“When we thank God for the blessings in life and the Saints, especially thanking Him for His Mother the Panagia, it is like celebrating our own liturgy before God, similar to the Divine Liturgy”

-Archimandrite Zacharias, The Engraving of Christ in Man’s Heart, Pg 293

Reflection:

When we give thanks and glory (doxology) to God, we offer a kind of ‘liturgy’ to Him.

Holy Communion is referred to also as the Eucharist, and we are reminded that the Saints sometimes refer to the Divine Liturgy as “Η Θεἰα Ευχαριστἰα” (Theia Eucharistia) The Divine ‘Thanksgiving’.  The common root word here referring to giving thanks.  

In the Divine Liturgy, God’s creation (Wheat, wine, water) we transform with our hands into bread, and offer it back to Him.  As we kneel during the consecration of the Gifts, we chant: “We hymn you, we bless You, We give thanks to You (σοὶ εὐχαριστοῦµεν Soi eucharistoumen - same root word), and we pray to you, our God.”  

God then blesses and sanctifies our offering through His Holy Spirit to transform it into His Body and Blood for our sanctification and union with Him, while remaining also bread, wine, and water.  

We have a similar opportunity to live liturgically each day, when we choose to give thanks. Our thoughts, words, and actions can be like small 'liturgies', taking what God gives us, transforming it to our best ability, and offering it back to Him so He may bless it further.

God gives us His creation: our skills, possessions, time, and opportunities, and we transform these things into something more(1) - offer it back to Him in gratitude - and then He blesses these things offering us even more beauty in life than we could ever imagine.   Human beings are liturgical by nature. Our daily lives take after the Divine Liturgy; we live the ‘liturgy after the Divine Liturgy’. When we make the effort to constantly multiply and transform our God-given abilities and possessions to their fullest potential, thanking God for them, to the glory of God and love of neighbor, we will see that He will bless our lives and those around us with His peace and joy.

Resources:

1) Parable of the Talents

“Having gratitude and giving thanks heals us from the passion of pride, and strengthens us against the temptation to despair.”

- Archimandrite Zacharias, The Engraving of Christ in Man’s Heart, Pg 29.

Reflection:

Do we want to unite ourselves to Christ daily? One way we can ensure that we live with Christ in our hearts is by giving thanks.  The foundation of authentic gratitude is humility. 

Christ dwells in the hearts of those who are humble. A person cannot truly give thanks if he/she is prideful.  Giving thanks acknowledges the assistance and value of the other person, that we did not do something on our own.  

When we give thanks, we acknowledge that the things we own, the talents we have, and the success we’ve attained in life are all gifts from God.  In actuality, we own none of it.(1)  We are caretakers of all the gifts given to us; we are called to utilize time, talent, and treasure to the fullest potential(2) in order to love God and neighbor.  

We are strengthened against despair and loneliness by giving thanks since in order to give thanks, we must first recognize all that we have. We recognize all that God has given us: the talents, the people in our lives, the successes we have, and the lessons we have learned. When we give thanks for all things, we are given peace and hope in our Lord.  

During this holiday season let us prepare ourselves for the Nativity of our Lord by giving thanks to God and neighbor each day, thereby inviting Christ into our hearts and He will fill our lives with His peace and hope. 

Let us strive to give others reasons to thank God, and opportunities to strengthen them in hope in their lives.

Resources: 1) 1 Corinthians 12

2) Parable of the Talents

“The Savior's most pure and immaculate temple, the very precious bridal chamber and Virgin, who is the sacred treasure of the glory of God, on this day is introduced into the House of the Lord, and with herself she brings the grace in the Divine Spirit. She is extolled by the Angels of God. A heavenly tabernacle is she.”(1)

- Kondakion of the Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple(2)

Reflection:

The Theotokos enters the temple to prepare herself to bear Christ our God within her. To become a living temple, the “heavenly tabernacle”. 

Saint Paul writes, “For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them.’”(3) Worship is offered not only from within a temple, but also from within each person. 

During this Nativity season, we are preparing ourselves to become more fitting temples of God. In addition to the Church, our body is a temple. Our heart is the altar from which we offer praise, prayer, and worship to God. 

Let us be diligent during this season of the Nativity Fast, and work on our inner self to clean up our hearts through prayer, reading of Scripture, Holy Confession, and strengthened dedication to Christ. 

Let us prepare our heart as a manger for Christ to reside on Christmas day - and every day thereafter. 

Resources:  1) The Liturgy Text for the Feast-Day Page 8.

2) The Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple

3) 2 Cor 6:16

 “At that time, as Jesus passed on, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him.” Matthew 9:9-10

Reflection: 

Saint Matthew(1) immediately left his work and followed Christ.  Would we drop everything if God called us? God asks us to follow Him, each and every day in different ways. 

We are called by Christ to lead our ministries and youth programs, to become priests, missionaries, and participate in the life of the Church. We are also called by Christ in the ways we respond to others in our everyday life.(2)

We respond like Saint Matthew when we immediately and joyfully put aside our plans in order to answer His call and offer help for our relative, friend, or even stranger in need. 

Others may try to discourage us, they may say that "we do too much" or we will "wear ourselves out", but even Christ was ridiculed for sitting with tax collectors and sinners.  When asked why do we offer our help so easily, that is an invitation to introduce Christ.  This is one way we show the light of Christ in the world. 

People are naturally transformed by witnessing selflessness. Let us imitate Saint Matthew and love Christ and one another by choosing Christ and immediately offering our assistance whenever there comes an opportunity.

Resources: 
1) Saint Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist
2) Matthew 25

"Just as doctors, choosing the most difficult diseases, write about them in their books and teach the method for treating them, so God introduced into Scripture the greatest of sins, so that through them, people with small faults might find an easy remedy. 

For if those great sins were healed, how much more the lesser ones."

 - St John Chrysostom (1)

Reflection:

Christ shows us through His Scriptures the medicine to heal each of our stresses, anxieties, pain, and frustrations.  

When we pray to God, we speak to Him.  The more we choose to read Holy Scripture, the more we open ourselves to listen to God speaking to us. When we dedicate time to put away our devices and read, we are able to listen for the small still voice(2), for the Holy Spirit to write Christ on our hearts.  

The path to union with Christ is found in the Scriptures and is guided and cultivated through our Liturgical and Sacramental life as Church.  

Let us increase our reading of Scripture opening our mind, heart, and soul to the Word of God so that we may live more peacefully, lovingly, and in harmony with His Will. 

Resources: 

1) St John Chrysostom, The Healing of Healers, pg 56. 

2) 1 Kings 19:11-13

“It is the poor man who holds out his hand, but it is God Himself who receives whatever you give to the poor.”  - St John Chrysostom (1) Reflection: 

“Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”(2)

It is our friend who needs help, but God Himself Who receives the sacrifice of our time. 

It is our family member who asks for a favor, but God Himself Who receives our selfless giving. 

It is our spouse who needs our undivided attention, but God Himself Who receives our gift of compassion by active listening. 

It is our “enemy” who mistreats us, but God Himself Who receives the gifts of love, forgiveness, and mercy we show that person.  

It is our self that we blame for many things, but God Himself Who receives our repentance when we choose to change our ways, forgive ourselves, and love Him.  

Let us remember that each human being is made in His Image.(3)  

Resources: 

1)  St John Chrysostom,  Vol. 1 What the Church Fathers Say About, pg 114. 

2) Matthew 25:40

3) Genesis 1:26

“Happiness is a pure heart, for such a heart becomes the Throne of God."  - St Nektarios of Aegina (1)

Reflection:

Our heart, the inner-most depth of our soul, is the meeting place between God and humanity. We invite Christ to dwell in our hearts through our repentance, by having a heart full of humility and love. When Christ is in our hearts, we have His peace, which leads us to see the beauty, joy, and happiness in everything and everyone around us.  

Christ says, “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.”(2) With Christ in our hearts, we see our neighbor through the eyes of our soul, from God’s perspective. Then we desire their salvation and have compassion for everyone. We are moved to sacrifice our ego, time, and talents to do our best to give everyone the love of Christ. 

We can change the world by each of us looking inward to first change ourselves, uniting our hearts with God, making our heart His Throne so that our perspective in life is united with His. Let us work with God through reading of Scripture and the Sacraments to purify our heart, making more room for Christ.  This way we may see our life and everyone around us more clearly through the joyful eyes of our soul.  

Resources:

1) St Nektarios on Happiness

2) Matthew 5:8-10

 “Let us scatter our love selflessly to all, without regard to the way they act toward us.” - St Porphyrios(1) 

Reflection:

Imagine if our first response to every person we came across was to love them, what would our world be like? Every single human being in existence is made in the Image of God(2), and each person is worthy of respect, love, and our sacrifice. 

We must strive to interact with compassion, never shaming nor condemning others. In the midst of disagreements or being mistreated, we are called to be peacemakers(3).When we are crossed, we are called to forgive.    

When we love like God loves, the sacrifice we will make most often is of our ego. When we put aside our ego, the result is uplifting, while never compromising the Truth that Christ has revealed to us.  We do not need to prove the Truth, we inspire people towards it by living and speaking the Truth in love.

Let us engage with each other in a way that builds us up, that strengthens our self-worth, and inspires everyone we meet, to know Christ - Who is the Truth, the Way, and the Life.

Resources:

1) St Porphyrios, Wounded by Love, pg 181.

2) Genesis 1:25-27

3) Matthew 5:8-10