Your job is to work upon yourself: for this you are chosen; the rest is in the Hands of God. ~ St. Theophan the Recluse
Very many wish to be vouchsafed the Kingdom without labours, without struggles, without sweat; but this is impossible. ~ St. Macarius of Egypt
Beauty is found in the physical and numinous splendour surrounding us… and God rewards the florescence of efforts with refreshing Spiritual Dew!
An October Dawn
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. ~ Psalm 23:6
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
Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. ~ Psalm 85:10
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. ~ St. Matthew 5:7
Repentance is the gate of mercy which is opened to those who seek it. ~ St. Isaac the Syrian
Lord, as You will, and as You know, have mercy! ~ Abba Macarius
In my life, two questions have especially occupied my attention. First, the exploration of the ways of God’s mercy which I found first in nature. Then I began to observe human life, and even where free will was leaning towards evil, I always found God’s mercy. Then I decided to turn to that which is most sinful, most evil, and I turned to my inward life. It seemed that here there was no place for God’s mercy, because there was nothing good in it; but even here I discovered God’s mercy, and I remembered the words of the Psalmist: ‘Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there.’ Then I finally became convinced that the mercy of God towards man is limitless and boundless. ~ Archbishop Iosaph Skorodumov
The Dawning Dayspring connects all Creation through the Created! The Dayspring… the Orient from on High, refers to our merciful Lord God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
May we all make Good Choices today… and be swathed in the Tender Mercy of His Redeeming, Healing, Peaceful, Love.
Parish Youth Choir Sing ~ 2023
🎵 Lord Have Mercy 🎵
Let us bless the Lord day and night for His Gifts to us. ~ St. Gavrilia
When we open our Daily Gifts from the Lord, we might sometimes find a mysterious surprise!
And, while we may not quite know why we’ve received a particular present, we still keep it close… a mear heart’s breath away… knowing it will be useful.
What can we give Him for all the daily Blessings He’s lovingly bestowed on us?
At the dawn of each fresh and brand new day… what are the two greatest gifts we can give back to God?
Our gratitude.
Our self.
Moloa’a Bay Sunrise on Kauai – July 2023
God travels our road,
and no matter where we go…
our angel’s there too!
I’m out of practice with international travelling. It’s been a few years!
Thankfully, we received a trip blessing before departure on our recent and amazing family vacation – which began with a huge hiccup at a connecting airport… with hundreds waiting in line to go through customs, (many apparently) for a Taylor Swift concert.
I accepted the possible inevitability it was God’s Will we might miss our next flight. There was nothing to do but patiently go through the long process. In the near 2 hour line up, I found myself quietly humming Lord Have Mercy a prayer of the heart I’d taught the Youth Choir – who sang it (as recorded below) at concert, during Palm Sunday Liturgy this year.
Lord Have Mercy Hymn – Youth Choir 2023
This serene piece (possibly hummed several hundred times while waiting in line) calmed me, and it seemed I could almost hear the Youth Choir’s precious voices singing along, as if in accompaniment!
In a nutshell… once passed security, we made a desperate, sweaty 10 minute dash (dragging our carry-on), and actually boarded the plane shutting its doors! Whew! Six hours later we arrived safely in beautiful Kauai, Hawaii.
Mahalo ke Akua (thanks be to God)!
Be that as it may, it was still surprising and disconcerting to remember (I’d conveniently forgotten) that no matter where we go, we always manage to pack along our imperfect inner selves. Ack! There’s no escaping this, even on holiday in paradise!
Familiar foibles sneakily surfaced, and (unless constantly playing in the ocean) the high humidity magnified an existing (hard to believe I’m sure, ha-ha!) grump factor.
With my comfort zone challenged, I happily rediscovered that conscious repetition of Thank you God inspires true appreciation of His Creation.
Sincere gratitude helped me explore and happily embrace more unexpected adventures as they came during our vacation.
All in all, it was a joy to share new and meaningful experiences with loved ones. And, with apologies to my long-suffering Guardian Angel… I learned to embrace higher humidity!
It’s good to go – and good to come home… and very good to gird up one’s loins to resume the Me Battle again!
Mahalo for visiting Blisswood! I hope this finds you well.
With much Aloha in Christ! ❤️
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!
Cave Church by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay
Congratulations on your Saint’s Day Anastasia!
Words are instruments of this world, but silence is the mystery of the age to come. ~ St. Isaac of Syria
Silence is the cross on which we must crucify our ego. ~ St. Seraphim of Sarov
Our most vulnerable spot is found in many words and discussions. What we say remains to eternity. Be still and know… There is no greater school than this kind of stillness of the mind. The language of God is silence. ~ Gerontissa Gavrielia
Image by Pexels from Pixabay
Most men are like shavings of wood curled around their central emptiness. ~ St. Theophan the Recluse
Image by Παναγιώτης from Pixabay
When we are coming to church what are we looking for? Fish in the desert? No, we are looking for that hidden “inward meditation” of the heart which unites us to Christ… The same thing happens in the church where you are mystically and sacramentally united with Christ. In and through your inner meditation on these things they will become a reality… In order to find Him strive to enter into that hidden, inner meditation and you’ll see that He’ll come of His own accord. You’ll see the heavy stone roll away from your heart and He Himself will rise! ~ Elder Aimilianos (The Way of the Spirit)
Scripture Art by Juliana
When you reap your harvest in your field, and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands ~ Deuteronomy 24:19
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. ~ St. John 12:24
Image by John from Pixabay
Monastery in Meteora, Greece
When you go forth, guard what you have gathered. When the cage is opened, the birds fly out. And then we shall find no further profit in stillness. ~ St. John Climacus (The Ladder of Divine Ascent)
Love of God proceeds from conversing with him; this conversation of prayer comes about through stillness, and stillness comes with the stripping away of the self. ~ St. Isaac the Syrian (The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life)
True wisdom is gazing at God. Gazing at God is silence of the thoughts. Stillness of mind is tranquillity which comes from discernment. ~ St. Isaac the Syrian (Homily 64)
