Roses and beeswax candles beside icon of St. Gregory Palamas – from Second Sunday of Great Lent.
We know that prayer in and of itself cannot save us, but carrying it out before God can. For when the Lord’s eyes are upon us He sanctifies us, as the sun warms everything upon which it shines. ~ St. Gregory Palamas
May your Lenten Journey be peaceful and fruitful.
God rests within gentle hearts. The gentle and merciful shall sit fearless in His regions, and will inherit Heavenly glory. ~ St. John Climacus
Why does the Lord command us to love our enemies and to pray for them? Not for their sake, but for ours! For as long as we bear grudges, as long as we dwell on how someone offended us, we will have no peace. ~ Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica
We are the sons of light and love, the sons of God, His children. As such we must have His qualities and His attributes of love, peace, and kindness towards all. ~ Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica
Yesterday afternoon, in broad daylight, our dear little Orthodox church was vandalized by some poor soul, who must have been in great spiritual pain. Little did they know our congregation is a veritable united nations in itself… composed of Canadian, American, Serbian, Ukrainian, Russian, Greek, Romanian, Spanish, Asian parishioners – worshipping together “as one” in the Lord Jesus Christ… with love, peace and harmony.
My spiritual Father Vladimir (of eternal memory), who served in a cathedral of Kiev, and fled Russia in its earlier times of grievous persecution, related how the Communists turned the ancient cathedral into a car repair garage, leaving the icons on the walls. When someone asked him about these events he tenderly said, “Churches come and go. Build a church in your heart.”
Grieved by the horrific events unfolding in Ukraine and Russia, this beautiful Prayer for Peace is being read at Divine Liturgies. May God grant us all help, reigning down His Peace from Above – for the whole world.
May we build little churches in our hearts… gentle, loving, merciful… and worthy abodes for our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
From our Metropolitan Hilarion to Metropolitan Onouphry of Kiev and All Ukraine
Candlelight Streams onto Flowers by the Most Holy Theotokos Icon
We have so many things to be thankful for! Our daily bread, health, family, friends, prayers and kindness from others, and all the so-called ordinary things mistakenly taken for granted – that aren’t ordinary at all.
Children seem more observant of blessings. A mother just shared something precious. Their family baked a Saint Basil’s Day Cake for the Feast yesterday, and her youngest received the special $2 coin hidden in the cake. The thoughtful child insisted the mother take the coin and find a way to give it to the homeless. The child said, “I have everyfing, and some don’t have nuffin’!”
Everything is God’s and we are His guests… although sometimes we feel that everything belongs to us. We become used to His many blessings and blindly expect that all good things are a given.
Nothing stays the same. Everything changes… Except God.
Let’s make efforts to be considerate houseguests appreciating our Divine Host’s Bountiful Blessings.
For, when we’re out in nature, or in church, or going about our daily lives, we are in His Garden, surrounded by the Beauteous Art of Creation.
With opened eyes, we glimpse it… everywhere.
For as long as you are on earth, consider yourself a guest in the Household of Christ. If you are at the table, it is He who treats you. If you breathe air, it is His air you breathe. If you bathe, it is in His water you are bathing. If you are traveling, it is over His land that you are traveling. If you are amassing goods, it is His goods you are amassing. If you are squandering, it is His goods that you are squandering. If you are powerful, it is by His permission that you are strong. If you are in the company of men, you and the others are His guests. If you are out in nature, you are in His garden. If you are alone, He is present. If you set out or turn anywhere, He sees you. If you do anything, He remembers. He is the most considerate Householder by Whom you were ever hosted. Be careful then toward Him. In a good household, the guest is required to behave. These are all simple words but they convey to you a great truth. All the saints knew this truth and they governed their lives by it. That is why the Eternal Householder rewarded them with eternal life in heaven and glory on earth. ~St. Nikolai Velimirovich
The Jesus Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me (a sinner), is a prayer of the heart to help us pray without ceasing. Even when shortened to Lord have mercy, (Divine Liturgy, or private prayer) it brims with bountiful blessings! The juicy root-words for ‘mercy’ in Greek and Hebrew, are jam-packed with more meaning!
…“Lord, Have Mercy.” The true meaning behind this short prayer often gets lost in English, because the word “mercy” takes on a connotation of “justice or acquittal.” This is not the tenor of the prayer that we say in the Divine Liturgy. We aren’t saying: “Lord…don’t convict me and send me to the outer darkness!” The Greek word that is used for “mercy” comes from “eleos”, which is the same root word as the word for “oil” which is used to sooth or to heal. The Hebrew word for “mercy” comes from “hesed” which means “steadfast love.” In the Church, when we say “Lord have mercy”, we are literally saying over and over and over: “Lord…soothe me…and show me your steadfast love! ...“Show us your healing love O Lord”! ~ Fr. Gabriel Bilas (pravmir.com)
If you feel sweetness or compunction at some word of your prayer, dwell on it; for then our guardian angel is praying with us. ~ St. John Climacus (Ladder of Divine Ascent)
Rose from Pixabay ~SchneeKnirschen
Rosebuds contain mysterious layers of hidden beauty. Immature buds have no perfume until they mature and bloom. Upon fruition, they radiate a myriad of fragrances which correspond to their various transformations. All buds promise the possibility of flowers, and fill us with joy, hope, and reflections of Sonshine.
For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; ~ 2 Corinthians 2:15
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. ~Ephesians 5:1-2
Oil and perfume make the heart glad, So a man’s counsel is sweet to his friend. ~ Proverbs 27:9
Your mind is the garden, your thoughts are the seeds, the harvest can either be flowers or weeds. ~ William Wordsworth
Scripture Art Photo by Juliana
I love seeing raindrops reflect like jewels on flowers and leaves. They’re mysterious, beautiful, and the centre of each drop contains a single speck of cloud dust.
Like the sphere of our own world, every raindrop is globe-shaped, and holds a microcosm of Earth’s history within. All water on Earth is – and always has been – continually recycled through the hydrosphere of our oceans, rivers, lakes and clouds.
Raindrops remind us everything’s connected.
Who knows… Perhaps a raindrop that falls on us today was once part of the Jordan River, surrounding Christ where He stood to be baptised?
Maybe that fluffy snowflake melting on our nose could have at one time, splashed against the bow of The Ark during the Great Flood?
Perchance this morning’s dew which sits serenely on a rose petal, once glistened in Eden’s Garden?
Raindrops are ancient and possess the numinous beauty of Creation. Water is life, and blessed water is Holy Water.
Let us keep looking up… for the heavens declare the glory of God!
…Accept the fountain of my tears, Thou who dost gather the waters of the sea to clouds... ~ Hymn of Kassiani
For when the ground soaks up rain that often falls on it and continues producing vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated, it receives a blessing from God. ~ Hebrews 6:7
…All things become opportunities for us to be joined more closely with everything and everyone. They become occasions for thanksgiving and prayer. Live in the midst of everything, nature and universe. Nature is the secret Gospel. But when one does not possess inner grace, nature is of no benefit. Nature awakens us, but it cannot bring us into Paradise. ~ St. Porphyrios (Wounded by Love)
Greetings on the Great Feast Day of the Exaltation of the Cross!
Magnify, O my soul, the exaltation of the life-creating Cross of the Lord! …Let all the trees of the forests rejoice, for their nature hath been sanctified by Him Who planted them in the beginning – Christ Who was stretched out upon the Tree… Let us worship the power of the Cross; for a tree brought about death in paradise, but this Tree hath caused life to blossom forth, for the sinless Lord was nailed to it. …O Thou Who hast abolished death by the Cross and freed us, glory to Thee! ~ Excerpts from Service
Some sweet basil traditions.
Let us exalt the Most Precious Cross of the Lord together, and rejoice in His boundless Love!
Through a tree we were made debtors to God; so through a tree we have our debt canceled. ~ St. Irenaeus of Lyons
If you put something fragrant on to burning coals, you motivate those who approach to come back again and to stay near, but if you instead put something with an unpleasant, oppressive smell, you repel them and drive them away. It is the same with the mind. If your attention is occupied with what is holy, you make yourself worthy of being visited by God, since this is the sweet savour which God catches scent of. On the other hand, if you nurture evil, foul and earthly thoughts within you, you remove yourself from God’s supervision and unfortunately make yourself worthy of His aversion. ~ St. Gregory Palamas
A Floribunda Rose with fragrant, dense clusters of beauteous blossoms
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. ~ Ecclesiastes 3:11
The fruits of the earth are not brought to perfection immediately, but by time, rain and care; similarly, the fruits of men ripen through ascetic practice, study, time, perseverance, self-control and patience. ~ St. Antony the Great
I have run to the fragrance of your myrrh, O Christ God, for I have been wounded by your love; do not depart from me, O heavenly Bridegroom. ~ St. Porphyrios
May we buzz like bees to the Fragrance of Christ and become permeated with His Divine Perfume!
Then, with faith and patience, let us perennially blossom forth… wherever God’s Loving Hands have planted us!
Let thy soul rejoice in the Lord, for He hath clothed thee with the robe of salvation. He hath covered thee with the garment of gladness; like a bridegroom He hath set a crown on thee, and like a bride adorns herself with jewels, so hath He adorned thee. ~ Isaiah 61:10
The prophets proclaimed thee on high, O Virgin: the Jar, the Staff, the Tables of the Law, the Ark, the Candlestick, the Table, the Mount Uncloven, the Golden Censer, the Tabernacle, the gate Impassible, the Palace and Ladder, and the Throne of Kings. ~ Old Testament Foreshadowing References of the Virgin Mary; Greeting hymn sung when Archbishop or Bishop enters a church
Mary properly bore the name Virgin, and possessed to the full all the attributes of purity. She was a virgin in both body and soul, and kept all the powers of her soul and bodily senses far above any defilement. This she did authoritatively, steadfastly, decisively and altogether inviolably at all times, as a closed gate preserves the treasure within, and a sealed book keeps hidden from sight what is written inside. The Scriptures say of her, “This is the sealed book.” (cf. Rev. 5:1-6:1; Dan. 12:4) and “this gate shall be shut, and no man shall enter by it” (Ezek. 44:2). ~St. Gregory Palamas
