Pictures from Justin's ordination to the priesthood by +BENJAMIN Oct. 22nd, 2006

Friends, sorry for the delay but thank you for your patience. Click here to see photos from my priestly ordination.

FrJM

(Thanks Emily, Sophia, Gary, Jonathan, Roman, and Dave for the INCREDIBLE photos!)

OCF Winter Retreat - "Be Still and Know that I am God"

In years past I was honored to participate in this wonderful event. This year I am not speaking or giving a concert but I may be able to attend. The line up of speakers looks incredible!

Download this flyer (http://www.ocf.net/collegeconf/cc06_poster.pdf) and spread the word.
I hope you can come!

Fr. Justin

PS- Yup, I wrote my name correctly believe it or not... I was ordained last weekend! More on that awesome event to come - with some photos of course. Thank you all who have been praying for my family! Blessings!

daily vitamins

"For him who is perfect in love and has reached the summit of dispassion there is
no difference between his own or another’s, or between Christians and unbelievers,
or between slave and free, or between male and female. But because he has risen above
the tyranny of the passions and has fixed his attention on the single nature of man,
he looks on all in the same way and shows the same disposition to all. For in him there
is neither Greek nor Jew, male nor female, bond not free, but Christ who 'is all, and
in all' (Col. 3:11; cf. Gal. 3:28)."

St. Maximos the Confessor
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to
us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness
and pain of someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your home for this is
Where our love for each other must start.

Mother Teresa

Sermon on Luke 6:24-30

Luke 6:24-30

+
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen

Jesus came down from the mountain to the level plain, and sat in the midst of the large crowd that had gathered from all of Judea and Jerusalem, (jews) and from Tyre and Sidon, pagan costal towns – jews and gentiles gathered together. This crowd, including his disciples, was pressing into Jesus, gathered to HEAR him and to be healed of their diseases and cleansed of unclean spirits. And they were healed.

As the miracles multiplied the crowd pressed in with even greater determination in order to touch Jesus, get as close as they could, for the power of God was coming from Him. And the scripture tells us that ALL of those who had gathered to hear Him were healed that day. Jesus then looks up from his place seated on the earth, the earth which He made with His own hands as a footstool, but upon which he now sits in order that His disciples might hear Him if they have ears to HEAR.

This morning we also gathered like the disciples, standing, pressing in with each other around choir stands with the word in song, in front of icons with the word in paint, in order to strain OUR ears to try to HEAR Jesus speak - that we might be healed of our dis-eases (whatever they may be this morning) and be given a new and right spirit.

For in each of us there is a war raging - A war between the faithful disciple and the woeful sinner – which will win is our lifelong concern. For the Lord said woe to the rich, the full, the laughing, and the well spoken of.

As Christ’s disciples, I imagine that we can all recognize the woeful sinner…

For in as much as we are faithful disciples we are poor in this world, preferring the consolation of the treasure that is the Kingdom and not parish assignment stipends, nice apartment or worldly possessions.

In as much as we are disciples we are hungry in this world, preferring to be filled by God with Good things, the strong food of righteousness, and not sugar coated eye candy from the Internet or other manmade temptations that are nothing but empty calories.

In as much as we are disciples we weep actual tears for our sins and are not carefree and content with our successes.

In as much as we are disciples we rejoice when are hated, excluded, and reviled, for so were our fathers and mothers in the faith, those who took seriously the Christian’s prophetic calling to ‘go therefore to all nations’… only to be cast out for Christ’s sake.

In as much as we HEAR Christ Jesus we are his faithful disciples and we know the woeful sinner and the judgment that awaits him– the one who hates, curses, and spitefully uses the body of Christ for his own good pleasure.

However, in as much as we are NOT faithful disciples perhaps we recognize the woeful sinner all to well.

And the world would say to us in that moment: you are not poor; look at your vast wealth and school loans. You are not hungry; you eat every day after morning prayers. You have never once wept for your sins; and we have seen you sin so often. And even all speak well of you and your seminary.

So how could you count yourself as one of the faithful disciples?

Often this voice of the enemy is from those we know best. But perhaps this voice of the enemy comes just as often from within some of us…

Either way, Jesus replies, “But I say to you…” Love, do good, bless and pray for the ones who hate, curse and spitefully use you… Your enemies: whether from without or within.

We all try our hand at murder in our moments of doubt, when were not sure the pain of our faith is worth the plunder.

God will Judge us all in the day we are resurrected to life in the likeness of Christ’s resurrection or death if that is what we have chosen. But we are never allowed to sit as judge in this life, neither over others nor over ourselves. We are to love our enemies and to withhold nothing, to be utterly transparent in the world.

In as much as we listen to our Lord we are His faithful disciples, like the Theotokos who is our most blessed example of one who heard the word of the Lord and said amen. We even take her words as our own. In fact the Theotokos’ Magnificat that we just sang upholds the same teaching as the Gospel we have heard:

“He has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of low degree, He has filled the hungry with Good things and the rich he has sent empty away…”

So how then can we count ourselves as faithful disciples when we stand accused as woeful sinners? For Christ made us alive, even though we were dead in trespasses and sin, walking according to the course of this world, conducting ourselves in the in the lust of the flesh and the mind.

For what is a Christian but one who gets up after he has fallen? Knowing that he has already been given his second chance, the Christian does not judge his efforts or that of others, but tries once again to press in closer this time to Jesus, from whom the power of God is made manifest, and who alone can heal us - if only we can remain the ones who have ears to Hear His word.

AMEN

We have the toughest kids on the block!

Don't make us come over there and open up a can of wup on you... Just ask our mom and dad...

FIRST DAY OF PRESCHOOL!

The boys had their first day of preschool today! It was a shortened schedule and Mom and Dad were invited to stay. Elias took right to building and even got the other boys in on his project. Asher had fun playing with the animals and Mrs. Ball, one of his teachers. Asher has been memorizing his teachers' names. His other teacher is Mrs. Walpole, although when he says it it sounds like "Mrs. Waffle." Elias has Mrs. Lioi and he warmed right up to her. I think they are really going to enjoy this little school. Elias goes from 12:15-2:45 on M, W, F and Asher goes from 12:30-2:30 M, W. We will keep you posted on how Wednesday goes. That is when they go in by themselves ... They will be fine (I hope I will!).

Hope you all are doing well. We miss you so!

Jodi

Back in NY!

Well, we are back in NY! It is good to be "home," but hard to believe this is "home." Living in New York, so close to Manhattan, has been a challenging and interesting experience. We will only be here until June, so we down to counting the months! We still haven't seen a Broadway show, visited the Empire State Building, or traveled out along Long Island. We have many things we want to do before we leave!




We are also expecting our THIRD baby April 12th! It is crazy, but we are overjoyed! We had a great summer in sunny California. Since we have been back in NY, we haven't yet seen the sun.

I will post some more pictures of some of our summer outings over the next few posts. This summer was packed with fun! The boys went on the first campout, hugged giant redwood trees, swam in the Pacific Ocean, played at the lake, went bouldering, saw fireworks over the San Francisco Bay with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background, visit a dairy, ate fish and chips at the Wharf, joined the library's summer reading program, saw a rad reptile show, and even went to their first magic show! Whew!

The above pix are of the boys at the dairy and feeding some animals at a local gouda cheese producer. The cheese store had a few animals for the kids to feed. The boys loved going here and getting some fresh baked bread, fresh gouda cheese, and feeding the critters. This little place is in Oakdale just 20 minutes out in the country from where my parents live!

I will put up some more photos from our summer soon. You can expect us to post more regularly now that we are back in our routine!

Love to all!

Jodi

Swooping Down in KC

SOOOO ... We are living the high life in the beautiful central valley of California for the summer. On our way to paradise we stopped in good old KC for five days. In that short time we got to visit with our family and friends there, Asher got his first haircut, we rode Thomas the Train, and Justin and I helped Karen with her real estate business.

Here are several pix from our visit...

Here is Papa Virgil giving Asher John his very first haircut. Asher was a good sport and Papa gave him a nice "bowl cut." The kids enjoyed eating Nana Hazel's great cooking and hiking through the pasture after the Mama cow and her calf. And we made it through without any ticks on the kids!

We also had the good fortune to coordinate our trip to KC with Thomas the Trains' stop nearby in Baldwin, KS. We took the kids along with Granddad and Grandma Deb and Wyatt to see and ride Thomas for ourselves. The kids had a blast and they got to taste their first sno-cone!







And with Karen's real estate business booming, Justin and I had an opportunity to lend a hand with a new venture she has started. Here they are the first photos of "Karen Calvin's Community Commode." It is a simple concept really. A truly "Open House" for all to use and it is right there in beautiful Mission Hills. This could be great for the neighborhood!



Honestly, we had a great visit!

Love to all! Jodi (&Justin)

Daddy's takin' us to the zoo tomorrow...

A little video journal of our trip to the Bronx zoo a few days ago.
Wishing you all the best!

click to download:
Zoo May 23.2006.mp4


Love,
the Mathews

Preschool Party Video!

Hey friends!
Sorry it has been so long... We have had class, kids, finals, papers, 80 hospital hours, women's group, etc... the list goes on. One of the most joyful things in the bliss that has followed since things were completed on Saturday was a party for our kids. The mommies got together to celebrate the great year of learning and fun the kiddos had. I thought I would share a little video with you... Click below for the link. (if anyone knows how to make these things bigger let me know. Thanks!)

Preschool Party! (Big)

Preschool Party! (small)

With Love,

Dn. Justin

Justin's Ordination to the Holy Deaconate!

Our deepest gratitude is due His Grace Bishop BENJAMIN, my wonderful parents, the Huddleston family and the Johnson family who all traveled so far, faculty, staff and friends at St. Vladimir's Seminary and everyone who attended the ordination, sent cards and gifts, helped with the reception and prayed for us on this big day!

We are so grateful for your love and friendship...
Click here for photos!

In Christ,
Dn. Justin and Jodi Mathews

Download the Mathews Family Newsletter!!

+
Dear Family and Friends,

Please find here a digital copy of our family newsletter.

Please take a few minutes to read it, print it out and share it with others. Its easy to forward an email on to friends who might also be interested in what our preparation for ministry at St. Vladimir's Seminary.

There are pictures of the kids, reflections from Jodi and I and much more in the newsletter! Check it out!

God bless!
Justin Mathews

PS - Please allow a minute for download and forward this post on with the email link at the bottom of this post to all your friends, your church and anyone you think might be interested! Thank you!

Asher's Birthday Party

It does seem as if I measure my own days in my children's growth and experiences. "It was a good day. Asher, ate a great breakfast and had a long nap."OR "Today was crazy. Elias and Asher wouldn't obey and they picked on each other all afternoon."

I guess when you become a Mother those lines between "mine" and everyone else's blur. No, they don't blur; they erode. And now, my little monkey, Asher, is two years old! What have I been doing the past two years? Hard to say. But I can tell you in detail the happenings of this little love of mine. He speaks in full sentences now. The first person he asks about when he crawls in bed with Justin and I around 5:45am is his big brother,Elias. Elias is his best friend. When he sees Elias for the first time in the morning or meets him coming in the door, he yells, "Hey, Lilee!" and hugs him fiercly. He loves to dip his food in anything, ketchup, butter, dressing, salsa. We call him the "dipper." He loves Bob the Builder and monkeys. In fact, I have caught him dropping food on the floor at dinner time and when I ask him why he is doing that he replies, "Monkey will eat it!" Some mornings when he is laying in bed with Justin and I he will play a game with himself where he hides under the blankets to get away from the "monkeys." He and Elias are the only monkeys in this house though! And the boys are now in swimming lessons. Asher loves the water and especially gets a thrill from jumping from the side of the pool into his Daddy's arms.

As you can see, our little two-year-old truly enriches our lives. I will go on measuring my own days in light of the joys and trials presented to me by the "men" in my life.

I hope you enjoy some snapshots of Asher's birthday party last Saturday. It was the first warm, sunny day in months so about the whole seminary showed up to eat some cake and fellowship under the sun! We had a blast and the kids enjoyed the party. I made a monkey cake and the kiddos wore Curious George birthday hats. The playground was full of monkeys that day. What a joyous day!!

We love you all!

Jodi

Thoughts after reading a NY Times book review > "Young Adult Fiction: Wild Things"

"These books look cute. They come in matched paperback sets with catchy titles, and stay for weeks on the children's books best-seller list. They carry no rating or recommended age range on the cover, but their intended audience — teenage girls — can't be in doubt. They feature sleek, conventionally beautiful girls lounging, getting in or out of limos, laughing and striking poses. Any parent — including me — might put them in the Barnes & Noble basket without a second glance. Yet if that parent opened one, he or she might be in for a surprise." ... "The "Clique" novels are all about status. But sex saturates the "Gossip Girl" books, by Cecily von Ziegesar, which are about 17- and 18-year-old private school girls in Manhattan. This is not the frank sexual exploration found in a Judy Blume novel, but teenage sexuality via Juicy Couture, blas and entirely commodified...."

<><><><><><>

This is an exerpt from a review by Naomi Wolf in the NY Times today on a new and very popular trend in young adult fictional works on the best seller lists. Check out the semi-critical, but not fully aware (in my opinion), review in full HERE. I was so shocked by what is passing for literature and culture these days in our "great" society that I thought I would share the link and a few thoughts.

These books are selling literally millions of copies and passed off as "young-adult fiction" for girls. Complete with oral sex and other very explicit scenes featuring young teens, this is the "literature" that is shaping millions in the next generation of American women.

What are your thoughts? Are your children or your friends children reading these books? What role does this sort of "literature" play in influencing the values of the next generation? What happened to the venerated "classics" - are they no longer relevant to our kids.

Should a classic book be discarded if it becomes "irrelevant" to us or should we endeavor to become relevant to virtuous works - such as those by Homer, the Fathers of the Church, Jane Austen, Fyodor Dostoevsky; who could discount modern writers like Madeline L'Engle or CS Lewis?

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." -- Philippians 4:8

Is the notion of calling our children, ourselves, to the heights of Truth, culture and virtue no longer a priority? Are we simply to be "tolerant" of the mass consumerization of such base humanity targeting our children in the name of freedom, or worse, art?

Or will we dare to judge and be prejudice when required, scrutinize and criticize, teach discernment and even shelter our children if need be?

I pray we will, so that in forming their minds by what is higher and most noble, their souls too may be shaped into the likeness of the image of the One who created us all.

Justin

You are all invited!

Thank you for yor prayers and support!
(Click on the ivitation below to inlarge it.)

Blessings,
Justin and Jodi

Forgive me a sinner. God Forgives us both.

Last night's forgiveness vespers is one of the most beautiful and important of the whole year.

There is something so very vulnerable and jarringly innocent about going around the entire church one person at a time giving the kiss of peace and saying "Forgive me a sinner" and responding "God forgives," while the choir sings paschal (Easter) hymns in anticipation of the feast.

There is something so whole and utterly real about the way the church prompts us to live and lift up our lives to God in thanksgiving. There is not one moment of our existence left without meaning. I truly believe if this medicine were applied more liberally its soothing balm would heal many wounds in our world. God forgive us all.

The kids were so cute... Elias turned to me and said "dad, why are you kissing so many people? Stop it!" and I smiled. What a lesson, from the earliest age - reconciliation, forgiveness and love. Lived out liturgically right before their eyes - no simple mental ascent but real action and modeling.

I wish you were all there... Have a Joyful Lent.

Forgive me a sinner. God Forgives us both.

Justin

the Great Fast begins

Commemorated on:
March 5
(source: www.OCA.org for more info)
Troparion & Kontakion

As we begin the Great Fast, the Church reminds us of Adam's expulsion from Paradise. God commanded Adam to fast (Gen. 2:16), but he did not obey. Because of their disobedience, Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden and lost the life of blessedness, knowledge of God, and communion with Him, for which they were created. Both they and their descendents became heirs of death and corruption.

Let us consider the benefits of fasting, the consequences of disobedience, and recall our fallen state. Today we are invited to cleanse ourselves of evil through fasting and obedience to God. Our fasting should not be a negative thing, a mere abstention from certain foods. It is an opportunity to free ourselves from the sinful desires and urges of our fallen nature, and to nourish our souls with prayer, repentance, to participate in church services, and partake of the life-giving Mysteries of Christ.

At Forgiveness Vespers we sing: "Let us begin the time of fasting in light, preparing ourselves for spiritual efforts. Let us purify our soul, let us purify our body. As we abstain from food, let us abstain from all passion and enjoy the virtues of the spirit…."

Asher and I...

Asher and I wanted to say hello...

Hope you are all well!

A quote for the day...

Abba Antonios, pondering the ways of God, once asked: “Lord, how does it
happen that many live very few years and yet others reach a ripe old age? And how
is it that some live in poverty while others are rich? And how is it that the unjust
continue to grow richer and the just are poor?” Then he heard a voice say to him:
“Antonios, watch yourself, for those things which you ask about belong to the
inscrutable ways of God’s wisdom and it is not to your benefit to learn of them.”

"Man’s conscience is like a spring,” the Fathers say, “which, the deeper you hollow
it out, the more greatly you cleanse it. If, however, you cover it with soil, in little
time it will be lost.”

Sayings of the Desert Fathers

"Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate..." -- Chaucer

"... on 14 February, i.e. half way through the second month of the year, the birds began to pair. Thus in Chaucer's Parliament of Foules we read:

For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne's day
Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate.

For this reason the day was looked upon as specially consecrated to lovers and as a proper occasion for writing love letters and sending lovers' tokens. Both the French and English literatures of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries contain allusions to the practice." [taken from the Catholic Dictionary online]

Yes... I woke my wife with coffee, a valentines day gift and a homemade card from the kids. Like most of you, I too find something nastalgic and gushy on these "holidays". But inspite of our (commercially programmed?) sentimentality about Valentines Day there is some real significance to remembering this 14th day of February... Some evidence of real love - a love measured in lives martyred.

Saint Valentine's Day

At least three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, are mentioned in the early martyrologies under date of 14 February. One is described as a priest at Rome, another as bishop of Interamna (modern Terni), and these two seem both to have suffered in the second half of the third century and to have been buried on the Flaminian Way, but at different distances from the city. In William of Malmesbury's time what was known to the ancients as the Flaminian Gate of Rome and is now the Porta del Popolo, was called the Gate of St. Valentine. The name seems to have been taken from a small church dedicated to the saint which was in the immediate neighborhood. Of both these St. Valentines some sort of Acta are preserved but they are of relatively late date and of no historical value. Of the third Saint Valentine, who suffered in Africa with a number of companions, nothing further is known.

But before we get too serious, the Mathews want to wish YOU a Happy Valentines Day!

Justin & Jodi