wings of faith – Blisswood

Nibicula Est, Transibit

Detail of our Saviour’s Feet from mosaic in Chora

Come and lay
all heartache care and worry
at His Feet!

(And LEAVE them there!)

Greetings on the Eve of Holy Theophany!

A friend recently shared an ancient and amazing Latin quote attributed to St. Athanasius the Great. Nibicula est, transibit which translates to “It is a small cloud; it will pass”.

Trials and tribulations are just for now, Nibicula Est, Transibit – are exactly like those fleeting clouds on the horizon!

Christ is our Siloam. He is our Bright Sun of Righteousness in a cloudless sky.

Come! Let us kiss His Precious Feet – those very same Feet which once trod Eden’s dusky paths, and are still fragrant with the Petals of Paradise!

…When a problem is acute…tell it to the Angels so they may place it at the Lord’s Feet, and pray the Lord for an Angel of Peace to calm your soul. How beautiful is the Mystery of Tomorrow! ~St. Gavrilia

Wishing you a Blessed Theophany!

With love in Christ.

That Wondrous, Internal Door

This church front door/porch’s threshold, is a mosaic cut from locally sourced marble, and based on an ancient Cosmati design.

Many have crossed the threshold of the Church, but only outwardly, while inwardly, they still place their hope in themselves and in other people. Meanwhile the Lord is waiting for us to cleave to Him like children, with our hearts. Only then will everything change in our lives. ~ Archimandrite John Krestiankin, (Letters to Lay People)

When our hearts seek Christ, we find He’s clearly revealed through the teachings and Sacraments of the Holy Church. Prayer and humility will gently guide us to and through that Wondrous, Internal Door to the Kingdom of Heaven.

He’s been patiently waiting for us, our whole life.

Listen!

He’s knocking right now.

He’s lovingly calling our name!

Do you hear?

Let us fling open the Door of our Hearts and joyfully rush home… into those Wondrous, Everlasting Arms of our Lord God and Saviour, Jesus Christ!

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
~ Revelation 3:20

Door Image by Anje Pixabay

Substance of Faith

Riding the Thermals

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. ~ Isaiah 40:31

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

Happy Feast Day! Today is also the Translation of the Relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker from Myra to Bari, Italy in 1087 AD. St. Nicholas’ other feast day is December 19/6.

Christ is Risen!

Blossoming in the Next

Image by congerdesign from Pixabay

When St. Gavrilia was asked if she feared death, she responded:

That’s what I don’t fear – not a bit! Every year till Ascension Day I love the Funeral Service to include the Hymn “Christ is Risen.” …It seems to me that when the time of my departure comes, it will be something very simple, because Death does not exist. It will be like closing one door and opening another! I remember a fine painting showing two rose gardens separated by a wall. A twig, from one of the rose bushes, had worked its way through a crack in a wall and a beautiful rose had bloomed on the other side. That’s how it is with our life. We leave this world and go to blossom in the Next. ~ St. Gavrilia (The Ascetic of Love)

Memory Eternal, Julia – who left today to go blossom in the Next… Where there is no more pain, sickness, sighing, nor sorrow, but Life Everlasting!

Icon of St. Juliana

We Need Two Wings to Fly!

Parish Mosaic in Progress: The Dormition of the Theotokos

Prayer is one wing, faith the other, that lifts us heavenward. With only one wing no one can fly: prayer without faith is as meaningless as faith without prayer. But if your faith is very weak, you can profitably cry: Lord, give me faith! Such a prayer seldom goes unheard. The grain of mustard seed, says the Lord, grows into a great tree. ~ Tito Colliander (Way of the Ascetics)