From "Diary of a Russian Priest" p43:
"We have been given a supreme law of life which leads us straight to God -
Love, a difficult and thorny path;
but we must follow it, bearing our cross,
with no excursions into byways."
- Fr. Elchaninov
From "Diary of a Russian Priest":
“It is better to live in such a way that we start with our own personal experience and pass from this to certain general ideas, rather than proceeding visa versa. Otherwise, we shall only be making verbal judgments about the experiences of others, without having experienced these things ourselves: but unfortunately this is precisely what we usually do in spiritual questions.” (Diary, P.41)
I am presiding at Matins in the morning and preaching on Luke 15:1-10. I have been praying and trying to prepare for the homily. Obviously I have been considering fasting and asceticism as, for Orthodox Christians, today began the Advent season and the Nativity fast. Here is a bit on fasting by Evdokimov sent to me by my friend and Prof . Peter Bouteneff this evening.
"In the desert of the Thebaid, extreme fasts and constraints were imposed. Today the combat is not the same. We no longer need added pain. Hair shirts, chains, and flagellation would risk 
I'll be chewing on this for a while... In the mean time I will try to find the reference to share with you if anyone is interested. If you know it please post a comment.
Grace and Peace,
FrJM
If you have not visited www.OrthodoxYouthOutreach.net and gotten involved with this ministry - praying, giving, participating, spreading the word, etc... please do tonight! Start by watching this video and showing it to everyone you know.
Fr. Kevin Scherer, who is now the Exec. Dir. for OCF (Orthodox Christian Fellowship on college campuses) started this based on his St. Vladimir's Seminary thesis project. This is faith in ACTION!
To support the work of OYO financially please click HERE.
Grace and Peace,
FrJM
Friends, sorry for the delay but thank you for your patience. Click here to see photos from my priestly ordination.
FrJM
(Thanks also to Emily, Sophia, Gary, Jonathan, Roman, and Dave for the INCREDIBLE photos!)
You need to check out this record and most importantly the idea behind the diribution of the album. Click here!
Derrek Webb plays with an acquantance of mine from college, Jeremy Casella (www.Jeremy Casella) and used to play with Caedmon's Call. Pretty pointed record at some points. But I like it! Especially check out "A King A Kingdom".
Blessings,
FrJM
[PS - I would love to do this with my last record! I am looking into it... If anyone is interested in helping me GIVE AWAY my records online please email me. ]
"We receive salvation by grace and as a divine gift of the Spirit. But
to attain the full measure of virtue we need also to possess faith and
love, and to struggle to exercise our free will with integrity."
St. Makarios of Egypt
"…it is up to us to add labors to labors in order to “go from strength to strength” (Ps. 83:7),
and to come “to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13)…"
- St. Seraphim of Sarov
"Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to
love without getting tired."
- Mother Teresa
I found this icon online at the Coptic Orthodox Church Center, Uk, in their section about iconography and personal prayers.
The icon is of Christ and the Samaritan woman (St. Photini, as the church knows her, "the light bearer") - an icon of love for us to consider today.
FrJM
I also found this page (http://incommunion.org/articles/resources/st-maria-skobtsova/mother-maria-skobtsova-bibliography) from Incommunion.org [the Orthodox Peace Fellowship website] that has an exhaustive bibliography concerning her life and labors for Christ before her martyrdom in a Nazi concentration camp.In years past I was honored to participate in this wonderful event. This year I am not speaking or giving a concert but I may be able to attend. The line up of speakers looks incredible!
Typically I am bound to my desk studying or my kids playing or with my wife (watching LOST!). But every now and then I have the opportunity to journey out to my fav. NY pub near SVS - Garth Road Inn.
Last night I had the pleasure of embibing a frosty beverage with my friend Prof. Dr. Peter Bouteneff. He taught my Dogmatic Theology 101, 102 and Ecumenism classes. I must say these were among my fovorite classes; some of the most practical for answering daily life theological questions.
Our evening jumpped from one topic to the next - straying from His new book on Genesis to the American political scene and ROCOR. It was a lovely time with a good friend and brother in Christ.
Along the way Dn. Caleb and Jeremy (also SVS buds) showed up to say hello.
Dn. Caleb and I spent the remainder of the evening talking "Tarazi" (one of our NT/OT Prof.'s)
It was a good night at the Garth!
DnJM
If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
Mother Teresa
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"Do not desert a friend in time of need, nor forsake him nor fail him, for friendship
is the support of life. Let us then bear our burdens as the Apostle has taught (cf. Gal. 6:2):
for he spoke to those whom the charity of the same one body had embraced together. If
friends in prosperity help friends, why do they not also in times of adversity offer
their support? Let us aid by giving counsel, let us offer our best endeavors, let us
sympathize with them with all our heart."
St. Ambrose
I totally stink at posting to my blog don't I... OK, well ˆ am not making any huge promises to literary greatness, but I will post some quotes I am reading and some thoughts now and again. Perhaps this will spur me on. By the by, I am being ordained to the Priesthood this weekend - I am utterly speachless. This the fulfillment of a lifelong calling and the beginning of more than I can imagine. Your prayers would be great...
In Christ - DnJM
"For him who is perfect in love and has reached the summit of dispassion there is
no difference between his own or another’s, or between Christians and unbelievers,
or between slave and free, or between male and female. But because he has risen above
the tyranny of the passions and has fixed his attention on the single nature of man,
he looks on all in the same way and shows the same disposition to all. For in him there
is neither Greek nor Jew, male nor female, bond not free, but Christ who 'is all, and
in all' (Col. 3:11; cf. Gal. 3:28)."
St. Maximos the Confessor
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It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to
us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness
and pain of someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your home for this is
Where our love for each other must start.
Mother Teresa
help spead the word in Lima, OH and kindly drop on by...
Justin
Last night's forgiveness vespers is one of the most beautiful and important of the whole year.
There is something so very vulnerable and jarringly innocent about going around the entire church one person at a time giving the kiss of peace and saying "Forgive me a sinner" and responding "God forgives," while the choir sings paschal (Easter) hymns in anticipation of the feast.
There is something so whole and utterly real about the way the church prompts us to live and lift up our lives to God in thanksgiving. There is not one moment of our existence left without meaning. I truly believe if this medicine were applied more liberally its soothing balm would heal many wounds in our world. God forgive us all.
The kids were so cute... Elias turned to me and said "dad, why are you kissing so many people? Stop it!" and I smiled. What a lesson, from the earliest age - reconciliation, forgiveness and love. Lived out liturgically right before their eyes - no simple mental ascent but real action and modeling.
I wish you were all there... Have a Joyful Lent.
Forgive me a sinner. God Forgives us both.
Justin
