“O benevolent and beneficient God: When you sent the Word of truth and the sanctifying Spirit into this world, you revealed the great mystery of your godhead. So now, on this, the beginning of another Thanksgiving holiday, and as the darkness of night overtakes us, teach us how to be truly grateful for all we have been given. Let the brilliance of your divine light illumine our lives and lead us to know, love, and serve you in the Spirit and the Truth of Christ. For you are indeed our God, and we give you glory, three divine persons, eternal in glory, one God, incomparable in majesty: now and forever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.” (From New Skete’s Thanksgiving Vespers)
The Pacific
Yesterday I started watching the mini series “The Pacific.” I wanted to see this when it first came out but alas I do not have the premium channels on cable so I waited until it was out on DVD. I thought the series was well dine but I did not think it was as good as “Band of Brothers.”
The series follows several Marines as they make their way across the Pacific. I cannot imagine what being in those battles was like but they way they were portrayed gave me a pretty good idea. I now know why men, and women, come back from war messed up! We need to do a better job with our returning Vets, we owe them so much.
Although I did not like it as much as “Band of Brothers” I thought is was a good series and would recommend it for watching. It is filmed in 10 parts each one hour long. I bought the set that includes “Band of Brothers” and some other material that I have not watched yet but I am looking forward to it.
I used to think that John Wayne movies about the war were good, and I do still like them, but we certainly had a sanitized way of portraying life in the trenches.
If you have time, give it a watch.
Soup
As the temperature starts to fall my mind turns to all things soup. I love soup and I love casseroles and I cooked both yesterday. (I washed the same pot 3 times!) There is something comforting and simple about soup and it keeps well. I remember, on the few trips I made to Our Lady of the Resurrection Monastery in LaGrangville, New York, that Brother Victor always seemed to have a pot of soup on the stove. Soup is simple and easy to make and its good for you.
Before I get to the actual recipe of what I cooked yesterday I need to say a few things about stock. I have written a lot about fresh food and knowing where your food comes from. Well this takes some planning and preparation but it is well worth it. Make your own stock! I bought a few cans of Swanson Vegetarian Vegetable Stock at the store yesterday, and although it tastes just fine its not that good for you. It contains 40% of the daily max of salt, MSG, and high Fructose Corn Syrup! Make your own and you can control what goes in. Controlling the amount of salt in necessary. When I make stock, be it beef, chicken, or veg I do not use any salt that way I can control the amount of salt I use in the soup. After the soup recipe I will post a simple Vegetable Stock recipe that I have used in the past. So here goes.
Lentil & Pasta Soup
From the Book, When You Fast… Recipes for Lenten Seasons
6 Cups Vegetable Stock
1 cup dry brown lentils
1 cup chopped onions (I cheated and used frozen)
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled & crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander seed
pinch cayenne pepper
1/3 cup broken thin spaghetti of small pasta shapes (I used spaghetti but in the future I will use elbows)
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste
4 to 5 tsp fresh lemon juice
In a 3 qt sauce pan, bring stock to a boil
Add lentil, onions, tomatoes, & garlic.
Bring to the boil again.
Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender (You may need to add a little water or stock to keep the soup from getting to thick)
When the lentils are tender, add the cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, dry pasta, salt, pepper and lemon juice.
Continue to simmer until the pasta is done, adding more stock or water as needed to keep the soup from getting to think.
Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
Add salt and more pepper as desired.
Serves 4 to 6
Simple Monastery Vegetable Stock
Makes about 12 cups
From the Book: 12 Months of Monastery Soups
18 cups water
3 carrots, sliced
2 turnips, sliced and diced
2 zucchinis, sliced
2 leeks, sliced
1 onion, coarsely chopped
2 celery stocks, sliced
1 small lettuce, coarsely chopped (or a few leaves of cabbage)
4 bay leaves
1 orange peel, minced
a few springs of parsley
black pepper corns to taste
salt to taste
Pour the water into a large soup pot and add all the ingredients. Bring water to a boil and keep it boiling for about 30 minutes. Stir from time to time.
Reduce the heat to low-medium, stir some more, cover the pot, and let the broth simmer for about 2 hours. Filter the broth through a fine sieve, strainer, or cheesecloth. Allow it to cool & then store it in the refrigerator or freezer for future use.
Christian Simplicity
I was going to post the audio of yesterday’s Sermon but I guess I forgot to press the little button that starts the recorder. So much for my ability to work with technology. So I will post some thoughts based on my notes since I do not write my sermons out.
Luke 12:16-21
The Lord said this parable: “The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” As he said these things, he cried out: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
The Gospel that we hear today is a story about a man who has more than he knows what to do with. His harvest was so great that he needs to pull down his barn and build a larger one. In the end the Angel comes and tells him it is his time to go.
After the most recent snow storm, the one that hit us at the end of October, I was having a discussion with several people about the food that was lost. Their freezers were full of food and with the power out for more than a week; the food spoiled and had to be thrown away. What a waste. So it got me thinking, are we storing too much in our barns, or our freezers as the case maybe. Food that goes to waste is food that someone might have been able to eat. In essence we are taking food out of another person’s mouth. There is an old Eskimo proverb; the best place to store surplus food is in someone else’s stomach. As Christians we are called to live a life of radical simplicity.
I am all for being prepared and having food in your house. I am not advocating going to the store every day, but how much is too much? If we are throwing food away, when the power goes out, then maybe we are storing too much food.
Our lives have become extremely complex in this 21st century world we live in. Not that our lives are any more complex than they were say a generation ago, but our priorities have shifted. It’s all about getting the bigger car, the bigger house, the better job not matter what the consequences. We are in a world economic crisis simply because of greed! The consumer wanted more, whether we could afford it or not. “Don’t worry I will use my credit card and pay for it latter.” The corporations wanted more! And so on and so on and now the payment is due on that credit card and we cannot pay it. But we still want more!
I overheard a conversation at the gas station the other day. A person was putting gas in their land cruiser. I am not sure what this thing was but it blocked out the sun when it drove by! The person was complaining that it cost almost $70 to fill the gas tank. I looked over and said, “Hey, why not drive a smaller car!” The look that the person shot back would make you think I said to kill yourself. How dare I say that! I want my SUV regardless of the consequences. It is all about greed plain and simple.
We even want it our way in the church. How many people do you know that want religion on their terms. They don’t want to be told what they can and cannot do. They want to go to a church where they are entertained and their lifestyle is not challenged, and how many churches have bought into this “consumer driven theology” and changed their beliefs based on polling data. The only poll the church needs in Scripture and tradition!
We need to get back to a sense of community back to a sense of what is right and what is wrong; we have gone so far from it. We need to get back to church, churches that are not afraid to preach the message of Jesus Christ that it is not about you it is about another! It’s not about love of self it is about love of neighbor! It’s not about the “I” it’s about the “we”. Until we regain that balance our world will continue to spin out of control.
The Orthodox World-view
As you know, I am participating in the 40 days of blogging project. This really takes time to plan to blog everyday. Well yesterday was a crazy day and I just did not think that far in advance, so this morning I was stuck without something to write about. But then I came across this post and it got my mind to thinking.
I am not a big fan of Fr. Seraphim Rose but I agree with what he is saying here. The quote below is part of a much larger talk found at the site I liked to above. I would suggest you read the entire talk. I thought it was very fitting for today and I have to keep in mind that Fr. Seraphim lived in the 60’s and 70’s but his words still ring true today.
“With such an attitude—a view of both the good things and the bad things in the world—it is possible for us to have and to fire an Orthodox world-view, that is, an Orthodox view on the whole of life, not just on narrow church subjects. There exists a false opinion, which unfortunately is all too widespread today, that it is enough to have an Orthodoxy that is limited to the church building and formal “Orthodox” activities, such as praying at certain times or making the sign of the Cross; in everything else, so this opinion goes, one can be like anyone else, participating in the life and culture of our times without any problem, as long as we don’t commit sin.
Anyone who has come to realize how deep Orthodoxy is, and how full is the commitment which is required of the serious Orthodox Christian, and likewise what totalitarian demands the contemporary world makes on us, will easily see how wrong this opinion is. One is Orthodox all the time every day, in every situation of life, or one is not really Orthodox at all. Our Orthodoxy is revealed not just in our strictly religious views, but in everything we do and say. Most of us are very unaware of the Christian, religious responsibility we have for the seemingly secular part of our lives. The person with a truly Orthodox world-view lives every part of his life as Orthodox.”Fr. Seraphim Rose
So what’s in a Name?
This just might get some people’s blood boiling but, that’s what I am here for. LOL
Yesterday, whilst running errands, I was listening to a podcast on Ancient Faith Radio about the rebuilding of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church located at Ground Zero in New York. This is great news that the church will be rebuilt.
Fr. Mark Arey of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, laid out for the listeners the history of what has gone on and what will go on. The Archdiocese and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey reached an agreement last month on a land swap that will enable the church to be rebuilt. It will still take a few years but good things come to those who wait.
In the interview Fr. Mark made the comment that this will be the only house of worship located within the boundaries of Ground Zero because it was the only house of worship that was within the boundaries of what is now Ground Zero. He also mentioned that it will be a place of memorial and healing. All this is wonderful and I support the entire operation. But here is where the wheels come off the wagon for me, the name. Since this will be a church for all especially a beacon of hope to all Orthodox Christians, why not simply call it St. Nicholas Orthodox Church? Under the name on the sign could be a little phrase like, “A Parish of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in America”
I ask this because Fr. Mark also stated that funds will need to be raised, the said the Archdiocese has about $2.5 million already, and they hope to raise these funds from ALL Orthodox in America. In this time of Orthodox Unity why not let this little church that will rise from the ashes, be the symbol of that unity here in America! This Church that was crushed by the very power of evil, which will rise with the power of love, should be celebrated by all Orthodox but some of us feel left out. I know maybe I should just get over the whole ethnic thing and Orthodoxy, but I believe that is what is holding us back.
My belief is that as long as we continue to divide ourselves by our ethnic names we will continue to be a minority religion here in North America. By dropping Russian, Greek, Bulgarian, and yes even Romanian, we are not denying our heritage I believe we are honoring it.
Historically the church of the Eastern part of the Empire grew rather quickly in what is now Eastern Europe because the priests did not require the faithful to learn another language. The Church of the West spoke Latin, and the faithful needed to speak Latin to understand what was going on. When Ss. Cyril and Methodius came to Kiev they wrote, and created the alphabet by the way, of what is now Church Slavonic, so the people could understand. When St. Herman and the other missionaries came to Alaska, the learned the native language and translated the Liturgy into that language so the people could understand it.
Why is it that a church that has been here for more than 200 years, still insists on keeping itself a minority, ethnic church? Orthodox is so rich, and has so much to offer this world and we are keeping it a secret with our ethnicity.
If we ever hope to Evangelize America then we need to wake up. People are not going to “Come and See” if they think they will not understand. The time has come for us as Orthodox to shake off, very slowly, the ethnic monikers that have identified us all these years. The time has come for the largest Archdiocese of Orthodox in America, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, the lead the way in this evangelization and simply drop the word “Greek” from the title of the church.
This Church will be the centerpiece of Liberty Park at Ground Zero. This Church should be a unifying place for not only all Orthodox Christians but all of America.
Sorry if this offends you and I beg your forgiveness. I have much love for the Greek Archdiocese, heck the educated me in seminary, and for Greeks, Russians, Romanians, Bulgarians, Serbs, Arabs, etc. But the time has come for us to just be ORTHODOX in America and not (insert ethnicity here) Orthodox in America!
St. Nicholas deserves better!
Hard Work
The monastic life is separated if you will into three parts; Prayer, Divine Reading, and Manual Labor. When I was a member of the Benedictine Community we often used the Benedictine phrase of Ora et Labora (Prayer and Work). Sometimes we would say; “Ora et labora, et labora, et labora! Your get the idea.
The point is that we live by the sweat of our brow and the work of our hands. I have learned this more so this fall then any other since I have been here. With the addition of the flock of chickens the work load has increased. They need daily attention and the cleaning of the coop (I am writing this now rather then going out in the cold to clean said coop). But our work cannot just be for the sake of work.
Last night we hosted our Annual Thanksgiving Community Meal. This meal is part of our twice monthly community meal program that we have here at the Church and seems to be one of the most popular. The day started with an early morning trip to the store to pick up the supplies and then getting the turkeys (5 20 lb birds) in the ovens to cook. That was the easy part!
As anyone who has ever cooked a Thanksgiving meal for their family knows the hard work begins just before the food hits the table. Well that is true of the Community Meal as well. I would not be able to do this without the help of many, many people including those who help by making donations. There are way too many to name and I am afraid I would forget someone but you know who you are.
We served over 100 people last night, a new record!
The folks come from all walks of life and we welcome them into our home and provide them not only with food for the body but food for the soul. I am proud to say that we have paid it forward if you will as another Church is picking up the call and will start a Community Meal in December and I know of at least one other that is considering it. It looks like we will expand again in the coming year to a third week, again with the help of many folks.
This past January we expanded from once a month to twice a month and since that time we have provided more than 1,500 meals in our community! But it is for more than that we have provided community! In this day and age when we do not know the people who live next door to us this is very important.
Last night I went from table to table and thank everyone for coming and wishing them a happy Thanksgiving! The smiles that I saw and the conversations that I heard made all of the hard work worth while.
16 November ~ St. Margaret of Scotland
Born about 1045, died 16 Nov., 1092, was a daughter of Edward “Outremere”, or “the Exile”, by Agatha, kinswoman of Gisela, the wife of St. Stephen of Hungary. She was the granddaughter of Edmund Ironside. A constant tradition asserts that Margaret’s father and his brother Edmund were sent to Hungary for safety during the reign of Canute, but no record of the fact has been found in that country. The date of Margaret’s birth cannot be ascertained with accuracy, but it must have been between the years 1038, when St. Stephen died, and 1057, when her father returned to England. It appears that Margaret came with him on that occasion and, on his death and the conquest of England by the Normans, her mother Agatha decided to return to the Continent. A storm however drove their ship to Scotland, where Malcolm III received the party under his protection, subsequently taking Margaret to wife. This event had been delayed for a while by Margaret’s desire to entire religion, but it took place some time between 1067 and 1070.
In her position as queen, all Margaret’s great influence was thrown into the cause of religion and piety. A synod was held, and among the special reforms instituted the most important were the regulation of the Lenten fast, observance of the Easter communion, and the removal of certain abuses concerning marriage within the prohibited degrees. Her private life was given up to constant prayer and practices of piety. She founded several churches, including the Abbey of Dunfermline, built to enshrine her greatest treasure, a relic of the true Cross. Her book of the Gospels, richly adorned with jewels, which one day dropped into a river and was according to legend miraculously recovered, is now in the Bodleian library at Oxford. She foretold the day of her death, which took place at Edinburgh on 16 Nov., 1093, her body being buried before the high altar at Dunfermline.
In 1250 Margaret was canonized by Innocent IV, and her relics were translated on 19 June, 1259, to a new shrine, the base of which is still visible beyond the modern east wall of the restored church. At the Reformation her head passed into the possession of Mary Queen of Scots, and later was secured by the Jesuits at Douai, where it is believed to have perished during the French Revolution. According to George Conn, “De duplici statu religionis apud Scots” (Rome, 1628), the rest of the relics, together with those of Malcolm, were acquired by Philip II of Spain, and placed in two urns in the Escorial. When, however, Bishop Gillies of Edinburgh applied through Pius IX for their restoration to Scotland, they could not be found.
The chief authority for Margaret’s life is the contemporary biography printed in “Acta SS.”, II, June, 320. Its authorship has been ascribed to Turgot, the saint’s confessor, a monk of Durham and later Archbishop of St. Andrews, and also to Theodoric, a somewhat obscure monk; but in spite of much controversy the point remains quite unsettled.
O God, you gave to your servant Margaret such faithfulness as Queen of Scotland that she cared for the poor and relieved the needs of those who lay in prison. Grant us a like devotion, whatever the service to which you call us, that we may be agents of your justice and true servants of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
The Poor You Will Always Have with You
There is no doubt in my mind but that Jesus has a preferential option for the poor. We see that He would rather eat with those less fortunate and never actually spoke harsh words to them, the rich on the other hand… The poor, the fathers tell us, have only God to rely on whilst the rich own their possessions.
So what do we make of this passage from the Gospel of Matthew chapter 26 where Jesus says that we will always have the poor with us? Well this passage as with all passages, needs to be looked at in the context of which it was written.
This particular periscope also appears in the Gospel of Mark as well as that of John. It is part of the story of the woman Mary coming to anoint his feet. There is much discussion amongst the commentaries about where this actually took place and who this woman Mary was but we will leave that for another day. For now I wish to focus on this passage that has been used by Christians to say we do not have to support the poor because they will always be with us.
In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus says in verse 10, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always.” (John uses the same formula in his Gospel.) That is the passage that is the most frequently quoted or should I say misquoted.
In Mark’s Gospel, chapter 14 and verse 7 Jesus says, “For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always.” A little different take there on the same passage.
So by looking at the context of this passage and not proof texting to prove our point, we see that Jesus is saying that the anointing she gave Him is a good thing for that very moment because He will not be with us forever, but the poor will be around tomorrow and we can help them after.
Jesus commands us in Matthew Chapter 25 that we are to clothe the naked, feed the hungry and visit the sick and those in prisons, commands not suggests. We have the duty to support those less fortunate then ourselves, a Christian duty! St. James tells us that a faith without works is a dead faith.
One of my favorite saints of the Orthodox Church is Mother Maria of Paris. An amazing woman and servant of the poor who I try to emulate in my daily struggle in the monastic life. Mother Maria had this to say about serving the poor and I believe it sums up our entire Christian teaching on Salvation:
“The way to God lies through love of people. At the Last Judgment I shall not be asked whether I was successful in my ascetic exercises, nor how many bows and prostrations I made. Instead I shall be asked, did I feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and the prisoners. That is all I shall be asked. About every poor, hungry and imprisoned person the Savior says ‘I’: ‘I was hungry and thirsty, I was sick and in prison.’ To think that he puts an equal sign between himself and anyone in need. . . . I always knew it, but now it has somehow penetrated to my sinews. It fills me with awe.”
The church will only truly become the Church when we start living the Christian message in everything that we do. We have to live for the poor and vulnerable we have to speak for those who cannot speak. We have to truly be the hands of Christ in this world and serve His people above all else.
Several years ago Metropolitan Jonah of the OCA asked in a talk where the Orthodox soup kitchens and hospitals and the like were. I am asking the same question. We do indeed have a preferential option for the poor and so I ask each of you who may read this, what are you doing to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and visit those who are sick or in prison?
30 (40) Days of Blogging
Each year Fr. John Peck, at the Preachers Institute Blog, runs a program for pastoral bloggers old and new. The idea is to get us pastors to blog during the Advent, or Christmas Fast, Season and build up the number of Orthodox Pastors who are blogging. I believe this is my third year participating and since this is day one of this endeavor this will be my first post.
The other idea behind this is to provide, you the readers, some insightful and prayerful ponderings during this holy season. You might get that here but as long time readers of this blog know, you might get other stuff as well.
So click on over to the Preachers Institute and check out the other blogs that will be participating this year, I am sure it will be a great line up.