~September 14th~

Today is the Feast Day of The Exaltation of the Cross . Happy Feast day to everyone, and Happy Name day to my Thea Voula (named at her baptism Stavroula, the Greek word for cross is stavro.)

 May God Grant you Many Years!!!

Saint Helen, the mother of Saint Constantine the Great, when she was already advanced in years, undertook, in her great piety, the hardships of a journey to Jerusalem in search of the cross, about the year 325. A temple to Aphrodite had been raised up by the Emperor Hadrian upon Golgotha, to defile and cover with oblivion the place where the saving Passion had been suffered. The venerable Helen had the statue of Aphrodite destroyed, and the earth removed, revealing the Tomb of our Lord, and three crosses. Of these, it was believed that one must be that of our Lord, the other two of the thieves crucified with Him; but Saint Helen was at a loss which one might be the Wood of our salvation. At the inspiration of Saint Macarius, Archbishop of Jerusalem, a lady of Jerusalem, who was already at the point of death from a certain disease, was brought to touch the crosses, and as soon as she came near to the Cross of our Lord, she was made perfectly whole. Consequently, the precious Cross was lifted on high by Archbishop Macarius of Jerusalem; as he stood on the ambo, and when the people beheld it, they cried out, “Lord have mercy.” It should be noted that after its discovery, a portion of the venerable Cross was taken to Constantinople as a blessing. The rest was left in Jerusalem in the magnificent church built by Saint Helen, until the year 614. At that time, the Persians plundered Palestine and took the Cross to their own country (see Jan. 22, Saint Anastasius the Persian). Late, in the year 628, Emperor Heraclius set out on a military campaign, retrieved the Cross, and after bringing it to Constantinople, himself escorted it back to Jerusalem, where he restored it to its place.

Rest from labour. A Fast is observed today, whatever day of the week it may be.

~HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM/YIA YIA!~

We love you very much!!!!

May God Grant You Many Years!!!

A WONDERFUL MOTHER

~Maria~Angelica~

I finally got around to taking the baby for formal pictures in her Christening gown. I am glad it still fits! Thank you again Betsy, Sandra and Thea Voula for all the beautiful Christening apparel and for everything you did to make Maria~Angelica’s baptism day so beautiful! I hope you enjoyed the pictures I sent you. Maria~Angelica loves her cross, as you can see from the photos! I also took some pictures in another dress that I really like on Maria~Angelica, she just looks so sweet in that dress!

~Did you know?~

“Upon this Rock I will Rebuild my Church” The Rebuilding of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church On September 11, 2001 the barbaric attack not only destroyed the majestic Twin Towers but also the tiny yet historic St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, located south of the second tower of the World Trade Center. In the aftermath of its destruction, very little survived: two icons, one of St. Dionysios of Zakynthos and the other of the Zoodochos Pege, along with a few liturgical items, a book, and some candles. Within days, the Archbishop traveled personally to Ground Zero, setting foot on the site where the Church of St. Nicholas stood, in order to conduct a memorial service for the victims of those who perished in the attacks and to offer prayers for the families in mourning. On the Feast Day of St. Nicholas, December 6, the Archbishop, joined by His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos and area clergy, celebrated a somber Vespers and memorial service near where the Church once stood. Six months after the attacks, His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew also journeyed to this sacred site and presided at a memorial service with family members of the victims. Though small in stature, St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church was a place of ministry and worship both for her parishioners and also for local residents and workers in the Financial District of Manhattan who would pass by and often enter the Church. Following its collapse, the legacy of this tiny Church continues to dramatically impact peoples’ lives, and donations of almost $2 million have been received, as well as additional pledges of construction materials and appointments for the complete rebuilding of the Church. The city of Bari, Italy, where the relics of St. Nicholas were originally bestowed, has donated $250,000. The government of Greece has contributed $750,000 to these efforts, and the Ecumenical Patriarchate has given $50,000. The Governor of the State of New York, George Pataki, met with the Archbishop and pledged his support for including a new St. Nicholas in the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site. The task of rebuilding the Church of St. Nicholas involves careful coordination, planning and vision. To this end, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios has appointed a committee to oversee the rebuilding project. In accomplishing their objectives, the committee has met with the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation so that the task of rebuilding St. Nicholas may be properly incorporated into the concept plans for the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site located at Ground Zero. These concept plans, which are the product of an inclusive process, envision the rebuilding of the historic Church of St. Nicholas as a functioning parish, ministering once again to the needs of her faithful. His Eminence, however, also sees the rebuilding of St. Nicholas as a matter of spiritual destiny, so that the millions of people who will visit the historic site of Ground Zero may find marking the place of a national tragedy, a sanctuary of solace and prayer, a concrete and visible testimony of renewed faith and hope.

September 11th

I was thinking, “what will I post on September 11th?” Then I read Jennifer’s blog and saw that today is the feast day of St. Theodora of Alexandria. If her story doesn’t inspire us to  give our lives to Christ and put all our faith in God, I don’t know what will!

St. Theodora, Pray to God for us!

St. Theodora of Alexandria

Although St. Theodora had a wonderful husband, she fell into adultery as a young woman. Afterwards, weeping bitterly, she disguised herself as a man in order to repent for her sins as a monk. She was accepted into the monastery and took the name Theodore.

One day, a young woman came to visit the monastery and accused her of making her pregnant. Instead of defending herself, remembering her own past, she simply took the infant and raised it lovingly as her own. When the child was nine years old and she was about to depart from this life, she gave him the following advice:

Listen, my beloved child, I see that my life has reached its end. I am longing to go as quickly as possible to the true and blessed life. You, my child, I leave to God, the Father of orphans, and to the head of the monastery. Seek my child, nobility of soul, which is genuine, and not that of the flesh, which is false. Do not seek honor from men, for that is a cause of stumbling, but seek the glory of heaven. Hate much sleep, love abstinence, and avoid luxurious clothes. Always be zealous in prayer. Take care that you are not absent from the divine services even once, be sympathetic with the brethren, help as much as you can, and serve the sick. Do not seek to live by question, bow your face to the earth, and so answer. Do not mock anyone, especially if they have misfortunes. If you hear that a brother’s conduct is irregular, pray that God will correct him. Visit the sick, minister to the bretheren like their servant, and you will be a friend of Christ, Who became a slave for your sake. Pray always, my child, so as not to fall into temptations. But if you fall, immediately rise and correct yourself by repentance, and again hasten by prayer. If you live this way, my child, you will have God always at your hand, to hear you and to assist your soul and body.

Right before her burial, they discovered that she was a woman, and had been falsely accused. Her son later became an abbot of a monastery. Her husband came to her funeral and also became a monk, continuing to struggle for Christ and his salvation in her very cell.

Thus, her fall brought her to the desert where she not only saved her own soul, but that of her husband, the child she reared, and countless others inspired by her life. She is commemorated every September 11^th.

Thank you Jennifer.

www.stmaryofegypt.net/saints_theo.shtml

Beth had some good questions to ask about my pictures from the monastery(see previous blog entry). Here is the link if you would like to see her questions and my answers.

We had a wonderful visit to the Monastery a few weeks ago. I so appreciated the evening vespers service. It was very peaceful and spiritually fulfilling. The children had a great time, they made some new friends and we hope to go back again soon to visit with them.  Fr. Michael showed the children how to make beeswax candles and he taught them how to pray while the make their candles. We enjoyed  lunch, outside in the new picnic groves. The children took a hike in the woods and enjoyed the monastery grounds. I like the new landscaping and the church bells. The children loved when they rang the bells for church. We are so grateful to have a monastery just a few hours drive.  Here is the link to our photos, they are best viewed by slideshow.

View St. Gregory Palamas Monastery visit ’06

If you have any questions about the pictures just ask me here or on my message board www.orthodoxchat.com .

~A beautiful funeral, for a woman that lived a beautiful life in Christ.~

“With the Saints give rest, O Christ, to the soul of Your servant where there is no pain, nor sorrow, nor suffering, but life everlasting.”

I know many of you have been praying for Lynette and her family, please continue to pray for them as they mourn. I didn’t know Lynette personally , but I have been very , very touched by her life, her missionary work in Albania, her cancer and her death.  I write to you through tears, as I just finished viewing the photos from her beautiful funeral. I weep for her children and husband, who will miss her the rest of their lives. We live in the hope of the Risen Christ that they will meet again in paradise. May Lynette’s memory be eternal! Thank you to her family for sharing Lynette’s life on earth, with us all.

“I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith.”

~Making Memories~

Every year my hometown Greek Orthodox Church, has a Church picnic at a local picnic grove and amusement park.  We are so blessed to live in the next town over, where my husband is a pastor at a Greek Orthodox Church. It is great fun to get together with my childhood friends and their families.  I have memories of this picnic from my childhood at the same location riding the exact same rides. In fact when I was 3 years old they had a Cadillac raffle at the picnic and I won! I should scan in some photos of me sitting on the hood of the car; what a hoot! My parents sold the car (as we already had two cars and I couldn’t drive yet!) and I am sure I have spent that money many times over.

Maria~Angelica – “chillin” in her comfort zone.

Maria~Angelica, enjoying baby Philip’s toy. Dean and Nicholas BFF. Getting a lesson on, “the value of the dollar” , by Papou Louie. Ridin’ with, “the girls”. Nicholas, Dean, Basil and Eli. That’s the sun setting in the background.

Nicholas and Jonah

Chloe and Maria~Angelica- They don’t know it yet , but they are best friends! LOL!

Beautiful video!

Turn up your sound to hear an explanation.

http://www2.mysanantonio.com/news/graphics/20060816GreekOrthodoxMonks/GreekOrthoMonks.html