Umm Umm's

Manny loves the blessed bread at Church. He always grabs a handful after liturgy and in the line going up to receive Holy Communion you can hear him saying "umm umm".

Today's Readings

The Scripture Readings

1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Matthew 13:24-30

Troparion

St. Sisoes the Great, Troparion, Tone I —
A desert dweller, an angel in the flesh,/ and a wonderworker wast thou shown to be,/ O our God-bearing father Sisoes,/ for having acquired heavenly gifts through fasting, vigilance, and prayer,/ thou dost heal the infirm,/ and the souls of those who have recourse to thee with faith./ Glory to Him Who hath given thee strength!/ Glory to Him Who hath crowned thee!// Glory to Him Who worketh healings for all through thee!
Kontakion, Tone IV, "Thou hast appeared today..." —
Having struggled, thou wast seen to be an angel on the earth, O venerable one,/ ever illumining the thoughts of the faithful with divine signs.// Wherefore, we honor thee with faith, O Sisoes.

Today's Readings

The Scripture Readings

Matthew 11:27-30 Matins Gospel
Romans 16:17-24
Matthew 13:10-23
Galatians 5:22-6:2 St. Athanasius
Luke 6:17-23 St. Athanasius
2 Corinthians 6:1-10 Sts. Elizabeth and Barbara
Matthew 15:21-28 Sts. Elizabeth and Barbara

Martyrdom of St. Elizabeth Romanov and Nun Barbara (1918)

     Grand Duchess Elizabeth was a grand-daughter of Queen Victoria of England and the older sister of the Empress Alexandra (July 4). After marrying Grand Duke Sergei she converted to the Orthodox faith, though this was not required by her position. After her husband was assasinated in 1905, she took monastic vows and withdrew from the world, founding the Convent of Saints Mary and Martha. There she served as superior, devoting her time to prayer, fasting, and caring for the sick and the poor.
     During the Russian Revolution, she was seized by the God-hating Bolsheviks and taken to the Urals, where she and several with her were martyred by being thrown alive down an abandoned mine-shaft. When the fall did not kill them, soldiers threw grenades down the shaft to complete their work. Saint Elizabeth was singing the Cherubic Hymn when she died.

     The Nun Barbara, her cell-attendant, voluntarily followed St Elizabeth into exile and received martyrdom with her. Their relics were recovered and taken at great risk to China, then to Jerusalem, where they were deposited in the Convent of St Mary Magdalene. When their reliquaries were opened in 1981, their bodies were found to be partly incorrupt, and gave off a sweet fragrance.
     Footnote: After the assasination of her husband in Moscow, Grand Duchess Elizabeth had a cross erected at the site of his death, bearing the inscription "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." After the revolution, the cross remained standing through the devotion of the people of Moscow to St Elizabeth, until it was personally torn down by Lenin.

The Galatian Icon of the Mother of God

      The Galatian Icon of the Mother of God is situated in Galata (one of the districts of Constantinople), at Pergia (in a tower). In honour of the holy icon a monastery was formed, which existed until the XVII Century. An exact copy of the image is located in Moscow, in the Church of Sainted Tikhon, at the Arbat Gate.

Holy Royal Martyrs of Russia

     "Tsar Nicholas II was the son of Alexander III, who had reposed in the arms of St John of Kronstadt. Having been raised in piety, Tsar Nicholas ever sought to rule in a spirit consonant with the precepts of Orthodoxy and the best traditions of his nation. Tsaritsa Alexandra, a grand-daughter of Queen Victoria of England, and a convert from Lutheranism, was noted for her piety and compassion for the poor and suffering. Their five children were beloved of all for their kindness, modesty, and guilelessness.
     "Amidst the political turmoil of 1917, Tsar Nicholas selflessly abdicated the throne for what he believed was the good of his country. Although he had abdicated willingly, the revolutionaries put him and his family under house arrest, then sent them under guard to Tobolsk and finally Ekaterinburg. A letter written from Tobolsk by Grand Duchess Olga, the eldest of the children, shows their nobility of soul. She writes, 'My father asks that I convey to all those who have remained devoted to him... that they should not take vengeance on his account, because he has forgiven everyone and prays for them all. Nor should they avenge themselves. Rather, they should bear in mind that this evil which is now present in the world will become yet stronger, but that evil will not conquer evil, but only love shall do so.'

      "After enduring sixteen months of imprisonment, deprivation, and humiliation with a Christian patience which moved even their captors, they and those who were with them gained their crowns of martyrdom when they were shot and stabbed to death in the cellar of the Ipatiev house in Ekaterinburg in 1918.
      "Together with them are also commemorated those who faithfully served them, and were either slain with them, or on their account..." (Great Horologion)

Feast of All Saints in North America

…O Lord, the lands of North America offer Thee all the saints who have shone forth in them.

Prayers for Intercession

I read about these Saints in todays readings and thought they would be perfect to ask for intercession for my uncle.  I love learning about the Saints.  

      The Holy Martyrs, Wonderworkers and UnMercenaries Cosmas and Damian – were brothers by birth, born at Rome, and physicians by profession. They accepted a martyr's death at Rome under the emperor Carinus (283-284). They were brought up by their parents in the rules of piety, they led strict and chaste lives, and they were granted by God the graced gift of healing the sick. By their good and unselfish attitude towards people, combined with their exceptional kindliness, the brothers converted many to Christ. The saints usually said to the sick: "It be not by our power that we treat the sick, but by the power of Christ, the True God. Believe in Him and be healed". For their unselfish doctoring of the infirm, the holy brothers were called "unmercenary physicians".
      Their active service towards neighbour and spiritual influence on the surroundings, leading many into the Church, attracted the attention of the Roman authorities. Soldiers were sent after the brothers. Hearing about this, Christians implored Saints Cosmas and Damian to hide themselves away for a while until they could render them help. But the soldiers, not finding the brothers, arrested instead other Christians of the settlement, where the saints lived. Saints Cosmas and Damian then came out of hiding and delivered themselves over into the hands of the soldiers, asking them to set free those arrested because of them.
      At Rome, the saints were at first locked up in prison, and then were taken for trial. The saints openly confessed before the Roman emperor and the judge their faith in Christ God, having come into the world to save mankind and redeem the world from sin, and they resolutely refused to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods. They said: "We have caused evil for no one, we have not involved ourselves with the magic or sorcery, of which you accuse us. We doctor the infirm by the power of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and we do not take any sort of recompense for rendering aid to the sick, because our Lord commanded His disciples: "Freely ye have received, freely give" (Mt. 10: 8).
      The emperor however continued with his demands. Through the prayer of the holy brothers, imbued with the power of grace, God suddenly struck Carinus blind, so that he too in his own experience might know the almightiness of the Lord, not forgiving blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The people, beholding the miracle, cried out: "Great is the Christian God and no other is God, except Him!" Many of those that believed besought the holy brothers to heal the emperor, and he himself implored the saints, promising to convert to the True God Christ the Saviour. The saints healed him. After this, Saints Cosmas and Damian were with honour set free and again they set about doctoring the sick.
      But what the hatred of the pagans and the ferocity of the Roman authorities could not do, was done by black envy, one of the strongest passions of the sinful nature of man. An older physician – an instructor, under whom in their time the holy brothers had studied the medical craft, became jealous of their fame. Driven to madness by this malice, and all overcome by passion, he summoned the holy brothers, formerly his most beloved students, that they should all get together for a gathering of various medicinal herbs, and setting far off into the mountains, he murdered them, throwing their bodies into a river.
      Thus as martyrs ended the earthly journey of these holy brothers – the Unmercenary Healers Cosmas and Damian. They had devoted all their life to a Christian service to neighbour, having escaped the Roman sword and prison, but treacherously murdered by a teacher.
      The Lord glorified His God-pleasing ones. And now through the prayers of the holy Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian is received healing from God for all, who with faith recourse to their saintly intercession.

Hurrying to get it done...

While the children are still asleep I'm trying to hurrry to finish copying and making my Book Of Hours found here at Evlogia.  I love her blog.  She has wonderful homeschooling information there and here at Ages of Grace.
Mason just informed me my times up as he and Manny are now awake!

Passed Out

Someone got up a little too early and passed out...well nursed back to sleep.. so I got to go to Liturgy without him today.  Marlee still came along but we got to sit in front and not in the cryroom.  It was so nice to sing and participate.  The sermon was just what I needed too.  Father talked about living your life for eternity and not to worry about the people of this worlds option....follow Gods word.  How reassuring.

My New Books Have Shipped!!!

I'm so excited my new books have shipped. I cant wait to get them.

Here's a list of whats coming from The Orthodox Marketplace-

Children's Bible Reader
Divine Liturgy Illustrated
For to Us a Child is Born - Christmas Magazine
Heaven on Earth: The Divine Liturgy
Journey Through Holy Week - Children's Guide
The Bible For Young People
The Saturday Service of Great Vespers [CD]

And from Amazon-

The Life of Saint Brigid: Abbess of Kildare
Pictures of God, a Childs Guide to Understanding Icons
How to Pray with Icons

Beautiful Orthodox Blog....

Found an awesome blog with tons on info and support for the Orthodox family.
Check it out here-

http://evlogiaonline.com/

Sorry, but you'll have to copy and paste. I cant figure out how to insert the blog link and its making me very angry!!!!

I'm downloading and printing her childrens booklet of the Hours and can't wait to get started!