We Don't Become Saints Overnight
This reflection was originally shared on Instagram:
Recently I heard a story about St John Maximovitch that has stuck with me and I think about it all the time now.
He was a humble clergyman who lived in California for a time, always seen carrying around 2 large brief cases everywhere he went, and faithfully serving the Liturgy daily.
It became a habit, that each time he would serve the Liturgy, it seemed that he would always be starting late, even though he arrived to church rather early. This was peculiar, so one of the parishioners asked him one day, "Vladika, why is it that you always begin the Liturgy late?" .... I don't know remember his exact words, but come to find out, those two heavy suitcases were full of little scraps of paper with names. All the names of people he prayed for, just shoved into those two big suitcases he brought with him everywhere. He wouldn't begin the Liturgy until he had prayed for each and every one of the people on his scraps of paper.
I was so struck by this story. He, of course, is a saint, but he didn't become one overnight. He spent his life serving others, praying for others, and ultimately that is still what he does today. This is what it means to be a saint ... the work we do now continues even beyond the grave.
I've taken this to heart, and feel so encouraged by his life and example. He didn't start off with 2 suitcases. He probably had a small list and it continued to grow from there.
We all start somewhere. Every day is a chance to begin again. My sweet girl made her own prayer list and it has about 30 names on it. It's everyone she knows and loves dearly. She remembers them each day in her prayers. Her devotion and zeal to do that which is pleasing to the Lord always amazes me. Children truly are a gift and carry with them such simplicity of faith if we offer it to them ๐
I hope one day to have a few suitcases full of people to pray for just like St John. May we always strive to have such devotion to the ones we love!
Khouria Destinie
You also might enjoy:
All of my favorite feast day traditions have some food-related theme to them. St Phanourios, or the baking of the phanouropita, is one of my absolute favotires and just so happens to feast day tradition that sparked my love for learning more about the cultural food traditions celebrated throughout the world! This year, we had the joy of serving phanouropita for coffee hour!
An Orthodox Motherโs Blessing is a time for the pregnant mama to invite her close sisters to spend a quiet, cozy evening with food and prayer to carry her into her time of labor. This can be done in addition to a baby shower, but its a different than a baby shower. Itโs a chance for the women in her life to slow down, pour out some love, wisdom and encouragement into the mama as she prepares for birth. We hosted our first one today, and it was so incredibly soul-filling. We laughed and cried together, and offered prayers for our sister in Christ!
As I was preparing for the feast of Holy Transfiguration (August 6), I had a brilliant idea to create a โLight of Christโ Night Light! This is a simple project just about anyone can do! Check out this blogpost for simple instructions and links to purchase anything you see here!
Do you have a notebook for taking down quotes from Holy Fathers in your reading? Do you always have a book of Holy Fathers that you are reading, and can turn to in a moment of gloom? Start now - this is essential.โ - Fr Seraphim Rose.
Yesterday we had our house blessed. This morning, my children decided to recreate our living room into a little Church (literally) โฆ๏ธ which reminded me.... According to Saint John Chrysostom, the home is a little church. Itโs where we continue to encounter Christ by seeking Him through prayer and study and where we struggle to acquire the virtues of the Christian life. This practice of cultivating our home into a little church is such a joy and one I am very grateful to continue to cultivate. I did not grow up in an Orthodox home. My husband and I both converted to Orthodoxy in our mid-twenties before we had children. In many ways, I feel like I am creating our Little Church without a paradigm. As my children grow, I feel myself growing right along side them. I have not figured it out fully and I am still on the journey, but I wanted to share some ways we work to create our home into a little church.
One of my goals for the New Year is to โwrite it downโ. Check out these Orthodox resources that will aid in this goal including the Journal of Thanksgiving by Ancient Faith which has lines to record gratitude for every day of the year for 3 years.
Recently I heard a story about St John Maximovitch that has stuck with me and I think about it all the time now. He was a humble clergyman who lived in California for a time, always seen carrying around 2 large brief cases everywhere he went, and faithfully serving the Liturgy daily. It became a habit, that each time he would serve the Liturgyโฆ
Merry Christmas from our family to yours! May the remembrance of our Lordโs incarnation life your spirits and cause your hearts to rejoice! Christ is born, glorify Him!
You might be wondering, โWhat exactly is Ascetic life of Motherhood?โ What does that mean exactly? Good question! Iโm happy to explain! An ascetic life is one characterized by a rigorous life of prayer and repentance.
In the Tradition of the Orthodox Church, when a baby is born, prayers are done at the following times: On the day of Birth; On the 8th day (Naming Prayers); On the 40th day (Churching), and their baptism. I love that the Church so tenderly cares for each child - they are prayed for, cherished, embraced and are full participants in the Christian life from birth! In this blog post, youโll find information about the Churching (40 day blessing), book recommendation and my own personal reflection as a mother to 4 children.
1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage, and yet it remains perhaps the most under discussed tragedy in our culture. In this blogpost, you will find some resources both for the one who is grieving and the one who wishes to help but doesnโt know how. These resources are intended for those who are Orthodox Christians, so the resources will be through that lens
As apart of our homeschool routine, we say prayers together before we begin. These are some of my favorite morning prayer/student Orthodox prayers. I wanted something beautiful we could hang up so the prayers were easy to find and pray together. Another aspect that was very important to me was that my children has a way of visually tracking their various tasks throughout the way.
I love Theology and all things Orthodox, but in this season of life I need simplicity. A little nugget to take and slowly digest. I try to carve out a few minutes a day to read, so sometimes I get one or two pages in. I also recently subscribed to Audible and I have enjoyed listening to books while doing chores, or nursing my little one - and I have found that I am actually able to โreadโ a lot more through that method. So I will share my booklist on Audible as well! Below you will find my current reading list and a brief commentary on my thoughts so far!