Let us fast with a fast pleasing to the Lord. This is the true fast: the casting off of evil, the bridling of the tongue, the cutting off of anger, the cessation of lusts, evil talking, lies and cursing. The stopping of these is the fast true and acceptable. ~ Monday Vespers of the First Week A special word must be said about fasting during Great Lent. Generally speaking, fasting is an essential element of the Christian life. Christ fasted and taught men to fast. Blessed fasting is done in ... [Read more]
Simple Tips for Keeping Lent in our Families
Let’s be honest: how do we moms feel when we suddenly realize while we are in Liturgy that the Gospel reading for the Sunday is the Prodigal Son, which cues us that Lent is around the corner? If you’re like me, you start doing a mental checklist of all the meat that needs to be used up in the next few weeks and of what upcoming events are going to conflict with the fast and services. I think when does Holy Week fall and whose birthday is getting trumped by Lent (we have three family birthdays in ... [Read more]
Houseblessings 101
Beginning on January 6, the Feast of Theophany, Fr. Theodore and Fr. Timothy will start blessing the homes of the members of our Parish, as well as businesses. Blessing our homes is an ancient tradition in our Orthodox Church related to the Service of the Great Blessing of the Waters conducted on Theophany. We take the holy water from the Church and we use it to bless our lives in every way possible. The priest blesses us, our homes, our cars, our yards, and by extension all of creation. Not ... [Read more]
Eric’s Journey to Orthodoxy
I have gone to church from the time I was born. As a young kid, the first church I remember going to was the Assembly of God Church. We changed over to a Baptist Church when I was about 7 years old. Most of my life I attended various Baptist churches covering 8 different sects of the Baptist denomination. I was for the most part Baptist most of my life. As I relate my journey, it is important to remember I am only speaking for myself; and the problems and inconsistencies I saw in the ... [Read more]
The Synaxis of the Holy Archangels and All The Bodiless Powers ~ November 8th
On November 8th, we commemorate the Synaxis of the Holy Archangels and all the Bodiless Powers. This is a special time to remember the unique place of the angelic powers as created beings who glorify God, teach us to glorify God and minister to us and aid in our salvation. The bodiless powers are a central part of the invisible warfare going on all around us. It is therefore vital for our success in this warfare to understand what the Church teaches us about them and how beneficial they are in ... [Read more]
Lauri’s Journey to Orthodoxy
Have you ever had a gourmet chocolate that you couldn’t wait to bite into? You just knew it was going to be amazing. The outside was beautiful, a dark deep color with just the right drizzle, and you could tell the inside was going to be delicious. Only, once you bit into it, you find it’s all wrong and the one you really hate? I think that was my life for a long time. My outside was all pretty and seemed right, but my heart and soul were empty. Let me back up and explain. I was raised in a ... [Read more]
Kent and Sylvia’s Journey to Orthodoxy
It is a privilege to share our story with others; and, at the same time, it is daunting to reduce the events that have led us to Orthodoxy to a few words; but, we’ll try! By way of background, Patrick and I share a similar past. We were both raised Roman Catholic and attended 12 years of Catholic parochial school (he in Portland, OR; I in Santa Barbara, CA). We each have been married before; and, we each have three adult children (coincidentally, two girls and one boy). Also, we both have ... [Read more]
Karen’s Journey to Orthodoxy
Looking back, I can see that the path that led me to Orthodoxy was one I started on when I was a child. My parents are wonderful, loving, Godfearing people, and they did everything within their power to raise me in a Christ-centered home and church family. I was raised United Methodist, and went to church with my family regularly while I lived with them in a small town outside of Corvallis. The church we attended since I was three-yearsold (and they still attend) followed a very traditional ... [Read more]
Mike’s Journey to Orthodoxy
Despite a seven year enlistment in the Army, I have never been very good at getting in line; especially if the line isn’t moving. It is safe to say that I reject an overwhelming majority of ideas I hear. Sometimes that is based on the ideas themselves; sometimes it is based on who presents them. I suppose this is why I am so fortunate to have begun my journey to Orthodoxy in a somewhat anomalous community. God was very merciful to me in that regard. Growing up, I was not unfamiliar with ... [Read more]
The Ladder of Divine Ascent on Prayer
The goal of all spiritual labors is communion with God. We do not seek an abstract vision of the Divine, nor do we labor for a legal verdict declaring us “not guilty.” Rather, we aim at communion and union; we set our sights on the true, intimate knowledge of God which is “life eternal” (John 17:3). According to St. John, prayer must be looked at as both the means to and the achievement of this knowledge. The goal of prayer is God. This is important to note as we begin. In prayer and through ... [Read more]
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