Camping Part II

So my second camping trip of the season in coming to an end. I am sitting here in the trailer and the wind has really picked up so I have batten down the hatches for the night. Ice Road Truckers is on and life is good.

I met some great people on this trip one couple is from London and they are a hoot. They have been in the states for a few weeks traveling around the Northeast for a few weeks and having a good time. It was great to sit at the table and chat with them about their life and they had a hard time believing I was a priest. I had to show them pictures to prove it. They are on Facebook as well so we will now be Facebook friends. nice.

I will say you do meet some good people camping and if you have not camp for some time then I would say try it out.

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1st Condemnation

Washington, D.C. – Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser offered the following statement in response to the death of abortionist George Tiller from an unidentified gunman today:

“The Susan B. Anthony List condemns this anti-life act in the strongest of terms. The heart of the pro-life movement is one founded in love. Without this driving powerful center no justice can possibly be achieved. Authentic progress in women’s rights has always encompassed the protection of human rights of every person across the board. The rights of one human being can never be honored by diminishing or ignoring the rights of another. This week as we gather for our annual June Tea event, themed Love Lets Live, we will lift up George Tiller's loved ones in prayer.”

George Tiller was shot and killed by an unidentified assailant shortly after 10 a.m. at Reformation Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Wichita, Kansas this morning. The 67-year-old was one of the few U.S. physicians who still performed late-term abortions. He had previously survived a 1993 shooting outside his clinic. Law enforcement officials are searching for an unidentified assailant who fled in a powder-blue Ford Taurus.

The Susan B. Anthony List is a nationwide network of Americans, over 158,000 residing in all 50 states, dedicated to mobilizing, advancing, and representing pro-life women in politics. Its connected Candidate Fund increases the percentage of pro-life women in the political process.

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Abortion Doctor Murdered

Word is just reaching me here on my little vacation about Dr. George Tiller's murder today. What makes this murder even more heinous is that it happened in his church.

I have never made a secret of the fact that I am pro life. I believe in the sanctity of life from the very moment of conception until it's natural end. To define that a bit more, conception, no problem there, but the natural end part tend to be troublesome for people. I do not believe in capitol punishment or euthanasia. Life is sacred and all of humanity has been created in the image and likeness of God I call this the divine spark.

The murder of this man, regardless of his profession, should be loudly condemned by the pro life movement. If the pro life movement does not call this what it is then they just need to shut up about being pro life. Yes this doctor was an abortion doctor and a late term abortion doctor to boot but that should not have cost him his life.

Please pray for his family and please pray for the one who pulled the trigger. People who do this in the name of God scare me. Judge not my bible tells me, that task belongs to someone else.

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Common Date of Easter

H/T to the AOI Blog for this news:

The Associated Press has a story out of the World Council of Churches about deliberations toward a common date for Pascha/Easter. The story was based, in part, on this release from the WCC. From the AP:

Under the plan the unified Easter usually falls as it would under the Gregorian calendar used by Catholics and Protestants, said Dagmar Heller, an ecumenical professor in Switzerland heading the council’s faith and order commission.

In the next 15 years, the only time Western churches would have to change Easter is in 2019 from April 21 to March 24. The bigger adjustment would be for the Orthodox Church, which has experienced several schisms in its history over the question of dates.

“There are of course some fundamentalist Orthodox who say ‘The Julian calendar is our tradition and it was used in Jesus’ lifetime so we cannot change,’” Heller said, adding that some Eastern theologians might fear more breaks in their church as a result of a date change.

“And, of course, it’s an issue because the astronomical data is closer to the Gregorian calendar, which was introduced by a pope,” she said, referring to Pope Gregory XIII’s reform of the calendar in 1582. It only slowly replaced the calendar named for Julius Caesar, who introduced it in 46 B.C.

Some Orthodox representatives at the meeting appeared to back the plan. French Orthodox theologian Antoine Arjakovsky acknowledged that the astronomy was closer to the Gregorian calendar, but noted that Catholic and Protestant churches were also compromising by “accepting that the date of Easter should be established on the basis of a cosmic calendar rather than by a fixed date.” More detailed information on these talks, free of WCC spin, is available from the Religious Information Service of Ukraine, which reported on “A Common Date of Easter – Possible: The 1997 Aleppo Consensus,” a conference held earlier this month at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv. Snip:

Expressing joy that such an important theme had been raised in the seminar, Metropolitan Andriy Horak mentioned that such a detailed answer from the Orthodox representation concerning the Aleppo proposals could be received only after a Pan-Orthodox consultation and, eventually, a council. It is worth mentioning that Fr. Milan Zust, S.J., representative for the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said that the Roman Catholic Church is waiting for a response from the Orthodox churches and he thinks that if the Orthodox would accept the Aleppo recommendations, then there would be no problems with establishing one, common date of Easter. If some remarks would come from the Orthodox representation or if they were to propose another variant, then the question would definitely need to be reviewed.

Dr. Konstantine Sigov, chief director of the publishing firm Spirit and Letter, who spoke in the name of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), mentioned that it is of huge importance to spread information about the possibility of establishing a common date for Easter – especially within an academic environment as well as among the broader public.

See the Orthodox Wiki entry on Old Calendarists.

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American Orthodox Unity

Much has been written and said in the past few months about the unity of the Orthodox Church in the United States. Fr. Ted has written some thoughts on his blog and there are a few others as well. Like Fr. Ted I have not yet read or digested all of the materials but I hope too soon.

Here are some other links as well:

Chalcedon Canon 28: Yesterday and Today
V. Rev. John Erickson

Chalcedon Canon 28: Historic Truth or Greek Mythology?
Nick Katich

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Patriarch Daniel to visit Constantinople

(BASILICA) - In the spirit of tradition and current practice, His Beatitude Daniel, as the new Patriarch of Romania, accompanied by a delegation of the Romanian Orthodox Church, will visit the Ecumenical Patriarchate between May 27 - June 2, 2009.

The visit is part of the events dedicated to the year 2009, proclaimed by the Holy Synod as 'Memorial Year of St Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea Cappadocia († 379) and of the other Cappadocian Saints.'

In the first day of the visit, after the official welcoming at the St. George Cathedral, His Beatitude Daniel will participate at the Vespers celebrated in the St. Paraskeve Church in Istanbul, a worship place given by the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the Romanian Orthodox community in Turkey. On this occasion, in the presence of the Romanian Orthodox faithful in Istanbul and other areas in Turkey, the new library of this Romanian community will be consecrated.

Thursday, May 28, 2009, on the feast of the Ascension of the Lord, His Holiness Bartholomew, the Ecumenical Patriarch, and His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, will celebrate together the Holy Liturgy at the St. George Cathedral, surrounded by Greek and Romanian hierarchs, priests and deacons. Subsequently, the two Primates, joined by hierarchs, priests, deacons and faithful, will go on a pilgrimage in Cappadocia, the birthplace of Saints Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, Gregory of Nyssa and many others from the first Christian millennium. Christian relics of profound theological, cultural and spiritual importance will be visited.

Saturday, May 30, 2009, the two Patriarchs will celebrate in Cappadocia the Vespers at the Holy Emperors Constantine and Helen Church in Sinassos, and the next day, Sunday, May 31, in the same area, the Holy Liturgy at the St. Theodor Church in Malakopis.

On schedule there are several official visits of the Romanian Patriarch at the Romanian Embassy in Ankara, at the General Consulate of Romania in Istanbul, as well as meetings with central and local authorities in Turkey.

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Memorial Day

Enough Said!

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Free Father Mattaos - Unjustly imprisoned in Egypt

Father Mattaos Wahba is the priest of Archangel Michael Church at Kerdasa, Geza, Egypt. He is a pious man of God who encourages his congregation with Jesus' message of loving one's enemy, blessing those who curse you, doing good to those who hate you, and praying for those who despitefully use and persecute you. (Mathew 5:44) Fr. Mattaos is a model Egyptian citizen that has not ever committed a crime or seen the inside of a prison other than in the context of ministering to inmates.

Recently Father Mattaos' life abruptly changed overnight. He was arrested, charged and tried for aiding a young Muslim woman in getting an ID card that had falsified data indicating her religion as Christian rather than Muslim. The ID card was said to enable her to marry a Christian man and to flee the country. On October, 2008, the court found him guilty and sentenced him to 5 years of hard labor.

However, the facts dictate entirely a different story. The young woman, named Reham Abdel Aziz Rady, was born to a Muslim family. She converted to Christianity and underwent unbearable degrees of torturous harassments from her family and Egypt's Secret Police. She was subsequently released from custody without an ID card. Such prevents her rightful privileges of citizenship. She cannot get employment, rent living quarters, apply for a passport, much less apply for a marriage license. Even if she still possessed her old Muslim ID, it would prevent her from marrying a Christian. There is no legal way to change the religion of a Muslim on an ID card.

In 2004, a well-intentioned person attempted to help her. They allowed Reham to use an ID card belonging to a recently deceased young Christian woman of approximately the same age, named Mariam Nabil. Two years later, Reham, now called Mariam, and a Christian man fell in love and decided to marry. The couple contacted Fr. Mattaos to conduct the marriage ceremonies. The priest knew nothing of the false ID and Mariam's former Muslim background. In good faith he conducted the ceremony and the newly wed couple fled the country.

On April 24, 2009, Mariam appeared with Brother Rasheed on the popular Arabic Al Hayat TV program "A Daring Question". She testified, "Father Mattaos did not have any role in getting my ID card. I did not know him then, as this took place in 2004 and I got married in 2006." Mariam added, "I have the right to have an ID card that reflects my true religious affiliation. The Egyptian government does not give Muslims who convert to Christianity a legal alternative to get these papers. Had I been a Christian who wanted to convert to Islam, I would have had all the help I needed. But, because I am leaving Islam they put hurdles in my way."

Father Mattaos did not commit a crime. He does not deserve to be imprisoned. He is paying a price of Egypt's present-day policy of denying religious freedom. Ironically, their policy is against the Egyptian constitution and standard human rights laws to which Egypt is a signatory. Make no mistake about it. Father Mattaos' imprisonment is designed to send a message to Coptic Egyptian priests and Protestant pastors: The Egyptian government will deal harshly with any clergyman who is suspected in aiding Muslims converting to Christianity.

We call upon officials in the US State Department; Human Rights organizations; the global community of Christian believers; and all freedom loving people to join us in our outcry. We urge you to contact the Egyptian Embassy demanding the immediate release of Father Mattaos. Insist in strong tones that every Egyptian citizen be granted the basic human right to follow the religion of his/her choice.

EMBASSY OF THE ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT
3521 International Ct. NW Washington DC 20008

TEL: 202.895.5400 FAX: 202.244.4319

E-mail: Embassy@egyptembassy.net

SOURCE Christian Copts of California

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Facing East Episode 36

We are back! Well we are back again with Facing East Podcast Episode # 36. Join us as we head off to the movies for Angels and Demons. We chat about it before and after the movie.

Facing East Podcast

Leave us some feedback if you will!

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Year of the Bible?

When the clock strikes midnight on Dec. 31, 2009, Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) hopes you’ll be ringing in “the Year of the Bible.”

It’s probably just wishful thinking.

Broun’s simple congressional resolution aimed at honoring the Good Book has produced a push-back of biblical proportion in the blogosphere, with critics dismissing it as either unconstitutional or a waste of time. Jews in Congress and atheist activists are dismissing the resolution, while none of the many Democrats in Congress who are Christian have bothered to sign on as co-sponsors.

According to GovTrak.us, the resolution is among the most-blogged-about pieces of legislation, with most posts less than complimentary in nature.

“Does that mean 2009 is not the year of the Bible?” mocked Rep. Barney Frank ­(D-Mass.), who is Jewish. “What is 2012 the year of? The Quran?”

“That’s an endorsement of religion by the federal government, and we shouldn’t be doing that,” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), even though he has introduced his own legislation dealing with religion.

The Rest of the Story

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Benedict XVI Promotes Internet Friendships

VATICAN CITY, MAY 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is encouraging a "positive" use of communication technologies so that friendships created through them can help make the world a better place.

The Pope said this today at the end of the general audience when he spoke in English about this Sunday's celebration of World Communications Day.

Referring to his message for this year, he noted his invitation to "all those who make use of the new technologies of communication, especially the young, to utilize them in a positive way and to realize the great potential of these means to build up bonds of friendship and solidarity that can contribute to a better world."

The Holy Father recognized that "new technologies have brought about fundamental shifts in the ways in which news and information are disseminated and in how people communicate and relate to each other."

Thus, he exhorted those who "access cyberspace" to take care to "maintain and promote a culture of respect, dialogue and authentic friendship where the values of truth, harmony and understanding can flourish."

His final exhortation was for youth: "Young people in particular, I appeal to you: bear witness to your faith through the digital world! Employ these new technologies to make the Gospel known, so that the Good News of God's infinite love for all people, will resound in new ways across our increasingly technological world!"

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Sunday of the Samaritan Woman

Sermon Audio

One of the most ancient cities of the Promised Land was Shechem, also called Sikima, located at the foot of Mount Gerazim. There the Israelites had heard the blessings in the days of Moses and Jesus of Navi. Near to this town, Jacob, who had come from Mesopotamia in the nineteenth century before Christ, bought a piece of land where there was a well. This well, preserved even until the time of Christ, was known as Jacob's Well. Later, before he died in Egypt, he left that piece of land as a special inheritance to his son Joseph (Gen. 49:22). This town, before it was taken into possession by Samaria, was also the leading city of the kingdom of the ten tribes. In the time of the Romans it was called Neapolis, and at present Nablus. It was the first city in Canaan visited by the Patriarch Abraham. Here also, Jesus of Navi (Joshua) addressed the tribes of Israel for the last time. Almost three hundred years later, all Israel assembled there to make Roboam (Rehoboam) king.

When our Lord Jesus Christ, then, came at midday to this city, which is also called Sychar (John 4:5), He was wearied from the journey and the heat, and He sat down at this well. After a little while the Samaritan woman mentioned in today's Gospel passage came to draw water. As she conversed at some length with the Lord and heard from Him secret things concerning herself, she believed in Him; through her many other Samaritans also believed.

Concerning the Samaritans we know the following: In the year 721 before Christ, Salmanasar (Shalmaneser), King of the Assyrians, took the ten tribes of the kingdom of Israel into captivity, and relocated all these people to Babylon and the land of the Medes. From there he gathered various nations and sent them to Samaria. These nations had been idolaters from before. Although they were later instructed in the Jewish faith and believed in the one God, they worshipped the idols also. Furthermore, they accepted only the Pentateuch of Moses, and rejected the other books of Holy Scripture. Nonetheless, they thought themselves to be descendants of Abraham and Jacob. Therefore, the pious Jews named these Judaizing and idolatrous peoples Samaritans, since they lived in Samaria, the former leading city of the Israelites, as well as in the other towns thereabout. The Jews rejected them as heathen and foreigners, and had no communion with them at all, as the Samaritan woman observed, "the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans" (John 4:9). Therefore, the name Samaritan is used derisively many times in the Gospel narrations. After the Ascension of the Lord, and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the woman of Samaria was baptized by the holy Apostles and became a great preacher and Martyr of Christ; she was called Photine, and her feast is kept on February 26.

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Respect

I was not able to watch the President's speech from Notre Dame today but I have been reading about it online. I was also following several people who were tweeting during the speech as well. Regardless of what he had to say, and this post is not about that, what amazes me is the total lack of respect for the President of the United States. Weather you agree with his policies or not he is still the President of the United States and he should be referred too as either President Obama or Mr. Obama. To simply refer to him as Obama is disrespectful to him and to the office of the President.

Now before you go off on me and leave nasty comments be warned I said the same thing about President Bush. I did not always agree with is policies but he was President and he deserves that respect. This goes to the larger topic of respect in general.

What I was growing up adults were Mr. or Mrs. Some of my friends would say Sir or Mam and I thought this was nice. My dad goes over to a friends house every morning for coffee. When I am home I usually go with him and we watch the stock market and chat about stuff going on. Even though I am 42 years old now I would not dream of calling him or his wife by their first names I still refer to them as Mr. or Mrs.

Another example would be there first year I was teaching and I was subbing at different schools. I ended up at the High School I graduated from. Some of the same teachers that I had when I was in school were still teaching there. We were in the teachers room having lunch one day and I was saying Mr. this and Mrs. that and they were chuckling and said I could call them by their first names. I said I did, you are Mr. Smith and you are Mrs. Jones. Another Chuckle.

So there it is common respect is what I am talking about. Not just for the President but for all. It cheapens all of us if we loose respect.

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Upcoming Event

Come see the famous Doo Wop band the Flamingos as seen on PBS.

Also, tributes for Roy Orbinson and Elvis.

12 Crane St. Southbridge Ma

Saturday May 23rd. 7:30 p.m.

Tickets still available. $25 a person.

All proceeds benefit the Southbridge Downtown Partnership

Contact Susan Pelletier508-248-6687or
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Show us yer haggis

This is very cute. It comes to me via the Anamchara blog and to them via Clan Buchanan. Here are the words:

Hae the lyrics:“SCOTLAND’S got a dance for you, it’s funky and it’s new,So don yer kilts and fill yer boots, we’re bringing it to you.You can do it on yer own, in pairs or do it in a crowd,But wherever you do it, you gotta do it proud.Show us your haggis, raise your right arm to the sky,Stand on one leg, flip it round and shout ‘och aye.’Saltire for Scotland, and hoik it to the right,And grab yer neebors shoulder, and nessie through the night.”



This wee song is way too fun! It was released on 23rd March 2009 by Alva Academy & its associated primary schools. On 1st April 2009, just over a week later, it reached number one in the Scottish charts. The song was written by D. Clifford & S. Clyde. Enjoy the song and the video.

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Ecumenical Patriarch hospitalized

Athens, May 13 (Interfax) - Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople was taken to hospital upon the recommendation of doctors on Wednesday morning.

According to the Constantinople Patriarchy, "he feels quite well and is going to return to his office in a few days," Romfea.gr reports.

For almost a week, Bartholomew I has been suffering a bad cold.The meeting of the Constantinople Patriarchate Synod is adjourned for the reason of Patriarch's illness.

H/T Byzantine Texas

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Camping Trip # 1

I am preparing to break camp and head home so I ask for prayers for my traveling. When I get back I must shift gears for a retreat that begins tonight with the Fire Chaplains. So my little rest continues.

I brought all of this work to do whilst I was here but did none of it but I did manage to get some much needed sleep so all is good. I will be offline for a few days whilst on retreat. I will be praying for all of you.

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Mother's Day

Happy Mother's day to all of the mothers who read this blog especially my own dear mother who had a part in me being who I am today. I pray that all mother's weather they are with us or not have a blessed day.

Take time to thank mothers, and women in general. Mothers have still have a great role in our society not for just bringing forth life but also for nurturing that life and helping their children grow. In the Orthodox world the faith of the Church is passed on by our mothers and we use as a great example Mary the Mother of Jesus. Pray to Mary for guidance and she will show you the way.

A special prayer to those women who find themselves in the family way rather unexpectedly. Hang in there and bring to life that life you are carrying. If you do not want to raise the child you now carry someone will. There are many parents who long to have a child and cannot so bring your baby to this world and let someone care for it. Abortion is not the answer!

Blessings in a special way to single moms. You have the hardest of all jobs being mom and dad to your children. I pray for you that God's blessings will come upon you for you chose life and not death.

Blessed Mother's Day

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Miss California

I was trying to avoid commenting on a beauty pageant on these pages since I believe my time can be better spent on, oh I don't know, real things.

Anyway you know the story. At some beauty pageant a contestant got a question regarding same sex marriage. Well she answered the question truthfully and lost the pageant. She is now blaming her loss on her answer to the question because the person who asked the question happens to be gay. So she lost by one vote?

Okay when did beauty pageants become about anything more than blond hair and bathing suits? Why do we care what some beauty queen thinks about anything other then what evening gown to wear? Now she tells us she is being attacked because this Christian girl posed nude when she was 17 and the photos have leaked.

Now I am trying not to judge anyone here and I believe in forgiveness and that is the business we are in, forgiveness. Don't be out there all telling people that the big bad media are smearing you because you are a Christian. No they are smearing you because when you were 17 you took your clothes off for a photographer and since they leaked and you are so naive that you did not think they would, and so now you need to blame someone so attack the media.

Little note, before you go all apple pie and ice cream on us and claim to be squeaky clean, burn the negatives. You have no one to blame for this but yourself. All actions have reactions and we may not agree with them but something you did when you were 17 will haunt you for the rest of your life.

Dr. Phil did a story about a year ago about girls gone wild and posting the pictures on My Space. He had college recruiters and headhunters on the show who said that the first thing they do is google people now and see what comes up. Again Miss California you have no one to blame but yourself for this.

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Holy Myrrhbearers Sunday

Sermon Audio

About the beginning of His thirty-second year, when the Lord Jesus was going throughout Galilee, preaching and working miracles, many women who had received of His beneficence left their own homeland and from then on followed after Him. They ministered unto Him out of their own possessions, even until His crucifixion and entombment; and afterwards, neither losing faith in Him after His death, nor fearing the wrath of the Jewish rulers, they came to the sepulchre, bearing the myrrh-oils they had prepared to annoint His body. It is because of the myrrh-oils, that these God-loving women brought to the tomb of Jesus that they are called the Myrrh-bearers. Of those whose names are known are the following: first of all, the most holy Virgin Mary, who in Matthew 27:56 and Mark 15:40 is called "the mother of James and Joses" (these are the sons of Joseph by a previous marriage, and she was therefore their step-mother); Mary Magdalene (celebrated July 22); Mary, the wife of Clopas; Joanna, wife of Chouza, a steward of Herod Antipas; Salome, the mother of the sons of Zebedee, Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus; and Susanna. As for the names of the rest of them, the evangelists have kept silence (Matt 27:55-56; 28:1-10. Mark 15:40-41. Luke 8:1-3; 23:55-24:11, 22-24. John 19:25; 20:11-18. Acts 1:14).

Together with them we celebrate also the secret disciples of the Saviour, Joseph and Nicodemus. Of these, Nicodemus was probably a Jerusalemite, a prominent leader among the Jews and of the order of the Pharisees, learned in the Law and instructed in the Holy Scriptures. He had believed in Christ when, at the beginning of our Saviour's preaching of salvation, he came to Him by night. Furthermore, he brought some one hundred pounds of myrrh-oils and an aromatic mixture of aloes and spices out of reverence and love for the divine Teacher (John 19:39). Joseph, who was from the city of Arimathea, was a wealthy and noble man, and one of the counsellors who were in Jerusalem. He went boldly unto Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus, and together with Nicodemus he gave Him burial. Since time did not permit the preparation of another tomb, he placed the Lord's body in his own tomb which was hewn out of rock, as the Evangelist says (Matt. 27:60).

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Communion and the Flu

With Sunday coming I am wondering about the question about Communion during this time of the H1N1 Swine Flu. We Orthodox receive Communion from a common cup from a common spoon. It has been done this way for some 2,000 years. I understand people fears but let me say one thing about this subject and then I will link to another source for more information.

As Orthodox we believe that the bread and wine are not simply bread and wine after the consecration. We believe that they are the body and blood of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ who said do this in remembrance of me. Now I am a logical person so I have to ask the question. If it is what we say it is why would it make us sick? Why would the very thing that Jesus commands us to do, and that will make us whole make us sick? Again I understand the fears but I say fear not. If this was a problem we would have received a missive from the bishops and from the health department but to this date nothing of the kind has arrived.

Fr. Ernesto over at OrthoCuban has a post about this subject. I would suggest you give it a read it is very informative. I would also suggest that you add his blog to your must read list.

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Liberal Press

Can someone please tell me exactly who the liberal press are that we are blaming everything on? If the stats are true, and based on the number of newspapers that are folding each day, 90% of Americans do not read the newspapers and 45% of Americans do not have cable, so we get our news from the radio that is populated by the conservatives last time I checked.

So that being the case who is this liberal press?

Fr. John at Orthodoxy and Culture has a run down of what he says the President has accomplished in his 100 days, here is an excerpt:

Well, over the last one hundred days the harvesting of human beings for body parts has been once again made legal (fetal stem cell research), several states have legalized 'gay-marriage', euthanasia has been legalized in Washington state, incredibly vast sums of money has been poured into the "Economic Stimulus Bill"--while the regime still pretends that there will be no middle class tax increases, and the list continues.

Okay the stem cell thing I will buy but last time I checked the President of the United States has nothing to do with state government and most of these things were in the pipe line long before he was sworn in. I clearly forgets that President Bush had his own Stimulus Package that was oh so successful as well.

I said this on my radio show the other day. STOP BLAMING PEOPLE! We need to stop blaming and work to change. We also need to stop, and I say we so that is both sides here, spinning things. One party did not get us into this mess and one party will not get us out. We all need to work together to make this country work. If all you are going to do is blame people and complain I would rather you just simply Shut Up!

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Christmas in Russia

I am putting a Pilgrimage or sorts together to Russia for New Years and Russian Christmas. Although I do not have all of the details yet it is looking like the cost would be somewhere around $3,000 - $3,500 all inclusive.

The plan would be to arrive in Moscow on the 30th of December and spend New Years Eve there with tours of Museum of Icons and Christ the Savior Cathedral, Kremlin with Cathedral Square and Cathedral of Assumption, where royal weddings and coronation ceremonies used to take place, also Cathedral of Annunciation and the Cathedral of Archangel Michael (Mikhail).

On January 2nd we will board a train for St. Petersburg and visit the Palace Square with the magnificent Winter Palace, to St Isaac’s Cathedral. We will see St Peter and Paul’s Fortress, Nevsky prospect, St Basil’s Island, the famous Bronze Horseman, Smolny, and the city’s other highlights. Nevsky Abbey and Hermitage the Winter Palace (previously the residence of the Imperial family). It contains over three million exhibits and one of the best art collections in the world. The gallery is most famous for its collection of West European art, with paintings by Monet, Cezanne, Renoir, Picasso, da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rubens and Rembrandt.

January 7th is Christmas in Russia so we would attend Liturgy in one of the Churches of St. Petersburg and return to the US on the 8th.

If you are interested in the tour please leave me a comment or email me and I will put you on the list and keep you up to date on all of the details.

Proposed Itinerary

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