Back to School

About a year ago I applied for doctoral study at Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj, Romania. They have a very unique program. The doctoral study is done by research. You select a mentor from the faculty that has an interest in the area in which you wish to concentrate, you have to sit for two exams over a two year period and then a defense of your dissertation. This makes this kind of education very accessible to someone who has to work but want to complete an advanced degree. So I selected a mentor, one who also mentors in English, and an area of concentration, Church History. Specifically I will concentrate on American Church History and the Orthodox Churches position in that history. This has been an area of some interest since my seminary days.

I find this whole thing very interesting. I hated school when I was in High School, and if you got a look at my transcripts you would see how that is true. Now I am a doctoral student. It is funny how things work out. I was also a school teacher before going to seminary and have taught college courses and this Spring will teach again at Nichols College. Very strange how God uses us. I am sure I will blog more on this topic as I get into my research. Anyone have any ideas of what I could research?

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31 October ~ St. Bega

A princess of Ireland and hermitess-foundress, also listed as Bee. Bega fled the royal court rather than marry a prince from Norway. Tradition states that she was miraculously transported to Cumberland, in England.There St. Oswald counseled her in a hermitage, and St. Aidan received her vows as a nun. Bega founded St. Bee's Monastery. She served as abbess there until her death. She is also remembered in the village of Kilbees, in Scotland.

From Catholic Online

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Busy Days

It has been a few days since my last post so I thought I would just throw some thoughts up here to fill space. It all began last Sunday with the final Red Sox LA game. I like to watch baseball but very rarely watch an entire game. This one was one for the books. I watched the entire game and stayed up way too late.

We had a few days off before they began the series with Colorado. So now we are two games up and I am two days down on sleep. Last night was a night off from baseball but we had a fundraiser here at the church. Large crowd and much fun was had by all. We began with a Spaghetti feed followed by, what we call, the turkey party. Basically you buy a ticket for .50 and we spin a wheel and you win a turkey. This brings people in from all over the town and surrounding towns. It is nice to see people and it is also a social event. We also had some information about the church so maybe people will come to church.

Now Saturday. Bulletin, get the church ready, finish the homily, print tickets for next weeks banquet, edit one podcast and record another one, finish this post... So the fun keeps on going.

Tomorrow after Liturgy I get some rest. The Patriots are playing the late game then the Sox play game four. Maybe, just maybe the last game of the season.

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California Fires

I continue to be concerned with the fires in California. I pray for the people there who have been evacuated as well as those that will care for them. We also should remember those on the front lines. I heard on the news last night that the firefighters on the line have been working for 36 hours without sleep. Try staying awake that long and see how well you function.

I have never been a fan of this concept of Global Warming but I cannot help but wonder if this is the earth saying she has had enough of all the torment we have put her through and she is saying I have had enough? Perhaps there is more to this Global Warming thing than I care to admit. We orthodox have always had strong feelings and opinions on the environment. In 1999 the Ecumenical Patriarch made a statement on the Environment and I think it still holds true today. We need to care for this earth it is the only one we have, and God gave it to us to care for.

Something to think about anyway.

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Maine Update

It would seem we are winning we need to keep the pressure up!

Read the Update in today's Boston Globe. Sphere: Related Content

21 October ~ St. Fintan (Munnu) of Taghmon

Son of Tulchan, an Ulster saint, d. at Taghmon, 636. He founded his celebrated abbey at Taghmon (Teach Munnu) in what is now County Wexford, in 599. He is principally known as the defender of the Irish method of keeping Easter, and, in 630, he attended the Synod of Magh Lene, at which he dissented from the decision to adopt the Roman paschal method. Another synod was held somewhat later at Magh Ailbe, when St. Fintan again upheld his views in opposition to St. Laserian (Mo Laisre). But the views of the University Church prevailed. His feast is observed on 21 October. The beautiful stone cross of "St. Munn" still stands in the churchyard of the village.

From the Catholic Encyclopedia

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Little Tired

I am a little tired this morning after staying up until after 12am watching the Red Sox make it to the World Series again. Man it was a little nerve racking there for a little bit but then it opened up and I was able to breath again.

Tonight I will be serving the Liturgy of St. James here in the Village. Fr. Greg will be coming over to help out. If you find yourself in this area stop in Liturgy is at 6pm.

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Sunday Homily

A new homily podcast is up from today's homily. I hope you enjoy.

PODCAST

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Sunday

Who ever said Sunday is a day of rest obviously was not a priest... Anyway the usual round of Liturgical Services today. We have a three year memorial for a lady that I buried just after coming here. It is hard to believe it has been three years. After Liturgy we have coffee hour and then a quick trip to the cemetery for a grave blessing.

Then I get in my little green truck and head to the east cost, Quincy where I hail from, for a board meeting of the Saint Andrew's Society of Massachusetts of which I am serving as president. Then back out here. Keep in mind that will about 130 miles round trip. For those of us that live in the North East that's a lot of driving. I know in other places that is a trip to the Super Market but not here folks. Patriots football at 1pm and GAME 7 at 8pm.

Tomorrow is going to be equally busy. I have a fellow priest coming for a few days so the spare rooms needs a good going over and then we have the Divine Liturgy of St. James at 6pm tomorrow night. This is the oldest liturgy dating from the 4th century and is only served on his feast day which is Tuesday. It has been a year since I last served it so I have a little reading to do. All those red words.

Oh yes, on Tuesday morning we have our first local orthodox clergy bible study. I am so looking forward to this time of study and fellowship with my brothers. We had it scheduled for last week but alas a meeting bumped it. We hope to do this every month.

Happy Sunday All and remember GO SOX!

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Here I Go Again!

I need to stop reading the bogs this early in the morning. Here it is not even 8am and my blood is boiling. First passing out the "pill" to middle schoolers in Maine and now thanks to Huw I hear about a so called Christian prison group that is not allowing a church a participate in a program for kids because, wait for it, they allow gays to come to church. I am so over the top sick and tired of these so called Christian do gooders that only want people they like to participate in their programs. I am sure if my church wanted to participate we would be allowed because we don't meet their narrow doctrinal views. I am so glad Jesus was not so narrow in who he ministered to or Matthew the tax collector, or the woman caught in adultery might not have been ministered too. We are all sinners and fall short of the mark but you know what we all deserve God's grace.

We are so concerned with the outward signs in the church and so concerned that people are dressed the right way and that the priest says things the right way or that we should use Greek, Russian, Romanian, Latin or whatever language and we keep hurting people like this. I am so sick of all this crap in the church. We all need to get on our knees and ask no beg forgiveness from God for our narrow minds and cold hearts! I mean it! We have priests molesting kids, bishops covering it up, priests using church funds as if they were their own, and bishops covering it up. And if you one of the righteous Orthodox out there who think I am talking about our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters, pull your head out of the sand, or any other place it might be, and look around. It happens here as well.
Although I do not support the homosexual life style I believe in an open church that welcomes all. Let me say that again. A CHURCH THAT WELCOMES ALL! Again we are all sinners! We all need to feel the love of Jesus and seek his mercy. If you are reading this and disagree with me I would rather you just kept surfing by. I guess I am becoming more of an activist in my old age. Maybe I should have more coffee before I post.

Thanks Huw for the story. you can read it here.

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Bishop in Maine shocked by policy

This is a follow up to my post earlier this week about the School Committee in Portland, Maine allowing contraception to be passed out in one middle school in the town. Keep in mind this is 11-14 year old girls. In the story the case is made that the three middle schools in Portland have had three pregnancies in the last seven years. So I ask you, WHERE ARE THE PARENTS!

Bishop Malone of Portland has this to say:

When contradictory messages are given to children from important authority figures such as parents and school officials, it can create more confusion and difficulty for children themselves in making this important life decision.

Read the whole story here

We should be OUTRAGED over this. I would suggest that you write to Mr. Mike McCarthy who is the principal of King Middle School in Portland and express your outrage.

Mr. Mike McCarthy, Principal
King Middle School
92 Deering Avenue
Portland, ME 04102
207.874.8140

The kicker of the whole thing is that they do not even have to tell their parents! Well why would they? Obviously the parents do not care what their kids are doing. We need to rise up people. Our countrys morals are being hijacked by people who do not want to take any responsibility. I again ask where the parents are? If middle school kids are getting pregnant then there is another problem here. We are talking about girls and boys 11-14. Are we okay with this? I for one am not.

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Important Meeting Today

UPDATE: The meeting went very well. There were representatives from police, fire, ems, school, and the DA's office. We have agreed to meet again to come up with some long and short term goals. In the short term the police will patrol the areas during peak travel times. We also had a state senator and a member of the state house of representatives. They are looking into legislation on cell phone use. The state of Connecticut just banned use of cell phones while driving. I believe New York has the same ban. It is time Massachusetts did the same. More to come on this issue.

Over the past few weeks we have lost three people, mostly young people, to horrific car accidents here in the area. This morning, the Police Chief in one of the communities has invited leaders of Police and Fire as well as clergy and other to what will be a summit meeting of sorts to try and come up with a way to combat this mess. The latest one killed was a 17 yo student killed on her way to school because she was send a text message! Nothing is that important! How can we get the word out that we cannot continue this trend. I am guilty of this as well. I talk on the cell phone, I have sent text messages, I have even looked up a phone number on my PDA all while driving. I guess I am going to stop this now.

It seems that we are getting more and more dangerous behind the wheel and more and more of us are getting killed doing this. I am not sure what is going to come out of all of this and maybe nothing will but we have to try and do something.

Last spring I responded to call of a motor vehicle accident right near the high school. I looked at the time and a I got a shiver as I knew school was getting out. When I arrived on scene they were cutting the roof off the car to remove the passenger. Four EMT's were working on this kid to try and keep him alive. We sent for the helicopter to take him to the hospital. We cut the roof off the car and got him in the ambulance only to have him die on the way to helicopter. What a tragic waste of life. 18 years old and about ready to graduate from high school. So full of life taken away because of something stupid. We need to talk to our kids. Take away the damn cell phones or disable to text message parts.

Dr. Phil, I know I know, did a show recently on this and the stats are staggering. We need do something I am just not sure what that will be. Pray for us today as we have this meeting that something good will come out of it.

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Middle school in Maine to offer birth control pills

This is just crazy!

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Parish Council Meeting

Last night we had our monthly parish council meeting. As has been the custom here I begin the meeting with a little segment called pastor's time. I have used this time in the past for various things and last night I decided to use a quote that I heard many years ago and I think we can use in the church. Now this quote is not from Scripture or even from a church father. The quote is from Margaret Meade a Sociologist.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world: indeed it is the only thing that ever has.

We are a small church but a faithful church and I believe that if we truly pray and work together we can indeed change the world. We need to pray for peace, for our leaders, for those who have been placed above us in leadership positions in the church and in the world. If we hold the church and the world in prayer, we can make a change. Let's try, what do we have to loose. Sphere: Related Content

Statement from Catholic-Orthodox Panel

Even small steps are good steps. (ed.)

"They Commend Dialogue to the Prayers of the Faithful"

VATICAN CITY, OCT 15, 2007 (ZENIT.org).- Here is the text of a statement from the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox, released by the Vatican press office after the 10th plenary assembly meeting of the panel ended on Sunday.

The meeting was held Oct. 8-14 in Ravenna, Italy.

* * *

The 10th meeting of the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church met in Ravenna, Italy, a city marked by its historical and artistic monuments, many from the Byzantine era. The meeting took place from Oct. 8-14, 2007, generously hosted by the Archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia.

Twenty seven of the 30 Catholic members (cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests and lay theologians) were present. The Orthodox members (metropolitans, bishops; priests and lay theologians) represented the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, the Patriarchate of Antioch, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Patriarchate of Moscow, the Patriarchate of Serbia, the Patriarchate of Romania, the Patriarchate of Georgia, the Church of Cyprus, the Church of Greece, the Church of Poland, the Church of Albania, the Church of Czech Lands and Slovakia, the Church of Finland and the Apostolic Church of Estonia. The representatives of the Patriarchate of Bulgaria were unable to attend.

The commission worked under the direction of the two co-presidents, Cardinal Walter Kasper and Metropolitan John of Pergamon, helped by the two co-secretaries, Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima, (Ecumenical Patriarchate) and Monsignor Eleuterio Fortino from the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

The session began in the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Classe on the evening of Oct. 8, with the celebration of Vespers, presided over by the Archbishop of Ravenna, the Most Reverend Giuseppe Verucchi, and with a prayer on the part of the Orthodox members.

In addressing those present, the Archbishop of Ravenna stated: “We are happy that you are here. You have the prayers of our two contemplative communities, of the religious men and women, the priests and the parish communities. While you are busy with the dialogue, searching for the path that will lead us closer to full communion, we will not disturb you, but we will embrace you with our affection and prayer.”

The commission was welcomed in the prefecture by the Prefect, Her Excellency Floriana De Sanctis, who expressed the hope that “the desire for dialogue, to understand and to be understood, which characterizes the Joint Commission might be a sign copied by all of us in our daily lives”. Also present at this meeting were the mayor of the city, the president of the region and the president of the province, together with other civil authorities.

The commission has been working on the theme of "The Ecclesiological and Canonical Consequences of the Sacramental Nature of the Church: Ecclesial Communion, Conciliarity and Authority in the Church." This study had already begun in the previous session in Belgrade, from Sept. 18-25, 2006, on the basis of a draft elaborated by the Joint Coordinating Committee in Moscow in 1990, but which had not yet been discussed in plenary session. At this meeting this study has been completed and an agreed common document was approved. The document offers a solid basis for the future work of the commission.

On the first day of the meeting, as is customary in this commission, the Roman Catholic and Orthodox members met separately to coordinate their work. At the Orthodox meeting, the delegate of the Moscow Patriarchate presented a decision of that Church to withdraw from the meeting because of the presence of delegates from the Church of Estonia, declared “autonomous” by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, a status not recognized by the Patriarchate of Moscow, and in spite of the fact that the Ecumenical Patriarchate with the agreement of all the Orthodox members offered a compromise that would have acknowledged the Moscow Patriarchate’s non-recognition of the Autonomous Church of Estonia.

The theme for the next plenary session will be: “The role of the Bishop of Rome in the communion of the Church in the first millennium."

The place and time for the next Coordinating Committee will be decided at a later date.

The 10th plenary session ended with prayer. On Saturday, Oct. 13, the Catholic members celebrated the Eucharist in the Cathedral of Ravenna, in the presence of the Orthodox members. On Sunday, Oct. 14, the Orthodox members celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Basilica of St. Vitalis, in the presence of the Catholic members. On both of these occasions the Archbishop of Ravenna and members of the clergy and laity of Ravenna attended.

The meeting of the Joint Commission was marked by a spirit of friendship and trustful collaboration. The members of the commission greatly appreciated the generous hospitality of the Archdiocese of Ravenna, and they strongly commend the continuing work of the dialogue to the prayers of the faithful.

Ravenna, Italy, Oct. 14, 2007

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New Podcast

A new Facing East has been recorded and uploaded.

PODCAST

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Philadelphia

Well we arrived safe and sound late last night in the City of Brotherly love. We are meeting in about 5 minutes for some breakfast then off to the church for a round of meetings. We are here for the Deanery Assembly of the Eastern Deanery of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese. A time to catch up with the other churches and the Archbishop and a time for fellowship. We are supposed to be on the road by 3:30 so figure about five hours to get home. I am sure I will be exhausted tomorrow. More latter...

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Outcry over Scout's flag returns God to certificate

This is a great story and this young man should be applauded for his efforts.

From today's Boston Globe Sphere: Related Content

New Podcast

A new Shepherd of Souls Podcast has been uploaded. In this episode I introduce the Shepherd of Souls.

Listen Here

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Podcast News

Well some news from the Podcast front. The Shepherd of the Souls podcast as well as the Facing East Podcast have been picked up by the Orthodox Christian Network to be aired on their stations the Ark and the Rudder. Not sure when the broadcast will start and the shows will still be available on iTunes and the blogs but this is exciting. You can find both internet radio stations here. In a related story one of my homilies has been selected to be included in the"theologically thinking" segment on both stations as well. You can hear it starting the week of the 26th of October. I have begun two groups on Facebook for the shows so you can join and keep in touch with all that is going on.

There are not many Orthodox Podcasters out there and we need to change that. Podcasting is easy to do and is not a large investment in equipment. We need to claim the internet for good and begin to use this medium for evangelization. Let us make the effort to Blog more and perhaps start one or two more podcasts.

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Sunday Homily

No homily to post this week. I have a guest preacher today so I get the week off. Today is National Fallen Firefighter Memorial Sunday and I am hosting the fire departments from the Towns of Southbridge and Dudley, Massachusetts. The chaplain from Southbridge will be preaching.

As a way of remembrance I thought I would post the firefighters prayer.

When I am called to duty, God, whenever flames may rage;

Give me strength to save some life, whatever be its age.

Help me embrace a little child before it is too late

Or save and older person from the horror of that fate.

Enable me to be alert and hear the weakest shout,

And quickly and efficiently to put the fire out.

I want to fill my calling and to give the best in me,

To guard my every neighbor and to protect his property.

And if, according to my fate, I am to loose my life;

Please bless with your protecting hand my children and my wife.

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The Rosary

As a convert to Orthodoxy I still hold to some of the "old" catholic practices of my youth. Well not really of my youth but of mu younger days. I am speaking of the Rosary. A few weeks ago I began a search for how the Rosary figured in the history of the Orthodox Church. It seems that the Rosary is some for or another has been part of Orthodoxy for many many decades. So I have begun researching this and will be writing an article in the near future.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a talk given by Greg Willits of the Rosary Army Podcast in Tiverton, Rhode Island. Greg and his wife Jennifer have been running this apostolate out of thier home for a few years and they make knotted twine rosaries very much like our Orthodox prayer rope. They are faithful Catholic Christians raising a family in this crazy world. If you get a chance take a listen to their podcast. It was not long ago that we rejoiced in the news that Jennifer was pregnant with another child. In their last episode they announced it appears that the child did not survive and Jennifer had a miscarriage. Please pray for them as they come to grips with this news.

The talk was hosted by Fr. Jay Finelli another podcaster. As I begin to Podcast I start to listen to others to see what they are up to and it is nice to meet the folks from behind the microphone. We are all trying to convert the world and maybe bring a little sanity to this crazy world. Orthodox, Catholic it does not matter we are all in this together.

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Busy Day

Yesterday morning I was about to write a post about how busy the day was going to be when the door bell rang at 8:15am and the day began. We had a contractor come by to start the process of assessing the needs of the church heating system. I hope this will not be a long process as I am sure one of these days it will get cold here but for now we are all set.

Our problem is we have an old building with little or no insulation and a dome on the roof that is maybe two stories high. As well all remember from science class, heat rises, so I bet if I could get seats up in the dome it would be nice and warm up there. So we have the people who know what they are doing come and give us some help. So far things have been great. Watch for more information on that.

On Friday's I usually head off to the Fire House for some lunch. I did my usual with a brief stop at town hall to pick up a permit for the function we have here at the church tonight. I spent a few hours with the guys talking about work place stress and then I returned back to the office to clean off my desk. I don't know why I say that as it never gets cleaned off. I seem to just the pile from one side of the desk to the other, but it makes me feel like I am doing something.

Got to bed early as today promises to be busy and as is the usual case at 11:30pm we caught a three alarm fire. So I was off again. Back in bed by 2am but could not get to sleep so I read for a little bit then dozed off.

Today I am off to a talk in Tiverton, Rhode Island and some laundry. Must produce the bulletin for tomorrow's Liturgy and prepare for that. Tomorrow is National Fallen Fire Fighters Sunday and the chaplain from the town and I are hosting our two departments here for Liturgy and some grub after. Please remember your Fire Fighter's and other Public Safety folks tomorrow and everyday.

Oh by the way, the Red Sox lead the series 2-0 over the Angels. They are off to the West Coast now to finish the job. The Tribe in Cleveland is doing their best to get rid of the Yankees for us so all looks well. I do not follow the other side but it sounds like the Rockies are burning up the field.

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Work Crew

Lots going on around the place today. We have a work crew installing a drainage thing in the parking lot and two contractors coming to look at the work that needs to be done in the church. Will be busy around here today.

Please check out the PODCASTS that have been posted and let me know what you think.

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New Podcast

Fr. Greg and I just finished Episode #5 of the Facing East Podcast. In this episode we talk about How to Read the Bible.

PODCAST

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Pope Promises Catholic Help for New Patriarch

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 2, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI told the newly enthroned patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church that he can count on collaboration from Catholics.
The Pope sent a delegation to Bucharest on Sunday to participate in the solemn enthronement celebrations of Patriarch Daniel Ciobotea, the new leader of 19 million Romanian Orthodox.
The Vatican delegation was led by Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and included Bishop Brian Farrell, secretary of the same dicastery, and Archbishop Jean-Claude Périsset, apostolic nuncio to Romania.
As a "pledge to search for full communion," Cardinal Kasper gave the patriarch a chalice in the Pope’s name. He also delivered a letter from the Holy Father, written in French, which told the patriarch that "Catholics are standing with their Orthodox brethren, with prayer and availability, to offer useful collaboration."
"The one and only Gospel waits to be proclaimed by everyone together, in love and reciprocal esteem," wrote Benedict XVI.
The message recalls the good relations established by Pope John Paul II and the then Patriarch Teoctist.
Patriarch Teoctist died July 30, at age 92. He had served 19 years as patriarch.That meeting of religious leaders and the words spoken at that time, said Benedict XVI in his message, “continue to be relevant for me and the Catholic Church, highlighting that it is especially necessary to intensify the bonds that unite us for the good of the Church."
The Bishop of Rome said that strengthening the friendship between Catholics and Orthodox will be decisive “to respond to today’s needs in Europe and the world, on both the religious and social levels.”
“A common witness of Christians is ever more necessary to respond to our shared vocation and to urgencies of our time," concluded the message.
Patriarch Daniel, 56, was the metropolitan of Moldova and Bukovina. A renowned intellectual, the patriarch boasts three doctorates, two received abroad, 12 years of ecumenical studies and more than 10 years as a monk.
Among the Orthodox Churches, the Romanian Church is second only to the Russian Church in the number of faithful.

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Sunday Homily

September 30, 2007
II Corinthians 9:6-11
Luke 6:31-36

PODCAST

How hard is it to love someone? How hard is it to love someone who does not love you back? Now imagine trying to love someone who is your enemy? How hard would that be? “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return,; and your reward will be great…”

Jesus is telling us in this Gospel passage today that we must do just that. He is not suggesting that we love our enemies, no, He simply says, “But love your enemies.” All through the Gospel Jesus is trying to get us to reconcile with those who for one reason or another have wrong us. I have spent many homilies speaking about confession and reconciliation with God but little time on our relationships with others.

Why is it important that we love our enemies? Well for one reason it takes less energy to love than to hate. Hate destroys but love brings life. Hate builds walls but love builds bridges. Hate destroys the soul but love restores it up. But Jesus is asking us to love those who hate us and to expect nothing in return. He does not say to love your enemy only if they love you back. He simply tells us to love them and leaves it at that. Love is a big and complicated word. Thousands upon thousands of books have been written on the subject. But we can make it very simple, “Love one another as I have loved you.” It is this love of God that passes all understanding.

So how can we do this, how can we love those who do not love us back? For starters we need to forgive them for the wrong they have committed or for what we have done to them and do not expect anything in return. DO not place a condition on your forgiveness. Forgive them in your heart and let the love of God replace that hate and anger with love. Replace the coldness of hate with the warmth of love. Pray for them. Ask God to send the same warmth upon them to replace their coldness with warmth. Then simply let it go and move on. Continue to pray for them, but do not dwell on it. It is only when we are able to forgive that we then are able to be truly forgiven.

The other day while preparing for this homily I came across a great quote that I would like to end with. I would like each of you to think of this quote and to pray about it this week and see how we can make this our own. St. Seraphim of Sarov was an 18th century saint and monastic. He wrote many letters to his spiritual children on the topic of forgiveness. Listen to his words.
“Acquire the spirit of peace, and a thousand souls will be converted around you.”

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