Category Archives: saints

Listening at the end of Lent

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About now I begin to think I really should hold my tongue and start listening harder. Here are some things I’m hearing:

1.  Do not show forth a useless fast.

2.  Can’t you see that the world is on fire, burning! Temptation is everywhere. The devil has set such a fire that even all firefighters in the world could not put it out. It is a spiritual fire. Nothing but prayer is left for us now, prayer that God may take pity on us! You see, when a fire spreads and the firefighters can do nothing about it, people turn to God and pray for a heavy rain. The same happens with the spiritual fire started by the devil; only prayer is needed so that God may help us.

Wherever you may turn, one thing is clear: things are falling apart! It’s not, for example, that we have a house and a window or something else that needs fixing and we can take care of it; it is the entire house that is in shambles––and worse yet, the entire village. We are spinning out of control. Only God can step in and make a difference. He’s got to roll up His sleeves, take a screwdriver and with a slap here and a caress there fix the mess. The world is harboring a blistering wound, full of puss, that needs to be opened and treated; but it’s too soon to open it now. Evil must come to term as it did in Jericho, a long time ago.
––Elder Paisios in With Pain and Love for Contemporary Man

3. A word about how we relate to the saints.

4. “There’s no taking snakes with sugar-tongs.”  -Proverb

5. From yesterday’s Orthodox matins service:

O wise Lazarus, prepare now for thy burial; for tomorrow thou shalt die and leave this life. Look at the tomb in which thou shalt dwell. But Christ will bring thee back to life again, raising thee on the fourth day.

Be glad, O Bethany: for Christ shall come to thee, performing in thee a great and fearful miracle. Binding death with fetters, as God of all He will raise up Lazarus, who was dead and now magnifies the Creator.

Come, let us make ready to meet the Lord, bringing to Him palms of virtue. So shall we receive Him in our souls as in the city of Jerusalem, worshiping Him and singing His praises.

Sinai,_Christ_Pantocrator,_6th_century

Birthday Reflection

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St. Nikolai

Yes, it’s my birthday today! Another day to thank God for all His wonderful gifts.

This spring I’ve been enjoying The Prologue of Ohrid by St.Nikolai Velimirovic. I splurged on this two-volume set of readings for every day of the year when our church bookstore offered it at a discount. I was the one who had to write down information about the book for a list of sale items, and that was the first time I’d actually looked inside. Something about the name along with its size had made me disregard it, but in the Preface I learned that the name Ohrid is “solely to distinguish it from the ancient Slavonic Prologue which — regrettably, because of its language — has become inaccessible to the Slavic people of our time.”

I’d heard and read many of St. Nikolai’s Prayers by the Lake, which are heartfelt and inspiring poems, so it is not surprising that his devotionals of three or four pages are also beneficial. They include stories of two or more saints commemorated that day, a Reflection, a Contemplation, a Homily of a few paragraphs, and often a Hymn of Praise. I’m happy to know that the whole thing is also available online, so I won’t need to carry my book across the continent later this month.

Today’s Reflection is a good one for Lent:

Even in His pain on the Cross, the Lord Jesus did not condemn sinners but offered up pardon for their sins to His Father, saying, They know not what they do (Luke 23:34)! Let us not judge anyone so that we will not be judged. For no one is certain that, before his death, he will not commit the same sin by which he condemns his brother. St. Anastasius of Sinai teaches: “Even if you see someone sinning, do not judge him, for you do not know what the end of his life will be like. The thief who was crucified with Christ was a murderer, while Judas was an apostle of Jesus, but the thief entered into the Kingdom, and the apostle went to perdition. Even if you see someone sinning, bear in mind that you do not know his good works. For many have sinned openly and repented in secret; we see their sins, but we do not know their repentance. Therefore, brethren, let us not judge anyone so that we will not be judged.”

St. Anastasius by Rembrandt

St. Herman of Alaska

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“O blessed Father Herman of Alaska, North star of Christ’s holy Church, the light of your holy life and great deeds guides those who follow the Orthodox way. Together we lift high the Holy Cross you planted firmly in America. Let all behold and glorify Jesus Christ, singing his holy Resurrection.”

-Troparion for the feast

 

Today we celebrated Divine Liturgy (Holy Communion) in honor of St. Herman of Alaska, a monk missionary sent from Russia in the late 18th century. He was known to feed animals such as ermine and bears, as in this icon.

The saint lived many years on Spruce Island, near Kodiak Island in the Aleutian group. Just hearing and thinking about the setting for his life and labors makes me shiver. I am such a lover of comfort! While I like to warm a rice bag in the microwave to put under piles of blankets at the foot of my bed, when the temperature outdoors is well above freezing, Father Herman would warm a board on the stove and use it for his only covering. Not cozy. But then, monks are known for seeking warmth not for their bodies, but in their souls, and they use their beds as reminders of the grave.

Father Herman was beloved of the people of Alaska for his intercessions before the civil authorities on behalf of the Aleuts who were often mistreated and enslaved. He prayed to God and he served those thankful people for over 40 years.

The icon is by L. Kintsurahvili of the Republic of Georgia.

Feasting from Day to Day

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Yesterday was the feast day of my parish, St Seraphim of Sarov, and a glorious day it was. I’m showing the fresco from the front of the church. I myself was overjoyed, my cup running over, just being at church where our bishop was present as well as a temple full of us regular parishioners and many guests. There was an ordination, and beautiful children, and much praise of God, followed by a cheery and relaxed festal meal so that we could continue glowing together for a while.
Today we remember St Elijah the prophet, and I just want to pass on this blog entry at Christ is in Our Midst!, with its wonderfully expressive painting of Elijah’s chariot.