The great Moses foreshadowed this day mystically by his saying, “And God blessed the seventh day”; for this is the day of quiet and rest, on which the only Son of God rested from all his works, keeping Sabbath in the body, by means of the mystery of the dispensation taking effect in death, returning through Resurrection to what he had been, and granting us eternal life; for he alone is good and the Lover of mankind.

إن موسى العظيم قد سبق فرسم هذا اليوم سريّاً بقوله وبارك الله اليوم السابع لأنّ هذا هو يوم السبت المبارك هذا هو يوم السبوت والراحة الذي فيه استراح ابن الله الوحيد من كل أعماله لما سبتَ بالجسد بواسطة سرِّ التدبير الصائر بالموت وعاد أيضاً بواسطة القيامة إلى ما كان ومنحنا حياةً أبدية بما أنه صالحٌ وحده ومحبٌّ للبشر

Σήμερον κρεμάται επί ξύλου ο εν ύδασι την γην κρεμάσας.
Today He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung on the Tree.
Σήμερον κρεμάται επί ξύλου ο εν ύδασι την γην κρεμάσας.
The King of the angels is decked with a crown of thorns.
He who wraps the heavens in clouds is wrapped in the purple of mockery.
He who freed Adam in the Jordan is slapped on the face.
The Bridegroom of the Church is affixed to the Cross with nails.
The Son of the Virgin is pierced by a spear.
We worship Thy passion, O Christ.
Покланяемся страстем Твоим, Христе.
We worship Thy passion, O Christ.
Show us also Thy glorious resurrection.

The Orthodox Church sets a few days of the year to specifically commemorate all those who have fallen asleep in hope of the Resurrection. My home parish didn’t have a Memorial Liturgy this morning, but St. Athanasius Orthodox Church livestreamed their service on Facebook.

The intercessory prayer that begins at 1:42:01 (16:22 before the end of this video) and especially the hymn that follows immediately after are especially poignant for me today. My father passed into eternal life on March 15, 2019. None of my family are Orthodox, but as Fr. Justin led his community in prayer, I added my own prayers — for my father and my grandparents. I am grateful to my old friend and former classmate for making it possible to pray along with him today.

“O God of spirits and of all flesh, Who hath trampled down death, and made powerless the Devil, and given life to Thy world: Do Thou, the same Lord, give rest to the souls of Thy departed servants in a place of brightness, a place of verdure, a place of repose, whence all sickness, sorrow, and sighing have fled away. Pardon every sin which they have committed, whether by word, or deed, or thought; for Thou art good, and lovest mankind: for there is no man who liveth and sinneth not, and Thou only art without sin, and Thy righteousness is to all eternity, and Thy law is truth. For Thou art the Resurrection, and the Life, and the Repose of Thy departed servants, O Christ our God, and unto Thee we ascribe glory, together with Thy Father, Who is from everlasting, and Thine All-Holy, and good, and life-giving Spirit: now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.”

With the Saints give rest O Christ
to the soul of Thy servant
where sickness and sorrow are no more,
neither sighing but life everlasting.
Thou only art immortal
who hast created and fashioned man.
For out of the earth were we mortals made
and unto the same earth shall we return again
as Thou commanded when Thou madest me, saying unto me
for thou art dust and unto dust shalt thou return.
Whither we mortals all shall go
making our funeral dirge the song:
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

As of Friday, I am no longer engaged.

Yep, my fiancée and I got married in the city courthouse in Kentucky on Valentine’s Day. (Our church wedding will be in May at my home parish in Canada.)

We are both incredibly grateful to Fr. Justin for all the work he did as our man-on-the-scene arranging things with the magistrate and for acting as a witness.

Sue (my mother-in-law) was not only our other witness, but she also picked my Mom up from the airport and showed her around town. THANK YOU!!!

Thanks also to Rick (my father-in-law) for his suggestion of venue for the reception dinner. That was some good eats!

This was a small gathering, mainly for people who won’t be able to make it to Canada in a few months. We’ll only be issuing formal invites to folks who have to travel for the wedding, but if you’re in the city, we hope to see you there!

This blog really only gets updated when I’m sauntering my way through an adventure. I make no guarantees that updates will be more frequent going forward, but I’ve set out on my grandest journey yet. On December 28, 2019 I asked this lady to marry me and she said, “Yes.”

We’ve made solid progress with our plans in the past three weeks, and with 119 days to go until the wedding, our website is in place.

Kate and Peter

I was raised as an evangelical Protestant.  Christmas hymns sounded like this:

O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see Thee lie
Above Thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by

Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in Thee tonight

For Christ is born of Mary
And, gathered all above
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love

It’s beautiful, peaceful, perhaps a little plaintive.  Compare it with the following short hymn chanted on Christmas Eve in the Orthodox Church:

Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth. Let the foundations be shaken, and let trembling seize the netherworld. For God the Creator has entered the physical world; He who created creation with His mighty hand is a fetus of His own creature. O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are His judgements, how unsearchable His ways!

The incarnation of the Creator of all was a silent affair, kept hidden from the powers of this world, both secular and demonic.  However, it was an event of cosmic significance. Of course I’m only comparing two hymns, but I really think that Orthodox hymnography conveys the stupendous, monumental, earth-shaking import of Christ’s birth somewhat better.

Christ is born! Glorify Him!

This hymn was recorded during a funeral at the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine. It perfectly encapsulates the grief and love and faith and pain and yes, even hope that I’ve been living with since March 15. It’s rough and raw and deep — and it ends on Alleluia.

Today should have been Dad’s 72nd birthday.

With the Saints give rest O Christ
to the soul of Thy servant
where sickness and sorrow are no more,
neither sighing but life everlasting.
Thou only art immortal
who hast created and fashioned man.
For out of the earth were we mortals made
and unto the same earth shall we return again
as Thou commanded when Thou madest me, saying unto me
for thou art dust and unto dust shalt thou return.
Whither we mortals all shall go
making our funeral dirge the song:
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!