I think it's been a while since I've blogged.

I suppose having finished the 34th birthday octave is a good time to write. (Also I don't have much to do while sitting at my desk)

a. I don't support echo chambers. If I wanted to hear what I thought, I'd just say what I think. In general my opinion is kept to myself, and I often prefer to hear what others think. It's not that I don't have opinions on issues. (Rest assured I have them), I like seeing how different people process information differently. From that, we have a basis from which to form a conversation. Notice I did not say debate. (The reality is, you're not really going to convince people via argument (There is a time for debate too))...I do believe that once we can see where one another comes from, from there, while we may not be able to come to a conclusion, it will not turn into the complete ugly fest that we see these days.

b. Yes, I have been following the Amazon Synod. The arrogance to put it politely is so off-putting, it's a self inflicted embarrassment. God bless those speaking up, and the "restorationists who moved the "statues"

c. I've moved to the UK. If there's one place everyone needs to go, it's the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Theotokos and Royal Martyrs in Chiswick, just behind Gunnersbury Station. Pictures do not do the place justice. But you can see and feel the Faith in people. While I'm at it St Prokop's church in Hamburg is also a church that one must visit. (My phone is broken, otherwise I'd have pictures up)

d. I have a belief that if one is going to pay for something, that it needs to be worth the cost. Put another way, if I'm going to pay 1 euro for a bathroom, it well better be spotless like my mother would have it :p. (Well, for any price really). Free bathrooms are a gift :p

e. While I'm at it, I don't really like cancer sticks.

f. The fact that Tulsi Gabbard is in Hilary's war path, almost makes me want her to win the Dem nomination. (Actually, it does). On foreign policy/Hilary, she has nearly a degree of sanity. On everything else, not so much. She's seemed the most sane of the bunch (That's probably not saying much). I pray that sanity somehow return to the election process. In positive news, I will be eligible to run for president as of next year....As the old saying goes, I can't possibly do worse than all of the other politicians.

g. Allow me to share with you something I found beautiful :)

https://open.spotify.com/track/42oWxO7vHwRGbhSEBFoBbl?si=EEmm2u-lS2CMm4tvr3haCw

h. For those of you still here, I keep all of you in my prayers, and hope you do the same for me.

Our Father who art in the heavens.

In truth, my brothers, great is the compassion of Our Lord. Inexpressible is the philanthropy which He has shown and does show towards us, who are ungrateful and thankless for his beneficence. For not only did He, out of His infinite goodness, raise us up who had fallen into sin, but He also delivered laws of prayer to us which direct us both towards God and benefit the human race, so that we might not fall again into the same sins on account of foolishness. For this reason, as is proper, the very beginning of the Lord's prayer elevates ur intellect towards His Father, the Creator of all the visible and invisible creation, and indicating the sonship of which Christians were deemed worthy, Calling Him "Father" grace.

For since Our Lord Jesus Christ became incarnate, He gave the power to all, as many as believed in Him to become children and sons of God through Holy Baptism, as John the Theologian says: "To them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name" (Jn 1, 12). And the Apostle Paul writes: "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus (Gal 3, 26:. And again: "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba Father" (Gal 4, 6). That is to say, all faithful Orthodox Christians are children of God through faith and by the grace of Jesus Christ. And again, since you are children of God He m Who is your Father by grace, sent into your hearts The Holy Spirit of His Son, Who mystically cries out from there: "O Father, our Father."

For this reason our Lord tells us how we should pray towards our Father by grace, so that we may always keep under the grace of sonship, until the very end, that is, that we may be children of God, not only according to our baptismal rebirth but also according to our works and actions. For anyone who does not perform spiritual works worthy of the rebirth from above, but rather satanic works, such a person is not worthy to call God his Father, but he is to call the devil his father according to the saying of our Lord: "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do" (John 8, 44). That is to say, you are born according to the evil of your father the devil, and you love to do his evil lusts.

The Lord directs us to call God "Father," on the one hand in order to assure us that we have truly been born as children of God by the rebirth of divine Baptism, and the other hand because we must also persevere the characteristics, that is the virtues of our Father. We will accomplish this by feeling constraint in a way because of the kinship with have with Him, as He Himself says: "Be ye therefore merciful as your father is also merciful" (Lk 6, 36). That is, be compassionate towards everyone, just as your Father is compassionate towards everyone.

Elder Nikodemos the Hagiorite

Thoughts with Joe, the 17th anniversary edition

a. It's been 17 years since I've lost my mother. This year it was not only not easier, but also it felt to a certain degree like a gut punch/someone spit on my mom's grave, something set me off. Waking up in tears probably doesn't help those things either. But really missing her even more than normal. May her memory be eternal.

b. More often times than not, we are not in control. of how others respond, we are in control (relatively) of how we respond in situations. The important thing is to live out the great commandments of loving God, and loving neighbour, and staying close to the sacraments.

c. if I could ask some prayers for some private intentions, i would really appreciate it.

Were in Joe goes off on all the things. 

1. Let’s start with the tragedy in Paris.

It is precisely our love (however weak that it may be) that drives one to build such a magnificent temple. For those, you that wish to do donate to the rebuilding of Notre Dame Cathedral, by all means, do so. There is no need to have a false dichotomy to seek to build a beautiful church for Our Lord, and the love of our neighbour. 

Look there are tons of problems in the world. And as the old saying goes, one person can’t solve all the things. 

I can only speak to myself, but if I was one of those people blessed with billions or even millions of dollars, I wouldn’t want anyone to know, if I donated to a cause, or sought to fix a local thing…There are many people that have this strange idea that rich people are just sitting of tons of money hiding in their magic safe, ala Scrooge McDuck. I’m pretty sure this is not how it works. Forgive me, but are we supposed to be envious and tell others what to do with their money? I hardly think that this is okay! 

Could perhaps those with more do more? Of course, all of us could do better for that matter. As the old saying goes, many hands make light work. Put another way, be the change that one wishes to see…It’s much easier to take people seriously if they start in the mirror before they project onto others. 

I pray God they keep modern architects, Fr Vosko, anyone who would dare want to wreckovate. Rome is already in bad enough shape, they don’t need to add more salt to the wound. 

b. Blame Russia for all the things. 

Yes, this Is meant to be a joke, and not taken seriously. This isn’t to say that Russia is, by all means, perfect, by zero means do I think this, rather, I tend to think if you’re going to blame Russia for something, at least blame them for something they actually did. The question to ask is this: Would it really be in Russia’s best interest to deal with a person they don’t know about, or rather someone that they do know about? Trump and Russia are not a thing, and even if it were so, you’re all friends with me, you shouldn’t worry so much. 

c. To all my Western Christian friends

May your Holy Week be blessed. 

d. Celibacy apart from the Monastic tradition

Makes little to no sense. Humans, in general, do not desire to be alone. Put another way without prayer, it is near impossible to carry this task. The structure of the monastic life makes it much much easier to carry that cross than without it. (This is not to say it’s full-proof, certainly, it is not). I believe a return for the West to electing Bishops from the Monastic ranks would help much in this regard. 

If one is going to have secular priests, well, I guess the title says everything.

e. Since It’s Holy Week next week for us old calendar people.

Please keep us in your prayers :)

The Compartmentalising of various things.

I'm not exactly sure how to express what is going on my head for this entry, but I suppose there should be some effort rather than none.

One can be able to live from the various things that have happened. One could well have forgiven the person for the faults or what not. And perhaps well, there is still residue from the events that one has forgiven the person from.

Put another way, one has forgiven, but one certainly hasn't forgotten the events that surrounded the things that have happened,

An extremely difficult thing is to deal with the flashbacks of the things that have happened. A flashback does not have to be of any kind of influence...

If anything I ask for prayers...

God Forgives, forgive me a sinner....

Yesterday was Cheesefare Sunday (aka Forgiveness Sunday)

So for the first thing, I beg forgiveness for any wrongs that I have done...and I hope to do. better.

Being that yesterday was a cumulation of all the things. (The end of DST, my mom's birthday, and forgiveness Sunday) It made for a rather miserable Sunday.

Today is Clean Monday, we start from the beginning for this Lenten Season, so I figure what a day to return to blogging on a more regular basis. I'm not quite sure what direction I'm going to take this blog, but we will see where things go. I'm open to suggestions.

The Lenten season is a chance for us to grow by penance, fasting, and almsgiving.

I know there are a lot of things to address, but I think addressing them all in one post isn't going to solve things.

Let us acquire the Spirit of Peace so that in Christ, many will be saved...