Joel & Tessi

Today we have officially been married for one year! Looking back on our time together, it seems like it’s flown by, and so much has happened - Mara will already be 3 months old on Thursday!

We are so blessed to have each other, and want to thank all of our family and friends for the kindness and generosity shown. It makes it easier when others before us have set such a good example.

We also had someone who was kind enough to send us footage they shot at our wedding! So here’s a short and sweet version of our wedding in commemoration of our one-year anniversary.

P.S. Christ is Risen!

“This is the day of Resurrection; let us be illumined by the Feast, let us embrace each other! Let us call “brother” even those who hate us, and forgive all by the Resurrection. And so let us cry:”

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!

These were just a few verses that we sang in church last night and this morning that really kind of blew my mind (bold emphasis my own):

From the Canon of Great & Holy Saturday:
“The Life of All accepts burial in the tomb,
And the tomb becomes the source of resurrection
Unto the salvation of us who sing:
Blessed are you, O God, our redeemer!”

This verse hit me because, not only did Christ defeat death by His death (paradoxical enough), He made it His slave (essentially) by wielding it to be a new source of life. That even though we all die, we’re no longer held captive by death. Whoa!

From the Liturgy on Great & Holy Saturday:
“Today hell cries out groaning:
I should not have accepted the Man born of Mary.
He came and destroyed my power.
He shattered the gates of brass.
As God, He raised the souls that I had held captive.
Glory to Thy cross and resurrection, O Lord.

“Today, hell cries out groaning:
My dominion has been shattered.
I received a dead man as one of the dead,
but against Him I could not prevail.
From eternity I had ruled the dead,
but behold, He raises all.
Because of Him do I perish.
Glory to Thy cross and resurrection, O Lord.”

Fr. Alexander Schmemman of blessed memory describes Christ’s time in hell as an “active repose.” Interesting contrast.

Have a wonderful Pascha!

Tonight is Orthodox Good Friday, so we got a little video snippet of the choir during one of the songs at church. What a beautiful service it is! This is the night when Christ's death is recounted and brought to the forefront of our minds. An icon of Christ in the form of a shroud is brought out and placed in the "tomb". At the end of the service it is processed around the Church with all of us following and singing with candles lit. We then reenter the Church underneath the shroud as it is held above us. The songs, scriptures, readings that are done . . . they all make you feel like you are in the moment when Christ was actually crucified and buried. You can see a brief moment of Joel, Mara and I as we sing in the choir too. Mara will be a great choir member some day!

This week is Holy Week that leads up to Pascha (Easter) for those of us in the Orthodox Church.  It is packed full with beautiful services each day to help us draw near to God, recounting so much about His death and resurrection.  However, this Tuesday our priest, Fr. Antonio, was diagnosed with pneumonia!  The doctor wanted him to go the hospital, but Fr. and Matushka Elizabeth told him about all the services he has to do this week for Holy Week, so they just gave him shots of antibiotics to allow him to go home.  Out of the whole year, this is the most inopportune time to get sick for Fr. Antonio.  He must feel so burdened wanting to perform the services for the sake of his flock, not being able to rest fully because of it.  The church is trying to do as many parts of the services as we can without him having to be there to allow him to rest.  Please pray for him, that he would recover and would not be too overwhelmed by it all.  It seems that SOMEONE did not want us to participate in Holy Week this year, but God is still using the efforts of his faithful that are picking up the slack to work in the lives of those in our church.  God will always prevail and can use all things to draw us closer to Him.  May He be glorified this Paschal season!!!

We're on our way to San Anton this weekend and Tess just finished
knitting this at our first stop along the way. Thought you'd enjoy.

Grandpa is currently in surgery having cancer removed from around his pancreas. The doctors are having to remove parts of several other vital organs as well, and will make for a long recovery. Please remember him in your prayers today.

UPDATE: Grandpa had a successful surgery (or so we’re told) and the doctor is saying he’s four to five days ahead of schedule in his recovery. Thank you so much for your prayers! Once he gets home it will be a long six or so weeks to get back to normal physical shape, but at this rate, maybe only two or three!

Renee is 34 weeks pregnant and went into the hospital at 4:00 this morning after going into premature active labor. They’ve given her magnesium to try and slow the labor down, and apparently it’s working so far. Once they get her contractions to stop they will be transferring her to Abiline where there is a Neonatal ICU. They’re hoping to keep her for another two weeks.

For those of you who don’t know, 36 weeks is considered “safe” to deliver the baby, but not too much before that. Please remember her and Joel and the baby (and Calvin and Donny) in your prayers today.

UPDATE (10:15 P.M.) : Renee was able get the contractions stopped long enough to be transferred to Abilene. Once she got there the labor started up again and progressed entirely. Little Josephine was born around 10:00 tonight! They don’t know much about her yet, as she was whisked away to the Neonatal ICU, but we know that she’s doing well at this point. We’re hoping to go up this weekend to see them all. Thank you everyone for your prayers - please continue them for the Duffield family these next few days.

Today is Tessi’s namesday! Upon her Chrismation into the Orthodox Church, she chose St. Tarasius as her patron saint because of his significance in the Seventh Ecumenical Council in dealing with the heresy of iconoclasm. Today is the first time for her to be able to celebrate her namesday as a newly illumined Orthodox Christian. Here is the icon and story of St. Tarasius’ life:

Saint Tarasius, Patriarch of Constantinople was of illustrious lineage. He was born and raised in Constantinople, where he received a fine education. He was rapidly promoted at the court of the emperor Constantine VI Porphyrogenitos (780-797) and Constantine’s mother, the holy Empress Irene (August 7), and the saint attained the rank of senator.

During these times the Church was agitated by the turmoil of the Iconoclast disturbances. The holy Patriarch Paul (August 30) although he had formerly supported Iconoclasm, later repented and resigned his office. He withdrew to a monastery, where he took the schema. When the holy Empress Irene and her son the emperor came to him, St Paul told them that the most worthy successor to him would be St Tarasius (who at this time was still a layman).

Tarasius refused for a long time, not considering himself worthy of such high office, but he then gave in to the common accord on the condition, that an Ecumenical Council be convened to address the Iconoclast heresy.

Proceeding through all the clerical ranks in a short while, St Tarasius was elevated to the patriarchal throne in the year 784. In the year 787 the Seventh Ecumenical Council was convened in the city of Nicea, with Patriarch Tarasius presiding, and 367 bishops attending. The veneration of holy icons was confirmed at the council. Those bishops who repented of their iconoclasm, were again received by the Church.

St Tarasius wisely governed the Church for twenty-two years. He led a strict ascetic life. He spent all his money on God-pleasing ends, feeding and giving comfort to the aged, to the impoverished, to widows and orphans, and on Holy Pascha he set out a meal for them, and he served them himself.

The holy Patriarch fearlessly denounced the emperor Constantine Porphyrigenitos when he slandered his spouse, the empress Maria, the granddaughter of St Philaretos the Merciful (December 1), so that he could send Maria to a monastery, thus freeing him to marry his own kinswoman. St Tarasius resolutely refused to dissolve the marriage of the emperor, for which the saint fell into disgrace. Soon, however, Constantine was deposed by his own mother, the Empress Irene.

St Tarasius died in the year 806. Before his death, devils examined his life from the time of his youth, and they tried to get the saint to admit to sins that he had not committed. “I am innocent of that of which you accuse me,” replied the saint, “and you falsely slander me. You have no power over me at all.”

Mourned by the Church, the saint was buried in a monastery he built on the Bosphorus. Many miracles took place at his tomb.