Disfiguring the Beauty of My Mind

Very soon most of my Christian friends will be celebrating Easter, our Risen Savior and all that is renewing and hopeful about this time of year.  For us Orthodox Christians, our Lenten journey goes a bit further, since we celebrate the glory of Christ’s Resurrection a week from Sunday, on April 15th.   

This year, as in years past, I have read portions of The Canon of St. Andrew to accompany my walk through Great Lent.  Some of the pages are worn and dog-eared, marking the passages that strike a chord deep within.  A few of these I’m sharing here because maybe they’ll touch you, too.  These portions may be even more meaningful to me now since I’m also reading Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives about the life and teachings of Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica:

I have cared only for the outward adornment, and neglected that which is within--the tabernacle fashioned by God.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

With my lustful desires I have formed within myself the deformity of the passions and disfigured the beauty of my mind.   

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I have discolored with the passions the first beauty of the image, O Savior.  But seek me, as once Thou hast sought the lost coin, and find me.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Melancholy, by Alphonse Mucha

Such a poignant reminder of how beautifully we are created in the image of God and the extent to which sin disfigures us.  It’s so easy to read and so difficult to recognize the battlefield of the mind.  To be fully aware that our thoughts have origin and that we can choose which thoughts to entertain and which ones to discard immediately.  How often do I jump on that worn-out path of negative thinking only to see it materialize in disharmony around me.  

If I wish for peace, contentment and fellowship with those about me, it begins by shutting the door of my tabernacle to sinful thoughts --  the sugar-coated ones that encourage pride, anger, jealousy, revenge and greed.  Only when that door is barred against the snares our enemy sets before us can peace, understanding and love make entry.

I wish all of you a blessed Easter;  May God hold you in the palm of His hand, granting you strength & victory on that internal battlefield.

Hristos voskrse!

People rejoice, all nations listen:

Christ God is risen! Let us rejoice!

Dance all ye stars and sing all ye mountains:

Christ God is risen! Let us rejoice!

Whisper ye woods and blow all ye winds:

Christ God is risen! Let us rejoice!

O seas proclaim and roar all ye beasts:

Christ God is risen! Let us rejoice!

Buzz all ye bees and sing all ye birds:

Christ God is risen! Let us rejoice!

O little lambs rejoice and be merry:

Christ God is risen! Let us rejoice!

Nightengales joyous, lending your song:

Christ God is risen! Let us rejoice!

Ring, O ye bells, let everyone hear:

Christ God is risen! Let us rejoice!

All angels join us, singing this song:

Christ God is risen! Let us rejoice!

Come down ye heavens, draw near the earth:

Christ God is risen! Let us rejoice!

Glory to Thee, God Almighty!

Christ God is risen! Let us rejoice!

Glory to Thee, God Almighty!

Christ God is risen! Let us rejoice!

Pascha 2010

I am so thankful to be feeling better ... well enough to attend the Rush service in a few hours. This is the highlight of our year, the culmination of Holy Week to commemorate Christ’s descent into Hades and his glorious Resurrection! We’ll celebrate with candles, with solemn liturgy and with joyous shouts of Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen! and with glad company, breaking the fast together with our church family. We are blessed to serve a Risen Saviour, blessed to worship freely in America!

Take a listen to other Paschal greetings from around the world.

Hristos vosskresse ; vo iss-ti-nou vosskresse

Tá Criost éirithe ; go deimhin tá sé éirithe

Christos anesti ; aléthos anesti

Al'Masiah qam ; haqqan qam

Krishti u ngjall ; vërtet u ngjall

Christus resurrectus est ; vere resurrectus est

Christ is Risen; Truly He is Risen!

Pascha

Christ is Risen!

Tá Criosd ar éirigh!

A Blessed Pascha (Orthodox Easter) to all Orthodox Christians and Christians everywhere.  This marks the first year I have been able to attend the Resurrection Liturgy & Rush Service and what a privilege to share this joy with my 6 year old daughter!

The night began for us @ 10:30 pm, as we wanted to be sure and find a seat near the front of the church.  By 11:00 pm, the church was full as the faithful came out to worship in celebration the high-point and cornerstone of our Christian faith, the blessed Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!

Before leaving home, I prayed to God to help Josie & I endure the fatigue of the night...to renew our energy and bless us through the liturgy.  Praise Him for his tender mercies;   our hearts and minds were blessed and it was my little girl who led us onward through the night.

For her sake, I was willing to go for only the Rush Service, to commemorate Christ’s death, His descent to Hell to free the captives there, and His glorious Resurrection.  But it was Josie who, although very tired, asked to stay to receive Communion during the Liturgy which followed.    

The atmosphere in God’s house was mostly sombre with a joyful anticipation quietly palpable.   We brought our candles from home, which the kids had made on Lazarus Saturday and at the appointed time, followed the faithful out of a darkened church - symbolizing the death and darkness of the earth when Christ said, “It is finished” - into a procession outdoors in front of the church.

The sweetness of loving, reverent voices on the night air as we sang the Trisagion Hymn and Troparion was otherworldly...angels must have hovered near to sing amongst us.  Truly, the human voice, that first instrument of praise to God,  shines like diamonds when united with the chants and hymnography of the ancient faith. 

After the procession we came round to the front door and watched as the service continued with the Bishop holding the long candlesticks while singing the liturgy and the priest knocking on the door of the church shouting, “Lift up your heads, O ye gates, yea lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall  come in!”  As we enter again into the sanctuary, all is lit and the atmosphere is charged with exultation and triumph!  The Bishop repeatedly says, “Christ is risen” and we joyfully reply, “Truly He is risen!”

The Resurrection Liturgy follows and soon Josie & I are in line to be received at the Lord’s Table.  What gifts He gives, what blessings flow from the King of Heaven, the Creator of all!  He has defeated death by death and we are welcome at the Court of Christ.  I might have stayed in that blessed and peaceful place for a very long time...

But, too soon it is over and we are invited to break the fast together.  I look at Josie, thinking she is all-too-ready to call it a night, but I’m wrong.  She wants to attend the church breakfast; it’s especially appealing since one of her friends is there, too.  What a feast!  We had scrambled eggs, thick slices of ham, fresh fruit and biscuits, cereal and Lebanese cookies.   We ate and visited with our church family for close to an hour and arrived back home some minutes after 3 a.m.    Josie was sound asleep by then, but I felt renewed, overjoyed ...at peace.  We serve an awesome God; Praise Him for all things!

Truly He is Risen!

go deimhin tá sé éirithe!

*photograph shows our candles made on Lazarus Saturday during the Rush Service

*Check here to read and listen to Pascal greetings from around the world.