This is a favorite hymn from the Nativity services – especially this setting.
The time of Nativity sets the tone for our understanding of God’s Love for us… and that tells us deeply of our relationship with Him… that He pursues us; He is jealous for us, He is a Mighty Warrior, Defender and Healer of our souls.
My encouragement to all is that during these twelve days of time of the Nativity : hold the mystery of the Incarnation in the palm of your heart : swaddle and meditate that God is born humbly… coming as a stranger, as a child. “calling back to heaven those who were estranged from Paradise” (Cantcle One : Forefeast of the Nativity of Christ). Through the hush of a holy birth… the flame of Paschal Mystery in Hades is already ablaze. Adam is not only recalled from darkness, but he is filled with joy, he rejoices and is renewed at the Saviors birth. We who fall down and get up again over and over throughout our lives, we are Adam.
Throughout the hymns in the days leading up to the Nativity we actually sang of Adam rejoicing. Talking about this left my Sunday School class last year awestruck.
I have always loved teaching Sunday School because Sunday School also always teaches me – it challenges me to have an honest answer. (If you are a Sunday School teacher, then you know what I mean.) Those moments when the flame of faith sparks in their souls and they can barely contain themselves.
One of my students, a 6th grade boy asked, “Why are we singing about Adam anyhow? Isn’t it Christmas?” So we talked about why that is… all the way back to Genesis, Adam and Eve, the fall, the Prophets, the world in waiting for the promised Messiah… to the birth of Christ.
That same boy in my class stopped everything that he was doing during that lesson, and just looked at me and said, “honestly, that just blows my mind, how much God loves us.” Those are amazing moments to pause, savor and to be very attentive…. the simplicity of faith of a child. He got it.
“Emmanuel” – God with us. He has become flesh of our flesh and comes to find His friend Adam and if He has come to find His friend Adam, then there is nothing he won’t do to find you and each and everyone one of us.
That should blow our minds, and settle within us an amazing peace, comfort and joy. This is not some abstract remote far removed event. God with us is God with YOU.
The cave of Bethlehem is no further than your own heart. The joy announced by the angels to the shepherds is the joy announced to you. The star that lights and guides the Magi, illumines our paths as well. And though the Nativity comes to us all collectively, it is also deeply deeply personal to each and every soul. Eukharistia.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that (insert your name here) who believes in Him should not persish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, that that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:16-17)
All who love Nickolas the Holy • the Wonderworker and Bishop of Myra • one of the most well known Saints in the world • ⠀
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He is a most beloved Saint • a hero of social justice • he walked the walk and gave of his own resources • helping those in need • we think often of the three sacks gold coins secretly thrown into the home a man who in his poverty and destitution was going to sell his three daughters into slavery. • Saint Nickolas generosity saves these three women ⠀
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• kids the world over put their shoes out last night • hoping that their shoes too will be filled with chocolate gold coins or other goodies. • ⠀
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• He is a patron Saint of sailors • on land and ocean. In Greece there are some of the most beautiful Orthodox churches built right on the shores of the sea dedicated to Saint Nickolas. ⠀
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Humble of heart • warrior of Christ and faith • generous of spirit • he is known in all corners of the world • ⠀
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• May Saint Nickolas bless all of us • May our hearts overflow with the gold coins of Love • Hope • Faith • Joy • Thanksgiving • Forbearance • Kindness • Gentleness • Self Control • ⠀
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• May he kindle the flame of Gods love in your heart • and for those who know him only as Santa Claus • May his prayers awaken your heart to Christ’s Love in this time of awaiting his sweet Nativity and ignite the flame of Faith • and the knowledge that God is jealous for you and awaiting your whole heart. ⠀
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• blessed Feast of Saint Nickolas • ⠀
Let us make a good beginning so that God may grant us repentance (turning to God), because the person who has repentance does not have pride or egotism. May God grant us awareness of ourselves so that we may have humility. When we humble ourselves, saying, “Forgive me,” and “May it be blessed,” the will of God will be done. The last shall be first and the first shall be last; whoever goes to the back, God will bring to the front. Therefore we should love God abundantly, because we all depend on Him…
He is our bread – because from the very beginning all our hunger was a hunger for Him and all our bread was but a symbol of Him , a symbol that had to become reality. Father Akexabder Schmemman :: For the Life of the World
For the peace from above and for the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord.
Great Litany :: Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom
For the peace from above… we pray this in every Divine Liturgy… and this peace is not an earthly peace but rather is a peace even in the midst of chaos… Peace leading souls to still waters :: on the path of righteousness for His names sake (Psalm 23) . Soul redeeming restorative peace… a peace which surpasses all understanding :: peace of goodness and mercy unto salvation.
Heavenly peace :: and tranquility of soul.
εἰρήνης :: Peace
This is harmony.
The Litanies of the Liturgy of Life :: these are a compass to Salvation – that we will dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of our lives.
Simplicity is of the Lord, and it is important for us to bear this in mind as we navigate our way, in Faith, and through life. Often people complicate simple matters. Love is simple. Kindness is simple. Forgiveness is hard, but also simple. Hope and joy are simple. Friendship is simple. Silence is simple.
That which is of Christ is simple – and guarding the heart is a path toward simplicity and is a step toward filling the vessel of the soul with the Holy Spirit. If it is not filled with the Holy Spirit it surely will be filled with something else.
More than ever we need to rekindle the space and flame of silence. To be unplugged has become a luxury.
We are bombarded with many inputs throughout our days. So many distractions – especially when we are glued to our cell phones and apps and social media. We train our senses on a stream of constant stimulation and likes. There was a short time ago in history when we knew how to stand in the space of silence. We also knew how to be fully present with those in our midst, looking and listening to the person before us.
Communication used to be simple and required no other platform than simply to be present or to pick up the phone, maybe write a letter.
Now, we have Texting, Snapchat, What’s App, Skype, Email, Facebook Messenger, Private Messages on Instagram, Telegram and probably so many other apps that my kids haven’t found yet. So many ways we have to communicate that you have to spend lots of your time checking in on all of them, stressing if you lose a streak yet diminishing the depth and quality of your communication to the streak – because you have hundreds of streaks on your Snapchat so you need to get through them all quickly… and now there is anxiety to see if you missed a message on one of a dozen apps, because you don’t want anyone to feel like you forgot them, or have to wait more than a few minutes for you to respond.
People end up all over the place :: fractured :: connected yet isolated, and “liked” yet feeling alone, left out and insecure.
Not only that, think of how many times your are with someone who is having multiple texting conversations – while semi-present with you – at the same time? It’s unsettling and distracting. We are taught by our Faith to see Christ in the other. Is that even possible through texting? One can not say for certain that it’s not possible… and yet…
Once at a retreat led by Metropolitan Kallistos he told of a simple proverb – maybe it was Russian – it is hard to remember, but, like all proverbs it is deep, simple and very profound.
Where is the most important place in the world ? The place where you are right now. Who is the most important person in the world? The person right in front of you.
Proverb – author unknown by this blogger
There are even apps for prayer, yet no app can pray. There is an app for CALM… and yet science shows that the very act of looking at any computer screen or electronics actually stimulates the nervous system… perhaps there will be an app for Stillness and Hesychia soon, maybe even an app for Silence.
The soul is not “liked” it is “Loved”. There is no button for that. It does not thrive on constant stimulation but silence. Even reading the Bible on Kindle is a place of distraction… the world constantly tempting my fingertips. There you are, reading out loud, “In the beginning was the Word….” and a stream of texts come in… Gmail dings, Instagram and Facebook notifications beg you away for a hit of dopamine…. but I’ll get back to the Bible in just a second… only to be confronted with the end of the day, and the Lord was totally forgotten before the altar of the App, the altar of Notifications, the altar of Instagram, the altar of WhatsApp, the altar of complication and overstimulation.
“When we truly love Christ, we will cling to His neck; we will embrace His feet. If there is something troubling our soul, and as human beings we fall we should say, “Help me my Christ; strengthen me; enlighten me; bestow more faith upon me; grant me prudence; grant me obedience.” The soul will seek after these things because it desires salvation.”
Euphrosynus was a simple man, but a man of God. He served as the cook in a monastery in the 9th century. One night, the spiritual father of this monastery saw himself in Paradise and saw Euphrosynus there as well. Euphrosynus picked and gave him three apples from Paradise. When the spiritual father awoke, he saw three unusually beautiful and fragrant apples by his pillow. He quickly found Euphrosynus and asked him “Where were you last night, brother?” ” I was where you were, father,” the blessed God-pleaser replied. The spiritual father then revealed the entire incident to the monks and all recognized the sanctity and godliness of Euphrosynus. But Euphrosynus, fearing the praise of men, immediately fled the monastery and hid in the wilderness, where he spend the remainder of his life.
The Prologue of Ohrid : September 11/24
Almost everyone I know has an icon of Saint Euphrosynus in their kitchen… It’s become a tradition in some Orthodox circles – and most especially for anyone with kids, to pick apples, or make an apple treat on this day. Usually we bake a pie, but this year, I wanted to share this delicious apple tart with you – because we are almost totally gluten free now. The amazing thing to me is that the crust is actually simpler than making pie crust and it’s gluten free. It’s the favorite pie crust of my family these days.
Saint Euphrosynus is the Patron Saint of Cooks… and its a blessing to remember when we read about the lives of such humble Saints, that the food which sustains our very being is the Bread of Life. There is a quote by Father Schmemman that I love, and always made me feel good about being in the kitchen so much…
“Food is still treated with reverence. A meal is still a rite—the last “natural sacrament” of family and friendship, of life that is more than “eating” and “drinking.” To eat is still something more than to maintain bodily functions. People may not understand what that “something more” is, but they nonetheless desire to celebrate it. They are still hungry and thirsty for sacramental life.”
Father Alexander Schmemman
No matter how overflowing our plate or filled is our belly, the instatiable hunger of the soul is far greater than the hunger of the body. Fall is a great season for apples and apple pie is a major comfort food. As we eat with the Saints, we can remember that our ultimate comfort food is heavenly nourishment – the Eucharist – the Bread of Life – Living Water – the Sacraments – from which we will never hunger.
And when we make any food honoring the remembrance of a Saint, the true expression of that commemoration is when we gather with our family and talk about the Lord, about the Saint, about our Faith – or even to distribute it to the poor in your area, because where two or three are gathered, He is with us.
This is a tart that I really love. It is naturally sweetened, which by now most everyone knows that I try to reduce the sugar as much as possible in my recipes. If you would like a sweeter tart, feel free to sprinkle brown sugar on top, or you can make the caramel sauce to drizzle atop the tart before you eat.
Place almond flour and salt in food processor and pulse briefly to incoporate
Add coconut oil and egg and pulse. The dough will form into a ball.
Press dough into a 9 inch tart pan. I use a pan with a removable bottom.
Peel and slice apple thinly.
Arrange apples and fan them out onto pie crust.
Sprinkle with brown sugar (optional).
Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. If you are using the brown sugar it will caramelize.
Notes: I can not take credit for recipes that are not my own. The crust is inspired by Elena’s Pantry and the caramel sauce is a Pioneer Woman favorite of mine, plus it is insanely easy and beyond delicious!!!!
If you would like to learn more about Saint Euphrosynus the Cook here are some amazing resources:
“Love Christ and put nothing before His Love. He is joy, He is life, He is light. Christ is Everything. He is the ultimate desire, He is everything. Everything beautiful is in Christ.”
Saint Porphyrios : Wounded By Love
These super easy cookies are a tangy delicious treat, and a great addition to the kids lunch. Gluten-free and and naturally sweetened, they are a cinch to make and can be enjoyed baked or raw. The basic cookie dough is a riff off of my lemon zest cookies.
Mix all ingredients in food processor and blend until a paste forms. Scoop out dough and shape into balls about one inch in diameter. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet.
Bake in 250F oven for twenty minutes. Take cookies out and let cool about 20 minutes. Place chocolate chips in a double boiler and melt. Drizzle over cookies. Makes about 30 little cookies.
Did you know that September 1 is the beginning of the of the Orthodox Church liturgical year? It is customary in some traditions to place an icon on our doorstep on this day.
It is a beautiful tradition : the ushering in of the Gladsome Light of a new year of Grace.
Just as the sun rises each morning the faithful rise again in this new year to walk with Christ though a new “but same” Liturgical cycle. We walk through the Feasts of Christ, the Theotokos and the Saints, the daily cycle of readings and all of the Sacraments.
When people ask if we are born again, every Orthodox Christian should actually proclaim,” YES!! ” I am a born again Christian!!
Because, as we walk sacramentally through life, living Liturgically and sacramentally to the best of our ability, we are always being reborn at each step… with each Confession, Eucharist, celebration of a feast, and even as we place an icon of the Theotokos on our very doorstep. We invite Grace into our lives.
Placing an icon on the threshold of the home on this day reminds one of many things. For our family this year it is to recall always the intercessions and protection of the Theotokos. We also remember hospitality :: to love our brother as ourself; being “not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (Hebrews 12:2)
Like breaking bread, our traditions unite us together. A recommitment to offer our lives to Christ and quite simply an physical manifestation of remembering Christ in our daily lives.
Monastics say, the soul follows the body.
They also say, Remember Thy First Love – that is Christ.
The secular world ties strings on their fingers to remember something important. The Orthodox faithful wear prayer ropes, place icons on our doors, sprinkle holy water through out our houses, anoint ourselves with Holy Oil and drink Holy Water along with prayer in time of crisis or need, we bake delicious faith based traditional breads and sweets that we share with family and friends and distribute to the poor.
We whisper the Jesus Prayer when we awake or can’t dleep at night, rather than count sheep.
And so, we might cross ourselves when we pass a Church, or cross ourselves when our children partake of the Eucharist and even when we yawn during a service – in this way- in some small measure we seek to remember Christ and offer all of ourselves to Him, and stand in the eternity of kairos, if but only for a second.
Of course, that happens most fully when we are in Church – partaking of the Eucharist, but when we leave we live in the Liturgy outside the Liturgy (Father Alexander Schmemman) and we bring Church into our lives. We bring our love of Christ into our every day lives, not just Sunday.
Recently I was struck in reading Deuteronomy
You shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart, from your whole soul, and from your whole power. So these words I command you today shall be in your heart and in your soul. You shall teach them to your sons, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and it shall be immovable before your eyes; and you shall write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.”
Deuteronomy 6:5-8
It reminded me of the Cross we burn onto our door thresholds at every house blessing.
Orthodox Christians express our faith in very tangible, open ways expressed our every day life. This will take many manifestations – certainly the most of which is that You shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart, from your whole soul, and from your whole power
Certainly, its also important to say that no tradition ever overshadows the Sacraments of our Faith. And one can live their whole life never practicing the little “t” traditions and honestly that is totally fine – or you totally forget some years, or just are overcome by events…. look – nothing bad is going to happen and so one has to be wary of superstition.
The point is our faith is real, tactile and sensory – Overflowing from the silent depth of the heart and lived openly – but quietly, like the silent vigil candle or the sweet smelling incense lighting sweet fragrance in our icon corners (a place set aside for prayer within our home).
These little ways, help us sanctify our days and time and together with one voice and one mind – as the body of Christ – we walk boldly and in humility through the seasons of the Church year. These ways quiet and calm the restless bombarded soul of the modern world. A balm of needfulness and moments set aside.
We remember the “yes” of the Theotokos as we seek our own “yes” to Gods Will throughout our own ordinary regular lives.
And so it is an absolultey beautiful tradition to place an icon of the Theotokos on our doorsteps today – ushering in the stable rhythm of the Church as we offer the bread of our hearts, the bread of our lives, as an anaphora – through the many the seasons of the Liturgy of our lives.
It’s also an invitation to Grace – an open door… like that popular Christian song on the radio by Francesca Battistell “Holy Spirit” you are welcome here.
Little “t” traditions are not rote or meaningless but a reflection and movement and outpouring of the heart.
There are times when it’s so easy to dwell my mind not on Goodness but many other things. Some years I don’t even remember to put my icon at the door till the end of the day… others I’ve forgotten all together. And honestly – that’s okay! The thing is that these little ways are little reminders.
Especially in our busy world- everyday brings a myriad of distractions and many of them entirely necessary and of course women have a million lists in their head – like what does this child need, how am I going to be in three different places at once, getting dinner ready, doctors appointments, back to school nights, youth group serving the soup kitchen, getting off time from work for my kids softball games, etc etc
One day in this country we will have incorporated these traditions and organically begun our own as an expression of our faith. My encouragement to all is to look beneath the surface of our traditions – my experience of them is that they orient us to dwell our mind on Christ in little ways – throughout the day, throughout the week, throughout the year and throughout our lives.
These little momentary ways of blessing are little ways of respite – moments directed to God.
We seek Eternity in the midst of the temporal. We seek to be mindful of not just what us important but what is needful, that there is a deeper fabric and thread to life than just what is on the surface.
We express that yearning in many ways – just one of which is to place an icon of the Theotokos on our footsteps inviting a new Season of Grace and you in.
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