In thanksgiving to the Holy Archangel Michael & the Heavenly Bodiless Powers

I cannot speak for others, but I am particularly grateful to the Holy Archangel Michael and all the Bodiless Powers of Heaven for having preserved us to this day.  Did you sense their presence throughout the day  yesterday?  I did…and felt the gift of peace.  I hope you did, too. 

Sometimes the Saints help us in ways we’re aware of and we desire to show our appreciation somehow.  If you’ve spent extra time in prayer to the angels of Heaven recently and have been blessed through it, there’s a way to express gratitude to them in return.

 

Here is a photo of the monastery dedicated to the Archangel Michael on the island of Thassos, Greece. 

The monastery of the Holy Archangel Michael has in its possession the holy nail that was used to affix our Lord’s right hand to the Cross.  The Archangel Michael has made certain that the holy nail remains in this monastery. https://nikana.gr/en/tourist-guide/thassos/what-to-see/1605/monastery-of-st-archangel-michael-and-the-holy-nail. 

Greek video is here—AA Michael Monastery starts around 4:30:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_Q6MChNX_Q.  You’ll see the holy nail under glass in a case during the video.  Music being chanted is the paraklesis to the Archangel Michael.  It looks like this YouTube video may be a log of a church pilgrimage taken to some monasteries/churches on Thassos. 

This monastery suffered damage from a fire during September of this year.  Funds were sought for repairs in the amount of $25,000 USD.  To date, $24,728.00 has been raised.  If you would like contribute to help the monastery repair damage, here’s how:  https://www.gofundme.com/thassosfirefund 

If you decide to send a gift, it will surely be appreciated by the sisterhood.  And, be assured, the Holy Archangel Michael and the Holy Heavenly Bodiless Powers will certainly be aware of your heartfelt gratitude as well.

 

Love in Christ,

Pres. Candace

November 8: Learn about the ministries of the Angels of God

Please visit a previous posting for more detail about the ministries of the Holy Bodiless Powers of Heaven:  http://otftd.blogspot.com/2013/11/synaxis-of-holy-archangels.html

November 8--an auspicious day

What a blessing and mercy it is that the Synaxis of the Archangel Michael and all the Heavenly Bodiless Powers is commemorated on November 8 (new calendar).  I think it’s not a coincidence that this day is also set aside for the U.S. government elections this year. 

This holy feast gives us a special opportunity to worship during the Divine Liturgy and to ask the prayers, especially, of the Holy Archangel Michael and all the Bodiless Powers of Heaven.  Let us honor them and ask their intercessions and help because God has given the Holy Angels as ministering spirits who are able to be strong on our behalf.  We must do our part and call on them.

 

 

If you own the Book of Akathists, Volume 1, published by Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, NY, you will find the Akathist to the Holy Archangel Michael on page 299.  If you offer these prayers you will draw the support of the Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Hosts.   

When we invoke the heavenly hosts, we enable the Bodiless Powers to come to our aid—and not our aid only, but that of the whole world.  And if the world ever needed the help of the Hosts of Heaven it is now.  They are able to dispel the malignant spirits which seem to be increasing in boldness as time passes.  Let us help vanquish them by calling upon God’s warriors and ministers, ever active in heavenly realm.    

A Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel SOURCE: Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA Archangel Michael by Andrei Rublev   O Holy and Great Archangel of God Michael, who standest, as the first of the Angels, before the ineffable and super-substantial Trinity; who art placed as a watcher and keeper over the human race; who hast with thine armies crushed the head of the proud Lucifer in the heavens and brought forever to shame his wickedness and treachery on earth!   To thee we have recourse in faith, and thee we entreat with love: be thou an indestructible shield and firm rampart for the holy Church and the Orthodox Christians, guarding them by the lightning power of thy sword from all enemies visible and invisible. Be thou a guardian Angel, a wise counsellor and companion of the Christian people, bringing them enlightenment, strength, joy, peace and consolation. Be thou a leader and a companion in battle to those who strive for the Orthodox Faith, so that all who fight against us may know that God and His holy Angels are with us. Forsake us not, O Archangel of God, with thy help and protection, who today glorify thy holy name: for behold, even if we are have sinned greatly, nevertheless we would not perish in our misdeeds, but rather turn to the Lord and be enlivened by Him unto good works. Illumine our minds with the light of God, which ever shineth on thy lightning-like brow, that we may come to understand what the good and perfect will of God for us is, and know all that we must do, and all that we must despise and shun. Strengthen, by the Lord’s grace, our weak will and infirm intention, so that, confirmed in the law of the Lord, we may cease to be cast about by worldly thoughts and lusts of the flesh, or like thoughtless children to be drawn by the perishing glamour of this world, lest by corruptible and earthly things we foolishly forget the eternal and the heavenly. And above all these things, ask for us from on high the spirit of true repentance, unfeigned sorrow before God, and contrition for our sins, so that we may spend the days that remain of this passing life, not in pleasing ourselves and serving our passions, but rather in effacing the evils we have committed, by the tears of faith and heartfelt contrition, by striving for purity and the holy works of mercy. And when the time of our demise shall approach, and of our liberation from this body of clay, leave us not, O Archangel of God, without defense against the spirits of evil under heaven, who surround us to close off the ascent on high for human souls; so that, guarded by thee, without stumbling we may attain unto those glorious habitations of Paradise, where there is neither sadness nor sighing, but life without end, and may be granted to see the light-filled Face of our all-good Lord and Master, falling with tears at His feet, crying out in joy and gladness: Glory to Thee, our most dear Redeemer, Who for Thy great love toward us unworthy ones hast seen fit to send Thine Angel as a minister of our salvation. Amen. Excerpted from the Akathist to the Archangel

Keep looking up...and pray

 

God speaks to us through His Holy Apostle Paul:
 



Holy Networking

No, it’s not an exclamation.  Instead, it’s a request for action. 

In short, would you help us, please? 

Fr. Nektarios is trying to round up 1000 seed packets to take to Kosovo on November 14.  Right now we have 614 packets.  Do any of you have a relationship with a local plant nursery or with gardening friends who might have be willing to donate seed packets for humanitarian relief?  Would you be willing to do some “holy networking” to find out?  This is, of course, to benefit the recipients of the Decani Monastery Relief Fund. 

Recently, a kind request to a nursery from a parishioner in New England yielded a gift of 100 seed packets.  If nurseries learn that the seeds are going to feed people who might otherwise go hungry, they are often willing to make a donation.  They would prefer to have new packets of seeds to sell in the spring than ones left over from the previous year.  Will you help with this humanitarian aid request for Serbian families &  monasteries in Kosovo, beloveds?  All it might take is a little “holy  networking.” 

Please mail seeds to arrive by the end of the first week of November, if possible.  Fr. Nektarios boards the plane on November 14.

God bless & reward you, our benefactors! 

Thank you so much,

Presbytera Candace

DMRF Board Member 

Mail seeds to:     

Decani Monastery Relief Fund

Very Rev. Nektarios Serfes

2618 W. Bannock Street

Boise, ID   83702

A resource for readers

I would like to let you all know about a professional on-line counseling service offered by someone I know and respect, John Garner.  John’s been a licensed, professional counselor for about 30 years and he is also a devout Orthodox Christian.  So, if you are looking (or know someone who is looking) for a counselor or life coach, please visit his site to learn more:  https://counselorcobblerjohn.com/  Be sure to check out his video on the “About Me” page. 

 

God’s peace,

Presbytera Candace

The Bible is like a garden

 

All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for training in righteousness, 2 Timothy 3:16.  The soul, therefore, gains great advantage from the reading of the Bible.   

Like a tree planted by streams of water, Psalms 1:3, the soul is irrigated by the Bible and acquires vigor, produces tasty fruit, namely, true faith, and is beautified with a thousand green leaves, namely, actions that please God. 

The Bible in fact, leads us towards pure holiness and holy actions.  In it we find encouragement to all the virtues and the warning to flee from evil. 

The Bible is a scented garden, delightful, beautiful.  It enchants our ears with birdsong in a sweet, divine and spiritual harmony, it touches our heart, comforts us in sorrow, soothes us in a moment of anger, and fills us with eternal joy.   

Let us knock at its gate with diligence and with perseverance.  Let us not be discouraged from knocking.  The latch will be opened. 

If we have read a page of the Bible two or three times and have not understood it, let us not be tired of re-reading it and meditating on it.  Let us seek in the fountain of this garden, a spring of water welling up to eternal life, John 4:14.  We shall taste a joy that will never dry up, because the grace of the Bible garden is inexhaustible.   

Thinking about gardens and bees, here is a short message from former bee keeper, Matushka Nina: 

Another great patron of bees and beekeepers is St. John the Baptist. We had an outdoor icon of him in our bee yard.  Every year on the feast of Mid-Pentecost, when gardens and orchards are blessed, he also would bless the bee yard.  And also St. Spyridon would be one, as he is always depicted wearing a beekeeper’s hat in icons.

 

Some people have undertaken a project of planting a Bible Garden.  You can find photos of these beautiful gardens on-line.  The book below is useful for getting your own Bible Garden going: