The Catalog of Good Deeds

Dear friends! The Catalog of Good Deeds team starts a new series of personal stories devoted to the Feast of the Nativity. Our brothers and sisters are going to share with you some of their brightest Christmas memories from their childhood and explain how that influenced their own perception of this Great Feast.

You can also tell us about your own memories. Join us on Facebook to learn more.

In my soviet childhood, there was only one subtle hint of Christmas: in our family, the Christmas tree was always decorated right the day before December 25 and was standing in the room till January 8. That’s it. No more signs of the feast at all. It was the period of the 1970s, when the authorities in our country were fighting a war against “religious datura”. Shortly before my birth, the leader of our country claimed that soon he would show us all “the last priestling” on TV. The only small church in our city, where only 36,000 people lived, was open on Sundays and Great Feasts. However, only old women could come there with impunity. There were special people’s patrols, and on feast days even police patrols, that served near the church. Their aim was to ensure that younger people do not enter the church. Priest were forbidden to preach, there was no spiritual literature, while the faithful people were suffering from ostracism. So much for Christmas celebrations…

Anti-Christmas demonstration for Children. Banners say: "Parents! Stop confusing us! No Christmas, no Christmas trees!" and "Children must be educated by teachers, not God"

The wonderful feast of Christ's Nativity entered my life much later, when the Soviet Union collapsed, when the dangerous and hungry 1990s were lived through and when people could finally get their lives in a quiet and predictable order. Even my own son was already grown-up by that time.

That was the year when I finally believed, when I found my faith. Just at once. That year, the Feast of Nativity was really breathtaking for me. It entered my life with bright and clear happiness caused by my own understanding of God’s limitless trust towards us people – the trust of God, Who came to this world as a helpless infant and became as much vulnerable as we are. And with the understanding that I personally cannot betray this trust any more. My whole life changed completely and I hope these changes are forever.

By Sister Irina (Karpovich),

a Sister of Mercy, a member of the Catalog of Good Deeds team

More stories will come! Join our group on Facebook to share your childhood memories about Christmas with others and get a chance to receive one of our handmade gifts.

What is important for us to bear in mind during the fast? The fast, by definition, is a time of abstinence. Therefore, let us strive to abstain from everything that is unprofitable for our souls:

1. Television. It seems to me that television is first on the list of unprofitable things. Television shows compel viewers to squander a part of their lives “for someone else.” There was a case of a mother who refused to emigrate to be with her children because the country to which they had invited her had stopped showing “Santa Barbara.” When it comes time to say that television viewing should be limited during the fast, you will hear that people are ready to give up watching the news and to fast very strictly with regard to food, but they cannot give up watching television shows.

It is precisely this harmful obsession – one that teaches us to live an imaginary life and to sympathize with vice and passion, as dictated by directors and screenwriters – that we need to give up, at least during the fast. I also advise watching fewer movies: nearly everything said about television can be applied to the average film. The news is also unlikely to bring a calm and prayerful disposition to someone who is fasting. Therefore, if you have not yet disconnected the antenna from your television, now is the time to do so.

2. Unlimited cell phone service. Unless your work requires you to have unlimited phone service, it would be better to give it up during the fast. Unlimited communication is very unprofitable during the time the Church has allocated for prayer and spiritual reading; it greatly weakens the soul. Let us also be careful with our land line phones.

3. The Internet. The best thing is to draw up a precise list of websites that you can visit during the fast. Everything not related to work or obedience should be strictly regulated. Even a familiar website that is completely innocuous at regular times might provide information that is unprofitable during the fast. Therefore, before you follow a link, give some thought to what the consequences will be for your soul that is fasting.

4. Personal communication. It goes without saying that someone fasting should not put his abstinence on display. Nonetheless, it is very important for the sake of spiritual benefit to limit communication. This should be done carefully, so as not to offend anyone by our refusal. Sometimes it is necessary for the sake of a neighbor to neglect our silence. Sometimes our engagement can save a neighbor’s soul, or even his life. However, gossip, tittle-tattling, and empty chatter can cause harm not only to the person who is fasting, but also to those around him. Let us be careful with our words, those double-edged swords capable of both healing and destroying.

5. Excessive rest. Just as immoderate labor is bad for one’s health, and even for one’s soul, so too is excessive rest permissible only for the ill. By resting excessively during a fasting period we deprive ourselves of the benefits of spiritual struggle.

6. Other amusements. Here it is extremely important to determine for oneself what is and is not acceptable during this time, when the soul is like a bee gathering honey. Just as a bee labors during flowering season, so should someone who is fasting not be distracted by anything that interferes with the primary purpose of the fast. This applies to music, games, the celebration of various anniversaries, and much else. Nevertheless, all things in moderation: your guests will be puzzled if a celebration turns into an edifying conversation over dry cabbage.

7. Travel. One can welcome going on pilgrimage, but even this needs to be done within limits. It is better yet to spend the fast in the quiet of one’s own home if possible. One cannot always postpone a vacation to a holiday spot, but in that case one needs to remember that one has already broken the fast to some extent. Therefore, in such cases it is important to decide on one’s priorities. After all, children sometimes need a break from the city. Moreover, vacation schedules do not always depend on us.

8. Food. Someone who is fasting should know what he is capable of abstaining from during the fast, so that he will not undermine his health. Meat, of course, should be permitted only to those with a serious illness; as for everyone else, their fasting should be within reason. A steelworker should not give up milk, just as a student should not give up fish. The many church calendars that include the monastic rules of fasting are not, generally speaking, suitable for the laity. It is more important to give up foods that feed the passions than those that feed the body: for example, sweets and gourmet foods are more harmful to the soul than a glass of milk is to someone who engages in a great deal of physical labor. Abstinence from food is nothing more than a mean towards maintaining soul and body in a disciplined state – it is not an end in itself. This is extremely important. Therefore, if you are invited to be someone’s guest, there is no point traumatizing your hosts with your display of abstinence. It would be better to increase the strictness of your fasting later, so that the fast might be profitable to your soul and body without alienating non-church-goers from Orthodoxy.

9. Alcohol. It should be borne in mind that any amount of alcohol consumed during the fast should be considered to some degree non-fasting, since any alcoholic drink weakens the soul to a greater or lesser extent, rendering it incapable of the labors of the fast. Wine is permissible only on feast days, and even then strictly in moderation.

10. Marital relations. Regardless of the wide-ranging discussions that have taken place in recent years regarding this question, I am certain that marital relations during the fast cannot but affect the quality of fasting. But in order to engage in such strictness of fasting, when spouses are abstinent for the entire fast – BY MUTUAL CONSENT and without harming their marriage – one has to acquire spiritual maturity. Therefore, in the given case it is important to act reasonably and prudently. The most important thing to remember is that, although you might be able to cook for one in a single pot, in the case of marital relations – and especially in bed – the question must be considered mutually. It is better to violate the fast than to inflict pain on one’s “second half” by refusing them.

By Archpriest Andrei Efanov

Source: http://www.pravmir.com/the-fast-10-beneficial-and-10-harmful-things/

The Sundays before the Nativity feast (Christmas) are dedicated to the Holy Forefathers and Ancestors of Jesus Christ. Among all the Old Testament Saints commemorated on these days, Abraham is perhaps the supreme example, being the common patriarch of Judaism (as the founding father of the Covenant between man and God) and Christianity (being seen as the prototype of all believers). This patriarchal image of Abraham has influenced his representation in iconography, and has resulted in many images – in the east and west – of “the Bosom (or Embrace) of Abraham“.

The bosom of Abraham is an image used to refer to a place of comfort for the reposed, found in Judaic, and subsequently Christian, literature. In most religions, even if only symbolically, Paradise is referred to in terms of joyous feasting with all the other righteous. Among the Jews around the time of Jesus, it was normal to eat reclining on the left elbow on couches, with the right arm at liberty to eat. As couches were often shared one person would naturally recline “in the bosom” of the person to his left. It was considered a mark of honour to recline in the bosom of the master of a feast (c.f. John 13:23). Therefore, to be in the bosom of Abraham – the father of all the faithful – is to be in a particularly favourable place in the “feast” of the afterlife. The most well-known reference to the bosom of Abraham comes when Jesus tells the story of the “Rich man and Lazarus”, where the beggar ends up in Abraham’s bosom whilst the rich man is in hell (Luke 16:19-31).

Most iconographic representations of Abraham’s bosom in the East, then, are shown in the context of paradise. They show this place of the afterlife quite literally, with numberless child-like souls (c.a. Matt 18:3) nestling in Abraham’s chest, covered partially by his robe. He may also be holding out a sheet which supports the souls. As it is an image of paradise, Abraham is shown as part of a larger picture – most commonly as a small part of a composition of the Last Judgement. Abraham’s bosom can also be found in the bottom corner of the All Saints icon. Here too, though, the image being shown is that of paradise, indicated by the luscious trees in the background (in this late 18th century Russian example, the trees are native “Christmas trees” which would be recognizable to the locals).

More often than not, Abraham is shown with two other patriarchs: his son, Isaac and his grandson, Jacob (renamed Israel in the Old Testament narrative). They are usually shown on either side of Abraham, all seated as befitting a person of honour; sometimes they are also shown “nursing” small souls in their breasts. Jacob might have 12 small men in his breast, indicating the 12 sons – and tribes – of Israel. To include Isaac and Jacob in this image of paradise is no mystery: Jesus also includes the three patriarchs in His images of paradise: “And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven…” (Matt 8:11; emphasis mine). “Sitting down” once again suggests paradise as being in a place of honour (i.e. reclining on the breast of the patriarchs) at a great feast.

As Jesus Christ’s earthly line is traced back through Jacob, Isaac and Abraham. The three are often considered together in the hymns of the Church:

“Let us venerate the greatest of the Fathers: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; for in taking flesh of the Virgin from their line, Christ has been manifested as the Mighty God!” (Ode 4, Canon of the Fathers at Matins)

and

“… for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were the foundation of the prophets…” (Ode 9, ibid.)

and

“O Sion, city of our God, lift up your voice and celebrate the memory of the Fathers, honoring Abraham, Isaac and Jacob…” (Stichera for the Fathers at Lauds)

The hymns of the Church even present us with the image of all three Patriarchs in paradise, with the saved righteous (and the Mother of God):

“O Virgin, contemplating the bright splendour of your conception, Abraham, the friend of God, together with Isaac, and Jacob, rejoices with the choir of chosen holy ones…” (Ikos from Canon of the Fathers at Matins)

Clearly the images of young souls reclining in the bosom of Abraham are symbolic, as are related images of feasting in paradise with the Three Patriarchs. However, the popularity of the image is precisely because of its “earthiness”. The image was used by Jesus in His teachings, after all: God in the flesh here to tell us ‘fleshy’ stories in order to lead us to Heaven. It is not unsurprising that a very early depiction of Abraham’s bosom (6th century) can be found in the Syrian Monastery in Egypt. As mentioned in another post on the Milk-Giver icon, this monastery was established by monks fleeing the Julian heresy which denied the corruptibility (i.e. human-ness) of Christ’s body before His Resurrection. As well as frescoes showing the Mother of God breast-feeding Jesus, we also find very intimate images of the righteous in Abraham’s bosom:

Here the child-like souls of the righteous are not only feasting with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; they’re not only reclining on the breasts of the patriarchs; they are being hand-fed by them!

“Lord of the living and the dead, the immortal King and Risen Christ, our true God, through the intercessions of… the holy and glorious forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob… place the soul of His servants, departed from us, in the dwelling place of the righteous; give rest to them in the bosom of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and number them among the saints and have mercy on us, as a good God who loves mankind.” (from the dismissal at the Memorial Service)

Source: https://iconreader.wordpress.com/2017/12/31/icons-of-the-bosom-of-abraham/#more-2521

After the Fall of Adam and Eve, all of their descendants, us included, are doomed to all kinds of hardships and sorrows in life, which ultimately end in death. It seems that there absolutely no reasons for joy. But did the Lord God really create man to mock him so severely?

It is, of course, not so. For the sake of man’s salvation from sin, the curses, and death, the Lord Himself endured terrible sufferings and death on the Cross. All who sincerely believe in Him and try to fulfill His holy commandments are given blessedness and joy in this life and in the future, eternal life.

Having sinned, we immediately punish ourselves: Our body undergoes all kinds of illnesses, and the soul falls into sorrow and despondency. To dispel sadness, unbelievers come up with different entertainments for themselves, beginning with music, song, and dance, and ending with the unlimited consumption of alcohol or drugs. But in most cases, this multiplies sorrow. This isn’t about it being forbidden to man to listen to music, to sing, to dance, and to drink alcohol. All problems begin when man delights in nothing but these things: neither his family and friends, nor his work. “You are my kin and friend as long as you give me money and treat me to wine, with or without reason, and when you fulfill all my wishes. If you don’t want to listen to me, and make a feast for me or share financially, then you’re worse than an enemy.” But can you really live so bleakly and materialistically?!

How do we find true joy in life?

The first step is repentance—that is, awareness of our sins, our wrongdoings before God and others, and a sincere desire to fix our lives. This step is hardest of all for any person, because due to some strengths, it is nearly impossible to know and admit your weaknesses. One has two university degrees, another has a position of responsibility, or a stably high income, or is very beautiful. Another has none of the above, and is lazy and weak-willed. But only through self-knowledge can a man attain true joy in life. They knew this already in the pre-Christian epoch. Nosce te ipsum (“know thyself”) taught the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates. And St. Ambrose of Optina in the nineteenth century loved to tell his spiritual children, who would turn to him with all possible problems and impatiently thirsted to immediately reach passionlessness and the heights of knowledge of God, “Know thyself—and that’s enough!”

Attentive, regular confession, which is best done according to the Ten Commandments of God, can attune us to self-knowledge. I must look at myself without any self-esteem and see how I sin against every one of the commandments. Everyone gathers a large bouquet of sins, which is not fragrant, but rather spreads the smell of death and makes our lives and the lives of those around us joyless, and sometimes turns it into pitch black Hell. Remember, the elders foretold that in the last times, in the monasteries they will live as in the world, and in the world as in Hell.

Go up to a drunkard and ask, “Are your drinking buddies really more important than your family? Look, your wife is suffering and your children wish you were at home, but instead, you’re drinking with some vagabonds who would sell you for a glass.” However, he picks their company, which, to him, is sweeter than the company of his wife and children. Is there really some kind of Divine punishment in this? No, the man himself is striving for Hell, he loves it there, his life does not have the light of the Lord, and he doesn’t want to go to Him.

Hardly does a man turn his face to God, when immediately, although sometimes with material losses, everything changes—he becomes peaceful and joyful.

The second step is that we must learn how to sincerely forgive those who have voluntarily or involuntarily offended us. Without such forgiveness, the remission of our sins and our personal repentance is impossible. The Lord speaks very clearly about it: For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses (Mt. 6:14-15). Usually a thousand excuses are found to prove our rightness and not to forgive. But for all our struggle for truth, we lose the most valuable thing in life—joy, and in the end, it turns out that we’re wrong. As one sage told one man, “You have much truth, too much truth, but little mercy, and that means you are wrong.” And the holy apostle James writes, Mercy rejoiceth against judgment (Jas. 2:13).

A multitude of objections will pour forth that it’s impossible to live that way; if you forgive everyone, you will stay as poor as a church mouse. Indeed, the majority of us, having weak faith, can barely sustain such a measure of forgiveness. But, it is at least necessary to strive to learn at first to forgive at least the small things, otherwise the mark of offence will be reflected on our faces, and there will never appear there even a glimpse of joy.

The third step is to accustom yourself to doing good and not only as a professional or service obligation, but as altruistic mercy in your free time. This is one of the most effective ways to attract Christ into your life. The Lord always gives His almighty help to those who selflessly help others. There is a double joy in this: Those whom you helped rejoice, and we ourselves, naturally, rejoice that we could support them.

Nowadays, gratuitous help is gradually becoming a rarity. In the first place, most people have self-interest. We should show at least a little selflessness and mercy in relation to others—and Christ Himself will immediately bless your life with joy.

The fourth step towards joy is to wean yourself off of bad habits of constantly judging others, even those who truly deserve condemnation. Christ the Savior calls us to this: Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again (Mt. 7:1-2). Why must we not judge others? St. Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia answers this question: “Those whom we call publicans and harlots, are, for God, caught thieves, while I, and all of you—we are thieves, but not caught. A detained and humiliated thief, and a harlot, known to all, covered with shame, humbling herself and repenting, are much higher than us, who, having good names, live hidden and suspect lives.”

Again, many say, “So, what should we do—let evil flourish, if we can’t judge anyone?” No, of course, we must fight evil, but there are various means of fighting. When we fight it physically or through verbal abuse, then evil, as a rule, has the tendency to spread even more. As life shows, you can’t always fight fire with fire. The holy apostle Paul exhorts: If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good (Rm. 12:18-21). Why is such advice given? God wisely arranges everything in life so that the greatest joy a person experiences is not when he triumphs over others, but when he triumphs over himself, his own laziness, negligence, sins, and passions. All Christians have the opportunity to be assured of this when they do not blame others for their own personal problems in confession, but sincerely repent of their sins.

The fifth step to joy is prayer. Some go to church to pray as servitude. Laziness overcomes us at home, and so as not to pray, we find every kind of thing to do. If we stand in prayer, then the mind is constantly scattered to secondary objects. He who has no experience in prayer will ask with bewilderment, “What kind of joy could there be in prayer?” But in fact, it gives great consolation. After all, prayer is not some psychological auto-training, as non-believers think, but an unseen connection with the source of our life—God. Only in conversation with Him can we glean inspiration in all of our usual tasks. With prayer, any task, even the most difficult, goes smoothly. And conversely, without it the very easiest task becomes unbearably complicated. That is why it’s so important to read the morning and evening prayers at home, and not forget about prayer before and after food, and before the beginning of any work. It is especially necessary to go to the Church of God every Sunday and on feast days. There, thanks to common prayer with others, our prayer is strengthened manifold. It is, perhaps, nearly impossible to see someone who would leave church after the Divine Liturgy with a sorrowful face. One of the important fruits of prayer is unspeakable joy, which is incomparably beyond what the world can give us with all of its entertainments.

By Archimandrite Marcellus (Pavuk)

Source: http://orthochristian.com/107616.html

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