First time the new book has been in the wild. Order it here: akensideinstitute.org/books/…

First time the new book has been in the wild. Order it here: akensideinstitute.org/books/…

Our little five acre meadow above the village has mostly been used for sheep historically. I want to make it a paradise for pollinators. Fruit trees, flowers, absolutely dripping with nectar. I need this meadow to become absolutely teeming with life. 🐝

"Certainly the Eucharist is a Sacrament of Christ’s Love, but we can also speak of the Eucharist as the Sacrament of Christ’s Death, which reveals His love." My sermon for the 2nd Sun. after Trinity, and Part 2 of my sermon series, "The Eucharistic Life" 👇

A picture taken through the wrought iron fence around St Teresa Church in the Lower East Side.

Hugh of St Victor: "The good Word and wise Life that made the world is perceived when the world is contemplated. The Word itself cannot be seen, but the Word both made what can be seen and is seen through what He made." (On the Three Days, 1.1)

“The ascetics are Orthodoxy's only missionaries. Asceticism is her only missionary school. Orthodoxy is ascetic effort and it is life, and it is thus by effort and by life that her mission is broadcast and brought about. The development of asceticism...this ought to be the inward mission of our Church amongst our people. The parish must become an ascetic focal point. But this can only be achieved by an ascetic priest. Prayer and fasting, the Church-oriented life of the parish, a life of liturgy: Orthodoxy holds these as the primary ways of effecting rebirth in its people. The parish, the parish community, must be regenerated and in Christ-like and brotherly love must minister humbly to Him and to all people, meek and lowly and in a spirit of sacrifice and self-denial. And such service must be imbued and nourished by prayers and the liturgical life. This much is groundwork and indispensible. But to this end there exists one prerequisite: that our bishops, priests, and our monks become ascetics themselves. That this might be, then: Let us beseech the Lord.” - Saint Justin Popovich, The Inward Mission of Our Church

All Saints of North America, pray for us!

All Saints of Palestine

🔸 Synaxis of All Saints of Mount Athos ⛰️ 🔸 Today, the Sunday following the feast of All Saints, we commemorate the Synaxis of All the Saints and Fathers who have shone forth on Mount Athos. The autonomous region of Mount Athos, located in Northern Greece on the easternmost leg of the Chalkidiki peninsula, has served for over a millenia as the spiritual heart of Orthodox monasticism. Its population of around 2000 monks reside in the 20 monasteries and their dependencies. While the majority of these are Greek, there are also Serbian, Russian, Bulgarian and Romanian monasteries, sketes and hermitages. Mount Athos as a monastic centre was formally founded in 963 when Saint Athanasius the Athonite (depicted in the centre of the icon) established the monastery of Great Lavra which is still the largest monastery on the peninsula to this day. According to tradition, in the first century, while the Mother of God was travelling with Saint John the Theologian to visit Lazarus in Cyprus, a fierce storm broke out, and the ship was blown off course. Forced to anchor at the shores of Athos, the Theotokos was overwhelmed by the mountain’s wild natural beauty that she asked her Son to grant it as her garden. A voice was then heard saying: “Let this place be your inheritance and your garden, a paradise and a haven of salvation for those seeking to be saved.” For this reason, Mount Athos is also known as the “Garden of the Theotokos”. So as to fully consecrate the peninsula to the All-Holy Mother of God, women have been barred from setting foot on Mount Athos for over 1000 years. The monks are therefore better able to avoid the worldly passions which may otherwise distract them from their pursuit of God through celibacy, chastity, asceticism and uninterrupted prayer. Mount Athos remains to this day a sacred battleground of spiritual warfare. It is an arena of hesychasm, where the monks struggle daily against passions, temptations, and demonic influences in order to attain purity of heart, humility, and union with God. Victory is not measured here in earthly terms, but in the acquisition of the Holy Spirit and transformation into the likeness of Christ.

Always a delight to welcome Bishop Paul to @PuseyHouse for a Pontifical High Mass on this occasion of Friends Festival. A full-to-capacity Chapel as friends and admirers of the missionary bishop all converged to welcome our Shepherd in the See of Oswestry.

✢ All Saints

I think it is good that the Orthodox approve the use of adapted Anglican liturgy that originated in the Book of Common Prayer. We are one Body of Christ, after all. Yet calling it "the Divine Liturgy of Saint Tikhon" is really a rather ridiculous—even gas-lighting—thing to do.

The natural family perfected by the grace of sacramental matrimony is necessary for the continuation of moral and ordered society.

The US *lost* the Iran war. Trump’s pre-war objectives: 1. Destroy Iran's ability to fire missiles 2. End Iran's nuclear program for good 3. Cut off Iran’s support for regional allies 4. Regime change and total surrender

Bee yard inspection with the boss today.

Prepared for the Breck Conference next week! nashotah.edu/breck/