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The Long Walk To Church

Guess I’ll See You At The 9th Hour

If anyone is devout and a lover of God, let him enjoy this beautiful and radiant festival.  If anyone is a wise servant, let him, rejoicing, enter into the joy of his Lord.  If anyone has wearied himself in fasting, let him now receive his recompense.  If anyone has labored from the first hour, let him today receive his just reward. If anyone has come at the third hour, with thanksgiving let him keep the feast. If anyone has arrived at the sixth hour, let him have no misgivings; for he shall suffer no loss. If anyone has delayed until the ninth hour, let him draw near without hesitation. If anyone has arrived even at the eleventh hour, let him not fear on account of his delay. For the Master is gracious and receives the last, even as the first; he gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour, just as to him who has labored from the first. He has mercy upon the last and cares for the first; to the one he gives, and to the other he is gracious. He both honors the work and praises the intention ...  Read More

So begins the stirring Paschal homily of St John Chrysostom read in every Orthodox Church on the great Feast of Pascha (Easter). Every year it seems Great Lent comes with high hopes and expectations that somehow this one will be special, more focused and spiritually profitable than in years past.  Promises made, goals set, all seem to quickly fade into the din of daily life. 

For the non-Orthodox reader, Pascha or Easter is considered the greatest holiday or feastday of the year for the Orthodox Christian.  The 40 days prior to Pascha comprises Great Lent a preparatory period with very clearly proscribed behavioral and spiritual guidelines.  Fasting from meat, fish and dairy is a major component along with many additional church services, particularly the beautiful Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts (composed interestingly enough by Pope Gregory the Dialogist).  Abstinence from a variety of other pleasures is also the expectation. 

Orthodox view Lent very differently from Western Christians.  We see Great Lent as a time of repentance, as a “podvig”, a spiritual struggle whereby one is gradually transformed and open to the spiritual banquet of Pascha.  Lent is by design a therapeutic regime, a well conceived plan of spiritual transformation available to all who wish to partake; it really is quite remarkable, but never easy.

The Lenten worship is…a school of repentance. It teaches us what is repentance and how to acquire the spirit of repentance. It prepares us for and leads us to the spiritual regeneration without which ‘absolution’ remains meaningless. It is, in short, both teaching about repentance and the way of repentance. And since there can be no real Christian life without repentance, without this constant ‘re-evaluation’ of life, the Lenten worship is an essential part of the liturgical tradition of the Church.”
Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann

Like many Orthodox in America, I move in a non-Orthodox world.  None of my coworkers is Orthodox, most of my friends are not Orthodox or even religious for that matter.  Few have a clue what Lent is and most could really care less and perhaps only further confirms that I’m a bit cooky as I eat the salad while they dine on steak.  Work and social demands all continue unabated.  Keeping the Lenten fast on the go, is always a challenge.  Now I’m not making excuses or being judgmental, just stating a few facts.  All push and pull at the struggling pilgrim on his lenten journey.  Yet, no matter how meager my efforts, how many times I fail to live up to my own lenten expectations I take solice in the words of the great saint… “He has mercy upon the last and cares for the first; to the one he gives, and to the other he is gracious. He both honors the work and praises the intention”  and remain mindful that next year I get another chance to do it all over again. 

Thy resurrection, O Christ Savior, the angels in heaven sing. Do thou enable us on earth to glorify thee with pure hearts.
from Paschal Matins

 

Humbled By A Tiny Loaf Of Bread

12-11-06 update to this entry:  See my Prosphora baking tutorial in the wiki

When it comes to cooking and baking I’m pretty confident in my abilities. I’ll give just about anything a try except if its too fancy, requires a lot of detail or many steps to complete. You won’t find me making braided breads or complex sauces; I’m just not that patient or precise. A friend who is an accomplished baker once told me that cooking is an art but baking is science, understanding and controlling the chemical and physical properties of the ingredients is vital to a satisfactory result.

When I volunteered to make prosphora for our small mission parish I had anything but science in mind. What could be hard about making a small loaf of bread I thought. For the non-Orthodox reader,prophora is a loaf of leavened bread, ranging in size from 2-3 inches in diameter.  Prosphora means “offering” in Greek and is used as the Lamb (the bread which will become the Body of Christ) in the Divine Liturgy and will be used to commune the faithful. During the Proskomedia service prior to the beginning of Liturgy the priest uses several (in Russian practice) prosphora removing portions to commemorate the Mother of God, the Holy Angels, John the Baptist, and others according to the rubrics of the Church. Individual parishioners can also “offer"prosphora for the service along with prayers for family members and other Orthodox during the Proskomedia service.  The priest says a short prayer and removes two small wedges from the loaf and places it on the diskos to be later added to the consecrated Gifts.  After the service the prosphora is taken home and a small piece consumed every morning with a sip of Holy Water to “break the fast” ( you know the true origin of the word “breakfast”). My job was to make prosphora for this purpose.

As I said, I was pretty cocky about my ability to easily handle this. I’ve made lots of bread over the years, I regularly bake bagels and scones among other things, I’ll be cranking these out in no time was my attitude. Baking prosphora is not like baking muffins or any other type of bread; as with everything in the Orthodox world it is a serious matter requiring a prayerful attitude. After a short prayer and blessing of all ingredients the process begins. The ingredients are basic: unbleached white flour, yeast and water (in some recipes salt)... nothing else. This apparent simplicity is deceptive, the perfect loaf is dense, but not tough, springy but not airy. Comprised of two separate pieces of dough in layers, the top is impressed with a seal of the Cross, and in the four sections the Greek letters of “Jesus Christ,“IC XC, and the Greek word NIKA, which mean “Jesus Christ conquers.” 

I found a recipe at Prosphora.org called “the foolproof recipe”, now what could go wrong with that ... plenty! There are many variables in baking, even when only a few ingredients are involved. Every brand of flour is different, the same flour can vary seasonally and can change in moisture content from day to day, all effect the process.
The HolyProsphora BakersThe flour I use is a wonderful high gluten product out of a mill in Portland, Oregon, I use it for everything. The so called “foolproof recipe” is not so foolproof for this fool, it required tweaking and considerable trial and error to work with this flour.

With the recipe’s suggested amount of yeast, the loaves were too airy and light.  Airy and light doesn’t hold the impressed letters, they disappear as the dough rises. It also makes it hard for the priest to cut out wedges because the bread tends to form a light domed crust that collapses when cut. For casual eating this is fine but not for prosphora.  With no sugar to feed the yeast the dough rises slowly and can not be rushed, nor should it be allowed to rise too much before baking or put in prematurely to rise too much in the oven.  Humm ..what was that I said about details? Where breads with many ingredients like sugar, salt, and oils are more forgiving, with a greater margin for error, prosphora has to be done just right relying on exact measurements and timings to achieve the proper result. Unfortunately I’ve discovered this all the hard way! After making prosphora that ranged from hockey pucks to flying saucer look-a-likes I’m finally closing in on the right balance of ingredients and timings. 

The primary unlisted ingredient for the real “foolproof ” prosphora recipe ... HUMILITY!  Anyone need a hockey puck for breakfast?

CHRIST IS RISEN! XPICTOC BOCKPECE! XPICTOC ANECTH!

“When the devil tries to irritate you over trifles, or stir you to anger, to destroy your peace of soul, just say,    ‘Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen!’ He fears these words above all. They scorch him like fire and he will flee from you.”

Schema-Elder Michael of Varlaam

St John Chrysostom

The second Sunday of Great Lent is known as the Sunday of the Paralytic.   On this day the Gospel reading is from St Mark (2:1-12) telling of Jesus’ healing of the paralyzed man. This particular Sunday our parish held a “Reader Service” since our priest was out of town.  Monk Paul read the Gospel and followed it with a homily by St John Chrysostom on this particular passage. Several times in the homily he refers to the words of St Paul.  This made me think of something I heard and saw on Mt Athos concerning St John.  While at Vatopedi Monastery we were able to venerate a relic of St John, his skull with his left ear intact and incorrupt.  The relic was in a ornate silver box that had a door on the side that opened revealing the ear.  Having already seen the incorrupt hand of St John elsewhere this was an added “mind-blower”! 

Fr Mathew, the monk that showed us around Vatopedi, told us the story behind the “incorrupt ear”. 
The story goes:

  St. Proculus (the spirtual son of the saint and eventually Patriarch of Constantinople) was going to visit St John and entered the room where the saint was working and saw a man standing close at his side appearing to be talking in his ear.  Not wanting to interrupt, St Proculus left and returned sometime later and mentioned to St John that he had come by earlier and found him busy with a visitor.  St John exclaimed that he had no visitors that day and that he had been occupied in writing the entire time.

Incorrupt Hand of St John Fr Mathew told us that legend has it that St Paul would whisper in the saint’s ear as he was composing his many homilies.  What in effect St Proculus had seen in this tale is St Paul himself whispering in the ear of St John! The incorrupt ear is due to it being the ear St John would listen to the God inspired wisdom of the great saint with. 

God Is Glorious In His Saints!

More about St John Chrysostom
Read about the Orthodox view of saints
St John’s Marvelous Paschal Homily read every Pascha (Easter)

 

Atlar Boy Redux

One of the great joys of mid-life (there are apparently a few) has been the chance to rediscover a role I played as a youth: altar boy or altar server as it is more appropriately called in my case. Back then, I was not able to appreciate or understand what it means to play such a vital part in the Divine Services of the Church. Serving every Sunday was just something I did with little thought or reverence for the part. How amazing it is now to see what happens in the Altar and have a real understanding of what occurs during the services.

For the non-Orthodox reader; the Orthodox Church is very strict about who can enter the Holy of Holies, the Altar. It is not a place where one comes and goes nonchalantly. One first must have the blessing of the priest to enter. Women can not at anytime enter the Altar (sorry girls, that’s the rules!). It is a sacred place, where the unexplainable becomes real. A place where simple wine and bread are miraculously transformed into the body and blood of Christ. It is said that many of the saints and holy priests that have served over the centuries could see the descent of the Holy Spirit and the accompanying Seraphim and Cerubim (holy angels) during the Divine Liturgy. Our beloved St John of Shanghai and SF was apparently blessed with this gift.

To assist in what takes place in the altar and to witness things only seen by a few is an honor and a great privilege. Making the experience even better is serving along with my son Michael. Each week we carry out our liturgical duties with little talk, cuing each other with a nod or glance, moving in rythmn with the unseen hosts of heaven that joyously accompany us. Although Michael probably approaches this role much like I did, I have a sense that he has a better grasp on things than I did at his age.

The image above is us with our priest, Hieromonk Tryphon (a monk who is a priest). Up until recently we wore a mix of vestments that were hand-me-downs that really looked awful I’m sorry to say. Michael had managed to outgrow everything over the years and was wearing a vestment he could hardly get into which only came to mid-calf (it came from the parish I grew up in and could have been one that I, or one of my brothers wore). During my recent trip to Greece I had a matching set custom made. Since we are both about the same height (he’s a bit taller) I was able get two. Being vested properly makes a difference psychologically, much like the difference one feels putting on a coat and tie.