Image by cocoparisienne at Pixabay
Faith is the doorway to the mysteries. What the eyes of the body are for physical objects, faith is for the hidden eyes of the soul. Just as we have two bodily eyes, so we have two spiritual eyes, and each has its own way of seeing. With one we see the glory of God hidden in creatures: with the other we contemplate the glory of God’s holy nature when he deigns to give us access to the mysteries. ~ St. Isaac of Syria
Thriving in Son Shine!
A drop of prayer is worth more than a sea of worrying. ~ St. Nikolai Velimirovic
There is no need at all to make long discourses, it is enough to stretch out one’s hands and say, “Lord, as You will, and as You know, have mercy.” And if the conflict grows fiercer say, “Lord, help!” He knows very well what we need and He shows us His mercy. ~ Abba Macarius
Since God is continuously present, why do you worry? For in Him we live and move. We are carried in His arms. We breathe God; we are vested with God; we touch God; we consume God in the Mystery. Wherever you turn, wherever you look, God is everywhere: in the heavens, on the earth, in the abysses, in the trees, within the rocks, in your nous [eye of the soul], in your heart. ~ St. Joseph the Hesychast
Lord, I do not know what to ask of You. You know better than me what my needs are. You love more than I know how to love. Help me to see clearly my real needs which I do not see. I open my heart to You. Examine and reveal to me my faults and sins. I put all trust in You. I have no other desire than to fulfill Your will. Teach me how to pray. Pray in me. Amen. ~ Prayers For All Occasions
The Cranesbill Geranium (we put ours in large patio pots) is a bushy summer perennial with small flowers that attract bees and butterflies. Even curious hummingbirds zoom in for visits! To inspire repeat blooming well into early fall, we prune them back when the initial blossoming period is over… and they provide a long lasting array of peaceful purple.
This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. ~ Psalm 118:23
From the creation, learn to admire the Lord! Indeed the magnitude and beauty of creation display a God who is artificer of the universe. He has made the mode of creation to be our best teacher. ~ St. John Chrysostom
It’s amazing. You’re out on a walk or tending the garden, and suddenly a simple flower rivets your gaze! The Echoes of Eden make everything new again. We see that nature is perfect, because God’s Love is perfect. God’s Gift of Nature nourishes us physically and spiritually. We feel the light and warmth of the sun on our face and skin. Summer breezes revive muddled thoughts. Spiritual Fragrance abounds. Through a single flower we remember all is God’s Handiwork, and that Creation’s Planter also lovingly made us. Nature is a Secret Gospel. It refreshes and renews our spirit. How fitting that our first job was to tend and dress the Garden of Eden! Glory to Thee O Lord!
The blazing light of dawn reflects a living, luminescent beauty in nature… radiating the Gladsome Light of God’s Holy Glory!
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 all “fullness of blessing,” both in this world and in the world to come, of all the 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
Memory Eternal Nikita!
Image by falco from Pixabay
Glory, Light and Beauty are ineffably linked appellations – of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Greetings on this Glorious, Bright, and Beautiful Feast of The Transfiguration of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
May your day be filled with His Shining, Gladsome Light!
Memory Eternal dear godmother Eve. Good Paradise!
A Harris Hawk, seeking her food from God.
Greetings on the Feast of the Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon! To this very day, and through his holy prayers and healings, he’s been very helpful with family and friends!
When God, who is absolute fullness, brought creatures into existence, it was not done to fulfill any need but so that his creatures should be happy to share his likeness, and so that he himself might rejoice in the joy of his creatures as they draw inexhaustibly upon the Inexhaustible. ~ St. Maximus the Confessor
He will cover you under his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge. ~ Psalm 91:4
Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? … St. Matthew 6: 25-34
My rejoicing heart has taken flight!
One of my most favourite birds in the world – a falcon, flew to – and landed on my gloved arm (several times)!
My wonder-cup brims and runneth over with spiritual delight and gratitude to God – for allowing me the honour and privilege of interacting with these wild and majestic creatures… A day I’ll always treasure and remember.
Thank you God, for your Gift of Nature!
Church Icons of The Most Holy Theotokos – Image by Iulia Radu from Pixabay
Greetings on this wonderful Feast! What a glorious day! Our priest brought a small relic of St. Anna (from Mt. Athos) this morning for the parish to venerate after Divine Liturgy. Blessed joy!
Greetings on the Dormition of St. Anna the mother of the Theotokos. (Julian Calendar July 25/Aug. 7)
St. Anna (Ann or Anne, from Hebrew Hannah – means favour or grace) is descended from the lineage of King David, and the mother of the Virgin Mary, and grandmother of Jesus Christ.
O Godly-minded Anna, thou didst give birth unto God’s pure Mother who conceived Him Who is our Life. Wherefore, thou hast now passed with joy to thy heavenly rest, wherein is the abode of them that rejoice in glory; and thou askest forgiveness of sins for them that honour thee with love, O ever-blessed one. ~ Troparia
Sunset on the Strait of Juan de Fuca
If but ten among us lead a holy life, we shall kindle a fire which shall light up the entire city. ~ St. John Chrysostom
We must become enlightened bearers of the light within us, the Light of God, the very spark… of God’s divinity. ~ St. Gregory of Nyssa
Photo Art by Juliana
There is an ineffable instant in the Liturgy’s Eucharistic Anaphora where heaven and earth converge in Divine Sanctification- unfettered by time or space.
This is a Great Mystery.
Image by Manfred Richter from Pixabay
One should not seek among others the truth that can be easily gotten from the Church. For in her, as in a rich treasury, the apostles have placed all that pertains to truth, so that everyone can drink this beverage of life. She is the door of life. ~ St. Irenaeus of Lyon
For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. ~ Psalm 100:5
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. ~ St. John 1:14
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. ~ St. John 4:24
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. ~ St. John 8:32
For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth…~ Ephesians 5:9
My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. ~ 1 John 3:18
