The Song of the Three Holy Youths

And the Romanian variant:

Potato, Radish Greens Soup

Ingredients:

4 medium size potatoes, unpeeled, cut in quarters

1 onion, peeled, cut in half

6 garlic cloves

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp turmeric

5 cups of radish greens

3 tbsp olive oil

Salt, pepper to taste

Directions:

Boil together in 4 cups of water, on low to medium heat (lid on) the first four ingredients (use only half of the garlic amount). When done, save 1 cup of the liquid, but blend the rest until smooth. Put the puree back in the pot.

Separately, blend together the spices, remaining garlic, the greens and olive oil (for extra protein and omega 3 fatty acids, one can add 3 tbsp. hemp seeds). Add the cup of the water in which the potatoes boiled and mix well. Combine with the potato puree and serve. May store in the fridge for 1 day.

 

There is Hope even Today

I am thankful for being able to listen to this great podcast called " Crazy days" by Fr. Josiah Trehnam. It provides great encouragement to go forward and not be ashamed or abandon The Church:
Fr. Josiah Trenham is the pastor of St. Andrew Orthodox Church in Riverside, California. He is also the founder and director of Patristic Nectar Publications, a non-profit corporation dedicated to the propagation of the inspired theology of the Church Fathers.

Crazy Days

Icon of St. Polycarp:
http://orthodoxpathway.blogspot.com/2012/09/polycarp-letter-to-philippians-8.html

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3)

Yesterday, the orthodox calendar commemorated among so many other saints, St. Euphrosinos The Cook (see my old post from 2014)- who is so dear to my heart! To me St. Euphrosinos  is such an amazing example of a soul who was indeed "poor in the spirit" and found the reaches of Heaven, while living. He was not smart, knowledgeable or achieved as we all think in the modern terms, but he was a true citizen of Heaven on Earth.

St. Euphrosinos please pray for us, the prideful souls living today.

 

The Venerable Euphrosynus the Cook of Alexandria was a monk of the ninth century at one of the monasteries in Palestine who had been translated to Paradise while fulfilling his obedience as a cook. His feast day is September 11.

 

https://orthodoxwiki.org/Euphrosynus_the_Cook
 

And since I started with the first Beatitude, what do the Holy Fathers say about the above bible verse?
https://oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/spirituality/the-beatitudes/poverty-in-spirit

more info here:

The Beatitudes
Fr. Josiah
"The Beatitudes, or the blessings, pronounced by our Lord Jesus Christ upon His faithful followers constitute the opening salvo in our Savior’s most famous teaching: The Sermon on the Mount. In these eight lectures each beatitude, one by one, is unveiled revealing the universal character of an authentic Christian. Those who inculcate these sacred dispositions manifest the face of Jesus Christ to the world. By incarnating the qualities of Jesus Christ our Savior, that is, poverty of spirit, mourning, gentleness, hunger and thirst for righteousness, mercy, purity of heart, peacemaking, and the joyful acceptance of persecution - believers become the salt of the earth and the light of the world.  We hope you will be greatly challenged and inspired by these lessons on authentic Christian character, the kind of character that manifests the presence of the Kingdom of God on the earth."

http://patristicnectar.org/free.html

and again:
“The Beatitudes” with Saint Paisios of the Holy Mountain
 

Orthodox Cartoons

I am delighted that we have now quite a few orthodox cartoons for the children to enjoy. Some are now with English subtitles:

 This is my choice

 

 

The Battle of Kulikovo

 

 

 

for other cartoons see:

https://orthodoxchristianchildren.com/occ-tv-100002

..."the world through Jesus' eyes, and not our own"

"In all things, we, Orthodox Christians see the world through Jesus' eyes, and not our own....The spiritual world is the real world. This temporal world in which we live is fading fast, and one day will be no more."

(Thirsting for God in a land of shallow wells, by Matthew Gallatin).

"Blessed Art Thou Among Women"

"In the Orthodox Faith, we give Mary her just due when we venerate her with love and gratitude. She is not God. She is not our Savior. But she is that righteous, blessed woman through whom the Son of God entered the world, becoming Man. She is the one who willingly said "Yes!" to God, so that the rejecting "No!" that had resounded within the human race since the Fall might be forever silenced. She is the Mother of God. (Theotokos) He chose her to be the one who bore Him. In all the universe, in all of Heaven, there is none other like her.

Indeed, all generation shall call her Blessed!"

 

 

(Thirsting for God in a land of shallow wells, by Matthew Gallatin).