Corpus Christi

A reading from the works of St Cyril of Alexandria
He that eateth my Flesh and drinketh my Blood, saith the Lord, dwelleth in me, and I in him. If a man take two pieces of wax and melt them, and pour the one into the other, they necessarily mingle ; so also, he that receiveth the Body and Blood of the Lord doth become so joined with the Lord that he is to be found in Christ and Christ in him. Another comparison thou wilt find in Matthew. The Lord there saith : The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal till whole was leavened. Even as Paul saith : A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump : so also doth a little of this Blessing draw the whole man unto itself, and fill him with its grace ; and thus doth Christ dwell in us, and we in Christ.

As for ourselves, if we would win life everlasting, if we would that the Giver of Immortality should dwell in us, let us run freely to receive this Blessing, and let us beware that the devil succeed not in laying a stumbling-block in our way, in the shape of a mistaken reverence. Thou rightly sayest, and we know well, how that it is written : Whosoever shall eat this Bread and drink this Cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty ; he eateth and drinketh judgment to himself. I therefore examine myself and find myself unworthy. And I ask thee, who citest these words to me, who is it that shall ever be found worthy? When, pray, wilt thou be such an one as may be worthy to be offered to Christ? For if, because of sin, thou art unworthy, and dost not cease to sin, (for as the Psalmist hath it : Who can tell how oft he offendeth?) then shalt thou on these grounds for ever lack this means of life and sanctification.

Wherefore I counsel thee to betake thee to godly thoughts, and to live as a zealous and devout servant of God, and then to make bold to receive this Blessing ; for it is a Blessing which, believe me, doth banish not death only, but all diseases likewise. For when Christ dwelleth in us, he stilleth the law of sin in our members, which warreth against the law of our mind. He giveth strength to godliness ; he turneth to calm the turbulent surging of our minds ; he cureth them which are sick ; he raiseth up them which are fallen ; and, as the Good Shepherd, which giveth his life for the sheep, he prevaileth that the sheep perish not.

From the Roman Breviary.

Once a Century Birthday Bleg

Birthday number half-a-century coming up in August. So fifty and one to grow on thanks to Amazon and any generosity you may feel inclined to claim...

Maple Bacon Chips!

OMG Yum.

Now: let me be honest, these things don't really taste like bacon. But they do very much taste like all the best parts of the Salty/Sweet goodness of bacon and pancakes.  It's like the essence of the experience.

Totally worth the purchase.

But not very bacony.

Ecumenism

If one Patriarch refuses to commemorate or commune with another because of a power struggle - eg, Jerusalem and Antioch - how long before that excommunication (which is what it is) becomes Schism?

If one synod declares another invalid - eg, ROCOR and Moscow - how long before that Schism becomes irreparable?

Rome : Constantinople :: ROCOR : Moscow Patriarchate 

We are sisters who don't talk to each other: not different churches.  The Church is one.

I get that we don't commemorate or commune one with another yet.  But I pray that will end.  The Church is one. We just don't all talk to each other.  The east lung doesn't know what the west lung is doing.  Nearly biblical.

I know it upsets our bullied-little-brother/victim attitude to say so, as well as our traditional, American Anti-Romanism, but yeah: them's us in them thar churches.  We just gotta get over our issues. The Church is one.  It's also more than a bit dysfunctional.

First Lessons from Living Alone

If you're interested in how to get odd habits living alone: click here. It's well worth it: and it agrees with some of what follows:

10 Things I've Learned in Only One Week of Living Alone!

1. Bye-Bye Claustrophobia! The easiest way to avoid claustrophobia when living alone is to leave the bathroom door open.
2. Hearing someone's alarm clock (through the walls) is not a sign that you must rush through your shower!
3. The best meals are the ones you can eat on the floor next to the wall watching TV.
4. Laundry still sucks.
5. Cooking for exactly one person and no more means that all your large kitchen toys can be donated to the Church or the Office: they take up too much space and no one wants leftovers from more than 10 days ago.  Not even you.
6. A six-pack last for days! Five or six if you're lucky.
7. Drinking directly out of the bottle of Trader Joe's Tangerine Juice does not bother anyone.
8. Garbage sorting still sucks, but at least I don't need to get all passive aggressive about who is going to take it out.
9. No one complains when I leave the heat off and open the windows.
10. In most cases, bathrobes are superfluous. (Curtains are up to you.)

Ordo for May 2014

My deepest apologies for being late: with the insanity of Pascha, followed by the Insanity of domestic relocation, I've not been posting the Daily Office.

May of 2014 has been added to the Rite of St Tikhon although it is only good from this evening (10 May) forward.  I do not even have internet at the new home yet, but I will try to keep up to date going forward.  The good news is that soon the major editing will be done and all that will be left is minor edits and re-dating in each year.

And publishing...

Heretics or Just Schismatics?

#ProtestantConvertHangover
#AmericanAntiRomanism
#NotReallyOrthodoxy
#justsaying