Today we commemorate the repose of St. Seraphim of Sarov, of whom I have written before. He is the patron saint of my Orthodox parish. What a wonderful man! And what a blessed day we had, in spite of cold and even a broken heater in the church. Sometimes lately, when I am cold, I pretend that I am a monastic – and what would a monastic do? Pray, and be warmed by the Holy Spirit. I can’t say that I instantly become a prayer warrior when I think this way, but somehow it helps me to relax, and to at least offer up some kind of plea.
This icon of Father Seraphim is a fresco in our church, a picture I took sometime in the past when the light was falling in patches on him. Today, as I stood bundled in scarf and gloves, the sunshine came through an arched window high above the altar and blinded me for a few minutes until the angle changed enough to pass beyond my face. I didn’t want to change my position to escape it – whenever this happens to me I feel it as an extra gift from God, that He is giving me Himself in the warm light.
I want to pass on this quote from St. Seraphim, which came from a letter (pictured in its original form) that he wrote to Hieromonk Anthony in the first half of the 19th Century; it captured my imagination and heart from the first time I read it many years ago. The words have been translated in various clunky forms, but I like this version for the way it expresses the tone that he conveyed by his life. And it seems a good word for the new year, as well. Happy New Year to all of you, and may we all be drawn closer to His Kingdom in 2015.
Whatever you do, do it gently and unhurriedly,
because virtue is not a pear to be eaten in one bite.
–Saint Seraphim of Sarov
Our friends Mr. and Mrs. C drove Mr. Glad and me to San Francisco this morning for a visit to Holy Virgin Cathedral, the “Joy of All Who Sorrow.” We were going there for the same reason many people come from all over the world, to pray at the relics of St. John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco.
were coming to power there he helped 5,000 of these expatriates to emigrate, eventually to the United States. Later still he established the cathedral in San Francisco where his incorrupt relics remain.
Afterward we needed some lunch, so we followed the advice of the candle desk attendant at the cathedral and ate at a Russian restaurant called The Red Tavern that was also in that Richmond District neighborhood. We were the only people there, too, though from the name we half expected when we went through the door to see a group of Bolsheviks plotting in the back corner.
man only recently from Ukraine was our waitress and we enjoyed talking to her and eating the wonderful food. I didn’t think that I liked Russian food much, but everything I tasted was superb: dark brown bread scented with caraway, fresh cabbage salad with golden raisins and tomatoes; thinly sliced fried potatoes; and barley-mushroom soup with a complex and rich flavor. We all shared some Polish poppy seed dessert that we could tell had marzipan in the filling. We cut the two pieces into two more and ate them off these pretty dishes that the waitress said were their “dessert plates.”
The forecast had been for cold and foggy weather in San Francisco today, but the sun was shining on our day and we didn’t even need our sweaters. Also, in our souls, we felt the warmth of Christ and of our friendship.
Gladsome Lights 