Feature Image background photo shared by Melania (Divine Florals Cards), who today (along with a daring river otter), braved high winds and darted across the road to escape the dramatic waves! ~ Storm Season, Victoria BC, Canada
Behold the sea of life, surging high with the tempest of temptations, I have fled to Thy tranquil haven and cry aloud unto Thee: Lead Thou my life forth from corruption, O most Merciful One. ~ Resurrectional Ode 6, Tone 6
I was thrilled to spy our own Christmas Rose (above) popping up in a patio planter during a very gray day last week. This hardy little white blossomed evergreen Hellebore is called a Lenten Rose (also known as Christmas Rose), and, in some areas of the world, blooms exuberantly during the Nativity Fast.
While not literally a rose in the true sense, it belongs to the Ranunculi family, and sports a beautiful profusion of long lasting snow white blossoms during Advent – the NativityFast. Also, and fittingly, there’s a pinky-purple version which flower during Springtime’s Great Lent season as we journey to the Great Feast of Pascha (Easter)!
There’s a sweet mediaeval Christmas Rose legend, stemming from when a little shepherdess who witnessed the multitude of angels singing to the shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks on the night of Christ’s Birth. She ran with wonder along with the others to the cave, and seeing Him laid in a manger, wept bitterly – for she had nothing to give to the Holy Heavenly Child. An angel saw her heartfelt love, and changed her fallen tears of woe into Christmas Roses. Overjoyed, the little shepherdess quickly stooped and gathered up the brilliant snow white blossoms and presented them to Baby Jesus’ Family.
What shall we give Him?
Lo, how the Rose, Becometh thorn, For, for which cause, the Prince of Peace was born! ~ From 4th Verse of Little Pine Tree
I would like to share the ancient, historical Orthodox Tradition of the Glastonbury Rose, which St. Joseph of Arimathea himself planted on British soil (scroll further down the link) and which exists and flowers to this very day, blooming on the Old Calendar’s Christmas date.
To me, our little patio Christmas Rose symbolizes bright hope and purity, and thrives… no matter what stormy weather blows its way! Such an inspiration for any season!
Let us, looking upwards, offer our own small gifts of faith and hope as we prepare to present them to Him with pure love, whilst plodding the pilgrimage path towards the Feast of His Birth.
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 broomsof 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!
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 4:6-7
There’s always something to be grateful for, even in the midst of trials and tribulations… And an attitude of gratitude with thanksgiving, dispels fear and carries hope – filling the heart with joy!
We’re not meant to trudge through life’s storms alone, but are encouraged to entrust our worries, heartaches, and requests, daily and directly into God’s Hands.
What a Friend and Saviour we have in Jesus Christ!
Although He alwaysknows what’s going on in our lives, He patiently waits for us to choose to reach out and talk with Him… to transfer any crushing load off ourselves, and freely give Him the control to direct our efforts.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ~ St. Matthew 11:29
As simply and as trustingly as a child reaches out to someone they dearly love, we’re also taught to earnestly entreat God. This draws us closer to our Heavenly Father.
By casting cares and anxiety aside… by sharing our needs through prayer, we bring He Who Is our Daily Bread… into ourselves, and under the roof of our soul…
And Lo! He promises and lovingly responds in kind; embracing our hearts and minds with a Holy, Gentle, Peace from Above – a Gift which transcends all understanding.
In the New Testament we are called to be saints, and the Orthodox Church gives the title of saintto those who throughout history, have lived and died in Christ.
While Canonized (Glorified) Saints have their own feast days, there are countless multitudes of saints (since the time of Adam) who don’t have a feast day… and some of these are even nameless Saints – known only to God!
Since the 4th century, All Saints’ Day is celebrated the first Sunday after theGreat Feast of Pentecost. Today we commemorate all saints from everywhere and from every time. We honour the known and unknown… Whether they be men, women or children… these shining clouds of witnesses have lived to the fruition of Holiness.
Kontakion (a little hymn) of All Saints: The universe offers to Thee, O Lord, as the Planter of Creation, the God-bearing martyrs as the first-fruits of nature. By their prayers, O Most Merciful One, through the Mother of God keep Thy Church, Thy estate, in deep peace.
Every one of us is the painter of his own life. Our soul is like the canvas, and the virtues are the paint. Jesus Christ is the image we should copy. ~ St. Gregory of Nyssa
In God and in His Church there is no division between the living and the departed, but all are one in the love of the Father. Whether we are alive or whether we are dead, as members of the Church we still belong to the same family, and still have a duty to bear one another’s burdens. Therefore just as Orthodox Christians here on earth pray for one another and ask for one another’s prayers, so they pray for the faithful departed and ask the faithful departed to pray for them. Death cannot sever the bond of mutual love which links the members of the Church together. ~ Metropolitan Kallistos Ware
All the Saints are like fragrant flowers in God’s Heavenly Garden.
May we bloom where planted, and regardless of debris from life’s storms… offer unto Creation’s Planter a fruition of Spiritual Fragrance!
Overshadowed by a massive tree, glimpses of Light dapple marigolds growing below. Throughout the course of the day, they determinedly turn their heads to follow the sun, nonetheless.
…I am with you and no one can be against you! ~ Ascension Kontakion
Turn your face toward light, O child of light. The Father of Light calls you with a fiery Love. ~ St. Nikolai Velimirovic
O Lord Jesus Christ! You are my medicine when I am sick; You are my strength when I need help; You are Life itself when I fear death; You are Light when all is dark. ~ St. Ambrose of Milan
None of us are immune to the squalls and storms of life. Each of us have our own personal, physical, mental, and spiritual health battles to contend with.
Many people experience (including myself), that the healing strength of tears, along with the application of Faith and therapeutic practicalities of proper medicine, can heal, can shrink the root(s) of our problems, thus adjusting the sizes of (all the) crosses we’re struggling to bear.
…That’s all part of it, but it’s done together with faith; it’s done together with prayer to God. They’re not opposed to each other; they go together... But all the time, nevertheless, we believe that our life is in the hands of God. It can be in the hands of physicians that God had created, God had formed, and God has sent to us for the sake of our healing... ~ Fr. Thomas Hopko
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. ~ St. Matthew 11:28-30
The Gladsome Light of Christ surrounds us – regardless of the swirling changes in spiritual weather! Keep looking UP with our heart’s eyes, and remember to breathe in the heavenly air…
May we consciouslylet go of our banes to embrace all blessings and help, by glorifying Him… in Light and Love!
Wishing you a Blessed Afterfeast of the Ascension!
Below is a lovely, simple, uplifting secular song, one of my favourites. Hope you enjoy it too. One could interchange thoughts on some of the words Sun for Son, as in Sonshine…
A second rainbow on the far right had mostly faded by the time I fumbled for my cell to take this picture. But, if you squint, you might see the remnants?
Look upon the rainbow, and praise him who made it, exceedingly beautiful in its brightness. It encircles the heaven with its glorious arc; the hands of the Most High have stretched it out. ~ Sirach 43:11-12
And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. ~ Genesis 9:12-16
Taking the scenic seaside route home last night after choir practice, I ruminated briefly on wise words heard yestereve on Faith and Prayer before my thoughts slid ahead into next week’s hectic schedule. Although I’m sure there’ll be blessings in there too, I began to feel overwhelmed. Suddenly, staring me in the face was this double rainbow shining through stormy clouds over a choppy ocean, and we pulled the car over to be in the moment. While life’s tempests all manifest differently, it’s a divine consolation remembering that each new rainbow is a Vibrant Sign of Hope and a Timeless Covenant of – God’s Beautiful Promise in the Sky!
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. ~ Isaiah40:31
Yestereve I watched an eagle ride the thermals over local sea cliffs. Ignoring the inclement weather and taunting gulls, it persevered, soaring higher and higher, searching a broader scope and clearer vision of the tumultuous ocean below. It was hungry. It needed sustenance. It gently reminded me that when spiritually peckish or famished, we need to remember to unfurl our own little soul-wings… and seek to ride the Life-Giving Thermals of the Holy Spirit… Who uplifts us to sweet, incomprehensible heights, which our own little wings are much too fragile to attain, solely by their own power.
The cause of all preservation lieth in the Holy Spirit. If He think it fit to blow upon a man, He taketh him up above the things of the earth, maketh him grow, and settleth him on high. ~ Matins, Sixth Tone
If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavourable. Favourable conditions never come. ~ C.S. Lewis
Time is definitely shorter than we think, and we simply can’t afford to put off attaining our goals by waiting for Life’s Welcome Mat of Perfect Circumstances to be dusted off and tossed casually at our feet.
Stunning Self-Reminder: Take one step. Then another. And another. Just keep doing! We can only meet God in the Eternal Present.
May we diligently persevere in Life’s Headwinds… rejoicing that there’s always Sonshine above those stormy clouds and Providential Tailwinds in unexpected places!
