rock of salvation – Blisswood

Sprigs of Prayer

Thriving in Son Shine!

A drop of prayer is worth more than a sea of worrying. ~ St. Nikolai Velimirovic

There is no need at all to make long discourses, it is enough to stretch out one’s hands and say, “Lord, as You will, and as You know, have mercy.” And if the conflict grows fiercer say, “Lord, help!” He knows very well what we need and He shows us His mercy. ~ Abba Macarius

Since God is continuously present, why do you worry? For in Him we live and move. We are carried in His arms. We breathe God; we are vested with God; we touch God; we consume God in the Mystery. Wherever you turn, wherever you look, God is everywhere: in the heavens, on the earth, in the abysses, in the trees, within the rocks, in your nous [eye of the soul], in your heart. ~ St. Joseph the Hesychast

Lord, I do not know what to ask of You. You know better than me what my needs are. You love more than I know how to love. Help me to see clearly my real needs which I do not see. I open my heart to You. Examine and reveal to me my faults and sins. I put all trust in You. I have no other desire than to fulfill Your will. Teach me how to pray. Pray in me. Amen. ~ Prayers For All Occasions

Rock-Steady

Local Neighbourhood Stone Garage with Grass and Floral Roof

As powerful ocean waves smooth and polish sharp edges of rock and stone, so does the Holy Spirit with our souls. It surrounds us. It strengthens us. It refines and completes us. And… bit by bit, with less and less, we become more.

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. ~ Matthew 7:24-27

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. ~ Psalm 18:2

May your Lenten Journey be steady, peaceful, and fruitful.

Sakura

Japanese Cherry Blossoms Represent Renewal and Optimism

Happy Saint’s Day Owen! March 4/17

Billowing clouds of pink and white Sakura flowers herald winter’s end… And we are as enriched, and as delighted, as our gardens!

Without winter there would be no spring, and without spring there would be no summer. So it is also in the spiritual life: a little consolation, and then a little grief – and thus little by little we work out our salvation. Let us accept everything from the hand of God. If He comforts us, let us thank Him. And if He doesn’t comfort us – let us thank Him. ~ St. Anatoly of Optina

May your Lenten Journey be peaceful and fruitful.

Nothing Higher on Earth

Greetings on Forgiveness Sunday!

Great Lent begins Tomorrow.

There is nothing on earth higher, greater or more holy than the Divine Liturgy; nothing more solemn, nothing more life-giving. ~ St. John of Kronstadt

The Church is your hope, the Church is your salvation, the Church is your refuge. ~ St. John Chrysostom

May your Lenten Journey be a peaceful, fruitful preparation for the Great and Holy Feast of Pascha (Easter) – Sunday, April 24th, 2022.

As Showers on the Grass

Freezing Rain Drops Bead Ornamental Grass

Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: Because I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. ~ Deuteronomy 32: 1-4

He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass as the dew that waters the earth. ~ Psalm 72:6

Therefore, if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? ~ St. Matthew 6:30

For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures for ever… ~ 1 Peter 1:25-25

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

Our Precious Cornerstone

Alabaster, Onyx, and Marble Mandylion (Towel) Iconostasis Mosaic – St. Sophia Orthodox Church, Canada

Jesus Christ is our precious and chief cornerstone… in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. ~ Ephesians 2:19-22

God is Beautiful, and His House reflects this Beauty as a sacramental image of the Heavenly Jerusalem here on Earth… Our Door to Paradise.

Beautifying the House of God is pleasing to Him. Traditional stylized toweling has a very long history in church iconography. Frescoed borders of stylized fabric of “towels, or mandylion” represent the original linens from Old Testament times used within the original Portable Tabernacle.

Decorative wall mandylion run along the walls of many Orthodox churches, and are covered with adorning emblems. These also recall the Scriptural theme of linen napkins and towels as cited in the New Testament. And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left… ~ Acts 19:11-12.

Furthermore, Holy Tradition relates the miraculous Holy Image Not Made by Hands by the transference of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ‘s Face, onto a linen towel.

A Living Stone and a Holy People. So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation – if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” ~ 1 Peter 2:1-6

Having made us in His own image, God has given us an indelible love for beauty. We worship Him with body and soul, using all the beauty of His creation to move us to prayer and worship – through icons, beautiful ancient singing, sweet-smelling incense, and majestic holy services.

Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation… ~ Isaiah 28:16

Jesus Christ is our Precious Cornerstone.

May our hearts build on God’s Beauty and Wisdom to become proper temples and dwelling places for the Holy Spirit.

Glory to God for all things!

Conquered on the Inside

Christ is Risen!

There are saints who are very anxious, who had nervous tics, and also who were very brusque. Others were exceptionally slow. Some saints had physical defects. What makes a saint is not outward perfection, it’s that the old man is conquered on the inside. The saints are not yet totally transfigured, and the old man continues to be visible on the outside. These appearances can trick us and hide their inner reality from us. ~ Elder Sergei of Vanves

Take care to distinguish between your thoughts, as the Fathers teach. Stop and look, decide which ones are good and which ones are bad. Then, disassociate from any that you find to be bad, believe nothing they tell you, do not believe for an instant that they are part of who you are. This is of the utmost importance, because if we accept bad thoughts, then they will stay with us and make us believe that they are actually a part of us. ~ Elder Sergei of Vanves

Truly He is Risen!