tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91885877524986646402024-03-16T11:51:20.831-07:00Orthodox Christian Meditationsfrom Fr. Steven KostoffOrthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comBlogger1250125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-7658780637650552842024-03-08T09:21:00.000-08:002024-03-08T09:21:11.431-08:00Comments on 'The Prodigal Son - Ending Unresolved?'<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Parish Faithful,</span></span></i></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I will share a few responses to the meditation that I sent out yesterday about the "openness" of the parable of the Prodigal Son. This one is from Spencer Settles:</span></span></p><p style="color: black; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">_______ <br /></span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks for those thoughts on the parable, Father! The one thought that came to me after I read your email regards a similarity to another biblical account. The younger son, in his moment of repentance, expresses a sentiment much like that of the Syro-Phoenician woman who petitions Jesus to heal her daughter. She says, in response to Jesus’s statement that it is not right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.” (Mark 7:28). In Matthew’s telling of that event Jesus praises the woman’s faith. The younger son in Luke’s parable says something that seems very similar to me: that he would gladly become a hired servant in his father’s house, where the servants never go hungry. There’s that same extreme humility expressed: “Never mind privilege, as long as I can BE there. As long as I can eat, I do not need to be honored. I will be a dog. I will be a servant.” </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That, I think, is evidence of true faith and true repentance. Of course, we do not know whether the son would have continued in this humility, as you pointed out. But I like to think that a moment of such genuine humility has a powerful effect on the heart of a person. And the reception he got! How it must have bewildered him. The father disregards his rehearsed statement - practically interrupts him - and begins calling for a robe, a ring, a feast! As anyone who has ever received love or praise in a moment of intense awareness of one’s own weakness knows, such a thing is incredibly moving and humbling. What might otherwise “puff up” will, in such a moment, scald and sear in the most powerful way. </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="direction: ltr;" />Anyway, that was the thought that came to me, so I thought I’d share it.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In Christ,</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Spencer Settles</span></span></p></div>Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-27113112270164507482024-03-06T09:11:00.000-08:002024-03-06T09:11:19.260-08:00The Parable of the Prodigal Son - Ending Unresolved?<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicn48RO0hf8aMXAujgtXYxkIbY3q7wTkJgtMG_giu07bo7pL_-CDINdAP65jta8VsChskZCqmBhnw8outAdRtF5xA0EiWs_q5GdtJL9313-0ZCWCEJtMNkRL7dhu-bXErhGoPHfCuEyaO5seWPKUoMJFnufdFsdAu2eE0M3aQiOIpueOAu7OtzQsp6NhY/s604/Prodigal_Son_icon__61580.1423444189.1000.1200_042a4bae-213e-4e03-a3c9-5faba3c06436_620x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="450" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicn48RO0hf8aMXAujgtXYxkIbY3q7wTkJgtMG_giu07bo7pL_-CDINdAP65jta8VsChskZCqmBhnw8outAdRtF5xA0EiWs_q5GdtJL9313-0ZCWCEJtMNkRL7dhu-bXErhGoPHfCuEyaO5seWPKUoMJFnufdFsdAu2eE0M3aQiOIpueOAu7OtzQsp6NhY/w298-h400/Prodigal_Son_icon__61580.1423444189.1000.1200_042a4bae-213e-4e03-a3c9-5faba3c06436_620x.jpg" width="298" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><p></p><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 22.5px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Parish Faithful, </span></span></i></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 22.5px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Of the many intriguing points about the Parable of the Prodigal Son, one of them is the fact of just how "open" it is in the end. After reading of these three wonderfully etched characters of the compassionate father, and of the two sons - one prodigal and the other unforgiving - we find ourselves facing a real dose of uncertainty when the parable is completed. </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 22.5px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sequentially, we heard of the remarkable "resurrection"<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">(anastas</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>in the text) of the prodigal son once he "comes to himself," and literally throws himself before the father whom he callously abandoned to pursuit his fortune and his misguided understanding of both independence and pleasure. Then, we heard of the compassionate father who responds with an outpouring of forgiveness and love, as he refuses to react with a predictable offense at his son's misadventures when he returns seeking mercy. And finally, we hear of the even more predictable response of the other son who, almost choking with resentment at the mercy shown his unacknowledged brother (a relationship that he does not admit to), as he bitterly lashes out at his father's seemingly blissful indifference to his life of toil in pursuit of fair recognition of his filial piety. The poor father has two very difficult sons to deal with, and he does so with an amazing patience and loving admonition. The image of our heavenly Father as revealed by Jesus finds its truest expression in the father of the parable.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 22.5px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But a parable is not a fairy tale, and though the final sentence is undoubtedly positive and even echoes the very core of the Gospel: "Your brother was lost, and is now found," that is not the same as hearing: "And they lived happily ever after." It is not even equivalent to hearing: "All's well that ends well." Hence, the "openness" of the parable's ending is that we cannot assume with any certainty that the unforgiving brother experienced a "change of mind" (the meaning of the Gk. word for repentance -<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">metanoia</em>). The possibility remains that his resentment may have continued to smolder even if he went into the party and partook of the fatted calf and appeared to "make merry." There is no real indication of his final response. </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 22.5px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And the prodigal son? We left him humbled and on his knees before his father; perhaps filled with jubilation at his "reversal of fortune" as he now rejoices in a sumptuous feast prepared for him shortly after his desperate willingness to even eat the pods thrown to the pigs. But was his repentance permanent or ephemeral? Did he suffer another bout of restlessness and instability? Did he "hit the road" yet again?</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 22.5px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Christ gives us a remarkable glimpse of the gift of salvation and of a "fresh start" in this parable. Of this there is no doubt, as many see this as the "parable of all parables;" the one that comes readily to mind when the heart of the Gospel is reflected upon: the salvation of sinners by a merciful God. And yet we can also say that Christ was a "realist," and that he leads us into the deepest recesses of the Gospel, while simultaneously acknowledging the barriers presented to a sinful humanity to actually repent: habit, hard-heartedness, indifference and resentment, to mention a few of the more obvious sins. </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 22.5px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We know how we want the parable to end, as our better intuition seeks reconciliation and deep communion between human beings made in God's image and likeness. But the "openness" in the end, without an assurance of that longed for "happy ending" reveals the contingency of all life within the theater of history and its demands for constant choices. Repentance must be sustained once embraced - an ever-deepening process of "turning around" and "changing one's mind" so that we seek first the Kingdom of God and all righteousness, leading to the human transformation that that implies.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 22.5px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Again, Christ offers us an unforgettable image of repentance, compassion, and even the "no exit" of cold indifference. This openness is perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the Lord's incomparable parables.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 22.5px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Please feel free to share any comments or further insights into this "parable of parables."</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 22.5px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p></div>Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-55464846228325982182024-02-27T08:52:00.000-08:002024-02-27T09:13:33.007-08:00The Witness of Alexei Navalny<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXG4P76B2mK9NzDgOhCdKqjuf8l0jULa9euk6Jzt-e89mOCt1Be3HMUTKCBf4boxBNsrjzymhVRIQXAC9FZoJlSOdKotF2YDuL6WdvZ9ir93V0lGjfNeq2_tMd6sHhJr4-ROzzFqR4FnuzUsxjkJ3j6SxpHvqP0wp5ZH81BQc5N_vSazUy9ie48RsDMf4/s1190/Navalny_poster01-crop1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="744" data-original-width="1190" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXG4P76B2mK9NzDgOhCdKqjuf8l0jULa9euk6Jzt-e89mOCt1Be3HMUTKCBf4boxBNsrjzymhVRIQXAC9FZoJlSOdKotF2YDuL6WdvZ9ir93V0lGjfNeq2_tMd6sHhJr4-ROzzFqR4FnuzUsxjkJ3j6SxpHvqP0wp5ZH81BQc5N_vSazUy9ie48RsDMf4/w400-h250/Navalny_poster01-crop1.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><p></p><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Parish Faithful,</span></span></i></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have taken these words of Alexei Navalny from a <a href="https://publicorthodoxy.org/2024/02/26/greater-love-navalny/" target="_blank">longer article</a> found on the website<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">Public Orthodoxy.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>These words of Navalny before the Russian judge who would sentence him to prison are introduced by a rather disquieting question by Inga Leonova. I am certain that everyone is aware of the that Alexei Navalny died recently while serving a sentence in a Siberian prison because of his sustained opposition to the repressive regime in Russia.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"What can we, the Orthodox, make of the fact that one of the strongest Christian sermons in recent years was delivered as the last word in the unjust trial of an opposition leader?"</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">__________</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">If you want, I’ll talk to you about God and salvation. </strong><span style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">I’ll turn up the volume of heartbreak to the maximum, so to speak. The fact is that I am a Christian, which usually rather sets me up as an example for constant ridicule in the Anti-Corruption Foundation, because mostly our people are atheists and I was once quite a militant atheist myself. But now I am a believer, and that helps me a lot in my activities, because everything becomes much, much easier. I think about things less. There are fewer dilemmas in my life, because there</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">is a book in which, in general, it is more or less clearly written what action to take in every situation. It’s not always easy to follow this book, of course, but I am actually trying. And so, as I said, it’s easier for me, probably, than for many others,</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">to engage in politics.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">A man recently wrote to me, </strong><span style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;"><b>“</b><em style="direction: ltr;"><b>Navalny, why does everyone write to you, ‘Hold on, don’t give up, be patient, grit your teeth?’</b> What do you have to tolerate? You kind of said in the interview that you believe in God. The Bible says, ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.’ Well, that’s just great for you, isn’t it!”</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>And I thought, how well this man understands me! Because it’s not that I’m fine, but I’ve always thought that this particular commandment is more or less an instruction to activity. And so, while certainly not really enjoying the place where I am, I have no regrets about coming back, or about what I’m doing. It’s fine, because I did the right thing. On the contrary, I feel a real kind of satisfaction. Because at some difficult moment I did as required by the instructions, and did not betray the commandment.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">And there’s one more important thing. Without question, this whole Biblical passage—“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled”—comes across as overly theatrical to modern ears. </strong><span style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">It is assumed that people who say such things are crazy, not to put too fine a point on it—crazy oddbods who sit there alone in their rooms with disheveled hair, attempting to cheer themselves up by any means possible, because they are lonely and not needed by anyone. This is the key point. Our authorities and the system as a whole try to tell these people that they are pathetic loners.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">The first priority is to intimidate people, and then to prove to them that they are loners, and to imply that no normal or sane person would adhere to teachings of this kind. </strong><span style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">This attempt to make people believe that they are loners is highly significant, since it represents one of the goals pursued by the authorities. Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter books was a remarkable philosopher who said something very wise about this topic. You might remember her saying to Harry Potter, in an attempt to give him courage in the face of adversity; “Well, if I were You-Know-Who… I’d want you to feel cut off from everyone else…” There can be no doubt that our own You-Know-Who in his palace would also want that.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">These guards are great chaps, and the guards in my prison are also decent folk, but they don’t talk to me—they have apparently been forbidden to do so. </strong><span style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">They sometimes come out with stock phrases. This is also very important, because the aim is for me to feel unceasingly lonely. Yet this is not how I feel at all. And I will explain why. This teaching—“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied”—appears somehow esoteric and odd, but in fact it is the central political doctrine in modern Russia. Your Honor, what is it, this phrase or slogan, the most important political slogan in Russia? Where does power lie? Power lies in truth. That is what this teaching is saying. That is how it could be compressed into a Tweet, omitting the unnecessary words such as “for” and “thirst.” This is what it essentially means. And the whole country repeats in many different permutations that power lies in truth, and that whoever holds the truth will be victorious.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><cite style="direction: ltr;"><sup style="direction: ltr;">– Alexey Navalny’s<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://www.rightsinrussia.org/navalny-2/" target="_blank">closing remarks</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>in Moscow City Court, February 20, 2021.</sup></cite></span></span></p></div><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p>Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-91760075375000078582024-02-26T13:13:00.000-08:002024-02-26T13:13:59.018-08:00He who humbles himself...<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcSuQlkx02SBpYbbwqSosM1-ttPnhwP4YGU96hn5l7ErUo9c3mJtP90Tmym13Aopin5enLvJxDLDBOj5Vwz-ZdleFMJ4wuHzqLpYqfCG5J1_z92f2SR7rgCtjplZ-zzyTziLS5RmQkbkEL1D_ghX6MNtQUBIw1pEeCt4OZIHqmIuplZMRqivrcbbyo29Y/s817/publicanandpharisee.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="817" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcSuQlkx02SBpYbbwqSosM1-ttPnhwP4YGU96hn5l7ErUo9c3mJtP90Tmym13Aopin5enLvJxDLDBOj5Vwz-ZdleFMJ4wuHzqLpYqfCG5J1_z92f2SR7rgCtjplZ-zzyTziLS5RmQkbkEL1D_ghX6MNtQUBIw1pEeCt4OZIHqmIuplZMRqivrcbbyo29Y/w294-h400/publicanandpharisee.jpg" width="294" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> </span><p></p><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="direction: ltr;">Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,</i><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;"><b style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">Let us flee from the pride of the Pharisee and learn humility from the Publican's tears.</b><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><b style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">Let us cry to our Savior: Have mercy on us, O only merciful One.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Kontakion of the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee)</span></span></blockquote></div></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At Sunday's Divine Liturgy, we heard the first of four pre-lenten Gospel readings: The Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee (LK. 18:10-14). A parable is a story, and therefore is not based on an actual event, but who would deny that it reveals to us the truth about our relationship with God? That is why, in some of our prayers, we ask the Lord to grant us the spirit of the Publican and the Prodigal even though they were not individual historical characters. And yet these characters - the positive and the negative - are representative of all humanity. The parables are thus timeless sources of revealed Truth. They challenge us today, as they challenged our Lord's contemporaries.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This short parable describes "<b style="direction: ltr;">Two men</b>" that "<b style="direction: ltr;">went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector (or publican).</b>" (LK. 18:10). The Lord continues:<br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;"><b style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God , I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(v. 11-12)</span></span></blockquote></div></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The primary sin of this man who would have been considered "righteous" among his fellow Jews, is that of self-righteousness. True righteousness is God-sourced; but the pharisee's righteousness was self-sourced. Perhaps it is significant that Christ specifically says that he prayed "with himself." His "prayer" to God was a concise formulation of self-praise. He trusted in himself more then he trusted in God. He did the "right things," but in the wrong spirit. The sinners that he encountered on a daily basis only served to affirm him in his own perceived righteousness. The comparisons and contrasts were always to his advantage. He "needed" the sinners that surrounded him! His pride was his downfall. If pride leads to the self apart from God, then pride is the bitter road to nowhere. "<b style="direction: ltr;">For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled.</b>" (v. 14)</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Of the publican, the Lord offers this short but moving description:<br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;"><b style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat</b><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><b style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(v. 13)</span></span></blockquote></div></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Aware of his sin, the publican manifests deep, heartfelt repentance. This humble recognition of his sin is, paradoxically, the publican's road back to fellowship with God based on forgiveness and restoration. Empty of pride, there is now "room" for God. Humility is the "mother of the virtues" according to the saints, and this is not the way of the world. Humility demands great trust on our part, for the humble suffer reproach in this world, and our fear of being taken advantage of works against nurturing a humble spirit. Humility is the beginning of God-centeredness as opposed to self-centeredness. "<b style="direction: ltr;">He who humbles himself will be exalted.</b>" (v. 14)</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We all know the temptation toward self-righteousness and pride. The "rewards" are meaningless, for the exalted self ultimately experiences loneliness and emptiness. The proud person lives and dies alone. Yet, we still find it diffiicult to avoid such temptation. The "world' has driven the thirst for autonomy and its pride-based assumptions into our minds and hearts. To follow the Lord in His humility demands a total reorientation of our accumulated worldly "values" and worldly "wisdom." It means trusting in God, and not in oneself. Great Lent creates the environment wherein we can focus our attention on this never-ending battle for the heart's loyalties and final place of rest. The parable is a wonderful reminder of how we should approach this battle.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p></div>Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-14961964588502490132024-02-19T07:21:00.000-08:002024-02-27T09:02:01.179-08:00The Death of Alexei Navalny<p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXG4P76B2mK9NzDgOhCdKqjuf8l0jULa9euk6Jzt-e89mOCt1Be3HMUTKCBf4boxBNsrjzymhVRIQXAC9FZoJlSOdKotF2YDuL6WdvZ9ir93V0lGjfNeq2_tMd6sHhJr4-ROzzFqR4FnuzUsxjkJ3j6SxpHvqP0wp5ZH81BQc5N_vSazUy9ie48RsDMf4/s1190/Navalny_poster01-crop1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="744" data-original-width="1190" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXG4P76B2mK9NzDgOhCdKqjuf8l0jULa9euk6Jzt-e89mOCt1Be3HMUTKCBf4boxBNsrjzymhVRIQXAC9FZoJlSOdKotF2YDuL6WdvZ9ir93V0lGjfNeq2_tMd6sHhJr4-ROzzFqR4FnuzUsxjkJ3j6SxpHvqP0wp5ZH81BQc5N_vSazUy9ie48RsDMf4/w400-h250/Navalny_poster01-crop1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: free.navalny.com</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Parish Faithful,</span></i></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="text-align: left;"><p style="color: black; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I am sure that most of you have heard that the Russian dissident Alexei Navalny died last Friday while languishing in a Siberian prison near the Arctic circle (a prison that was formerly part of the Soviet Gulag slave labor camps), the victim of an oppressive authoritarian system that is responsible for his death, regardless of what the final "medical" reason behind his death actually is. That is something we may never know. And only God knows what he suffered in that prison for the last three years. </span></div><p></p><p style="color: black; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">In an age seemingly devoid of heroes, Navalny happens to be precisely that - a man of great courage and integrity. In short - a real hero. And these powerful virtues are in sharp contrast with the dictator who feared his principled opposition and then persecuted him. After nearly dying from an attempt to poison him, Navalny bravely returned to Russia to resume his role of opposition to the Putin regime. He was immensely popular. But he clearly understood the danger of returning to his home country and putting himself within the grasp of the authorities. As put in a new article in "Foreign Affairs" by the journalists Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan:</span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">For Russian society, confused, depressed, and constantly besieged by an ever more repressive regime, Navalny was a lone unifying figure. Although Russian authorities isolated him in increasingly restrictive layers of confinement since his arrest on his return to Russia in 2021, he continued to have that stature right up to the moment of his death. Navalny’s demise marks a dark new step in Putin’s ruthless pursuit of power. But it also raises a stark challenge for Russia’s opposition, which must now figure out how to sustain the unity he created and seize the movement he left behind.</span></blockquote></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br style="direction: ltr;" /></span><p></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I do believe that it is "meet and right" to acknowledge Alexei Navalny's tragic death so that we can think about what it means to stand up today for truth and honesty in a time when posturing and rhetoric are being rewarded by a great deal of public opinion. If the word martyrdom means "witness," we can say that Navalny was a martyr, for he was a witness who gave his life for the sake of defending justice and honesty - what we would call "righteousness" - as did St. John the Forerunner. Like St. John, he boldly stood up to and spoke against a leader who ruled through fear and oppression. The Herods of old have been replaced all through history by latter-day tyrants exhibiting the same dreary traits of corruption and cowardice. They can only respond to strong morally-based opposition by repression and persecution. That is precisely why history judges them as "infamous." But their victims are deeply respected and remembered as heroes and "icons" of goodness and moral integrity. </span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I would like to also share a couple of paragraphs from an article by the esteemed journalist and historian, Anne Applebaum, a scholar who has spent most of her professional life studying and writing about totalitarian regimes in which basic civility is cynically trampled on. The article from which this paragraphs is taken, was published on Friday in the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i style="direction: ltr;">Atlantic</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i style="direction: ltr;">Monthly </i>and is entitled "Why Russia Killed Navalny."<br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"></span></p></div><blockquote><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The enormous contrast between Navalny’s civic courage and the corruption of Putin’s regime will remain. Putin is fighting a bloody, lawless, unnecessary war, in which hundreds of thousands of ordinary Russians have been killed or wounded, for no reason other than to serve his own egotistical vision.</span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Even behind bars Navalny was a real threat to Putin, because he was living proof that courage is possible, that truth exists, that Russia could be a different kind of country. For a dictator who survives thanks to lies and violence, that kind of challenge was intolerable. Now Putin will be forced to fight against Navalny’s memory, and that is a battle he will never win.</span></p></div></blockquote><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Alexei Navalny was a man of great moral integrity. His untimely death is a tragedy. We hope that it was not in vain. As we exclaim in the Church: Memory Eternal!</span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"> </span></p></div>Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-78046210496279795092024-02-07T10:11:00.000-08:002024-02-10T10:32:06.578-08:00Lenten Reading List, Part 2<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv2oDFXwTrgIkNDc83bNBgi2OL4SMERwGYo1ar8gauK11hRPA6CXBeSzK-vqXw3NO1I9pn-yLic9tzkpAnJ0HKyV0eiI2wspVwg6S2VXl-TYdVUEN0uwnQ8xFU4hWmwC7vSvHL6vh8HnBsWZ3il2aHHQ2w5UKYLhBUNrtpbWeIL_-Szk2sCQls9dhtQAM/s1000/Thirty%20Steps%20to%20Heaven%20Book.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="647" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv2oDFXwTrgIkNDc83bNBgi2OL4SMERwGYo1ar8gauK11hRPA6CXBeSzK-vqXw3NO1I9pn-yLic9tzkpAnJ0HKyV0eiI2wspVwg6S2VXl-TYdVUEN0uwnQ8xFU4hWmwC7vSvHL6vh8HnBsWZ3il2aHHQ2w5UKYLhBUNrtpbWeIL_-Szk2sCQls9dhtQAM/w259-h400/Thirty%20Steps%20to%20Heaven%20Book.jpeg" width="259" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> </span><p></p><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Parish Faithful,</span></span></i></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Another list of excellent Orthodox reading material for Great Lent</b> meant to supplement Monday's list. This will allow you plenty of time before Great Lent begins on March 18 to purchase whatever book(s) you may choose. Please contact me if you would like to discuss any of these books with me.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>+</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong style="direction: ltr;"><em style="direction: ltr;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Place-Heart-Elisabeth-Behr-Sigel/dp/0881414522" target="_blank">The Place of the Heart</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em></strong>by Elizabeth Behr-Sigel. The author has been described as the “grandmother” of 20<sup style="direction: ltr;">th</sup><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>c. Orthodox writers. A European lay theologian, Behr-Sigel’s book is subtitled “An Introduction to Orthodox Spirituality.” This is a far-ranging description of how our immensely rich spiritual tradition developed from the Scriptures to the present day. A very rich presentation. Actually, Arch. Ware’s essay on<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">The Power of the Name<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>is included here as an Appendix.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>+</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong style="direction: ltr;"><em style="direction: ltr;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Human-Meditations-Christian-Anthropology/dp/0881414395/" target="_blank">Becoming Human</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em></strong>by Fr. John Behr. A marvelous and profound meditation – accompanied by iconographic images – on the Person of Christ and how Christ is the link toward our own true humanity. Many great new insights here that Fr. John has put into a short meditative form based on his other scholarly studies of the early Christian tradition. A profound link is made between Christ – the one true human being – and our own emerging humanity after His image.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>+</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong style="direction: ltr;"><em style="direction: ltr;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Many-Splendored-Image-Theological-Anthropology/dp/080103471X" target="_blank">God’s Many-Splendored Image</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em></strong>by Nonna Verna Harrison. Verna Harrison is an Orthodox nun, known as Sister Nonna. She is also a highly-respected patristic scholar and theologian. This book explores “theological anthropology for Christian formation.” That sounds rather intimidating, but prominent readers have said that “clarity, simplicity, beauty, and depth” characterize the content and style of this book. A truly wonderful exploration of what it means to be, as a human being, “God’s many-splendored image.” Insightful observations are made in this book about figures ranging from desert fathers to Albert Einstein. Sister Nonna dedicated the book “to all people whom other people have thrown away. It shows that God does not throw away people.” Who would not want to read a book with a dedication like that?</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>+</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong style="direction: ltr;"><em style="direction: ltr;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sayings-Desert-Fathers-Alphabetical-Collection/dp/0879079592" target="_blank">The Sayings of the Desert Fathers – The Alphabetical Collection</a><span class="Apple-converted-space">, </span></em></strong>Benedicta Ward (editor and translator). Here are the multitude of aphorisms, anecdotes and wisdom sayings of the great desert fathers arranged alphabetically (the Gk. alphabet, that is) from the letters Alpha to Omega, and everything in between. These are the words of life from the great pioneers of Christian asceticism and the spiritual life. We read the words of Sts. Anthony the Great, Arsenius, and Macarius the Great and a host of other spiritual guides. An endless source of wisdom that can be read through the years.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;"><span style="direction: ltr;">+</span><em style="direction: ltr;"> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Sinner-Peter-Bouteneff/dp/0881416231" target="_blank">How To Be A Sinner</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em></strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">by Dr. Peter Bouteneff. This is an excellent new book that is endlessly insightful when answering the difficult question: What does it mean when I call myself a sinner? Dr. Bouteneff takes us on a journey down the “royal road,” avoiding a dark, guilt-ridden path of self-lacerating; and a superficial therapeutic approach designed to relieve us of any deep responsibility for our sins. Balanced and honest, this book will surprise you with its probing analysis.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;"><span style="direction: ltr;">+ </span><em style="direction: ltr;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Thirty-Steps-Heaven-Vassilios-Papavassiliou/dp/1936270897" target="_blank">Thirty Steps to Heaven</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em></strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">by Vasilios Papavassiliou. Fr. Vasilios “walks” us up the Ladder of Divine Ascent by “translating” St. John’s classic monastic text<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">The Ladder of Divine Ascent<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>into a style and analysis that has a layperson living in the world primarily in mind. Yet, his commentary is not “watered down” so as to lose the depth and challenging vision of St. John. Very accessible and very practical for today’s Orthodox Christian.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;"><span style="direction: ltr;">+</span><em style="direction: ltr;"> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/First-Fruits-Prayer-Forty-Day-Journal/dp/155725611X" target="_blank">First Fruits of Prayer – A Forty Day Journey Through the Canon of St. Andrew</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em></strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">by Frederica Mathewes-Green. Similar in style and tone to Fr. Vasilios’ book mentioned right above. But here this prolific contemporary Orthodox author takes us through the classic Canon of St. Andrew, chanted on the first four evenings of Great Lent; and then again on the Thursday of the Fifth Week of Great Lent. Fine resource for rhe scriptural content of St. Andrew’s famous work.</span></span></p><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Also visit our <b><a href="https://christthesavioroca.org/greatlent" target="_blank">Great Lent Resource Section</a></b> on our parish website for more books and aids, and join us for the Journey!</i></span></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span></span></div>Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-7755019810128190782024-02-05T09:59:00.000-08:002024-02-10T10:11:40.905-08:00Lenten Reading List, Part 1<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Parish Faithful,</span></span></i></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Looking ahead to Great Lent (March 18)</b>, I would like to begin recommending some excellent Orthodox literature that would clearly deepen your understanding, and even practice, of this unique liturgical season. Such a list always begins with<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i style="direction: ltr;">Great Lent</i>, as you will read below. If you are new to the Orthodox Church, or have not read this book if even a long-standing member of the Church, I consider this book a "must read."<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;"></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl4o0o_pak-cDQMoWN2E60UP3qjAZoaLCy8DrURyTQs7spyXvEHJqXdBnsVzfoydgnz4aJ-QW7j4fNI1bkm2Yj0s42VMqEFTkYdhfDRudCUelgJFaMc2TgDgsyBdOkU_m_yRdQYqP4y2suFmtEfZqQr91kqlhd0KElKiY9cjc2SHX90CuBvhC0jMHbQSE/s615/GreatLent-Schmemann.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="615" data-original-width="403" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl4o0o_pak-cDQMoWN2E60UP3qjAZoaLCy8DrURyTQs7spyXvEHJqXdBnsVzfoydgnz4aJ-QW7j4fNI1bkm2Yj0s42VMqEFTkYdhfDRudCUelgJFaMc2TgDgsyBdOkU_m_yRdQYqP4y2suFmtEfZqQr91kqlhd0KElKiY9cjc2SHX90CuBvhC0jMHbQSE/s320/GreatLent-Schmemann.jpg" width="210" /></a></b></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;"><br /></b></span></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">+<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i style="direction: ltr;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Great-Lent-Journey-Alexander-Schmemann/dp/0913836044/ref=asc_df_0913836044/" target="_blank">Great Lent - Journey to Pascha</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">by Fr. Alexander Schmemann. Recommended by Arch. Kallistos Ware as the best single volume about Lent in English, this book has become a “classic” that should be read by one and all. After reading this book, you will never approach the Lenten services in exactly the same way. In fact, you just may want to come to church more often during Great Lent. This book includes the great appendix chapter, “Taking Lent Seriously” which you will do even more so after reading this book!</span></span></div><p></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>+</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b style="direction: ltr;"><i style="direction: ltr;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lenten-Spring-Readings-Great-Lent/dp/0881410144/ref=asc_df_0881410144/" target="_blank">The Lenten Spring</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i></b>by Fr. Thomas Hopko. Also already something of a “classic.” This is a series of forty three-four page meditations on a variety of lenten themes. A wonderful use of the Scriptures and the Church’s Lenten hymnography, together with Fr. Hopko’s endless stream of great insights.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>+</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b style="direction: ltr;"><i style="direction: ltr;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Prayer-Encounter-Metropolitan-Hilarion-Alfeyev/dp/0881415286" target="_blank">Prayer: An Encounter With the Living God</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i></b>by Metropolitan Ilarion Alfeyev. A relatively new book by one of today’s most prolific and gifted theologians/spiritual directors. Short straightforward chapters that yield many insights into the practice of serious and effective prayer. Very practical and quite helpful for that very reason.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>+</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b style="direction: ltr;"><i style="direction: ltr;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Passion-Christ-Veselin-Kesich/dp/091383680X" target="_blank">The Passion of Christ</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i></b>by Veselin Kesich. This was my New Testament professor at St. Vladimir’s Seminary. A compact and clearly-written account of the Lord’s death on the Cross. Prof. Kesich walks you through the Lord’s earthly ministry and all of the factors that led to the Lord’s Passion. In only about a hundred pages, this book will illuminate a great deal for you as we move toward Holy Week during Great Lent.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>+</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b style="direction: ltr;"><i style="direction: ltr;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Power-Name-Prayer-Orthodox-Spirituality-ebook/dp/B00KQOELUK" target="_blank">The Power of the Name: The Jesus Prayer in Orthodox Spirituality</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i></b>by Archbishop Kallistos Ware. Certainly the best short introduction to the Jesus Prayer by a lifelong student and practitioner of the great “prayer of the heart.” Arch. Ware distills years of study and practice into an unforgettable forty-page treatise. Yes – another classic!</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>To be continued...</i><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><br /></span></span></div>Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-79616042810697702312024-01-05T08:04:00.000-08:002024-01-05T08:04:40.930-08:00'One Baptism for the remission of sins'<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM1XiL0TLn-NfwboJRSvwGLLe5Jis6jzXTIEY9yXPyDeeETjJK0JJ2PxJY7idzVIPgTcgWZVyZvSxo-2ekb8rXvv9XWSFPbQHlx5yUCJRfVzFeHvlGevEy30vy8s4w6t_JoB0aTa9tQHNjTdqDLY-QMhaqmZWmc5wFkFl5OqQ_y4vIyNFh0ALvOKOLrNE/s1024/Baptism-Greek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="792" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM1XiL0TLn-NfwboJRSvwGLLe5Jis6jzXTIEY9yXPyDeeETjJK0JJ2PxJY7idzVIPgTcgWZVyZvSxo-2ekb8rXvv9XWSFPbQHlx5yUCJRfVzFeHvlGevEy30vy8s4w6t_JoB0aTa9tQHNjTdqDLY-QMhaqmZWmc5wFkFl5OqQ_y4vIyNFh0ALvOKOLrNE/w310-h400/Baptism-Greek.jpg" width="310" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,<br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /><em style="direction: ltr;">“I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins”</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(Nicene Creed)<br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /><b>The Great Feast of Theophany is more ancient that that of Christ’s Nativity.</b> In fact, it was precisely on January 6 that the Church first celebrated Christ’s birth (and the adoration of the Magi), together with His baptism in the Jordan. These events—of the greatest significance not only in the life of Christ but in the “economy” of our salvation—were united in one celebration known as “Theophany,” which means “manifestation of God.” (The Feast is also referred to as “Epiphany,” which simply means “manifestation.”) In His Nativity and in His Baptism, Christ is “manifested,” or “revealed,” to the world as the Light of the world in order to dispel the darkness of ignorance and spiritual blindness which are the direct result of sin. This Feast of Theophany is also referred to as the “Feast of Lights.” </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was in the fourth century that we began to celebrate our Lord’s Nativity (and the adoration of the Magi) as a separate and unique event on December 25, while January 6 remained as the Feast of Theophany, on which Christ’s Baptism was commemorated. Why did the Feast of January 6 retain the title “Theophany/Epiphany” instead of December 25, when the manifestation of the eternal Light was first revealed in His Nativity in the flesh? Saint John Chrysostom writes that it is “because it was not when He was born that He became manifest to all, but when He was baptized; for up to this day He was unknown to the majority.”</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But not only was the Lord Jesus revealed to the world as He began His public ministry with His Baptism in the Jordan at the hands of Saint John the Forerunner.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">The Holy Trinity was manifested</em>, for the “voice of the Father” bore witness to His beloved Son, and the Spirit, “in the form of a dove” - to paraphrase the troparion of the Feast - descended and rested upon the Son. The Trinitarian nature of God was manifested when Christ came to the Jordan to be baptized.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yet, if Baptism is for the “remission of sins,” then why is Christ baptized, for He is without sin [1 Peter 2:22; Hebrews 4:15]? </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The liturgical texts repeatedly ask and answer this question for us in the following manner:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">“Though as God He needs no cleansing, yet for the sake of fallen man He is cleansed in the Jordan,”</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">“As a man He is cleansed, that I may be made clean.”</em> </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Christ is representative of all humanity. He is baptized for our sake. It is we who are cleansed and regenerated when He descends into the waters of the Jordan. For with Christ, and in Christ, our human nature—the human nature He assumed in all of its fullness in the Incarnation—descends into the cleansing and purifying waters of the Jordan (anticipating sacramental Baptism), so that the very same human nature may ascend out of the waters renewed, restored and recreated. As the New and Last Adam, He “sums up” all of us in Himself—for this reason He became man. </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Spirit descends and rests upon Christ, so that our humanity may be anointed in Him. Saint Athanasios the Great writes:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">“when He is anointed… we it is who in Him are anointed…. When He is baptized, we it is who in Him are baptized.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />Every Baptism is an “extension of” and a “participation in” the one, unique Baptism of Christ; just as every Eucharist is an “extension of” and a “participation in” the one, unique Mystical Supper. Actually, all of creation participates and is sanctified by the manifestation of God’s Son in the flesh: “At Thine appearing in the body, the earth was sanctified, the waters blessed, the heavens enlightened.”<br style="direction: ltr;" />We die to sin in Baptism and are raised to new life—for this reason the baptismal font is both tomb and womb, as Saint Cyril of Jerusalem tells us. Our pre- and post-baptismal lives must manifest some real change, according to Saint Gregory of Nyssa. </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In fact, I would like to append a few paragraphs from some of Saint Gregory’s writings about Baptism in order to allow him to describe the meaning of that need for change. Saint Gregory wrote in the fourth century—a time when he could presuppose adult baptism as the norm—but we can apply his teaching to our own consciousness of being Christians as we grow up in the Faith following “infant Baptism.”<br style="direction: ltr;" />Saint Gregory writes in his work known as<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">The</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">Great Catechism</em><strong style="direction: ltr;">:</strong><br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></span></p><blockquote style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When discussing Baptism and spiritual birth, we have to consider what happens to our life following Baptism.</span></span></blockquote><blockquote style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is a point which many of those who approach the grace of Baptism neglect; they delude themselves by being born in appearance only and not in reality. For through birth from above, our life is supposed to undergo a change. But if we continue in our present sinful state, then there is really no change in us. Indeed, I do not see how a man who continues to be the same can be considered to have become different when there is no noticeable change in him….<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />Now the physically born child certainly shares his parents’ nature. If you have been born of God and have become His child, then let your way of life testify to the presence of God within you. Make it clear Who your Father is!</span></span></blockquote><blockquote style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For the very attributes by which we recognize God are the very marks by which a child of His must reveal His relationship with God. ‘God is goodness and there is no unrighteousness in Him…. The Lord is gracious to all…. He loves His enemies…. He is merciful and forgives transgressions.’ These and many other characteristics revealed by the Scripture are what make a Godly life….<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />If you are like this and you embody the Spirit of God, then you have genuinely become a child of God, but if you persist in displaying evil, then it is useless to prattle to yourself and to others about your birth from above. You are still merely a son of man, not a son of that Most High God! You love lies and vanity, and you are still immersed in the corruptible things of this world.</span></span></blockquote><blockquote style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Don’t you know in what way a man becomes a child of God? Why, in no other way than by becoming holy!</span></span></blockquote></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is a serious matter, indeed, to "put on Christ" in the Sacrament of Baptism. A baptized Christian represents Christ to the world of everyday living. Therefore, not only great privileges are granted to baptized Christians, but also great responsibilities!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> <br /></span></span></span></p></div><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p>Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-69477244305612857142023-12-29T08:43:00.000-08:002023-12-30T08:55:29.634-08:00The Threat of Dehumanization<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRM1d-cxuEOpwIfZ3lq-sFmIhhRaKjnpQxQr39H8FQ6o6wgT1KlPnFOMuT0Gw0yYnOLb-nPAFgR3HSMLcJukPeL7HDAZUj17kr6_hJkAmOE_lGR1D0T2tZ7EyPx07LOxd3wgtpzu5CErE9KTH5lNLn-1PDxoLiFYix_bqCHLoKZU9rI0BrBSCXJ_Utvo/s400/2020-PoliticalDivision1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="321" data-original-width="400" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRM1d-cxuEOpwIfZ3lq-sFmIhhRaKjnpQxQr39H8FQ6o6wgT1KlPnFOMuT0Gw0yYnOLb-nPAFgR3HSMLcJukPeL7HDAZUj17kr6_hJkAmOE_lGR1D0T2tZ7EyPx07LOxd3wgtpzu5CErE9KTH5lNLn-1PDxoLiFYix_bqCHLoKZU9rI0BrBSCXJ_Utvo/w400-h321/2020-PoliticalDivision1.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><p></p><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was recently reading an article concerning a current political and social issue by Peter Wehner, a Christian writer and leader of the Trinity Forum. In the middle of his article, I encountered this paragraph in which Peter Wehner calls the reader's attention to a process that is becoming more and more common in today's public discourse: The tendency to reduce the humanity of one's opponents and enemies. This process is called<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">dehumanization</em>. Here is the relevant paragraph from Peter Wehner's article:</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Dehumanizers view their targets as having “a human appearance but a subhuman essence,” according to David Livingstone Smith, a philosophy professor who has written on the history and complicated psychological roots of dehumanization. “It is the dehumanizer’s nagging awareness of the other’s humanity that gives dehumanization its distinctive psychological flavor,” he<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-link-id="1263362508" href="https://click.mlsend.com/link/c/YT0yMzgwNzA4ODY1ODgxNjc1NTQxJmM9eTlxMCZlPTI4ODgmYj0xMjYzMzYyNTA4JmQ9dTl0M2c5dg==.bjEAfxZVa62CjGfpUN7iver5LoVZ8ryMN0BAp1XEGxw" style="color: black; direction: ltr; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">writes.</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>“Ironically, it is our inability to regard other people as nothing but animals that leads to unimaginable cruelty and destructiveness.” Dehumanized people can be turned into something worse than animals; they can be turned into<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-link-id="1263362513" href="https://click.mlsend.com/link/c/YT0yMzgwNzA4ODY1ODgxNjc1NTQxJmM9eTlxMCZlPTI4ODgmYj0xMjYzMzYyNTEzJmQ9dTFzNnYwbg==.0VgkmeVizCTVVcTw7ONbT-j0h_L4gF_IlrWVemzrl7A" style="color: black; direction: ltr; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">monsters</a>. They aren’t just dangerous; they are<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-link-id="1263362518" href="https://click.mlsend.com/link/c/YT0yMzgwNzA4ODY1ODgxNjc1NTQxJmM9eTlxMCZlPTI4ODgmYj0xMjYzMzYyNTE4JmQ9dzdtN3IyYw==.VN64AHlMJ0ris2XOGUM82wR3Q1b17sq68kgQ6Ig1U0g" style="color: black; direction: ltr; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">metaphysically threatening</a>. They are not just subhuman; they are irredeemably destructive."</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We should be aware of the fact that two of the most infamous tyrants of the 20th c. - Hitler and Mussolini - called their enemies "vermin." (Lenin and Stalin called them “enemies of the people”). Ominously, the reduction of human beings – perceived as the enemy – to the level of vermin has recently entered into our own public/political discourse. Has that term ever been used before? This is dehumanization in an extreme form, for vermin are simply not human (the word comes from the Middle English - borrowed from the Anglo-French -<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">verm<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>or worm). To describe human beings as "vermin" is to strip them of their humanity, to reduce human beings to people perceived as despicable and dangerous to humanity. This is the dangerous rhetoric, indeed. This supports the definition of dehumanization above by David Livingstone Smith. Vermin, in the words of a parishioner, can only be treated by “extermination.” Hence, violence against such “monsters” is legitimized. We know the horrid results of this dehumanization of living human beings in the ghastly reigns of Hitler and Mussolini. And, for good measure, we can add Lenin and Stalin.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Obviously and tragically, human beings dehumanize themselves through repeated acts of serious sin. This is true of tyrants, dictators and killers. This is why criminal justice and prison systems exist: Human beings can do horrible things that dehumanize themselves and the people that they victimize. It is our responsibility to recognize this when it happens. We call this<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">discernment.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>Only in this way, can we struggle against the nefarious and even malignant spread of sin, systemic or personal. But Peter Wehner in the passage above is pointing to the troubling trend of dehumanizing the actually decent people who may oppose us ideologically - or even, simply, politically. It is easy to fall prey to this if we lack vigilance or simply allow ourselves to be swept up into such careless discourse. We can easily lose sight of the humanity of the "other side." Is this happening within our own country?</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our goal as Orthodox Christians is to ceaselessly affirm the true humanity of all persons. It is by this affirmation of the other that we acknowledge that each and every human being has been created in the image and likeness of God. We cannot resort to the rhetoric that degenerates to the level of calling other human beings "vermin." We must oppose it even when employed by a person that we tend to agree with or support. In fact, the use of this abusive language may just challenge our own discernment in supporting such a person. Our goal is to humanize, not dehumanize, our neighbor - even if we strongly disagree with such a neighbor.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I would like to re-emphasize, that what I am writing is in no way promoting a relativistic tolerance of sinful behavior (as in: no matter what someone actually does, ultimately we are all fine so we shouldn’t criticize anyone or challenge their beliefs or motives); or even with the non-acknowledgment of how deep-rooted sin deprives a human being of his/her humanity - sin can indeed be dehumanizing. But I was struck by what the philosopher David Livingstone Smith has written on the topic, which serves as a warning to what can happen among decent and well-intentioned people. Is not this what happened under both Hitler and Mussolini in Germany and Italy respectively? Is not the resurgence today, within our own society, of the irrational and wholly unjustified rise of both antisemitism and Islamophobia following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas, a warning sign of just how this can happen, even in a democratic society that prides itself on tolerance and civility? Once common civility – or basic deceny- is abandoned when responding to one’s ideological opponents, then the guardrails have been removed, and then, more-or-less, anything is permitted.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When we again celebrate the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, we commemorate His birth in the flesh, but also the renewal of human nature, the very human nature that the eternal Son of God assumed in the womb of His mother. We call this renewal of human nature the deification of that very human nature which had been estranged from God through sin and death. The healing of human nature begins with the Incarnation and subsequent passing of that human nature through death and into the light of the resurrection and its future glorification. That process is not “mechanical” or “magical.” It is given as a potential gift to those who consciously and freely accept that gift and then make an honest attempt to live according to the will of God. This is the noble challenge of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. To contend with our own ignoble tendencies may be equivalent to bearing a cross. But if we pursue that goal of reflecting the presence of Christin our lives honestly, we will always be able to see the humanity of other human beings, fallen and sinful though we and they may actually be.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is true that we “dehumanize” ourselves through our sinful actions, words and thoughts. But we cannot allow ourselves to dehumanize our religious, ideological or political adversaries by the dangerous rhetoric that is becoming more and more widespread – and tolerated - in the current divisiveness of our contemporary world. And right here in our country. As Christians we can never align ourselves with referencing other human beings as “vermin.” Christians are responsible for opposing such a sinful breakdown of decent civil discourse, not for the sake of “good manners,” but in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the One who is truly<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">philanthropos.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em></span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">- Fr. Steven</span></span></i></p></div><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p>Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-14422524749246686462023-12-28T09:23:00.000-08:002023-12-30T09:43:24.590-08:00The Glory of God<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjSohFKnFtJDvXfCQgBShJsDk1HxRyFavj2Vtj_OwVa6KlKrBZqS4UrAaFEAqdfMU-NgohCyqU5Ai6nZiL49ECvhymRQoowU07zAWMi7qURSLjSSUYMl4nrp8heiTsOMST88URWau0VbADu4mPc1G1D5ww1HPYKAFYzIe60KWrCI0vQHAcWv4H7vdS23g/s1493/nativity-2-1047x1493.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1493" data-original-width="1047" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjSohFKnFtJDvXfCQgBShJsDk1HxRyFavj2Vtj_OwVa6KlKrBZqS4UrAaFEAqdfMU-NgohCyqU5Ai6nZiL49ECvhymRQoowU07zAWMi7qURSLjSSUYMl4nrp8heiTsOMST88URWau0VbADu4mPc1G1D5ww1HPYKAFYzIe60KWrCI0vQHAcWv4H7vdS23g/w280-h400/nativity-2-1047x1493.jpg" width="280" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><p></p><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Parish Faithful,</span></span></i></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;">CHRIST IS BORN! GLORIFY HIM!</span></span></b></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the great Orthodox homilists of the 19th c. was St. Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow (+1867). He combined great rhetorical skills with a deep knowledge of the Scriptures and an in-depth awareness of the inexhaustible resources of Orthodox theology. In one of his many Nativity homilies, Met. Philaret chose as his main focus, the following text from St. Luke's Gospel: </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Lk. 2:13)<br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />There follows in this homily a remarkable passage about the meaning of the term "the glory of God." I have seen this passage cited by later Orthodox theologians (such as Vladimir Lossky and John Meyendorff), in numerous publications because of its penetrating depth into the biblical and theological concept of the glory of God. It is more than timely to read these words during the Nativity season as we join the angels in precisely praising God with the words "Glory to God in the highest!" This text forms the deepest content of the ancient hymn known as the Great Doxology:</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: small;">Glory is the revelation, a manifestation, a reflection, an externalization of inner perfection. God, from eternity, is revealed to Himself in the eternal birth of the Son of God, and in the eternal procession of the Holy Spirit, both of whom are one in essence with the Father. In this way, unity in the Holy Trinity shines forth essentially in an undimmed and unchanging glory.</span></blockquote><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><blockquote>God the Father is the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">Father of glory<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>(Eph. 1:17), the Son of God is the<em style="direction: ltr;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>brightness of His glory<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>(Heb. 1:3), and Himself has<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">the glory which [He] had with the [Father] ... before the world was<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>(Jn. 17:5). Equally, the Spirit of God is the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">Spirit of glory</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(I Pet. 4:14). The blessed God who is above all glory abides in His own internal glory, so that He does not require any other witnesses and does not need any participants in His glory.<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></blockquote></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><blockquote>However, since, by His endless goodness and love, He desires to communicate His blessedness to have gracious participants in His glory, He moved outward with His endless perfections, and they are manifested in His creation. His glory appears to the heavenly powers, is reflected in mankind, and is dressed in the beauty of the visible world. He gives it, and it is accepted by its participants, and then it returns to Him, and this circle of the glory of God comprises the blessed life and the prosperity of creation.</blockquote></span></span><p></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Toward the end of the same homily, Met. Philaret draws the faithful into this glorification of God in the presence of the Mystery of the Incarnation with the following rhetorical flourish:</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: small;"><b>This is the glorious mystery and mysterious power of this day! </b>Heavenly servants of the light saw the dawning of this glory before we ever did, and immediately, having turned to Him, they declared,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">Glory to God in the highest!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>Now it is no longer the morning, but the full day of this glory. Let our doxology rise up. Let it go up also to the inhabitants of Heaven. Let our own words rise up in the joyful ecstasy of the heart to the very throne of the Almighty: "Glory to God in the highest!"</span></blockquote><span style="font-size: small;"><br style="direction: ltr;" /></span><p></p></div>Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-18120955123633129272023-12-21T09:44:00.000-08:002023-12-30T09:52:28.927-08:00Shared Points in the Gospel Infancy Narratives<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGnkxyxeS7lWlDpTQbv6g0bxP1YHYtSvln_UooIAFQ5XajFTqlufnBeM2s68813In3yHeeSeaA9aNTolskipGR7LR33SjC-B_Mdofuyc1fAp9NwD4Q80f55rcGIWCRTXUzGhABI4aZRL2-dxoS0CZCRhpGR4x2JlF8w0ggAHcVEoN0LTUkanhlY6tDrx0/s640/Nativity-horiz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="640" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGnkxyxeS7lWlDpTQbv6g0bxP1YHYtSvln_UooIAFQ5XajFTqlufnBeM2s68813In3yHeeSeaA9aNTolskipGR7LR33SjC-B_Mdofuyc1fAp9NwD4Q80f55rcGIWCRTXUzGhABI4aZRL2-dxoS0CZCRhpGR4x2JlF8w0ggAHcVEoN0LTUkanhlY6tDrx0/w400-h265/Nativity-horiz.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><p></p><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Parish Faithful,</span></span></i></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"In the form of God<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">all things were made by Him<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>(Jn. 1:3); in the form of a servant, he himself was<em style="direction: ltr;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>born of a woman, born under the law<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>(Gal. 4:4)." — St. Augustine - <em style="direction: ltr;">The Trinity</em></span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;"></strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yesterday's<strong style="direction: ltr;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></strong><em style="direction: ltr;">Nativity Narrative Test<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>highlighted the differences between the two Gospels in the presentation of Christ's Nativity. Yet, we do not want to lose sight of the many "shared points" which are of great importance. This list was compiled by the eminent biblical scholar Raymond Brown. I hope that you find this quite helpful.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: center;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;"><br style="direction: ltr;" /></strong></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: center;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">Eleven Shared Points in the Two Infancy Narratives of the Evangelists Matthew and Luke</strong></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">+ The parents to be are Mary and Joseph who are legally engaged or married, but have not yet come to live together or have sexual relations (MATT. 1:18; LK. 1:27,34).</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">+ Joseph is of Davidic descent (MATT. 1:16,20; LK. 1:27,32; 2:4).</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">+ There is an angelic announcement of the forthcoming birth of the child (MATT. 1:20-23; LK. 1:30-35).</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">+ The conception of the child by Mary is not through intercourse with her husband (MATT. 1:20, 23,25; LK. 1:34).</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">+ The conception is through the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18,20; Lk. 1:35</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">+ There is a directive from the angel that the child is to be named Jesus (MATT. 1:21;LK. 1:31)</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">+ An angel states that Jesus is to be Savior (MATT. 1:21; LK. 2:11).</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">+ The birth of the child takes place after the parents have come to live together (MATT. 1:24-25; LK. 2:5-6).</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">+ The birth takes place at Bethlehem (MATT. 2:1; LK. 2:4-6)</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">+ The birth is chronologically related to the reign (days) of Herod the Great (MATT. 2:1; LK. 1:5).</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">+ The child is reared at Nazareth (MATT. 2:23; LK. 2:39).</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: right;"><p style="color: black; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">From<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">The Birth of the Messiah,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>by Raymond Brown, p. 34-35</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><br /></span></span></div>Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-58761893329996964462023-12-20T08:56:00.000-08:002023-12-30T09:22:48.588-08:00Nativity Narrative Test<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzbO4yMIhi-GRQytz1ZYd0LKhTu2NfwLAyxBKKmadW4gw0IcLQUzV1DeQhviKek6knrLU5SrFAeKcdcIiwxkEHAWnbhF8UMpPagnKKpuSI4Q0K4LNwVD5JqxBsaiZ1iDSDA209XWmTjB3j55l5NkS25kH_k5q_zPT2hqdAaSl90Kfss-YsKwnLOkig66c/s1024/BethlehemStar-1024px.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzbO4yMIhi-GRQytz1ZYd0LKhTu2NfwLAyxBKKmadW4gw0IcLQUzV1DeQhviKek6knrLU5SrFAeKcdcIiwxkEHAWnbhF8UMpPagnKKpuSI4Q0K4LNwVD5JqxBsaiZ1iDSDA209XWmTjB3j55l5NkS25kH_k5q_zPT2hqdAaSl90Kfss-YsKwnLOkig66c/s320/BethlehemStar-1024px.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">Dear Parish Faithful,</b></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;"></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here is an old "war horse" that I have sent out over the years; but since we have so many new parishioners, I hope that this Test will generate some interest. How well do we know the Scriptures, and here more specifically about the Nativity Narratives in the Gospels of Sts. Matthew and Luke?<br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Be that as it may - enjoy and see how well you do!</span></span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;"></b></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">Nativity Narrative Test</b></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">The following test questions should be answered by using the following key:</span></i></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><b>M</b></u> – St. Matthew | <u><b>L</b></u> – St. Luke </span></span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><b>ML</b></u> – Sts. Matthew & Luke | <b> <u>N</u></b> – Neither Gospel</span></span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1. This Gospel contains a sequence of revelatory dreams to St. Joseph _____</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">2. This Gospel has an ox and an ass by the manger of the Christ Child _____</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3. This Gospel mentions the census that takes Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem _____</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">4. This Gospel contains the genealogy of Christ that begins with the Patriarch Abraham _____</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">5. This Gospel narrates the massacre of the Innocents _____</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">6. This Gospel narrates the visit of three magi who bring gifts to the Christ Child _____</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">7. This Gospel narrates the angelic visitation to shepherds watching their flocks _____</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">8. This Gospel contains references to King Herod _____</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">9. This Gospel narrates that Christ was born in the Hebrew month equivalent to Dec. _____</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">10. This Gospel contains the prophecy of Isaiah that a “virgin” shall conceive _____</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">11. This Gospel narrates the journey of the “Holy Family” to Egypt and back to Israel _____</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">12. This Gospel narrates that Jesus was wrapped in swaddling cloths _____</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">13. This Gospel refers to Jesus as the Word of God _____</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">14. This Gospel tells us that the name of Christ’s mother is Mary _____</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">15. This Gospel narrates the circumcision of the eight-day old Jesus _____</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">16. This Gospel narrates that Jesus was born in a cave/stable/house _____</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">17. This Gospel informs us that Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem _____</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">18. This Gospel tells us that after His birth, Jesus returned to Nazareth _____</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">19. This Gospel refers to the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus _____</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">20. This Gospel mentions women in the genealogy of Christ _____</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br /></span></span></p></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p>Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-1915190214155313052023-12-18T08:49:00.000-08:002023-12-18T08:49:50.315-08:00A Christmas Carol - 'Mankind was my business!'<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUISGMW73lanubAPBLIQbA0O8Dclx6Lnk9ZpiOnqMvV1X_nEx1CGzJjjmNmDIDmZJsDK2sDf-qtQewoFeZZP0ONuMrnwbCyWAalrNixt94mfO1-HZGa-IoBJX5Lt45CzYISUl48AZuvxB1KgJ7oGmqEvJyMSBjpkBmbIew3mbE2MLubpxt3pz-E22gres/s500/Scrooge-Marley2.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUISGMW73lanubAPBLIQbA0O8Dclx6Lnk9ZpiOnqMvV1X_nEx1CGzJjjmNmDIDmZJsDK2sDf-qtQewoFeZZP0ONuMrnwbCyWAalrNixt94mfO1-HZGa-IoBJX5Lt45CzYISUl48AZuvxB1KgJ7oGmqEvJyMSBjpkBmbIew3mbE2MLubpxt3pz-E22gres/w400-h300/Scrooge-Marley2.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">“Scrooge fell upon his knees, and clasped his hands before his face. 'Mercy!' he cried.” (Excerpt From: Charles Dickens. “A Christmas Carol.” Apple Books. GIF from 'Scrooge', 1951.)<br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><h3 style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="direction: ltr;"> </i></span></span></h3><h3 style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="direction: ltr;">Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,</i></span></span></h3><h3 style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="direction: ltr;"> </i></span></span></h3></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The over-all theme of the Parable of the Great Supper, heard last Sunday at the Liturgy, had to do with how being "busy" can easily lead to excuse-making of a dubious kind because we then justify postponing our relationship with God based upon those very excuses. But as Christ said in the parable, the Master of the Supper was not impressed.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><br style="direction: ltr;" /></p><p style="color: black; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This somehow connects in my mind with a certain literary classic. Over the years I have read<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i style="direction: ltr;"><b style="direction: ltr;">A Christmas Carol</b></i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>by Charles Dickens (and seen more than one film version!). For me, one of the most effective passages in the book, is toward the beginning, when the Ghost of Jacob Marley visits Scrooge on Christmas Eve. By this time, the miserly and miserable character of Scrooge has been masterfully etched in by Dickens. And to this day, the name of Scrooge is synonymous with avarice, greed, and a joyless and meaningless accumulation of profit. Earlier, Scrooge had articulated some of the utilitarian philosophy of the 19th c. when he coldly said in reference to the poor and prisoners, "If they would rather die they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population."</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Ghost of Marley returns to haunt Scrooge, but Marley himself is in great torment and anguish. Imprisoned in chains that he cannot free himself of, Marley is doomed to roam the earth as a restless spirit witnessing human suffering that he cannot alleviate because he ignored that suffering selfishly during his time on earth. Of the chains, Marley says:<br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></span></p><blockquote style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"I wear the chain I forged in life. I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it."</span></span></blockquote></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="direction: ltr;" />With a deep, bitter regret, Marley then confesses:<br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"My spirit never walked beyond our counting-house - mark me! - in life my spirit never roved beyond the narrow limits of our money-changing hole; and weary journeys lie before me!... Not to know that no space of regret can make amends for one's life opportunity misused! Yet such was I! Oh! such was I!"</span></span></blockquote></div></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="direction: ltr;" />At this point in this somewhat macabre dialogue between the two, Scrooge begins to grope for some signs of hope and relief as he intuitively realizes that Marley is speaking words of warning to him for his cold-hearted scorn for the rest of humanity. When Scrooge protests the working of an unseen providence, by saying "But you were always a good man of business, Jacob," we then hear what may be the most significant - and well-known - passage in this scene:<br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Business!" cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. "Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!"<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />It held up its chains at arm's length, as if that were the cause of all its unavailing grief, and flung it heavily upon the ground again.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />"At this time of the rolling year," the spectre said, "I suffer most. Why did I walk through crowds of fellow beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode! Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me!"</span></span></blockquote></div></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Anticipating the regret of a life not well-lived is a frightening thought. Especially if it comes down to having been too busy!</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Good literature is capable of leaving strong indelible images that are much more effective than a well-argued treatise. Dickens' characters were always exaggerated or "larger than life," as we may say. But they then "typify" a great deal about life in the process. </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Besides the necessary business that makes up our lives, and which must be done carefully and responsibly, just what else are we so "busy" with? Does that business also lead us away from charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence? Are we presently scurrying around, making sure that we will have a "Merry Christmas," while also turning our eyes downward so that we too cannot "see" the blessed Star that guides us to the Incarnate Christ? Are we going to somehow be able to "fit" the Church into our "Business?" Both the parable from Sunday and Dickens' classic<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b style="direction: ltr;"><i style="direction: ltr;">A Christmas Carol</i></b> raise the issue of our stewardship of time and the Christian truth that "mankind is our business."</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p></div>Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-64472862679765906132023-12-15T12:42:00.000-08:002023-12-16T13:18:09.670-08:00Regarding Fr Alexander Schmemann's Liturgical Vision<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTYnvHDZbpY0CytyelfBTUaXyg04CkGiPRIQ0DOtRJlo37bMUJPVBB6k5styMjvo8HTVaRKzTWey2X2SRQWgXO_jyHCXsG6iiywXXIC35AGMhUkJT6K13U284crxS87Nm7KFQSa3SeYi6ouP90WuT1M2FzLUA-hPvklwF4BCZPlBm9Oga2k1CHv_6Q3XM/s2120/Fr%20Schmemann%20Photo%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2120" data-original-width="1700" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTYnvHDZbpY0CytyelfBTUaXyg04CkGiPRIQ0DOtRJlo37bMUJPVBB6k5styMjvo8HTVaRKzTWey2X2SRQWgXO_jyHCXsG6iiywXXIC35AGMhUkJT6K13U284crxS87Nm7KFQSa3SeYi6ouP90WuT1M2FzLUA-hPvklwF4BCZPlBm9Oga2k1CHv_6Q3XM/w321-h400/Fr%20Schmemann%20Photo%202.jpg" width="321" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><p></p><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Parish Faithful,</span></span></i></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify;"><p style="color: black; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As we marked the fortieth anniversary of the repose of Fr. Alexander Schmemann on Tuesday, I returned to his<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">Journals</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and found this entry dated<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">Tuesday, May 18, 1982:</em></span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: small;">Long letter from Father K[ostoff]: <i>"I would like to at least - though superficially - let you know how absolutely important my three years of study under your guidance and in your presence were to me both intellectually and spiritually. I eagerly absorbed or attempted to do do so to the fullness of my capacity, that vision of the Church and simply of life itself which you presented to us at all times in the chapel and the classroom. For me, personally, and Deborah has expressed the same feelings, this was an encounter with an authentic vision, thereby making it not only inwardly convincing but also lasting and influential."</i></span></blockquote><p></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With many "ups and downs" it has been my goal over the years to remain loyal and committed to the liturgical and eucharistic revival that I was blessed to be made aware of as a seminary student at St. Vladimir's. Therefore, I am in no way blowing my trumpet with quoting my own letter to Fr. Alexander. Nor am I retreating into the pleasant realm of nostalgia. All I did was absorb a vision and practice of the Liturgy from the seminary that was imparted to us by Fr. Alexander in the chapel and the classroom. I then brought this vision and practice with me to the parishes in which I have served beginning as far back as 1981. And I have been here since 1989. </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My concern at this point in my life is this: Has Fr. Schmemann's vision been retained and still put into practice after all these years? Is it still alive and well? His "restoration" of the early Church's liturgical theology was often enough misinterpreted as an "innovation." Is that happening today, as a certain reactionary resistance to Fr. Schmemann's revival/restoration has seemed to settle in even in the Orthodox Church in America? If Fr. Schmemann's legacy is being slowly abandoned, what are the reasons for this, and what is it being replaced with?</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Immersed in these thoughts, I then almost immediately received this email letter from an old friend, a woman who studied and graduated from St. Vladimir's in the same year that I did. Her letter brought to the surface some of the very things that I was concerned about. Here is her letter, only slightly edited to eliminate some personal comments she made to Presvytera and me. Regardless of what she may say about me and our parish, her letter is really a tribute to Fr. Schmemann, in that forty years later here is someone else who not only remembers Fr. Schmemann, but is also so grateful for his legacy to the Church. Her letter is therefore both very encouraging, but also discouraging; a reaction that you may agree with:</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">_____</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Fr. Steven,</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was happy to see that your parish streams its services, so I joined in. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. I love the way that you always keep the doors open, and say all the prayers aloud. With rare exceptions, that’s virtually unknown around here, despite the fact that our bishop went to St. Vladimir’s for a while, and that both the last dean and present dean of St. Tikhon’s are both graduates of SVS. I don’t know, maybe this distinctive liturgical practice isn’t taught/stressed/practiced anymore there either? On the 40<sup style="direction: ltr;">th</sup><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>anniversary of his repose, I wonder how much of Fr. Alexander’s legacy is actually preserved by graduates of St. Vladimir’s, despite the lip service. But I digress.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I noticed in your parish how active a role that women played, reading the epistle and even serving as “out-of-altar” girls. That was a nice touch. The choir sounds good, I see catechumens - always a good sign - and lots of communicants. I don’t know if anyone has told you, but it was very difficult to hear your sermon on the stream. I couldn’t figure that, since the epistle reader had been standing in the same place, and was very clear. Maybe you should look in to that. Anyway, you seem to have built a very good parish there. I wish such a parish existed in my area. There is just a different “culture” around here; Orthodox yes, but different from what I was used to. I thought that things would eventually change, but it’s apparently not in the cards. So my heart was cheered to know that the OCA that I joined at SVS nearly 50 years ago still lives and flourishes! I hope that you are not the only faithful and true son of St. Vladimir’s still left out there.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span></span></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Related</b>: <br /></span></span></div><p> <a href="https://orthodoxmeditations.blogspot.com/search?q=Schmemann" target="_blank">Read more of Fr Steven's meditations about Fr Alexander Schmemann</a><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.svots.edu/headlines/commemorating-40-years-repose-protopresbyter-alexander-schmemann">Commemorating 40 Years from the Repose of Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann</a> (SVS)</p><a href="https://www.oca.org/history-archives/12-aac-fr-schmemann" target="_blank">The 12 All-American Councils of Father Alexander Schmemann</a> (OCA)<br /><br /><br /> Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-58127021817368064652023-12-05T13:44:00.000-08:002023-12-16T13:55:36.330-08:00The Image of Giving in St Nicholas<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXOMTvmz8p_J11w2f-wZWzNbXym3FGCjs8j85s2W7YcThCK-BrV8FyYKGmOGy4ePuLhtWmjxXgOr_-bBA6bf7P4ZovGOLmf5c4kd4WDiT3E5pj1lJTvv7YDWMT9ABAnaGce5PgvgODuXGRQFcXh9be2dRgiRx6pWEarUFPYcyYsphGAwISno7_5qDF8uA/s800/Nicholas-apse-fresco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="517" data-original-width="800" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXOMTvmz8p_J11w2f-wZWzNbXym3FGCjs8j85s2W7YcThCK-BrV8FyYKGmOGy4ePuLhtWmjxXgOr_-bBA6bf7P4ZovGOLmf5c4kd4WDiT3E5pj1lJTvv7YDWMT9ABAnaGce5PgvgODuXGRQFcXh9be2dRgiRx6pWEarUFPYcyYsphGAwISno7_5qDF8uA/w400-h259/Nicholas-apse-fresco.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><p></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="" class="mlMainContent" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; direction: ltr; width: 100%;"><tbody style="direction: ltr;"><tr style="direction: ltr;"><td style="border-collapse: collapse; direction: ltr;"><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Dear Parish Faithful,</i><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />Yesterday evening, at the Vespers for St. Nicholas at Holy Trinity/St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, there were about<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong style="direction: ltr;">thirty</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>parishioners from our parish present for the service. That was more than just a representative group from the parish, I must say! There were five visiting priests, including myself, in addition to the host clergy of Fr. Mark and Fr. John. The service and fellowship went well, and it was a "good evening" spent with other Orthodox Christians.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />Here is a nice anecdote shared by one of our parishioners: When one of our children entered the church and saw the stunning mosaics on the wall, she said: "But how do you kiss those icons?"<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />Below is a meditation on the figure of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Bishop of Myra in Lycia:<strong style="direction: ltr;"><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /></strong><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ1QmKmSon3-VX4r0uugv19MzvfuWRkot_mMLkmHTWBUGbyfd0hZq0z1kj0jH07mPgbGLBxR6maaJcqF3WoiOFI7AGJnd0zXhXRm77yLQXnPPzdANu6fffOg8cAochF2ZMEHoNA43de_y33rht_RHnSmKTnpf-1JJTSoHoqnzxHjsN3ZfN0se6zZOXPOw/s900/Nicholas%20provides%20dowry%20for%20the%20three%20beautiful%20daughters%20of%20an%20impoverished%20nobleman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ1QmKmSon3-VX4r0uugv19MzvfuWRkot_mMLkmHTWBUGbyfd0hZq0z1kj0jH07mPgbGLBxR6maaJcqF3WoiOFI7AGJnd0zXhXRm77yLQXnPPzdANu6fffOg8cAochF2ZMEHoNA43de_y33rht_RHnSmKTnpf-1JJTSoHoqnzxHjsN3ZfN0se6zZOXPOw/w400-h400/Nicholas%20provides%20dowry%20for%20the%20three%20beautiful%20daughters%20of%20an%20impoverished%20nobleman.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St Nicholas secretly provides dowries for three impoverished sisters, to save them from being sold into slavery by their destitute father.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="direction: ltr;"> </strong></span></span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="direction: ltr;">The Image of Giving in St Nicholas</strong></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /><i>Dear Fathers, Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,</i><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />There are nineteen days of charity, prayer and fasting left before Christmas... Redeem the time.<br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />Today we commemorate St. Nicholas of Myra in Lycia, the Wonderworker (December 6). There is a certain unresolved tension that accompanies his person and memory: On the one hand, there are few "hard facts" about his life (to the point where many doubt his actual historical existence); and on the other hand, he is clearly one of the most beloved and universally venerated of saints within the Church. It is said that even many Muslims venerate St. Nicholas! A good example of an objective account of the few facts behind the saint's life can be found in a short introductory biographical note concerning St. Nicholas in the book,The Time of the Spirit:<br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />Little is known for certain about the life of St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra in Lycia (Asia Minor). It is believed that he suffered imprisonment during the last major persecution of the Church under Diocletian in the early fourth century, and that he attended the first Ecumenical Council at Nicea in 325. Christian tradition has come to regard him, in the words of an Orthodox hymn, as "an example of faith and an icon of gentleness." (Time of the Spirit, p. 69)<br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />For those interested in the historical background of St. Nicholas, the following note found in The Synaxarion, Vol. II, edited by Hieromonk Makarios of Simonas Petras, may prove to be of real interest:<br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: small;">Since the medieval period, St. Nicholas of Myra has been confused with St. Nicholas of Sion, who founded a monastery not far from Myra at the end of the 5th century. The Vita of the latter has come down to us but the incidents in it have been entirely ascribed to St. Nicholas of Myra, with the result that St. Nicholas of Sion has been forgotten n the hagiographical accounts.... (See The Life of Saint Nicholas of Sion, edited and translated by I. N. P. Sevcenko (Brookline, MA, 1984).</span></blockquote><span style="font-size: small;"><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />So, even if we are dealing with a "composite figure" when we venerate St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, we nevertheless are given a glimpse into the "mind of the Church" when it comes to an image of a true pastor. A powerful and enduring image of a genuine Christian shepherd has remained within the memory of the Church, regardless of the now unrecoverable "facts" behind the actual history of 4th - 5th c. Asia Minor. It is this "unerring" intuition of the People of God that the faithful respond to up to the present day that remains as a solid foundation upholding all of the wonderful stories that endear us to St. Nicholas. The Church today desperately needs bishops of the type embodied by St. Nicholas. A shepherd who is a "rule of faith and an image of humility" would mean a great deal more to the Christian flock, than legal-minded adherence to canon law. St. Nicholas both protected and interceded for his flock, according to the great Russian Orthodox iconographer, Leonid Uspensky. And he further writes:<br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /><blockquote>"This 'life for others' is his characteristic feature and is manifested by the great variety of forms of his solicitude for men: his care for their preservation, their protection from the elements, from human injustice, from heresies and so forth. This solicitude was accompanied by numerous miracles both during his life and after his death. Indefatigable intercessor, steadfast, uncompromising fighter for Orthodoxy, he was meek and gentle in character and humble in spirit." (The Time of the Spirit, p. 69)</blockquote><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />Well-known as St. Nicholas has been, he is perhaps less well-known in today's world. In fact, he may be slowly slipping away from Christian consciousness. Santa Claus, that rather unfortunate caricature of the saintly bishop, clearly has something to do with this. But perhaps the very virtues embodied by this saint are slowly fading from our consciousness. A few weeks back, I wrote a meditation that passed on the name our social and secular world has "earned" for itself through its rampant commercialization of Christmas - and that is Getmas. The author who coined this new term - I forget his name - claims it came to him based on a conversation he had had with a good friend about the "spirit of Christmas." The friend of our author said that Christmas was about "getting things." When the author countered by saying, "I thought Christmas was about giving," the friend quickly retorted: "Sure, people are supposed to give me things!" Out of this sad exchange came the unfortunate, but accurate, Getmas.<br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />St. Nicholas was about the proper understanding of "giving." Perhaps the most enduring quality of his image is that of giving to children in need. Our children learn that those who already "have" more are those who will yet "get" more. And that is because they are taught this by their parents who yield to their demands. So we persist in widening the gap of imbalance between the "haves and "have-nots" without too many pangs of (Christian) conscience. St. Nicholas wanted to restore a sense of balance, and so he looked first to those who were in need, so that they could also taste some childlike happiness from receiving an unexpected gift. In a simple manner, this imitates the giving of God Who gave us Christ at a time when everyone - rich and poor alike - were impoverished through sin and death.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />I sometimes fantasize that an ideal celebration of Christmas would find a relatively affluent family making sure that they spent more on those in need than on themselves. If Christianity is indeed the "imitation of the divine nature" as St. Gregory of Nyssa once said, then that need not necessarily be such an unrealistic idea. I do not believe that I have ever actually done that, so I convict myself through the very thought. Yet, I am convinced that our children would respond with an eager spirit of cooperation if properly prepared for some approximation of that ideal. Why should it be otherwise if, according to the Apostle Paul, Christ said that it is more blessed to give than to receive?<br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />Once again, just a thought based upon the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.</span><p></p></div></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mlMainContent" style="border-collapse: initial; border-spacing: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(209, 211, 211); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; direction: ltr; width: 100%;"></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mlMainContent" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; direction: ltr; width: 100%;"><tbody style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tr style="direction: ltr;"><td align="left" class="ml-rte-footer" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 15px; padding-top: 15px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p>Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-31111324262115055222023-11-30T13:18:00.000-08:002023-12-16T13:43:26.971-08:00Become a 'Welcoming Cave' for the Messiah to be Born In (Mother Gabriella)<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Uenrk50nRCvMp8o-l6mR5oU7Uj8eKw2bs-ZIRziSWsMbwyP4lhSFDM_HhmNGsbMDgD5vxzlN-gFKfW6Z-WEzllhmYyknkyd16uBPwgz1bbEcscQPzd3I5wJN8lvUH16fbdPBFnEnFvFpqE5DjTeFDrw6ugWsIASGb67m0h8tbN_Wn6DMYi41x2PAmxQ/s800/mother-gabriella.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="800" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Uenrk50nRCvMp8o-l6mR5oU7Uj8eKw2bs-ZIRziSWsMbwyP4lhSFDM_HhmNGsbMDgD5vxzlN-gFKfW6Z-WEzllhmYyknkyd16uBPwgz1bbEcscQPzd3I5wJN8lvUH16fbdPBFnEnFvFpqE5DjTeFDrw6ugWsIASGb67m0h8tbN_Wn6DMYi41x2PAmxQ/w400-h268/mother-gabriella.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mother Gabriella (center) and sisters at Holy Dormition<br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Parish Faithful,</span></span></i></p><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I<strong style="direction: ltr;"> </strong>"lifted" this wonderful reflection from the latest issue of The Burning Bush, the small monastic journal of the Holy Dormition Monastery in Rives Junction, MI, over which Mother Gabriella is the abbess. With few words, Mother Gabriella reminds us of the "life in Christ," so that we can spend this Nativity Fast in fasting, prayer and repentance, amidst the tumult of the season.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">__________</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">Greetings from Mother Gabriella</strong></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Following the Liturgical season of the life of the Church gives great meaning and richness to life. As we begin this Advent season we cannot help but reflect on the end of life—as nature enters a period of “rest”—and on the spiritual level, on the purification of the soul through fasting, prayer and repentance, so we can better be “born anew” with Christ and in Christ, as we reach the feast of the Nativity.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Father Roman, of blessed memory, reminded us repeatedly, that we are to be born with Christ, live, suffer, die and resurrect with Him, as our own personal experience, not a simple commemoration of the historical facts. God came to teach us how to prepare for the heavenly banquet, by offering Himself as the eternal food, and as the One Who offers “Thine own of Thine own.”</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is the hospitality He teaches us to practice, in our relationship with one another and in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. Here at the monastery we have many opportunities to offer and receive God's gifts - the life and work of the monastery.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We thus enter the season of Advent, Nativity and Theophany as an opportunity to reflect on our own life with gratitude for the many blessings God bestowed on us through you who chose to be travelers and co-workers with us on the journey to the heavenly Kingdom.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">No matter where you are working your salvation, know that you are not alone. We accomplish everything with Christ and in Christ, or rather, Christ accomplishes His work through each one of us.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thank you, fellow travelers, for helping us on our journey, and we pray and hope that we are of some help to you. We thank you all for your love and generosity. We humbly pray God to make Himself present in your life the way He knows best! We pray that you will be a welcoming “cave” for the Messiah to be born in.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">+ Mother Gabriella</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><br /></span></span></div><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p>Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-50409677222297867962023-11-27T14:31:00.000-08:002023-11-27T14:31:18.807-08:00'Let us give thanks unto the Lord!'<div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p style="color: black; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="direction: ltr;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2mBSHWvHE5kttPLv-K2qChjltSoITDFiIO9evt8vVudUbFHWPB9j_G3IxnvnLRCew-RHOT5pLMd8RHUk3E2CeGTsUx9vI8pnV3i3GWgXjPoEWYSPs1cTbExCQA15BeAIuopswl3Dw5RgK4-5HphVLc2JSr_QdEZw1EHtcoPFueOiOTITSXHgQ_IyBlfs/s1200/Christ%20heals%2010%20Lepers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2mBSHWvHE5kttPLv-K2qChjltSoITDFiIO9evt8vVudUbFHWPB9j_G3IxnvnLRCew-RHOT5pLMd8RHUk3E2CeGTsUx9vI8pnV3i3GWgXjPoEWYSPs1cTbExCQA15BeAIuopswl3Dw5RgK4-5HphVLc2JSr_QdEZw1EHtcoPFueOiOTITSXHgQ_IyBlfs/w400-h266/Christ%20heals%2010%20Lepers.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="direction: ltr;">"Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?"<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>(LK. 17:17)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></em></span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="direction: ltr;">Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,</em><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />The cleansing of the ten lepers (LK. 17:11-19) is clearly a remarkable story that reveals the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">exousia</em>, or authority, of Christ over sickness. Yet, in addition, it is a healing story that is just as much about the need to offer thanksgiving to God whenever we are a recipient of His abundant mercy.</span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As the story opens, we first hear the plaintive and pathetic cry from these lepers:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">"And as he entered the village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices and said, 'Jesus, Master, have pity on us'."</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(v.12-13) Did these lepers truly believe that Jesus could do something for them that no one else could possibly do?</span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In response to whatever level of faith they may have had, Jesus cleansed the ten lepers simply by His word:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">"When he saw them he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to priests." And as they went they were cleansed."</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(v. 14).</span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lepers, of course, were not allowed to be near the other members of their community, for they were declared to be unclean and therefore, ritually impure (LEV. 13:45-46; NUM. 5:2-3). Their cleansing not only freed them from a debilitating illness that left its victims visibly disfigured; but it also restored them to fellowship in their community. Their ostracism was now over. </span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">According to the Law, the priests that Jesus sent them to would declare their healing and make that restoration to society a possibility. Yet, considering the enormous generosity of Christ in being the source of both their cleansing and restoration, we read with great surprise that only one of them returned to Jesus in order to thank Him:<br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><blockquote style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell at his feet, giving him thanks. (v. 15-16)<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></blockquote></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What adds to our surprise is that this newly-cleansed leper<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">"was a Samaritan."</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(v. 16) We know that Jews and Samaritans were hostile to each other and that<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">"Jews have no dealings with Samaritans."</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(JN. 4:9) In the light of that reality, it is all the more significant that there was a Samaritan among the ten lepers. Perhaps, as lepers, they were forced to keep company; but could it be possible that in their misery they understood that they shared a common humanity that transcended their ethnic/cultural/religious barriers? So, perhaps in their collective misery, these lepers overcame their mutual hostility as they remained together on the outskirts of the village. </span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Be that as it may, Jesus wanted to point out the incongruity of a Samaritan returning to offer thanks to God, while His fellow Jews failed to do so. And then Jesus asks what is a very convicting question that goes to the very heart of the matter:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">"Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner"?"</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(v. 17-18) Even Jesus calls the Samaritan a "foreigner!" (It is of note that it was a foreigner - Naaman - who returned to Elisha after being healed of leprosy (II KINGS 5:15, LK. 4:27). But the question "cuts deep," we can say. </span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Christ does not "need" to be thanked. Jesus is not petulant; and He is not offended by the cleansed lepers who failed to return as did the Samaritan. It was the lepers who needed to offer thanksgiving or praise to God for what had been done for them. That was the point that Christ drew attention to through His publicly-stated question. Significantly, Jesus tells the Samaritan:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">"Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well."</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(v. 17) Did the cleansed and thankful leper receive more than the others had done?</span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">St. Athanasius the Great implies this in his comments on this passage:<br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></p><blockquote style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"They thought more highly of their cure from leprosy than of him who who had healed them.... Actually, this one was given much more than the rest. Besides being healed of his leprosy, he was told by the Lord, "Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you." You see, those who give thanks and those who glorify have the same kind of feelings. They bless their helper for the benefits they have received. That is why Paul urged everybody to 'glorify God with your body.' Isaiah also commanded, 'Give glory to God'." — Festal Letter 6</span></blockquote></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The leprosy that was treated with fear and great caution in the Scriptures can serve as a vivid metaphor for human sin. In the Orthodox Tradition, we treat sin more as a sickness than as the breaking of a commandment. Sin is more of a "condition" than a "crime." It is, actually, the "human condition" into which we are born when we enter this world. Thus,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">"Since all are sinners and fall short of the glory of God"</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(ROM. 3:23), we all need to be healed by God. And we all have been: through the redemptive death of Christ on the Cross and His Resurrection from the dead. And then through our personal death to sin and resurrection to life with Christ through the mystery of Baptism. (ROM. 6:3-11) </span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For this we give thanks to God from a hear overflowing with gratitude, thanksgiving and love because we are overwhelmed by what God has done for us in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. We may have been healed through Baptism, but without the response of thanksgiving, this healing remains incomplete, and it will not bear much fruit. </span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On the Lord's Day we come to the Eucharistic service of the Church - the Liturgy - which is the Service of Thanksgiving, we could say. Our presence signifies our own "return" to the Lord in response to His healing presence in our lives. (For the baptized who do not return to thus give thanks, we find a resemblance to the healed lepers who failed to return in order to praise God). And it is then that we offer thanksgiving to God as we offer ourselves up to God through the sacrifice of Christ actualized in the Liturgy. And then we receive the Eucharist - the "thanksgiving food" - to nourish us in this movement of growing love toward the most Holy Trinity:</span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><em style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">"Eucharistisomen to Kyrio!" - "Let us give thanks unto the Lord!"</em></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><em style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;"></em><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></p></div>Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-37168784200610300742023-11-20T11:48:00.000-08:002023-11-20T11:48:28.167-08:00On Death and Our Daily Lives<div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="direction: ltr;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqcs6S9fFHveTdimIRCYccCD_r6fQCxkOoIKF8zN1N2LKaErYzHM6AS3CSYpfUhgdiXVHs7wPt2tnfcWz8COGjORGaU-0mBQWsn6DdqnnfdLKAiLkZcPppOnJxY4zdwj_SciraAWxwIg6L0yAEZE01Dl5I4aUa6C9qCUdOxn4fn5b2Qpo2K1Ut0r9VXvM/s400/rich_barns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="400" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqcs6S9fFHveTdimIRCYccCD_r6fQCxkOoIKF8zN1N2LKaErYzHM6AS3CSYpfUhgdiXVHs7wPt2tnfcWz8COGjORGaU-0mBQWsn6DdqnnfdLKAiLkZcPppOnJxY4zdwj_SciraAWxwIg6L0yAEZE01Dl5I4aUa6C9qCUdOxn4fn5b2Qpo2K1Ut0r9VXvM/w400-h288/rich_barns.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Icon of the Parable of the Rich Fool and his barns<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></i></span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="direction: ltr;">Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,</i><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />In the Orthodox Prayer Book under the heading "Before Sleep," we find the following: "A Prayer of St. John of Damascus, said pointing at the bed." This particular prayer begins in the following manner:<br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></p><blockquote style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">O Master Who lovest mankind, is this bed to be my coffin? Or wilt Thou enlighten my wretched soul with another day?</span></blockquote><p> </p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> As St. John was a monk we could, of course, dismiss or ignore such a prayer as "monastic excess" or even as a morbid and medieval fixation on death. (It seems that whenever our contemporary ears encounter anything strange, unfamiliar or jarring from the past the label of "medieval" allows us to disengage from any thoughtful consideration of what is being said). If we are sleepy, but essentially healthy, as we prepare for bed on any given evening, then it seems quite unlikely - thank God! - that our bed will serve as our coffin as we prepare to enter into it. The inevitable seems safely postponed for the moment and we feel confident that we will rise with the sun the following morning. And yet a moment of serious reflection on our common destiny - that great equalizer that we call death - should alert those who are spiritually vigilant, that such a prayer cannot simply be dismissed as either monastic excess or morbid. Understood in the over-all context of how and for what we may pray before sleep according to the Prayer Book and our personal prayers, it is an open-eyed, and hence realistic, reminder that "you are dust, and to dust you shall return." (GEN. 3:19) Perhaps a bit more poignant for those of us who are working on a second half-century that will most assuredly not be completed.</span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This theme comes to mind on this Monday morning because of yesterday's Gospel reading at the Liturgy: the short parable of the "rich fool" as found uniquely in LK. 12:16-21. Short but devastating. The foolish landowner is far-reaching in his plans for the future. He will tear down his old barns, now inadequate to store his abundant crops, and build "larger ones." Anticipating the enjoyment of a life of ease based upon his accumulated wealth, he says:<br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><blockquote style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry." (LK. 12:19)</span></blockquote></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="direction: ltr;" />However alluring, this was not to be. For the very next thing we hear in this parable are these frightening words:<br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></p><blockquote style="direction: ltr;"><blockquote style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. (LK. 12:20-21)<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></blockquote></blockquote></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Such planning is mere foolishness in the eyes of God. (As Tevye the dairyman said: "The more man plans, the harder God laughs"). The brevity of life and the uncertainty of our end has - although containing a timeless and universal truth - often been reduced to the level of a pious cliché or religious platitude, by reason of sheer repetition. For that reason, spiritual vigilance is essential. In the Church's spiritual tradition we are exhorted to cultivate the "remembrance of death." And yet our highly-secularized society convinces us to practice the "forgetfulness of death." Which is more realistic? Or true to life? Try as we might, we cannot forget death, of course. So, as living human beings "go for it" in terms of life in this world the unwanted "remembrance of death" is there to trouble the mind. In his book,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i style="direction: ltr;">God With Us</i>, Fr. John Breck, in a chapter entitled "The Thought of Death" captures this underlying and unresolved tension:<br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></p><blockquote style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A great many people actually do chastise their soul with the thought of death. They suffer acute anxiety at the thought that their life will come to and end, that they will die and be buried in the earth. They fear death because of the unknown. What lies beyond the threshold behind that veil? Heaven? Hell? Nothing? The dread of death, which provokes questions like this, can, with tragic irony, push a person over the brink and into suicide. (p. 101)</span></blockquote></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The "remembrance of death" taken in isolation, especially among those who "have no hope" (I THESS. 4:13), can have a horrible effect upon the soul. It only makes sense to forget about it! The Christian practice of the "remembrance of death" needs to be the result of a lively faith in Christ, the Vanquisher of death, for it to be the spiritually positive practice it is meant to be. St. Paul has said it with an unmatched clarity and eloquence from the very dawn of Christianity:<br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></p><blockquote style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If Christ is not raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. (I COR. 15: 17-22)<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></blockquote></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">From an intolerable reality that leaves us as creatures to be pitied, death itself becomes a passage to life in the risen Lord. St. John Chrysostom could therefore write: "what was the greatest of evils, the chief point of our unhappiness, what the devil had introduced into the world, in a word death, God has turned into our glory and honor." With the powerful words of both the Apostle Paul and St. John in mind, we can fully understand what Fr. John Breck further relates in his chapter about the thought of death:<br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></p><blockquote style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our physical death remains before us, certainly and inevitably. But is has been emptied of its power. For those who are "in Christ," true death occurs at baptism, when we go down into the baptismal waters, then rise up from them, in a mimesis, or reactualization, of Christ's own death and resurrection. Baptism effects a "new birth," but only because it signifies the death of the "old Adam," or former being. (p. 101)</span></blockquote></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The daily practice of the "remembrance of death" is a Christian practice that - besides its realism as mentioned above - allows us to further meditate upon the overflowing love of God that has been poured out for our salvation in Christ, the "Coming One" whose death has overcome death, fully revealed in His glorious resurrection. It may not be the most timely subject for dinnertime conversation or the banter of the workplace; but it has a crucial and time-honored place in our prayer life and in our "search" for those essential truths that we meditate on throughout the course of our lives. Imbued with a Christian realism that we embrace with open eyes and the virtue of hope that leaves the future open-ended, we can consciously avoid the foolishness of the rich man of the parable, but rather heed the teaching of St. James:</span></p><blockquote style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and get gain; whereas you do not know about tomorrow. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall do this or that." (Jas. 4:13-15)</span> <br /></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There is a healthy realism in all of this!</span></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><br /></span></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p>Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-30413569663823101242023-11-15T11:08:00.000-08:002023-11-15T11:08:02.393-08:00"To be and to appear as one body formed of different members ..."<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN01ZCAMEKUX2-avtv4sEwNYAu_keh6GPXn1upTQeRunyOXHEwOt2_y5yFoLRGnqj52gRyP-C5g6_dFplQSxfbXQ63dWRJScfsMBtx8ZHMWLFRcQfBApDXWND9OSB08zwY6QhoYvqVMPW0iilEsfpGu9P-T-qU26hPLVyo7CHL3p9-RsdaJBYvvvieiyU/s772/MaximusConfessor.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="772" data-original-width="550" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN01ZCAMEKUX2-avtv4sEwNYAu_keh6GPXn1upTQeRunyOXHEwOt2_y5yFoLRGnqj52gRyP-C5g6_dFplQSxfbXQ63dWRJScfsMBtx8ZHMWLFRcQfBApDXWND9OSB08zwY6QhoYvqVMPW0iilEsfpGu9P-T-qU26hPLVyo7CHL3p9-RsdaJBYvvvieiyU/w285-h400/MaximusConfessor.jpg" width="285" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Maximus the Confessor<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Parish Faithful,</span></span></i></p><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I hope that everyone enjoys a good beginning to the Forty-day Nativity Fast that starts today. A "good beginning" can go a long way in creating the atmosphere of keeping a good spirit up to the Feast. </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Vespers this evening at 7:00 p.m. could add to that good beginning!</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Below is a passage that is not directly related to the upcoming Feast of the Lord's Nativity, but one that I shared in Church recently, and which you may want to look over more carefully.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">_____</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="direction: ltr;" /><b></b></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>It is in this way that the holy Church of God will be shown to be active among us in the same way as God, as an image reflects its archetype.</b> For many and of nearly boundless number are the men, women and children who are distinct from one another and vastly different by birth and appearance, by race and language, by way of life and age, by opinions and skills, by manners and customs, by pursuits and studies, and still again by reputation, fortune, characteristics and habits: all are born into the Church and through it are reborn and recreated in the Spirit. To all in equal measures it gives and bestows one divine form and designation: to be Christ's and to bear his name. In accordance with faith it gives to all a single, simple, whole and indivisible condition which does not allow us to bring to mind the existence of myriads of differences among them, even if they do exist, through universal relationship and union of all things with it. It is through it that absolutely no one at all is in himself separated from the community since everyone converges with all the rest and joins together with them by the one simple and indivisible grace and power of faith. "For all," it is said, "had but one heart and one mind." (Acts 4:32) Thus to be and to appear as one body formed of different members is really worthy of Christ himself, our true head, in whom says the divine Apostle, "there is neither male nor female, neither Jew nor Greek, neither circumcision or uncircumcision, neither barbarian nor Scythian, neither slave nor free, but he is all and in all." (Col. 3:11) It is he who encloses in himself all beings by the unique, simple and infinitely wise power of goodness. <i>- St. Maximus the Confessor </i></span></span></blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i></span></span><p></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This remarkable passage from the remarkable St. Maximus the Confessor (+662) clearly indicates that if the Church is understood as an "institution," it is an institution unlike no other in the world. The Church unites what is disunited in the world - men, women and children from innumerable backgrounds. The unity of the Church is stressed in this passage by the saint, in order to remind us that all natural divisions and differences within humanity cannot possibly be the source of unnatural - that is, sinful - divisions and differences in the Church. </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The stress on unity does not mean that unique distinctiveness among the members of the Church is absorbed in some kind of collective. Quite the contrary. The personal uniqueness of every member of the Church is enhanced and recognized within the unity of the Church, made up of all who bear the name of Christ. Be that as it may, this is a wonderful passage that reminds us as we think on it and "unpack" its profound meaning, of the glory of the Church, and one that we can return to often to remind us of the blessings of grace that we receive within the unity of the Body of Christ.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><br /></span></span></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p>Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-61513162971988075192023-11-13T06:00:00.000-08:002023-11-14T10:41:56.512-08:00Forty Shopping (and Fasting) Days Until Christmas<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em style="direction: ltr;"></em></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em style="direction: ltr;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcsJInGCM2lLR3zfYga0aC_SjmGkoj0XYd9aRhdTz_E8wTjgPM842trCx0wS03jewikKnyTDYRuXisiAAYNs2GFeW4rozJPZIw2JdPRDfIkoqvDFn5vSyRbhSek0dGRtwXs7me6vHmjcs0IbVp3dWHTS6Q1_KBNdWyZGJQFEc4fUlJ72gcUEWSXUIz3kg/s200/christmas-consumer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcsJInGCM2lLR3zfYga0aC_SjmGkoj0XYd9aRhdTz_E8wTjgPM842trCx0wS03jewikKnyTDYRuXisiAAYNs2GFeW4rozJPZIw2JdPRDfIkoqvDFn5vSyRbhSek0dGRtwXs7me6vHmjcs0IbVp3dWHTS6Q1_KBNdWyZGJQFEc4fUlJ72gcUEWSXUIz3kg/s16000/christmas-consumer.jpg" /></a></em></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><em style="direction: ltr;"><br /></em></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="direction: ltr;">Dear Parish Faithful,</em></span></span></p><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;"></em><em style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">Here is a meditation from a few years back that I do not overly hesitate to send yet again, because the issues presented here for us to think hard about ("meditate" on), are certainly with us today and are far from being resolved: "There is nothing new under the sun." I hope everyone is prepared to make a real effort to embrace the forty-day Nativity Fast on a level that works for you and your family and that commits us to the life of the Church in a meaningful manner. If we are not prepared, perhaps what you read here will alert you to the Season we are now entering. </em></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><em style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;"></em><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="direction: ltr;" /><em style="direction: ltr;">~ Fr. Steven</em><br style="direction: ltr;" />______________<br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /><em style="direction: ltr;">Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,</em><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /><strong style="direction: ltr;">Forty Shopping (and Fasting) Days Until Christmas</strong><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />On Wednesday, November 15, we will observe the first day of the 40-day Nativity/Advent Fast, meant to prepare us for the advent of the Son of God in the flesh, celebrated on December 25. (The Western observance is from the four Advent Sundays before Christmas). For some/many of us this might very well catch us unaware and unprepared. However, as the saying goes, “it is what it is,” and so the church calendar directs us to enter into this sacred season in just a few days. This indicates an intensification of the perennial “battle of the calendars” that every Orthodox Christian is engaged in consciously or unconsciously. The two calendars – the ecclesial and the secular – represent the Church and “the world” respectively. Often, there is an underlying tension between these two spheres.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Because of that tension between the two, I believe that we find ourselves in the rather peculiar situation of being<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">ascetical</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">consumerist<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>simultaneously. To fast, pray and be charitable is to lead a simplified life that is based around restraint, a certain discipline and a primary choice to live according to the principles of the Gospel in a highly secularized and increasingly hedonistic world. That is what it means to be ascetical. And to be an ascetic is not to be a fanatic, but to follow the words of Christ who taught us to practice "self-denial" (MK. 8:34). It further means to focus upon Christ amidst an ever-increasing amount of distractions and diversions. Even with the best of intentions and a firm resolve that is not easy! From our historical perspective of being alive in the twenty-first century, and leading the “good life” where everything is readily available, practicing any form of voluntary self-restraint is tantamount to bearing a cross. Perhaps fulfilling some modest goals based on the Gospel in today’s world, such as it is, amounts to a Christian witness, unspectacular as those goals may be. </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yet, as our society counts down the remaining shopping days until Christmas; and as our spending is seen as almost a patriotic act of contributing to the build-up of our failing economy; and as we want to “fit in” – especially for the sake of our children – we also are prone (or just waiting) to unleashing the “consumer within” always alert to the joys of shopping, spending and accumulating. When you add in the unending “entertainment” that is designed to create a holiday season atmosphere, it can all get rather overwhelming. Certainly, these are some of the joys of family life, and we feel a deep satisfaction when we surround our children with the warmth and security that the sharing of gifts brings to our domestic lives. Perhaps, though, we can be vigilant about knowing when “enough is enough;” or even better that “enough is a feast.” An awareness – combined with sharing - of those who have next to nothing is also a way of overcoming our own self-absorption and expanding our notion of the “neighbor.”</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Therefore, to be both an ascetic and a consumer is indicative of the challenges facing us as Christians in a world that clearly favors and “caters” to our consumerist tendencies. To speak honestly, this is a difficult and uneasy balance to maintain. How can it possibly be otherwise, when to live ascetically is to restrain those very consumerist tendencies? I believe that what we are essentially trying to maintain is our<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">identity</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>as Orthodox Christians within the confines of a culture either indifferent or hostile to Christianity. </span></span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If the Church remains an essential part of the build-up toward Christmas, then we can go a long way in maintaining that balance. Although I do not particularly like putting it this way, I would contend that if the church is a place of choice that at least “competes” with the mall, then that again may be one of the modest victories in the underlying battle for our ultimate loyalty that a consumerist Christmas season awakens us to. The Church directs us to fast before we feast. Does that make any sense? Do we understand the theological/spiritual principles that is behind such an approach? Can we develop some domestic strategies that will give us the opportunity to put that into practice to at least some extent? Do we care enough?</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The final question always returns us to the question that Jesus asked of his initial disciples:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">“Who do you say that I am?”</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>If we confess together with St. Peter that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, then we know where we stand as the “battle of the calendars” intensifies for the next forty days. In such a way, these forty days will result in a meaningful journey toward the mystery of the Incarnation rather than in an exhaustive excursion toward a vapid winter holiday. The choice is ours to make.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Things to do: </span></span></b></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">+ Embrace fasting, prayers and almsgiving with consistency. </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">+ Read the Scriptures with regularity. Be sure to read the Nativity narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Also the Prologue of in St. John's Gospel. Share this reading with the family, bringing the children into the conversation about the birth of Christ.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">+ Choose a good book of Orthodox literature to read during this Season.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">+ Be aware and attentive to the liturgical services during the upcoming forty days. Make a point of being at some of the pre-Nativity services from December 20 - 24.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">+ Prepare to confess your sins in the Sacrament of Confession.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></span><br /></span></div>Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-61128420969397034632023-11-10T12:16:00.000-08:002023-11-16T12:31:16.824-08:00The Angelic World<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PsQ_pArS5Xczds3l5Rm9-YqYWHjRCMmylANgEVAYvexPKvmQN3S-KGG1O0z-HqReHibKNgFepyQ_FqX6yfZn1LCm2of7frl_bSMAJ-CKES4Ml5LXy71cYj5ebZkiIRwXGiOrnPpEPo7FnTA3ahDPbCqMXVWsRCnMWTtdGStu9QdI3YkWsKxnV7v4Yaw/s761/Synaxis%20of%20Archangel%20Michael%20and%20the%20Bodiless%20Powers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="761" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PsQ_pArS5Xczds3l5Rm9-YqYWHjRCMmylANgEVAYvexPKvmQN3S-KGG1O0z-HqReHibKNgFepyQ_FqX6yfZn1LCm2of7frl_bSMAJ-CKES4Ml5LXy71cYj5ebZkiIRwXGiOrnPpEPo7FnTA3ahDPbCqMXVWsRCnMWTtdGStu9QdI3YkWsKxnV7v4Yaw/w315-h400/Synaxis%20of%20Archangel%20Michael%20and%20the%20Bodiless%20Powers.jpg" width="315" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Parish Faithful,</span></span></i></p><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The passage below is taken from a homily by the late Metropolitan John Zizioulas of Pergamon. The title is the "Synaxis of the Holy Angels," and it was delivered on November 8, 2005, the date on which we commemorate the Archangels Michael and Gabriel and and all of the bodiless powers. We celebrated this feast just this week with Great Vespers and the Liturgy. And we also chanted an Akathist Hymn to Archangel Michael the day after the feast. The feast is already past, but this is a timely excerpt from the end of this fine homily that I wanted to share with the parish. And since the Liturgy on the Lord's Day is approaching, an "event" in which the angels are together with us and serving with us, this passage is a good reminder as to where we need to turn our gaze and "attention" so as not to become indifferent to the invisible world:<br style="direction: ltr;" />_____<br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>My beloved brothers and sisters,</b> we live in a materialistic world, in a world, in a culture - a so-called culture, at any rate - which deals with nothing but matter. How will we satisfy our material needs, how will we increase our bodily enjoyment, how will we increase our pleasure. Our world today is nothing but a struggle to increase our standard of living, our wealth, a struggle without end, a struggle which subjects us to mental and physical fatigue and makes us lose our faith in a world which is not material. So the angels today, my beloved brothers and sisters, are calling us to leave the earth, to think that our destiny is to be together with the angels close to God, because that is where our happiness lies and not in the material goods of this world. And that is precisely why today's feast is an opportunity that our Church uses to send a message that there is an intangible world, that matter is not everything, that our destiny is to unite with this intangible world and to be close to the glory of God.</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>...Our ancestors lived with this faith in the angelic world.</b> They believed that angels accompany them in their journeys and that at the end of their lives, angels receive their souls and take them to the throne of God. Let us acquire this simple faith again, my dear brothers and sisters, in this materialistic world in which we live. Let us be a light, a witness, a true witness to the glory of God. Amen!</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">From<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">Receive One Another - 101 Sermons<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>by Metropolitan John of Pergamon.</span></span></p></div>Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-63392978046215602362023-10-30T07:17:00.002-07:002023-10-30T07:17:23.276-07:00Image of a True Disciple: The Gadarene Demoniac<p><span style="font-size: small;"><em style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;"></em></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><em style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;"></em></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><em style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;"><br /></em></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Vl_Hg689BJBl8HTJILkxhJt6SfU2fDFdqA-_aHLFZwUdhG2bMm7jNvMhzn1b4BNC0nq3ENQSDsfcX8dsmPMT0FZzGyBmo5Keypoan90uVweaT9uV1xJhkzM2jxCxhpccc5WJ-QW0j-F608LVbqddKho9ylN861z43HemBce1d9E_-OoRnPOxAit3X7s/s400/Christ%20heals%20gadarene%20demoniac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Vl_Hg689BJBl8HTJILkxhJt6SfU2fDFdqA-_aHLFZwUdhG2bMm7jNvMhzn1b4BNC0nq3ENQSDsfcX8dsmPMT0FZzGyBmo5Keypoan90uVweaT9uV1xJhkzM2jxCxhpccc5WJ-QW0j-F608LVbqddKho9ylN861z43HemBce1d9E_-OoRnPOxAit3X7s/w400-h300/Christ%20heals%20gadarene%20demoniac.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><em style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;">Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,</em><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the most challenging narratives in the Gospels has to be the healing of the Gadarene demoniac (Mk. 5:1-20; MATT. 8:28-34; LK. 8:26-39). This dramatic event which reveals the power of Christ over the demons will appear to the 21st c. mind as either archaic or even primitive. We may listen with respect and sing "Glory to Thee, O Lord, glory to Thee!" upon the completion of the reading, but "wrapping our minds" around such a narrative may leave us baffled if not shaking our heads. The spectacle of a man possessed by many demons, homeless and naked, living among the tombs, chained so as to contain his self-destructive behavior is, to state the obvious, not exactly a sight that we encounter with any regularity. (Although we should acknowledge that behind the walls of certain institutions, we could witness to this day some horrible scenes of irrational and frightening behavior from profoundly troubled and suffering human beings). Add to this a herd of swine blindly rushing over a steep bank and into a lake to be drowned, and we must further recognize the strangeness of this event. This is all-together not a part of our world!<br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />Yet, there is no reason to doubt the veracity of the narrated event, which does appear in three of the Gospels, though with different emphases and details - in fact there are two demoniacs in St. Matthew's telling of the story! It is always instructive to compare the written account of a particular event or body of teaching when found in more than one Gospel. This will cure us of the illusion of a wooden literalism as we will discover how the four evangelists will present their gathered material from the ministry of Jesus in somewhat different forms. As to the Gadarenedemoniac, here was an event within the ministry of Christ that must have left a very strong impression upon the early Church as it was shaping its oral traditions into written traditions that would eventually come together in the canonical Gospels. This event was a powerful confirmation of the Lord's encounter and conflict with, and victory over, the "evil one." The final and ultimate consequence of that victory will be revealed in the Cross and Resurrection.<br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />Whatever our immediate reaction to this passage - proclaimed yesterday during the Liturgy from the Gospel According to St. Luke (8:26-39) - I believe that we can recognize behind the dramatic details the disintegration of a human personality under the influence of the evil one, and the reintegration of the same man's personhood when healed by Christ. Here was a man that was losing his identity to a process that was undermining the integrity of his humanity and leading to physical harm and psychic fragmentation. I am not in the process of offering a psychological analysis of the Gadarene demoniac because, 1) I am ill-equipped to do so; and 2) I do not believe that we can "reduce" his horrible condition to psychological analysis. We are dealing with the mysterious presence of personified evil and the horrific effects of that demonic presence which we accept as an essential element of the authentic Gospel Tradition. The final detail that indicates this possessed man's loss of personhood is revealed in the dialogue between himself and Jesus:<br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /><strong style="direction: ltr;">Jesus then asked him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Legion"; for many demons had entered him.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></strong>(8:30)<br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />To be named in the Bible is to receive a definite and irreducible identity as a person. It is to be "someone" created in the "image and likeness of God." It is the role of the evil one to be a force of disintegration. The "legion" inhabiting the man reveals the loss of his uniqueness, and the fragmentation of his personality. Such a distorted personality can no longer have a "home," which is indicative of our relational capacity as human beings, as it is indicative of stability and a "groundedness" in everyday reality. The poor man is driven into the desert, biblically the abode of demons. Once again, we may stress the dramatic quality of this presentation of a person driven to such a state, but would we argue against this very presentation as false when we think of the level of distortion that accompanies any form of an "alliance" with evil -whether "voluntary or involuntary?" Does anyone remain whole and well-balanced under the influence of evil? Or do we rather not experience or witness a drift toward the "<strong style="direction: ltr;">abyss</strong>"?<br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />Then we hear a splendid description of the man when he is healed by Christ! For we hear the following once the demons left him and entered into the herd of swine and self-destructed (the ultimate end of all personal manifestations of evil?):<br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /><strong style="direction: ltr;">Then the people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(8:35)<br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /><strong style="direction: ltr;">"Sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind."</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>This is clearly one of the most beautiful descriptions of a Christian who remains as a true disciple of the Master. This is the baptized person who is clothed in a "garment of salvation" and who is reoriented toward Christ, the "Sun of Righteousness." The image here is of total reintegration, of the establishment of a relationship with Christ that restores integrity and wholeness to human life. Also an image of peacefulness and contentment. Our goal is life is to "get our mind right" which describes repentance or that "change of mind" that heals all internal divisions of the mind and heart as it restores our relationship with others. Jesus commands the man<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong style="direction: ltr;">"to return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you"</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(8:39). We, too, have been freed from the evil one "and all his angels and all his pride" in baptism. In our own way, perhaps we too can also proclaim just how much Jesus has done for us.</span></span></p><div class="ml-rte-text" style="text-align: justify;"><p style="color: black; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The healing of the Gadarene demoniac is a challenging narrative, indeed. Yet, even for us in the 21st c. it is an episode in which the Gospel is proclaimed: The "Good News: of the victory of Christ over the "evil one!"</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="text-align: justify;"><p style="color: black; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></span></p></div>Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-71791871234440907312023-10-25T09:48:00.002-07:002023-10-25T10:10:42.020-07:00Just Who is the Real Rich Man?<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><img height="400" src="https://www.orthodoxchristiansupply.com/cdn/shop/products/the-rich-man-and-lazarus-icons-orthodox-christian-supply_952_486x.jpg?v=1571714848" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-user-select: none; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: block; font-family: -webkit-standard; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: auto; orphans: auto; padding: env(safe-area-inset-top) env(safe-area-inset-right) env(safe-area-inset-bottom) env(safe-area-inset-left); text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; user-select: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" width="324" /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <i style="direction: ltr;">Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,</i><br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></span></p><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><blockquote style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;"><i style="direction: ltr;">"If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if some one should rise from the dead." (LK. 16:31)</i></b></span></blockquote></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man is the only parable that has a named character, and the only parable in which Jesus describes the "afterlife." In these two instances it remains unique among the Lord's parables. It is a parable extremely rich in content, with a rather complex structure based upon a "reversal of fortune,"and filled with multiple themes. </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yet, certainly one of those many themes is quite apparent and revealed with a stark directness: the consequence of ignoring the poor and needy, embodied in Lazarus, the poor man at the gate. (Is he given a name to emphasize this point in a personal and less-forgettable manner, so that his character takes us beyond an anonymous example of the poor?). The rich man in hades (the biblical realm of the dead) bears the consequence of his indifference to Lazarus and his unwillingness to share. </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="direction: ltr;" />St. John Chrysostom explored this theme of wealth and poverty with unrivaled insight and depth in his famous series of homilies on this parable (a collection of homilies that now exists in English -<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-link-id="1227079541" href="https://click.mlsend.com/link/c/YT0yMzMyMDI3NTA4NDE0NzQ4MDU5JmM9djBqMyZlPTMwNjI0MzMmYj0xMjI3MDc5NTQxJmQ9ZDNuNHQ3dg==.FXFgJQ9E3MembczrKNDBwrpd6Ge7V6ZttXCyFxCAwKw" style="color: black; direction: ltr; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><i style="direction: ltr;">On Wealth and Poverty<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i></a>- and which every member of the Church should read). St. John would always challenge the conventional wisdom of his own age, by interpreting the Scriptures in such a way that would turn our accepted values upside down so that we would be able to look at things in a new and startling light. In a famous passage from his homilies, he challenges our conventional notions of what true wealth and true poverty actually are. He does this by asking just who is the real rich man and who is the real poor man:</span></span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></span></p><blockquote style="direction: ltr;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Let us learn from this man not to call the rich lucky nor the poor unfortunate. Rather, if we are to tell the truth, the rich man is not the one who has collected many possessions but the one who needs few possessions; and the poor man is not the one who has no possessions but the one who has many desires. We ought to consider this the definition of poverty and wealth. So if you see someone greedy for many things, you should consider him the poorest of all, even if he has acquired everyone's money. If, on the other hand, you see someone with few needs, you should count him the richest of all, even if he has acquired nothing.</span></span></blockquote></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I rather doubt that this will change the minds of very many of us about the true nature of wealth and poverty. Conventional wisdom - combined with observation and life experience - does tell us that wealth has to do with money, possessions, status and power; and that poverty has to do with lacking any and all of these things. Many of us "deep down" crave to be wealthy, and we certainly fear the specter of poverty. </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yet, St. John was neither a simpleton nor a naïve dreamer. He knows of the corrosive effect on the wealthy of a life primarily dedicated to more and more acquisition and how this becomes obsessive and compulsive; and he knew many Christians personally that sought a life of simplicity and through that pursuit discovered a different type of wealth that had the presence of God as its source. St. John was also aware of the judgment of God which differs radically from our own limited understanding of the "bigger picture." </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Many people are forced to struggle to makes ends meet - and perhaps dream of hitting the lottery - and can only watch with envy the lifestyles of "the rich and famous" that entice such dreams. Perhaps, then, St. John makes some sense about the obsessive "collection of many possessions," the fulfillment of "many desires" and the effect of being "greedy for many things," and how a "successful" pursuit of this captivating dream can be more impoverishing than enriching. And then St. John got the point of the parable: in some cases it can be too late to change.<br style="direction: ltr;" /> </span></span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">_________<br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In case you may be further interested, below are a series of links to other meditations that I have written throughout the years on the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man. There is, admittedly, a great deal of overlap and I depend on St. John Chrysostom's remarkable set of homilies on the parable throughout these meditations. But, again, in case you may be interested to read further:</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Encountering Lazarus" - </span></span></b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">https:<a data-link-id="1227079551" href="https://click.mlsend.com/link/c/YT0yMzMyMDI3NTA4NDE0NzQ4MDU5JmM9djBqMyZlPTMwNjI0MzMmYj0xMjI3MDc5NTUxJmQ9ejlwMWM5Zw==.FXjsvnFQIqjBx5vPovBoiQ_ZXRDjFXJQiRFihocfQiQ" style="color: black; direction: ltr; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">//orthodoxmeditations.blogspot.com/2022/10/encountering-lazarus.html</a><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /><b>"A Radical Critique of Selfishness - Lazarus and the Rich Man" - </b></span><a data-link-id="1227079574" href="https://click.mlsend.com/link/c/YT0yMzMyMDI3NTA4NDE0NzQ4MDU5JmM9djBqMyZlPTMwNjI0MzMmYj0xMjI3MDc5NTc0JmQ9ZTdxOGQ3eQ==.sKRkR8uUiD4Tc5Iz2yj9eq_Z3qpe8_qc5KX7Bq5lvYI" style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">https://orthodoxmeditations.blogspot.com/2022/10/a-radical-critique-of-selfishness.html</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /><b>"Alleviating the Plight of the Poor" - </b></span><a data-link-id="1227079588" href="https://click.mlsend.com/link/c/YT0yMzMyMDI3NTA4NDE0NzQ4MDU5JmM9djBqMyZlPTMwNjI0MzMmYj0xMjI3MDc5NTg4JmQ9aDlsNHUxbA==.GitqZZrFOIjpsKef1u6of6jbHBi4wCTExi6CkrYyE70" style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">https://orthodoxmeditations.blogspot.com/2015/10/alleviating-plight-of-poor.html</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /><b>"St. John Chrysostom on Wealth and Poverty" - </b></span><a data-link-id="1227079601" href="https://click.mlsend.com/link/c/YT0yMzMyMDI3NTA4NDE0NzQ4MDU5JmM9djBqMyZlPTMwNjI0MzMmYj0xMjI3MDc5NjAxJmQ9dTBlM2Q5dA==.QFGahcWhAh8LdlZhdtfDxUdsRfa3_eD0bKgoHCkdw84" style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">https://orthodoxmeditations.blogspot.com/2014/10/st-john-chrysostom-on-wealth-and-poverty.html</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /><br /></span></span></p></div>Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-14375711828321349982023-10-21T10:39:00.000-07:002023-10-21T10:39:20.605-07:00The Lazarus Basket: Activating the parable for us here and now<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbyxd-EpYOu-DY2vAG-awsNIUa-E94pxWvaVMKEnBl6ScFdpcynZIT8FuxdBw9Vahhd6L-nbP-5PtvCcS4MgoBAVRbZOl8yG5oYeSEpjVkrfdbmTk04cwtG99GALTOUUgxWrmhwMFkZzwriuPlRUJIEr2Ts3mECOgupY0CyZRdURycidMFwblnElJGoxs/s500/LazarusRichMan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="500" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbyxd-EpYOu-DY2vAG-awsNIUa-E94pxWvaVMKEnBl6ScFdpcynZIT8FuxdBw9Vahhd6L-nbP-5PtvCcS4MgoBAVRbZOl8yG5oYeSEpjVkrfdbmTk04cwtG99GALTOUUgxWrmhwMFkZzwriuPlRUJIEr2Ts3mECOgupY0CyZRdURycidMFwblnElJGoxs/w400-h368/LazarusRichMan.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Parish Faithful,</span></i></p><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p></div><blockquote><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For if he did not give alms to this man who was continually prostrate at his gate, lying before his eyes, whom he had to see every day once or twice or many times as he went in and out ... if, (I say) he did not give alms to this man, who lay in such grievous suffering, and lived in such destitution, or rather for his whole life was troubled by chronic illness of the most serious kind, whom of those he encountered would he ever have been moved to pity?</span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">St. John Chrysostom,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="direction: ltr;">Homily 1 on the Rich Man and Lazarus</em></span></p></div></blockquote><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="direction: ltr;"></em></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><em style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;"></em><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="direction: ltr;" /><strong style="direction: ltr;">The Lazarus Basket -<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></strong>For many years now this basket, meant for collecting charity donations, has been aligned with the reading of the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man. So, we are very familiar with this tradition at this point in time. For those who are new to the parish, here is the meaning and purpose of this basket which will be next to the Cross for three consecutive Sundays, beginning this coming Sunday:<br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" />The collection basket, named after the Lazarus of the parable, is meant to "activate" the parable for us here and now. The rich man passed by poor Lazarus, thereby ignoring his needs. As we venerate the Cross of the Lord following the Liturgy, we represent the rich man who can either respond to Lazarus by placing a donation in the basket; or who can ignore Lazarus by passing by the basket without leaving anything in it (thus acting as the rich man did in the parable). Hopefully, we make that decision with the parable still very much alive in our minds and hearts having just heard it in the Liturgy.</span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I realize that we just had a basket for the recent seminary appeal. And we are in the process of making our Stewardship appeal for 2024. However, if everyone responds on some level of giving, we can make a substantial collection that will be distributed during both Thanksgiving and Nativity locally for those in need in our parish neighborhood. The parish is growing, so more people than ever are approaching the Cross and thus, the Lazarus basket. If we can give just a bit more, it will prove to be a good response to the Gospel.</span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To repeat: the Lazarus basket will be by the Cross for three consecutive Sundays, thus giving the entire parish an opportunity to contribute.</span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 17px; line-height: 21.25px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fr. Steven<br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></p></div>Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188587752498664640.post-59862243357040912142023-10-11T09:20:00.000-07:002023-10-11T09:20:10.769-07:00Our Vocation as Christians<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8gBuF4f1qYgatR_AJ0ESmSAre6E1OTN4kVRVfFmyFepe1o-GQYm3jfC7CskTOHlKN4mWOEgwaGu624jslT4b7LFEp-pAxZZQu0KpKK7PBiyDMXeAf2dgLIBqoeelECEoKdqAq4M66WaehAuQgzmpqIZp309ZdHD9hJLk4dCCAJW1QD53dzn-ojdJOQGc/s752/Christ-SanhedrinTrial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="570" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8gBuF4f1qYgatR_AJ0ESmSAre6E1OTN4kVRVfFmyFepe1o-GQYm3jfC7CskTOHlKN4mWOEgwaGu624jslT4b7LFEp-pAxZZQu0KpKK7PBiyDMXeAf2dgLIBqoeelECEoKdqAq4M66WaehAuQgzmpqIZp309ZdHD9hJLk4dCCAJW1QD53dzn-ojdJOQGc/w304-h400/Christ-SanhedrinTrial.jpg" width="304" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christ before His enemies<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </span></span></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="" class="mlMainContent" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; direction: ltr; width: 100%;"><tbody style="direction: ltr;"><tr style="direction: ltr;"><td style="border-collapse: collapse; direction: ltr;"><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 17.5px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Parish Faithful,</span></span></i></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 17.5px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians." (Acts 11:26)</span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 17.5px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"I want to be a man of the Church. I do not want to be called by the name of some founder of a heresy, but by the name of Christ, and to bear that name which is blessed on the earth. It is my desire, in deed and in spirit, both to be and to be called a Christian." - Origen (+254)</span></span></p><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 17.5px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="direction: ltr;" />_____<br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 17.5px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is not exactly a compliment to be called a Christian in today's world. And it is not simply a matter of the unbelieving world dismissing Christians and the Gospel. "Christian" rhetoric of a most uncharitable, and at times vitriolic kind, is now widely scattered among the battlefields of today's "culture wars." This rhetoric is now no longer shocking, but rather expected from the Christian front. When overly-zealous Christians encounter anything that they fully disagree with in these "culture wars," they will inevitably label it as "demonic" - and make the point loud and clear. That derisively dismissive term has a finality about it, that closes off any further discussion or analysis of the given topic of disagreement. </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 17.5px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In addition, "politicized theology" is just as easily expressed and proven to be divisive within various Christian bodies, at least in America. Loyalty to a political party or to an ideology seems to be more passionately embraced than loyalty to Christ and the Gospel. This state of affairs, widely covered in the press, has only proven to demean and devalue the title of "Christian." Unfortunately, Christians who are not caught up in the "culture wars" or "politicized theology," also bear the brunt of the opprobrium now attached to the title "Christian." It can all get a bit embarrassing. </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 17.5px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the light of this, there is something very refreshing and inspiring in what Origen says about being called a Christian. For Origen, in the 2nd - 3rd centuries of the Christian era, it was such an honor - and responsibility - to bear the name of Christ. Origen, we know, suffered torture as a confessor for his confession of being a Christian during a time when Christians were persecuted within the confines of the Roman Empire. And it is possible that when the disciples of Christ were "first called Christians," in Antioch, that the title was used disparagingly. To declare oneself a Christian in such an oppressive atmosphere was a courageous act that will potentially inspire others. </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p data-redactor-style-cache="text-align: justify;" style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 17.5px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It seems like we have to recapture and rediscover some of the fire and energy with which Origen imparts to the honor of being "called a Christian." The name of Christ "blesses" the earth and just to recover that truth is essential to our commitment to the vocation of bearing His name in the world. Yet, Origen is clear that we must do so "in deed and in spirit." It was just two Sundays ago, that we heard these words during the Liturgy from the Gospel According to St. Luke: "But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you." (Lk. 6:27-28) It my take a lifetime to be able to put that part of Christ's teaching into practice. </span></span></p></div><div class="ml-rte-text" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="color: black; direction: ltr; line-height: 17.5px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A good deal of the unbelieving world looks for reasons to mock Christians as hypocritical and unloving. Christians, in turn, have a noble obligation to struggle against these unwanted labels, which hardly belong to the 'mind of Christ." Restoring dignity and honor to the name of Christian is a worthy vocation to be pursued in a world in which both Christians and non-Christians seem to be confused and misguided.<br style="direction: ltr;" /><br style="direction: ltr;" /></span></span></p></div></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mlMainContent" style="border-collapse: initial; border-spacing: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(209, 211, 211); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; direction: ltr; width: 100%;"></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mlMainContent" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; direction: ltr; width: 100%;"><tbody style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; direction: ltr; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tr style="direction: ltr;"><td align="left" class="ml-rte-footer" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; padding-top: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table>Orthodox Christian Meditations, by Fr. Steven Kostoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01318737458902412800noreply@blogger.com