Month: February 2006

  •  I would like to invite everyone to www.orthodoxchat.com especially if you have any questions about Lent .  I plan on doing “a walk through Lent, Holy Week and (Pascha) Easter” on my blog like I did last year. I know I  won’t have  a lot of time to answer questions so please feel free to come to www.orthodoxchat.com .


    In other news Maria~Angelica was so good at the doctor here are her stats.


    age: 4 months


    height : 24 1/4


    weight 11.5 lbs


    head circumference. 16 3/8


    The poor little dear had to get 4 shots. She cried so hard and turned so red you could really see how blonde her hair is. I  comforted her as best I could. I gave her Tylenol before the shots and nursed her there in the exam room. She has been  having a nice long nap. I will have to treat her to a extra rice cereal tonight for her little painful shots today; she will LOVE that!


    Today I have been busy decluttering and organizing. I have been following this blog and it has been helpful.


    AND I can’t believe this! Jonah , in the midst of helping me, decided to lay down on the family room couch for a nap. That has NEVER happened not in all  5 years of his little life. He will nap if I  put him to nap but I don’t think he has ever just covered himself up on the couch and said “I think I will have a little nap.”


    Two funny things happened today. Jonah had his friend Turner over  and Turner says to me “hey, Jonah’s mom” LOL! I just cracked up!  Fr. told me that Turner calls him “Jonah’s dad”. LOL!


    Then on the way home from the doctor baby and  I popped in the gym for a minute to talk about memberships and the young man kept calling me ma’am! He was really nice he is probably about 10 years younger then me and he knows me from the last time I was a member. Well today for the first time I actually appreciated how polite and respectful he was when he was answering my questions with a “yes ma’am. I remember a few years ago being shocked when someone called me ma’am for the first time now I think I reached the age of actually likening it!


     

  • ~Random thoughts and statements~


    -For Roman Catholics NOT Eastern Orthodox today is “Fat Tuesday” or as they called it in England “Shrove Tuesday” on this day in England and France they make pancakes , they aren’t like American pancakes they are crepes. Today is also called “Pancake Day”. In the Roman Catholic Church tomorrow is “Ash Wednesday”. This is NOT an Eastern Orthodox practice.


    - This year Eastern Orthodox Pascha (Easter) falls on April 23. The Orthodox Church uses the Julian Calendar to calculate Easter and the Western Church uses the Gregorian.  This year Pascha falls a  week later than Western Easter. Lent begins tomorrow for the Roman Catholic Church. Next Monday is CLEAN MONDAY and the beginning of GREAT LENT for Eastern Orthodox Christians.


    - Yesterday out of 151 students K-12 at our children’s school 42 were home sick, so classes have been canceled for the next two days. Our children are not sick, so we  have can have some fun today!


    - Fr. was preparing the baby’s cereal (Fr.  enjoys the chance to feed Maria~Angelica  since up to now only I could ) and he was getting such a kick out of her; she was getting so excited watching him, she knew what was coming. The sweet little thing was opening her little mouth and was wide eyed with excitement! All this over rice cereal! LOL


    - Today is pajama day at nursery school and Jonah is so cute in his Scooby doo jammies , the older boys wanted to spend the night at Yiayia and Papou’s since they didn’t have school today. It looks like we are going to have a pretty nice day  today, I am thinking of taking everyone to Museum Center . The  movie at the Omnimax is  Greece: Secrets of the Past . We received free passes to the Omnimax with our membership and this is a movie I think we would all enjoy.


    - Maria~Angelica has her 4 month checkup today. I can tell she has really grown and in the last two days seems a lot heavier to me, she is still so little though. Lately she has started to enjoy bearing some weight on her legs; I need to get the excersaucer out.


    - I want to go on “Deal or No Deal” I can think of so much I would do with that kind of money!


    - I took this quiz the other day and here are my results:


    Your quiz results make you a Zen Mom

    How do you do it? Even when explosions are all around, you are able to take a deep cleansing breath and chant your mantra “this too shall pass.” You are a calming influence on your kids in a hectic world.


    I think that is pretty accurate, I am always saying or thinking “this too shall pass!lol  I would say I am more like a “Jesus Prayer Mom” then a Zen mom. I take a deep cleansing breath and say “Lord Jesus Christ have Mercy on me”.


    Have a great day today! For my Orthodox readers enjoy your dairy this week Cheesefare Sunday is coming up!

  • ~MONDAY MORNING MEDITATIONS~

     

    Dear Fathers, Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

     

         Since yesterday was Meatfare Sunday, we woke up this morning to the Monday of Cheesefare Week.  Fasting from meat has already begun in anticipation of the full discipline of the Great Fast that begins a week from today, Monday, March 6.  Unless our eyes have been shut and our ears closed, it will be impossible to say next week that Great Lent has caught us off guard.  The pre-Lenten season that is drawing to a close has as its purpose the goal of preparing us for the struggle against the flesh and our “passions” that will demand our vigilance and attention once the Lenten journey begins.  Focusing our human energy and opening up our minds and hearts to the grace of God will be essential.  In other words, prepare to get counter-cultural!  My own personal reflection would be that that is exactly what any sane person would desire to do with all of his/her mind, body, heart and soul.  The Church is a haven of spiritual sanity amidst the insanity of a world that has forgotten God.  Great Lent intensifies that truth; offers us a choice about the direction of our lives; and thus reveals the true treasure of our hearts.  In effect, we are always choosing – consciously or unconsciously – between God and mammon.  The Great Fast makes our choices more apparent.

     

        All of this is set against the background of the Last Judgment, thus giving us the “big picture” within which we live our lives and determine our personal destinies.  The Gospel reading from yesterday’s eucharistic Liturgy was that of the Parable of the Last Judgment.  (MATT. 25:31-46)  Thus, the second Sunday before Great Lent is also called The Sunday of the Last Judgment.  In parabolic form and with awesome imagery, the Lord speaks of His own Parousia as the glorified Son of man at the end of time and reveals to us that this will be a time of judgment.  This judgment will lead to separation.  The ”sheep” (the saved) will be placed on the right hand, and the “goats” (the lost) on the left hand of the eternal Throne of God.  This, in turn, will reveal the “quality” of our lives, though not in the way in which we today use the term “quality of life.”  We will be confronted with the question as to how well we served the Lord by how well we served the “least” of His brethren:  “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.”  (MATT. 25: 40)    These least are the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and the prisoner.   How many of us have to admit that these are precisely the people that we neglect?  The fact that society removes such people from our sight does not offer a very reassuring “excuse” for our neglect.  It simply makes it more convenient and less troubling, perhaps, to our consciences.  Sadly, this may point to one of the most glaring of “disconnects” between the Gospel and our Christian lives, expressed in the following hymn:

     

            Alas, black soul!  How long will you continue in evil?  How long will you lie in idleness?

            Why do you not think of the fearful hour of death?  Why do you not tremble at the dread judgment-

            seat of the Savior?  What defense then will you make, or what will you answer?  Your works   

            will be there to accuse you; your actions will reproach you and condemn you.  O my soul, the time 

            is near at hand; make haste before it is too late, and cry aloud in faith:  I have sinned, O Lord, I

            have sinned against you; but I know your love for humanity and Your compassion.  O good

            Shepherded deprive me not of a place at Your right hand in Your great glory

     

            (Vespers, Sunday of the Last Judgment)

     

         I, for one, am not ready to concede that this hymn is excessively rhetorical, overly pessimistic, or “unfair” in its outlook.  It is rather a sober and honest plea calling us to repentance and the re-direction of our lives.  It reminds us that it is never too late.  And that the Good Shepherd will place us upon His shoulders to the accompaniment of rejoicing angels in heaven over our repentance. 

     

         “God is love.”  (I JN. 4:8)  And yet God is demanding.  If He “so loved the world that He gave His only Son” to die on the Cross for our redemption, then He expects us to approach and treat others with the same love.  This is a love expressed in action and in giving, and is not to be confused with emotions or feelings.  We are all outcasts and alienated from God based upon the primordial sin of Adam, and yet God did not forget us or abandon us.  He “bought us with a price.”   (I COR. 6:20)   If we are indeed to “imitate the divine nature” as St. Gregory of Nyssa taught, then we could convincingly say that God expects us to “perform” according to the full capacity of our human nature, made “in the image and likeness of God.”  All the more plausible and possible because our fallen human nature has been renewed in and through the Death and Resurrection of Christ.  Our rescue from a condition of “ontological poverty” is meant to arouse in us a desire to rescue “the least of these” from the impoverishing conditions of a fallen world.

     

         Simultaneously with the external history of our lives there is occurring the internal history of our hearts.  The outer life is more readily open to being accurately recorded, from the date of our birth to the date of our death and the significant events in between that make up our personal histories.  What is happening within our hearts is far more difficult to record, because the human heart is deep and mysterious.  Yet the Parable of the Last Judgment, testing the direction of our hearts, raises some real questions:  Is our heart expanding or contracting?  Is it growing larger or smaller?  Is it becoming more generous or more grasping?   Is it letting the neighbor in, our keeping the neighbor out?   Is it, as the years move inexorably forward, embracing God and neighbor; or is it shrinking in self-protection?   These are questions to explore as we move into the Lenten season.

     

        If our lives are worth living, then they are worth being judged.  Our deeds, words and thoughts are significant because we must “answer” for them to a God who is love.  Since God loves us and saves us He will also judge us, though our “judgment” is actually self-inflicted and not imposed on us as a punishment.  In a wonderful article entitled ” On Preaching Judgment,” Fr. John Breck put it this way:

     

            Judgment is indeed self-inflicted.  God offers us life, and we choose death.  He opens before us the

            way into the kingdom of Heaven, and we continue down our own pathway, which leads to destruction.

            Yet like the father of the prodigal son, God pursues us along that pathway, desiring only that we

            repent and return home.  It is our decision to do so or not.  (God With Us. p. 230)

     

       In a bleak and cold universe absent of the presence of God and  governed by immutable “laws of nature,”  there is no judgment.  But what does that say about the significance of our lives?  

     

            Enter not into judgement with me, bringing before me the things I should have done,

            examining my words and correcting my impulses.  But in Your mercy overlook my sins and

            save me, O Lord almighty. 

     

            (Matins Canon of the Sunday of the Last Judgment, canticle one)

     

      

    Fr. Steven C. Kostoff
    Christ the Savior/Holy Spirit Orthodox Church
    http://www.christthesavioroca.org

  • February 26













    Sunday of the Last Judgment (Meatfare Sunday)

    Today’s Gospel reading is Matthew 25:31-46, the parable of the Last Judgment. It reminds us that while trusting in Christ’s love and mercy, we must not forget His righteous judgment when He comes again in glory. If our hearts remain hardened and unrepentant, we should not expect the Lord to overlook our transgressions simply because He is a good and loving God. Although He does not desire the death of a sinner, He also expects us to turn from our wickedness and live (Ezek. 33:11). This same idea is expressed in the prayer read by the priest after the penitent has confessed his or her sins.

    The time for repentance and forgiveness is now, in the present life. At the Second Coming, Christ will appear as the righteous Judge, Who will render to every man according to his deeds” (Rom. 2:6). Then the time for entreating God’s mercy and forgiveness will have passed.

    As Father Alexander Schmemann reminds us in his book GREAT LENT (Ch. 1:4), sin is the absence of love, it is separation and isolation. When Christ comes to judge the world, His criterion for judgment will be love. Christian love entails seeing Christ in other people, our family, our friends, and everyone else we may encounter in our lives. We shall be judged on whether we have loved, or not loved, our neighbor. We show Christian love when we feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit those who are sick or in prison. If we did such things for the least of Christ’s brethren, then we also did them for Christ (Mt.25:40). If we did not do such things for the least of the brethren, neither did we do them for Christ (Mt.25:45).

    Today is the last day for eating meat and meat products until Pascha, though eggs and dairy products are permitted every day during the coming week. This limited fasting prepares us gradually for the more intense fasting of Great Lent.

  • Q.  If you are from Cincinnati and  tomorrow is the last day to eat meat (Meat Fare Sunday) where do you take the family for dinner?


    A.


     


































     



  • I  met FMG! I am so glad I was able to go, she is really cool and we were able to talk  at lunch, she sat at the table with the 3 priest and their wives. The time went too quickly. Her talk was great, but I felt like I already knew her because I have read all her books and many articles. Anyway she is such a warm Khouria with wonderful stories. I bought her latest book and had my others signed. Fr. is  using her new book for a Lenten study at Church.






    First Fruits of Prayer: A Forty-Day Journey Through the Canon of St. Andrew










     
     

  • Hi everyone, just a quick post to share a few things.


    1. Tomorrow is the first of the three Saturday of the Souls that happen in this period leading up to Lent.


    2. After the Liturgy tomorrow morning we (Fr., me and baby) , God willing,  are going to the  Greek Orthodox parish where I grew up to hear Frederica Mathewes-Green speak. For my readers that don’t know who she is here is a link to her website.


    http://www.frederica.com/ - check it out!


    I am praying all goes well and I will be able to attend the talk and Church on Sunday. Say a prayer for me!


     


    Saturday of the Souls









     



    by Archbishop Stylianos

    From the early times, our Church dedicated Saturday to the souls. It is primarily the day of those who have fallen asleep. And Christians always took care, with memorial services and charitable acts done especially on Saturdays, to stay close to their dead and ask God for their repose and salvation. Even today one will see more people in graves on Saturdays than on any other day.


    But why is Saturday the day of the souls? There are many explanations. The most likely explanation why Saturday was set apart for the departed appears to be that the word “Saturday” – coming from the Hebrew word Sabbath – means rest. And on this day we are praying for the repose of the souls.


    Starting from this point of view, it is worth our expressing a few thoughts so that we of today may remember again great truths concerning the Saturday of the Souls. Properly speaking, there are only two Saturdays of the Souls, the one on Saturday before Meat-fare Sunday and the other on Saturday before Pentecost. Yet Saturday generally as the day for those basic and saving truths:


    1. That the world does not end in whatever we see and count, but also extends in the space of the spirit, which also exists, coexists together with us. In this place the souls of our departed beloved are encamped.

    2. That the Church is a continuous intercommunion between those of its members that are still struggling on earth and those that have already slept in the Lord.


    3. That amidst the fever of action and the struggle of daily life we must remember that the natural terminus of every effort, which is rest in the Lord, since there is nothing more certain than death and nothing more uncertain than the hour of death.


    From The Orthodox Messenger, Jan/Feb 1992


     


     

  • Ugh! Whatever I have it is not going away. February is almost over and I have only been well for about 3 days of it!


    I just finished homework with the boys a little while ago, tucked them in and  got the baby settled. Now I want to post some pics I have been meaning to post for awhile now for my relatives that read my blog and especially for Maria~Angelica’s godmothers.


     Maria~Angelica  does the funniest thing! She tries to say the word “hi” whenever we say “hi”. It is a hoot, her little mouth goes all funny in a big circle , the boys just crack up! I have been wanting to take some video but have misplaced my battery charger.


    The boys are doing so well in school; their midterm reports were excellent. Nicholas, who is in Kindergarten has learn the first 42 phonograms and can write them as well as say them. He has also learned how to add and subtract and does a mixed work sheet of about 50 problems with 100% accuracy. Amazing! I remember learning how to tie my shoes and stand in line for the bathroom when I was in kindergarten.


    Basil has learned to write cursive and his handwriting is so BEAUTIFUL. Penmanship is one of their subjects. He is also very well versed on the tribes and kings of Israel. My dad and Basil have a lot to talk about now! LOL  Basil loves Bible, math and grammar. He is really good at analyzing and diagramming sentences, something I remember being taught in the 6th grade. Nicholas and Basil have a Leapster game for grammar and it is so funny to hear Basil (8) in the back seat prompting Nicholas (6)  on the parts of speech. Basil has also really helped Nicholas learn his phonograms and math. Nicholas really looks up to Basil, it’s sweet.  


    Jonah and I enjoyed planning the treats for his pre-school Valentine Party. The baby made an appearance at both  Jonah and Basil’s parties on Valentine’s day. They both enjoyed showing their friends their baby sister; they were so proud.


    Today Jonah helped me give Maria~Angelica her bath; the baby really enjoys her bath.  She is also very much enjoying her baby cereal , she just laps it up!


    All three boys are doing really well with their swimming and are so proud of the ribbons they have been earning. Basil informed me he doesn’t want to do anything else for the moment , he just wants to concentrate on swimming for now. He was so mature when he explained this to me. He said remember when I was doing three things (piano, guitar and swimming) ? Well I just want to learn one at a time and do it really well. Awwww! He’s right you know , I had him spread too thin. Very observant little guy there.



























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    Nicholas , Jonah and Basil all passed the red level and Basil the orange level as well.









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    The next week Basil advanced to the yellow level class.







     


     


















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    Jonah’s Valentine’s Day Party












    Passing out treats and setting the tables.










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    Decorating cookies.






















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    Jonah and his best buddy Turner during circle time.










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    Basil and Nicholas with Maria~Angelica in Basil’s second grade classroom. Second grade was a little overwhelming for the baby. Basil was thrilled though!












































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    Basil took this picture. Can you see Maria~Angelica’s ballet slippers?















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    Nicholas and  his best friend Dean. Next to Dean is my precious goddaughter Angelika.



















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    Basil and his Nouno (godfather, my brother) practicing cursive. I am pretty sure Basil’s cursive is better than Uncle Michael’s. I think Basil is giving him some tips here.



















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    Jonah at the piano he doesn’t know what he is doing (yet) but he is a pretty good little actor.















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    Watching the world go by from the Moses basket  while mommy does laundry.





















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    Saying “HI!”




















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    Smiling from the cradle in Mommy and Baba’s room.

























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    “Oh me, oh my!”


     

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    “I better chew my hand and think this over.”











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    Bathing beauty.


    Pretty , pretty princess enjoys her baths.


     








  • “The enemy likes to hide the truth and to mix good with evil. But how
    can one find out the truth? God’s goodwill and all our intentions are meek, full of good hope, and undoubting. Not only in our good deeds, but also in our lawlessness, God endures long with meekness and awaits our repentance. And how can one distinguish the impulse of the enemy? The enemy usually hinders us and turns us away from good. However, if in anything which apparently is good, the mind is disturbed and causes us disturbance, banishes the fear of God, deprives us of calmness, so that without any reason the heart aches and the mind wavers, then know that this is an impulse from the enemy and cut it off.”


    St. Paisius Velichkovsky.

  • One year ago yesterday after we returned home from baptizing and Chrismating  the Clark family (See my previous post)  we found out that we were expecting Maria~Angelica! It was such a miracle and we couldn’t have been more excited! What a blessed year it has been and we have all enjoyed the last 4 months so much!!


    Yesterday Maria~Angelica turned 4 months old and on the lap of Papou Nick she  enjoyed her first taste of organic baby rice. These last 4 month she has brought our whole family so much joy and pleasure!


    GLORY BE TO GOD!






















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    Basil reading to Yiayia Angie and Maria~Angelica.
























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    Maria~Angelica at the boys’ swimming lessons. She couldn’t keep her eyes off her feet! This is the first time she has worn this sweet little outfit that was a present from Thea Voula, her great aunt and a reader of this blog. 





















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    Maria~Angelica smiling at Yiayia Angie.

















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    The boys and their “pretty, pretty princess”!










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