It's very common to hear inquirers or those new to Orthodoxy question the repetition in the prayers and services. I think someone has counted how many times we pray, "Lord have mercy" during Divine Liturgy but I don't know how many that is. A lot. People wonder why we say it SO MANY TIMES. "I … Continue reading Muscle memory and prayer
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Mini-Update (mostly grand baby)
Well, it's been nearly a year since I've updated. I guess I'll just launch in without preamble! Last March we welcomed a granddaughter! She started out so tiny and now she's an absolute chunk! LOL We absolutely adore her and wish they lived closer. She is more entertaining by the month. Because it's rather late … Continue reading Mini-Update (mostly grand baby)
Let’s go!
Ok, y’all, it’s been forever and a day since I’ve posted. Let’s just say that it’s been busy (like, insanely busy) and go on as if there has been no break. I’ll start with the first wedding and make a separate post for the next one. Of course there will be some backtracking for Pascha, … Continue reading Let’s go!
Upcoming Radio Show
This coming Sunday (the 13th) I will be joining my friend, Elissa Bjeletich, on her weekly program, Everyday Orthodox, on Ancient Faith Radio. We'll be talking about lots of things (see the description in the photo) and it will be live. I only hope I do better than Dr. Leo Marvin... If you want to … Continue reading Upcoming Radio Show
Legitimacy and Conscience
I was looking for something this morning and ran across this blog post from several years ago. It was pretty good and I found myself saying, “hey… U wrote that??” What happened to the person who used to be able to write? Hahaha. So I decided to share it with you.
Reading Joseph’s post on Byzantine TX about the pro-choice Catholic nuns (sounds like an oxymoron, but I guess it’s becoming more common…) I was struck by something. Have you noticed that people who hold a stance on something that is not in accordance with Tradition, abortion and gay “marriage” being the most common, are always desperately looking for affirmation from someone? Specifically, someone from whom they wouldn’t have traditionally ever received that affirmation? For most people in the West (who have never heard of Orthodoxy), the Roman Catholic church represents an unchanging pillar of Truth and Right, no matter what their religious (if any) persuasion. They may not agree with that statement, but it’s hard to not observe that in practice people think of the RC church as the “gold standard”. So much so, that even if you’re Unitarian and pro-abortion you’ll be positively delighted when some Catholic nuns march…
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Unfamiliar custom
I had a lot of fun reading this post from six years ago and the following comments! We still haven’t done the harrowing of hell during Holy Saturday Liturgy, but I hope we do one day!
First, here’s a video I’ve posted before. This is at an OCA church here in America (Birmingham, AL – St. Symeon’s) and the service is Holy Saturday Liturgy, the first Liturgy of the Resurrection. This video was taken during the hymn, “Arise O God”. Bay leaves are thrown. Everywhere. It’s so joyous, just watch it again. (:
Now, this is the video from the Greek church. The chanter is chanting “Arise O God” too and bay leaves are also thrown. However, it’s what happens after the bay leaves are all out and the priests return…
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Holy Wednesday
Gearing up
I hit the stores early this morning to get Pascha candy in sale. Alas, I had forgotten to get Cadbury creme eggs early (as in weeks ago)! I had been avoiding the "seasonal" aisle at the grocery store because it was painful but that meant I forgot. Ah well, they'll all be happy anyway. My … Continue reading Gearing up
In a nutshell:
Becoming Ourselves
This began as a comment I left on a dear friend's blog. In her post she had mentioned a conversation with a friend discussing that around the age of 40 we tend to examine our life choices and think about where we are compared to where we thought we'd be in life, and how we … Continue reading Becoming Ourselves