Hello my brothers and sisters. I am sorry that I have been so remiss in posting to this blog. It just shows how boring my life is either that or I am just too lazy. I promise my brothers and sisters that I will try to at least update this blog in one way or another at least once a week. So lets get up to speed. Last week I was officially enrolled into the catechumenate. It was a simple service that occurred after the reading of the Hours and before the start of the Divine Liturgy. After the Hours were read, the priest came out from the Altar area and walked into the midst of the congregation where I was standing. Then the priest asked me if it was my desire to be united to the Orthodox faith. My answer was I so desire. Then the priest laid a hand on me, signed me with the cross and two prayers were said. After the prayers were said and I greeted the priest with the threefold Orthodox greeting which is a kiss on the right cheek, a kiss on the left cheek and then back to the right cheek I was a catechumen. By the way it is not really a kiss on the cheek, it is sort of an air kiss and more of a touching of cheek to cheek. This is a foreign practice to most Americans but it is a common practice in the Russian church. I was prayed for by name in those prayers and later on in the service at the Litany of the catechumens I stood at the front of the church with my head bowed and stayed there for the entire litany and then received a blessing from the priest. I was mentioned by name in the litany. These actions were rather hard for me because I am the type of person who likes to do things rather quietly. These actions were very front and center on me and very much in front of the entire congregation. It is very humbling at the same time to have the entire church praying for you aloud with you standing in front of them. I have been a catechumen for a week and have a long way to go. I still have trouble with my name being mentioned aloud and get a little embarrassed by it. But at the same time I am humbled as well and very thankful that the church has such a practice to pray constantly for a catechumen both before s/he is chrismated and then after s/he is chrismated s/he is prayed for as the newly illumined servant of God. The Church views me as a new Christian even though I have been a christian all of my life the Orthodox church says that my faith is incomplete and that I have not received the full faith or what is called the complete illumination of the Holy Spirit. That is why I have to be Chrismated. I have to receive that completeness of the Holy Spirit by having my head, hands, feet, chest, lips, eyes, and ears anointed with Chrism oil which represents the Holy Spirit Today is all about Illumination because today is when the Orthodox Church and many other liturgical churches celebrate the day when the Holy Spirit came into the world to fill it with the illumination of the Kingdom of God among other things. Today and every day the Orthodox church says the O Heavenly King prayer: O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, Who are everywhere present and fillest all things, Treasury of good and Giver of life: come and abide in us and cleanse us from every stain, and save our souls, O Good One. Every day we ask for the Holy Spirit to permeate every part of us and work within us and guide us in all that we do. My brothers and sisters my prayer for all of you this day and every day is that the Holy Spirit will illumine you and better show you the way in which the Lord wants you to serve and love Him. More updates will follow next week. Blessings and peace to you my brothers and sisters.
Just your average simple yet complex guy. I am in search of a new job and a beautiful lady who will share my faith journey. I am currently an Anglo Catholic but I am considering conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy. I would love to hear from you if you are interested. You can contact me via e-mail or find me on yahoo as lwsguardian. I would love to speak with any available lady. Have a most blessed day and thank you for stopping by. Please help me create a christian community on this messenger. It is a very cool messenger and would love to see you all there. We can even buy a church and populate it with each of us. So join me and lets spread the word of the Lord in a 3 D Messenger. My user ID is Palmettoman. Hope to see you soon
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Brothers and sisters I am sorry that I have not been on in a while, but my internet service up and quit on me 3 days before Christmas so it has been almost a month since I have had internet access at home. I am hoping that I will be able to get internet service soon, but I am at the whim of whether or not my internet provider decides to get a new provider. Until then there is a good chance that I will be unable to get on for quite a while. So until then brothers and sisters please stay in prayer for me and I will try to get on when I can. Blessings and peace to all
Every little girl named Lucy must bite her tongue in disappointment when she first tries to find out what there is to know about her patron saint. The older books will have a lengthy paragraph detailing a small number of traditions. Newer books will have a lengthy paragraph showing that there is little basis in history for these traditions. The single fact survives that a disappointed suitor accused Lucy of being a Christian and she was executed in Syracuse (Sicily) in the year 304. But it is also true that her name is mentioned in the First Eucharistic Prayer, geographical places are named after her, a popular song has her name as its title and down through the centuries many thousands of little girls have been proud of the name Lucy.
One can easily imagine what a young Christian woman had to contend with in pagan Sicily in the year 300. If you have trouble imagining, just glance at today’s pleasure-at-all-costs world and the barriers it presents against leading a good Christian life.
Her friends must have wondered aloud about this hero of Lucy’s, an obscure itinerant preacher in a far-off captive nation that had been destroyed more than 200 years before. Once a carpenter, he had been crucified by the Roman soldiers after his own people turned him over to the Roman authorities. Lucy believed with her whole soul that this man had risen from the dead. Heaven had put a stamp on all he said and did. To give witness to her faith she had made a vow of virginity.
What a hubbub this caused among her pagan friends! The kindlier ones just thought her a little strange. To be pure before marriage was an ancient Roman ideal, rarely found but not to be condemned. To exclude marriage altogether, however, was too much. She must have something sinister to hide, the tongues wagged.
Lucy knew of the heroism of earlier virgin martyrs. She remained faithful to their example and to the example of the carpenter, whom she knew to be the Son of God. She is the patroness of eyesight.
Quote
“The Gospel tells us of all that Jesus suffered, of the insults that fell upon him. But, from Bethlehem to Calvary, the brilliance that radiates from his divine purity spread more and more and won over the crowds. So great was the austerity and the enchantment of his conduct.”
“So may it be with you, beloved daughters. Blessed be the discretion, the mortifications and the renouncements with which you seek to render this virtue more brilliant.... May your conduct prove to all that chastity is not only a possible virtue but a social virtue, which must be strongly defended through prayer, vigilance and the mortification of the senses” (Pope John XXIII, Letter to Women Religious).
Saint of the Day content provided by AmericanCatholic.org
St. Herman of Alaska
Saint Herman of Alaska was born in 1756 or 1760 in Serpukhov in the Moscow Diocese of Russia. He took the name Herman when tonsured a monk in the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage, near the Gulf of Finland, about 10 miles from St. Petersburg. He then transferred to the Valaam Monastery on the islands of Lake Ladoga. He was allowed later to live in the wilderness, a hermit alone in prayer, returning to the monastery only for the services of holy days.
In 1793, Father Herman, with Father (later, St.) Juvenaly and others, were chosen to do missionary work in Alaska. By zeal and the grace of God, they brought to the Faith several thousands of Native Alaskans. However, as time went by, the missionary party was slowly cut down. Some drowned in a ship at sea. Father Juvenaly was martyred at the hands of fearful Alaskans. Eventually, only Father Herman alone, of the original party, remained.
Father Herman settled on Spruce Island, and named it, “New Valaam,” in honor of his beloved Valaam Monastery. He dug a cave out of the ground with nothing but his hands, and lived there until a cell could be built, in which he then lived until his death. He grew his own food, not only for himself but for all he cared for, digging the earth, planting, carrying heavy loads of seaweed to fertilize the earth. He was a great ascetic; he was always barefoot even in these lands of the far North, and wore only a deerskin smock, a podrasnik and a patched rassa (inner and outer cassock), and his klobuk (monastic hat). He slept very little, and only on a wooden bench with no cushion, used bricks for a pillow, and covered himself with no blankets, but only a board.
He advocated for and defended the Aleuts against sometimes oppressive authorities. He cared lovingly and sacrificially for all who came to him, counseling and teaching them, and tirelessly nursing the sick. He especially loved children, for whom he often baked biscuits and cookies.
He was a great and compelling teacher, not only to Aleuts but also to highly educated and “free-thinking” Russians and Europeans who happened to travel there, and this humble monk humbled these “great ones” by his knowledge and wisdom, converting many to the true Faith. Often Aleuts were so captivated that they stayed up with him all night, not leaving until dawn.
The elder was given great spiritual gifts by God. He often foreknew the future, telling people of events that would happen many years later, and which were shown to have come true. By his prayers, God averted forest fires from crossing a line Father Herman made, and stopped a flood from rising past the position where Father Herman had placed an icon of the Mother of God and prayed.
Father Herman reposed in the Lord in his sleep on the 25th day of December (December 12th on the ancient Calendar of the Church), in 1837. He continued to work miracles after his death, answering the prayers of the faithful in intercession for them before God.
Holy St. Herman, pray to God for us.
St. Herman is commemorated on December 12 on the calendar of the ancient Church (December 25 according to the New Style calendar).
Troparion in Tone IV:
O venerable Herman, ascetic of the northern wilderness and gracious advocate for all the world, teacher of the Orthodox Faith and good instructor of piety, adornment of Alaska and joy of all America: entreat Christ God, that He save our souls.
Kontakion in Tone VIII:
O beloved of the Mother of God, who received the tonsure at Valaam, new zealot of the struggles of the desert-dwellers of old: wielding prayer as a spear and shield, thou didst show thyself to be terrible to demons and pagan darkness. Wherefore, we cry out to the: O venerable Herman, entreat Christ God that our souls be saved!
The absence of the “hard facts” of history is not necessarily an obstacle to the popularity of saints, as the devotion to St. Nicholas shows. Both the Eastern and Western Churches honor him, and it is claimed that, after the Blessed Virgin, he is the saint most pictured by Christian artists. And yet, historically, we can pinpoint only the fact that Nicholas was the fourth-century bishop of Myra, a city in Lycia, a province of Asia Minor. As with many of the saints, however, we are able to capture the relationship which Nicholas had with God through the admiration which Christians have had for him—an admiration expressed in the colorful stories which have been told and retold through the centuries. Perhaps the best-known story about Nicholas concerns his charity toward a poor man who was unable to provide dowries for his three daughters of marriageable age. Rather than see them forced into prostitution, Nicholas secretly tossed a bag of gold through the poor man’s window on three separate occasions, thus enabling the daughters to be married. Over the centuries, this particular legend evolved into the custom of gift-giving on the saint’s feast. In the English-speaking countries, St. Nicholas became, by a twist of the tongue, Santa Claus—further expanding the example of generosity portrayed by this holy bishop. Quote “In order to be able to consult more suitably the welfare of the faithful according to the condition of each one, a bishop should strive to become duly acquainted with their needs in the social circumstances in which they live.... He should manifest his concern for all, no matter what their age, condition, or nationality, be they natives, strangers, or foreigners” (Decree on the Bishops' Pastoral Office, 16). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saint of the Day content provided by AmericanCatholic.org
Yes Virginia, there is a St. Nicholas of Myra!
This statement is intended to be humorous, but it also points up the fact that of all the saints, Nicholas of Myra probably holds the strongest grip on the popular imagination. To most of us, Nicholas is best known as Santa Claus, the jolly old elf of the Yuletide season. He is also known in various guises in different countries as "Father Christmas," and the character of "The Ghost of Christmas Present," in Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol, is obviously a variant of the British version of St. Nick. In Scandinavia, Nicholas is portrayed as wearing a western bishop's vestments and carrying a crozier instead of the red suit and bag that we traditionally associate with Santa Claus. In the Netherlands, Nicholas, as Sinter Klaas, again dresses as a western bishop (this time in a red robe trimmed in white fur, but still with miter and crozier) and a traditional windmill cookie is baked for St. Nicholas Day. Children put out wooden shoes filled with hay to feed the saint's horse in hopes of receiving a small gift (or in hopes of not receiving a lump of coal for bad behavior). A number of surviving medieval miracle plays are based on the life of St. Nicholas, and St. Nick also shows up yearly in movies and television specials of widely and wildly varying quality (compare, for example, the classic movie A Miracle on 34th Street with a film like Santa Claus Conquers the Martians). In America in 1897, a little girl's letter to The New York Sun inspired Francis P. Church's famous editorial, "Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus!" and years later Robert L. Ripley, the creator of Ripley's Believe it or Not!, offended and enraged many parents by publishing a Believe it or Not! cartoon entitled "The Tomb of Santa Claus," which dealt factually (if not exactly tactfully) with the final resting place of the actual St. Nicholas in Bari, Italy. But the life story of the actual St. Nicholas of Myra (from the Greek words "nike," victory, and "laos," people--literally, "victory of the people") is as fascinating as the myths, folklore, and traditions that have grown and evolved around him over the centuries. As a child, Nicholas was instructed by his uncle, the Bishop of Patara, in Asia Minor. Eventually, Nicholas became a monk at a monastery founded by his uncle. It was during this time that Nicholas gave all of his money to the poor, and it is said that he saved a poor man's daughters from being given into prostitution by throwing bags of gold through an open window at night. This is where we find the basis for Santa Claus, the bringer of gifts on Christmas Eve. As a monk, Nicholas hoped for a life of solitude, but he was not to find one. One night, Nicholas dreamed that Jesus gave him a copy of the Gospels while Mary, the Theotokos, placed a omophorion on him. Jesus told Nicholas that rather than be a solitary monk, he must instead work among the people. In Myra, the archbishop died, and the committee responsible for choosing his successor could not reach an agreement. So they decided to fast and pray for enlightenment. It is said that an angel of God appeared to the presiding bishop and told him to select a man called Nicholas, who would be the first to arrive for morning prayers. Nicholas, a complete stranger in Myra, thus became bishop of Myra. During the reigns of Diocletian and Maximian, Nicholas was imprisoned for his faith, but continued to teach. After Constantine I legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire, the Arian controversy arose. Nicholas was one of the bishops attending the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea (325), called to resolve the controversy. At the Council, Nicholas slapped Arius, a bishop from Alexandria, in the face for teaching that Christ was a created being instead of eternally one with the Father and the Holy Spirit. This resulted in Nicholas being deposed as bishop. However, several of the church fathers that night shared a dream in which they saw Nicholas reinstated as bishop by Christ and the Theotokos. The next day, Nicholas was reinstated as bishop and treated with respect. It is possible that this incident accounts for Nicholas' reputation as one who punishes bad children at Christmas (or on St. Nicholas' Day) as well as rewarding good children. Nicholas' reputation for charity continued throughout his lifetime. He died peacefully in Myra during the fourth century and was originally interred in a local church. His impact, as demonstrated above, lasted far beyond his lifetime. Perhaps this is the greatest wonder performed by Nicholas the Wonder-Worker.
Apolytikion:
Fourth Tone
A model of faith and the image of gentleness, the example of your life has shown you forth to your sheep-fold to be a master of temperance. You obtained thus through being lowly, gifts from on high, and riches through poverty. Nicholas, our father and priest of priests, intercede with Christ our God that He may save our souls.
Kontakion:
Third Tone
Saintly One, (St. Nicholas) in Myra you proved yourself a priest; for in fulfilling the Gospel of Christ, venerable One, you laid down your life for your people and saved the innocent from death. For this you were sanctified as One learned in divine grace. http://stgeorge.ia.goarch.org/nicholas.htm
Holy cripe! What have you done America?!! Have the majority of you lost your minds?! How in the heck can you put the blasted liberal Democrats back in charge of the US House or Representatives under the leadership of the ultrafeminist, gay marriage supporting, abortions for all, crazy as hell, woman named Nancy Pelosi from San Francisco? Are the majority of you that short sighted?! Do you not see the detriment the Democrats are going to do to this country? They are going to raise your taxes, ruin our financial markets, trump up BS charges against President Bush, propose a budget busting socialized medicine program, and a few other things just to start. Nancy Pelosi promises thorough investigation of the Bush administration and its Iraq polices and its "domestic spy program" Bush's policies have kept us safe since 9/11/2001. Chuck Wrangle will now become chairman of the finance committee and he has promised to roll back all of the bush tax cuts and the capital gains tax cuts. Doing these things will destroy our economy and bring about a recession that could have global consequences. The dlasted liberals also want to raise the minimum wage to an outrageous amoount which will cause our unemployment rate to skyrocket as fewer small and medium sized employers will be unable to meet the demands of a higher minimum wage and will have to downsize their companies or perhaps even go out of business. These friggin liberals want to pull out of Iraq before the the job is done and basically surrender to the wills and wishes of terrorists. If this is done the terrorists win and get ready for more terrorist attacks on American soil. Oh and lets not forget the flood of illegal aliens that the liberals want. The liberals want to give voting rights to these illegals and will any of these illegals vote Republican. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! They will all vote liberal. Thanks a lot you blasted liberals. Nancy Pelosi, the lying nut, has said that impeachment is off the table. If you believe that I have a hundred acres of nice land in the swamps of San Francisco to sell you. Gee whiz America I hope you are happy. I hope you enjoy what your shortsightedness is going to bring you. I. for one, am happy that the President is a Republican and that the Senate is still under Republican control though that has been cut some. Mr. President make America a promise today. Make America the promise that you will always have your veto pen ready and that you will use it very very frequently. Please everyone that reads this pray for this country because the road ahead is very very long and uphill. May God help America.
Your Spirit is my super pick-me-up. You pep me up! Please fill me with Your full potency. Turn it up, pour it on. You are my strength, my power. Thank You that I can breathe in all I want of You, and feel renewed. You rejuvenate me, revitalize me and revive me. The fresh, clean, pure air of Your Spirit sparks me to life again. You reactivate me! You rekindle a fire within me. Each time I breathe deeply of Your Spirit, it's a new awakening. You are my resurrection. You've brought me back to life. Thank You for the vitality of Your Spirit.
July 02, 2008
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How much you see or feel My love in your life depends on your faith. I pour forth constantly, without end. The flow of My love in your life is always rich and free and abundant. I do not withhold under any circumstances. How much you see and feel this love in your life is dependent upon your faith, how much you look for the manifestation of My love, how much you are willing to believe, how much you are willing to see it, how much you are willing to recognize it in the innumerable ways that I manifest My love each day.
God make a way where there seems to be no way. Begin to thank God for His peace and faithfulness in your life. Declare that the peace of God rules in your heart and mind. As you dwell on God’s promises, your heart will be at rest, and you’ll experience the blessing of His peace all the days of your life.
"He Shall Reward Every Man According To His Works!"
We can't earn or work for salvation, it's a gift. But we can earn special praise & special commendation from the Lord, & we can work for rewards! God is no respecter of persons when it comes to Salvation. (Acts 10:34) But when it comes to works & accomplishing something for Him in His Kingdom here on Earth, He is a great respecter of persons!
Your love reaches down; it touches my heart. It awakens both my soul and my body; I'm renewed. Each day with You is fresh and new and bright; You brighten my life.
God has His Own plan. God has His Own ways. God knows what He's doing. So for God's sake, let Him do it & just look to Him to find out what He's doing, & what He wants you to do. What you don't want to do is miss His best--the highest & best thing God wants you to do!--The boat that could get you to where you can really accomplish something, God's special place for you in His Kingdom!
I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears, and they are precious in My sight. Though you may feel that this is one of the lowest times you have ever been through, yet in My eyes it is a precious time. I feel you closer to My heart than ever before. As I hold you in My hands and behold the beauty of your tears and your prayers to Me, the beauty of your surrender and humility in coming before My feet and saying, "Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling"--as I behold this, I love you. I hold you close to My heart, and I comfort you.
Sometimes I'm not as thankful as I should be and I take Your blessings for granted, or I don't see that what looks like a rock is really the bread that I've been praying for. But You take such good care of me, even when I don't appreciate it like I should. You mean everything to me, and without You I know I would be nothing.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.
- What we spend our time thinking about is important.
- Here is a pattern that we can follow. - If your thoughts pass this test, they are worthwhile.
- Think about the fact that God loves you - that is something worthwhile.
Dear God, today I open my heart and mind to receive all that You have for me. I trust that You are with me directing my every step. I embrace Your seasons of change and thank You for helping me grow and increase in every area. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Holy cripe!
What have you done America?!!
