St Andrew of Crete on the Annunciation

Today that nature, which was first brought forth from the earth, receives divinity for the first time; the dust, having been raised up, hastens with festive trend toward the highest peak of glory. Today, from us and for us, Adam offers Mary to God as firstfruits, and, with the unpoisoned parts of the muddy dough, is formed a bread for the rebuilding of the human race....Today pure human nature receives from God the gift of the original creation and reverts to its original purity. By giving our inherited splendor, which had been hidden by the deformity of vice, to the Mother of Him who is beautiful, human nature receives a magnificent and most divine renovation, which becomes a complete restoration. The restoration, in turn, becomes deification, and this becomes a new formation, like its pristine state.

St Andrew of Crete

From the Menaion - 2 February

Synaxarion

On 2 February, we celebrate the Hypapanty, or Encounter of our Lord Jesus Christ, when He was received in the arms of Just Simeon.

The arms of Simeon, carrying Christ Jesus, resemble the bosom of the Father, where He is enthroned above. Simeon receives Him within the Temple on the second.

All glory and power to our God throughout all the ages. Amen.

Online Poll - Just having a go...

Just a test, so to speak....

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Mayan Apocalypse Day

If you believe in the Mayan apocalypse stuff, and you get this, this is for you.




As a follow up, if through some failure of calamity the world still exists Saturday, go here.

Professor Glenn on the Tyranny of Public Education

Professor Charles L Glenn of Boston University once contributed a thought-provoking piece over at First Things concerning Secular Education in the United States. It is well worth reading and pondering. Below are a few excerpts.

Most Americans are products of the public school’s 140-year near-monopoly on education, and have an understandable residual loyalty to our current educational settlement; many believe, as advocates of the “myth of the common school” have been arguing since Horace Mann, that only the public school can form citizens. But low test scores and concern over the moral vacuousness of both curriculum and school life dominated by peer culture have shaken faith in the public system. Parents are seeking alternatives, not only in private schools but in charter schools (legally “public” but functionally private), homeschooling, and cyberschools. Even those parents who do not want religion taught in the schools their children attend usually see no problem with other children attending schools whose religious character is preferred by their parents.

America did not always have a rigid educational establishment that claimed religious neutrality. Its rise was propelled by anti-Catholic sentiment, leading to a unified educational system that displaced the patchwork of local arrangements that prevailed in the early republic and that provided a degree of religious pluralism surprising to those raised with the contemporary idea of the separation of church and state. It was common in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries for public funding to be provided to schools that we would now consider “private” and religious, the great majority of them Protestant but some of them Catholic. These denominational arrangements were actually the norm in federally funded schooling for children on Indian reservations until the late nineteenth century.

Our nation needs to confront the loss of faith in public education, a loss fueled both by disappointing international comparisons of test results and by a severing of the rootedness of schools in local communities. Consolidation of school districts, professionalization of educational administration, the unresponsiveness of teachers’ unions to the concerns of parents, and ballooning state and federal requirements, all have led to a loss of confidence in America’s schools.

Read the whole article here.

Remember

If you choose Dr Pepper,

it is not a vote for Coke over Pepsi.

Cast your vote according to your conscience.

From The Spiritual Life and How to be Attuned to It

St Theophan the Recluse

In the soul and body are needs, including such ordinary ones as family and social needs. These needs in and of themselves do not constitute any distinct desire, but merely form the pretext for seeking gratification for themselves. When a need is satisfied in a particular way on a given occasion, then ever afterwards, whenever this need is aroused, along with it is born the desire for that which has satisfied it previously.

There is no gap between the time we make our prayer and when it is heard; the only necessity is that it comes from our heart. It is our telegraphic line to Heaven. The very same prayers, which are not from our heart, but which come only from our head and tongue, do not produce as ray which rises to heaven, and they are not audible there. Those are not even prayers, but only prayer-like modes.

To the States

To the States or any one of them, or any city of the States,
Reist much, obey little,
O nce unquestion obedience, once fully enslaved,
Once fully enslaved, no nation, state, city of this earth, ever afterward resumes its liberty.

Leaves of Greass, Walt Whittman

CWR on Both Lungs

Catholic World Report has a piece by Christopher B. Warner entitled Both Lungs.

Below is an excerpt to whet your whistle:

“There’s not just one way to be Catholic,” says Father Thomas Loya, radio host of “Light of the East” and pastor of Annunciation Byzantine Catholic Church in Homer Glenn, Illinois. The different cultural and liturgical practice of Catholics around the world “is what makes the Church truly Catholic.” Father Loya emphasizes the complementarity of the traditions: “You can take the same faith and express it in a variety of ways. This creates unity in diversity.”

The Divine Liturgy (Mass) is the heart of Eastern Christian theology, mysticism, and culture. The old axiom is, “If you want to know what the Eastern Christians believe, attend the liturgy.”

One of the first things Roman Catholics will notice about the liturgy is that there is no quiet meditation. There are no pauses—the chanting never ceases. Yet, the Byzantine liturgy is an active meditation with a very rich vocabulary of prayer. Eastern Christian theology is at the service of prayer, because the entire aim of that theology is to find words fitting for prayer.

Check it out here.

A Joyous Feast of the Resurrection to All!

The Paschal Homily

of St John Chrysostom

If any be pious and a lover of God, let him delight in this fair and radiant festival. If any be an honest servant, let him come in and rejoice in the joy of his Lord. If any have wearied himself with fasting, let him now enjoy the recompense. If any have worked from the first hour, let him receive today his just reward. If any have come after the third, let him feast with thankfulness. If any have arrived after the sixth, in no wise let him be in doubt; in no way shall he suffer loss. If any be later than the ninth, let him draw nigh, let him not waver. If any arrive only at the eleventh, let him not be fearful for his slowness, for the Master is munificent and receiveth the last even as the first; He giveth rest to him of the eleventh even as to him who hath wrought from the first hour. He is merciful to the last and provideth for the first; and to this one He giveth, and to that one He showeth kindness. He receiveth their labours and acknowledgeth the purpose, and He honoureth the deed and praiseth the intention. Wherefore, enter ye all into the joy of our Lord, and let the first and the second take part in the reward. Ye rich and ye poor, join hands together. Ye sober and ye heedless, do honour to this day. Ye who fast and ye who fast not, be glad today. The table is full: do ye all fare sumptuously. The calf is ample: let no one go forth hungry. Let all enjoy the banquet of Faith. Let all enjoy the wealth of righteousness. Let no one lament his poverty, for the Kingdom is made manifest to all.

Let no one bewail transgressions, for forgiveness hath dawned forth from the tomb. Let no one be fearful of Death, for the death of the Saviour hath set us free. He hath quenched Death by being subdued by Death. He Who came down into Hades, despoiled Hades; and Hades was embittered when he tasted of Christ’s Flesh. Esaias, anticipating this, cried out and said: Hades was embittered when below he met Thee face to face. He was embittered, for he was set at nought. He was embittered, for he was mocked. He was embittered, for he was cast down. He was embittered, for he was fettered. He received a body, and encountered God. He received earth, and met Heaven face to face. He received what he saw, and fell whither he saw not.

O Death, where is thy sting? O Hades, where is thy victory? Christ is risen, and thou art overthrown! Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen! Christ is risen, and the Angels rejoice! Christ is risen, and life doth reign! Christ is risen, and there is none dead in the tomb! For Christ is raised from the dead, and is become the first-fruits of them that slept.

To Him be glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Χριστός ἀνέστη!

Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη!

Christ is risen!

Truly, He is risen!

Happy Christmas!

To those following the New Calendar, we wish a joyous Feast of the Nativity!

Reason on Paul Controversy

As a Christian, I hold to ethical principles that strongly influence my political views.

As a priest, and bound by civic legal rules that stifle my First Amendment rights to free speech, I do not represent my political views as in any way reflecting the teachings, opinions, or holding the authority of my Church. Thus, in this my first - and likely only - posting of a distinctly political nature, I speak only for myself and in no way posit an evaluation of religious censure against anyone who disagrees with any inferred opinion that may be attributable to me herein.

As a citizen, I firmly believe in Federalism as exemplified by the Federalist Papers of Hamilton, Madison and Jay, and the US Constitution (as interpreted through the lens of the annals of the Constitutional Convention by James Madison). I am convinced that it is only through upholding the Liberties protected in the Constitution that the US Republic can provide a setting for people of good will to work out their salvation, promote a peaceful, productive and ultimately moral culture, and establish an equitable society for the general welfare of all its citizens.

That said, and having followed the ongoing political debates that form part of the lead up to next year's Federal election in the US, I recommend the following article.

Ron Paul Ugly, Racist Newsletters Not Going Away, But Do They Invalidate His Candidacy?

Incidentally, Reason is typically an interesting and often thought-provoking read.

Chicago Sun-Times Reports on Christian Suffering in Middle East

Today, the Chicago Sun-times reports a rarely stated fact for Christians in the Middle East: Persecution at the hands of Moslem neighbors.

From the report, note the following:

Only in Israel, where religious freedom is honored, have Christians increased, soaring from 34,000 in 1948 to 140,000 today.

Advocates for Islam talk about its history of tolerance, but political, revolutionary Islamism is the driving force in Mideast history today; it has little use for religious freedom. That has Christians literally running for their lives.

Read it all here (and post a comment to let it be known that it is an important issue).

Professor Glenn on the Tyranny of Public Education

Professor Charles L Glenn of Boston University has contributed a thought-provoking piece over at First Things concerning Secular Education in the United States. It is well worth reading and pondering. Below are a few excerpts.

Most Americans are products of the public school’s 140-year near-monopoly on education, and have an understandable residual loyalty to our current educational settlement; many believe, as advocates of the “myth of the common school” have been arguing since Horace Mann, that only the public school can form citizens. But low test scores and concern over the moral vacuousness of both curriculum and school life dominated by peer culture have shaken faith in the public system. Parents are seeking alternatives, not only in private schools but in charter schools (legally “public” but functionally private), homeschooling, and cyberschools. Even those parents who do not want religion taught in the schools their children attend usually see no problem with other children attending schools whose religious character is preferred by their parents.

America did not always have a rigid educational establishment that claimed religious neutrality. Its rise was propelled by anti-Catholic sentiment, leading to a unified educational system that displaced the patchwork of local arrangements that prevailed in the early republic and that provided a degree of religious pluralism surprising to those raised with the contemporary idea of the separation of church and state. It was common in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries for public funding to be provided to schools that we would now consider “private” and religious, the great majority of them Protestant but some of them Catholic. These denominational arrangements were actually the norm in federally funded schooling for children on Indian reservations until the late nineteenth century.

Our nation needs to confront the loss of faith in public education, a loss fueled both by disappointing international comparisons of test results and by a severing of the rootedness of schools in local communities. Consolidation of school districts, professionalization of educational administration, the unresponsiveness of teachers’ unions to the concerns of parents, and ballooning state and federal requirements, all have led to a loss of confidence in America’s schools.

Read the whole article here.

A Long Lost Classic!

I've mentioned this old commercial to people for years, and just when I had despaired finally found it. It still strikes me as one of the most original and humorous ads I've ever seen.

Trotting With Turkeys

Well, I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. This is pure cinema and natural humor. It's worth a few minutes for the timely chuckle.



Trotting With Turkeys:
Says the webiste: One of our CBS13 photojournalists tracks down some wild turkeys on Thanksgiving and gives chase. Nov. 24, 2011

For those in the States, those from the States, and US citizens everywhere:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Life of St Nektarios

Around the Country in Five Minutes

When Brian DeFrees decided to make a trip around the US, he also decided to document his travels with time-lapse photographs. The results are interesting, inspiring, and 'moving'.

Enjoy.

9-11-2011

Réquiem ætérnam dona eis Dómine.
Eternal rest grant them, Lord.

et lux perpétua lúceat eis.
Let light perpetual shine upon them.

Requiéscant in pace. Amen.
May they rest in peace. Amen.

Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη

Вечная память

The Flint Solution

First, my apologies for the lateness in ending the 'quest'. Time has a way of getting away as they say.

Now, on to the answer to the Quest of the World's Greatest Flint:

At the end of Return of the King, Aragorn, Gandalf and company proceed on horseback to the Moranon - the Black Gate - in a feint to draw out Sauron's forces in the hope of making it easier for Frodo and Samwise to make it to Mount Doom.

Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Merry and Pipen ride out to parlay with the Mouth of Sauron, end negotiations, and as the gate opens ride back to the main body of troops. The camera then shows the "Men of West" charging forward to battle the hosts of Mordor. Only, now they are on foot. All the horses have magically disappeared.

Call me lightning, but I didn't notice this until last month. I told my daughter about the flint, and she later noted that the International Movie Data Base includes it in its list of 'mistakes'.

C'est la vie!