Numinous Harmony

Foamy Lace – A Beach Microcosm – the Small within the Great!


The Holy Spirit binds together the separated spirits of each one of us. ~ St. Cyril of Alexandria

In her voyage across the ocean of this world, the Church is like a great ship being pounded by the waves of life’s different stresses. Our duty is not to abandon ship but to keep her on her course. ~ St. Boniface

…put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ~ Colossians 3:14

Sometimes the stars sing me to sleep with their silentness. ~ Shared by Ellie

Where ocean meets shore,
foamy constellations ebb –
eclipsing star shells.

Briny bubbles burst
like salty supernovae
in the waxing tide.

To Merge, to Become –
Triadic Axials of
Harmonic Oneness.

Like Fragrant Incense

Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay

An Upstairs Cliros Where Choir Sings Behind Congregation

Music is unique among the liturgical arts in that it’s something we have to do every time we come to church. Iconography, architecture, church furnishings, liturgical books, all these are things an artist can produce once and be done with. But music is never finished. As soon as you sing a note it vanishes forever. As soon as the service is over, whatever beauty you achieved during it has to be produced all over again in the next service. ~Benedict Sheehan

Beautiful church singing comes through prayer, attention to the hymns’ text, and by actively watching the director. Liturgical singing is both a physical and spiritual effort… It’s our living Prayer Before the Ambo.

St. Augustine says, When you sing, you pray twice.

For millennium, while Christian Choristers have basked in the spiritual blessings of psalmody, science has more recently determined the physical health benefits of singing. It’s been documented that choral singing synchronizes the choir’s heart rates – especially during slow chants.

In choral church singing, single voices should never stand out. Individuality ceases when we humbly work on hearing each another. Listening carefully is the only way a choir can blend properly to create true harmony. This could be said in regards to many other things in life.

When one has spare time, it’s wonderful to also sing at home… with or without accompaniment. It literally keeps one out of mischief for awhile (yes!), and uplifts our spirits.

Singing spiritual songs from the heart at any time is a musical metamorphosis. Hymns of consolation, joy and thanksgiving help us grow closer to God… and He blesses all who engage in the beauty of His Church!

We ought to offer up doxologies to God with a humble heart, in order that they may be welcome, like fragrant incense. ~ St. John Chrysostom

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ~ Colossians 3:16 

Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! ~ Psalm 47:6 

Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! ~ Psalm 96:1

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! ~ Psalm 98:4 

Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!  ~ Psalm 100:2

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. ~ Psalm 104:33

Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!  ~ Psalm 105:2

Bright Greenery

Our Potted Patio Garden Flowers, Herbs, and Veggies Blossom Forth!

As the earth, long awaiting moistening and at last receiving it in abundance, suddenly is covered by tender and bright greenery, so also the heart, exhausted by dryness, and afterwards revived by tears, emits from itself a multitude of spiritual thoughts and feelings, adorned by the common flower of humility.~ St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

If our thoughts are kind, peaceful, and quiet, turned only to the good, then we also influence ourselves and radiate peace all around us – in our family, the whole country, everywhere. This is true not only here on earth, but in the cosmos as well. When we labour in the fields of the Lord, we create harmony. Divine harmony, peace, and quiet spread everywhere.~ Elder Thaddeus of Vitnovica

Blessings of Harmonious Union

Parish icons lit during an Evening Vigil.

Christ is Risen!

Greetings on Thomas Sunday!

Nothing elevates the soul, nothing gives it wings as a liturgical hymn does. A holy hymn gives birth to piety of soul, creates a good conscience, and is accepted by God in the treasuries of the heavens. ~ St. John Chrysostom

Bis orat qui cantat. (Means) He who chants prays twice. ~ Ancient Proverb

Psalmody – bringing about choral singing, a bond, as it were, toward unity, and joining people into a harmonious union of one choir – produces also the greatest of blessings: love. ~ St. Basil the Great

When you worship God with hymns, you should be worshipping Him with your entire being: your voice should sing; your heart should also sing; and your life should also sing. Everything should sing! ~ Blessed Augustine

Music is unique among the liturgical arts in that it’s something we have to do every time we come to church. Iconography, architecture, church furnishings, liturgical books, all these are things an artist can produce once and be done with. But music is never finished. As soon as you sing a note it vanishes forever. As soon as the service is over, whatever beauty you achieved during it has to be produced all over again in the next service.  ~ Rowan Benedict Sheehan

Truly He is Risen!

Eleos

Image by congerdesign Pixabay

Greetings on Clean Friday!

The word alms in Old English was aelmysse. In Latin – eleemosyna.

Alms in Greek is eleemosune – meaning compassion; while eleemon and eleos, also used for alms – imply mercy.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. ~ Matthew 5:7

A poor man when he reaches out to you does not beg, but offers you the Kingdom of God. ~ St. Arsenie Papacioc

He who gives alms in imitation of God does not discriminate between the wicked and the virtuous, the just and the unjust, when providing for men’s bodily needs. ~ St. Maximos the Confessor

Sins are purged by alms and acts of faith. ~ St. Clement of Alexandria

May your Lenten Journey be peaceful and fruitful.

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

Elaia

Ancient Olive Tree. Image by Valter Cirillo from Pixabay. 

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. ~ Psalm 52:8

Elaia in Greek means Olive.

The Greek word mercy is éleos and derived from olive, as the olive branch is the symbol for peace, harmony and healing.

Kyrie Eleison (in Greek), means Lord Have Mercy… a Biblical phrase and prayer to God, which briefly, yet completely, encompasses everything we ever need.

Every Flower Breathes

My daughter’s wedding bouquet, arranged with some of our garden flowers.

Christ is Risen!

By the power of the Holy Spirit every flower breathes. Thy breath I feel in the quiet movement of the fragrant fields. Observing the harmony of colours I admire Thee. Wherever I look, I see all around me the beauty of the Great One in the little. Glory and thanks to the life-creating God Who covers the earth with flowery meadows, crowns the fields with golden ears of grain and embellishes them with blue cornflowers, and my soul with the joy of contemplation. Be glad and sing to Him: Alleluia! ~ Kontakion 3; The Akathist of Thanksgiving by Met. Tryphon of Turkestan

As the field is adorned by a multitude of flowers, so should the field of my own soul be adorned by all the flowers of virtue; as the trees bring forth flowers and afterwards fruit, so must my soul bring forth the fruits of faith and good works. ~ St. John of Kronstadt

Truly, He is Risen!

Put on Love

Christ is Risen!

The Greek word for charity (love) is agape, and caritas in Latin. Charity is not just giving alms (impersonally) to the needy. Charitable love is possible only by uniting our own love of God with others, as Christ commanded. 

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. ~St. John 13:34

If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. ~ St. John 15:10-12

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. ~ 1 Corinthians 13:13

With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ~ Ephesians 4:2-3

And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ~ Colossians 3:14

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ~1 John 4:7-8

As the memory of fire does not warm the body, so faith without love does not bring about the illumination of knowledge in the soul.  ~ St. Maximus the Confessor

Love of God loves always to give wings to the mind to speak of God and Divine things; and love of neighbour disposes it always to think well of him.  ~ St. Maximus the Confessor

Love is a bomb the destroys all evil. ~ Gerontissa Gavrielia

If the face of a loved one clearly and completely changes us, and makes us cheerful, gay and carefree, what will the Face of the Lord do when He makes His Presence felt invisibly in a pure soul?  ~ St. John Climacus

God is love. So he who wishes to define this tries with bleary eyes to measure the sand in the ocean.  ~ St. John Climacus

Patience, forgiveness and joy are the three greatest characteristics of divine love. They are characteristics of all real love – if there is such a thing as real love outside divine love. Without these three characteristics, love is not love. If you give the name ‘love’ to anything else, it is as though you were giving the name ‘sheep’ to a goat or a pig.  ~ St. Nikolai Velimirovic

Truly, He is Risen!

Mindful Harmony

Meteora, Greece – 2006

Christ is Risen!

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brethren dwell in unity! ~ Psalm 133:1

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. ~ Romans 12:4-5

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honour. ~ Romans 12:10

Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. ~ Romans 12:16

So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. ~ Romans 14:19

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. ~ 1 Peter 3:8

Truly He is Risen!

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