These Homely Graces

On September 11 we remember St Euphrosynos the cook. St Euphrosynos was a young boy who loved the lord with all his heart. As he grew up he one day left his parents and went to Mount Athos, where he served in a monastery as a cook. He was often reproached and mocked, but received all with humility and patience. He was obedient in everything, for he knew that the first duty of a monk is obedience.  One day a monk in the monastery asked the Lord to show him the blessings saved for the righteous in the age to come. The priest dreamed that night that he was in paradise, standing in a beautiful garden. To his surprise, he saw there another monk of his monastery--St. Euphrosynos the cook!! Amazed, he asked the cook how he came to be there? St Euphrosynos replied that he was there by the mercy of God. The priest asked if St. Euphrosynos could give him something of the garden, and he replied that the priest could take anything he wished. The priest requested three apples, and St....

 Today is the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos, or as I tell my children--the Theotokos' birthday!! This is the first feast of the liturgical year (which begins in September).   I love how our church year begins with the birth of the woman who God used to bring Christ, our Salvation, into the world. Theotokos means "God bearer" or mother of God in Greek. Mary the Theotokos becomes the prime example of motherhood, humility, and reverence as she accepts the difficult role God gave her.  I love the story of her birth. Her parents, Joachim and Anna, were a pious Jewish couple. They chose to live simple lives and give most of their wealth away to the church and in Alms to the poor. Though God had blessed them greatly, they had not been able to have a child. Barrenness was viewed as a curse from God, and one day when Joachim went to give an offering at the Temple it was refused by the high priest due to the couple's barrenness. Heartbroken, Joachim retreated into the...