New Name

When I started this blog it was with the intention that I would post things about Monasticism both East and West. Well a quick look back at the posts during the last year will see that I have not really done that. I am considering changing the name of this here blog to something more fitting to what I have been posting but I am not sure yet. I need to give this some thought as well as seek advice from those of you who have been blogging for longer than I. Is there a downside to changing the name of the blog?

Anyway stay tuned for more updates. Sphere: Related Content

Road Trip

Yesterday I met up with Fr. Greg and Chris D at the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, Massachusetts. What an amazing place this is. You would never know that this place is there, but there it is right in the middle of this old New England town. This description is from their literature:

The Museum of Russian Icons was founded as a non-profit educational museum by Gordon Lankton. It was through his travels to Russia during the past 18 years that Mr. Lankton developed his fascination with icons and Russian history. Since then he has made over forty trips to the former Soviet Union and his collection now contains over two hundred icons from the 15th-21st centuries. The Museum of Russian Icons is the institutional home of his collection. The museum, overlooking Central Park, is a 19th century structure and one of the first buildings in Clinton.

The museum is just the right size and not overwhelming and one can just walk around and take in all of the great Icons. They are all labeled so one knows what one is looking at, and there are even little magnifying glasses hanging nearby so you can get a good look. Nothing is behind glass so you get a real good look. Open Tuesday-Saturday and admission is a mere $5.00 to get in. If you are in the area check it out.

After the visit to the museum we took lunch at this great Irish place called The Old Timer Restaurant and Tap Room also in Clinton. What a great day, and thanks to Fr. Greg and Chris D for inviting yours truly to go along for the trip.

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Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee

2 Timothy 3:10-15
Luke 18:10-14

Nothing begins without the desire to see Jesus and when we truly see Him, then and only then are we able to see ourselves. This is the second step in our approach to Great Lent and Pascha and the theme of the Second pre-lenten Sunday.

The Gospel reading for this Sunday is taken from Luke 28:10-14. Two men went to the temple to pray. The pharisee was actually a very religious man. He fasted, prayed, and gave away ten percent of his goods. Yet he boasted about his accomplishment and, as a result, his prayers were rejected by God. The publican on the other hand, was truly evil, a genuine sinner. He sought to make a change in his life, however, by confessing his sinfulness and begging God for mercy. Consequently, he was justified and accepted by God.

Like the pharisee, we to are filled with pride and boastfulness; unlike the publican, we often refuse to acknowledge our sinfulness, confess it, and beg for mercy.

On this Sunday we are invited to take a deeper look inward, to search the depths of our souls and to beg for mercy. We are called, through our vision of Jesus, to acknowledge our sins and to fall before the face of God in repentance, making the publican's prayer our own: "God be merciful to me a sinner."

Adapted from "Pre-Lenten Sundays" Sphere: Related Content

Sunday of Zacchaeus

1 Timothy 4:9-15
Luke 19:1-10

Update: I should have posted this last week but time got away from me...

We know that we are approaching the beginning of Great Lent when we hear, at the Sunday Liturgy, the reading from Luke 19:1-10 concerning Zacchaeus, the tax collector. The Sunday of Zacchaeus id the first of the pre-lenten Sundays which take us, step by step, to the beginning of Great Lent and, ultimately, to Pascha.

We begin with this particular lesson because Zacchaeus himself began his repentance with a simple desire: he wanted to see Jesus Christ.

Jesus was passing by. A great crowd was gathered. Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, but the crowd was so great and he was so short, so he climbed up into a tree and thereby enabled himself to look above the heads of the crowd at the Master. Jesus saw him and called him down. He went to his house and there Zacchaeus repented and returned four times as much as he has stolen, gave the remainder of his possessions to the poor, and became a true disciple of Christ.

The message of this lesson is clear: everything begins with the simple desire to see Jesus. Nothing can happen without this desire. We must desire to see Jesus as well. This is our first step toward the approaching Great Lent and Pascha.

Adapted from "Pre-Lenten Sundays"

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Hand Kissing

Fr. Tim Finigan has a post about greeting the bishop and should one kiss his hand or not. It got me thinking about the orthodox practice in this area and I would like to share some of my thoughts.

The custom is to refer to a bishop in the Orthodox Church as Your Grace, if an Archbishop Your Eminence, Patriarch, Your Beatitude. In the case of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople then he is referred to as His All Holiness. Okay so that is a mouthful but that is tradition for you. When speaking with the bishop you should refer to him by his title, i.e. Your Grace. When you approach the bishop you should make a small metanyia and bless yourself then hold your hands together to receive his blessing and then his hand to kiss. We are not kissing the hand of a man here but reverencing his office as successors to the apostles. Thanks to Fr. Tim for giving me the correct words.

In Orthodox and Catholic theology we understand the office of bishop of that as being passed down from the apostolic ministry itself. Bishops today are inheritors of that ministry of the Apostles that walked with Jesus. We call this Apostolic Succession as there is an unbroken line from the Apostles to the bishop standing in front of you.

The faithful should approach a priest in the same manner. Small metanyia, bless yourself, then hold your hands out to receive his blessing and his hand to kiss. Same reason we are not kissing the hand of a man but we reverence the office of priest. Whatever you feel about the person this is the custom.

I remember when I was in Guatemala at the orphanage and preparing for vespers. The children would all line up in front of me to receive my blessing and kiss my hand. I had been a priest about a year and half at this point and my hand was kissed more that week than it was before or after. Like some traditions this one has fallen into disuse.

When I was first ordained and the faithful would kiss my hand it was a very strange thing for me to get used to. I remember one of the priests at the seminary sharing a similar story and he said that it would insult the person if you pulled your hand away. They are reverencing the office and saying thank you for the blessing you just gave them.

Just some random thoughts.

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St. Conan

Bishop of the Isle of Man, died January, 684; an Irish missionary, also known as Mochonna. He is not to be confounded with St. Conindrius, who is said to have been a disciple of St. Patrick, and to have lived to be a very advanced age (17 November, 560). The Bollandists place St. Conan amongst the early bishops of Man, and Colgan gives an account of his life and labours. Unfortunately the history of the Isle of Man in the fifth and sixth centuries is very obscure, and it is difficult to get at definite facts, yet St. Conan, or Mochonna, who is also described as "Bishop of Inis-Patrick" left a distinct impress of his zeal for souls in Manxland. Some authorities give the date of his death as 26 January, but Colgan, quoting from the ancient Irish martyrologies, gives 13 January, on which day St. ConanUs feast is observed. There are also several minor Irish saints of the same name, including St. Conan of Assaroe (8 March), and St. Conan of Ballinamore (26 April).

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Deep Freeze

As I sit here in the warmth of my office I see that the old mercury has fallen to -1 degrees F. I ventured outside to check on the church and noticed that our digital thermostat was not reading a number all it said was low. I was expecting it to say hey turn on the heat!

It is times like this that I call to mind those who have no place to keep warm and who live on the streets. We can debate the reasons latter but let us remember them today and also those who work outside for a living. I have one parishioner who works for the power company and this time of year they are very busy. Keep safe and warm today and lift up those outside in prayer.

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Line of Duty Death

I have blogged before about being a Fire Chaplain and the joy that that aspect of ministry brings. The down side to that ministry is being on a team that has to inform a family of a death in the line of duty. I can say that so far I have been spared that particular part of ministry.

Yesterday at our chaplains conference this topic came up. A very sensitive area and one that has to be handled just right. I always find it interesting that people think it is easier for one in ministry to bring the bad news. Why is that? Why am I, just because I happen to wear a collar, any more prepared to bring the news than anyone else? The answer for me anyway is because someone has to do it. Usually the chaplain and the chief go to bring the news, and it is not easy for the chief as he has just lost someone in the line.

I am working now on the protocol for the Line of Duty Death Notification for our department and it is amazing how detailed this document is. It leaves nothing out and allows for no mistakes. After all, we owe it to the bravest to handle things in the right way.

This brings up another topic. Does everyone have a will? Recently a parishioner died in the parish and he had no family. This set off all sorts of questions about what to do and even who will make the arrangements. I was so surprised by this, but I come from a large family so the chances of me being that last are pretty slim. But, have we made arrangements for us or told someone what we want done? In other words are we ready to go? We need to make sure that our death will not be any harder on the people we leave behind. Even if we think we have nothing, we should have a simple will. Oh and let me make this pitch. Do not forget your church, whatever church that might be, in your will. Okay shameless commercial over.

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St. Fechin

Fechin was probably born at Luighne (Leyney), Ireland. He was trained by St. Nathy, was founding Abbot of Fobhar, or Fore, in Westmeath, and died of the plague that devastated Ireland in the year 665. His feast day is January 20th.

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Spiritual Warfare

I have always been a believer in the other side of the spiritual world. I don't mean like the dark side from Star Wars but the demonic side of things. As a minister I believe that we face temptation and also face the dark side on a daily basis and how we deal with it is what makes us who we are. As ministers we do not take the best care of ourselves as we should. We care for everyone, and never look after ourselves. We pray for other but not for ourselves. It is important for people in ministry to find someone that they can unload on and share the ups and downs of ministry we cannot keep it all inside because that opens us to the temptations of the evil one. Ministry is hard and we need support from our families and from our friends.

Have a blessed Sunday.

Go Pat's! Sphere: Related Content

Barrow, Alaska

Yesterday I was surfing around some orthodox websites and I stumbled across a page at the Orthodox Christian Mission Center's site about missionary needs. The ad reads as follows:

Priest needed for Barrow, Alaska - the northernmost community in the US. Inquire about this unique opportunity today!

So I began to look around for information on Barrow, Alaska. I found this entry in wikipedia about Barrow. Although not the northern most settlement but close. The northernmost settlement in the US is Point Barrow a little further up. Barrow is a city in the North Slope Borough and has a population of 4,218. According to the weather channel the temp today is a low of -20 and a high of -8 degrees F. The sun sets on November 18th and is rarely seen again until the end of January when it begins to rise. Then by the middle of may the sun stays up for 24 hours a day. The average temp only goes above the freezing point for 109 days each year. This sounds like my kind of place. So anyone wanna go?

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Winter Comes to the Village

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St. Fillan

Fillan, son of Feriach and St. Kentigerna, was also known as Foelan. He became a monk in his youth and accompanied his mother from Ireland to Scotland where he lived as a hermit near St. Andrew's monastery for many years, and then was elected abbot. He later resigned and resumed his eremitical life at Glendochart, Pertchire, where he built a church and was reknowned for his miracles. Various legends attribute the most extravagant miracles to him, such as the one in which his prayers caused a wolf that had killed the ox he was using to drag materials to the church he was building, to take the ox's place. Fillan died on January 19. His feast day is January 19.

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300 Years of Union

On Thursday January 16, 1707 the Scottish Parliament voted in favour of the Act of Union. According to tradition, the Act was touched by the Scepter and Scotland set herself on the path to membership of Britain.
The Act came into effect on May 1 1707 after being approved by the English Parliament at Westminster and receiving the Royal Assent of Queen Anne.

Much is in the news today about the vote for Scottish Independence. Tempers are running high on both sides and people really need to think about the long term for Scotland and her people. Will the Scottish people be better off being independent of England or will they benefit by keeping things the way they are. This will be the most important vote in the history of Scotland. I wonder what Robert the Bruce would say?

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Collaboration

Much has been in the religious news this past week about the resignation of the Archbishop of Warsaw over his alleged collaboration with the former communist government of Poland. I have been thinking about this topic this week and have come up with a question. Is collaboration always bad?

If church leaders collaborate with the government of their country to keep the church alive and safe is that a bad thing? Should the church stand up against all forms of oppression and take their licks as the come down the pike? With same sex marriage here in Massachusetts the day could come when the state tells us clergy that we have to perform the marriages. Now I agree that this is truly fantasy, but it could happen. So what do we do?

I don't have any answers, only questions to ponder and I also pray that I will never be put into this situation.

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29th Sunday After Pentecost

Colossians 3:4-11
Luke 17:12-19

This Sunday is also known as the Sunday of the 10 Lepers.

In the Gospel passage today we see Jesus encountering 10 lepers who have come to see him. They see him and they say, "Have mercy on us." Now, unlike other healing passages in the Gospel the healing does not take place right away. He tells them to go and show themselves to the priest. Lepers were unclean and therefore set apart from the community so the illness would not spread to others. If they were healed of this illness, they were to go to the priest who would certify that they were in fact clean and could return to the community in which they lived, or another one. As they went on their way they were healed, or as the Scriptures say, "they were cleansed."

One of the guys realized that he was now clean, and turned around and started to praise God. He returned to Jesus and fell on the ground. Jesus says, "were not 10 cleansed? Where are the other nine?" To make matters worse this man was a Samaritan, the scourge of the day. So only the unclean to begin with returned giving praise to God. He tells the mean to go that his faith has made him whole. But what of the others? Did they get their illness back? We do not know, but I would hazard to guess that they did not.

God gives us gifts each day, and some times we thank him for them and sometimes we do not. Does he take them away from us? Of course not. However we need to thank God for all that he has given us and will give us each and every day. Let us be the one that comes back and says thank you and not one the nine who could not even bother to give thanks to God.

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Wright's Chicken Farm

If you happen to find yourself in Harrisville Rhode Island then you have to take a trip to Wright's Chicken Farm. I had the opportunity to go there last night with some of the guys from the firehouse where I am the chaplain. First I have to say that it was great to be able to spend time with these guys and their families on a much different level than I usually do. Second, strap on the feed bag because gluttony is the name of the game at this place.

The place is the largest restaurant I have even been too it seats about 2000. You sit down, order drinks, and the food starts coming out. All served family style you get salad, pasta, french fried potatoes, and of course chicken that just falls off the bone. And it just keeps coming. You sit a long tables with paper on them and as soon as one group leaves the army of serves comes from the back to clear and reset the table for the next bunch of hungry people.

I wish to thank all of the chickens that gave their life so I could feast yesterday. I am still full and it is 7:30am the next day. I have a feeling I will be back to this place. The best part of the whole deal is that it is only 10 bucks a head for all of this in this economy that is a great deal!

Thanks Wright's!

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Cold Weather

Rumor has it we are in for some cold weather this week. I will believe it when I see it. Sphere: Related Content

"Have a good one"

Recently as I have been out and about, the people in stores and other such places say to me after I make my purchases "have a good one." Now I consider myself and educated person but I cannot for the life of me figure out what that means. Have a good one what? What ever happened to have a nice day, or come back soon? No we have to be hip and trendy and say have a good one. Maybe during the final blessing after liturgy tomorrow I will just turn to the people and say "Hey, have a good one!"

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St. Kentigern

(Or MUNGO)
Bishop, founder of the See of Glasgow, b. about 518; d. at Glasgow, 13 January, 603. His mother Thenaw was daughter of a British prince, Lothus (from whom the province of Lothian was called); his father's name is unknown. According to Jocelyn's life of Kentigern, the saint was born at Culross in Fife, and brought up until manhood by St. Serf (or Servanus) at his monastery there; but Skene shows that this connection between the two saints involves an anachronism, as St. Serf really belongs to the following century. At the age of twenty-five we find Kentigern (the name means "head chief", but he was popularly known as Mungo — in Cymric, Mwyn-gu, or "dear one"), beginning his missionary labours at Cathures, on the Clyde, the site of modern Glasgow. The Christian King of Strathclyde, Roderick Hael, welcomed the saint, and procured his consecration as bishop, which took place about 540. For some thirteen years he laboured in the district, living a most austere life in a cell at the confluence of the Clyde and the Molendinar, and making many converts by his holy example and his preaching. A large community grew up around him, became known as "Clasgu" (meaning the "dear family") and ultimately grew into the town and city of Glasgow.

About 553 a strong anti-Christian movement in Strathclyde compelled Kentigern to leave the district, and he retired to Wales, staying for a time with St. David at Menevia, and afterwards founding a large monastery at Llanelwy, now St. Asaph's, of which he appointed the holy monk Asaph superior in succession to himself. In 573 the battle of Arthuret secured the triumph of the Christian cause in Cumbria, and Kentigern, at the earnest appeal of King Roderick, returned thither, accompanied by many of his Welsh disciples. For eight years he fixed his see at Hoddam in Dumfriesshire, evangelizing thence the districts of Galloway and Cumberland. About 581 he finally returned to Glasgow, and here, a year or two later, he was visited by St. Columba, who was at that time labouring in Strathtay. The two saints embraced, held long converse, and exchanged their pastoral staves.

Kentigern was buried on the spot where now stands the beautiful cathedral dedicated in his honour. His remains are said still to rest in the crypt. His festival is kept throughout Scotland on 13 January. The Bollandists have printed a special mass for this feast, dating from the thirteenth century.

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Spring (?) Cleaning

Today I began the process of cleaning out the old stuff. It is amazing how much "stuff" one can accumulate in such a short period of time. I have been here for less than three years but I have amased a lifetimes worth of stuff.

So I started by going through the files. It's funny that I saved the stuff that I did. When in seminary I had this view that the notes that I took in class would be nugetts of wisdom ala Thomas Merton. I saved all of my notes in order to refer back to them when theological questions came up in the parish. Today was the first day I looked at most of that "stuff" since I placed it in the file cabinet. It is kind of nice to look at the pile that will make its way to the recycle place and out of here.

So that's one room, only three more to go!

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Blog nominations

Okay, not being one that's wants to heap praise on oneself, if you might be of the mind to do something like this you could nominate this blog at the following site. It would seem that the best fit for this blog would be under the "topical" category. Thanks for reading.

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Check this out!

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Venerable Lord Peter the Convincing of Giggleswick on the Naze Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

I guess this can go along with my new coat of arms!

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Heat

In my last post there was frost on the ground now today, at not yet 9am, it is 60 degrees out and the temp will be going up. What do we call this Indian Winter? Very strange weather we have been having this year.

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Frost

This morning as I was heading up to the church to retrieve my vestments I snapped a few photos of the frost around the church grounds. Now, I am not a great photographer and I am not sure I captured the essence of the frost but here you go.

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