and literally divinely inspired) poem in Great Britain! The poem we know as “Caedmon’s Hymn” was recorded by Bede in Latin, in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People.

Also, today is the first day of Maslenitsa… Butter/Cheesefare Week… as we scale down to practically prepare for next weekend’s Forgiveness Sunday – and the bright clear days ahead with The Great Lenten Spring.

May your week ahead be rich and creamy with spiritual yum yums!

With love in Christ.

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

A Timeless Covenant

A second rainbow on the far right had mostly faded by the time I fumbled for my cell to take this picture. But, if you squint, you might see the remnants?

Look upon the rainbow, and praise him who made it, exceedingly beautiful in its brightness. It encircles the heaven with its glorious arc; the hands of the Most High have stretched it out. ~ Sirach 43:11-12

And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. ~ Genesis 9:12-16

Taking the scenic seaside route home last night after choir practice, I ruminated briefly on wise words heard yestereve on Faith and Prayer before my thoughts slid ahead into next week’s hectic schedule. Although I’m sure there’ll be blessings in there too, I began to feel overwhelmed. Suddenly, staring me in the face was this double rainbow shining through stormy clouds over a choppy ocean, and we pulled the car over to be in the moment. While life’s tempests all manifest differently, it’s a divine consolation remembering that each new rainbow is a Vibrant Sign of Hope and a Timeless Covenant of – God’s Beautiful Promise in the Sky!

Christ is Risen!

The Lifting Fog

Morning fog, on local beach – photo shared by Katherine

Keep looking up! Blue skies and Sunshine are above all those clouds!

For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. ~ Psalm 18:28

For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: ~ Ephesians 5:8

I have passed my life ever in night, for the night of sin has been to me thick fog and darkness; but make me, O Saviour, a son of the day. ~ The Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete

Pray in peace and serenity, sing intelligently and in a good state – and you will be like a young eagle soaring high in the sky. ~ St. Nilus of Mt Sinai (The Philokalia)

Afflictions for God’s sake are dearer to Him than any prayer or sacrifice. ~ St. Issac the Syrian (Homily 58)

…Look at the sky as often as possible and your thoughts will become light and clear. Be quiet a lot, speak little – and silence will come in your heart, and your spirit will be calm and full of peace. ~ St. Seraphim of Sarov

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. ~ St. John 1:5

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face… ~ 1 Corinthians 13:12

Local Fogbow over Ocean

I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you. ~Isaiah 44:22

– Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”~ James 4:14-15

Sunlight shining through and mixing with the tiny water droplets of thin fog, can create the beautiful phenomenon known as a fogbow, or a white rainbow.

Like the fogbow, sometimes a situation in life may seem opaque. Yet wonder and beauty can exist within the shrouded mist; for God loves us, and knows what’s best.

Let us patiently peer through the haze with hope… faithfully waiting for His Will to be revealed. In God’s Time, the fog will lift – and Sonshine will blaze brightly, clearly illuminating the Right Direction!