The Catalog of Good Deeds

Q: I wonder if it is ok to eat food that has blood in it? What about Acts 15 where the Apostles forbid it and what about blood transfusions?

A: Actually – and this is not well-known – the Orthodox position is that the Apostolic Council is still binding, and this includes the prohibition on eating blood. Two canonical sources which uphold the restriction of Acts 15 are:

Canon LXIII (63) of the Apostles:

If any bishop, or presbyter or deacon or anyone else on the sacerdotal list at all, eat meat in the blood of its soul, or that has been killed by a wild beast, or that has died a natural death, let him be deposed. For the Law has forbidden this. But if any layman do the same let him be excommunicated.

Canon LXVII (67) from the Quinesext Council:

Divine Scripture has commanded us to ‘abstain from blood, and strangled flesh and fornication’ (Gen 9:3-4, Lev 17 & 18:3, Acts 15: 28-29). We therefore suitably penance those who on account of their dainty stomach eat the blood of any animal after they have rendered it eatable by some art. If therefore anyone from now on should attempt to eat the blood of any animal in any way whatsoever, if he be a clergyman, let him be deposed from office; but if he be a layman let him be excommunicated.

The great Orthodox canonists (Zonaras, Balsamon) have reaffirmed the applicability of these canons.

This prohibition on eating blood has however never been understood as a strict prohibition on the use of blood transfusions in case of medical emergency. It is notable that Orthodox Jews and Muslims who are very strict on eating blood do not also extend the restriction to indispensable medical use. However, it can safely be said that Orthodox Christians should reject the greed and corruption sometimes exposed by the media in relation to the blood transfusion (and organ donation) business. Recent changes, allowing a person to store his own blood or to receive the blood of a compatible relative or friend, have been helpful in curbing the problem of corruption in the blood supply industry.

Source: https://www.orthodoxanswers.org/i-wonder-if-it-is-ok-to-eat-food-that-has-blood-in-it-what-about-acts-15-where-the-apostles-forbid-it-and-what-about-blood-transfusions/

The Glinsk Hermitage came into being in the 16th century in Kursk Province (a territory which now is part of the Sumsk Region), on the site of the appearance of the iraculous Icon of the Nativity of the Theotokos. It appeared in a pine tree. A solitary desert-dweller first settled there, and then others joined him. Later, the Glinsk Hermitage was attached to a succession of monasteries, but even after being granted independence, it was not known as a distinguished monastery until 1817, when Abbot Philaret (Danilevsky) of the St. Sophronius Hermitage was assigned there. Upon his arrival at the monastery, he found only a few ancient structures and 25 brethren. Inspired by the example and teachings of St. Paisius Velichkovsky, Abbot Philaret truly became the awakener and spiritual founder of the monastery which became renowned for its eldership and wide-ranging charitable undertakings. Already at the close of the 19th century, the Glinsk Hermitage encompassed 5 churches, 4 house churches, 15 buildings to house the residents, 8 hostels for the faithful, a refectory, a laundry, a hospital with a pharmacy, and many household buildings, including 4 waterwheel-powered mills. The monastery included a vocational school in which up to 50 boys, primarily orphans, were educated. Approximately 400 people lived at the monastery.

Almost everything of the external glory of the monastery was swept away by the revolutionary whirlwind. By 1942, when the warmth of monastic life was rekindled on the ruins of its former splendor, the Glinsk Hermitage included only one house church, in the building also housing the hospital and “bishop’s” building.

The most noteworthy aspect of the history of the monastery was the fact that its monastics were able to endure through all of the deprivations and trials of the awful decades, and to return to the monastery not the glory of its former magnificence, but rather the spirit of true asceticism, eldership, and service to the world. This permitted the Glinsk Hermitage to function for a short time – from 1942 to 1961, when it was once again shut down – as a manifestation of unusual spiritual strength, at whose center were the elders.

We were told a great deal about the elders of the Glinsk Hermitage by his Eminence, the Most Reverend Lazarus, during his visits to Washington, and by Schema-archimandrite Makary Bolotov, who was personally acquainted with several of the Glinsk elders during the final stage of the history of the monastery. They both believe that the time will come when the Church will include them in the host of Saints.

We begin our introduction with the instructions of elder Schema-hieromonk Seraphim (Romantsov).

“To protect your soul from being disturbed, it is better to compromise on what does not contradict the commandments of God, and to be careful in watching yourself, lest you leave irritation, hatred, and offense in your soul.”

“Condemnation of one’s neighbors is a spiritual weakness and not a paltry thing. The one who condemns shares responsibility with the sinner.”

The elder did not like to hear claims of someone’s spiritual elevation, incidents of “revelations,” or that someone “had experiences.” He cautioned against too readily believing such people, lest this turn into the blind leading the blind.

The elder persuaded people to hold to the golden mean, not falling into senseless joy or into excessive sorrow. Extremes have brought many to a bad end, even to suicide.

When it is painful to remember the past, it is better to simply repent of what had been bad, and think no more about it. In order not to despair or be enfeebled by it, “remember the examples of God’s great mercies to great sinners. The main thing: do not condemn, do not envy, know yourself and be with God.”

“Do not pay particular heed to comforting dreams. It is better not to welcome an angel than to receive a demon in the form of an angel. We are proud, and can easily make a mistake in this regard.”

Instructions of Schema-hieromonk Andronicus Lukasha (1889-1974)

It is enough to know yourself.

Come to love work, and soon God will send you peace.

What you sow in youth, you will reap in old age.

I fear three things: when I will die, how I will die, and where I will find myself.

Truly wise is he who teaches not in words but in deeds.

Do not abandon the will of God in order to serve the will of man.

(From the book Glinsk Mosaic: Pilgrims’ Recollections of the Glinsk Hermitage,

1942-1961, Pilgrim Publishers, Moscow, 1997.)

Source: http://stjohndc.org/en/orthodoxy-foundation/lessons/teachings-elders-glinsk-hermitage

Children are curious, receptive and eager to learn, and parents and teachers can help direct this energy toward the Good News. Reading spiritual literature together—at bedtime, on rainy days, and in the classroom — is a wonderful way to harness natural interest and help a child grow closer to God. Story time, like any other time, is an opportunity to show children how to stay Christ-centered.

Selecting Reading Material

- Ask experienced teachers and bookstores to recommend age-appropriate, spiritually rich books to add to your shelves, such as lives of saints written for children, collections of children’s Bible stories, and picture books with a Christian message.

- Look for colorful illustrations or Byzantine icons, which will help keep children’s attention.

- Cultivate a love for God by choosing books that express theological concepts in ways and words that your child can understand, thereby planting seeds in the child’s mind and soul that can be cultivated over a lifetime.

- Choose stories that reinforce one of the constant themes of early childhood spiritual education: God’s love for both humanity and individual human beings.

- Another recurring focus is that God loves us so much He gave us our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ; from an early age, you can expose children to the idea of having a relationship with Christ.

During Story Time

Create active learning opportunities and extensions to an exercise that might seem passive. There are many ways to actively engage young children even as you read to them:

- Set a standard for daily and weekly reading patterns. Consistency and repetition will make spiritual literature important in the child’s life.

- Young children are eager to make decisions, and could be offered a choice, such as, “Would you like to read the May page about St. Constantine and St. Helen, or would you like to read the April page about St. George?” Small children might simply point to the page of their choice.

- Allow the child to hold the book or to turn the pages while you are reading. Keep the Story Alive Set aside some quality time after story time. Extending the children’s engagement with the story is a powerful way to support learning and remembering, especially at a young age, when imagination and invention are developing.

- Follow every story with a short complementary prayer—in this way, you can reflect on and reinforce the theme. Combining prayer and reading evokes the grace of God and the work of the Holy Spirit.

- Ask concrete but open-ended questions about the story, allowing children to answer freely, retelling and reinterpreting the story in their own words.

- Stimulate curiosity and creativity; for example, ask a child to act out a simple sentence from the story. The adult might say, “Do you think you can show me the look on St. Helen’s face when she discovered the Cross?” Adding a physical act like this will help the child remember the message. Acting is practical in Sunday school classrooms—no materials or mess—and is quite fun at home, too.

By Maria C. Khoury, EdD

Source: https://s3.amazonaws.com/praxis-magazine/Praxis-v08-1-2008-Fall.pdf

A few years back I was sitting with my son Matthew, cuddling before bedtime. As all parents know, that’s the hour when kids come up with their most philosophical questions. And true to form, Matthew asked me, as we were cuddling together in his darkened room, “How come when we pray and ask God to do things for us, God doesn’t say ‘I will’? Why can’t we hear God talk to us?”

That’s a very good question—one that perhaps has crossed the minds of all of us at one time or another. And there is an answer. And on this holiday for children, I would like to answer that question of a child, even if the child himself won’t understand the answer.

You see, Matthew, God used to say “I will” to people; they used to hear him with their own ears, long, long ago. If you read the Bible from the beginning to the end, you learn that God used to talk with people and walk with people, in just the same way that you and I walk and talk with each other.

It’s quite clear from the book of Genesis, that when God first appeared to human beings, He was seen by them looking for all the world like one of us. Adam walked with God in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the day, the Bible says. Adam and Eve talked with God, they saw Him, they heard His voice. He was on the most familiar terms possible with them.

But they didn’t appreciate this gift. They didn’t take God’s company seriously. And they disobeyed God, and so they lost the privilege of being with Him so closely all the time, of seeing Him face to face. This is what banishment from Paradise means, for them, and for us their greatgreat-great-grandchildren.

But God still spoke with people from time to time. They heard His voice. Sometimes they saw Him. As the new icon of the Holy Trinity on our iconostasis proclaims, Abraham and Sarah saw God and talked with Him and even fed Him. They saw Him in the form of three angels—that is to say, looking like three normal human beings, but there was something about their presence and personality that led Abraham to recognize that he was dealing, not with ordinary men, but with supernatural beings.

And Abraham’s grandson Jacob even wrestled with God once—again, with God appearing in the form of an angel—looking like a man, but something more than a man. And Jacob said, “I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.” He knew, in other words, that seeing God was a now a special thing for imperfect people, for sinners. And after him, Moses, and seventy elders of the Israelites, saw God on Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:11), and ate and drank before Him in a meal of covenant fellowship. And God spoke with Moses, and with Jacob before him, and with Abraham before him, and He made them many wonderful promises, and gave them commandments and instructions for their own good.

But, once again, God’s people did not take Him seriously, even though He let Himself be seen by their very own eyes in a form that was awe-inspiring, yet still human. They forgot His promises, they neglected His commandments. And so God told His people that no more would He appear to them face to face, as He appeared to Moses (Numbers 12:6-8); but that in the future, He would appear to His prophets only in dreams and visions, only in miraculous signs and wonders—in ways, that is, designed really to get our attention.

And God was true to His word. Still He appeared to His people, but now in frightening, unfamiliar ways—fire from heaven, earthquakes, mighty winds, storm clouds, lightning and thunder. Still He responded to His people’s prayers, not directly, but as if through a game of Telephone, as if through forwarded emails, and only through His anointed prophets, and to them only through visions and dreams of the night, never face to face. He spoke less and less often, and each time with greater force and fanfare. Until finally He appeared to the prophets in forms that made them faint dead away from terror, as happened to righteous men like Daniel and Ezekiel—manifesting Himself in forms that human language cannot describe. But still His people did not pay attention, still they did not take Him seriously.

And so, for hundreds of years, God fell silent. He anointed no prophets. He spoke no revelations. He appeared in no form or manifestation whatsoever. Nothing seemed to work. As often as He said, “I will” to His people, they forget His promises and His answers to their prayers. And even His silence made little impression on them.

Until finally, one dark night, in a lonely little village called Bethlehem, in a part of the world that time and progress had forgotten, God gave it one more try. This night, He opted to give the face-to-face approach another chance. Not by a dazzling array of heavenly pyrotechnics. Not in the form of a fearsome angel. Not in the form of a mighty man. But in the form of a child—a baby, a newborn infant. Meek and mild, weak and lowly, He came and appeared once more, so that this time we would take Him seriously.

We call Jesus Christ “the Word of God.” And beyond all the philosophical dissertations and theological treatises on what that name signifies, it means before all is that Jesus Christ is God’s answer . . . His way of saying out loud “I will” to the prayers of every little boy, and every little girl, and every big boy and girl in the world. Or Saint Paul puts it in Second Corinthians 1:20: In Christ Jesus, the Son of God, “every promise of God is Yea and is Amen.”

For what need most of all, what we have lacked since the day Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden, is to see our God, face to face, as we were created to enjoy Him. And this gift of Paradise was restored on the first Christmas in the manger of the stable of Bethlehem. Go to the new icon of the Nativity in the sanctuary, look in the manger and see your God, trying once more to tell you, personally, face to face, that He loves you, that He wants the best for you, that He is ready to give you whatever you need to prepare you for an everlasting life with Him. “For this is the will of my Father,” Jesus Christ said (John 6:40), “that every one who sees the Son and believes in Him should eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

God hears your prayers. And He has said “I will,” in the face of this newborn babe, this son of Mary. Take Him seriously this time, people of God. This is what your life is about—not your house, not your cars, not your boat, not your job, not your hobbies, not your friends, not your family. This is what your life is about, to see your God face to face, and seeing Him, to have the life of the Kingdom to come.

By Fr. Mark Sietsema

Source: http://www.pravmir.com/seeing-god-face-face-reflections-feast-nativity-christ/

Abba Gervasius used to visit Antioch once a year and preach. Large crowds would gather to listen to him. One of his brethren asked him:

– Father, aren’t you tempted by vainglory when you see so many people around you?

– No, brother, – Gervasius replied, – I think that many more people would come if I were being executed...

A disciple asked his elder:

— Why do you read the Bible every day? You have read it already, haven’t you?

The elder answered with a counter-question:

— Why have you eaten today? Didn’t you eat yesterday?

The disciple shrugged:

— I eat to live. I can’t live without food.

The elder nodded:

— I read the Bible every day because I don’t want to die spiritually.

Long ago, the Devil decided to sell all his tools. He placed them in a glass window for everyone to see. What a collection it was! Here lay a shining dagger of Envy and a hammer of Wrath; a bow of Passion with poisoned arrows of Gluttony, Lust, and Jealousy.

There was a stand dedicated to a vast array of the nets of Lie. There were tools of Despondency, Love of Money, and Hatred. All of these tools were excellently displayed and had price tags.

There was a small, unbecoming, and worn out wooden wedge displayed in the most favorable light. It had a price tag that read, “Pride”. Surprisingly enough, this tool cost more than the rest taken together.

A passer-by asked the Devil why he valued that strange wedge so highly, and the Devil replied:

— Yes, I value it more than all other tools, indeed. It is the only tool that I can fully rely on if all the rest turn out to be of no use.

He touched the wooden wedge with affection.

— If I manage to drive this wedge into a person’s head, — the Devil continued, — it will open the way to all other tools.

Isn’t it strange that a $10 note is a lot when we use it to donate to a church and not so when we use it to pay for things we buy in a supermarket?

Isn’t it strange that an hour we spend praying and remembering God is so long while an hour spent in front of a TV is so short?

Isn’t it strange that we find it hard to concentrate while praying but it isn’t hard at all to stay focused when we talk with our friends?

Isn’t it strange that we are so excited when the referee adds time to a football match but so angry when a sermon takes up more time than anticipated?

Isn’t it strange that it is so difficult for us to read just one chapter from the Bible and so easy to read a hundred pages of our favorite novel?

Isn’t it strange that people are so eager to sit in the front rows at a concert and hide in the corners at church?

Isn’t it strange that we find it so hard to learn just one prayer and so easy to remember and retell gossip?

Isn’t it strange that we so easily take the information that we read in newspapers at face value, while finding it hard to believe in the stories written in the Word of God?

Isn’t it strange that we all want to go to the paradise but are reluctant to put any effort into conquering it?

Isn’t it strange that almost everyone is both a judge and a lawyer: when other people’s sins are concerned, we are judges, but when our own sins are brought to scrutiny, we suddenly turn into lawyers.

Isn’t it strange that upon reading this, almost every one of us will think that it relates to others but not ourselves?

A man saw a naked child in the street.

The child was hungry and shivering from cold.

The man was angry and yelled at God:

- Why do You allow this to happen? Why don’t You do anything about it?

The answer was:

- I’ve done something already: I sent you…

Why stay chaste before marriage?

God gave us the gift of physical love. It’s as full as a jug and as intact as a ripe apple. When we waste our life carelessly, we distribute what we’ve got among all who we give it to. When we finally meet that person, the most important person in our life, we will have little to give him or her… The more sexual partners we have, the less love we have in store.

- How do I understand whether this person is the one I have been waiting for so long?

- You will want to grow old together with him or her…

It is normal for a person to be in full relationship with just one person. One cannot be equally intimate with many people. The relationship between a man and a woman is the utmost closeness that is ever possible between people…

Some detractors of St Ephraim the Syrian decided to tempt him. They asked one of the city prostitutes to go and seduce Abba Ephraim, and if she couldn’t, at least make him angry because no one had ever seen him angry or agitated. Abba Ephraim listened to what she had to say and then ordered:

– Follow me!

The excited prostitute ran after him. Soon they came to the city square teeming with people.

– Let’s do what you want here and now.

The embarrassed prostitute saw the crowded place and replied:

– How can we do it in the presence of so many people?

St Ephraim the Syrian answered:

– If you are ashamed of people, why aren’t you ashamed of God who is able to see not just our actions but even our intentions?

Translated from: https://azbyka.ru/days/

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Eating Food that has Blood in it According to Canon Law

The Teachings of the Elders of the Glinsk Hermitage

How to Read Spiritual Literature Together with Your Children

Catalog of Good Thoughts for January 11th, 2018

Personal Reflections on the Feast of the Nativity of Christ

Seven Parables and Stories for the Week: Issue 17

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