Truly the Son of Man, Christ our true God is this day given to us by the Holy Spirit through Mary, the Immaculate and Ever-virgin Theotokos

Today is December 25, according to the ancient Julian calendar of the Orthodox Catholic Church, the day of the Holy Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The original five patriarchs of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church followed the Julian calendar that was made the calendar of the Church by the First Ecumenical Council of Nicea in 325 AD. The Church calendar was later changed by the dictate of the Patriarch of Rome, Pope Gregory.  The problem with that was that the Patriarch of Rome had no authority to change the Church calendar, since it had been promulgated by an ecumenical council, only an ecumenical council, according to the canons, could vacate that act. So, for the vast majority of the Orthodox Christians of the East, today is December 25 in the life of the Church, which means today is the Holy Nativity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

With my Orthodox brethren, I salute all Christians, saying, “Christ is Born!” And my Orthodox Christian brethren answer, “Glorify Him!”

Now finally, the Lenten fast of Advent is coming to an end and tomorrow will start the twelve days of Christmas joy.

Many of you know the English song, The Twelve Days of Christmas, but I bet not too many of you know what the gifts given in that song signify.

For any who do not know the religious symbolism of The Twelve Days of Christmas, here they are:

• The one True Love refers to our one triune God
• Two Turtle Doves refers to the Old and New Testaments
• Three French Hens refers to Faith, Hope and Charity, the Theological Virtues
• Four Calling Birds refers to the Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists
• Five Golden Rings refers to the first Five Books of the Old Testament, the “Pentateuch”, which gives the history of man’s fall from grace.
• Six Geese A-laying refers to the six days of creation
• Seven Swans A-swimming refers to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the sacraments
• Eight Maids A-milking refers to the eight beatitudes
• Nine Ladies Dancing refers to the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit
• Ten Lords A-leaping refers to the ten commandments
• Eleven Pipers Piping refers to the eleven faithful apostles
• Twelve Drummers Drumming refers to the points of doctrine in the Apostle’s Creed

To hear and see some children singing this song on YouTube click here

Joy to the World!

Christ is Born!

Glorify Him!

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THE  MILESTONES

ROCOR ARCHIVES

SPIRITUAL PATH

Chapel at the school’s courtyard in Bethany near Jerusalem in the Holy Land.

I then spent 10 years in Jerusalem at the Convent of St. Mary Magdalene. There was a wonderful young abbess their at the time (Abbess Anna Karipoff) who did much to instill a coenobitic order and inspire the nuns to a deeper spiritual life. Here in a much larger community of 25-30 nuns I was relieved of having to do so much physical labor that a smaller community might entail and aided by good examples and the inspiration of living and often visiting the Holy Sites, I was able to focus more on my interior spiritual life. This sweet period was only to last about a year and a half. Soon the events in Hebron happened (MP seizure of our monastery in 1997) and I was called to assist with administrative matters. As well the upheaval and strain caused by this seizure led to Mother Anna resigning her position and leaving the Convent. This led to other changes in the monastery and I was appointed to run the Convent’s Orthodox School of Bethany The experience of running a school for 325 children, caring for 12 girls from broken homes, managing the property, dealing with teachers and employees, and at the same time trying to live the life of a nun in the Holy Land, going to services and hosting pilgrims, all in a most politicized and sometime violent part of the world certainly honed skills that are most useful as we undertake the formation of a new convent here in the States. Quite frankly while there are challenges here, it somehow seems a lighter burden than those days in Jerusalem.

THE FIRST FEAST DAY

Holy Father Nicholas, pray to God for us!

Source: NFTU News

***   ***   ***

I became acquainted with Mother Agapia during my short stay in the Holy Land through Mother Xenia, and through some correspondence with Mother Agapia. Mother Agapia and Mother Xenia were members of the Community of St. Elizabeth, which serves and is served by the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene. The convent and the church are located on the slope of the Mount of Olives in the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem.

In the story above, Mother Agapia mentions the events MP seizure of our monastery in Hebron in 1997 in an offhanded manner. I know something of what happened there and I know Mother Agapia as a hero in those events, and I seem to recall the then Sister Katherine was a hero right along with her. They dared to stare down the dastardly Russians who had been dispatched to seize their little outpost mastery and school. Of course the politically better connected Russians eventually prevailed in that struggle.

The incorrupt bodies of St. Elizabeth and St. Barbara, the good servant of St. Elizabeth can be visited in the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene. Both saints freely volunteered to be martyred with the  sainted Russian Czar Nicholas II and the Czarina Alexandra and their children.  St.  Elizabeth had formerly been the Grand Duchess of Russia, having been married to the Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, brother of the czar. This was, of course,  before she became a nun after the death of her husband and founded the Convent of Martha and Mary. Click both St. Elizabeth and St.  Elizabeth to learn more about this wonderful lady.

Incidentally, Mother Agapia has a brother named George Stephanopoulos. He is the well known television journalist and Democrat political adviser.

Yours truly

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The Manhattan Declaration represents a turning point in the ongoing battle for the soul of America. It is first time in my lifetime where so many Christian church leaders have come together and declared themselves open combatants against all earthly powers that oppose one of the primary tenants of the Christian faith: the right to natural life.

Heretofore, with the exception of the Roman Catholic episcopacy, whose opposition was sometimes aggressive, but too often tepid and confusing, the Christian leaders that America looks to for moral guidance, stood idly by while their faithful looked more and more to societal forces for moral guidance while their self-aggrandizing, weak-kneed Christian leaders stood idly by; overcome with bewildered amazement at how their people were deserting them.

Now of a sudden, by the grace of God, these same weak-kneed leaders have declared war, by signing this document, on all the societal forces and earthly powers that opposed this most basic tenant of the Christian faith, the God-given human right to natural life

These two statements clearly show how profound the newfound strength is of our nation’s Christian leadership:
“We will not be intimidated into silence or acquiescence or the violation of our consciences by any power on earth, be it cultural or political, regardless of the consequences to ourselves.”

and

“We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God’s.”

Now it is time for us to stand up and be counted with our Christian leaders.

Read the excellent essay by Sandro Magister that explains the Manhattan Declaration very well. Please let the rest of the world know if you agree or disagree with what he writes or the little bit that I have just written.

Yours truly

The “Manhattan Declaration”: The Manifesto That’s Shaking America

It’s been endorsed by Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox leaders, united in defending life and the family. With the White House in the crosshairs. In Europe, they would’ve branded it political “interference” by the Church

by Sandro Magister

ROMA, November 25, 2009 – On the other side of the Atlantic, the news passed almost without notice: the news about a strong public appeal in defense of life, of marriage, of religious freedom and objection of conscience, launched jointly – a rarity – by top-level representatives of the Catholic Church, the Orthodox Churches, the Anglican Communion, and the Evangelical communities of the United States.

Among the religious leaders who presented the appeal to the public on Friday, November 20, at the National Press Club in Washington (in the photo), were the archbishop of Philadelphia, Cardinal Justin Rigali, the archbishop of Washington, Donald W. Wuerl, and the bishop of Denver, Charles J. Chaput.

And among the 52 first signatories of the appeal were 11 other Catholic archbishops and bishops of the United States: Cardinal Adam Maida of Detroit, Timothy Dolan of New York, John J. Myers of Newark, John Nienstedt of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix, Michael J. Sheridan of Colorado Springs, Salvatore J. Cordileone of Oakland, Richard J. Malone of Portland, and David A. Zubik of Pittsburgh.

The 4700-word appeal is entitled “Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience,” and takes its name from the area of New York in which its publication was discussed and decided last September.

The final drafting of the text was entrusted to Robert P. George, a Catholic professor of law at Princeton University, and to Evangelical Protestants Chuck Colson and Timothy George, the latter a professor at the Beeson Divinity School at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.

The other signers include Metropolitan Jonah Paffhausen, primate of the Orthodox Church in America, archpriest Chad Hatfield of the Orthodox seminary of Saint Vladimir, Reverend William Owens, president of the Coalition of African-American Pastors, and two leading figures of the Anglican Communion: Robert Wm. Duncan, primate of the Anglican Church in North America, and Peter J. Akinola, primate of the Anglican Church in Nigeria.

Apart from the bishops, the other Catholics who signed the appeal include Jesuit Fr. Joseph D. Fessio, a disciple of Joseph Ratzinger and founder of the publisher Ignatius Press, William Donohue, president of the Catholic League, Jody Bottum, editor of the magazine “First Things,” and George Weigel, a senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

The “Manhattan Declaration” has not emerged in a vacuum, but at a critical moment for American society and politics: precisely while the administration of Barack Obama is pushing hard for passage of a health care reform plan in the United States.

Defending life from the moment of conception and the right to objections of conscience, the appeal contests two of the points endangered by the reform project currently under discussion in the Senate.

In Congress, the danger was averted thanks in part to aggressive lobbying conducted openly by the Catholic episcopate. After the final vote had guaranteed both the right to objections of conscience and the blocking of any public financing for abortion, the bishops’ conference hailed this result as a “success.” But now the battle has started all over again in the Senate, on a working document that the Church again considers unacceptable. The bishops’ conference has already sent the senators a letter indicating the changes it would like to see made to all of the points in dispute.

But now there is also the ecumenical “Manhattan Declaration,” the last chapter of which, entitled “Unjust Laws,” ends with this solemn statement:

“We will not be intimidated into silence or acquiescence or the violation of our consciences by any power on earth, be it cultural or political, regardless of the consequences to ourselves.”

And immediately afterward:

“We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God’s.”

In an initial passage, the appeal also says this:

“While public opinion has moved in a pro-life direction, powerful and determined forces are working to expand abortion, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide, and euthanasia.”

And it is true. According to the most recent surveys, public opinion in the United States is shifting noticeably toward greater defense of the life of the unborn child.

From 1995 to 2008, all of the research had shown that more people were pro-choice than pro-life, with a significant margin between them: the former at 49 percent, the latter at 42.

Now, instead, the positions have been reversed. The pro-choice have fallen to 46 percent, and the pro-life have risen to 47 percent, overtaking them.

The religious leaders who are pressuring Obama on the minefield of abortion, of homosexual marriage, of euthanasia, therefore know that they have with them a large and growing segment of American society.

The issuing of the “Manhattan Declaration” has received extensive coverage in the media in the United States, without anyone protesting against this political “interference” by the Churches.

But that’s just the way it is in the United States. There has always been a rigorous separation between religion and the state there. There are no concordats, and they’re not even conceivable. But this is exactly why the Churches are seen as having the freedom to speak and act in the public sphere.

In Europe, the landscape is very different. Here “secularism” is understood and applied in conflict, either latent or explicit, with the Churches.

This may be another reason for the silence that in Europe, in Italy, in Rome, greeted the “Manhattan Declaration.” It is held to be a typically American phenomenon, foreign to the European way of thinking.

A similar difference in approach concerns the denial of Eucharistic communion for pro-abortion Catholic politicians. In the United States, this controversy is extremely heated, while on the other side of the Atlantic it isn’t. This difference in sensibilities also divides the hierarchy of the Catholic Church: in Europe and in Rome the question is practically ignored, left to the individual conscience.

But it most be noted out that something is changing on this point, even on the Old Continent. And not only because there is a pope like Benedict XVI, who has stated that he prefers the American model of relations between Church and state.

A sign of this came a few days ago from Spain, where the Catholic Church is grappling with an ideologically hostile government, that of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, which is preparing a law that would liberalize abortion even more than it is now.

According to reports from sources including “L’Osservatore Romano,” the secretary general of the Spanish bishops’ conference, Bishop Juan Antonio Martínez Camino, did not hesitate to advise Catholic politicians that, if they vote in favor of the law, they will not be admitted to Eucharistic communion, because they will have placed themselves in an objective situation of “public sin.”

Not only that. Bishop Martínez Camino added that those who maintain that it is morally legitimate to kill an unborn child put themselves in contradiction with the Catholic Church, and thus risk falling into heresy and into “latae sententiae,’ or automatic, excommunication.

It is the first time that words so “American” have been heard from the leadership of a bishops’ conference in Europe.

But let’s get back to the “Manhattan Declaration.” The complete text, with a list of the first 152 signers, is on this web page:

> Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience

The following is the abbreviated text, released together with the complete text of the “Declaration”:

Manhattan Declaration Executive Summary

November 20, 2009

Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family.

We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are (1) the sanctity of human life, (2) the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife, and (3) the rights of conscience and religious liberty. Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Human Life

The lives of the unborn, the disabled, and the elderly are ever more threatened. While public opinion has moved in a pro-life direction, powerful and determined forces are working to expand abortion, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide, and euthanasia. Although the protection of the weak and vulnerable is the first obligation of government, the power of government is today often enlisted in the cause of promoting what Pope John Paul II called “the culture of death.” We pledge to work unceasingly for the equal protection of every innocent human being at every stage of development and in every condition. We will refuse to permit ourselves or our institutions to be implicated in the taking of human life and we will support in every possible way those who, in conscience, take the same stand.

Marriage

The institution of marriage, already wounded by promiscuity, infidelity and divorce, is at risk of being redefined and thus subverted. Marriage is the original and most important institution for sustaining the health, education, and welfare of all. Where marriage erodes, social pathologies rise. The impulse to redefine marriage is a symptom, rather than the cause, of the erosion of the marriage culture. It reflects a loss of understanding of the meaning of marriage as embodied in our civil law as well as our religious traditions. Yet it is critical that the impulse be resisted, for yielding to it would mean abandoning the possibility of restoring a sound understanding of marriage and, with it, the hope of rebuilding a healthy marriage culture. It would lock into place the false and destructive belief that marriage is all about romance and other adult satisfactions, and not, in any intrinsic way, about the unique character and value of acts and relationships whose meaning is shaped by their aptness for the generation, promotion and protection of life. Marriage is not a “social construction,” but is rather an objective reality – the covenantal union of husband and wife – that it is the duty of the law to recognize, honor, and protect.

Religious Liberty

Freedom of religion and the rights of conscience are gravely jeopardized. The threat to these fundamental principles of justice is evident in efforts to weaken or eliminate conscience protections for healthcare institutions and professionals, and in anti-discrimination statutes that are used as weapons to force religious institutions, charities, businesses, and service providers either to accept (and even facilitate) activities and relationships they judge to be immoral, or go out of business. Attacks on religious liberty are dire threats not only to individuals, but also to the institutions of civil society including families, charities, and religious communities. The health and well-being of such institutions provide an indispensable buffer against the overweening power of government and is essential to the flourishing of every other institution – including government itself – on which society depends.

Unjust Laws

As Christians, we believe in law and we respect the authority of earthly rulers. We count it as a special privilege to live in a democratic society where the moral claims of the law on us are even stronger in virtue of the rights of all citizens to participate in the political process. Yet even in a democratic regime, laws can be unjust. And from the beginning, our faith has taught that civil disobedience is required in the face of gravely unjust laws or laws that purport to require us to do what is unjust or otherwise immoral. Such laws lack the power to bind in conscience because they can claim no authority beyond that of sheer human will.

Therefore, let it be known that we will not comply with any edict that compels us or the institutions we lead to participate in or facilitate abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide, euthanasia, or any other act that violates the principle of the profound, inherent, and equal dignity of every member of the human family.

Further, let it be known that we will not bend to any rule forcing us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriages or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality, marriage, and the family.

Further, let it be known that we will not be intimidated into silence or acquiescence or the violation of our consciences by any power on earth, be it cultural or political, regardless of the consequences to ourselves.

We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God’s.

__________

The official website of the “Manhattan Declaration,” with the possibility of signing it:

> manhattandeclaration.org

__________

The letter of November 20, 2009, from the United States bishops’ conference to the senators, on the health system reform bill:

> “Dear Senator…”

Accompanied by a reminder on the previous discussion in Congress:

> “What does the Stupak amendment really do?”

__________

The Gallup/USA Today study on pro-life attitudes, which in 2009 have overtaken the pro-choice:

> U.S. Abortion Attitudes Closely Divided

__________

On the criticisms of the Obama administration from the American Catholic hierarchy, and divergences with the curia of Rome:

> The Bishop’s Ax Falls on Obama. And on the Vatican Curia (8.10.2009)

__________

On the granting or withholding of communion for pro-abortion Catholic politicians, and on the comment in this regard written in 2004 by then cardinal Joseph Ratzinger:

> Obama’s Pick for Vice President Is Catholic. But the Bishops Deny Him Communion (27.8.2008)

> An American Dispute: Should Communion Be Given to Pro-abortion Catholic Politicians? (2.5.2008)

> The Kerry Affair: What Ratzinger Wanted from the American Bishops (3.7.2004)

> Ratzinger-Kerry, Act II. The Well-Tempered Controversy (13.7.2004)

__________

English translation by Matthew Sherry, Ballwin, Missouri, U.S.A.

__________
25.11.2009

Source: www.chiesa

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We used to rely on the protection of Divine Providence in war; that was before our government decided enhanced interrogation offered better protection

I liked this weekly talk by U.S. Congressman Ron Paul so much that I could not resist posting it here. What the congressman says here certainly fits in with my personal insights into the pursuit of happiness.

There was a time when “In God We Trust” meant something to us

The fact that we have fallen so low as an “In-God-We-Trust” republic as to commit horrible acts of torture on political prisoners—or any kind of prisoners, for that matter, sickens me, while at the same time it inspires our enemy to fight us to the death to overcome our domination of their people.

It is clear to see for all who seek truth in life that such dastardly acts of cowardice by our nation will inevitably lead to our downfall. And so it should! Why will we fail? Because we say that as a nation we believe in God, that’s why.

Torture is always wrong, no matter what

Notice I said we say we believe. I did not say we believe. I didn’t say it that way because our actions show we don’t believe in God very strongly. If we still believed strongly as a nation, we wouldn’t feel a need to torture people to get information. Never mind who they are or why we torture them, and never mind the quality of information torture might yield. Remember what you have been taught all your life: The end does not justify the means.

Has the truth of this adage suddenly changed? Of course not; truth never changes; only people do. So, today, how empty is the phrase, In God We Trust? Apparently for the majority of our people, those words are all but completely empty of meaning.

Yeah, we still believe kinda, but the Moslems believe really

I hear it said that the people we have tortured recently are by and large Moslem terrorists who would like nothing better than to make us their prisoners and slaves or simply kill us to get us out of their lives. I would have to say that I agree with that statement, but, and this is a big BUT, I believe those who say that are right! When those people tell us they will prevail over us because they believe in God, while we only pretend we believe: they are telling us the truth. Kinda believing is what it is.  Really believing is believing in the reality of that which is hoped for. That is a far cry from kinda believing.

The word believe has a strong meaning for a traditional Christian

The M-W Dictionary says it means to have a firm religious faith. It goes on to say a lot more, but for my purpose that is good enough. Faith is the key to believing. Saint Paul writes a lot about faith. His strongest and clearest explanation of faith for my purpose here is in his letter to the Hebrews. There Paul writes: Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Heb. 10:38-11:2 KJV).

For our instruction, Saint Paul goes on with a wonderful cataloging of the gifts of faith starting with Genesis down through the ages until his time. Open your Holy Bible and read that list for yourself. See Heb. 11:3-13, 17, 20, 24-31. Matt. 12:38-40 is the clincher, so to speak, but I will leave that to you to discover on your own.

When the Israelites believed and behaved, they always won; when they ceased to believe and turned away from God, they always lost. Will it be more of the same for us?

Their belief in God is so strong for many Moslems that they will willingly lay down their lives for their faith. They will also give up the lives of their women folk, and their children, whom they love every bit as much or more than we love ours.

Here’s a little history for your consideration

Our war fighting history is filled with incidents that prove that we always win when we fight while being mindful of the protection of  Divine Providence.

How many battles and wars have been won by inferior forces solely because they put their trust in the Lord of all? Our War of Independence against the British comes to mind.

Let me see:

• The British soldiers were, by a wide margin, the better trained of the two combatants. It could hardly be said that our soldiers, while trained, were in the same league as the crown’s soldiers. It was assumed the crown would win this war in short order against the ragged army we had assembled on short notice; an army based on the colonies militias.

• The British had warships-of-the-line that had tremendous firepower. We had none. While the war was fought almost wholly on land, ships and ship travel were vitally important in those days. People travel up and down the eastern seaboard by ship when possible.

• The British were well dressed for battle and for the weather in northeastern part of the country where the war was waged. Some of our guys didn’t have coats; some didn’t even have shoes. Can you imagine marching long distances in snow or freezing rain without a coat, much less without shoes?

• The British had the latest armaments. We had whatever our men and young boys brought with them from the farms when they joined up. That’s right; when they joined up. Ours was a volunteer army. And the British? Well, not all of their fighting men were British. A good part of their army was made up of mercenaries. Only the officers were virtually all British subjects.

• • Let me point out here that, since ours was a volunteer army, the men were free to quit the army and go home at the end of their enlistment period. Can you imagine the command skills combined with fatherly persuasion General Washington had to employ to keep his men happy enough to fight on and instead of going home? Not to leave when many of them didn’t have a coat or shoes to ward off the cold in the dead of winter in places like Pennsylvania, New York, and Delaware required great sacrifice on their part.

• The British had a wealth of very well trained and tried and true generals, and other command officers. We had few trained line officers. Our army had to rely on the judgment of one man. True, he was a towering man who stood out in any crowd. Still, it really was his integrity that gave him his great charisma, which carried him and the fortunes of America through the unbelievably tough times of America’s war of independence from the British Crown.

My fellow Americans, I have just one thing more to say. A lot of us do believe in God and the invincibility of his power and protection of those whom He calls His Own. We must stop the physical abuse of prisoners in our custody. We must or else all is lost for my homeland. I believe we can and will stop the tide of evil that has been unleashed by our leaders over the last half of the last century and has continued and grown in this century.

Now, read or hear what Congressman Ron Paul has to say about “enhanced interrogation.”

Texas Straight Talk

A weekly column

May 25, 2009: Torturing the Rule of Law

While Congress is sidetracked by who said what to whom and when, our nation finds itself at a crossroads on the issue of torture. We are at a point where we must decide if torture is something that is now going to be considered justifiable and reasonable under certain circumstances, or is America better than that? “Enhanced interrogation” as some prefer to call it, has been used throughout history, usually by despotic governments, to cruelly punish or to extract politically useful statements from prisoners. Governments that do these things invariably bring shame on themselves. In addition, information obtained under …Continue reading »

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