Visit #197 ~ Standing Room Only

I made it to Divine Liturgy Sunday but arrived five minutes late. As I was pulling into the parking lot, I saw the procession leaving the rectory (where we now have coffee hour) and heading towards the Church. Oh, yes, I remember: The Triumph of Orthodoxy is this Sunday! Sorry that I didn't get a chance to see the procession (since I was busy parking the car.) When I arrived inside, I found that my usual space to sit was occupied. The good thing about Orthodoxy is, since they are always standing, it doesn't look unusual to be standing anywhere so I found my self without chair but standing next to an Icon.

Later on, when Fr. Gary gave the homily, everyone sits down so I spied a seat up front and sat down next to Cathy and her husband (I'm so embarrassed; I can't remember his name.) Fr. Gary preached that the Triumph of Orthodoxy called also be called the Triumph of Truth and warned the faithful not to be triumphalistic.  It was a good homily.

Standing in the front, I got a different perspective of the Liturgy. I especially liked watching the faithful approach the Chalice. The kids went first, of course. Then, one by one, those who had prepared themselves, received the Holy Mysteries.  Even though I did not receive, it was a blessing to see others do so.

Since it is Lent, we celebrate St. Basil's liturgy. That means I don't have time to stop for lunch before going to work. (St. Basil was a little bit more wordy than than St.John C!) So, on the way to Church, I stopped at got a veggie sub sandwich.  I don't know if I mentioned it, but I am keeping a modified version of the Great Fast. (No meat; only some dairy) This, I did with Fr. Gary's blessing.

Today, as I write this it is Tuesday and it was only yesterday that I really began to crave meat!  And I thought fasting was going to be easy.  Well, I am glad for the struggle. After all, that is how the Kingdom of God is won.

And since we are talking about Standing Room Only, here is a little video I made about Happy Feet!




Blessed Lent everyone!

Visit #196 ~ Let the Prostrations Begin!

Prostrations are easier with no pews!
photo by Luca Moglia, used under the creative commons license.
check out more photos here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/-lucam-/

So I walked into Church last night, Tuesday of the Canon of St. Andrew and the first thing I see is all the chairs have been taken out, except for some lining the sides of the Nave. So now there is a lot of room for, you guessed it, prostrations! That's fine by me. Last year, if I remember correctly, I had to step out of my aisle of chairs to make a prostration so this was easier.  

I love the Canon of St. Andrew! I couldn't make it Monday night so I made sure I prayed the Monday version at home but I was happy to worship with the Faithful Tuesday night. Here it is Wednesday and I won't be able to go to anymore of the Canon so I'll be praying the home version of the Canon for the rest of the week. What really impressed me as I prayed last night is all the Scriptural references. Each phrase had a Scripture verse address in parentheses and it is clear that the Orthodox Church is steeped in Sacred Scripture. I was reminded of the Resurrected Jesus walking with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Jesus, using the Old Testament, explained to the two disciples how all of the Scriptures pointed to Him!  

I have decided that this lent I would take the Fast seriously. Last year, I made no effort at all, saying to myself, "Well, I'm not really Orthodox so I don't have to" but I know spiritual growth is a struggle. Fr. Gary, in his homily last night, read a blog post from a Russian (of course!) and in the post the writer said that fasting shows ourselves that we are serious about following Christ. In the long run, God doesn't care if we eat meat but to show ourselves that we are serious, then fasting is a good thing to do.  

It is a "modified" version of the Fast that I am doing. Yes, I talked to Fr. Gary and he said, given my situation, that modification is, for me, the way to go about it.  So, pray for me that I'll have a blessed Lent, growing closer to Christ as we all await the joyful celebration of His Resurrection on Pascha!

Visit #195 ~ Snapchatting My Way Thru the Last Judgement!

Okay, I know...I shouldn't be on Social Media during Divine Liturgy but I really wanted those who follow me and aren't at all familiar with the Orthodox Church, to Come and See, or, as in this case, Log-in and See. ShapChat allows for 10 second videos which I took at various times during the Liturgy. I made sure I wasn't too intrusive and, hopefully, I wasn't distracting to anyone. If so, we'll have something to talk about next week at Forgiveness Vespers!  The Sunday I did all this on was the Sunday of the Last Judgement. I hope my snapchatting won't be subject matter on that Day! Lord, have Mercy! Anyway, below is a video I put together so you can see what I actually snapchatted! (Is snapchatted even a word?)

The service was a real blessing. I found myself enjoying watching all the Faithful interact with each other during the Divine Liturgy.  There was a lot of smiles, in between hymns and Psalms, a lot of warm glances- all the while, everyone's attention, towards the Altar, where Christ was making Himself known to His people! The awe and reverence of the Service, coupled with the love among the people, made this Service a place I wanted to be- where God was in the midst of His people!

One great thing about being in an Orthodox Church, is, because of it's Icons, it is a place where bored kids don't have to stay bored for long. In a Protestant church, if a baby get's fussy, the only thing you can do, besides sticking Cheerios in their mouths, is to take the baby out. Well, in the Orthodox Church, you have other options. Your baby is fussy?  No worries, just get up during the service and visit the Icons. No one looks at you funny, like you're disrupting the service or anything. Last Sunday I saw this very thing. A very cute baby got a little fussy and was on the verge of crying so the mama took the child to the Icons on the wall and the baby was transfixed- and quieted! It was win-win! The people didn't have to be distracted by a crying baby, the mama got to continue in Worship and the baby, well, the baby got to be a baby!

The homily was good. You can hear a little snippet of it in the above video. Fr. Gary talked about how people could come and see our parish and, yes, they'd see beautiful icons, hear a beautiful choir but how much more important it is they find people who, though sinners, are seeking Christ!

With Great Lent coming up, we all have an opportunity to really seek Christ! May we all have a blessed Fast as we prepare for the Resurrection of our Lord on Pascha!