Great Lent begins... 2022

God is ready and willing to forgive sinners, but we sinners must be ready and willing to be forgiven. For the Lenten journey to be of any effect, we must be open to be forgiveness; if we cannot forgive others nor admit our faults and be forgiven by those we have offended, there is no room within us for God’s mercy. 

Father Alexander Schmemann writes in his book Great Lent: Journey to Pascha, “the triumph of sin, the main sign of its rule over the word, is division, opposition, separation, hatred. Therefore, the first break through this fortress of sin is forgiveness: the return to unity, solidarity, love. To forgive is to put between me and my “enemy” the radiant forgiveness of God Himself. . . . Forgiveness is truly a ‘breakthrough’ of the Kingdom into this sinful and fallen word.”  God’s forgiveness is given to us via others, not alone; thus it is through mutual forgiveness that we truly begin the journey to the Resurrection. from New Liturgical Movement 

may we have the courage to say "Death, where is your sting?" in 2021

Life is shadow and light. Last night, my father's older brother Foster died suddenly. Thank you for praying for Uncle Foster's soul and for the consolation of his family, especially my cousin S. This past year has been soul-crushing in many ways. Please pray for Rick H and the consolation of his wife. We are also mourning the losses of faithful priests, Father Frank and Father Mel. and there are others as well. Lord, have mercy!

You who with wisdom profound mercifully orders all things, and gives unto all that which is useful, give rest, O Lord, to the soul of your servant who has fallen asleep, for he has placed his trust in You, our Maker and Fashioner and our God (Troparion for funeral).

With the saints give rest, O Christ, to the soul of Your servant where sickness and sorrow are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting (Kontakion for funeral).

Where is the pleasure in life which is unmixed with sorrow? Where the glory which on earth has stood firm and unchanged? All things are weaker than shadow, all more illusive than dreams; comes one fell stroke, and Death in turn, prevails over all these vanities. Wherefore in the Light, O Christ, of Your countenance, the sweetness of Your beauty, to him (her) whom You have chosen grant repose, for You are the Friend of Mankind. (St. John of Damascus)

Orthodox & Catholic- Byzantine Lent: pray, fast, give alms during this tithe of the year

ON FASTING: Father, make me poor before you. Grant me grace that through fasting I may understand how much I need you. Grant that through fasting my desire for You may grow, that my heart may long for you as the deer longs for the running waters and the desert for the clouds of rain. Father, I pray to you , grant that through this fast my understanding of the hungry and the thirsty, of those who do not have enough of material goods, may especially grow. help me see what I do not need but possess, that I may give it up for the benefit of my brothers and sisters. O Father, I especially pray to You. Grant me the grace to become aware that I am but a pilgrim on this earth, that, when passing away to the other world I shall not take anything with me but love and good deeds. Let the awareness grow within me that even when I possess something I cannot call it my own for I have only received it from You to manage it. Father, grant me grace that through fasting I may become humbler and more willing to do Your will. Cleanse me of my selfishness and haughtiness. Through this fast cleanse me of all bad habits and calm down my passions, and let virtue increase in me. Let the depth of my soul open to Your grace through this fast so that it may totally affect and cleanse me. Help me to be always like your Son in trials and temptations; to resist every temptation, so as to be able to serve You and see Your Word more and more, day after day. (Father Slavko Barbarič)

† The Beheading of the Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John

Today is kept as a strict fast day, on whatever day of the week it falls. Because the holy Forerunner's head was brought to Herod on a platter, it is a pious custom not to eat anything from a plate or platter today.

Troparion of St. John the Baptist

The memory of the just is celebrated with hymns of praise but the Lord's testimony is enough for thee, O Forerunner, for thou wast shown to be more wonderful than the Prophets since thou wast granted to baptize in the running waters Him Whom thou didst proclaim. Then having endured great suffering for the Truth, Thou didst rejoice to bring, even to those in hell the good tidings that God Who had appeared in the flesh takes away the sin of the world and grants us the great mercy.

Kontakion of St. John the Baptist

The beheading of the glorious Forerunner was a divine dispensation that the coming of the Savior might be preached to those in hell. Lament then, Herodias, that thou didst demand a murder despising the law of God and eternal life.

on the 7th day of Christmas- 7 saints to inspire your new year

St Ephrem the Syrian was a deacon and a song-writer from the 300s "All kinds of storms trouble me -- and you have been kinder to the Ark: only waves surrounded it, but ramps and weapons and waves surround me... O Helmsman of the Ark, be my pilot on dry land! You gave the Ark rest on the haven of a mountain, give me rest in the haven of my walls."

"Ever forseeing the hour of reckoning thou didst bewail thy sins with tears of compunction O Ephraim and thou wast active in works as a teacher O Saint. Therefore O father of all the world thou didst rouse the indifferent and easy-going to repentance."

St Amelia  (died May 30, 375)  was the wife of Basil the Elder and bore nine or ten children,including Basil of Caesarea (born circa 330), Macrina the Younger, Peter of Sebaste, Gregory of Nyssa, and Naucratius. She is not the only woman in her family to be venerated as a saint. Both her mother-in-law, Macrina the Elder, as well as her daughters, Macrina the Younger and Theosebia are recognized as saints in the Catholic Church (except for Theosebia) and Eastern Orthodox Church. 

"Through thee the divine likeness was securely preserved, O Mother Emilia; for thou didst carry the cross and follow Christ. By example and precept thou didst teach us to ignore the body because it is perishable, and to attend to the concerns of the undying soul. Therefore, doth thy soul rejoice with the angels." 

Servant of God Iuliu Hossu (30 January 1885 - 28 May 1970) was a Romanian Greek-Catholic bishop of the Cluj-Gherla Diocese and later an "in pectore" cardinal (never functioning) and victim of the Communist regime.Pope Paul VI elevated Hossu to the rank of cardinal "in pectore" in 1969 but did not publish his appointment until 1973 which was after Hossu's death. The Communist authorities arrested Bishop Hossu on 28 October 1948. From 1950 to 1955 he was detained as political prisoner at the Sighet prison. He spent the rest of his life under house arrest and later died in 1970.

Servant of God Catherine Dougherty  -Ekaterina Fyodorovna Kolyschkine de Hueck Doherty - (August 15, 1896 – December 14, 1985), was a Catholic social worker and founder of the Madonna House Apostolate. A pioneer of social justice and a renowned national speaker, Doherty was also a prolific writer of hundreds of articles, best-selling author of dozens of books, and a dedicated wife and mother. 

Blessed Theodore Romzha (14 April 1911 – 31 October 1947) was bishop of the Ruthenian Catholic Eparchy of Mukacheve from 1944 to 1947.Theodore Romzha was born in the Subcarpathia region, Hungary, Austria-Hungary (in the Rusyn village Velykyi Bychkiv, now Ukraine) on 14 April 1911.  Assassinated by NKVD, he was beatified as a martyr by Pope John Paul II on 27 June 2001.

"O priest martyr Theodore, following the apostles' path of piety, As a good shepherd guarding Christ's flock, you laid down your life, For having been slain by the godless, o Blessed One, Adorned with wounds you entered into eternal joy, o Long-Suffering One, And received from the Lamb of God the crown of glory. Pray to Him to save our souls."

Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich, S.C. (March 26, 1901 – May 8, 1927), was an American Ruthenian Catholic Sister of Charity, who has been beatified by the Catholic Church. The beatification ceremony was the first to take place in the United States. She was born Teresa Demjanovich in Bayonne, New Jersey, on March 26, 1901, the youngest of the seven children of Alexander Demjanovich and Johanna Suchy, Ruthenian immigrants to the United States from what is now eastern Slovakia. She received Baptism, Chrismation, and First Holy Communion in the Ruthenian Rite of her parents.

Gregory Palamas (c. 1296 – 1357 or 1359) was a prominent theologian and ecclesiastical figure of the late Byzantine period. A monk of Mount Athos (modern Greece) and later archbishop of Thessaloniki, he is famous for his defense of hesychast spirituality, the uncreated character of the light of the Transfiguration, and the distinction between God's essence and energies (i.e., the divine will, divine grace, etc.). 

"O light of Orthodoxy, teacher of the Church, its confirmation, O ideal of monks and invincible champion of theologians, O wonder-working Gregory, glory of Thessalonica and preacher of grace, always intercede before the Lord that our souls may be saved."

on the 2nd day of Christmas- Glorify Him in the Synaxis of the Theotokos

The Virgin today gives birth to the Transcendent One, and the earth offers a cave to the Unapproachable One. Angels and shepherds glorify Him, and wise men journey with a star. For a young Child is born for us, Who is the eternal God.

On this 2nd day of the feast of the Nativity of Jesus Christ, the Synaxis ('also worthy') of the Most Holy Theotokos (Mother of God, God-bearer), Mary, is celebrated. Combining the hymns of the Nativity with those celebrating the Mother of God, the Church points to Mary as the one through whom the Incarnation was made possible. His humanity—concretely and historically—is the humanity He received from Mary. His body is, first of all, her body. His life is her life.

on the 1st day of Christmas- Christ is born!

Your Nativity, O Christ our God, / Has shone to the world the Light of wisdom! / For by it, those who worshipped the stars, / Were taught by a Star to adore You, / The Sun of Righteousness, / And to know You, the Orient from on High. / O Lord, glory to You!

Today the Virgin gives birth to the Transcendent One, / And the earth offers a cave to the Unapproachable One! / Angels with shepherds glorify Him! / The wise men journey with a star! / Since for our sake the Eternal God was born as a Little Child!

Hail! Who calls the daughter of Zion to rejoice: completing the Nativity Fast Akathist

Rule us, protect us, hear our prayers, O Child not yet born, Ancient of Days. We have arisen to plead before the stony mountain; hear us O hills; open up the cave into which we might pour our cries to the one Micah sees in Bethlehem, and says:

Hail! Offshoot of the house of Ephrata.
Hail! Ruler of Israel.
Hail! Whose goings out are from age to age.
Hail! Who waits upon the woman to give birth.
Hail! Who awaits the return of your brethren.
Hail! Father of the sons of Israel.
Hail! Feeder of the flock.
Hail! Majesty of the Name.
Hail! Gatherer of the bruised.
Hail! Reigning from Mount Zion.
Hail! Who make small Bethlehem great.
Hail! Lord of Hosts, speaking in the silent cave.
Hail! New Child, being God from all eternity.

Who speaks through unclean Barlaam’s lips?
The Holy Spirit proclaims Jacob’s fair houses,
and the shady groves of Israel, the gardens, the river
to which shall come, following the star he saw,
Barlaam’s Magi heirs through whom we gentiles now sing:
Alleluia!

 A day is coming, says Zechariah, when the Lord himself shall go forth and fight, shall stand upon the Mount of Olives before Jerusalem, and on that day shall He be proclaimed king over all the earth. That day now dawns and the little Child leads his army of shepherds and his hosts of angels to sing with us:

Hail! Who hurls the wealth of Tyre into the sea.
Hail! Encamped among the remnant of Judah.
Hail! Who calls the daughter of Zion to rejoice.
Hail! Riding triumphant upon the foal.
Hail! Who cuts off the chariot from Ephraim.
Hail! Whose colt turns back the warhorse from Jerusalem.
Hail! Your dominion is from sea to sea.
Hail! You rule from the River to the ends of the earth.
Hail! Blood of the covenant.
Hail! Freedom of captives from the waterless pit.
Hail! Whose grain makes the young men flourish.
Hail! Whose wine restores the maidens.
Hail! New Child, being God from all eternity. 

Your prophets stilled their voices
after Malachi foresaw Elijah’s sending.
Now the great day, the awesome day is coming
with Elijah’s birth in John, whose baptizing
will prepare the world to cry:
Alleluia! 

Click HERE for the entire akathist prayer 

Hail! Creator of the stars of heaven: praying before Christmas

Out of Isaiah’s mouth the Lord decrees: “Understand you nations and submit, for God is with us!” Emmanuel is arriving, Jesse’s rod is blossoming, the Virgin is bearing and all creation is rejoicing:
Hail! Child born for us.
Hail! Son given for us.
Hail! Whose shoulders bear the Government.
Hail! Angel of Great Counsel.
Hail! Wonderful Counselor.
Hail! Mighty God.
Hail! Potentate.
Hail! Prince of Peace.
Hail! Father of the Age to Come.
Hail! Upholder of the Throne from Age to Age.
Hail! Judge of the lowly with justice.
Hail! Little Child who leads us.
Hail! New Child, being God from all eternity.

Not until this moment has Jeremiah’s word been understood:

this is our God, and there shall be no other,

this is our God, who appeared upon earth,

and lived among men.

Lord, we give You glory as we hymn:

Alleluia!

Human hand did not cut the stone that comes now to be born, and human help did not save the three youths in Babylon’s fire. Teach us, Daniel, lead us young men, as we cry out to the Savior:

Hail! Lord God of our Fathers, worthy of all praise.

Hail! Just in all that you do.

Hail! Heaven’s Lord.

Hail! Angels’ King.

Hail! Maker of the sun and moon.

Hail! Creator of the stars of heaven.

Hail! Who send us fire and hail, frost and snow.

Hail! Glorified in winter cold and summer heat.

Hail! Source of springs, seas and rivers.

Hail! Who care for birds of the air, for beasts and cattle.

Hail! Son of Man for the sons of men.

Hail! Whose mercy endures forever.

Hail! New Child, being God from all eternity.

Early is the rain that falls for our vindication, says Joel,

foreshadowing the Spirit’s overshadowing of the Virgin soil.

O Hosea marry, Amos warn,

Habakkuk look upon the vision,

and let the whole company cry out with us:

Alleluia!

Click HERE for the entire akathist prayer 

Hail! Bread on which the princes feast: continuing Nativity Fast Akathist prayer

In Bathsheba’s son God wove wisdom from the strands of David’s sin. Now a new Solomon will lie before the Ark, no longer the Ark’s worshiper, but its Treasure and its Glory. Wisdom Himself comes to be born, woven not of tangled flesh but of Spirit and virgin awe, leading us to pray:
Hail! Before Whom David danced.
Hail! Cause of sweet-sung psalm.
Hail! Glory of the Temple.
Hail! Borne between the cherubim.
Hail! Wisdom foolish to the wise.
Hail! Kingship lowly to the lordly.
Hail! Bread on which the princes feast.
Hail! Cleansing Blood for priests.
Hail! Wealth beyond measure.
Hail! Wonder of the world.
Hail! For Whom prophets spoke.
Hail! To Whom kingly praise is due.
Hail! New Child, being God from all eternity.

Not now to heaven does a chariot bear Elijah;
but upon the earth the fiery Virgin journeys,
unconsumed, to Bethlehem.
The Spirit, no longer apportioned as once to Elisha,
is poured out without measure upon all who sing:
Alleluia!

Into evil have I been taken captive, banished by sin. My heart’s walls are broken down and my body’s temple lies ruined. Where is Zerubbabel, David’s son to obey the king’s decree? Where is priestly Ezra to sacrifice for mercy’s sake? Where is Nehemiah to mourn for me? He is here, emptied into flesh, self-exiled for love of the cast out who proclaim:
Hail! Yearned for by Babylon’s streams.
Hail! Comfort of the weeping.
Hail! Forsaken but never forsaking.
Hail! Faithful to a faithless people.
Hail! Nearby when we are far away.
Hail! Joy hidden within the ashes.
Hail! Secret food for those who fast.
Hail! Who hears the rending of the robe.
Hail! Strength of the remnant.
Hail! Hearth aflame for the returner.
Hail! Temple and temple-builder.
Hail! Restorer of the Law.
Hail! New Child, being God from all eternity.

Shall Judith now slay the tyrant death?
See she comes, beautiful of face, prudent of heart,
like Esther in majesty, steadfast like Ruth,
the Virgin widow whose sword is her own Son
who wields Himself for all who chant:
Alleluia!

Hail! Confidence of the stammerer: Praising Jesus through a Nativity Fast Akathist

Very meek, humblest of men, Moses made himself an earth to receive the seed of your Word. New Moses, humble born, manger fed: break open the earth of our hearts to the rain of your mercy, make our journey to Bethlehem an exodus from sin, opening our mouths wide to sing:
Hail! Fire that does not consume.
Hail! Name beyond all names.
Hail! Confidence of the stammerer.
Hail! Hardener of the hardened heart.
Hail! Pillar of Cloud by day.
Hail! Pillar of Fire by night.
Hail! Lifter of the sea.
Hail! Feeder of the manna.
Hail! Water flowing from the rock.
Hail! Giver of the Law.
Hail! Pourer of the Spirit.
Hail! Priest and Sacrifice.
Hail! New Child, being God from all eternity.

Into the promised land within the cave, O Shepherds go and spy for us:
see there the new Joshua spun from the scarlet blood
of another, though virgin, Rahab.
Bring back to us tidings of great joy,
of Death falling fainthearted before those who sing:
Alleluia!

Rightly judge, O tribes, for the Ark now journeys to tabernacle in a cave. Join with our Deborah’s hymn, magnify the One who gave courage to Jael and dew to Gideon, strength to Samson, and to Ruth her steadfast love. Come down, O Ark, to your new Samuel, teaching us to chant:
Hail! Man of the drawn sword upon the holy ground.
Hail! Trumpet blast leveling the walls of sin.
Hail! Sun-stilling Word.
Hail! Conquest of the land.
Hail! Jordan’s source and joy.
Hail! Only just Judge.
Hail! Who has dropped the heavens.
Hail! Cloud raining water on the land.
Hail! Avenger against the Philistine.
Hail! Breaker of every Baal.
Hail! Solace of widows.
Hail! New Boaz wedding Ruth.
Hail! New Child, being God from all eternity.

Go to David’s city, to see David’s Lord born as his son.
See his enemies like straw beneath his feet,
see his friends the poor and humble, the stranger and the foreigner,
the lowly raised up high, the mighty cast down,
the hungry filled with good things, and heaven joining earth to proclaim:
Alleluia!

Click HERE for the entire akathist prayer 

Hail! Who raises sons of Abraham from the stoniest of hearts: continuing the Nativity Fast Akathist

Yielding to Melchizedek, Abraham bows; the ancestor is greeted by the one without ancestors. The patriarch tithes his spoils; Salem’s King offers bread and wine. Though we have a beginning we dare to cry to the One without beginning; though we have few treasures we dare to sing to the Giver of every good thing:
Hail! Who have called us out to a new land.
Hail! Who have made of us a great nation.
Hail! Faithful to covenant.
Hail! Judge of covenant breakers.
Hail! Counted among Abraham’s seed.
Hail! Promiser and promised in One.
Hail! Hagar’s consolation.
Hail! Ishmael’s protection.
Hail! Whose providence draws all to Yourself.
Hail! Who raises sons of Abraham from the stoniest of hearts.
Hail! Whose blessings are more than the sands of the seashore.
Hail! The Host who makes Himself guest in the heat of our days.
Hail! New Child, being God from all eternity.

The Magi, sons of Chaldea, are called out from their own country;
Shepherds are herded by angels through the cave’s narrow gate.
A manger offers bestial men celestial Food.
Isaac is coming again to be offered by the God
Who will Himself provide the Offering to those who sing:
Alleluia!

Hid Jacob in skins to win his father’s blessing; the Word comes buried in the field of the flesh to restore us to our Father’s house. Jacob’s trickery won him lordship, the cunning of Jacob’s offspring defeats the empty power of Death. Tell us, O bold Rebekah’s daughter, who journeys towards Bethlehem, how to sing:
Hail! Field and field’s Fruit in one.
Hail! Aroma filling the Father’s nostrils with joy.
Hail! Fatness of the earth, plenty and grain and wine.
Hail! Blessing of those who bless You.
Hail! Curse of those who curse You.
Hail! Laborer for your beloveds’ love.
Hail! Winner of false Laban’s flocks.
Hail! Shepherd of many sheep.
Hail! Who marks us as we wrestle.
Hail! Whom Jacob would not let go without a blessing.
Hail! Father of the Twelve Tribes.
Hail! Lover of all earth’s tribes.
Hail! New Child, being God from all eternity.

Every service Joseph rendered his master, Pharaoh;
now Caesar commands a new Joseph, wending to Bethlehem to obey.
The lust of Potiphar’s wife proved the virtue of the first;
the second preserves the Virgin’s honor intact.
Finding freedom through virtue they sing:
Alleluia!

Click HERE for the entire prayer service 

Hail! New Child, being God from all eternity: a prayer in preparation for Christ's Nativity

Akathist in Preparation for the Nativity

The work of  Fr. Maximos of Holy Resurrection Monastery

Today the Virgin is on her way, to the cave where she will give birth to the Eternal Word of God in an ineffable manner. Rejoice, therefore, O Universe when you hear this news, and glorify with the angels and the shepherds Him who will appear as a new child, being God from all eternity.

The sacred sayings of the Prophets reach their fulfillment. See, a Virgin gives birth to God in the flesh in the city of Bethlehem within the Cave; let all creation be enriched, be glad and dance; the Master of all things is at hand to live among slaves, ransoming us, who are subject to corruption, from the power of the evil stranger, who sing:
Hail! Who from the beginning was the Word.
Hail! God with God, and Father’s Word.
Hail! Through Whom all things were made.
Hail! In Whom is Life, the Light of all.
Hail! Light in darkness.
Hail! Gloom’s dispeller.
Hail! Baptist’s sender.
Hail! Baptism’s goal.
Hail! In the world, but unknown.
Hail! Receiver of those who receive You.
Hail! Power of new birth.
Hail! Word made flesh among us dwelling.
Hail! New Child, being God from all eternity.

Order stills chaos. The Abyss is no longer void. Darkness has fled away.
The Word of God, Who once spoke from without, is now heard within.
The command, “Let there be” has been heard in the woman who replied,
“Let it be done.
Creation has learned at last to be itself, to become the cave that now holds
its Creator,
Echoing the angels’ hymn: Alleluia!

Dead Adam arise; clothe yourself with praise. Eve lift up your voice and shake off your shame. See, the bruised heel walks toward Bethlehem. In the House of Bread she casts away the stones of grief, feasts on the Father’s Fish Who has crushed the serpent’s head. Do not cease your hymn, skin-clad dust, or the stones themselves will cry out:
Hail! Planter of the Tree of Life.
Hail! Nailed upon the Tree of Death.
Hail! Fruit most desired in all the garden.
Hail! Delight to the enclosed heart’s eyes.
Hail! Whose feet have walked with ours in the dusk.
Hail! Who comes searching out our hidden shame.
Hail! Enemy to cunning envy.
Hail! Friend to peace-filled love.
Hail! Sewer of our skins.
Hail! Looser of our sins!
Hail! Companion in our exile.
Hail! Welcome home through Eden’s doors.
Hail! New Child, being God from all eternity.

Abraham was called out from his father’s house and from his own country;
Now Joseph returns to the land of his line, to David’s house.
Sarah once laughed at the thought of pleasure;
Mary now greets the sword of sorrow, forgetting anguish for the Child to be born,
Magnifying the Lord and crying:
Alleluia!

Click HERE for the entire prayer service posted at Monk Issac's blog 

Click HERE to learn more about the monks in Wisconsin 

Dormition of Saint Anne, mother of Mary the Theotokos

O godly, ever-blessed Anna, thou didst bear the pure Mother of God who conceived Him Who is our life. Thou hast now passed to heaven/ and art rejoicing in glory, asking forgiveness for those who faithfully honour thee. 

We celebrate the memory of the ancestors of Christ/ and faithfully ask their help; that all may be delivered from every affliction who cry: Be with us, O God, for it pleased Thee to glorify them. 

a feast day for the holy prophet Elijah

An angel in the flesh and the cornerstone of the prophets, the second forerunner of the coming of Christ, Glorious Elijah sent grace from on high to Elisha, to dispel diseases and to cleanse lepers. Therefore, he pours forth healings on those who honor him.

Prophet Elijah of great renown, seer of the mighty mighty works of God, by your command you held back the rain! Pray for us to the only Lover of mankind!

Elijah- man of contradictions- a saint before the time of Jesus, an 'angel in the flesh' 

Pray for us! 

CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN!

Pictured: The Resurrection / Anastasis (11th century mosaic), Hosios Loukas monastery, Church of the Katholikon (narthex), Distomo, Greece.

Christ is risen from the dead,

Trampling down death by death,

And upon those in the tombs

Bestowing life!

blessed be the mediocre, for they shall be okay enough

source: Byzantine, Texas blog 

Flannery O'Connor, writer and Catholic of great renown, said that she couldn't be a saint, but she could be a martyr "if they killed her quick." G.K. Chesterton asserted that “the most extraordinary thing in the world is an ordinary man and an ordinary woman and their ordinary children.” Saint Bernadette of Lourdes said that God had used her for an extraordinary purpose and then put her back in the corner like a broom. 

Let's be faithful enough to be like 'Bob' in the (parody) troparion above. Let's be martyrs, witnesses to Christ even if we are ordinary. Let's be brooms.

heaven touches earth: The Byzantine Catholic Divine Liturgy

happy birthday, Mary the Mother Of God!

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Holy Prophet Elijah

 An angel in the flesh and the cornerstone of the prophets, the second forerunner of the coming of Christ, Glorious Elijah sent grace from on high to Elisha, to dispel diseases and to cleanse lepers. Therefore, he pours forth healing on those who honor him.

from icons and echoes