#st. andrew of crete

[orthodoxsoul]

Because Western Palm Sunday is at our doorstep and Orthodox Palm Sunday is a week behind

[cassianus]

In Christian asceticism, “thoughts” are nascent obsessions that emerge from the subconscious and that are likely to harden into “passions,” that is, into various forms of idolatry. “It thinks . . . it speaks” through me, says contemporary psychology. And indeed behind these thoughts looms the Enemy: Let me not become the possession and food of the enemy (4.32, 34, 35, 36). For these obsessions do lead to a sort of possession, which recalls the theme of the “double,” so masterfully described by Dostoyevsky. Faced with such situations, we feel helpless. We move aside and take avoiding measures: The priest saw me first, but passed by on the other side (1.15). Only Christ can become for the wounded and abandoned soul the Good Samaritan of the parable: Thou art the one Physician; apply plaster, and pour in oil and wine (8.24). And what does this medical dressing consist of in spiritual terms? Works of repentance, and compunction with tears (ibid.). In fact, Christ is seen to be not just a Good Samaritan but the only physician able to wash, purify, and cleanse me . . . and make me whiter than snow (4.26).

Olivier Clement

“Song of Tears”

[eternal-echoes]

“The cross is called Christ’s glory; it is saluted as His triumph. We recognize it as the cup He longed to drink and the climax of the sufferings He endured for our sake.”

- St. Andrew of Crete

[joeywhisperz]

St. Andrew of Crete

[orthodoxadventure]

My soul, O my soul, rise up! Why art thou sleeping? The End draws near, and soon shalt thou be troubled. Watch, then, that Christ thy God may spare thee, For He is everywhere present and fills all things.

-- From the Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete

[anastpaul]

Nuestra Señora del Refugio / Our Lady of Refuge, Mexico (1720) and Memorials of the Saints - 4 July

Within the Octave of Sts Peter and Paul Nuestra Señora del Refugio / Our Lady of Refuge, Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico (1720) – 4 July:HERE:https://anastpaul.com/2021/07/04/solemnity-of-saints-peter-and-paul-nuestra-senora-del-refugio-our-lady-of-refuge-matamoros-tamaulipas-mexico-1720-and-memorials-of-the-saints-4-july/ All the Holy Roman Pontiffs St Albert QuadrelliSt Andrew of Crete…

[bast38]

“Christ became man and called to repentance robbers and harlots. Repent, my soul! The door of the Kingdom is already open, and the transformed pharisees, publicans and adulterers are seizing it ahead of you.

Christ became a babe and conversed in the flesh with me, and He voluntarily experienced all that pertains to our nature, apart from sin; and He showed you, my soul, an example and image of His own condescension.

Christ saved wise men, called shepherds, made crowds of infants martyrs, glorified old men and aged widows, whose deeds and life, my soul, you have not emulated. But woe unto you when you are judged!

When the Lord had fasted for forty days in the wilderness, He at last became hungry, showing His human nature. Do not be despondent, my soul, if the enemy attacks you, but let him be beaten off by prayer and fasting.”

—St Andrew of Crete

[evenster]

This week, the first week of Lent, St. Andrew’s of Crete Great Penitential Canon is read in the Russian Orthodox Church

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading: Sunday, April2, 2023

april 2_march 20

Fifth Sunday of the Great Lent.

VENERABLE MARY OF EGYPT (movable holiday on the 5th Sunday of the Great Lent).

This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting (Mt. 17:21). If you recall, last Sunday, the fourth week of Great Lent, the Gospels proclaimed to us, This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. What is this kind?  

If you recall, brothers and sisters, we were told of a possessed youth and thrown into the fire, now into the water, as the father said, who brought this youth to Christ. And Christ said, This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. Here is what “kind”. The kind [of demon] that possessed this youth, that threw him [into fire and water]. The poor boy not only knew no peace, he knew no life. And Christ says, “is cast out”. That means that it is something separate. Is this understandable to us, or not? Brothers, if you only open a newspaper, you will immediately understand what “this kind” is. Look at how many people, in despair, throw themselves into the water to end their lives—thinking there is no eternal life. And into the fire… Here you’ll find so many who, again, from despair, throw themselves into the fire… They become human torches, lighting themselves on fire. It is the same thing: an affected state, or depression; or to the contrary, some kind of state that reaches the point of madness, human pride. And how many people fall into these terrible states of sexual excess? How many terrible states of robbery or murder are connected with this terrible love of money and hunger for power. What is this? This is that very kind. We act as if we have nothing to do with this. Oh... if only we had nothing to do with it!

Now we are going through the period of life that we call spiritual spring. If the farmer sows late, there will be no sprouting or grain. If a person is late in acquiring sobriety, attention to his inner man, to his heart, then he will be left without spiritual nourishment, in spiritual hunger. If there is some kind of passion in his heart, and he recognizes it, then he will likewise understand that no one can cast out this passion except the One Who created man. But for this, he needs to prepare himself. And this preparation is fasting and prayer. These are the feelings with which we should have remained during this week. And suppose we were in this state in which every Christian should be. In that case, we should especially have been so during this fifth week of Lent, when the Church cried out, “Before I perish utterly, save me, O Lord!” when the Great Canon of Repentance of St. Andrew of Crete was read, which tore the heart and turned it inside out, and revealed to us this very state of the passions so that we might be able to draw near to the Lord and say, “Forgive me, O God; heal me, give me your eternal light, give me life. Maybe I have no more than a year to live, maybe even less… Perhaps I am even now going to Thee.” We are all going there, to eternity, and the Church gives us this time for preparation so that we would see ourselves and acquire strength and depart into eternal existence.

We were told in last week’s Gospel that this kind goes out by prayer and fasting. We think that fasting is when vegetable oil is on the table. Yes, of course, abstinence from foods is also fasting. But fasting consists not only in this; this is only part of fasting. Fasting is when a person opens his heart to see everything unneeded in it and sweeps it away, taking only what is necessary to preserve it in his heart. And prayer? Prayer… is a state when the soul, feeling divine peace, ceaselessly calls out to the Lord: Help me do not allow… Do not allow the murder in me of the most essential feeling: my conscience. And at the end of this week—I don’t know about you, but I nevertheless feel unworthy.

And so this day is for me a great consolation. In what sense? Here before us, before our spiritual eyes, stands St. Mary of Egypt. She was a sinful woman, who became the classic face, the classic image of a Christian woman. She was an outrageous courtesan of Alexandria, Egypt. She was a harlot. She was a “public” woman. She was a beauty. And her depravity knew no bounds. And suddenly she saw a crowd of people boarding a ship. Thus did she travel to Jerusalem. She went with that crowd, which was going to venerate the Cross of the Lord. Why not? The whole crowd went, and she went. But when the crowd was entering the narthex, no matter what Maria did, she couldn’t enter into the church. Everyone had already entered, but she was riveted to the spot. It was as if the wind or a wave pushed her away. No matter how she trembled or how much she wanted to enter, she could not—whatever it was would not let her in. Finally, she understood that some terrible power was not letting her in. Then she looked, and saw standing before her a face, the icon of the Mother of God with the Divine Child. Immediately the veil that was obscuring her conscience opened up. She had heard about Christ and heard that Christ called people to chasteness.

And then her conscience revealed her entire sin to her, and she fell before the Heavenly Queen, crying out, “Forgive me! Help me! Then, she did not understand what had happened. As if carried up by the wind, she was suddenly brought into the church and fell down before the Cross of the Lord. Then a miracle happened to her: She suddenly thirsted for purity and chastity. She began to desire this lightness, a pure conscience. And when she felt forgiveness, she paid no attention to anyone and, without anything, ran to the Jordan River, walked across it, and hid in that desert. Thus did she live for seventeen years in a state of sobriety, eating the dirt, as she said, to destroy those lusts, those fleshly desires, that destructive “kind” of bodily movement. Then, for seventeen years, she lived in praise of divine grace. She was like an angel. So, I say that this day which the holy Church places before us is a consolation. There isn’t a sinner that the Lord would not forgive.

Brothers and sisters! After all, each of us will undoubtedly be covered by a coffin lid. Each of us will be hidden in a grave. But our souls will pass to eternity. What will we meet there? Do we at least think about what will be there? The Church calls and calls us to repentance. But how do we begin? So, pay attention here: Mary could not enter the church, and someone would not let her in. Take a look at yourselves, at your conscience. You have the same problem: Someone needs to allow you to a total dedication to Christ. Could you cut it off? But how? This is how: just like Mary. Run to the Mother of God. This is what I’m asking you to do. This is the greatest joy. And run to the Lord. Say, Lord, help me to be a Christian. Help me so that my systole and diastole would beat out only one feeling: dedication to the Lord and fulfilling His commandments. And then… then will come a clear, bright spring. And nearing the feast of Pascha, we will hear Christ’s words: Peace be unto you! And may this peace abide in us.

From: The One Thing Needful. The blessings of the Lord be upon you…

Archbishop Andrei (Rymarenko) Translation by OrthoChristian.com

Novo-Diveyevo Convnet

4/2/2023

MARTYR PHOTINA (SVETLANA), THE SAMARITAN WOMAN, AND HER SONS (66)

The Holy Martyr Photina (Svetlana) the Samaritan Woman, her sons Victor (named Photinus) and Joses; and her sisters Anatola, Phota, Photis, Paraskeva, Kyriake; Nero’s daughter Domnina; and the Martyr Sebastian: The holy Martyr Photina was the Samaritan Woman, with whom the Savior conversed at Jacob’s Well (John. 4:5-42).

During the time of the emperor Nero (54-68), who displayed excessive cruelty against Christians, Saint Photina lived in Carthage with her younger son Joses and fearlessly preached the Gospel there. Her eldest son Victor fought bravely in the Roman army against barbarians and was appointed military commander in Attalia (Asia Minor). Later, Nero called him to Italy to arrest and punish Christians.

Sebastian, an official in Italy, said to Saint Victor, “I know that you, your mother, and your brother are followers of Christ. As a friend, I advise you to submit to the emperor's will. If you inform any Christians, you will receive their wealth. I shall write to your mother and brother, asking them not to preach Christ publicly. Let them practice their faith in secret.”

Saint Victor replied, “I want to be a preacher of Christianity like my mother and brother.” Sebastian said, “O Victor, we all know what woes await you, your mother and brother.” Then Sebastian suddenly felt a sharp pain in his eyes. He was dumbfounded, and his face was somber.

For three days, he lay there blind, without uttering a word. On the fourth day, he declared, “The God of the Christians is the only true God.” Saint Victor asked why Sebastian had suddenly changed his mind. Sebastian replied, “Because Christ is calling me.” Soon he was baptized and immediately regained his sight. Saint Sebastian’s servants, after witnessing the miracle, were also baptized.

Reports of this reached Nero, who commanded that the Christians be brought to him at Rome. Then the Lord appeared to the confessors and said, “Fear not, for I am with you. Nero, and all who serve him, will be vanquished.” The Lord said to Saint Victor, “From this day forward, your name will be Photinus because, through you, many will be enlightened and believe in Me.” The Lord then told the Christians to strengthen and encourage Saint Sebastian to persevere until the end.

All these things and future events were revealed to Saint Photina. She left Carthage in the company of several Christians and joined the confessors in Rome.

At Rome, the emperor ordered the saints to be brought before him, and he asked them whether they truly believed in Christ. All the confessors refused to renounce the Savior. Then the emperor gave orders to smash the martyrs’ finger joints. The confessors felt no pain during the torments, and their hands remained unharmed.

Nero ordered Saints Sebastian, Photinus and Joses be blinded and locked up in prison, and Saint Photina and her five sisters, Anatola, Phota, Photis, Paraskeva and Kyriake were sent to the imperial court under the supervision of Nero’s daughter Domnina. Saint Photina converted both Domnina and all her servants to Christ. She also converted a sorcerer, who had brought her poisoned food to kill her.

Three years passed, and Nero was imprisoned for one of his servants, who had been locked up. The messengers reported to him that Saints Sebastian, Photinus, and Joses, who had been blinded, had completely recovered and that people were visiting them to hear their preaching. Indeed the whole prison had been transformed into a bright and fragrant place where God was glorified.

Nero then ordered to crucify the saints and beat their naked bodies with straps. On the fourth day, the emperor sent servants to see whether the martyrs were still alive. But, approaching the place of the tortures, the servants fell blind. An angel of the Lord freed and healed the martyrs from their crosses. The saints took pity on the blinded servants and restored their sight by praying to the Lord. Those who were healed came to believe in Christ and were soon baptized.

In an impotent rage, Nero gave orders to flay the skin from Saint Photina and to throw the martyr down a well. Sebastian, Photinus, and Joses had their legs cut off, thrown to dogs, and then their skin flayed off. The sisters of Saint Photina also suffered terrible torments. Nero ordered to cut off their breasts and flay their skin. An expert in cruelty, the emperor readied the fiercest execution for Saint Photis: they tied her by the feet to the tops of two bent-over trees. The trees sprang upright when the ropes were cut and tore the martyr apart. The emperor ordered the others beheaded. Saint Photina was removed from the well and imprisoned for twenty days.

After this, Nero brought her to him and asked if she would now relent and offer sacrifice to the idols. Saint Photina spit in the face of the emperor, and, laughing at him, said, “O most impious of the blind, you profligate and stupid man! Do you think me so deluded that I would consent to renounce my Lord Christ and instead offer sacrifice to idols as blind as you?”

Hearing such words, Nero gave orders to again throw the martyr down the well, where she surrendered her soul to God (+ ca. 66).

Source Orthodox Christianity

JOHN 20:19-31

19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained. 24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." 26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!" 27 Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." 28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." 30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

GALATIANS 3:23-29

23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

[brookston]

Holidays 10.17

Holidays

Big Yellow Hat Day

Black Poetry Day

Day of Dignity (Bolivia)

Dessalines Day (Haiti)

Digital Society Day (India)

Edge Day (Straight Edge movement)

Eggplant Day (French Republic)

Feminists Day

Festival of Hengest (Asatru)

Forgive an Ex Day

Gaudy Day (a.k.a. Wear Something Gaudy Day)

Global Day Against Pain

Global Maker Day

The Great Shake Out Earthquake Preparedness Day (at 10:17 a.m.)

International Day For the Eradication of Poverty (UN)

International Donnie Day

International Sawfish Day

Kanname-Sai Harvest Festival (Japan)

Legalization Day (Canada)

Loyalty Day (Argentina)

Mulligan Day

National Ass Day

National Body Confidence Day

National Catholic Men’s Conference Day

National Edge Day (UK)

National Geographic Day

National Hicatee Day (Belize)

National Light Day

National Lighting Day

National Nursery Practitioner Day (UK)

National Opossum Day

National Playing Card Collection Day

National Police Day (a.k.a. Wan Tamruat; Thailand)

National Sweetest Day

National Teen Arrive Alice Day

National Transfer Student Day

National Vehophobia Awareness Day

Paint A Mural On A Sidewalk Day

Pay Back a Friend Day

Spreadsheet Day

Women in Military Service for American Memorial Day

Work On Your Charisma Day

World Geothermal Energy Day

World Poverty Day

World Trauma Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Cake Decorating Day

Chivita World Juice Day (Nigeria)

Four Prunes Day

National Pasta Day

3rd Tuesday in October

Information Overload Day [3rd Tuesday]

National Flex Day [3rd Tuesday]

National Pharmacy Technician Day [3rd Tuesday]

Pay Back a Friend Day [3rd Tuesday]

textiles Tuesday (Canada) [3rd Tuesday]

Independence Days

Empire of the United States of America (Declared by Emperor Norton; 1859) [unrecognized]

Onopolissia (Declared; 2022) [unrecognized]

Stigistan (Declared; 2008; since dissolved) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Aequinoctium Autumnale VII (Pagan)

Andrew of Crete (Christian; Saint)

Anstrudis (Christian; Saint)

Audry (a.k.a. Etheldreda), Abbess of Ely (Christian; Saint)

Bum Biting Day (Pastafarian)

Canaletto (Artology)

Catervus (Christian; Saint)

Childe Hassam (Artology)

Cristofano Allori (Artology)

Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Doburoku Matsuri (Sake Festival; Shirahigetawara Shrine, Japan) [Day 1]

Ethelred and Ethelberht (Christian; Saints)

Florentius of Orange (Christian; Saint)

François-Isidore Gagelin (Christian; One of the Vietnamese Martyrs)

Hedwiges (a.k.a. Avoice), Duchess of Poland (Christian; Saint)

Hosea (Christian; Saint)

Ignatius of Antioch (Christian; Saint)

John the Short (a.k.a. John Colobus; Christian; Saint)

Locke (Positivist; Saint)

Madeline (Muppetism)

Marguerite Marie Alacoque (Visitadines; Christian; Saint)

Megan Meier Day (Australia)

Nothhelm (Christian; Saint)

Regulus (Christian; Saint)

Rule of Andrew (Christian; Saint)

Richard Gwyn (Christian; Saint)

Shemini Atzeret (begins at sundown; Judaism) [22 Tishrei]

St. Audrey’s Day Fair (Original Tawdry Fair; Isle of Ely, UK)

Victor of Capua (Christian; Saint)

World Pasta Day (Pastafarian)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lucky Day (Philippines) [56 of 71]

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Unfortunate Day (Pagan) [49 of 57]

Premieres

Angels in the Outfield (Film; 1951)

Around the World in 80 Days (Film; 1956)

Batman vs. Two-Face (WB Animated Film; 2017)

Before the Mayflower: A History of Black America, by Lerone Bennett Jr. (History Book; 1964)

Birdman (Film; 2014)

The Black Stallion (Film; 1979)

The Book of Life (Animated Film; 2014)

The Book of Mirdad, by Mikhail Naimy (Spiritual Book; 1948)

Bosko the Doughboy (WB LT Cartoon; 1931)

Buddy the Detective (WB LT Cartoon; 1934)

Bullitt (Film; 1968)

The Colbert Report (TV Series; 2005)

The Color of Money (Film; 1986)

Connections (UK Documentary Series; 1978)

The Crab with the Golden Claws, by Hergé (Graphic Novel; 1941) [Tintin #9]

The Devil’s Advocate (Film; 1997)

Earl and Water Don’t Mix or Next Time, Take the Drain (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S3, Ep. 118; 1961)

Easy Peckin’s (WB LT Cartoon; 1953)

A Feast for Crows, by George R.R. Martin (Novel; 2005) [A Song of Fire and Ice #4]

Fury (Film; 2014)

Great Guns (Disney Cartoon; 1927)

Hair (Musical Play; 1967)

I Know What You Did Last Summer (Film; 1997)

I Want to Hold Your Hand, recorded by The Beatles (Song; 1963)

Jailhouse Rock (Film; 1957)

Led Zeppelin: Celebration Day (Music Documentary Film; 2012)

Loudermilk (TV Series; 2017)

The Man Who Watched Trains Go By, by Georges Simenon (Novel; 1938)

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Film; 1939)

The Naked Ape, by Desmond Morris (Anthropology Book; 1967)

RCA (Electronics and Communications Company; 1919)

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, by William L. Shirer (History Book; 1960)

The River, by Bruce Springsteen (Album; 1980)

Rue Britannia, Part 1 (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S3, Ep. 117; 1961)

’Salem’s Lot, by Stephen King (Novel; 1975)

The Seagull, by Anton Chekov (Play; 1896)

Selena, by Selena (Album; 1989)

The Sensual World, by Kate Bush (Album; 1989)

Shake Your Powder Puff (WB MM Cartoon; 1934)

Spinout (Film; 1966)

Storm Front, by Billy Joel (Album; 1989)

Street Survivors, by Lynyrd Skynyrd (Album; 1977)

Stuart Little, by E.B. White (Children’s Book; 1945)

Tarzan (Animated Film; 2013)

Through the Looking Glass (Adult Film; 1977)

Travelers (TV Series; 2016)

12x5, by The Rolling Stones (Album; 1964)

The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, by Alan Garner (Novel; 1960)

Today’s Name Days

Anselm, Ignatius, Rudolf (Austria)

Ignacije, Vatroslav (Croatia)

Hedvika (Czech Republic)

Floretinus (Denmark)

Vesta, Veste (Estonia)

Saaga, Saana, Saini (Finland)

Baudouin, Solène (France)

Adelheid, Marie-Louise, Rudolf (Germany)

Hedvig (Hungary)

Ignazio (Italy)

Gaitis, Gaits, Karīna, Karola, Vita (Latvia)

Gytė, Kintautas, Marijonas (Lithuania)

Marta, Marte (Norway)

Lucyna, Małgorzata, Marian, Sulisława, Wiktor, Wiktoriusz (Poland)

Osea (Romania)

Veronica (Russia)

Hedviga (Slovakia)

Ignacio (Spain)

Antonia, Toini (Sweden)

Brad, Braden, Bradford, Bradley, Brady, Braeden, Brayden, Braydon, Rodolfo, Rudi, Rudolf, Rudolph, Rudolphine, Rudy (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 290 of 2024; 75 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 2 of week 42 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Gort (Ivy) [Day 15 of 28]

Chinese: Month 9 (Ten-Xu), Day 3 (Wu-Shen)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 2 Heshvan 5784

Islamic: 2 Rabi II 1445

J Cal: 20 Shù; Sixday [20 of 30]

Julian: 4 October 2023

Moon: 9%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 10 Descartes (11th Month) [Locke]

Runic Half Month: Wyn (Joy) [Day 6 of 15]

Season: Autumn (Day 24 of 89)

Zodiac: Libra (Day 24 of 30)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 10.17

Holidays

Big Yellow Hat Day

Black Poetry Day

Day of Dignity (Bolivia)

Dessalines Day (Haiti)

Digital Society Day (India)

Edge Day (Straight Edge movement)

Eggplant Day (French Republic)

Feminists Day

Festival of Hengest (Asatru)

Forgive an Ex Day

Gaudy Day (a.k.a. Wear Something Gaudy Day)

Global Day Against Pain

Global Maker Day

The Great Shake Out Earthquake Preparedness Day (at 10:17 a.m.)

International Day For the Eradication of Poverty (UN)

International Donnie Day

International Sawfish Day

Kanname-Sai Harvest Festival (Japan)

Legalization Day (Canada)

Loyalty Day (Argentina)

Mulligan Day

National Ass Day

National Body Confidence Day

National Catholic Men’s Conference Day

National Edge Day (UK)

National Geographic Day

National Hicatee Day (Belize)

National Light Day

National Lighting Day

National Nursery Practitioner Day (UK)

National Opossum Day

National Playing Card Collection Day

National Police Day (a.k.a. Wan Tamruat; Thailand)

National Sweetest Day

National Teen Arrive Alice Day

National Transfer Student Day

National Vehophobia Awareness Day

Paint A Mural On A Sidewalk Day

Pay Back a Friend Day

Spreadsheet Day

Women in Military Service for American Memorial Day

Work On Your Charisma Day

World Geothermal Energy Day

World Poverty Day

World Trauma Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Cake Decorating Day

Chivita World Juice Day (Nigeria)

Four Prunes Day

National Pasta Day

3rd Tuesday in October

Information Overload Day [3rd Tuesday]

National Flex Day [3rd Tuesday]

National Pharmacy Technician Day [3rd Tuesday]

Pay Back a Friend Day [3rd Tuesday]

textiles Tuesday (Canada) [3rd Tuesday]

Independence Days

Empire of the United States of America (Declared by Emperor Norton; 1859) [unrecognized]

Onopolissia (Declared; 2022) [unrecognized]

Stigistan (Declared; 2008; since dissolved) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Aequinoctium Autumnale VII (Pagan)

Andrew of Crete (Christian; Saint)

Anstrudis (Christian; Saint)

Audry (a.k.a. Etheldreda), Abbess of Ely (Christian; Saint)

Bum Biting Day (Pastafarian)

Canaletto (Artology)

Catervus (Christian; Saint)

Childe Hassam (Artology)

Cristofano Allori (Artology)

Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Doburoku Matsuri (Sake Festival; Shirahigetawara Shrine, Japan) [Day 1]

Ethelred and Ethelberht (Christian; Saints)

Florentius of Orange (Christian; Saint)

François-Isidore Gagelin (Christian; One of the Vietnamese Martyrs)

Hedwiges (a.k.a. Avoice), Duchess of Poland (Christian; Saint)

Hosea (Christian; Saint)

Ignatius of Antioch (Christian; Saint)

John the Short (a.k.a. John Colobus; Christian; Saint)

Locke (Positivist; Saint)

Madeline (Muppetism)

Marguerite Marie Alacoque (Visitadines; Christian; Saint)

Megan Meier Day (Australia)

Nothhelm (Christian; Saint)

Regulus (Christian; Saint)

Rule of Andrew (Christian; Saint)

Richard Gwyn (Christian; Saint)

Shemini Atzeret (begins at sundown; Judaism) [22 Tishrei]

St. Audrey’s Day Fair (Original Tawdry Fair; Isle of Ely, UK)

Victor of Capua (Christian; Saint)

World Pasta Day (Pastafarian)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lucky Day (Philippines) [56 of 71]

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Unfortunate Day (Pagan) [49 of 57]

Premieres

Angels in the Outfield (Film; 1951)

Around the World in 80 Days (Film; 1956)

Batman vs. Two-Face (WB Animated Film; 2017)

Before the Mayflower: A History of Black America, by Lerone Bennett Jr. (History Book; 1964)

Birdman (Film; 2014)

The Black Stallion (Film; 1979)

The Book of Life (Animated Film; 2014)

The Book of Mirdad, by Mikhail Naimy (Spiritual Book; 1948)

Bosko the Doughboy (WB LT Cartoon; 1931)

Buddy the Detective (WB LT Cartoon; 1934)

Bullitt (Film; 1968)

The Colbert Report (TV Series; 2005)

The Color of Money (Film; 1986)

Connections (UK Documentary Series; 1978)

The Crab with the Golden Claws, by Hergé (Graphic Novel; 1941) [Tintin #9]

The Devil’s Advocate (Film; 1997)

Earl and Water Don’t Mix or Next Time, Take the Drain (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S3, Ep. 118; 1961)

Easy Peckin’s (WB LT Cartoon; 1953)

A Feast for Crows, by George R.R. Martin (Novel; 2005) [A Song of Fire and Ice #4]

Fury (Film; 2014)

Great Guns (Disney Cartoon; 1927)

Hair (Musical Play; 1967)

I Know What You Did Last Summer (Film; 1997)

I Want to Hold Your Hand, recorded by The Beatles (Song; 1963)

Jailhouse Rock (Film; 1957)

Led Zeppelin: Celebration Day (Music Documentary Film; 2012)

Loudermilk (TV Series; 2017)

The Man Who Watched Trains Go By, by Georges Simenon (Novel; 1938)

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Film; 1939)

The Naked Ape, by Desmond Morris (Anthropology Book; 1967)

RCA (Electronics and Communications Company; 1919)

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, by William L. Shirer (History Book; 1960)

The River, by Bruce Springsteen (Album; 1980)

Rue Britannia, Part 1 (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S3, Ep. 117; 1961)

’Salem’s Lot, by Stephen King (Novel; 1975)

The Seagull, by Anton Chekov (Play; 1896)

Selena, by Selena (Album; 1989)

The Sensual World, by Kate Bush (Album; 1989)

Shake Your Powder Puff (WB MM Cartoon; 1934)

Spinout (Film; 1966)

Storm Front, by Billy Joel (Album; 1989)

Street Survivors, by Lynyrd Skynyrd (Album; 1977)

Stuart Little, by E.B. White (Children’s Book; 1945)

Tarzan (Animated Film; 2013)

Through the Looking Glass (Adult Film; 1977)

Travelers (TV Series; 2016)

12x5, by The Rolling Stones (Album; 1964)

The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, by Alan Garner (Novel; 1960)

Today’s Name Days

Anselm, Ignatius, Rudolf (Austria)

Ignacije, Vatroslav (Croatia)

Hedvika (Czech Republic)

Floretinus (Denmark)

Vesta, Veste (Estonia)

Saaga, Saana, Saini (Finland)

Baudouin, Solène (France)

Adelheid, Marie-Louise, Rudolf (Germany)

Hedvig (Hungary)

Ignazio (Italy)

Gaitis, Gaits, Karīna, Karola, Vita (Latvia)

Gytė, Kintautas, Marijonas (Lithuania)

Marta, Marte (Norway)

Lucyna, Małgorzata, Marian, Sulisława, Wiktor, Wiktoriusz (Poland)

Osea (Romania)

Veronica (Russia)

Hedviga (Slovakia)

Ignacio (Spain)

Antonia, Toini (Sweden)

Brad, Braden, Bradford, Bradley, Brady, Braeden, Brayden, Braydon, Rodolfo, Rudi, Rudolf, Rudolph, Rudolphine, Rudy (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 290 of 2024; 75 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 2 of week 42 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Gort (Ivy) [Day 15 of 28]

Chinese: Month 9 (Ten-Xu), Day 3 (Wu-Shen)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 2 Heshvan 5784

Islamic: 2 Rabi II 1445

J Cal: 20 Shù; Sixday [20 of 30]

Julian: 4 October 2023

Moon: 9%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 10 Descartes (11th Month) [Locke]

Runic Half Month: Wyn (Joy) [Day 6 of 15]

Season: Autumn (Day 24 of 89)

Zodiac: Libra (Day 24 of 30)

[cassianus]

Spiritual death, expressed as biological death, secretly eats away at our existence. Yet, by the very intensity of the anguish it provokes, it can set us on the path of awakening. The fickleness of time and the precariousness of an existence in which everything eludes us is something that is repeatedly emphasized by St Andrew of Crete in his Great Canon: The time of my life is short, filled with trouble and evil (4.32); The end draws near, my soul, the end draws near for the days of our life pass swiftly, as a dream, as a flower (4.11); My life is dead, it is petering out and my mind is wounded, my body has grown feeble, my spirit is sick, my speech has lost its power (9.10).

Thus we become aware of a fundamental emptiness and a sense of failure. St Andrew alludes several times to this background of anguish. Feelings of revulsion and yet a melancholic nostalgia take hold of us when we come to realize the hollowness of our preoccupations, the emptiness of the hustle and bustle and the many concerns and preoccupations in which we seek refuge so as to forget our finiteness. My days have vanished as the dream of one awaking (7.20); I speak boastfully, with boldness of heart, yet all to no purpose and in vain (4.33). That is to say, out of a laughable self-importance or, even more tritely, out of the dreary despondency that is so characteristic of our thoroughly nihilistic age. This is argia, the “sloth” or “idleness” spoken of in the prayer that is recited so frequently in Lent, the Prayer of St Ephraim: “O Lord and Master of my life, give me not a spirit of sloth . . .” Argia, say the ascetics of old, begets forgetfulness, one of the “giants” of sin: forgetfulness of God and thus of oneself and of the other in his mystery; forgetfulness of the truth about beings and things—a sort of sleepwalking filled with fantasies in which the soul, as it were, splinters, breaks up, splits into two. It is precisely this dipsychia, this double-mindedness that the Epistle of St James 1:8 describes as the major sin. In fragmenting, the soul falls prey to the demon whose name is Legion (Mk 5.9). The same night that falls perceptibly with the approach of death had long since begun to enshroud our life, rising from the cracks and the chaos: In night have I passed all my life; for the night of sin has covered me with darkness and thick mist (5.1). A layer of filth encrusts the soul, hardening the heart and rendering it heavy and insensitive: I have defiled my body, I have stained my spirit (392). We have a sense of foreboding that maleficent powers are on the look-out, and that in the shadows the Enemy lurks with his perverted intelligence. The Enemy—that deceiver, that beguiler, that separator:Let me not become the possession and food of the enemy, we pray four times in Ode Four (4.32, 34, 35, 36).

Then, a first blessing is given: the “remembrance of death.” St John Climacus advises us—monks in particular—to make the constant thought of death our “spouse.” In the sobering light of this “remembrance,” our conscience begins to awaken, regardless of our conditioning or our instinct for self-preservation. Solzhenitsyn has shown how the experience of the camps—where the remembrance of death was inescapable—can indeed awaken the conscience. I am convicted by the verdict of my own conscience, which is more compelling than all else in the world (4.14). For several of the Fathers—Dorotheus of Gaza, for example - the conscience is like a divine spark. Thus man is judged from within, and with no possibility of appeal, by his own conscience. He then becomes aware not only that he “sits in darkness and the shadow of death” (Lk 1.79), but that in a certain sense he is in hell; for hell, as Origen said, is precisely the burning sensation caused by one’s own conscience. There remains a certain persistent hunger. I am barren of the virtues of holiness; in my hunger I cry out (1.21).

There remains a certain desire, though it has been disappointed for so long by the fantasies we have projected onto the wall of our finiteness. And so, the understanding and the heart begin to undergo change. This is the real meaning of metanoia, which is too often translated as “repentance” but which in fact signifies the transformation of our entire grasp of reality. We begin to shake off our torpor, our self-sufficiency, and that habit of perpetually justifying ourselves by condemning others. It is a return to one’s true self, which becomes a return to God and which manifests itself in confession: With boldness tell Christ of thy deeds and thoughts (4.12); Turn back, repent, uncover all that thou hast hidden. Say unto God, to whom all things are known: Thou alone knowest my secrets, O Savior; “have mercy on me,” as David sings, “according to thy mercy” (7.19).

Olivier Clement

Song of Tears

Chapter I, Part I: Awakening and the Fear of God

[piouscatholic]

Novena in Honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Day 4

Mary the Child of Pious Parents

Preparatory Prayer:

We Fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God. Despise not our petitions in our necessities, and deliver us from all dangers, O ever glorious and blessed Virgin!

Meditation:

Tradition tells us that Mary's parents were called Joachim and Anna.

The holy Fathers rival each other in praising the virtue of this holy couple.

St. Epiphanius writes:

"Joachim and Anna were pleasing in the sight of God because of the holiness of their lives."

St. Andrew of Crete remarks:

"Joachim was eminent for the mildness and fortitude of his character.

The law of God was his rule of life.

He was just, and never relaxed in the fervor of his love of God.

Anna was no less noted for her meekness, continence, and chastity."

St. Jerome relates:

"The life of this holy couple was simple and just before the Lord, edifying and virtuous before men."

St. John Damascene exclaims:

"O happy, chaste, and immaculate couple, Joachim and Ann!

You are known, according to the Lord's word, by your fruit.

Your life was pleasing in the sight of God, and worthy of her who was born of you."

Practice:

It is a great blessing, and one to be esteemed more highly than wealth and high station, to have God-fearing, pious parents.

For their sake God is gracious to the children and lavishes His gifts on them.

It is certainly a great privilege to be offered up to God immediately after birth by the hands of a pious mother.

To have, from childhood up, the example and guidance of virtuous parents is certainly of the greatest importance.

St. Chrysostom writes:

"The parents' example is the book from which the child learns."

A pious bishop was wont to say:

"The good example of the parents is the best catechism and the truest mirror that a family can have."

If Christian parents imitate the example of Joachim and Ann the blessing of God will rest on them and on their children;

for because her parents were so dear to Mary, she will not refuse to join them in their prayers for us.

Prayer of the Church:

Grant to us, Thy servants, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the gift of heavenly grace;

that to those for whom the delivery of the Blessed Virgin was the commencement of salvation, the commemoration of her nativity may give increasing peace.

Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Litany of Loreto

Prayer:

Hail thee, brightest morn, forerunner of the heavenly Sun of Justice, who didst first bring light to earth.

Humbly prostrate, with all our hearts we pray thee to vouchsafe in thy goodness to be born again in spirit in our souls, that, led captive by thy loveliness and sweetness, they may ever live united to thy most sweet and loving heart.

Hail Mary

Ejaculation:

O Mary, who didst come into the world free from stain:

obtain of God for me that I may leave it without sin!

<Indulgence: 100 days, once a day. (Pius IX, March 27, 1863.)>

#CatholicHarborofFaithAndMoralsCom

[eternal-echoes]

“Let us present the conqueror of death, not with mere branches of palms but with the real rewards of His victory. Let our souls take the place of the welcoming branches...”

- St. Andrew of Crete

[anastpaul]

Quote/s of the Day – 4 July – St Andrew of Crete

Quote/s of the Day – 4 July – St Andrew of Crete (c660-c740) Bishop “But Jesus he delivered up to their will.”Luke 23:25 “Then, let us run with Him as He presses on to His Passion.Let us imitate those who have gone out to meet Him,not scattering olive branchesor garments or palms in His pathbut spreading ourselves before Him as best we can,with humility of soul and upright purpose.So may we…