Cherry Blossom, Three-Leaf Clover, Raindrops
My God!
Your name is Love: do not abandon me, the erring.
Your name is Strength: strengthen me, the stumbling and falling.
Your name is Light: enlighten my soul, darkened by worldly passions.
Your name is Peace: console my restless soul. ~ St. John of Kronstadt
May your Lenten Journey be peaceful and fruitful.
May the kindling of Divine Grace blaze brightly in all our hearts!
The grace of the Holy Spirit which is given mystically to every Christian when he is baptised acts and is manifested in proportion to our obedience to the commandments of the Lord. That is, if a Christian obeys the commandments of the Lord more, grace acts with him more, while if he obeys them less, grace acts within him less. Just as a spark, when covered in the ashes of fire becomes increasingly manifest as one removes the ashes, and the more fire wood you put the more the fire burns, so the grace that has been given to every Christian through Holy Baptism is hidden in the heart and covered up by the passions and sins, and the more a man acts in accordance with the commandments of Christ, the more he is cleansed of the passions and the more the fire of Divine grace lights in his heart, illumines and deifies him. ~ St. Nikodemos of the Holy Mountain
Yesterday’s Dawn by Juliana T.
The Dayspring, the Dawn, the Sun of Righteousness, the Orient from on High, refers to our Lord God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
God Himself is called the Sun, (Psalm 84:11). As the Source of Light, and Light itself, God gives this same title to His only-begotten Son, who appears on earth as the Dawn of a new day… the Day of the Lord which enlightens those who sit in darkness and in the land of the shadow of death (Isaiah 9:2).
It is not without reason or by chance that we worship towards the East. But seeing that we are composed of a visible and an invisible nature, that is to say, of a nature partly of spirit and partly of sense, we render also a twofold worship to the Creator; just as we sing both with our spirit and our bodily lips, and are baptized with both water and Spirit, and are united with the Lord in a twofold manner, being sharers in the Mysteries and in the grace of the Spirit. Since, therefore, God is spiritual light, and Christ is called in the Scriptures Sun of Righteousness and Dayspring, the East is the direction that must be assigned to His worship. For everything good must be assigned to Him from Whom every good thing arises. Indeed the divine David also says, Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth: O sing praises unto the Lord: to Him that rideth upon the Heavens of heavens towards the East. Moreover the Scripture also says, And God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed: and when he had transgressed His command He expelled him and made him to dwell over against the delights of Paradise, which clearly is the West. So, then, we worship God seeking and striving after our old fatherland. Moreover the tent of Moses had its veil and mercy seat towards the East. Also the tribe of Judah as the most precious pitched their camp on the East. Also in the celebrated temple of Solomon, the Gate of the Lord was placed eastward. Moreover Christ, when He hung on the Cross, had His face turned towards the West, and so we worship, striving after Him. And when He was received again into Heaven He was borne towards the East, and thus His apostles worship Him, and thus He will come again in the way in which they beheld Him going towards Heaven; as the Lord Himself said, As the lightning cometh out of the East and shineth even unto the West, so also shall the coming of the Son of Man be. So, then, in expectation of His coming we worship towards the East. But this tradition of the apostles is unwritten. For much that has been handed down to us by tradition is unwritten. ~ St. John of Damascus
Christ, the Sun of righteousness (Malachi 4:2), is without beginning and pre-eternal. He is both immutable and unchangeable, as with Him there is no variableness, nor shadow of turning (James 1:17). He is without end, never-setting, beaming out the true and heavenly light of day without evening, in which the spirits of the righteousness live with the good angels. When this present age reaches its end, the righteous shall also have their bodies with them, as heirs of the light and sons of the true day. That day continues forever without evening, and neither has, nor ever did have, a morning, since it has no beginning. ~ St. Gregory Palamas
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. ~ St. Matthew 18:20
Set our hearts on fire with love for You, O Christ our God, so that in its flame we may love You with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our soul and with all our strength, and our neighbours as ourselves, so that by keeping Your commandments we may glorify You, the giver of all good gifts. ~ A Prayer For Lighting a Candle
Spring, flowers, and sunshine… Brighter days ahead!
No sooner do I conceive of the one than I am illumined by the splendour of the three; no sooner do I distinguish them than I am carried back to the one. When I think of any one of the three I think of him as the whole, and my eyes are filled, and the greater part of what I am thinking escapes me. I cannot grasp the greatness of that one so as to attribute a greater greatness to the rest. When I contemplate the three together, I see but one torch, and cannot divide or measure out the undivided light. ~ St. Gregory the Theologian
How Glorious is God
How great our Lord on high in Zion,
Our mortal tongue cannot convey;
Beneath His throne the stardust flying,
Is one with windswept grasses’ sway.
Throughout the Universe His glory
By day and night is bright and holy.
O Lord, Thy Lamb of golden haloes
Reflects Thy face for our eyes;
With psalter-sounds we send our prayers,
Like smoke from censers, to the skies.
Accept, Lord God, from Thy creation
Incense and songs of adoration.
Thy radiance to us revealing,
Thy love transcends a father’s care;
While feeding us, our ailments healing,
Thou showest us Thy Kingdom fair.
Sweet mercy Thou to sinners sendest –
Their hunger with Thy substance endest.
By M.M Kheraskov (1733-1807); English Translation by Alexander F. Beck
St. Basil the Great’s Monastery Church, carved into soft, volcanic, Cappadocian rock. Goreme, Turkey – 2004
Love of God is not something that can be taught. We did not learn from someone else how to rejoice in light or want to live, or to love our parents or guardians. It is the same – perhaps even more so – with our love for God: it does not come by another’s teaching. ~ St. Basil the Great
Preserve gratitude like a precious deposit within your soul, and from it you will receive a double portion of delight. Remember the apostolic word, “Give thanks in all circumstances.” ~ St. Basil the Great
The radiance of divine beauty is altogether beyond the power of words to describe. ~ St. Basil the Great
A dear friend shared this beautiful, numinous, prayer: “Speaking with God from the Depths of the Heart” by St. Gregory of Narek (951-1003 AD); it’s beyond the power of words to describe.
Along the River Jordan image by Bcrawford92, English Wikipedia Public Domain
Greeting: Christ is Baptised!
Response: In the Jordan!
January 19/6
Today is the end of Christmastide and we celebrate the ancient, Great Feast of Holy Theophany… the Baptism of our Lord in the River Jordan by St. John the Baptist.
Theophany comes from the Greek word theophania, which means “appearance of God” revealing the manifestation of the Most Holy Trinity to the world through the Baptism of Christ, the Son of God. (Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22).
As we joyfully celebrate Holy Theophany, and the additional Great Blessing of the Water service for Holy Water, we are reminded of the Great Sacrament and Mystery of our own baptism.
The Father was revealed to the sense of hearing; the Spirit was revealed to the sense of sight, and in addition to these, the Son was revealed to the sense of touch. The Father uttered His witness about the Son, the Son was baptized in the water, and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove hovered above the water. When John the Baptist witnessed and said about Christ, “Behold, the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29), and when John immersed and baptized the Lord in the Jordan, the mission of Christ in the world and the path of our salvation was shown. That is to say: The Lord took upon Himself the sins of mankind and died under them [immersion] and became alive again [the coming out of the water]; and we must die as the old sinful man and become alive again as cleansed, renewed and regenerated. This is the Saviour and this is the path of salvation. ~ St. Nikolai Velimirovich
Theophany Troparion (Hymn); (Tone 1 Melody)
When Thou, O Lord, was baptized in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest; for the voice of the Father bore witness unto Thee, calling Thee His beloved Son. And the Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed the truth as steadfast and sure. O Christ our God, Who hath appeared and enlightened the world, glory to Thee.
Theophany Kontakion (Hymn); (Tone 4 Melody)
Thou hast appeared today to the inhabited world, and Thy light, O Lord, hath been signed upon us, who sing Thy praises and chant with gladness: Thou hast come, Thou hast appeared, O Light unapproachable.
A Sermon on Holy Water by St. John Maximovitch
Christ is Baptised!
In the Jordan!
Lantern Lights Exterior of Greek Church in Chios -2006
If from one burning lamp someone lights another, then another from that one, and so on in succession, he has light continuously. In the same way, through the Apostles ordaining their successors, and these successors ordaining others, and so on, the grace of the Holy Spirit is handed down through all generations and enlightens all who obey their shepherds and teachers. ~ St. Gregory Palamas
In the measure that we pay attention and take care to carry out what we hear, God will always enlighten us and make us understand His will. ~ St. Dorotheus of Gaza
Heading Out the Front Door and Looking to the Cross
Happy St. Nicholas Day! (December 19/6)
As with all great Journeys, we make the path by travelling it… and mindful, active preparation is paramount!
Today is the halfway point of the 40 day Nativity Fast!
Faithfully fixing our eyes on the Joyous, Inspiring Destination ahead, we trim our wicks as it were, and proceed with continued efforts (that, speaking personally… may feel huge, but in reality are mostly quite small) to greet the Shining Feast of The Nativity of Christ.
Beginning with this month’s earlier Feast Day of the Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple, the Katavasia Christ is Born is sung encouragingly at all vigil services… combining aspects of both the Journey and the upcoming Festal Destination. The hymns brim with Old Testament prophecies and exude mysterious prefigurements of His coming.
The Heavenly Babe calls each one of us to come to Him, with childlike faith… and fasting is a spiritual aid to do this. While there are also many celebratory fast-free periods throughout the church calendar year, half the church year is literally spent in fasting together.
Besides the Church’s usual weekly Wednesdays and Friday fast days, there are other Lenten times during the church calendar year. The most lengthy and strictest fast is the Great Lent before Pascha. Depending on the individual of course, practical health considerations (such as age, pregnancy, diabetes, etc.) may exclude full physical fasting… but there are countless other ways to spiritually fast.
Fasting of the body is food for the soul… Do you fast? Then feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, visit the sick, do not forget the imprisoned, have pity on the tortured, comfort those who grieve and who weep, be merciful, humble, kind, calm, patient, sympathetic, forgiving, reverent, truthful and pious, so that God might accept your fasting and might plentifully grant you the fruits of repentance. ~ St. John Chrysostom
Because we did not fast, we were chased out of Paradise; let us fast now, so that some day we return there. ~ St. Basil the Great
Of course, it would be easier to get to paradise with a full stomach, all snuggled up in a soft feather-bed, but what is required is to carry one’s cross along the way, for the kingdom of God is not attained by enduring one or two troubles, but many! ~ St. Anthony of Optina
Christ comes from heaven, meet ye Him! And so, like little children… let our souls fly and cling to the Heavenly Babe, and praise Him, for He is a God is Love. Let us spiritually reap the rays of His Light that illumines the world’s darkness… For He is the Sun of Righteousness, which knows no rising or setting, and He Shines ceaselessly!
Happy Saint’s Day to my goddaughter Cecilia.
Cecilia-strong in faith, rich in faith – Her faith more beautiful than the stars, more precious than gold… ~ St. Nikolai Velimirovich
Greetings on St. Cecilia’s Feast Day! (December 5/November 22)
The two featured photos are from a visit to Rome in 2009. Below the main floor is the Church’s Chapel of Relics. The altar with the candlesticks is situated in front of the crypt. Behind the altar’s screened gate is the repository of the second century martyrs, St. Cecilia and her husband St. Valerian.
The Church of St. Cecilia in Trastevere (a Roman neighbourhood), was originally established in the 3rd century, and built on the site of her home after her martyrdom. At the time of her death, St. Cecilia’s body was interred for five centuries in the Catacomb Cemetery of St. Callixtus. However, in the early 800’s, the Pope returned her “home” again, to her own Basilica.
On the upper floor of the main church and in front of the main altar, is the later addition (commissioned in the 16th century), of a glass case enclosing the white marble statue of St. Cecilia. A marble slab on the floor in front of it, quotes the Italian sculptor Stefano Maderno’s sworn statement, recording her miraculously incorrupt body was positioned as seen, and seemingly asleep when the tomb was reopened during the renovations in 1599.
St. Cecilia is considered a patron saint of music in the west. During her undesired earthly wedding; she heard heavenly music, and sang hymns in her heart to Christ. (In the east, St. Romanos the Melodist is a patron saint of music.)
Here is a beautiful, short, 2 minute YouTube video, with detail of St. Cecilia’s Chapel Crypt.
Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the day time, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life. ~ Psalm 42:8
Kontakion in the 4th Tone
Let us in Godly wise, the hosts of the faithful, / sing hymns to her wedded to Christ of her own will, Cecilia, / whose pure heart with virtues was adorned; / for she wholly put to shame the conceit of Almachius, / and she shone bright as the sun amidst them that pursued her / and then appeared to those upon the earth as a divine staff // that strengthened the holy Faith.
St. Cecilia’s radiant prayers continue to God for us, and are as ever-shining as stars in the heavens.
