Dormition of the Virgin Mary Orthodox Church

01/28/2024

Each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which Read more…

01/28/2024

He who believe in Him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. John 3:18 One of my Read more…

01/28/2024

Then the kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, Read more…

01/01/2024

Happy New Year!

11/28/2023

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08/30/2023

And behold, one came up to Him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” And He said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to Him...

07/03/2023

LET THE DEAD BURY THEIR OWN DEAD
(Monday, July 3)

“Then another of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.’” (Mt 8:21-22)

Ouch! Our Lord’s harsh response to this disciple, who wanted to “first go and bury” his father, is shocking. But let’s consider, first of all, that the father was probably not physically dead yet, because it was the custom in that region to bury the dead within hours of their death. So, the disciple would not even be here, had his father already died. The disciple was saying, I will follow You after my father is out of the picture. Second, - in any event, - Christ is saying what He knows is good for this specific disciple, for whom it is good, *not* to procrastinate about following Him at this time. The Lord also knows something we don’t, about this disciple’s family-situation, in which “the dead bury their own dead.” There are others in this family, who can take care of the disciple’s father, and who, for whatever painful reason, are already “dead” to Christ. Neither the disciple nor his family gain anything, from him remaining attached to their circle of the walking dead. Now was the time for this disciple to “go and preach the kingdom of God,” as St. Luke says in a slightly-different rendition of this case (Lk 9:60).

Here is another blow to “family values,” and to prioritizing them as the primary focus of our cross-carrying journey. While we do not recklessly abandon or neglect our family, when it is our vocation to take care of them, in certain cases and moments we are called to “let the dead bury their own dead.” Lord, grant us the wisdom to know the difference.
(NOTE: You can get these reflections daily via our EMAIL-Newsletter, by typing in your email-address at the Homepage of our website, coffeewithsistervassa.com.)

07/01/2023

"DWELLING" IN GOD’S HELP
(Monday, June 26)

“He who dwells in the help of the Most High (Ὁ κατοικῶν ἐν βοηθείᾳ τοῦ Ὑψίστου / Живый в помощи вышняго) shall abide in the shelter of the God of heaven.” (Ps 90:1, LXX)

It’s our choice, I’m thinking this Monday morning, to “dwell in the help” of God (or not). But to “abide” in God’s shelter is not something within our power. That is God’s promise and blessing to us, which comes into our lives when we keep “dwelling” in His help rather than just in self-reliance.
What does “dwelling in the help” of God look like? It can be as simple or as complicated as we want to make it, depending on our personal circumstances and prayer-capacities. It does involve decisive action, one day at a time: We make a decision, every morning, to turn ourselves over to the care of God, then we ask Him for help in a bit (or a lot) of heartfelt prayer, and at the very end of our day before we go to sleep, we thank Him for His help, from the bottom of our heart. We might also appeal for His help in bits of prayer throughout our day. I prefer to pray briefly, but often, probably because my attention-span and patience is too short for long prayer(s). I think prayer is somewhat like food, in that some people eat a lot just once or maybe twice a day, while others eat just a little, but more frequently. In any case, the nourishment from the food (and from the prayer) continues to “energize” us in-between our large or small “meals.”
Let us “dwell in the help of the Most High” this Monday, dear friends, because by doing so we indeed “shall abide in the shelter of the God of heaven,” which is a peaceful and joy-filled place to be.
(NOTE: You can get these reflections daily via our EMAIL-Newsletter, by typing in your email-address at the Homepage of our website, coffeewithsistervassa.com.)

07/01/2023

  Beloved, we are children of God, and it doesn’t yet appear what we shall be. But we know, that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. (1John 3:2) You are dead, and your life is hid in Christ in God. (Col. 3:3) Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoev...

07/01/2023

07/01/2023