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Thursday, February 18th, 2010

On Wednesday evening, Alvin Alexsi Currier shared his book,
|How the Monastery Came to Be on the Top of the Mountain, with our church.

It is a beautiful tale of a village in Romania.
Alexsi Currier spoke with many people in the area of Lapus, Romania, to put together this book of how the Monastery of Rohia came to be at the top of their mountain.

The “story is obviously founded in fact, for it is filled with names and dates, and yet its majesty lies in that it is neither fact nor fiction. Instead it flows, clear and innocent, from the wellsrping of faith hidden deep in the heart. It is the flowering of the rich living spirituality of Romania, lovingly tended by the faithful and the more than three hundred monasteries of this Orthodox land.“

My children love this book and, since Wednesday evening, have asked me to read it to them many times. The illustrations are vivid and perfect for both children and adults. Our family highly recommends this book!

Posted in Books, Orthodoxy | 2 Responses »

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

more on the prayer of st. ephrem

Posted in Lent, Orthodoxy | 1 Response »

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

idea from Sylvia at Adventures of an Orthodox Mom

Posted in Arts & Crafts, Blogs, Faith, Lent, Orthodoxy, Punky, Spunky | 1 Response »

Monday, February 15th, 2010

In order to include the children in the Lenten season, I have put together a short lesson for each day to teach them about Lent and our faith.

* A CLEAN BEDROOM IS INVITING TO THE ANGELS
* A CLEAN BODY CAN BE ACHIEVED THROUGH A CLEAN BELLY (no sweets)
* A CLEAN MIND IS ABLE TO THINK OF GOD (reading the Bible)
* A CLEAN MOUTH IS FILLED WITH SWEET WORDS (“I love you”)
* A CLEAN HAND IS ONE THAT HAS HELPED OTHERS
* A CLEAN CONSCIENCE IS ACHIEVED BY SAYING “I’M SORRY” AND “I FORGIVE”
* ONLY A CLEAN SOUL CAN BECOME A GOOD PLACE FOR OUR LORD TO LIVE

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Clean Monday (from orthodoxwiki.org) is the first day of the Orthodox Christian Great Lent, that occurs at the beginning of the 7th week before Pascha (Easter). The common term for this day, “Clean Monday”, refers to the leaving behind of sinful attitudes and non-fasting foods. The theme of Clean Monday is set by the Old Testament reading, which says in part:

Wash yourselves and ye shall be clean; put away the wicked ways from your souls before Mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well. Seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, consider the fatherless, and plead for the widow. Come then, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: Though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow; and though they be red like crimson, I will make them white as wool.

Posted in Faith, Lent, Orthodoxy, Punky | 2 Responses »

Monday, February 15th, 2010

Recently, I’ve heard/read lots of people discussing fasting for Lent. The good, the bad and the ugly!

I have a friend from college, who is an Evangelical Christian, and he has been considering fasting from something for Lent, so he posted about it Facebook. The first person to comment said the following, “I think you should fast from lint for lent because it is just a stupid Catholic tradition.“ Ouch!

Here are parts of a pastoral note regarding Lent from our local parish:

For some people, the word “Lent” occasionally conjures up images of deprivation, guilt, and sadness. But if I may boldly borrow from St. Paul: “Brethren, this ought not to be so!” Too often in our times, Lent has been cast as merely a time of fasting and prayer. Indeed, Lent is impossible without these things, but Lent must never be reduced to these things. The real challenge for us today is to enter wholly into the spirit of Lent.

To enter into the spirit of Lent is to follow the Lord in saying, “Not my will, but Thine be done.” To this end, the Church invites us to:

Embrace fasting.

Embrace a tougher prayer life.

Embrace the rigor of offering our bodies physically in worship.

Embrace others through almsgiving & service.

Embrace the denial of television and other entertainments to focus on the “one thing needful.”

Embrace the call to seek first the Kingdom of God.

Embrace the joy of repentance each day and in Confession.

Fasting is a gift God gives us for our salvation—to train and teach us.

This year, for Orthodox Christians, the Lenten season begins today. Those who are healthy and able do not eat dairy and meat until Easter, the Feast of Feasts. In our family, we have somewhat of a different fast in that I am nursing a baby and should not fast from all these things all the time, and we have small children, who only eat Lenten meals all dinner time. These are the reasons that I am striving to have a lifestyle change during Lent, because without that, Lent would just feel like any other time of the year. But it is not any other time of the year, it is time for us to prepare for Christ’s death and resurrection!

To better understand why Orthodox Christians fast the way that we do, please go here.

Posted in Feasts, Lent, Orthodoxy | 5 Responses »

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

What saves and makes for good children is the life of the parents in the home. The parents need to devote themselves to the love of God. They need to become saints in their relation to their children through their mildness, patience and love. They need to make a new start every day, with a fresh outlook, renewed enthusiasm and love for their children. And the joy that will come to them, the holiness that will visit them, will shower grace on their children. Generally the parents are to blame for the bad behaviour of the children. And their behaviour is not improved by reprimands, disciplining, or strictness. If the parents do not pursue a life of holiness and if they don’t engage in spiritual struggle, they make great mistakes and transmit the faults they have within them. If the parents do not live a holy life and do not display love towards each other, the devil torments the parents with the reactions of the children. Love, harmony and understanding between the parents are what are required for the children. This provides a great sense of security and certainty.

- Elder Porphyrios

My husband and I were talking about this just this week. I always find myself yelling at the children, when it is really a problem with myself and not them. Yes, they can be infuriating at times, but I need to learn to be patient. “Patience” and “mildness” are not words a person would connect with me. Although, I do have “love”- lots of it! I love my kids like crazy, sometimes too much because I spoil them and let them walk all over me. I have found that when I am not doing my prayers like I should or reading the Scriptures, I tend to be a crankier person. There is definitely a connection there.

As Lent approaches, I am meditating on all of the things that I want to accomplish during this time of the year. As I’ve already said, I want to get my life organized, and one of the most important parts of that is getting on a schedule. I want to wake up in the mornings and pray as a family and read the Bible with the children. I want to teach them about Lent and Pascha (Easter). I also want to share stories of those who have gone before us, the saints, important people in the Bible, etc. I have ordered two books that I plan to read; although, one is 500 pages, so I am not sure if I’ll get all the way through it. I want to say prayers at night, and not just the prayers that we do with the children. I want to take time to prayer by myself before I go to bed.

I know that paragraph is full of ‘wants”, but I feel like we completely missed Lent last year (with being sick from my pregnancy, moving, packing, etc) and I want to point my eyes toward Christ’s death and resurrection this year. If I can make these things my desires, I will then be able to shift the focus on Christ. Then I can be a better example to my children. Our children do understand, as well as they can, Christ’s death and resurrection. But it is just as important for them to see our faith lived out in the day to day.

I hope this coming season is a blessed and fruitful one for all.

Thanks, Emily, for the quote!

Posted in Big Move, Books, Easter, Faith, Holidays, Holy Week, Hubby, Lent, Orthodoxy, family, mama | 5 Responses »

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

On Tuesday, before we left, we celebrated the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple (see Luke 2:25-35) at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral in New Orleans. The church was founded in 1896, making it possibly the oldest Orthodox Church in America. The present building was build in 1985; it obviously survived Katrina, although, areas right near it were devastated.

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The Presentation of Christ in the Temple

from an iconostasis beam and dating from the 12th century
at St. Catherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai

This Great Feast celebrates the following event in Jesus’ life (Luke 2:25-35):

And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:

“ Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
According to Your word;
For my eyes have seen Your salvation
Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”

And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

Posted in Churches, Orthodoxy | No Responses »

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

Today we celecbrate Christ’s baptism by John the Baptist. This feast is called Theophany (from Greek theophania, meaning “appearance of God”) because at the baptism of Christ, the Holy Trinity clearly appeared for the first time: the Father’s voice is heard from Heaven, the Son of God is baptised, and the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove.

In commemoration of the feast, we perform the Blessing of the Waters. The Blessing of the Waters is a beautiful service where we venture out into the cold January weather to literally bless the waters. Our parish goes to a local pond that feeds into a river, there our priest says a set of prayers that explain the meaning for Theophany, praising God for creation and our salvation through faith in Him. Then the priest makes the sign of the cross over the water and then immerses his wooden cross into the body of water imitating the baptism of Christ as we all sing:

When You, O Lord were baptized in the Jordan

The worship of the Trinity was made manifest

For the voice of the Father bore witness to You

And called You His beloved Son.

And the Spirit, in the form of a dove,

Confirmed the truthfulness of His word.

O Christ, our God, You have revealed Yourself

And have enlightened the world, glory to You!

I am so sad that I have to miss the service on Sunday and the Blessing of the Waters. It is one of my favorite services of the year. I’ll be home with little Bunky, who hasn’t improved at all yet. Thank you to all my wonderful family and friends who have been praying for him.

Posted in Bunky, Orthodoxy | 5 Responses »

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

Our Father, Who art in heaven, bless my father and mother, my guardians, and those who are in authority over me, for their love and tender care for me, and the benefits I receive at their hands. Help me, I pray Thee, to be respectful and obedient to them in all matters according to Thy will; and give me Thy grace to perform all my duties carefully and faithfully, to avoid undesirable company and influence, and resist all temptation that may come my way; that I may live a sober, righteous and godly life, ever praising Thee and glorifying Thy Holy Name. Amen.

Bunky always holds tight on to my cross.

Posted in Bunky, Orthodoxy, Parenting, Prayer | 8 Responses »

Sunday, November 1st, 2009

“Baptizing infants before they know what is going on is an expression of God’s great love for us. It shows that God loves us and accepts us before we can ever know or love him. It shows we are wanted and loved by God from the very moment of our birth.
To say that a person much reach the age of reason and believe in Christ before he may be baptized is to make God’s grace in some way dependent on man’s intelligence.
But God’s grace is not dependent on any act of ours, intellectual or otherwise;
it is a pure gift of love.”

Blessing the Water
Prayers over the infant and blessing of the water.