Nymphios

The Transfiguration of Humanity

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 14:21:00 +0000

Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ
Why is this feast so important? On Mt. Tabor, we see the perfection of humanity in Christ. We see the perfect humanity we will have if we attain perfect union with God, a union that we start and constantly work on in this life, but is only ever perfected when we reach Heaven. Since Christ is both human and Divine by nature, He has a perfected humanity by design, since He is a human perfectly joined to God by virtue of His incarnation, where as a Divine Being, he became a human being in full, without giving up His Divinity. He became the perfect man and revealed that He is so in the Transfiguration on Tabor, showing that this humanity, always manifest to His apostles, is in fact a perfected humanity, since it is perfectly united to God. This both strengthen the apostles in advance of the passion with the knowledge that Christ truly is God and thus will survive death and also shows us the perfected humanity we will have if we attain perfect union with God, a union attained by an ongoing process of sacrifice and self-control throughout your life, leaving the pleasures of this life for the tranquility and inner peace found in God. It is a process in which we progress throughout life, but is only complete in Heaven, for only there are we ever free from the passions and pleasures and selfishness of this world. This is the process of our salvation, the ongoing process of our sanctification throughout life that is only perfected or completed when we reach Heaven, and we see the end goal of our salvation, possessing a perfected humanity, in Christ's Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor.

Clothe Us In Thy Purity, O Virgin!

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 16:42:00 +0000

The Deposition of the Precious Robes of Our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos at
Blahernae

O Champion Leader, who hast constantly defended thy city by thy robe, clothe the sinner in thy purity and virginity and raise her from the death of sin, O Mother of the Immortal who survives death!

Send Thy Love in Flames of Fire to Destory Our Sins

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Sun, 24 May 2015 15:29:00 +0000

Great Feast of the Descent of the All-Holy and Life-Creating Spirit
(also called Pentecost Sunday, Trinity Sunday, and Green Sunday)

We call the Son of God "Christ" ("Anointed One") because He is anointed with the Holy Ghost. This status as a Divine Person is something He held from all eternity and was made manifest to us while He walked with us on earth. Today we celebrate the same Holy Ghost coming down upon the Holy Apostles. This event is an anointing with the Holy Ghost and is the first celebration of the Sacrament of Chrismation. This took up the Church into a more perfect union with Christ, as the Bride of Christ was now also anointed with the Holy Ghost, participating as a creature in the Divine Life that Christ already had from all eternity.

The Holy Ghost comes to us through each of the Seven Mysteries of the Church, but most prominently in the Mystery of Chrismation, which gives us the power to bear witness to the Faith. That is what we see in the Holy Apostles when they were Chrismated (literally "Anointed", a word clearly related to the title "Christ"): they went out and bore witness to the faith, in the immediate term by preaching the truth unapologetically (which is what we are all called to do as Christians, to likewise bear witness) and in the long term by being tortured and, in the case of 11 of the 12, dying for the faith as martyrs, which is the most perfect witness.

Christ gave us only two commandments to live by: first, to love God above all else and second to love our neighbor as ourselves. The Holy Ghost is Divine Love, the Bond of Love that holds together the Father and the Son as One Divine Being, Proceeding from the Father and resting on the Son (lest we confuse the Divine Persons for each other, the Son is not the Origin and the Father is not the Christ, each is His own Divine Person). The Holy Ghost also is the Bond of Love that holds together Christ and His Bride, the Church, as well as holding together married couples as one as an icon of Christ and the Church (and I mean real couples, not lustful affairs that falsely pass for marriage in countries with more passions than sense *cough*Ireland*cough* [To be fair, if a man and a woman have a bond that is only physical and emotional passions without Divine Love, that isn't marriage either, just to be clear. Lust is a sin no matter who does it.]).

So the Holy Ghost guides us to accomplish the two most basic functions of a Christian: to love God as He loves us and to love our neighbor as God loves our neighbor. We read that we are to love neighbor as self, but we are first to love God as He loves us, so then when we love neighbor, we are to love that person as God loves that person. When we love God or others, we do not wish any worldly good on them. This world passes. Don't get attached. We just celebrated the Saturday of the Dead yesterday, a nice reminder that we won't stick around and no one is guaranteed a long life. We all exist for God, not this world. We love God as He loves us and we love neighbor as God loves that neighbor. We return to God the same Divine Love He shows us, and we show to neighbor the Divine Love that God is trying to show that person, so that Divine Love may flow through us, into those God has placed in our lives, and back to the Father who sent this Divine Fire to us through the Son. It is the same Divine Love manifesting Himself in multiple places in multiple ways, each in a different capacity according to the purpose God has for each of the people there. This is what we do. Having received Divine Love in flames of fire, we bear witness to this Love by enduring the difficulties of life. This is our following the footsteps of the Apostles and our participation in the Passion of Christ, so that we may participate in His Resurrection, a Passion and Resurrection He endured because of His love for us, because of the Anointing with Divine Love He had from all eternity. Let us do the same.

Troparion, Tone 8
Blessed are You, O Christ our God who revealed the fishermen as most wise by sending them the Holy Spirit; through them You caught the entire world. Loving Master, glory to You.

Kontakion, Tone 8
When the Most High descended and confused tongues,* He scattered the people;* but when He distributed the tongues of fire,* He called all to unity.* Therefore, with one voice,* let us praise the most Holy Spirit.

Ikos
Grant to your servants, O Jesus, a prompt and firm comfort; for our spirits are filled with sadness. Do not abandon us in our affliction and do not keep yourself far from our sorely-tried hearts, but come to us in haste. Come close to us, O Lord, who are present everywhere; in your goodness, remain united to those who love You, as You were always with your apostles, so that, united with You, we may sing and glorify your most Holy Spirit.

The Conqueror is Risen!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 17:18:00 +0000

Christ is risen, despoiling the attacks of Cosmos! Cosmos can attack as he pleases, be it an unfaithful spouse or a country invading your country, he cannot defeat Christ and Christ cannot be defeated by him. By surviving the attacks of Cosmos, Christ defeats him, for Cosmos has no power over Him. Cosmos is exposed as empty and nothing, impotent and a fraud, for Christ endured every attack of Cosmos, even to the greatest attacks, yet Christ survived because Cosmos has no power over Him. Cosmos is defeated because even his greatest attacks are impotent against the Immortal anointed with Divine Love. So whatever cross we continue to carry, be it the wounds caused by infidelity or the wounds caused by an invading army, we rejoice and celebrate for Christ is Our Conqueror and He is Risen!

ХТОС ВОСКРЕСЕ! ВОИСТИНУ ВОСКРЕСЕ!

ΧΡΙΣΤΟϚ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! ΑΛΙΘΩϚ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ!

CHRISTUS SURREXIT! VERE SURREXIT!

Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!

Cristo Ressuscitou! Em Verdade Ressuscitou!

Христос Воскрес! Воістину Воскрес!

Christus ist auferstanden! Er ist wahrhaftig auferstanden!

Cristo è risorto! È veramente risorto!

¡Cristo ha resucitado! ¡En verdad ha resucitado!

True Unrequited Love

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Sat, 04 Apr 2015 13:55:00 +0000

"Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago answered and said to king Nabuchodonosor: We have no occasion to answer thee concerning this matter. For behold our God, whom we worship, is able to save us from the furnace of burning fire, and to deliver us out of thy hands, O king. But if he will not, be it known to thee, O king, that we will not worship thy gods, nor adore the golden statue which thou hast set up." -Daniel 3:16-18 (From the 15th Reading at Vespers this evening).

As we keep vigil at the tomb, let us remember these words of the Three Holy Children, that they will serve God faithfully, regardless of what the Lord does for them. Whether the Lord blesses them or not, they will still serve Him. That is Love. That is the Love of God. That is the Love God teaches us. Let us remember this everyday, that those who love purely and selflessly like this will see the Resurrection that we behold at this evening's services.

The Sacrifice of the Bridegroom Because of Free Will

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Fri, 03 Apr 2015 13:18:00 +0000

Today we celebrate the Passion of Christ more vividly than the other days of the year. We do so with an air of appreciation and awe, aspiring to live the same Divine Love, as well as Christ lived it. He is the Christ, the One "anointed" with the Holy Ghost, with Divine Love, and we are called to be icons of Him to the people He puts around us.

So many of the hymns today speak of the wondrous things that Christ did for His beloved, only to be tortured and killed by them. Such is the life of the Bridegroom. He gave his bride blessings, only to receive curses. He wanted her to have a wedding crown from him, but she gave him a crown of thorns and crowned herself with sin. He wanted her to live her life with him and worked to prepare a place for her, but she ran away like the prodigal.

All this because she has free will and he refuses to trample on that. He continues to live his sacrifice for her regardless of what she does. He, as bridegroom, gives himself to give Divine Love that proceeds from the Father to her and her to the Father. That is the sacrifice he is called to live. No matter how holy or unholy she is, this sacrifice is always needed. She cannot become holy without it and she cannot remain holy without it. She needs this sacrificial love constantly, more than air itself. Such is the life of the soul. As we heard in the first Passion Gospel, apart from Christ, we can do nothing.

This sacrifice of his is not for nothing. While it is bitter and unbearable while she rejects him for her life of sin, his endurance of this suffering is the sacrifice by which she is healed and restored to the purity she had before. The third day always follow with the resurrection. Divine Love is the Immortal. The sacrifice of Christ is efficacious because He survives death. He is victorious because He survives death. For as long as we endure in this sacrifice, seeing the Passion of Christ in our own suffering, we will survive and be victorious, for this Love expressed so perfectly on the Cross is the Immortal Love.

The Mystical Supper of the Bridegroom with His Bride

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Thu, 02 Apr 2015 18:05:00 +0000

On this holy day, the Church dines with Her Bridegroom, and He gives His own Flesh to Her for food, that they might be united in the flesh forever.

Вечери Твоея Тайныя днесь, Сыне Божий, причастника мя приими: не бо врагом Твоим тайну повем, ни лобзания Ти дам яко Иуда, но яко разбойник исповедаю Тя: помяни мя Господи во Царствии Твоем.

Of your mystical Supper, Son of God, receive me today as a communicant; for I will not tell of the Mystery to your enemies; I will not give you a kiss, like Judas; but like the Thief I confess you: Remember me, Lord, in your Kingdom.

In This Sign We Conquer

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Sun, 08 Mar 2015 16:06:00 +0000

Today on the Third Sunday of the Great Fast, at the midpoint of Great Lent (the midpoint is actually Wednesday), the Church strengthens us by showing us in the Cross an icon of the entirety of the Great Fast and Pascha.

Today we sing "Krestu tvoyemu poklanyayemsya, Vladiko, i svyatoye voskreseniye tvoye slavim." "We venerate Thy Cross, O Master, and glorify Thy Holy Resurrection." We participate in the sacrifice of Christ that we might win against our enemies. We suffer together with Christ that we might be a part of His Resurrection. We empty ourselves by fasting and take part in His suffering on the Cross, that by this sacrifice we might defeat our worldly enemies and attain the victory of Heaven. The whole reason why Christ's Death and Resurrection is important is because Christ alone survives death, so we must be a part of Him if we wish to survive our own deaths. He is our only Savior. By that fact we know that the Holy Cross is indeed "our only hope", as the medieval hymn goes: "Ave O Crux, spes unica." "Hail, O Cross, [our] only hope."

By participating in Christ's suffering and death, we participate in His victory for the love that endures suffering is the victorious love. In our Lenten practices-as well as our penitential practices throughout the year-we participate in the suffering of Christ, for it is in suffering that we, who have received Christian Love from God, attain victory. The love that endures suffering is the victorious love. Christ, the one "anointed" with Divine Love, suffered and by surviving His suffering He survived His enemies, leaving them useless against Him. Such is the nature of Love. The bigger the suffering that is survived, the bigger the victory. Let us participate in Divine Love, a life that attains victory by surviving suffering as Christ Our God survived suffering.

A 23rd Eastern Catholic Church has been created: the Eritrean Catholic Church

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 12:50:00 +0000

Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Joseph in Asmara.

This morning Pope Francis approved the granting of autonomy to the eparchies of the Ethiopian Catholic Church in Eritrea, thus recognizing the Eritrean Catholic Church as a self-governing Oriental Catholic Church. This brings the number of particular Catholic Churches in the Alexandrian Tradition to three, with the Ethiopian Catholic and Coptic Catholic Churches; the number of Oriental Catholic Churches (i.e. those of the Alexandrian and Antiochean Traditions) to nine; and the overall number of Eastern and Oriental Catholic Churches to 23.

The Eritrean Catholic Church (like it's parent Church in Ethiopia) has Metropolitan status, with the Metropolis centered in Asmara and eparchies in Barentu, Keren, Segheneity. These four eparchies were formerly a part of the Ethiopian Church under the Metropolitan of Addis Abeba. Now the Eparch of Asmara has been promoted to Metropolitan, having in his metropolis the other three eparchies in Eritrea, with all this gaining the approval of Rome this morning.

Mnohaya i blahaya lita!

The Incarnation and Suffering

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 16:32:00 +0000

We are celebrating Christ's revelation of Himself as God and man. Today on the Julian Calendar it is the Feast of the Nativity and on the Gregorian Calendar yesterday was the Feast of the Theophany.

In becoming man, Christ did not degrade Himself to the level of man, rather His humanity was taken up into the Life of the Trinity. He took humanity upon Himself, not to lower Himself, but to elevate humanity. That is why Christ suffered and died: His humanity was taken up into the Self-sacrificial life He lives with the Father in Divine Love. His humanity had to die on the cross because it lived in the Sacrificial Life of the Trinity. It is a sacrifice to raise us up to the Life of the Trinity for which we were created by removing our sins from us. We are called to live a life of self-sacrifice for God's sake-to the point of martyrdom if need be-because we were created to live in the Life of the Trinity-not lives of emotional or physical pleasure. So let us rejoice because God is the Lord and has appeared to us! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! З нами Бог! God is with us!

Christ is Baptized! In the Jordan!

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Tue, 06 Jan 2015 20:53:00 +0000

Icon of the Feast:

Troparion of the Feast:

What is Peace?

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Thu, 25 Dec 2014 14:59:00 +0000

Хт\ос Родивсz! Славїм Иого!

Христос Раждається! Славіте Його!

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

Cristo Nasceu! Glorifica-lo!

Peace is having all your passions and emotions under control and at rest. That is peace. It is this peace of which Christ is prince and this is what He came to bring us. He came to free us from the yoke of sin, from the passions and emotions sin gives us, so we call Him Savior. He did so that, free from the dictatorship of the passions, we might be at peace and live in God, so we call Him Prince of Peace. Peace is not everyone being in accord with each other about the passions and sins they all have; peace is having your passions controlled and at rest. This is freedom. Giving in and obeying the passions is slavery and pleasure is the lie the passions use to control you; not letting you see the trap until after you are addicted. Christ is the Light that dispels these lies. He is the truth that silences the darkness. He is the one who brings peace. He is the Light-giver. He promises to free us from passions, the only thing stopping Him is that people won't let Him. So let us rejoice that we have been shown the Light on this glorious night of Christ's Nativity and pray for those who still need to find peace from passions and are still in the darkness.

Why do We Fast? To Gain Self-Control Over Our Passions.

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Sun, 14 Dec 2014 21:13:00 +0000

For the value of fasting consists not in abstinence from food, but in withdrawing from sinful practices; since he who limits his fasting only to an abstinence from meats, is one who especially disparages it. Do you fast? Give me proof of it by your works! Is it said by what kind of works? If you see a poor man, take pity on him! If you see in enemy, be reconciled to him! If you see a friend gaining honour, envy him not! If you see a handsome woman, pass her by! For let not the mouth only fast, but also the eye, and the ear, and the feet, and the hands, and all the members of our bodies.
- St. John Chrysostom

We Give Thanks to Thee O Lord For Showing Us Thy Divine Love

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Thu, 27 Nov 2014 16:27:00 +0000

Great Doxology, said at the Moleben of Thanksgiving:

All-Consuming and Immortal Divine Love

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 18:28:00 +0000

The Christian couple gives thanks to the Lord for the grace they have received to live in Divine Love, showing that love to each other and seeing it through each other, that through their union and mutual self-sacrifice they might get to Heaven, that the children who are fruits of their union might also get to Heaven, and that others may see them, and through them as icons of Christ and His Bride the Church, see the love of Christ the Bridegroom, who came with great mercy to sacrifice Himself on the Cross to bring His Beloved-and through Her all men-back to Himself, for Divine Love, the Holy Ghost, knows not death and-far from being overcome by the world's evil-instead destroys the world's evil, selfish, and pleasure-serving designs, restoring the sinners It consumes to purity so they can have life in Christ and live in Divine Love forever.

The Iconostas of St. Peter's Basilica and the Saint's Tomb

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 17:04:00 +0000

The Italian blog "Traditio Liturgica" has studied the original St. Peter's Basilica and consequently produced images of it's interior and exterior as it appeared when it was more than the crypt it is today. The original St. Peter's Basilica was built by St. Constantine the Great over the tomb of St. Peter, which was in a common cemetery and covered by a large 1st Century monument built by the Christians of Rome. In the 16th and 17th Centuries, the Basilica was torn down to a single story's height to serve as the crypt level of the new (and current) Basilica which was then built on top of it. St. Peter's Square was vastly expanded in the process from the size of the small Constantinian square to the square that exists today.

Period image of the original Basilica complex

Recreation of the Basilica Complex

Overhead shot of the square with the Basilica's facade

Wide-shot of the interior

The icon of Christ on the apse wall used to be flanked by Sts. Peter and Paul.

Close-up of the whole altar.

Notice the iconostas that existed before the Latins came to become more liturgically divergent from the rest of the Church. In the Early Church, the Iconostas was a colonnade with curtains drawn across the length of the collonade (the curtains are missing in this image). Icons then stood in the spaces between the columns. This evolved from the original practice of a single massive curtain separating the Altar and the Nave (which is still observed in the Antiochean Tradition). This "colonnade" Iconostas then developed into the solid wall of today in the East, whereas the Latins maintained the colonnade until the Renaissance when it was shortened to the Altar Rails of today.

Overhead of the Altar

Interior of the Altar.

The altar has a nearly identical layout to the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom in Constantinople. Here is the interior of the Ahia Sophia for comparison.

Interior of the Altar.

You'll notice the Holy Table itself faces geographical east, even though the building doesn't (it faces west). This is an ancient custom of the city of Rome: at the consecration all would face geographical east, even if that resulted in some or even all of the congregation turning their backs to the altar.

Overview of the transepts, complete with secondary altars, each with an Iconostas. On the side of the High Altar one can see the door leading down to another altar over St. Peter's Tomb.

Far wall of one transept. The door leads into the ambulatory, with more secondary altars.

Looking over the Holy Door through the nave.

Directly under the High Altar is this altar one floor down.

This altar is immediately and directly over St. Peter's tomb. Above the bones of St. Peter is a monument to his memory, built in a pagan style as to not appear suspicious to the authorities at the time. Back to back with that monument is this Altar (which faces geographical east), which predates the Basilica and was preserved (together with the monument) due to it's popularity. Therefore, as to not destroy these structures, the main Altar was raised one floor above the nave. This chapel was later converted into the current-day Clementine Chapel and the wall in the middle at the bottom the two staircases in the altar was converted to the current Confessio. The floor of the nave became the floor of the current crypt level (the grottoes) and the floor of the current basilica was built somewhat above the level of the floor inside the altar of the old basilica.

What is Holy Communion and Who Exactly Can Receive It?

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 16:40:00 +0000

The Holy Eucharist is the carnal intimacy between Christ and His Bride the Church. It is the exchange of Divine Love between Christ and His Beloved. He gives Himself to Her and becomes a part of Her and filled with Him She becomes a part of Him. In their carnal union, Christ and the Church become One Flesh. It is the antithesis of sin and as such the Devil hates it. It is the one thing in the world that is the most opposed to him and everything he stands for. Sin is merely separation from God; following your own will instead of His. Hence, sin and the Eucharist are irreconcilable. One cannot be in Christ and sin at the same time. To attempt to do so is hypocrisy, but being sinful when approaching for Communion is more than that, it actually impedes the exchange of Divine Love. How can you participate in the back and forth exchange of Divine Love with Christ if you do not have Divine Love within you?

Some, seeking to commit the sin of sacrilege with the Divine Eucharist, make excuse with excuses in sins saying that we are all sinners and thus if some can receive, all can receive. No! This is a lie. We are not all sinners. Those who have gone to Confession are not sinners. They are holy. They will remain that way until they sin again. Those who have sinned are sinners and will remain that way until they go to confession. Sinfulness is a temporary condition. It lasts only until you go to confession. After Confession you are not a sinner, but holy and will remain in that condition until you sin again. There is a reason why we hear at Divine Liturgy "Holy Things for the holy". Communion is for the holy and it is Confession that restores you to holiness after falling into sinfulness.

The Eucharist is the exchange of Divine Love between Christ and His Beloved and Confession restores you to Divine Love after being in sin. Hence, Communion is for the holy and Confession is for the sinful. Those two mysteries have mutually exclusive demographics. They are not the same and neither are the people for whom those mysteries exist. Why is this distinction between the holy and the sinful so black and white and so important? Because those who die while holy go to Heaven and those who die while sinful go to Hell. "But what about purgatory?", some say in a whiny voice. Purgatory (which is a lake of fire) is just a way for us to try and explain the post-mortem purification for those who are holy, but haven't yet reached the perfection of holiness. (While purgatory is a much newer way of explaining post-mortem purification than the Toll-Booths, it does make much more sense, at least to me.) Post-mortem purification is no more permanent than this life, so that's no cop-out. Regardless of everything, in the end, everyone will be either among the sheep or the goats; everyone will be in either Heaven or Hell.

Some, also seeking to make excuse with excuses in sin, say that none of us are worthy, hence, if some can receive, all can receive. No! What do we chant for a man when he is ordained? AXIOS! Axios means "worthy" or "he is worthy". Similarly, the troparion of Christ the Bridegroom ascribes the vigilant soul as worthy and the slothful soul as unworthy. Not all are unworthy. God does not commit sacrilege with His own gifts. People on earth might want to commit sacrilege with God's gifts, and do so in many ways, but God does not. When He gives Divine Grace to someone in any of the mysteries, it is because that person has proved himself worthy. Those baptized have proved themselves worthy by professing faith in the Church. Those absolved in Confession have proved themselves worthy by repenting of their sins (as opposed to being unrepentant). Those receiving Communion have proved themselves worthy by going to Confession and remaining pure afterwards.

We do not exist for the mysteries, the mysteries exist for us. They exist to strengthen us in different ways, each according to different conditions a person might be in, whether it be purification for the sinful in confession, strength for the holy in Communion, and so on. If the mysteries exist for us, then we are worthy of them. God calls all men to salvation through the mysteries of the Church. There are no other means of salvation, since in the holy mysteries, there is all help for all people, each according to his own kind. The only problem that can arise then is if someone in one condition tries to grab the mystery designed for another person. In their pride they delude themselves with a fake union that does not exist, since they are not properly disposed for that mystery and it is not for them. Each mystery is for a different specific purpose. The sin of lust, more than any other, impedes the mysteries, not only because it is the most common sin by far, but also because it is a direct parody of the exchange of Divine Love in Holy Matrimony, committing sacrilege against the flesh, which is designed for that exchange.

Sin is separation from God and Holy Communion is union with God. Not only is it hypocritical to try and have both, it is downright delusional. Holy Communion is not a tool for people to manipulate to support their sins. It is God Himself. Holy Communion is the expression of Divine Love between Christ and those who are already in His Love. Baptism and Confession are what Christ established for those outside His Love. Christ came to convert us from our sins and join us to Himself. He did not come to support the lives we were already living. If that was so, then His coming would have been for nothing.

"Why I Come to Church"

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 19:00:00 +0000

The Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia produced the above video of members of the faithful answering the titular question "Why I Come to Church".

As one girl said in the video, we go to Church because we are looking for answers. If we already knew everything and were already perfect, we wouldn't need Church. The Church is a hospital for sinners and nothing more. The Church's only mission is to convert all nations. We exist to help people out of sinful and Godless lives and into the love with which God loved them before He created them. We neither condemn nor condone; we convert. That is all for which we were established.

Why do I go to Church? Because that is where I can encounter Divine Love, far more clearly than anywhere else. It's not like contemplating nature, where we can see a mere fingerprint or footprint of God; mere evidence of Himself that He left behind. The Holy Eucharist truly is God and He truly is there in the Church. We are there to be intimate with God. The Holy Eucharist is the Carnal Intimacy between Christ and His Bride the Church. We are there to help each other to attain that union with God. We are there to escape this world and go to Heaven. God wants to love mankind, but most people in the world run away from Him into the empty pleasures of the world. That is the problem we exist to solve: to bring people out of the world and into the Divine Love for which they were created by God.

The Bridegroom Waiting for His Bride

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 18:55:00 +0000

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Today we worship the Holy Bridegroom who sacrificed Himself on the Cross for His Bride, the Church, that all men might be saved through Her. He alone is Our Savior for He is the Creator of all men and the End for which all men were created and He sacrificed Himself to free us from the sins into which we had run away that through Him and His Church we all might live in the Divine Love for which we were created.

We belong to Him by right because He created us to live in Him. We ran away into sin, casting ourselves into death and vanity by our own stubborn will and selfishness. But since He has power over the living and the dead and Himself survives death, we, through participation in His Cross, find freedom from sinful passions that we may live in the Divine Love for which we were created. We participate in His Cross by accepting the suffering in our daily lives and giving ourselves to Him in the Sacraments, above all in the Eucharist, which is the Carnal Intimacy between Christ and His Bride. In the Eucharist we receive the Flesh and Blood of Christ who gave Himself on the Cross to be with us, that filled with Him, we might become a part of Him and dwell with Him in Heaven, having left all worldy passions and sins behind, being rendered pure again by His Blood. This is why we celebrate the Cross. We lament because Our Beloved is dead and rejoice because His surviving death raises us out of our sinful passions and back to our original purity in Him.

Finding Sanctity in Simple Housework

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 20:54:00 +0000

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Euphrosynos the Cook. He was the cook of a monastery in the 9th century that was mocked and looked down upon by the other monks as an incompetent fool. He prepared food for the brethren daily while enduring their abuse without retaliation or complaint as a sacrifice and thereby attained great humility and sanctity. A certain priest of that same monastery fervently and unceasingly implored God to show him the treasures that God has prepared for those that love Him. God granted him his request and in a dream showed the priest the Heavenly Garden of Paradise. The priest was awed and left speechless at the ineffable beauty of Heaven. He was shocked to see the Monk Euphrosynos walking casually through the Garden. He asked Monk Euphrosynos how was it that he was there. He replied that by the mercy and grace of God he was able to attain a place in Paradise. The priest then humbly asked the monk for some of Heaven's treasures. St. Euphrosynos picked three apples from a tree and wrapped them in the priest's handkerchief. Just then, the simandron was sounded to awaken the monks and call them to the chapel for Matins. The priest realized that it was all a dream. He looked over at his handkerchief and saw that it still contained the three apples, with an ineffable fragrance that filled the room.

In the chapel, the priest, with a frustrated tone, asked Monk Euphrosynos where he had been. He replied that he was in the place where they just met. The priest asked even more solemnly to tell what had happened. He told the priest that God granted him his request to see what God prepared for those who love Him and that he gave the priest three apples that the priest is now hiding in his cell. After Matins, the priest told the brethren of the dream and that he found the apples still in his handkerchief upon waking when the simandron was sounded. He took the brethren to his cell where they too were mystified by the ineffable fragrance of the apples. They went to seek their brother Euphrosynos, amazed by his sanctity and wanting to venerate him and seek his spiritual advice, but he was nowhere to be found. Knowing that he had access to Paradise, they figured that he couldn't be anywhere else. He was never seen again.

St. John Damascene on Fidelity to the Church

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 12:48:00 +0000

"Listen to me, people of all nations, men, women, and children, all of you who bear the Christian name: If any one preach to you something contrary to what the Holy Catholic Church has received from the holy apostles and fathers and councils, and has kept down to the present day, do not heed him. Do not receive the serpent’s counsel, as Eve did, to whom it was death. If an angel or an emperor teaches you anything contrary to what you have received, shut your ears."
- St. John of Damascus, Apologia of St. John Damascene Against Those Who Decry Holy Images

(Source)

Why We Need Confession

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Sun, 24 Aug 2014 19:19:00 +0000

You can't pour wine into a bottle if the lid is closed. You can't pour wine into a bottle if the bottle is filled with sand and filth. Even if it is only a very small amount of sand and filth in the bottle, it still pollutes the wine, rendering it undrinkable. It is good for nothing but to be poured out on the ground. We are the bottles and the wine is Divine Love. Repentance is the realization that it is not about us and that we need to empty ourselves of everything to receive Divine Love, that we may be completely filled with Him. It is following in the footsteps of the apostles, who left everything to follow the Master; not following the would-be followers who made excuse and wanted to follow Christ while simultaneously doing another work. Let the dead bury the dead. It's not about us; it's about leaving this world to be joined to Divine Love.

Chants for the Theotokos, for Her Dormition

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 19:48:00 +0000

As we celebrate the Queen of Heaven ascending to the Cherubim Throne:

A sessional hymn for the feast, in Spanish:

And from the Latin Rite, Palestrina's motet, based on the Alleluia for the Mass of the feast:

Deathless Queen, Free Us from Death!

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 10:59:00 +0000

The Dormition of Our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary

Today we celebrate the "Pascha of the Theotokos", her greatest feast and the end of her earthly life. Today the apostles were miraculously transported to Jerusalem to bid farewell to her. Today she was taken up to Heaven without suffering death, for since she is the Immacuate One and is free from the effects of the sin of Adam, she was not subject to either death or labor pains.

Today, O Theotokos, thine entrance in Heaven as its Queen, greater than the cherubim and more honorable than the seraphim, confounds heretics that deny thy purity, that thou wast ever-virgin and free from the sorrowful inheritance we have received from Adam, for God willed that thou wouldst bear the New Adam. Intercede for us now and bring the sinner back to the sight of the Face thou beholdest now again and restore her purity as thou art ever-pure and all-blameless.

Glory to Thee Who hast showed us the Light!

noreply@blogger.com (Clifford Carvalho) — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 17:30:00 +0000

Today the Fire of Divine Love reveals Himself on Tabor in the small Pascha. Today the Bridegroom reveals His Majesty and shames His enemies. Today the sins of those living in darkness are exposed at the revelation of the Omnipotent Light. Those who have obeyed the Divine King and have fashioned themselves into His Image radiate with His Light and those who follow their own designs and the beliefs and passions of men in their superficial analysis of the created world are exposed as false by the Almighty Light who judges all!