God Tempts Abraham to Offer Issac, His Son (Gen. 22 1-18)

Great indeed was the faith of Abraham. For a while in the case of Able, and of Noah, and of Enoch, there was an opposition of reasonings, and it was necessary to go beyond human reasonings; in this case it was necessary not only to go beyond human reason means, but to manifest something more. For what was of God seemed to be opposed to what was of God; and faith opposed faith, and command promise. I mean this: He had said, ‘Get out of your country, and from your kindred, and I will give you this land.” (Gen. 12:1,7). ‘He gave him no inheritance in it, no not so much as to set foot his on’ (Acts 7:5). Do you see how what was done was opposed to the promise? Again He said, ‘In Issac your seed shall be called’ (Gen 21:12), and he believed: and again He says, Sacrifice to Me this one, who was to fill all the world from his seed. You see the opposition between the commands and the promise? He enjoined things that were in contradiction to the promises and yet not even so did the righteous man stagger nor say he had been deceived.

St. John Chrysostom.  Homily XXV on Hebrews XI

Christ is Risen!!!

While I cannot even attempt to compare our move to Platina, CA and St. Herman’s Monastery community to the challenges that confronted Abraham, I found this passage by St. John comforting and quite helpful when finally making the decision at the age of 60 to trust that making a permanent move to our little piece of Orthodox ascetic heaven was the right thing to do.

I understood from the get go when my husband was inspired to buy this land and build on it, that he was acting on faith. He had been waiting for many years for the land to come up for sale. Just when it did, Greg received an inheritance sufficient enough for him to purchase the land and begin developing it. Then, each step along the way, when a need presented itself, there was someone who helped us, whether financially or physically.

At the same time that Greg started developing and building on our land, I contracted Lyme disease in addition to having chronic back problems and fibromyalgia. During the years I struggled to heal from Lyme, which I did, while Greg was building and started writing my book, The Pearl of Great Price, which helped me to heal many things from my past prior to becoming Orthodox.

With all my health issues, I would think, “Could I ever be well enough to live here God? Why would you give us this land if I am too sick to live here?” Yet, here is where Greg is building us a home – kind of like Noah building the Ark. Having faith in something or someone makes no sense to our minds, but then neither does love or any of the intangible virtues we strive to acquire as Christians.

I love being on our property and attending services at St. Herman’s. There is a “peace that passes all understanding” on St. Herman’s Monastery’s sacred mountain. Years of praying and spiritual struggles have brought grace to the mountain.

I told our spiritual father after our first attempt to move in 2009 failed and my fibro became much worse, “It would take an act of God for me to be able to live here.” Well, as the saying goes, “Ask and ye shall receive.” Low and behold my act of God occurred multiple times!

Within months of requesting an act of God to come to my aid, I discovered and started a protocol that reverses fibro. (Turns out both my husband and I are afflicted by fibromyalgia and are doing this protocol together!) After starting to see improvement, I/we realized that perhaps I could live on our land. Then one by one all the other issues that interfered with our first attempt to move were remedied! Now we are a week away from making our move up to our sacred mountain.

Glory to God for all things!

Personal Journey to Orthodoxy

Metropolitan Tikhon, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, joins us for the second part of his 6-week look at the Sundays of Great and Holy Lent. He speaks this week about the Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas.

Plus, how did a New Age seeker wind up in the Eastern Orthodox Church? Tune in this week as we begin our month-long look at personal narratives of faith. We begin with Veronica Hughes, who began her spiritual journey as a Roman Catholic, then turned to alternative medicine treatment, the teachings of a guru, meditation, Eastern religions, and metaphysics. What brought her to Orthodoxy over a decade ago? Click here to find out!

Glory to God for all things!

Sunrise from our home in Platina, CA

Our Upcoming Relocation to our Property Adjacent to St. Herman of Alaska Monastery in Platina, CA

The sun is rising on the next spiritual adventure for my husband and me in our journey with Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Nine years ago we purchased raw land next to St. Herman of Alaska Serbian Orthodox Monastery in the foothills of the Trinity Alps.

Since the early days of our conversion, we both felt the call to participate in a monastic lifestyle, but family obligations and illness kept our call on the back burner.

I refer to myself as a pillow ascetic, literally, due to my lifelong struggle with fibromyalgia.  I am the princess who can feel the pea no matter how comfortable anything I lie or sit on may be. I personally had not thought it possible for me to ever live on our land, especially when in addition to chronic back problems and fibromyalgia, I contracted Lyme’s Disease in 2004. I had just started writing my book, The Pearl of Great Price, and my husband had just purchased our little piece of wilderness heaven. We bought an RV to get me up there, camping on our land as my husband started developing it.

Writing my book was one of the few things I could do with the little energy I had while battling Lyme. I wrote and my husband started building what we thought would be a small cabin. God had other plans though for both of us. After three years, I was able to heal from Lyme (Praise God!), and Greg’s small cabin became a small three bedroom two-story home!  Now six years later, thanks to the infinite mercy of our God, the generosity of our family, friends and the monks at St. Herman’s Monastery, our home is nearly finished and we will soon be moving in to it. Glory to God who hears our prayers and answers them!

This is the first in what I hope will be an ongoing series of stories and eventually podcast interviews (to air on the Orthodox Christian Network sometime this fall) about our Orthodox spiritual adventure, both the struggles and joys, of being in our new wilderness home.

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode!

Yours in Christ,

Veronica

O Lord and Master of my life,
Grant not unto me a spirit of idleness,
of discouragement,
of lust for power,
and of vain speaking.

But bestow upon me, Thy servant,
the spirit of chastity,
of meekness,
of patience,
and of love.

Yea, O Lord and King,
grant that I may perceive
my own transgressions,
and judge not my brother,
for blessed art Thou
unto ages of ages.
Amen.

2012-2013

LOS ANGELES BOOK FESTIVAL WINNERS

SPIRITUAL

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Power and Illusion Religion and Human Need – David W. Wilbur
• Love & Impasse – Denise Richard
• The First Rose of Summer – Eileen K. Parsons
• Surfing on a Banana Peel – Brona Fanelle
• The Pearl of Great Price – Veronica Hughes
• Witnessing Conversations with Heaven – Susan H. Kastner
• God Was Holding My Hand – Rachel Arterberry
• I Am Here – Marcella Martyn
• The Fool – Dimitrios Papalexis
• Hope’s Ante – Thom Vines
• No Boxing Allowed – Nola Anne Hennessy

Mesmerized by the story, enjoyable and easy to read, good for seekers (must read) especially for New Age, and also an eye opener.

This is the labyrinth I wrote about in my book, in the Catholic Cathedral in Chartres, France.

Question: About Labyrinths…

Veronica,

After a long journey I find myself at the doors of Orthodoxy. I will soon be a catechumen. The Labyrinth has long held a place in my heart and helped me through my spiritual journey. We had planned on constructing one in our back yard. My question does this in any way conflict with Orthodox practices?

Veronica’s Response:

Hi Kyle,

Labyrinths are not part of Orthodox worship, prayer, or contemplation as in some Catholic/protestant/ or New Age traditions.

I used the labyrinth in my book for I found its meaning quite connected to my wanderings prior to Orthodoxy. I was in a maze of false spirituality and a labyrinth best explained where I had been. The only time I walked one was at Chartres Cathedral in France. At the time I was really into energy vortexes, etc.

I do not think a labyrinth in your garden is a problem unless you want to use it as part of a ritual, prayer practice or something you used to do spiritually – then I would suggest talking with your priest about it or even better – waiting a while before acting on this thought.

I found that a lot of things that spiritually feed me in the past naturally faded from use or were replaced by traditions in Orthodoxy as I matured into my faith. So perhaps waiting for a while after you are received into the Church would be a way to see if you feel the same way about putting a labyrinth in your garden? It takes time to see who you are becoming in Christ in Orthodoxy and what will best serve you.

God bless,
Veronica

More interaction:

Veronica,

Thank you so much for your quick response and your sound advice. The labyrinth played a large part in leading us to Orthodoxy and I myself have many time asked myself if I am hanging onto something from my past or if it something I need to grow beyond, so I have taken your advice and contacted my priest to help guide me in this.

Kyle Boyd-Robertson

Hi Kyle,

You are welcome! I think that running most things like this by your priest at this stage of your journey is the best. I am in the process of writing my second book about the struggles and challenges of converts after being received into the Church. Integrating an Orthodox world view and truly becoming Orthodox takes time and patience. Even if we have ‘put off the old man’, the process of illumination and purification is ongoing. Christian conversion is something that continues until we die.

God bless you,
Veronica

First, this is a story well-told. I disagree with another reviewer who stated that some of the writing was awkward in the beginning of the book. I did not find it so. I was sufficiently engrossed in the story to finish the entire book within two days of purchasing it. There are many, many people whose childhood did not provide them with a satisfying religious experience within
Christianity and it is not surprising that such people search for truth in other traditions. I think this author’s experience would be invaluable for people attracted to Hinduism, New Age and the occult. The author spent many years involved in New Age and Hindu spiritualism and can speak with the authority of substantial experience. Excellent read, i would recommend it to anyone interested in the interface between Eastern Religions, New Age and Christianity.

I would also recommend The Gurus, The Young Man and Elder Paisios and Klaus Kenneth’s Born to Hate, Reborn to Love. In all three of these books a young person explores Hindu mysticism (as well as the occult and Buddhism in the case of Klaus Kenneth) in great depth before returning to Christian Orthodoxy. Very different people but there are some overarching similarities in their experiences. Each is worth a read.

LONDON BOOK FESTIVAL NAMES 2012 WINNERS:

SPIRITUAL

WINNER: A Breath Away – Jeanne Selander Miller

RUNNER-UP: A Change of Habit – Patty Ptak Kogutek

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• The Pearl of Great Price – Veronica Hughes
• Healing Your Mind and Soul – Garry A. Flint
• No Boxing Allowed – Nola Anne Hennessy
• Gentle Hands Gentle People – Loretta Aileen Carlson Warren
• Illumination – Carrieanne Fonger

2013 PARIS BOOK FESTIVAL

WINNER: A Change of Habit – Patty Ptak Kogutek

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Finding Redemption in Everyday Life – Lela Gillow Buchanan
• Encouragement for Life Storms – LaTasha N. Cornish
• Questions – Directions to Who You Are – Tim W. Turner
• Grace Trumps Guilt – Donna Cole
• The Pearl of Great Price – Veronica Hughes
• Gift of a Servant – Tamara Amos
• Truth Never Changes: The Genesis of the Path – Michael L. Kilday
• Surfing on a Banana Peel – Brona Fanelle
• Party of Twelve: The Afterlife Interviews – Barbara Wityh
• Re-Orient – Kevin Weaver

Everyday Saints and Other Stories is one of the best books I have ever read. It has sold over a million copies in Russia. The author is a hieromonk, (priest/monk) in the Eastern Orthodox Church in Russia. His book is a collection of stories about the remarkable people/everyday saints he has had the opportunity to meet on his monastic journey starting with his early years as a film student, his conversion and call to the monastic life in Communist Russia. His stories and encounters are remarkably candid,  lovingly humorous and  profoundly moving. You will not be able to put this book down and shed a few tears along with way.

The author: “ In this book I want to tell you about this beautiful new world of mine, where we live by laws completely different from those in “normal” worldly life—a world of light and love, full of wondrous discoveries, hope, happiness, trials and triumphs, where even our defeats acquire profound significance: a world in which, above all, we can always sense powerful manifestations of divine strength and comfort.”

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov). Everyday Saints and Other Stories. Translation by Julian Henry Lowenfeld.
Pokrov Publications, 2012. $23. 504 pages, illustrated. ISBN 978-0-9842848-3-2, 978-0-9842848-4-9.