God’s Love – Page 9

Sparks Among the Stubble

But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure is taken for misery, And their going from us to be utter destruction: but they are in peace. For though they be punished in the sight of men, yet is their hope full of immortality. And having been a little chastised, they shall be greatly rewarded: for God proved them, and found them worthy for himself. As gold in the furnace hath he tried them, and received them as a burnt offering. And in the time of their visitation they shall shine, and run to and fro like sparks among the stubble. They shall judge the nations, and have dominion over the people, and their Lord shall reign for ever. They that put their trust in him shall understand the truth: and such as be faithful in love shall abide with him: for grace and mercy is to his saints, and he hath care for his elect. ~Wisdom 3:1-9

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~Romans 8:38-39

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. ~Revelation 21:4

With heartfelt prayers to those suffering loss. May God comfort and ease your pain through His Great Love and Mercy.

To the Moon & Back

Photo shared by Irena

Late tonight, and into the early morning hours of tomorrow (Friday, November 19), will be the longest partial lunar eclipse in almost 600 years! Wow!

Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light. ~ Psalm 148:3

-and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. ~ St. Matthew 28:20

In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. ~ Psalm 72:7

What Wondrous Love in His Promise!

Light of the World

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. ~ St. John 8:12

The Cause of all things, through the beauty, goodness and profusion of His intense love for everything, goes out of Himself in His providential care for the whole of creation… He relinquishes His utter transcendence in order to dwell in all things while yet remaining within Himself… ~St. Maximos the Confessor (The Philokalia)

Jesus Christ, in His infinite love has become what we are, in order that He may make us entirely what He is. ~ St. Irenaeus of Lyons

One and the same grace is from the Father in the Son, as the light of the sun and of the radiance is one, and as the sun’s illumination is effected through the radiance… ~ St. Athanasius (The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers)

…Light of Light, True God of True God, Begotten not made. Of one Essence of the Father by Whom all things were made… Excerpt from the Nicene Creed

Efforts Yield Reward

We must not despair when we struggle and continuously see nothing but the slightest progress. We all do nearly nothing – some a little more, some a little less. When Christ sees our little effort, He gives us an analogous (corresponding) token; and so our “nearly nothing” becomes valuable, and we can see a little progress. For this reason we must not despair, but hope in God. ~ St . Paisios of Mt. Athos

God does not interfere in our lives, but waits for us to ask Him to help us, for He respects our freedom. ~ St. Paisios of Mt. Athos

A gardener cuts off branches so that the tree would grow faster and bear more fruit. If he cuts off too many branches, the tree will dry up. Be assured that God watches every man more carefully and mercifully than any gardener. ~ St. Nikolai Velimirovic

Finding the Beauty

Parish Mosaic Before Completion

We are but the small shards of Creation’s Grand and Beautiful Mosaic!

Christ manifested Himself to the world; He filled it with light and joy; He sanctified the waters and diffused His light in the souls of men. ~ St. Proclus

Unless we look at a person and see the beauty there is in this person, we can contribute nothing to him. One does not help a person by discerning what is wrong, what is ugly, what is distorted. Christ looked at everyone he met, at the prostitute, at the thief, and saw the beauty hidden there. Perhaps it was distorted, perhaps damaged, but it was beauty nonetheless, and what he did was to call out this beauty. ~ Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh

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

The Great Mystery of Him

Wild Backyard Poppy

…Whenever you discern something… 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

In love did He bring the world into existence; in love does He guide it during this its temporal existence; in love is He going to bring it to that wondrous transformed state, and in love will the world be swallowed up in the great mystery of Him who has performed all these things; in love will the whole course of the governance of creation be finally comprised. And since in the New World the Creator’s love rules over all rational nature, the wonder at His mysteries that will be revealed then will captivate to itself the intellect of all rational beings whom He has created so that they might have delight in Him, whether they be evil or whether they be just. ~ St. Isaac of Syria

The soul leaves all surface appearances, not only those that can be grasped by the senses but also those which the mind itself seems to see, and it keeps going deeper until by the operation of the spirit it penetrates the invisible and incomprehensible, and it is there that it sees God. The true vision and the true knowledge of what we seek consists precisely in not seeing, in an awareness that our goal transcends all knowledge… ~ St. Gregory of Nyssa

He is the Rock

Detail of Pebble Mosaic Church Walkway

He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. ~ Deuteronomy 32:4

Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. ~ Psalm 55:22

Wordless Thanksgivings

Mosaic Window Frames Sunflower & Marigold Bouquet

The apostle (Paul) notes four types of prayer. ‘My advice is that first of all supplication should be offered up for everyone, prayers, pleas, and thanksgiving’ (1 Timothy 2:1). …A supplication is a plea or petition made on account of present and past sin by someone who is moved by contrition to seek pardon. In prayers we offer or promise something to God. The Greek term means ‘vow’… Third comes pleas. We usually make them for others when we ourselves are deeply moved in spirit. We offer them for those dear to us or when we beg for peace in the world… Fourth are thanksgivings. Unspeakably moved by the memory of God’s past kindnesses, by the vision of what He now grants or by all that He holds out as a future reward to those who love Him, the mind gives thanks. In this perspective richer prayers are often uttered. Looking with purest gaze at the rewards promised to the saints, our spirit is moved by measureless joy to pour out wordless thanksgiving to God. ~ St. John Cassian

Look Unto Me…

Like finding buried treasure, this beautiful antique picture (from nearly 125 years ago), was found in the basement of our church during renovations.

Look Unto Me and Be Ye Saved. ~ Isaiah 45:22

Food for Thought

Quotes from 4th century St. Augustine of Hippo

Faith is to believe what you do not yet see; the reward for this faith is to see what you believe.

God is always trying to give good things to us, but our hands are too full to receive them.

The mind commands the body and is instantly obeyed. The mind commands itself and meets resistance.

God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination.

And men go abroad to admire the heights of mountains, the mighty waves of the sea, the broad tides of rivers, the compass of the ocean, and the circuits of the stars, yet pass over the mystery of themselves without a thought.

If you believe what you like in the Gospel, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself.

There is no saint without a past, no sinner without a future.

Right is right even if no one is doing it; wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it

To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him the greatest adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement.

Open to Me the Doors of Repentance Orthodox Hymn

Pearls of Wisdom

…unless you have suffered affliction – virtue has not been tested. ~ St. Mark the Ascetic

Virtue is nothing without the trial of temptation, for there is no conflict without an enemy, no victory without strife. ~ St. Leo the Great

…For the Holy Spirit, sweet and gracious, draws the soul to love the Lord, and in the sweetness of the Holy Spirit the soul loses her fear of suffering. ~ St. Silouan the Athonite

For one to be ill is a divine visitation. Illness is the greatest gift from God, and when the only thing that man can give back to God is pain. ~ Anonymous old monk

It is absurd to be grateful to doctors who give us bitter and unpleasant medicines to cure our bodies, and yet be ungrateful to God for what appears to us to be harsh, not grasping that all we encounter is for our benefit and in accordance with His providence. For knowledge of God and faith in Him is the salvation and perfection of the soul. ~ St. Anthony the Great

I have consciousness of my sinfulness, but I live with hope. It is bad to despair, because someone who despairs becomes embittered and loses willingness and strength. Someone who has hope, on the contrary, advances forward. ~ St. Porphyrios

Prayer should be our first response, not the last hope. ~ Archpriest Andrei Tkachev

We are like broken glass that reflects in small fragments until the power if God makes us whole again. ~ Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica

Glory be to God for everything! Dry your tears. Your Guardian Angel will carry those little tears away to the Throne of God. ~ St. Barsanuphius