Scene from recent walk – ship sailing through diamonds.
When the night is dark
the stars shine brighter
here and ev’rywhere
The dawning Dayspring
connects all His Creation
through the Created
Flora, fauna, earth,
air, water – in us, in them –
a sacred kinship
What a beautiful day the Lord has provided!
May His glorious, Gladsome Light beam on you…
And through you…
Reflecting all the way…
To the other side of this amazing world!
With love in Christ.
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!
Dayspring on Kauai – 2023
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. ~ Numbers 6:24-26
This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. ~ Psalm 118:24
May your day be filled with prayer, peace, and love.
Image by Jessica Joh from Pixabay
We are mirrors whose brightness is wholly derived from the sun that shines upon us. ~ C. S. Lewis
Thoughts. Actions. Affect.
Are we givers – or takers
of all Light’s spectrum?
Let us make haste to
be robed in Healing Sonshine
Everywhere present –
Impetus for growth –
Opening our heart’s eyes to
Reflect His Bright Gift!
Only by absorbing His Light can we reflect His Light. Everything we do matters. Every moment, every decision we make affects ourselves, our families, friends, our coworkers in countless… and often imperceptive ways. We are responsible for flavouring each situation. If we can find joy in the smallest of things, we can choose to be joyful, and be as light, reflecting the Light, even in the midst of turmoil.
May we all choose to be swathed today within our Lord’s warm, redeeming Sonshine! May we joyfully reflect His Refulgent Light! Amen!
Happy Saint’s Day Juliana! May God grant you many years! Saint’s Day Cake baked by Anysia.
Summer Solstice Strolling through Lavender Fields… a testament of nature praising God! ~ Image by Melania
O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth… O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness… and let the earth be glad… Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice. ~ Psalm 96:1, 9, 11, 12
Make peace with yourself, and both heaven and earth will make peace with you. ~ St. Isaac the Syrian
Sometimes… just standing in a garden is enough.
With joy and love in Christ.
Image by Anja from Pixabay
Christ is Risen!
For virtue is a light and buoyant thing, and all who live in her way, “fly like clouds” as Isaiah says, “and as doves with their young ones” – but sin is a heavy affair, as another of the prophets says, “sitting upon a talent of lead.” ~ St. Gregory of Nyssa
Thoughts which originate from God bring internal peace and joy to the person. On the contrary, the thoughts which originate from the devil are filled with agitation, disturbance and grief. ~ Abba Barsanouphios
Thoughts are like airplanes flying in the air. If you ignore them, there is no problem. If you pay attention to them, you create an airport inside your head and permit them to land! ~ St. Paisios of Mt. Athos
Turn your face toward light, O child of light. The Father of Light calls you with a fiery Love. ~ St. Nikolai Velimirovic
The Gladsome Light of Christ surrounds us – no matter what the weather! Let’s keep looking up! There’s Sonshine above those clouds!
Truly He is Risen!
Christ is Risen!
Today is Radonitsa, or Day of Rejoicing!
Peaceful sunset in the ancient city of Mtskheta, Georgia. ~ Shared by friends of the parish: Garret and Anastasia.
The Orthodox Church of Georgia traces its ancient origins in tradition to the missionary efforts of the Holy Apostle Andrew in the first century.
A Shining Hymn of Pascha-tide!
Shine O New Jerusalem
The Angel cried unto the Lady full of grace:
Rejoice, O Pure Virgin!
Again I say: Rejoice!
Thy Son is risen from His three days in the tomb.
With Himself He hath raised all the dead.
Rejoice, all ye people!
Shine, shine, O New Jerusalem,
The glory of the Lord has shone on you.
Exult now and be glad, O Zion,
Be radiant, O Pure Theotokos,
In the Resurrection of thy Son!
~ Ninth Ode, Paschal Canon
… What shines through us
Comes from inside out…
Our light we must find
To better know ourselves… ~ Garret L.
Hell is a fall, not a place.
Heaven is flight, not a cloud!
May our souls soar up to Heaven
with the grace of love
and rest comfortably there. ~ Garret L.
Truly He is Risen!
Christ’s Descent into Hades Icon
This icon is frequently referred to as the Anastasis or Resurrection Icon. It is an icon of Pascha (Easter).
The golden bars by Christ’s feet are the gates of Hades, which He has broken and torn apart. At Pascha, a tradition includes the cracking of our blessed Pascha eggs together. This represents how Christ shattered the gates of Hades.
There are keys floating in the abyss below, which symbolizes that he has entered and conquered both death and Hades. Some icons have a skeletal figure who is chained up: that’s Death. He has been bound and killed by Christ. All throughout Pascha-tide until the Ascension, we greet each other with, “Christ is Risen, Truly He is Risen!”
The two figures whom Christ has grasped and is pulling out of Hades are Adam and Eve, symbolizing that His Victory redeems all mankind, even back to the beginning.
This Resurrection scene is taking place in the past, present, and future.
To His left, we see three Old Testament saints: Kings David and Solomon, two of His ancestors according to his fleshly nature. We also see, closest to him St. John the Baptist, who was his Forerunner in both life and death. On the right, we have the New Testament, including the apostles who are alive. The purpose is to show that Christ’s redemption transcends time and space. This is an act that happened in the past, is happening right now, and will happen in the future. Christ is always in the state of redeeming and setting us free.
The blue shape around Christ is called the Mandorla (which is Italian for almond, which describes its shape). The Mandorla is the Uncreated, Eternal Light of Christ. In the writings of the Eastern Orthodox mystics, God is often prayerfully experienced as Light. This is not simply a beautiful bright light. It is the same Light which filled the apostles with wonder when they witnessed His Transfiguration. It is the Light which Christ Himself described as the power of the Kingdom of God (Mark 9:1, Matt. 16:28, Luke 9:27). It is also the Light that is seen when one purifies their heart and mind (Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God).
Those who seek God will find that the more they know Him, the less they comprehend Him.
To know God, to experience Him, is to walk from the darkness of sin, into His Light, to enter into the mystery of His Presence. ~ The Ark Youth Quarterly – St. Sophia Orthodox Church
May you have a glorious, and joyous, Bright Week!
Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay
Truly He is Risen!
Snowdrop flowers, also known as Candlemas Bells, rang in yesterday’s bright feast, decoratively sitting upon the Icon of the Meeting of the Lord in the Temple.
As the memory of fire does not warm the body, so faith without love does not bring about the illumination in the soul. ~ St. Maximus the Confessor
Christ is our Redemption.
Christ is our True Light.
Standing before God in prayer, we are as newly lit spiritual candles. May our hearts and souls flame radiantly, as we inhale the life-giving breath of the Holy Spirit, and may we shine and reflect Christ’s Gladsome Light!
Droplets of Holy Water can be seen on these blessed beeswax candles at the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord in the Temple; Candlemas.
Recent Sunset Stroll Scene
Christ is the True Light
Who Illumines the whole world,
He is Glorious!
The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy. ~ Psalm 65:8
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. ~ Psalm 28:7
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. ~ Psalm 19:1
Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! ~ Psalm 96:9
From the rising of the sun to its going down, the name of the Lord is to be praised. ~ Psalm 113:3
…Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength! ~ Nehemiah 8:10
…let not the sun go down upon your wrath…~ Ephesians 4:26
What a wonderful day the Lord has provided! Let our eyes and hearts rejoice in His Gifts of Nature and for His Beauteous, Gladsome Light that shines upon us all!
