The Cross, is wood which lifts us up and makes us great… The Cross uprooted us from the depths of evil and elevated us to the summit of virtue. ~ St. John Chrysostom
For the Christian, the cross gradually becomes lighter and more joyful, while for the nonbeliever it becomes heavier and more burdensome. Why is this so? Because where one carries their cross with faith and devotion to God, the other carries it with grumbling and anger. ~ St. Innocent of Alaska (The Way Into the Kingdom of Heaven)
When you pass beside a hospital make the sign of the cross three times: Once for the patients; once for their relatives; and once for yourself, because you aren’t there. ~ St. Paisios the New of Mt. Athos
If we could hear stars sing their crystalline cantatas of praise to the Creator, our hearts would be so effused with such Divine sweetness and yearning; it would be unbearably impossible to not join in chorus of jubilation with them.
What sort of praise can I give Thee? I have never heard the song of the Cherubim, a joy reserved for the spirits above. But I know the praises that nature sings to Thee. In winter, I have beheld how silently in the moonlight the whole earth offers Thee prayer, clad in its white mantle of snow, sparkling like diamonds. I have seen how the rising sun rejoices in Thee, how the song of the birds is a chorus of praise to Thee. I have heard the mysterious mutterings of the forests about Thee, and the winds singing Thy praise as they stir the waters. I have understood how the choirs of stars proclaim Thy glory as they move forever in the depths of infinite space. What is my poor worship! All nature obeys Thee, I do not. Yet while I live, I see Thy love, I long to thank Thee, and call upon Thy name. ~ Ikos 12, (The Akathist Hymn: Glory to God for All Things)
The firmament has the stars for its beauty, and dispassion has the virtues for its adornments. ~ St. John of the Ladder
Photo from the Feast Day of the Exaltation of the Cross
A week after celebrating the great Feast Day of the Exaltation of the Cross, I was reminded how amazingly preserved flowers that surround the Cross can be. They are protected from the usual quick wilt and deterioration other bouquets (placed in ordinary locations) can experience within two or three days.
The same holds true with flowers that grace icon corners or icon stands. I remember visiting a convent in the heat of summer, and one of my obediences was to clean and prepare the church for the Sts. Peter and Paul Liturgy. I had picked some wildflowers to put where the festal icon was to be placed, but it appeared someone had already done so. I took my new bunch of flowers back to the main house and was told the hot little church had been locked since Pentecost, as the air conditioned house chapel was being used instead. The last time flowers had been placed in the actual church was nearly 3.5 weeks previously! One “forgotten’ wildflower bouquet had remained at the foot of the analogian where the icon of the Holy Trinity sat. This is the same bouquet I saw when I unlocked the church to clean. It looked as fresh as could be! When I revealed this mini miracle, the nuns nodded their heads, crossed themselves, and stated matter-of-factly, “Oh yes, these kind of things can happen.”
Every flower is indeed fragrant through the power of the Holy Spirit, and the beauty of the Great is contained in the small!
…let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. ~ Psalm 96:12
You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. ~ Isaiah 55:12
God does not create a cross for man. No matter how heavy a cross a man may carry in life, it is still just wood, from which man himself made, and it always grows from the soil of his heart. ~ St. Ambrose of Optina
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
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
Moonlight and Starshine on water over Finlayson Arm BC, with hovering (turquoise green) luminescent moth – intent on its early morning rounds.
Enjoy the annual Perseid Meteor Showerwhich peaks August 11th to the 13th, from midnight until dawn. The waxing crescent moon will make the sky darker, and up to 40 meteors an hour will be visible.
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord! For he commanded and they were created. And he established them forever and ever; he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away. Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word! Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars! Beasts and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds! Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and maidens together, old men and children! Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven. He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his saints, for the people of Israel who are near to him. Praise the Lord! ~ Psalm 148
Sunset in west coast mountain woods, arbutus tree in foreground.
Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the Lord, because he cometh to judge the earth. ~ 1 Chronicles 16:33
Words are truly the image of the soul… Though you speak to yourself in secret, your words are examined in heaven. ~St. Basil the Great
What we say remains unto eternity. ~ Gerontissa Gavrielia
Enter eagerly into the treasure house (the heart) that lies within you, and so you will see the treasure house of Heaven. For the two are the same, and there is but one single entry to them both. The ladder that leads to the Kingdom (of Heaven) is hidden within you, and is found in your soul. Dive into yourself, and in your soul, you will discover the rungs by which you are to ascend. ~ St. Isaac the Syrian
