garden – Blisswood

A Deep Pull From the Divine Well

Morning Sunbeams Shine on Vibrant Shamrocks Encompassing Wooden Garden Icon of Our Lord

Christ is Risen!

Yesterday we celebrated the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman at the Well, and I’d love to re-share an excerpt from a wonderful (past) homily by Archpriest John:

While we think mostly on an earthly plane, in the Gospels – Christ speaks on the true spiritual plane… drawing us to the realization of Who Life is. Like the Samaritan Woman at the Well (Gospel of St. John, Chapter 4), when we desire to obtain the promise of Living Water, realizing who we are, we have to choose and accept the belief in Christ. These things are necessary for everyone. If we don’t desire something, why would we make any effort for it? If we don’t want to look honestly at ourselves, what would we ever want to change? If we never realize Who Christ is, why would we ever seek Him? We may speak to God about what we want, what we think we need, and wonder why we don’t have it right now. We speak carnally, but He answers us spiritually. He wants to give us something far greater. We want water from a well where we’ll thirst again. But He wants for us to have eternal life. ~ Archpriest John Adams ☦️

Let us take a deep pull, and drink deeply from the Divine Well of Living Water… Let us fill Our Hearts to the brim with Him, in Spirit and Truth!

Truly He is Risen!

Mary, the Mystical Rose

This morning a dear friend sent me pictorial proof of Paradise… right from her very back door! It struck an inspiring chord, reminding me how roses celebrate the deep sacredness and beauty of God’s Creation, and also how in Orthodox traditions the Virgin Mary – our Lady Theotokos is sometimes referred to as the Mystical Lily or Rose. For, like a Mystical Flower with petals folded close beneath her heart, she blossomed forth our Lord Jesus Christ – the Sweet, Salvific Fruit of our Faith. We venerate her unique relationship with God. Even in her icons, the Virgin Mary directs us to glorify Christ. Today is a good day to stop and smell some garden roses, and to celebrate my many blessings! Thank you for visiting Blisswood!

The rose does not speak, but puts forth a strong fragrance. We too, should put forth fragrance, pour forth spiritual fragrance, the fragrance of Christ. The fragrance of our deeds should be heard from far around: good, pure and righteous deeds, full of love. Only thus can the Kingdom of God appear within our hearts, appearing not through words, but with power. ~ St. Luke of Simferopol

I have been amazed that some are utterly in doubt as to whether or not the Holy Virgin is able to be called the Mother of God. For if our Lord Jesus Christ is God, how should the Holy Virgin who bore him not be the Mother of God? ~ St. Cyril of Alexandria (375 -444 AD)

The Most Holy Mother of God prays for us ceaselessly. She is always visiting us. Whenever we turn to her in our heart, she is there. After the Lord, she is the greatest protection of mankind… She is constantly, by our side, and all too often we forget her. ~ Elder Thaddeus of Vitnovica

Fragrance of Love

Christ is Risen!

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. ~ 2 Corinthians 2:14-15

The rose does not speak, but puts forth a strong fragrance. We too, should put forth fragrance – pour forth spiritual fragrance, the fragrance of Christ. The fragrance of our deeds should be heard from far around: good, pure and righteous deeds, full of love. Only thus can the Kingdom of God appear within our hearts, appearing not through words, but with power. ~ St. Luke of Simferopol

At long last, the patio roses have begun to bloom. Their nourishing perfumed mantles celebrate the deep sacredness and beauty of God’s Creation. May we, too, throughout each and every season of our lives, blossom droplets of love – to become a Sweet Savour of Christ, Amen!

Truly He is Risen!

Cornucopia of Thankful Thoughts

Strewn Garden Flowers & Leaves Decorate a Thanksgiving Day Tablecloth ~ October 2018

Glimpses of Gratitude From Past Posts:

Magnify Him Oct. 1, 2020

With Thanksgiving Oct.11,2020

Each Dawn, a Blessing Feb. 17, 2021
(with Morning Thank You Song)

Joy is Thankfulness May 24,2021

Happy Thanksgiving Oct. 9, 2021

Enter Into His Gates with Thanksgiving Oct. 10, 2021

So Thankful Oct. 11, 2021

Wordless Thanksgivings Oct. 13, 2021

Thankful Nov. 11, 2021

Thank You! New Year’s Eve: Dec. 31, 2021

Begin With Thanksgiving July 25, 2022

Sanctifying Spirit Feb. 18,2023

The Sheep of His Pasture Feb. 29,2024

Saving Attitude of Gratitude Aug. 24,2024

Thanking each and every one of you… for taking a few moments of your precious time, to visit Blisswood!

A Sacrifice of Praise

An abundance of sweet-scented wisteria spill over the pergola, upheld and supported by its rough, wooden beams.

Let us lift up our hearts! We lift them up unto the Lord! ~Anaphora

From every cut springs new growth. However, there’s no one-size-fits-all in gardening, or life.

To encourage a profusion of fragrant blossoms and to thrive – shrubs, trees, and vines require careful tending to transform into ultimate splendor. They must first be reduced, in order to become more.

By deadheading and pruning our own spiritual debris, we are refreshed and ready for new growth! We are able to lightly and joyfully lift up our hearts unto the Lord!

Through God’s Mercy of Peace we thrive, and our hearts are transformed by being in God.

In the words of an anonymous saint (whose name escapes me at the moment), may we remember more often to: Prune wisely and clip with discernment.

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ~ St. John 15:1-2

Prayer is the flower of gentleness and the fruit of joy. ~ Evagrios the Solitary, 4th century

Christ is Risen!

Holy Wisdom’s Water of Love

Exotic Heliconia Rostrata, the Hanging Lobster Claw Flower ~ Kauai 2023

Greetings on the Holy Mandylion Feast Day!

If you do not shatter and empty your Ego, how will you make room for God?… God’s gifts to us blossom only if watered with the water of Love… Those who love can do only beautiful things. ~ Gerontissa Gavrilia

Let us unfurl our thirsty roots and drink deeply from Holy Wisdom’s salvific Springs of Living Water.

May our hearts Blossom Forth choosing happy, beautiful, Songs of Joy and gladness today!

Divine Choreography

A Gardener’s Delight!

Final Encore of one diverse Floral Troupe’s whirling, spinning, Petal Pirouette [Pronounced pee-roo–et]! ~ photo shared by Melania

Christ is Risen!

Celestial Music
Out of Eternity
Music was heard,
And into Infinity
Straightaway flowed,
All chaos along with it
Taking away.
In the chasm like a whirlwind
The stars began swirling,
Their every ray singing
Like musical strings,
And life, being stirred
By this Divine Vibration,
Shows only to him
Its true inspiration,
Who is sometimes attune
To this music celestial,
Whose mind is wide open,
Whose heart is aflame.
~ Y.P. Polonsky

In the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, the godparent holds or follows the newly-illumined (depending on their age) behind the priest, three times around the Baptismal Font, clasping a baptismal candle which symbolizes the Divine Light of Christ. The Procession is like a joyful dance as we embark upon the first few steps of our new life in Christ, while the clergy and choir sing, “As many as have been baptised into Christ, have put on Christ. Alleluia!”

In the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, the Priest leads the couple in a Procession around the stand on which the Holy Gospel and Blessing Cross have been placed. Here too, the choir sings as the husband and wife take their first steps of holy wedlock together, and the Church (symbolized by the Priest leading the way) will help guide them in the way they should step. This part of the ceremony is sometimes called the Dance of Isaiah or the Dance of Life.

Let all the trees of the forest dance and sing, let all the trees clap their hands. ~ Sunday of the Cross

Whether with people or in nature, there is a Divine Choreography and it’s on us (of free will) to learn the Qualities of Movement to Life’s Dance of Truth. Through practice, we can move gracefully to any new melody. If we inadvertently have our own toes painfully trod upon during the Great Dance of Life, there is St. Paisios’ dynamic quote: So in every test, let us say: “Thank you, my God, because this was needed for my salvation.” Remembering this helps reset our internal rhythm… it enables us to glide forward… it inspires us to kick up our heels again with joy… attuned anew… to the Divine Vibration!

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. ~ Isaiah 40:8

O Precious Paradise

Detail of parish Creation Mosaic with scenes from Genesis, and the Expulsion From Paradise ~ Genesis 3:23-24

…O ranks of angels, O beauty of Paradise and all the glory of the garden: weep for me, for in my misery I was led astray and rebelled against God. O blessed meadow, trees and flowers planted by God, O sweetness of Paradise: let your leaves, like eyes, shed tears on my behalf, for I am naked and a stranger to God’s glory. No longer do I see thee nor delight in thy joy and splendour, O precious Paradise…. ~ Canticle 4, Sunday of Forgiveness

…O Paradise, share in the sorrow of thy master who is brought to poverty, and with the sound of thy leaves pray to the Creator that He may not keep thy gate closed for ever. I am fallen, in Thy compassion have mercy on me… ~ Ikos, Canticle 6 – Sunday of Forgiveness

God Forgives and Blessings Abound!

Today is the day before Great Lent begins, and we celebrate with making Blini Crepes or Pancakes to use up the last of any dairy. If you’re already a plant-based person, these Vegan Blini are simply delicious, and easy to make!

Congratulations on your Saint’s Day Zoe! (Feb. 26/13) God grant you many years!

Beautiful Garden of Scripture

European Robin Image by Frauke Riether from Pixabay

All who ask receive, those who seek find, and to 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

After the ancient feasts of Theophany and the upcoming Meeting of the Lord in the Temple (Candlemas), we notice the days growing longer. Although we know spring is just around the corner, sometimes February tosses us a few surprises. One moment we’re relaxed and relieved to see crocus and snow drop flowers blooming in glorious patches of dappled sunshine, and the next moment – heavy gray overcast skies compete with our weariness of winter and the happiness of blossoming silver catkins. While there’s almost always one last and brief farewell blast of snow or a crisp, cold snap, February has the last laugh! Robins return from their wintery travels to herald hope of the coming spring. Hearing their birdsong comforts and captures my heart anew… making me smile with joy! Thank you dear Lord for creating the saucy robins!

Then Will Come the 2nd Feast!

Detail of Parish Mosaic Icon – St. Bail the Great

…that will be St. Basil’s Feast; rejoice!

One of my favourite quotes from St. Basil the Great ~ A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.

May we all plant a Perennial Crop of Kindness and Share the Harvest from the Garden of God’s Love!

Happy St. Basil’s Day – January 14/1

Greetings on the Feast – with St. Basil the Great Quotes

St. Basil’s Day Cake Recipe

Sharing our parish choir’s (a cappella) 2014 recording of the Christmastide Carol – We Wish You Good Evening. We sing of the coming 3 feasts! Holy Nativity, St. Basil the Great’s Day, and Holy Theophany.

O rejoice all the world, the Son of God is born!