Update for the week Friday, June 17, through Thursday, June 23, 2011

THIS WEEKEND

CHURCH CLOSED – There will be no services at St. Mary (or at any other church in the diocese) this weekend. The church and church offices will be closed Friday through Sunday, June 17-19, for the Parish Life Conference. 

BIBLE BOWL and ORATORICAL FESTIVAL- Thomas and Anthony Marge and Theo Smith, with coach Violet Robbat,  will represent St. Mary in the Bible Bowl at the Parish Life Conference on Friday evening.  Then Theo Smith and Tatiana Dalton will be our participants in the Oratorical Festival on Saturday morning  – Theo in the Senior Division and Tatiana in the Junior Division.   We wish them all much success!

LITURGY - Join us for the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy with Bishop Thomas on Sunday morning at 10:00 am, at the Resort & Conference Center, 35 Scudder Ave. in Hyannis. More info at www.stjohnd.org/conference2011.

NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS

WOMEN’S CLUB– The meeting of the Women’s Club originally scheduled for Wednesday, June 22, has been cancelled.  The next meeting will be in August, on a date to be announced.

REMINDERS

FEAST AND FAST – This week, the week after the Feast of Pentecost, there is no fasting; then the Apostles Fast begins on Monday, June 20, and continues until the Feast of the Apostles on June 29.

GREEK FESTIVAL -Ss. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church, Cambridge is having its annual Grecian Festival this weekend, June 17-19, from 11:00 am to 11:00 pm. Admission is free.

VACATION BIBLE  SCHOOL - St. George Church, West Roxbury announces Vacation Bible School, Monday, June 28 through Thursday, July 1,  8:45 am-1:00 pm.  Registration is open to preschoolers (at least 3 yrs old and potty trained) through 4th grade.  Registration: $15/1 child; $20/2 children; $25/3 children  Volunteers are also needed. Contact Elisabeth Lourie at elisabeth@stgeorgeofboston.orgor 617-323-0322 if you have any questions or would like to help.

COFFEE HOUR VOLUNTEERS NEEDED– Volunteering always falls off this time of year, but the need for fellowship and hospitality stays strong. Please sign up to sponsor a coffee hour, individually or with friends.  It can be as simple as coffee, juice, and cookies, and plenty of help is available.   Signup sheets are on the bulletin board downstairs outside the Hall. Isn't it your turn by now?

SUMMER HOURS– Our summer worship schedule begins on Sunday, July 3 and continues through August 28.  During the summer, Orthros will be at 8:15 am and Divine Liturgy at 9:30 am

TANGLEWOOD OUTING - Join your music-loving friends from St. Mary’s as we carpool out to Tanglewood after Liturgy on Sunday, July 10. We’ll picnic on the lawn and listen to music by Higdon, Bruch and Tchaikovsky,  with violinist Joshua Bell.  (For more information see http://www.bso.org/bso/mods/perf_detail.jsp?pid=prod3880048)  The concert starts at 2:30; lawn tickets are $25.50 (pay at the door). Bring lawn chairs if you want them, and picnic food for yourself and to share.  For more information and to let us know you're coming, especially if you'll need a ride, contact Melissa Nassiff by email (mnassiff@gmail.com) or phone (508 877-7483).

CHURCH SCHOOL HELP NEEDED– St Mary’s Church School needs teachers or co-teachers for several classes for next year, as well as two administrative assistants to help with administrative tasks such as Church School calendar and registration. If you would like to be considered for a teaching or assisting role, please contact Andrea Popa at maryandreapopa@gmail.comor Arlene Marge at lanciani@alum.mit.edu.

MISSION TEAM OPPORTUNITIES- The Orthodox Christian Mission Center has announced their 2011 Mission Teams.  Teams will be heading to 9 locations around the globe to share the teachings of the faith and offer the gift of service through hands-on experience.  For more information go to  http://teams.ocmc.orgor call the OCMC at 877-463-6784.

2011 ARCHDIOCESAN CONVENTION – The 50th Antiochian Archdiocese Convention will be held July 24-31 at the  Marriott Chicago Downtown, Chicago, Illinois.   For more information see www.archdioceseconvention2011.orgor email info@archdioceseconvention2011.org 

2015 ARCHDIOCESE CONVENTION - St. Mary has obtained the permission of Metropolitan PHILIP to bid on the 2015 Archdiocese Convention.  The Parish Council is preparing a bid to have the convention be held at the Sheraton Boston Hotel in Boston, MA from Sunday, July 19, through Sunday, July 26.  The determination as to which church will be chosen will be made at the July 2011 National Convention.  The convention co-chairs will be Mary Winstanley O’Connor and Raymond Sayeg.  Mary and Ray are looking for volunteers to assist with a number of committees – see the list in Sunday’s bulletin.  The Parish Council will need all parishioners to provide their time and talent to make this convention a significant success.  Please call Mary at her office at 617-523-1010 or email her at moconnor@koilaw.com  with any questions or your willingness to participate.  Or contact Ray at his office at 617-742-1184 or email him at rsayeg@dennerpellegrino.com

REGULAR REMINDERS

STREAMING VIDEO – St. Mary’s Church services are broadcast live each week through an internet video stream.  If you can't attend a service in person or want to share this ministry with a friend or loved one, the live stream can be viewed at www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/live during regularly scheduled service times (see the schedule of services below or online).  If you have questions or comments about this ministry please contact us atlive@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org.

DONATE VIA eGIVE – Recently we have had  special collections for Japan, for Seminarians, for the Antiochian Women’s project: the Convent of St. Thekla, and other causes.  If you didn’t have a chance to contribute to those collections, or would like to give more, you can do so through eGive  at www.egive-usa.com.  If you have not yet set up an account, you can do it there, or contact Charlie Marge (marge@alum.mit.edu) for help. The Recipient Organization is “St. Mary’s Orthodox Church,” and when you get to Step 4 after selecting that, you have the option of designating how your gift will be used.

PROTECT YOUR VALUABLES – Please do not leave valuables unattended in the Church Hall or Coat Room.
 
FIRST IN, LAST OUT – Please do not park in the small lot behind the church unless you intend to stay through the end of coffee hour. The only way out is the single lane driveway.  Please pull all the way in to the parking space, and please do notblock the driveway – if the lot is full, you can park on the street or in the lot at the corner of Prospect Street and Bishop Allen Drive.


OPPORTUNITIES FOR SERVICE
 
There are a number of ways you can help the Church, your fellow worshippers and those in need.  Consider serving in one of these ways:
 
Become A Greeter For St  Mary’s -The Parish Council has enacted the Greeter Program, similar to other churches, to greet and aid parishioners, guests and visitors each Sunday.  As a Greeter, you will welcome people into the Church and help to direct visitors upstairs to the Liturgy, as well as keeping an eye on the Vestibule, Hallways and Entrance ways during church.  If you would like to help and volunteer as a Greeter once every few months, please contact Buddy Mabardy at 781-729-6303 or email at Buddy@cjmabardy.com 

Liturgical Service - Each Sunday, members of the congregation are needed to read the Epistle and assist during Communion by holding the Communion Cloths and Holy Bread Baskets.  All Orthodox Christians in the Parish are welcome and encouraged to participate. We usually need one Epistle  and six people to hold cloths and baskets.  If you would like to read the Epistle or assist during Communion, please contact Jeff Wasilko, 781-820-0882, jeffw@smoe.org. 
 
Coffee Hour – People are needed every week to provide coffee, juice and cookies, or more if desired, and set it up Sunday morning. To sign up for an available Sunday, please put your name on the signup sheet on the bulletin board outside the Hall or call Marilyn Robbat in the Parish Office and she will write your name in. If you need any help with figuring out what to bring or do, check the list below the signup sheet (also printed in the Bulletin), or ask Marilyn at secretary@stmaryorthodoxchurch.orgor 617-547-1234.
 
Prison Ministry – If you would like to find out more about Prison Ministry at St. Mary’s Church, please subscribe to our mailing list at http://groups.google.com/group/ocpm-concord

"As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me," says our Lord.

LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK
 
Saturday, June 18:  NoVespers  at St. Mary;  Great Vespers at Parish Life Conference 5:00 pm

Sunday, June 19:  No Services at St Mary;  Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Parish Life Conference 10:00 am

SCRIPTURE READINGS forJune 19, Sunday of All Saints: 
Epistle: St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 11:33-40; 12:1-2
Brethren, all the saints …  though well attested by their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had foreseen something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfection of our faith.

Gospel: Matthew 10:32-33; 37-38; 19:27-30
The Lord said to his disciples, "Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; … And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. But many that are first will be last, and the last first."

LOOKING AHEAD

Monday, June 20:  Apostles Fast begins

Saturday, June 25:  Great Vespers 5:00 pm

Sunday, June 26:  Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00

Tuesday, June  28:  Evening Liturgy for the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul  6:30 pm

Sunday, July 3:  Summer Hours begin - Orthros 8:15 am, Divine Liturgy 9:30

Sunday-Sunday, July 24-31:  Archdiocese Convention in Chicago

INSIGHT

A true Christian so behaves in this life that it may prepare him for the life to come.
   - Saint John of Kronstadt

 Saints by their nature are as disturbing as they are inspiring. They inspire by their glorious witness and achievements: they are the promise that we can truly live as God intended, in God’s own image.  But they disturb, for they are the constant reminder of how much we fall short of the life to which we are called.
   - Susan Ashbrook Harvey, “Holy Women, Silent Lives” in St. Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly  (quoted by Michael Plekon in  Hidden Holiness)

To the truly humble man the ordinary ways and customs and habits of men are not a matter for conflict. The saints do not get excited about the things that people eat and drink, wear on their bodies, or hang on the walls of their houses… Ignoring all this as indifferent, the humble man takes whatever there is in this world that helps him to find God and leaves the rest aside.
   - Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation

No friend of gold ever became a friend of Christ or a friend of people.
   - Saint John Chrysostom

In like manner you should also make icons of the saints and venerate them, not as gods --for this is forbidden-- but because of the attachment, inner affection and sense of surpassing honor that you feel for the saints when by means of their icons the intellect is raised up to them. It was in this spirit that Moses made icons of the Cherubim within the Holy of Holies (cf. Ex. 25:18). The Holy of Holies itself was an image of things supercelestial (cf. Ex. 25:40; Heb. 8:5), while the Holy Place was an image of the entire world. 
   - St. Gregory Palamas,On Holy Icons

 

This newsletter is provided  as a service of the Fellowship of St. John the Divine at St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Questions, comments, or  concerns about the St. Mary Weekly e-Newsletter can be directed to Melissa Nassiff, editor, at fsjd.stmary@gmail.com

 

 Visit St. Mary's website at https://www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/index.php
See us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/StMaryCambridge

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Illinois.   For more information see www.archdioceseconvention2011.orgor email info@archdioceseconvention2011.org 

2015 ARCHDIOCESE CONVENTION - St. Mary has obtained the permission of Metropolitan PHILIP to bid on the 2015 Archdiocese Convention.  The Parish Council is preparing a bid to have the convention be held at the Sheraton Boston Hotel in Boston, MA from Sunday, July 19, through Sunday, July 26.  The determination as to which church will be chosen will be made at the July 2011 National Convention.  The convention co-chairs will be Mary Winstanley O’Connor and Raymond Sayeg.  Mary and Ray are looking for volunteers to assist with a number of committees – see the list in Sunday’s bulletin.  The Parish Council will need all parishioners to provide their time and talent to make this convention a significant success.  Please call Mary at her office at 617-523-1010 or email her at moconnor@koilaw.com  with any questions or your willingness to participate.  Or contact Ray at his office at 617-742-1184 or email him at rsayeg@dennerpellegrino.com

REGULAR REMINDERS

STREAMING VIDEO – St. Mary’s Church services are broadcast live each week through an internet video stream.  If you can't attend a service in person or want to share this ministry with a friend or loved one, the live stream can be viewed at www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/live during regularly scheduled service times (see the schedule of services below or online).  If you have questions or comments about this ministry please contact us atlive@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org.

DONATE VIA eGIVE – Recently we have had  special collections for Japan, for Seminarians, for the Antiochian Women’s project: the Convent of St. Thekla, and other causes.  If you didn’t have a chance to contribute to those collections, or would like to give more, you can do so through eGive  at www.egive-usa.com.  If you have not yet set up an account, you can do it there, or contact Charlie Marge (marge@alum.mit.edu) for help. The Recipient Organization is “St. Mary’s Orthodox Church,” and when you get to Step 4 after selecting that, you have the option of designating how your gift will be used.

PROTECT YOUR VALUABLES – Please do not leave valuables unattended in the Church Hall or Coat Room.
 
FIRST IN, LAST OUT – Please do not park in the small lot behind the church unless you intend to stay through the end of coffee hour. The only way out is the single lane driveway.  Please pull all the way in to the parking space, and please do notblock the driveway – if the lot is full, you can park on the street or in the lot at the corner of Prospect Street and Bishop Allen Drive.


OPPORTUNITIES FOR SERVICE
 
There are a number of ways you can help the Church, your fellow worshippers and those in need.  Consider serving in one of these ways:
 
Become A Greeter For St  Mary’s -The Parish Council has enacted the Greeter Program, similar to other churches, to greet and aid parishioners, guests and visitors each Sunday.  As a Greeter, you will welcome people into the Church and help to direct visitors upstairs to the Liturgy, as well as keeping an eye on the Vestibule, Hallways and Entrance ways during church.  If you would like to help and volunteer as a Greeter once every few months, please contact Buddy Mabardy at 781-729-6303 or email at Buddy@cjmabardy.com 

Liturgical Service - Each Sunday, members of the congregation are needed to read the Epistle and assist during Communion by holding the Communion Cloths and Holy Bread Baskets.  All Orthodox Christians in the Parish are welcome and encouraged to participate. We usually need one Epistle  and six people to hold cloths and baskets.  If you would like to read the Epistle or assist during Communion, please contact Jeff Wasilko, 781-820-0882, jeffw@smoe.org. 
 
Coffee Hour – People are needed every week to provide coffee, juice and cookies, or more if desired, and set it up Sunday morning. To sign up for an available Sunday, please put your name on the signup sheet on the bulletin board outside the Hall or call Marilyn Robbat in the Parish Office and she will write your name in. If you need any help with figuring out what to bring or do, check the list below the signup sheet (also printed in the Bulletin), or ask Marilyn at secretary@stmaryorthodoxchurch.orgor 617-547-1234.
 
Prison Ministry – If you would like to find out more about Prison Ministry at St. Mary’s Church, please subscribe to our mailing list at http://groups.google.com/group/ocpm-concord

"As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me," says our Lord.

LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK
 
Saturday, June 18:  NoVespers  at St. Mary;  Great Vespers at Parish Life Conference 5:00 pm

Sunday, June 19:  No Services at St Mary;  Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Parish Life Conference 10:00 am

SCRIPTURE READINGS forJune 19, Sunday of All Saints: 
Epistle: St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 11:33-40; 12:1-2
Brethren, all the saints …  though well attested by their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had foreseen something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfection of our faith.

Gospel: Matthew 10:32-33; 37-38; 19:27-30
The Lord said to his disciples, "Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; … And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. But many that are first will be last, and the last first."

LOOKING AHEAD

Monday, June 20:  Apostles Fast begins

Saturday, June 25:  Great Vespers 5:00 pm

Sunday, June 26:  Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00

Tuesday, June  28:  Evening Liturgy for the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul  6:30 pm

Sunday, July 3:  Summer Hours begin - Orthros 8:15 am, Divine Liturgy 9:30

Sunday-Sunday, July 24-31:  Archdiocese Convention in Chicago

INSIGHT

A true Christian so behaves in this life that it may prepare him for the life to come.
   - Saint John of Kronstadt

 Saints by their nature are as disturbing as they are inspiring. They inspire by their glorious witness and achievements: they are the promise that we can truly live as God intended, in God’s own image.  But they disturb, for they are the constant reminder of how much we fall short of the life to which we are called.
   - Susan Ashbrook Harvey, “Holy Women, Silent Lives” in St. Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly  (quoted by Michael Plekon in  Hidden Holiness)

To the truly humble man the ordinary ways and customs and habits of men are not a matter for conflict. The saints do not get excited about the things that people eat and drink, wear on their bodies, or hang on the walls of their houses… Ignoring all this as indifferent, the humble man takes whatever there is in this world that helps him to find God and leaves the rest aside.
   - Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation

No friend of gold ever became a friend of Christ or a friend of people.
   - Saint John Chrysostom

In like manner you should also make icons of the saints and venerate them, not as gods --for this is forbidden-- but because of the attachment, inner affection and sense of surpassing honor that you feel for the saints when by means of their icons the intellect is raised up to them. It was in this spirit that Moses made icons of the Cherubim within the Holy of Holies (cf. Ex. 25:18). The Holy of Holies itself was an image of things supercelestial (cf. Ex. 25:40; Heb. 8:5), while the Holy Place was an image of the entire world. 
   - St. Gregory Palamas,On Holy Icons

 

This newsletter is provided  as a service of the Fellowship of St. John the Divine at St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Questions, comments, or  concerns about the St. Mary Weekly e-Newsletter can be directed to Melissa Nassiff, editor, at fsjd.stmary@gmail.com

 

 Visit St. Mary's website at https://www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/index.php
See us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/StMaryCambridge

Unsubscribe  from this list.
Forward this email to a friend
Update your profile

MA from Sunday, July 19, through Sunday, July 26.  The determination as to which church will be chosen will be made at the July 2011 National Convention.  The convention co-chairs will be Mary Winstanley O’Connor and Raymond Sayeg.  Mary and Ray are looking for volunteers to assist with a number of committees – see the list in Sunday’s bulletin.  The Parish Council will need all parishioners to provide their time and talent to make this convention a significant success.  Please call Mary at her office at 617-523-1010 or email her at moconnor@koilaw.com  with any questions or your willingness to participate.  Or contact Ray at his office at 617-742-1184 or email him at rsayeg@dennerpellegrino.com

REGULAR REMINDERS

STREAMING VIDEO – St. Mary’s Church services are broadcast live each week through an internet video stream.  If you can't attend a service in person or want to share this ministry with a friend or loved one, the live stream can be viewed at www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/live during regularly scheduled service times (see the schedule of services below or online).  If you have questions or comments about this ministry please contact us atlive@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org.

DONATE VIA eGIVE – Recently we have had  special collections for Japan, for Seminarians, for the Antiochian Women’s project: the Convent of St. Thekla, and other causes.  If you didn’t have a chance to contribute to those collections, or would like to give more, you can do so through eGive  at www.egive-usa.com.  If you have not yet set up an account, you can do it there, or contact Charlie Marge (marge@alum.mit.edu) for help. The Recipient Organization is “St. Mary’s Orthodox Church,” and when you get to Step 4 after selecting that, you have the option of designating how your gift will be used.

PROTECT YOUR VALUABLES – Please do not leave valuables unattended in the Church Hall or Coat Room.
 
FIRST IN, LAST OUT – Please do not park in the small lot behind the church unless you intend to stay through the end of coffee hour. The only way out is the single lane driveway.  Please pull all the way in to the parking space, and please do notblock the driveway – if the lot is full, you can park on the street or in the lot at the corner of Prospect Street and Bishop Allen Drive.


OPPORTUNITIES FOR SERVICE
 
There are a number of ways you can help the Church, your fellow worshippers and those in need.  Consider serving in one of these ways:
 
Become A Greeter For St  Mary’s -The Parish Council has enacted the Greeter Program, similar to other churches, to greet and aid parishioners, guests and visitors each Sunday.  As a Greeter, you will welcome people into the Church and help to direct visitors upstairs to the Liturgy, as well as keeping an eye on the Vestibule, Hallways and Entrance ways during church.  If you would like to help and volunteer as a Greeter once every few months, please contact Buddy Mabardy at 781-729-6303 or email at Buddy@cjmabardy.com 

Liturgical Service - Each Sunday, members of the congregation are needed to read the Epistle and assist during Communion by holding the Communion Cloths and Holy Bread Baskets.  All Orthodox Christians in the Parish are welcome and encouraged to participate. We usually need one Epistle  and six people to hold cloths and baskets.  If you would like to read the Epistle or assist during Communion, please contact Jeff Wasilko, 781-820-0882, jeffw@smoe.org. 
 
Coffee Hour – People are needed every week to provide coffee, juice and cookies, or more if desired, and set it up Sunday morning. To sign up for an available Sunday, please put your name on the signup sheet on the bulletin board outside the Hall or call Marilyn Robbat in the Parish Office and she will write your name in. If you need any help with figuring out what to bring or do, check the list below the signup sheet (also printed in the Bulletin), or ask Marilyn at secretary@stmaryorthodoxchurch.orgor 617-547-1234.
 
Prison Ministry – If you would like to find out more about Prison Ministry at St. Mary’s Church, please subscribe to our mailing list at http://groups.google.com/group/ocpm-concord

"As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me," says our Lord.

LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK
 
Saturday, June 18:  NoVespers  at St. Mary;  Great Vespers at Parish Life Conference 5:00 pm

Sunday, June 19:  No Services at St Mary;  Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Parish Life Conference 10:00 am

SCRIPTURE READINGS forJune 19, Sunday of All Saints: 
Epistle: St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 11:33-40; 12:1-2
Brethren, all the saints …  though well attested by their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had foreseen something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfection of our faith.

Gospel: Matthew 10:32-33; 37-38; 19:27-30
The Lord said to his disciples, "Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; … And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. But many that are first will be last, and the last first."

LOOKING AHEAD

Monday, June 20:  Apostles Fast begins

Saturday, June 25:  Great Vespers 5:00 pm

Sunday, June 26:  Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00

Tuesday, June  28:  Evening Liturgy for the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul  6:30 pm

Sunday, July 3:  Summer Hours begin - Orthros 8:15 am, Divine Liturgy 9:30

Sunday-Sunday, July 24-31:  Archdiocese Convention in Chicago

INSIGHT

A true Christian so behaves in this life that it may prepare him for the life to come.
   - Saint John of Kronstadt

 Saints by their nature are as disturbing as they are inspiring. They inspire by their glorious witness and achievements: they are the promise that we can truly live as God intended, in God’s own image.  But they disturb, for they are the constant reminder of how much we fall short of the life to which we are called.
   - Susan Ashbrook Harvey, “Holy Women, Silent Lives” in St. Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly  (quoted by Michael Plekon in  Hidden Holiness)

To the truly humble man the ordinary ways and customs and habits of men are not a matter for conflict. The saints do not get excited about the things that people eat and drink, wear on their bodies, or hang on the walls of their houses… Ignoring all this as indifferent, the humble man takes whatever there is in this world that helps him to find God and leaves the rest aside.
   - Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation

No friend of gold ever became a friend of Christ or a friend of people.
   - Saint John Chrysostom

In like manner you should also make icons of the saints and venerate them, not as gods --for this is forbidden-- but because of the attachment, inner affection and sense of surpassing honor that you feel for the saints when by means of their icons the intellect is raised up to them. It was in this spirit that Moses made icons of the Cherubim within the Holy of Holies (cf. Ex. 25:18). The Holy of Holies itself was an image of things supercelestial (cf. Ex. 25:40; Heb. 8:5), while the Holy Place was an image of the entire world. 
   - St. Gregory Palamas,On Holy Icons