Icon of the Mother of God “of Tenderness”

This is my favorite icon of the Theotokos. Today marks the commemoration of this icon. Here is the story of it:

” The Seraphim-Diveyevo “Tenderness” Icon of the Mother of God belonged to St Seraphim of Sarov, and was his cell icon. With the oil from the lampada, which burned before this holy icon, the saint anointed the sick, who received healing after the anointing. The ascetic died while at prayer before the icon on January 2, 1833. After the death of St Seraphim of Sarov the monastery Superior Father Niphon gave the holy “Tenderness” icon to the sisters of the Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery.”

“…as we forgive those who trespass against us” -quotes from the Fathers

From the Teachings of Saint Kosmas Aitolos:

If a man insults me, kills my father, my mother, my brother, and then gouges out my eye, as a Christian it is my duty to forgive him. We who are pious Christians ought to love our enemies and forgive them. We ought to offer them food and drink, and entreat God for their souls. And then we should say: “My God, I beseech Thee to forgive me, as I have forgiven my enemies.

“…as we forgive those who trespass against us”

the Lord’s Prayer is a staple in the Orthodox Church. probably the single most important prayer we say. a cornerstone of our lives if you will. i’ve been thinking about it for some reason today. specifically in regards to asking God’s forgivesness as we forgive others. i want to unpack what that means in the coming week, but am still in thoughts. One thing i do want to do though is look at the Church this week and post something everyday on whatshe says the meaning of forgivenss is.

to start us off thinking on what it means to forgive:

In 1944, the Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko’s mother took him from Siberia to Moscow. They were among those who witnessed a procession of twenty-thousand German war prisoners marching through the streets of Moscow:

The pavements swarmed with onlookers, cordoned off by soldiers and police. The crowd was mostly women — Russian women with hands roughened by hard work, lips untouched by lipstick, and with thin hunched shoulders which had borne half of the burden of the war. Every one of them must have had a father or a husband, a brother or a son killed by the Germans. They gazed with hatred in the direction from which the column was to appear.

At last we saw it. The generals marched at the head, massive chins stuck out, lips folded disdainfully, their whole demeanor meant to show superiority over their plebian victors.

“‘They smell of perfume, the bastards,” someone in the crowd said with hatred. The women were clenching their fists. The soldiers and policemen had all they could do to hold them back.

All at once something happened to them. They saw German soldiers, thin, unshaven, wearing dirty blood-stained bandages, hobbling on crutches or leaning on the shoulders of their comrades; the soldiers walked with their heads down. The street became dead silent — the only sound was the shuffling of boots and the thumping of crutches.

Then I saw an elderly women in broken-down boots push herself forward and touch a policeman’s shoulder, saying, “Let me through.” There must have been something about her that made him step aside. She went up to the column, took from inside her coat something wrapped in a colored handkerchief and unfolded it. It was a crust of black bread. She pushed it awkwardly into the pocket of a soldier, so exhausted that he was tottering on his feet. And now from every side women were running toward the soldiers, pushing into their hands bread, cigarettes, whatever they had. The soldiers were no longer enemies. They were people.

A Precocious Autobiography, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Collins, London

Top Ten Reasons For Buying Local PT Deux

Last time I checked in I gave a top ten list for buying local and organic foods. Today I’m posting a top ten for supporting the local economy by either shopping locally and eating locally. and by shopping and eating i’m not referring to the local mcdonald’s, applebee’s or walmart down the street. i’m referring to the eclectic eateries and shopping experiences that people in your community have a vested interest in. anyway, without further ado, courtesy of Joe’s “43 List”:

1. Keep money in our community: Significantly more money re-circulates locally when purchases are made at locally owned, rather than nationally owned businesses. This multiplier is due in part to locally owned businesses purchasing more often from other local businesses, service providers and farms. Purchasing local helps grow other businesses as well as the local tax base. (A 10/04 study shows that locally-owned businesses generate a premium in enhanced economic impact—For every $100 spent at a locally owned business, $45 goes back into the community and our tax base. For every $100 spent at a chain store, only $14 comes back).

2. Support community groups: Non-profit organizations receive an average 250% more support from smaller locally-owned business owners than they do from large businesses.

3. Keep our community unique. Where we shop, where we eat and have fun—all of it makes our community home. Our one-of-a-kind businesses are an integral part of the distinctive character of this place. Our tourism businesses also benefit. “When people go on vacation they generally seek out destinations that offer them the sense of being someplace, not just anyplace.” ~ Richard Moe, President, National Historic Preservation Trust

4.Reduce environmental impact: Locally owned businesses can make more local purchases requiring less transportation and generally set up shop in town or city centers as opposed to developing on the fringe. This generally means contributing less to sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution.

5. Create more good jobs: Small local businesses are the largest employer nationally and in our community, provide the most jobs to residents.

6. Get better service: Local businesses often hire people with a better understanding of the products they are selling and take more time to get to know customers.

7. Invest in community: Local businesses are owned by people who live in this community, are less likely to leave, and are more invested in the community’s future.

8. Put your taxes to good use: Local businesses in town centers require comparatively little infrastructure investment and make more efficient use of public services as compared to nationally owned stores entering the community.

9. Buy what you want, not what someone wants you to buy: A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term. A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based not on a national sales plan but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices.

10. Encourage local prosperity: A growing body of economic research shows that in an increasingly homogenized world, entrepreneurs and skilled workers are more likely to invest and settle in communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character.

The Really Funny, Real Cool Daily Show Clip of the Week

This goes with Our recent discussion over at Josh’s on the Suburbs. Jason Jones investigates.

Top 10 Reasons to Buy Local Pt I

i debated if i wanted to pingback this post from Josh’s website. mainly because i’m not sure how much it has to do with the topic in it’s current form of discussion. but in the end i think there’s a connection, so with that in mind i’m going to try to do a few “top ten” posts on why we should support and buy local as opposed to buying from the super wal-mart down the street. My first top ten is taken from the Georgia Organics website and it deals with buying local food:

Top 10 Reasons to Buy Local Foods

1. LOCALLY GROWN FOOD TASTES BETTER
Food grown in your own community was probably picked within the past day or two. It’s crisp, sweet and loaded with flavor. Several studies have shown that the average distance food travels from farm to plate is 1,500 miles. In a week-long (or more) delay from harvest to dinner table, sugars turn to starches, plant cells shrink, and produce loses its vitality.

2. LOCAL PRODUCE IS BETTER FOR YOU
A recent study showed that fresh produce loses nutrients quickly. Food that is frozen or canned soon after harvest is actually more nutritious than some “fresh” produce that has been on the truck or supermarket shelf for a week.

3. LOCAL FOOD PRESERVES GENETIC DIVERSITY
In the modern industrial agricultural system, varieties are chosen for their ability to ripen simultaneously and withstand harvesting equipment; for a tough skin that can survive packing and shipping; and for an ability to have a long shelf life in the store. Only a handful of hybrid varieties of each fruit and vegetable meet those rigorous demands, so there is little genetic diversity in the plants grown. Local farms, in contrast, grow a huge number of varieties to provide a long season of harvest, an array of eye-catching colors, and the best flavors. Many varieties are heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation, because they taste good. These old varieties contain genetic material from hundreds or even thousands of years of human selection; they may someday provide the genes needed to create varieties that will thrive in a changing climate.

4. LOCAL FOOD IS GMO-FREE
Although biotechnology companies have been trying to commercialize genetically modified fruits and vegetables, they are currently licensing them only to large factory-style farms. Local farmers don’t have access to genetically modified seed, and most of them wouldn’t use it even if they could. A June 2001 survey by ABC News showed that 93% of Americans want labels on genetically modified food – most so that they can avoid it. If you are opposed to eating bioengineered food, you can rest assured that locally grown produce was bred as nature intended.

5. LOCAL FOOD SUPPORTS LOCAL FARM FAMILIES
With fewer than 1 million Americans now claiming farming as their primary occupation, farmers are a vanishing breed. And no wonder – commodity prices are at historic lows, often below the cost of production. The farmer now gets less than 10 cents of the retail food dollar. Local farmers who sell direct to consumers cut out the middleman and get full retail price for their food – which means farm families can afford to stay on the farm, doing the work they love.

6. LOCAL FOOD BUILDS COMMUNITY
When you buy direct from the farmer, you are re-establishing a time-honored connection. Knowing the farmers gives you insight into the seasons, the weather, and the miracle of raising food. In many cases, it gives you access to a farm where your children and grandchildren can go to learn about nature and agriculture. Relationships built on understanding and trust can thrive.

7. LOCAL FOOD PRESERVES OPEN SPACE
As the value of direct-marketed fruits and vegetables increases, selling farmland for development becomes less likely. You have probably enjoyed driving out into the country and appreciated the lush fields of crops, the meadows full of wildflowers, the picturesque red barns. That landscape will survive only as long as farms are financially viable. When you buy locally grown food, you are doing something proactive about preserving the agricultural landscape.

8. LOCAL FOOD KEEPS YOUR TAXES IN CHECK
Farms contribute more in taxes than they require in services, whereas suburban development costs more than it generates in taxes, according to several studies. On average, for every $1 in revenue raised by residential development, governments must spend $1.17 on services, thus requiring higher taxes of all taxpayers. For each dollar of revenue raised by farm, forest, or open space, governments spend 34 cents on services.

9. LOCAL FOOD SUPPORTS A CLEAN ENVIRONMENT AND BENEFITS WILDLIFE
A well-managed family farm is a place where the resources of fertile soil and clean water are valued. Good stewards of the land grow cover crops to prevent erosion and replace nutrients used by their crops. Cover crops also capture carbon emissions and help combat global warming. According to some estimates, farmers who practice conservation tillage could sequester 12-14% of the carbon emitted by vehicles and industry. In addition, the patchwork of fields, meadows, woods, ponds and buildings – is the perfect environment for many beloved species of wildlife.

10. LOCAL FOOD IS ABOUT THE FUTURE
By supporting local farmers today, you can help ensure that there will be farms in your community tomorrow, and that future generations will have access to nourishing, flavorful, and abundant food.

Quote of the Day

A quote of the day that I really liked and has some neat conotations.  It’s taken from The Orthodox Way blog site.

The glory to which man is called is that he should grow more godlike by growing ever more human. – Fr. Dumitru Staniloae

Nice, eh?

A River of Fire

Josh is currently talking about why he’s neither reformed nor unreformed (in my opinion, he’s def. not). one of his reasons was that he didn’t like the idea of a viscious, vindicative God who sends people to hell.

which brought to my mind the “The River of Fire” by Alexander Kalomiros. In it is the classic understanding of where the west went wrong theologically in identifying sin mainly in the juridical since of being guilty before a judge.

Augustine hinted at this view, while Anselm encouraged it. Finally Calvin (himself a lawyer) popularized it. This was quite a change from what had always been considerd Christian teaching. So, please take some time and print out the following article and give it a good read. It’s well worth the time. Here’s a sampling and the link to the rest:

But why do men hate God? They hate Him not only because their deeds are dark while God is light, but also because they consider Him as a menace, as an imminent and eternal danger, as an adversary in court, as an opponent at law, as a public prosecutor and an eternal persecutor. To them, God is no more the almighty physician who came to save them from illness and death, but rather a cruel judge and a vengeful inquisitor.

You see, the devil managed to make men believe that God does not really love us, that He really only loves Himself, and that He accepts us only if we behave as He wants us to behave; that He hates us if we do not behave as He ordered us to behave, and is offended by our insubordination to such a degree that we must pay for it by eternal tortures, created by Him for that purpose.

Who can love a torturer? Even those who try hard to save themselves from the wrath of God cannot really love Him. They love only themselves, trying to escape God’s vengeance and to achieve eternal bliss by managing to please this fearsome and extremely dangerous Creator.

Do you perceive the devil’s slander of our all loving, all kind, and absolutely good God? That is why in Greek the devil was given the name DIABOLOS, “the slanderer”.

Read more at “The River of Fire“

The Really Cool, Really Funny Daily Show Clip of the Week

This is the beginning of what i hope can be a continual segment here on my blog. i call it “the really cool, really funny daily show clip of the week”. news segments shown on the daily show or colbert report that i don’t think you should live without. to start us off, i’ve attached a classic report on the nation of denmark by mr jason jones:

truly, this is spasmatically hilarious

The Problems with the Suburbs: A conversation continuationer

In honor of Josh’s post on the evils of the suburbs, i thought i would introduce my first ever link back to one of my previous posts, that link to some other posts, that deal with this same topic.  anywho enjoy “Rediscovering Premodernism“