The Use of Incense in Orthodox Worship

The Orthodox Church preserves the historical practice of using incense in all of its services, reminiscent of the Jewish custom of offering up fragrant incense in the temple. Incense in worship of God was used by the Jews as a sign of recognition of the transcendent value of God and was a symbol of submission and devotion. Incense is one of the three gifts offered by the Magi to our Lord.

The priest swings the censer towards the altar with the eucharistic gifts set upon it, then walks out of the altar area, censes all of the icons bearing the image of the saints, and then swings the censer towards each person present at the service. This practice declares the reality that the offering God’s people give is no longer confined to a building, because we worship in spirit and in truth. That is, we offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God [Romans 12:1], and are thus living altars devoting our entire being to His service since we are the climactic element of Creation bearing God’s image.

The smoke symbolizes our prayers rising before the throne of God. As the incense is placed on the lit charcoal and remains there, it heats, rises and spreads its fragrance. Likewise our souls are warmed by contact with God and our faithful prayer rises above earthly material concerns to the heavenly spiritual worship of God. “Let my prayer arise as incense before You …” is the momentum of the soul upwards to God. At the same time, incense symbolizes the fervent desire to have our prayer accepted by God as a “sweet spiritual fragrance.”

The billowing smoke symbolizes the fiery tongues of Pentecost, when the Lord sent forth the Holy Spirit to His disciples “like tongues of fire.” When blessing the incense, the priest prays “We offer You, O Lord, this incense as a sweet spiritual fragrance; may it be acceptable at Your holy altar and we ask that You send down upon us in return the divine grace of the gift of Your Holy Spirit.” The faithful, when censed by the priest, slightly bow their heads as a sign of acceptance of this grace.

The censer is suspended by four chains with twelve bells, symbolizing the four evangelists and the twelve apostles respectively. The base of the censer symbolizes the human nature of Christ in the womb of the Virgin Mother. The embers symbolize the fire of divinity, representing the burning bush of the Old Testament that was burning but not consumed. The fire itself symbolizes the Divine Love as spiritual fire burning in the heart of every believer.

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Lenten Reflections: The Temptations of Christ*

Based on reflections on the gospel reading of Saint Luke 4:1-13:

I love this story, not least because it messes with my ideas about God. Jesus was “led by the Holy Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.” Usually we focus on the temptations Jesus faced – for food, for power, for glory – and how he resisted. But what lands for me is that the devil is doing the work of the Holy Spirit here. The temptation is not an unfortunate surprise or a problem, but is apparently part of the plan.

This morning I was reminded in a sermon that “the plan” for Jesus, as for all of us, includes testing. It’s not enough for us to go out knowing that we are God’s beloved – as important as that is. We need to know our limits and our susceptibilities as well. We need to know how to resist them. Then we can serve the world and God. So “the devil” here is essential to preparing us for adult life and service.

Does that mean that every temptation is really a test from God? Many people go there. When loved ones die or disaster falls, they ask why God is doing this to them. Whether they’re asking what they did to deserve this, or asking what God’s purpose is, they are often imputing too much intention to God. God does not micromanage every detail or endorse every moment in our lives. There is human sin and human love, there is natural disaster, there is chance.
But at other times and in other ways it’s really helpful to ask where God is in a situation. The answer, we assume so often, must be in a “good” way – a way that we like. God is in the comfort, the “in spite of” or “with us through” hard times.

But what if God is sometimes in the hard time itself? What if God is not punishing us or exactly planning results for us, but is in the opportunity to grow our faith? What if God is redeeming the situation even through the “negative” parts?
Maybe the trouble is in being so certain what is good and what is bad, what is “the devil” and what is God. God is bigger than my ideas of good and bad, which usually follow closely with my comfort or discomfort. The Lenten journey reminds me that good and bad are bigger than my comfort or lack thereof, bigger than my understanding. Jesus being tempted; Jesus being crucified; is this the work of the devil, or the Holy Spirit – or the dance between them?
Is there a place in your life that you are sure is just bad, just “the devil’s work”? The inner work I’m doing this Lent hurts like the devil, but I know it’s of God. God has promised that if I walk through this valley I will see more life, more love. God has promised you too.

Whatever your temptations this season, this year, this life, God is there for you. You may end the season still living with injustice and oppression, still hungry, still sick or lonely, as many people will. God doesn’t will that. God wills your peace and serenity and resilience through it, and God wills an end to it. Stand strong – or lie, or sit, as you are able. But know that the Holy Spirit is with you, even in the scariest times. And blessings on you, this day and always.

*Reposted from “The Companions of Mary the Apostle”

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ZACCHAEUS SUNDAY

Today the Eastern Church reads the gospel story of Zacchaeus. We are now entering the threshold of the preparatory weeks before the Great Fast (Lent). Indeed we are now only eleven weeks from Pascha (Orthodox Easter).

Zacchaeus was an unethical tax-collector working for the oppressive Roman government. How then was Zacchaeus saved? Zacchaeus was saved because he knew he was small, both literally and figuratively, and so had to climb up into the sycamore tree to see the Son of God Whom he desired to see. Christ did not leave Zacchaeus sitting anxiously in the tree. He acknowledged him and then He called him down. “Make haste and come down. For I must stay at your house today.”

Like Zacchaeus, we will not be saved until we too understand that in order to see Salvation, we must first climb up into the tree of repentance, up onto the cross of humility, bringing the fourfold fruit of repentance. Only then will we hear Christ’s voice calling to us and saying: ‘Come down’, because He is calling us to eat with Him in His Eucharist.

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Saint Valentine’s Day

According to the most common narrative, Saint Valentine, a priest in Rome, drew the ire of Emperor Claudius by ignoring the imperial ban against allowing men who had not fulfilled their military obligations to the empire to marry. In defiance of imperial edict, Valentine continued to unite and bless Christian couples, which were legally barred from marrying. Saint Valentine was eventually arrested, thrown into prison and sentenced to death.

In our lives, it is unlikely that we will ever face a life or death situation for the sake of love; however, we are likely to be presented with many situations requiring the sacrifice of our wants for the wants of another. But let’s get back to Saint Valentine, who, in spite of his incarceration and death sentence, remained steadfast and positive. Many young people came to the prison to visit him. They threw flowers and notes up to his window, wanting him to know that they, too, believed in love. One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard, who allowed her to frequently visit him in his cell. On the day Valentine was to be executed, he left her a note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. He signed it, “Love from your Valentine.” That note started the custom of exchanging love notes on Valentine’s Day. It was written on the day he died, February 14, 269 A.D. The life of Saint Valentine reminds us that love is a sacrificial commitment, not something that one just falls into as the romantic songs suggest. Love also makes us vulnerable, and vulnerability can evoke fear.

If we have been hurt by love or have ever experienced a painful breakup, we may experience feelings and thoughts to never want to be in a relationship again. A broken heart and pained soul may want to give up on love altogether; however it is prudent to pause and consider a valuable reason to give love another shot. Our hurt and tears clear the fog around our heart and illumine our soul, manifesting our highest, most sacred and loving self, for God is love and the source of love. In spite of the vulnerability and potential for emotional pain, it is by loving that we experience God’s presence and become even more whole.

For Orthodox Christians, Saint Valentine’s Day is most fully understood as a celebration of sacramental love and of God’s unconditional love. Indeed, Saint Valentine was willing to sacrifice his life not for eros but in order to sanctify and make whole the union of young couples through the blessing of God’s love.

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Do You Have Any Knots in Your Life?

Mary, the Most Holy Theotokos, under the title of “Undoer of Knots” was originally inspired by a meditation of Saint Irenaeus (Bishop of Lyon and martyred in 202) based on the parallel made by Saint Paul between Adam and Christ. Saint Irenaeus, in turn, made a comparison between Eve and Mary, saying:

“Eve, by her disobedience, tied the knot of disgrace for the human race; whereas Mary, by her obedience, undid it”.

But what are these knots?

They are the problems and struggles we face for which we do not see any solution. Knots of discord in families and nations, lack of understanding between parents and children, disrespect, violence, the knots of deep hurts between spouses, the absence of peace and joy at home. They are also the knots of anguish and despair of substance abuse, the knots of a drug addicted family member or friend, sick or separated from home or God, knots of alcoholism, depression, unemployment, fear, loneliness. Ah, all the knots of our life! How they suffocate the soul, beat us down and betray the heart’s joy and diminish trust in God’s providence.

Prayer to Mary Undoer of Knots

Holy Mary, full of the presence of God, during your life you accepted with great humility the holy will of the Father and the legacy of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ, and evil never dared to entangle you with its confusion. Since then you have interceded for all of our difficulties as you did at the wedding feast of Cana. With all simplicity and with patience, you have given us an example of how to untangle the knots in our complicated lives. By being our mother forever you arrange and make clear the path that unites us to Our Lord.

Holy Mary, Mother of God and ours, with your maternal heart, untie the knots that upset our lives. We ask you to receive into your hands (here mention your prayer request) and deliver us from the chains and confusion that restrain us.

Blessed Virgin Mary, through your grace, your intercession and by your example, deliver us from evil, and untie the knots that keep us from being united to God. So that free of all confusion and error, we may find Him in all things, keep Him in our hearts, and serve Him always in our brothers and sisters.

Most Holy Mother of God pray for us!

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Feastday Celebration of Blessed Ksenia – Торжество Празднования Блаженной Ксении

Photos from the Celebration of the Divine Liturgy on the occasion of the Feastday of Blessed Ksenia of Petersburg on 6th of February 2016 in Saint Petersburg

Фотографии Божественной Литургии Торжества по случаю дня празднования блаженной Ксении Петербургской 6 февраля 2016, Санкт-Петербург

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Joyous Feast + Съ Праздникомъ

Память Блаженной Ксении Петербургской

Memorial of Blessed Ksenia of Petersburg

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