One Word at a Time ~ Laughter

Posted on by Fr. Peter
For the past few months I have been participation, off and on, with a blog carnival. The idea is you get as many bloggers as you can to blog about the same topic on the same day. This time around the word is Laughter. Here is my contribution.

Laughter is a very important human emotion. From our earliest days we know how to laugh. We laugh before we even talk or walk. I think we cry first but laughter has to be second. That in my mind makes it a very important emotion.

I am a priest in the Romanian Orthodox Church. Most people will think I am a very serious person. Serious is good and I can be serious when I need to be but I love to laugh. I also love to laugh at myself. I don’t think we should take ourselves too serious.

I use humor in my sermons, partly because I love to laugh, but also because I think it is a good tool to use when trying to get a serious point across. They might not remember exactly what you are trying to say but if you throw some humor in there they just might remember it.

I have an image of Jesus laughing. I can see him sitting with his family or his disciples and maybe someone tells a joke or a funny story and Jesus laughing. I like to think of this when times get difficult.

So next time you feel yourself getting too serious, just think of something funny and laugh right out loud. It will make you feel much better.

Motorcycle Blessing

Posted on by Fr. Peter
A few months back I decided to try and put together a motorcycle blessing here at the church. Way back when I was in the Benedictine Monastery we used to do this every year and it was big. Well today was the day.

I could not have done it alone. Many thanks to Fr. Greg and Rich for helping to put it all together and also thanks to all the “bikers” who came. Thanks to Carol and Denise for taking the pictures and getting them to me so fast. After the blessing they went on a nice ride and ended up a an ice cream place not far from the church. Another bonus I found a new ice cream place!

So here are some pictures from the day.

New Orthodox Bloger

Posted on by Fr. Peter
I would like to introduce you to a new Orthodox Blogger.

Sub deacon Ian blogs over at Birettas & Poison Ian is studying at my Alma Mater Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and is presently touring England. He started this blog a few months back, but like so many of us, forgot about it and is now back to blogging. He needs some encouragement so slide on over and leave him some encouragement by way of comments.

We need more Orthodox blogers, especially young ones, and Ian is off to a good start.

Hang in there Ian you are doing a good job!
General

6 August ~ Transfiguration

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Our Lord had spoken to His disciples many times not only concerning His Passion, Cross, and Death, but also concerning the coming persecutions and afflictions that they themselves would endure. Since all these evils were near at hand, but the enjoyment of good things which they hoped to receive in their stead was yet to come, our Savior desired to give them full assurance, evidently and openly, concerning that glory which is prepared for those who endure to the end. Therefore, fulfilling that which He had promised shortly before, that “there be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in His Kingdom” (Matt. 16:28), He took His three foremost disciples and ascended Mount Tabor, where He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as the light. Suddenly, together with this dread and marvelous effulgence of light, there appeared those pinnacles of the Prophets, Moses and Elias, who spoke with the Lord Jesus concerning His saving Passion which was about to take place. Standing before Him as reverent servants, they showed that He is the Lord of both the living and the dead, for Moses came forth from Hades, having died many centuries before, and Elias, as it were from heaven, whither he had been taken up while yet alive. After a little while a radiant cloud overshadowed them and out of the cloud they heard that same voice which had been heard at the Jordan at the Baptism of Christ, testifying to the Divinity of Jesus and saying: “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well-pleased; hear ye Him” (Matt. 17: 5).Such are the marvels, truly worthy of God, celebrated in this present feast, which is an image and prefiguring of the future state of the righteous, whose splendor the Lord spoke of, saying: “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun” (Matt. 13:43). It is because of this that the Kontakion of this Feast is said daily (when there is not a great feast) in the Service of the Typica in perpetual commemoration of the glory that will be the lot of the Saints. According to tradition, the Lord’s Transfiguration came to pass forty days before His Crucifixion; this is why the Transfiguration is celebrated forty days before the Exaltation of the Cross.

Prayers Requested

Posted on by Fr. Peter
I am requesting prayers for my dog Onchu. He went to the Vet today to get fixed and they do the usual blood work and one of his liver tests came back high. They have to send it out for more tests and it could take up to four days. It could mean he is beginning liver failure and he is only 2. We will not know anything, but I would appreciate prayers for him.

If you do not have a pet you have no idea how this affecting me and if you do then you know.

Thanks

What does it mean to be Church?

Posted on by Fr. Peter
The title of this post is the question that we will be looking at during the next session of Pub Theology. On Friday, August 6th we will attempt to answer this question. We will meet at 7pm at the Dark Horse Tavern at 12 Crane Street in Southbridge. If you are around come by and join in on the conversation.

Recently I came under attack for daring to sit with people who are not Orthodox and discuss what it means to be Church. “How can you sit with people who do not have the same experience of church as the Orthodox do?” was the question.

We Orthodox believe, and we say during each Divine Liturgy, that we have found the true faith worshiping the Undivided Trinity who has saved us. We believe that the entirety of the truth resides in the Orthodox Church. We believe that we have an unbroken line of teaching from the Apostles. I believe this or I would not be doing what I am doing.

With that said, we also believe that truth exists on other places. We have the whole story of you will, but parts of the story do exists in other places. How can I sit with people who do not come from a Sacramental Church? Yes the Orthodox have Sacraments and other churches do not. Does this mean that truth does not exists there? Is God not working in and through the people who attend those churches? I have no idea what God does and I choose not to judge people as the Scriptures teach, that is not my job that is left to God alone to do.

During the three years of the ministry of Jesus here on earth, he sat with the less desirable in the community. He did this because he was teaching them. The fathers and mothers of our church call the church the hospital for the spiritually sick. The church is the place where people come to be healed of all that ails them. Being church is more than ethnic festivals and bake sales. It is more than pretty temples and music. It is more than vestments and titles. The church is about love, love of neighbor and as it clearly states in Matthew 25:31-46, clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and destitute. That’s what it means to be church. The arrogant think they can simply open the doors of the church and people will come.

In 1933, a Frenchman named Peter Maurin along with Dorothy Day founded what would become known as the Catholic Worker Movement. Peter would host roundtable discussion for clarity of thought. It was through speaking with different people, from all walks of life, that he clarified his thought and hoped that others would do the same thing.

We live in a very confusing time. Some have said that we have more people going to church in American than any other country in the western world. This might be true, but they certainly are not a spiritual people. What do I mean by that? We are not taking the message out of the church when we leave. We sit in church, sing the songs, nod during the sermon, but then leave it all on the pew when we leave the church. We have lost our moral ground no doubt. But the church should not be involved in trying to influence legislation we should be involved in trying the influence the culture around us! If we do that then the legislation will take care of itself. Peter Maurin knew that by clarification of his own thoughts and having a clear understanding of where people on the other side of the issue come from then he would be in a better position to influence the world.

What does it mean to be church? For me it means that we need to be engaged in the work of helping people and saving their souls. We need to feed the hungry, because the hungry man cannot hear the message because his stomach is growling so loud. We need to clothe the naked, because the naked a shivering from the cold and cannot hear the Word because of his intense cold. And we need to visit the sick and those in prison because they need to hear the Word that the walls of the prison and the walls of their sickness make it impossible to hear. We cannot do any of these things unless we engage the culture we live in. Being church means no judging people just because they do not agree with us. Jesus knew this and sat with people who did not have the best reputation in the world. He sat with them to teach them. Not by calling them wrong, but by sowing them the true light, that is the light that we have in the Orthodox world. But we cannot show it to them if we refuse to talk to them.

Just as we use Scripture and Tradition faith without works is dead. What does it mean to be Church? It means living the living faith of Jesus Christ 24/7 not just on Sunday. It means being that positive witness to the world that the world so desperately needs and we do that by being out there in the world working and teaching with love. The gentle correcting love of a father for his children but with love.

For me I can sum up in one word what it means to be Church: LOVE. Love of God and love of Neighbor! That’s what it means to be Church.

Sermon ~ 9th Sunday after Pentecost

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Matthew 14:22-34

At that time, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. But immediately he spoke to them, saying “Take heart, it is I; have no fear.”

And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “O man of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they entered the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.

I think by far this is one of my most favorite passages of the Gospel. I have many favorites but I think this story hits the nail right on the head with our relationship with Jesus.

If we really think about it, we can see ourselves in this story. We have all had times in our life when life is going to fast. We cannot cope, the waves are crashing over the side and the boat is about to sink. It is at those times that we should cry out to God, Lord save me! I mean we should be calling out to Him at all times, but it is at the bad times in our life that we cry out to him the most.
Jesus was not in the boat with his disciples at the time of the storm so they were afraid. If he had been with them would they have been afraid? I don’t think so.

Jesus comes to them walking on the water during the fourth watch of the night. This is an important fact of the story. The forth watch was just before dawn. They had been dealing with this storm all night long, tossing and crashing and feeling afraid for their very life. And they see him coming. All should be well when we see Jesus coming to help us right?

Well this was not to be the case. Peter questions what he sees and asks that if it is indeed Jesus that he should go out and walk to Him. Jesus said it was Him, but Peter did not believe.

Jesus comes to us all the time and do we ask the question is it really you? Do we recognize Him?

Peter says if it is you, tell me to get out of the boat and I will come to you, so He did, and we all know what happens next. Peter sees the waves, hears the thunder, and starts to sink. He got away from the boat and he began to sink. Jesus rebukes Him and tells him he has little faith, not at that moment, but at the first moment of his doubt before he got out of the boat.

Jesus said it was Him, and he did not believe Him. Peter did not completely recognize Jesus and this was his lack of faith. It has happened to all of us, and will continue to happen to all of us. The answer to every question for us is Jesus and the problems we have come from a lack of faith that He will help us and guide us. We can do it ourselves we do not need any help at all. We have all said this!

We are at peace when Jesus is with us. Let me re phrase that, we are at peace when we Let Jesus dwell with us. Jesus is with us, and if He is present with us then all should be well with us.

In this story Peter shows us how to do it wrong, this is why I love Peter. When Jesus told them it was He they should have calmed down because they should have known that all would be well. We need to believe that Jesus is always present to us and thus we should always strive to be happy with His presence.

I often think of the poem footprints in the sand. We all know the story. Sometimes there are two sets of prints and sometimes there is only one. The poet asks why he was left alone, and the response is those were the times I was carrying you.

Our life is not easy. Some of our lives are harder and have been harder than others. Some of us bear our burdens very quiet and others not so quiet. Being a Christian is not easy, being a Christian in this day and age when being a Christian is almost a crime is certainly not easy. But it’s not supposed to be. Jesus tells us to take up our cross and follow Him. In other words, this is not going to be easy if you choose to follow but the journey will be worth it in the end.

I believe that when we struggle the most in our lives it is because we do not recognize the fact that Jesus is there. Maybe we have a lack of faith, and I can tell you there have been some dark times in my life when I felt all alone. Maybe we over think things or the immensity of our sin gets in the way of thinking how could Jesus dwell with me? And that makes it worse, we fall deeper and deeper into despair and like Peter we start to sink.

But my friends, Jesus is there holding out His hand to help pull us up out of the water and dry us off. Jesus is there to calm the winds and silence the thunder in our lives. Jesus is there to carry us then the load gets to heavy for us to carry on our own. Jesus is there all the time, all we need to do is recognize Him.

Peter would learn this fact the hard way and eventually his faith grew and he became one of the greatest of the Disciples. But this took time it did not happen overnight. Peter, being Peter, would make the same mistakes over and over again. We see it in the Gospels. We will continue as well to make these mistakes. There will be times when we say is it you Lord?

Later on in His life, Peter was transformed and he became a holy person and he recognized the Lord in everything. He went to his death without any fear because he saw the Lord even in his death.

We are in the boat, the boat of our lives. Sometimes things are calm and we like sailing around in the nice weather. Then things start to get dark and the seas begin to rise things get difficult and it becomes hard to see Jesus on the boat with us.

Jesus is aware of all that we need at all times. The big problem for us is we don’t always see this.

Let is pray that our faith be increased and that we recognize Jesus in the boat with us and that all will be well. And pray for one another.

Archbishop Nicolae’s Meditation at the beginning of the Dormition Fast, 2010

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Before the glorious feast of the Falling Asleep of the Ever-Virgin Mary, the Church has established a short time of fasting for two weeks. Every fasting period is a time of spiritual quest, of asceticism and prayer to fulfill a purpose. In this case can be no other purpose than to perceive some of this great mystery that is the person of the Virgin Mary and her role in our salvation.

In order to do this we could refer to one of the icons of the Ever-Virgin Mary, namely to the one called the Merciful one (eleousa). The oldest reference conducts to a XIIth century Russian icon, well known and revered in Russia and the Orthodox world. In this icon, Christ the Child is held with both hands by the Virgin Mary, and caresses her face with His hand. The Mother of God inclines her face to the Child, as if responding to her Son’s caresses. The child Jesus holds a document that makes us think of the words of St. John the Evangelist and the Word was made flesh. The Infant’s cross feet symbolizes undoubtedly His Passion.

The icon of the Theotokos the Merciful one shows the mutual love of the Mother and of the Son. The Mother is embracing her son with the desire to protect Him; the Son responds his Mother’s love. In this close embracement we discover the mystery of the Mother and the Son’s love, the love that has redeemed the world: it is the mystery of sacrifice, of the crucified love, to save the man distanced from the face of God. The Mother of God holds in her arms the Redeemer. She is the Merciful one, the one who gave the world her son that the world might be saved. The mercy for her son who was crucified becomes mercy for all of us who are redeemed through the sacrifice of the Son. The close embracement of a Mother, the ones who recognize her as a Mother also feel.

In the Akathist of the Theotokos, Joy of All Who Sorrow, we pray the Holy Virgin to help us all in trouble: O Lady most holy and Theotokos, You that are more exalted than the Cherubim and more honorable than the Seraphim, O divinely-chosen Maiden, Joy of all who sorrow; grant consolation even unto us that are sunk in sorrow, for apart from You we have no refuge or assistance. You alone are the Mediatress of our joy and, in that You are the Mother of God and Mother of mercy, standing at the throne of the All-holy Trinity, You are able to help us, for none that doth flee to You departed ashamed.

From the icon and prayer we too receive the understanding of this mercifulness of the Mother of God. And her mercy to us should be returned by our mercy to those in sorrow. Let those of us who receive the embrace of the Mother of God to return with mercy to those who are facing the troubles of this world. I am renewing my call to prayer and charity for our brothers from Romania who are suffering from the flood. It is the proper time to our fasting to add the christian charity.

I pray our Savior Jesus Christ and His Merciful Mother to have mercy on us all and to help us to spend the Dormition Fast with spiritual use.


+ NICOLAE

2011 Episcopal Assembly

Posted on by Fr. Peter
(antiochian.org) – His Grace Bishop BASIL, Secretary of the Episcopal Assembly, explained in his July 4 St. Raphael Clergy Brotherhood Memo, “In a letter dated June 28th addressed to the 63 bishops who comprise the Episcopal Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Hierarchs of North & Central America, Archbishop DEMETRIOS of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and chair of the EA, announced tentative dates for the next meeting of the EA: May 25-27, 2011. Please keep the work of the EA in your prayers!”

Support Orthodox Misisons

Posted on by Fr. Peter
There are now 15 Orthodox Christians from North America who are dedicating two or more years of their lives to provide a living witness to the hope, love, and salvation of Christ with the world as OCMC missionaries. A beautiful way to support these faithful servants as they share the Orthodox faith with the world is to… remember them in your prayers:

ALBANIAAnastasia Pamela Barksdale; Georgia Gilman Bendo; Nathan & Gabriela Hoppe; Melanie Linderman; George & Pauline Russell

ROMANIAFloyd & Ancuta Frantz; Christina Semon

TANZANIAJames Hargrave; Michael Pagedas; Charita Stavrou; Felice Stewart; Katherine Wilcoxson

Please also consider making a gift to the Mission Center in support of the missionary program by logging onto www.ocmc.org/donate, or by mailing a check payable to the OCMC with “missionaries” in the memo line to 220 Mason Manatee Way, St. Augustine, FL, 32086. Your donation will ensure that these missionaries receive the training, administrative support, and ministry funding that they need to continue the work of “making disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).

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