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Kali Fotisi / Καλή φώτιση ~ Wishes to you for a "Good Enlightenment" on the holy Feast of Theophany, or Ephiphany. If you are looking for a lesson, try splitting apart the icon, and using it as a beginning. We color and create puppets to retell the story of Christ, St John the Baptist, the Angels, another for the waters, and especially the Dove or Holy Spirit.  Here are some talking points: In this feast, we find each person of the Holy Trinity fully present and our God is revealed to us. Can you find the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? (The Father's voice is heard, the Son is seen as perfect man, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit is witnessed as a fluttering light, much like that which resembles a dove) The light has appeared to all men ! We learn that baptism is not only necessary for the cleansing of our sins, but for the regeneration of our souls and for a life in communion with the fullness of the Holy Trinity. We are sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit...

The Nativity lenten season has begun... will God find an available "dwelling place" to be born? Will there be room at our inn? When He comes, as He did then to the city of Bethlehem, to knock on our doors....will there be room in our homes, in our hearts, and in the sometimes darkness of our lives for Panagia to lay and give birth to the giver of ever-lasting peace? What state will He find our caves in? Ready, asleep, or full to capacity with other things? You see, the cave is not only a physical place of historical importance, but a spiritual metaphor for each one of us. Isn't it also interesting that so many monks/nuns in our Orthodox tradition took up residence in an actual cave, where they decorated it with icons and burning vigil lamps living their lives in complete concentration and stillness. Hence, the "Light was born into darkness." Literally, and symbolically. How, might we ask, could God who is grander in size than any other "fit into" the ...

Download and print these very simple worksheets to practice special phrases of our Orthodox prayer life! They are intended to assist our children and teens with reading and writing the Greek alphabet. Some handouts have the text in place to practice tracing, and others are blank for a tougher challenge. The "Our Father" prayer would be the most difficult of course.  One need not be of Greek nationality to try these!  This first page includes "Christ is Born, Glorify Him!"  and "Most Holy Theotokos, Intercede to Save us!" The second page has "Holy Saint Nektarios pray for us!" and "Lord Jesus Christ, Have Mercy on Me." Lastly, the third page lists the full "Our Father" prayer.

Introduce to your children an activity illustrating  the way we worship and more importantly, why we worship the way we do in the Orthodox Church. Below are some talking points for the lesson, as well as a coordinating activity or craft. 1 . When we enter the Church, we try to leave behind the cares of the world. School, Homework, Chores, Tomorrow, What's for dinner....etc. Beginning in the Nave (like a boat in the "Navy") we travel closer and closer to God during the service, moving towards Paradise, which is represented by the Holy Altar, ultimately receiving the Eucharist just at Paradise's doors. 2 . Each week, we worship the same way and celebrate the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom from the 5th century. The word "liturgia" literally means "work of the people ." By attending the Divine Liturgy, we are choosing to give back this time to God.  This is our "work." We offer our gifts to Him - our time, our attention, our pra...

If you are feeling that the Great Fast snuck up on you this year, and you are hoping to get into the "zone" fast give the Canon of St Andrew of Crete a try this week! Over the course of the first four days of the Great Fast, Great Compline is read in the evenings with a portion of the Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete.    The Canon is also read in its entirety on Wednesday evening of the 5th week so that we may approach the conclusion of the Great Fast again with a proper spirit. You can access and download an overview handout on The Canon of St Andrew of Crete here  or for each days portion visit this link. St. Andrew of Crete (c. 660-740) was born in Damascus. He became a monk at Mar Saba and served later at the Holy Sepulchre. Around 685, he was ordained a deacon at Hagia Sophia. He also ran a refuge that took in orphans and cared for the elderly. He ended his days as Archbishop of Gortyna, a position to ...

It can sometimes be a very frustrating task, getting kids to cooperate at daily prayer times..beyond just meals that is. I'm sharing the bare bones of our morning/evening routine with you, so that we might encourage each other in the daily struggle to teach our kids to pray with their whole   mind, body and soul: to learn that communicating with God is an ongoing relationship and gift of love that requires effort, attentiveness and sacrifice. Here is what we do....please comment and post your tips for others. May God strengthen and illumine us as parents! MORNING PRAYERS - before breakfast and school Stand and make the sign of the Cross or bows to begin Light individual candles at vigil lamp (vigil lamp is constant flame in our home in front of our icons using olive oil as our continuous offering to God for His presence and blessing. A big void is noticed if this light goes out. Try it for a month and see!) "Through the prayers of the holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, our God,...

One small way of making the Sacrament of Confession real for kids, is by having them feel the weight of our own sinfulness! (This was tested on teens and proved to be powerful). Without giving away the punchline, ask your kids to pair up (girls with girls, boys with boys)having one hold the other in a piggy-back fashion. Read out loud together a spiritual text on Confession or story from a Saint's life for approx. 5-10 minutes. Check in often with the child bearing the weight- ask him/her how they're feeling....how much longer do they think they can go on.... is the weight getting lighter or heavier as they get tired? (For younger children, use a backpack and heavy items that are labeled with example sins. Discuss each sin as it is placed inside) Finally, read out loud the "Prayer of Absolution" that the priest reads at the end of the Sacrament of Confession, and allow the kids to take their seats... thus releasing their burden . Introduce the idea that the weight we...

Below are 3 recordings of the Blessed Elder, Paisios of Mt. Athos, with English subtitles. It is the actual voice of this Saint. Elder Paisios - recording in his cell part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkV9r2vuMr8&feature=related Elder Paisios - recording in his cell part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vJRVPzn6R0&NR=1 Elder Paisios - recording in his cell part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-a9i8ZmS8o&feature=related

This year, our parish has designated separate classes for boys and girls ages 10-16.  I thought I'd share our program with you, as it seems to be well received so far. The idea of splitting the genders has  truly allowed us to concentrate on specific issues related to their challenges while also eliminating much of the chatter and drama! We do not have a text per say, but rather a structure that gives us flexibility yet predictability. Every month our girls follow this schedule: 1st Sunday : Koumboskinia/Prayer Ropes (Craft & Theology) 2nd Sunday : Chanting (Theology & Hymns from the Divine Liturgy or Feast) 3rd Sunday : Diakonima (The girls can bake, assist, serve, & clean-up at the coffee fellowship- the boys tend to the altar and candles) 4th Sunday : Journaling from the Lives of the Female Saints Today, as an example, the girls were asked to walk around the church after the Divine Litrugy, and to write the names of the female Saints that they found on the wall...

I usually avoid sharing anything personal on this blog - but this post might just relate to other Orthodox parents out there, so here goes. As a mother of three small children, the day passes fast. With diapers and meals, I just about manage to say their prayers with them, in front of their iconostasis'. Each room it seems has its' share of breathtaking and inspiring icons, but something was missing I felt. Or was I simply making excuses for skipping out on my prayers? To be honest, a space just for me was the perfect solution. So here it is. Our glorious utility closet. That's right...and it's perfect. The kids don't even know it exists! Sure, you might say I'm surrounded by buckets and tennis rackets, ironing boards and boxes, but these are the items of our daily life. There is nothing 'unholy' there, and I sort of feel the presence of God and His Saints sanctifying even this space! It has reminded me that despite singing spiritual songs with our child...

A Prayer to  Jesus to deliver us from the sin of abortion O Lord Jesus Christ, Who – at the 6 th hour of the day – didst shed Thy precious Blood upon the Cross for the salvation of all mankind: receive the souls of all the innocent pre-born babies, who have been, are being, or will be slaughtered today in the hospitals and abortion chambers throughout our Nation.  And as their untimely deaths have prevented them from receiving the grace of Holy Baptism, I entreat Thee to accept their innocent blood as their Baptism (as Thou didst with the early Martyrs); so that they can share eternity with Thee. To the doctors, nurses, parents and hosts of accomplices responsible for this infanticide, grant tears of repentance; so that they can run to Thee for forgiveness and healing, and thus avoid the eternal death of their souls.  I believe that all things are possible with Thee, O Lord.  Therefore, I entreat Thee on this day – through Thy divine grace – to convin...

What are the things you do daily without thinking twice? We brush our teeth, we put on clothes, and we never leave the house to begin our day without a pair of shoes on our feet to equip us for the road ahead. In the same way, we can strive to see prayer as an essential part of our day, for the benefits are greater than fresh breath or comfortable feet! Let us teach our children to start small, with an icon of Christ and just five minutes, but strive for consistency. The goal is to remember, thank, and glorify God each and every day by coming to meet Him face to face. By doing this, we grow to rely on Christ and He becomes the center of our lives. Remember, when we pray, we open the communication between us and God in a very personal way. There’s no one who knows us better than our Lord. He is with us each step of the way, and He knows exactly what we need. The Blessed Elder, IERONYMOS of Aegina +1966 encourages us in his writings "Do not leave off prayer. No matter how tired yo...