My Joy in the Lord,

As we enter the Great Fast I ask that as we work to clean our souls, we also pay attention to cleaning our house.

The word “parish” comes from the Greek word “paroikia” which meant a home (away from home) for those who were strangers. The Church picked up this concept for us - because we are strangers in this world. Our kingdom is the place where God is: not this world but the next. But, nevertheless, we have a home here in this world. A place where God dwells and where we come to spend time with Him. It is unfortunate that it seems it is also a place where we are less than conscientious about keeping the blessed things we receive there from being ground into the dirt.

Primarily, I am referring to the constant presence of crumbs on the floor of the church area. The bread that we receive in church is bread that has been blessed by being part of the offering to God – of which a part has become the Body of Christ that we receive during Liturgy.

These are not portions of mundane foods but are part of the offering to God of the bounty we have received from Him. They should never be found underfoot.

Earlier I wrote about the reverence we need to have for God and for His dwelling. Part of that reverence should also be a concern for the cleanliness of His house.

As we go through Lent, let us make every effort to have reverence for our offerings to God that are returned to us as a blessing for our betterment in this life.

With love, in Christ,

Fr. Seraphim