Tonsured ....

On 16 May, His Grace Bishop DEMETRIOS of Mokissos, on behalf of Metropolitan IAKOVOS of the Metropolis of Chicago, tonsured me a Reader in the Holy Orthodox Church.

It was a joyous day: His Grace was present in advance of our Patronal Feast Day (Sts. Constantine and Helen, 21 May), and he also handed out certificates to our Church School children and spoke to them and their teachers.

It was a joyous and emotional event for me: hearing His Grace speak of gifts of the Church, a little of my journey, and then calling me before him was, well, something else. As he spoke the blessing and tonsured me, great joy, and a sense of great humility overwhelmed me.

I was taken a bit by surprise at the fact that as he placed the robe on me and presented me to the gathered community, everyone was invite to join in the cry AXIOS! That "capped" it, so to speak and tears filled my eyes. I had difficulty reading the short selection from the Epistle because my eyes were watery and my throat choked up. Such a blessing!

What strikes me about our Holy Church is the order that exists -- and the fact that there are so many literal blessings. My priest blesses me as I approach the Chanter's stand. A Reader is blessed, "ordained," as are taper bearers (altar boys) ... and in the higher orders, subdeacons, deacons, priests, bishops and so on. It isn't a matter of taking vows .... but of being given something. It is different from my previous experience.

In any case, I rejoice in having come home, and in the fact that Holy Mother Church would see fit to bless me to serve in this way!

I look forward to growing in ability to chant and read, and in absorbing all that is given in the words that we pray and repeat.

This simple experience is another marvelous thing that I have been given!

Glory to God for All things

Ezekiel

Truly a divine appointment ....

For the last couple of years, we've been attending All Saints Orthodox Church in Raleigh, NC when visiting our daughter in Goldsboro. Our relationship seems to be truly blessed:

The first time we attended, we were welcomed warmly: imagine our surprise when we found that Fr. Nicholas had been a pastor in the Lutheran Church -Missouri Synod (as had I) ...

I think it was the next time that we attended, the parish was under the understanding that their assisting priest, Fr. Philip, a Marine chaplain was to be deployed. About six months later when we returned, he was still there.

About a year ago, we were present for his last Sunday prior to deployment (this time he did go).

Last Fall, we were present for the groundbreaking of the new Temple, arriving just in time for the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy with His Grace Bishop Antoun! (This again was "coincidence")

This past weekend, we attended once again, and were excited by the progress on the new temple, and astounded when we found that this was Fr. Philip's first Sunday back after his deployment!

I am always amazed at the grace of God and His timing, and truly blessed to be a part of this parish's history, even though I live about a thousand miles away! We

Katherine and I are hoping to PLAN a trip when the new Temple is blessed this fall.

This was truly a gift from God as we were in Bright Week after our fifth Pascha in Holy Mother Church!

TO FAST -- OR NOT TO FAST

In my "former life," fasting was almost a non issue. Although it was talked about from time to time, and even lauded as a worthy pious practice, few, even amongst the pastorate, fasted with any seriousness.

During Lent, for many "fasting" was a "catholic thing." Or it was practiced in name by "giving up something for Lent." Prayer and spiritual discipline were not often attached with fasting. So, for the most part, fasting disappeared from any vocabulary.

However, our Lord and God, Jesus the Christ didn't regard fasting as a "pious option." Leaf through the Gospels and you find that fasting and prayer were staples of the Son of God! In fact, it seems to have been a daily discipline! Before every major event in His life among us, we see Him retiring for a period of fasting and prayer, including the notable forty day fasts.

He passed that discipline on to the Apostles, and they to the Bishops and priests and deacons set in every place: and they in turn passed it on to the people of God in every place. Although it wasn't cast is a legalistic form, it also was not placed as merely an option!

People were admonished to fasting and prayer, while at the same time being warned against such practices done merely to fill an obligation, or done merely for show.

Fasting and Prayer are laudable and necessary in our times, too! In this hectic and fast paces culture, we are constantly bombarded by conflicting images and messages. We are worn down by subliminal advertising to the point where we don't even blink at gross immorality and the evil that surround us. Our senses and thinking are dulled to the point where, although we don't condone this or that, we also no longer are surprised at its occurrence and we sort of shrug it off.

To retreat from feasting to fasting, and to retreat from the world for increased prayer are spiritual disciplines that allow us to once again see the Light of Christ. In the quiet of the icon corner, facing our Lord, our Lady, and surrounded by saints and holy ones of God, we are able to cleanse our souls through meditation, to once again get our bearings, to focus on the one thing needful.

To treat fasting as merely a pious option is to reject a gift from God. It is to turn away from Christ, to reject one more opportunity to be strengthened in our journey.

It isn't easy to limit one's food intake. And it is even more difficult to turn from "normal pursuits" to increased prayer. It isn't easy to forsake things routine to take advantage of the increased services of this time. It is a struggle.

As we journey through Great and Holy Lent to Pascha, we reflect on the profound meaning of that appelation found almost solely in Holy Orthodoxy, "Lover of Mankind." We recall the Lenten journey of our Lord and God, a voluntary journey to the Cross, in order that He might conquer death by death, call Adam and Eve and all mankind home again. We recall the solitary hours He spent, and the times in which everything conspired to get Him to abort His mission. We join Him in fasting and prayer ... and He joins us in our journey, giving us forgiveness, light, life, now and always and to the ages of ages!

Join in the fast! Seek the counsel of our good priest! Teach your children to fast and pray!

Receive the blessings of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!

Ezekiel

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

As we prayed the Royal Hours this morning at Sts Constantine and Helen, I was struck by the simple but profound nature of this service. Ancient hymnody combined with the Word of the Ancients blessed and empowered by the Holy Spirit are indeed overwhelming. In the midst of the driving rain (here in Southern Illinois near St. Louis) and increasing traffic due to drivers driving the last minute shopping, it was truly a blessing for our small group to pray and meditate as we look to Nativity.

I couldn't help but make some comparison to the hectic nature of preparations in my "former life," what with choosing music and working with choirs and soloists and preparing multiple service. None of that any more: Holy Mother Church blesses us with what is given, both in Royal Hours, and later this afternoon in Vesperal Divine Liturgy. Literally, we will be joined by other Orthodox throughout the world praying the same prayers, singing the same hymns, celebrating the same Divine Liturgy. Simple. Profound. And, at least to my mind and in light of my own experience in over three decades, much less hectic.

This morning, as we stopped by Starbucks for coffee prior to Royal Hours (a little strange, since most of the time when we head to Church we are fasting in preparation for Divine Liturgy! :) ) we shared a bit of what was in store for these days with the folks waiting on us. Actually, we tied up the line as they asked more questions, interested that the hymnody that we used was so ancient -- further interested in that we use no instruments!

The joy of the day, the heart of these days is in Christ our God and His Nativity, not in all the other "stuff" that comes crashing down so hard in the days following Thanksgiving in the U. S.

By the way, I do recommend heartily "Christmas in General" over at Glory to God for All Things. Father Stephen offers a true blessing for consideration!

So, to all who might read these humble thoughts of one lately come: may yours be a truly blessed Christmas, for Christ is Born! Glorify Him.

Ezekiel

It was truly a blessing ....

to be at All Saints Antiochian Orthodox Church in Raleigh this weekend!

Without prior planning, we arrived during Orthros, to learn that Bishop ANTOUN would be present for the Heirarchical Divine Liturgy, as well as for the groundbreaking for their new temple! The place was packed, and in addition to all that was happening, His Grace tonsured a new reader for All Saints!

Last year, we attended this parish primarily because its Liturgy is all in English, and we have been taking our daughter and her family with us. At that time, after meeting some of the folk and telling them a bit of our story, we found that Father Nicholas had also been a Lutheran pastor in the LCMS ... having left a decade and a half or more ago. Neat connections, and I found also that he has close ties to Father Gordon Walker. We were present about a year ago, when Father Philip, assigned to the parish but also a military chaplain was about to be deployed to Afghanistan ... and we were there this past spring when he actually was finally deployed, there for his last Sunday at All Saints for a time. He is presently a Command Chaplain over there ... and was recently on leave (we missed him, though).

In any case, we had a great Sunday with our family away from home, and look forward to hearing reports of the construction of their new temple. We look forward to seeing it next spring, and to being in it next fall.

Glory to God for all things!

"orthodox" or "Orthodox"

Over the years, I've come to learn that one can call oneself by a name, but in all actuality not really be what they say they are.

Of course, sinful humans find that happening all the time for themselves, thus we pray "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner."

That doesn't mean that we get a pass, though.

In my former life it was just as apparent as it is now. I'd visit a parishioner, one whose name was "on the books," so to speak. They were "Lutheran." And they would loudly proclaim it. But, they had no clue what a Lutheran was or was supposed to be. Often I'd hear, "I'm a Lutheran, even though I don't go to church, because my Uncle was .... (change the family relationship, it doesn't matter) an elder, (or it could be pastor, or teacher, or whatever). That is to say, in all reality, they were "lutheran" but not "Lutheran."

That can be said for many who claim to be "Christian." They are "christian" but not "Christian." Over my six plus decades, I've met all kinds of people who tell me they are "Christian." "I'm a Christian because I am not Jewish." "I'm a Christian because all Americans are Christians." The list goes on, and you get the point.

However, the fact remains: calling oneself something doesn't really mean that one IS what one says one is.

And that is serious business.

We can and do proclaim that we are Orthodox, don't we? We are baptized, chrismated, and perhaps we even attend the Divine Liturgy on a fairly regular basis. We may even give some money and serve on this or that committee. All of those things are indeed part of what it is to be Orthodox, to be Christian.

However, the larger question might be phrased this way: Have we indeed denied self, taken up our cross, and our we following Jesus, every moment of every day?

That's a question that makes me nervous, as it probably does you. Truth is, we do NOT always deny self, and we'd just as soon NOT take up that cross ... and more often than not Jesus, and our life in Him, is "fit in" where it can be between work, home, sports, TV, and the list goes on.

Confessing these things doesn't mean that we can merely continue on doing things as we have.

What to do?

Seek God! Pray daily, regularly, in the disciplines of the Church. Speak to your Priest and receive his direction. Make these things a priority -- it may well mean that we don't watch as much TV, and it may mean that the party invitation is sometimes refused, or we say that we have to be late. Get up in the morning, Pray, make the sign of the holy cross, do your prostrations, venerate the Holy Cross and your icons.

Fast! Actually, our Lord didn't make this an option, a nice, quaint religious practice to be used when convenient. Fasting and prayer go together. The fasts and feasts of the Church Year guide us in living in such a way that we go give glory to God for all things ... and that we receive them with His blessing, using them and enjoying them in His blessing. The gifts are NOT the gods (although it is very easy to live that way). Fasting should be done with the direction of a spiritual father, but I dare say that we often don't seek the guidance of our spiritual father because then we reason that we don't have to fast. Fasting is part of taking up one's cross, by the way.

Give Alms! Almsgiving is part of loving one's neighbor as oneself. It is part of taking up the cross. It is part of self denial. It means that when we look at our neighbor or our neighbor in need, we see Crhist and would serve Him. It isn't about the recognition, or the rewards, or the payback (Let's see: if I give $10 then eventually I'll get $100 back!)

To be Orthodox is to be Christian. It is to give glory to God in all things and for all things. It is to seek Him and to live in the power and blessing of the Holy Spirit, as we give not only lip service but life service in the name of Jesus within Holy Mother Church.

In an interview on Ancient Faith Radio, Mother Gabriella of Holy Dormition Monastery in Rives Junction, MI was speaking of her childhood in Romania. She commented on how her family lived the fasts and feasts of the Church Year -- as a matter of course, from the heart. She speaks also of growing up under Father Paisios. In her school years, she sought his direction. He told her to pray the Jesus Prayer during the day when she thought of it, and morning and evening to pray the Our Father and to make 12 prostrations. It was a simple direction, but in her words, not so easy to do, and often she would report to Father that she had failed. But, that didn't mean that she should stop working at it.

Living in Christ isn't an easy thing. We will often fall and fail. And we go to Him for forgiveness and blessing that comes from the Holy Trinity. But failing and falling doesn't mean that we ignore or make excuses. It doesn't mean that we have a pass, that we can just claim the name and let everything else rule in our lives. We pray and live with St. Paul: It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

When what we claim with our lips is lived in our lives we will indeed say "Glory to God for all things!"

And, we will be on the path from being "orthodox" to being "Orthodox!"

Greek Fest -- the curse

My last post was indeed a truthful one, putting the best construction on Greek Fests (and the various other celebrations and offerings of various Orthodox). It seemed to be that this past weekend, and for that I am heartily thankful.

However, the curse of such events lies in just what was posted in the comments. All too often, the Greek Fest, or Evening in Athens, or whatever it might be called becomes the source of income to operate/continue the given community. That is to say, a proper stewardship has given way to something else.

The monetary support for the local community -- paying the bills, paying the priest, etc -- is actually to come from the generous proportionate weekly first fruits giving of the members of that community. This was underscored at a recent Stewardship seminar given in our Metropolis -- and that seminar indicated strongly and correctly that proper Stewardship isn't merely giving a few bucks in the tray every so often.

It is truly a sad commentary when any parish or community relies on the "world out there" to support it through services paid for at the Greek Fest or whatever else it might be. When this happens, it is, more often than not, because the parishioners are NOT giving first fruits -- tithing is ten percent -- but letting everything else in their lives come first. And this is truly a curse!

It might come also because various programs, be they building or otherwise, however well intended, are entered without truly counting the cost, or with a lack of patience that results in suddenly being saddled with a debt that is almost unmanageable.

God does provide! And He has provided richly and abundantly in every parish. The complaining and negative talk that often crop up are the result of lack of faith, and lack of living commitment.

We must not hold the various festivals primarily to support the necessary and essential expense of the parish -- so that they become absolutely necessary for survival. They can do all that I previously mentioned, with their income perhaps supporting a special project or outreach or ministry.

God calls us to welcome the stranger into our midst: He does not call us to get that stranger to do what we are called to do!

So that which can be a blessing -- a Greek Fest -- can also become a curse when it becomes a god, something the consumes and drives us to the point that we put aside that which is needful as we work out our salvation, seeking to be joined in the communion of the blessed and Holy Trinity!

Have the events -- but in their proper place and perspective!

Glory to God for all things!