pateince – Blisswood

Fur Flower in the Sun

Monemvasia, Greece ~ shared by r. Theodore and Irena 2026

In the featured photo, a sunbathing cat dozes contently on a shop’s sill. Behind, in the store window, is an Holy Icon of Our Lady Theotokos and Ever Virgin Mary, holding Christ. She points towards the Lord, directing us to Him, Who is our guide to God and Salvation.

What is our life without cats? Cats are fur flowers. They can be made into bouquets. And blessed are the hands of those who comfort our little brothers and take care of these ‘flowers’. And I fervently believe, I am convinced: your cats will certainly put in a good word for you before God. ~ Archimandrite Savva Mazhuko

…they serve God in their place better than we in ours…~ St. Basil the Great (on animals in general)

In Paradise, the animals sensed the fragrance of grace and served Adam. Since the fall, nature has been suffering together with man… However, when a person returns to the state in which he was before the fall, animals again approach him without fear. …My mind tells me that even the animals are better than me; so, I humble myself and obey them. Very early this morning, being tired from praying all night and exhausted because of my illness, I lay down to rest. After awhile, I heard a kitten meowing outside my cell as if she needed something. I really wanted to rest, but I humbled myself and went against my own will. I obeyed the kitten and replied to her calling. I went to open the door. It had started to rain and I let her in so she wouldn’t get wet. What do you think then? Should I obey the animals or not? My thoughts tell me I should. ~ St. Paisios

St. Gerasimus was a great elder, and he had a lion. We are small, so we have cats. ~ St Nektarios of Optina

There’s an amazing spiritual bond between us and the natural world. We who are (and have been) blessed to be guardians (I won’t say owners – as cats believe they own us) of pets, have been gifted with a great Stewardship.

Asking God’s blessings on all creatures great and small, and for their human protectors who’ve received warm and loving paw prints that stay forever in their hearts. Let us rejoice in His creatures and relish those beautiful bouquets of fur flowers!

But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? ~ Job 12:7-9

Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. ~ Psalm 150:6

Planted in Our Place

Wild Chamomile Thriving on Rain-Quenched Rural Grass

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. ~ Isaiah 40:8

Do not be confused because dark thoughts often trouble you, for dark thoughts, like autumn clouds, come one after another and darken everything. But then they pass and the sky remains clear and pleasant. And so our thoughts wander, they wander around the wide world, but the mind remains planted in its place, and then there is quiet, and the soul becomes joyful. But our mind, from wandering here and there, becomes accustomed to the brief but often repeated prayer of Jesus, which God may grant you the habit of saying and then your days will be bright. ~ St. Anthony of Optina

We are all planted in our places. For whatever reason. On a recent excursion I thrilled to discover wild chamomile still popping up here and there, where least expected. Bending down for closer inspection, I spied bustling beetles and ants – struggling – yet dashing determinedly amid obstacle courses of pebbles, fir-needles, twigs and dandelion detritus. Sometimes its hard to consider that even in autumn, a little piece of country ground thrives as a living thing. Organically interconnected beneath the soil, and strengthened through marvellous myriads of neighbouring roots and fungi, we can sense the Great within the small. When we recognize nature’s perfection, its because God is perfect. What joy there is in giving oneself over to a moment in nature… To inhale that especially fresh, spicy fragrance that happens only after a rain… to harvest and store Creation’s nourishing gifts in the silos of our minds. For these blessed memories, tucked carefully away in our autumnal hearts, may be recalled as needed. These sweet seeds of peace and contentment are numinous aids. They are spiritual brooms of beautiful, expectant hope – that sweep away dried, withered leaves and debris from life’s storms and personal obstacle courses. God sees and rewards all our efforts according to our salvation. Let us remain patiently planted in our places, thoroughly engaged – and prepared to bloom joyfully wherever we are planted, offering ourselves unto Creation’s Planter – as a Living Fruition of Spiritual Fragrance!

A Lenten Prayer

During the weekdays of Great Lent, we say the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian (306-373 AD).

O Lord and Master of my life, a spirit of idleness, despondency, ambition and idle talking, give me not. (Prostration)

But, rather, a spirit of chastity, humble-mindedness, patience and love, bestow on me Thy servant. (Prostration)

Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my failings and not condemn my brother, for blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen. (Prostration)

Then the prayer once more in full, with one prostration at the end.

If unable to physically do a prostration, “bend the knees of your heart” instead.

Scripture brought me to the Gate of Paradise, and the mind stood in wonder as it entered. ~ St. Ephraim the Syrian

Let books be your dining table, and you shall be full of delights. Let them be your mattress, and you shall sleep restful nights. ~ St. Ephraim the Syrian