Winter Ordinary Time 2022: Icons and Eastern traditions...

 

Hi friends, and welcome back to blog following the 2021 holiday season! :) I've decided that what I'd like to do on this blog going forward is to post with seasonal themes as regularly as I am able. This time of year, I am often inspired by Winter Ordinary Time, in this space between the Christmas season and the beginning of Lent. Each post will feature something that I'm feeling particularly inspired by this year as we journey through winter towards Ash Wednesday. As ever, I delight in hearing what you're working on during these seasons in your own life down in the comments! 

One of the devotional items that has really captured my imagination this year is Eastern style iconography. I first learned a bit about Easter Orthodox spirituality via reading Facing East, by Frederica Mathewes-Green, a number of years ago. Since that time, one of my good friends joined a Byzantine rite Catholic parish, and this has really captured my fascination to learn more about the Eastern traditions within our faith. She shared a photo with me of her home prayer corner, and the icons truly fascinated me. I went on a bit of a research and shopping expedition of my own over at Legacy icons (a beautiful Orthodox company) and have added a bit to our home artwork:

 

Gorgeous set of Christ and the Theotokos 😍

I also purchased a small icon of the Baptism of the Lord, called Theophany in the Eastern tradition, as my and Mike's wedding anniversary right near that feast each year:

They had a sale recently, and I picked up a few others for my office. ;-) A smaller Christ and Theotokos (means Mother of God/God bearer) set for my desk, and a large icon of all the Great Feasts: 

• Nativity of the Theotokos, 
• Exaltation of the Cross, 
• Entrance of the Theotokos, 
• Nativity of Christ, 
• Theophany, 
• Presentation of Christ (Candlemas), 
• Annunciation, 
• Palm Sunday, 
• Resurrection of Christ, 
• Ascension of Christ, 
• Pentecost, 
• Transfiguration of Christ, 
• Dormition (falling asleep) of the Theotokos.

I have to say, I am quite fascinated by the Eastern tradition, and I absolutely LOVE icons. Just looking at the Christ and Theotokos set in our bedroom makes me feel so comforted and happy. Icons are artistic representations of our family of faith in heaven, and their presence is such a solace to me. 

I am also loving learning more about the Eastern side to our faith. Given my attachment to our Latin rite traditions, I don't see myself ever officially changing rites, but continuing to learn more is bringing me a lot of joy, and I plan to attend a Divine Liturgy for the very first time this month! 

Have you ever attended an Eastern Divine Liturgy? Do you own any icons? Or are there other devotions you're focusing on this winter? I would love to hear about it in the comments!

New books and new inspiration...

Hello friends, and I hope that you are well! We wrapped up Anne's school year this week, much to the relief of the entire family. :-0 I'm praying that the kids are back in school in the fall, and it looks like they are planning to make that the case. She needs a school environment in order to thrive, that definitely became clear during the past 3 months! So we now have two and a half months just to take it easy and not fret about school work, and that definitely feels good. Both of the kids are registered to go back to their Catholic schools in September, and we're just hoping that all goes smoothly!

I've been amusing myself by taking an introductory ballet class, and you can see my fancy setup here:

:-0

It's all very low tech in the dance studio of the Catholic Librarian, but we make do where we can! I'm really enjoying taking a dance form at which I'm a total beginner. Technically, I studied ballet when I was a child, but that was so long ago that it's essentially like starting over. Our session is being extended by another 4 weeks, so I'll be happily plie-ing in our guest room all through July. I've also been doing a lot of belly dance, but that's par for the course! There are certain commonalities between the 2 types of dance (posture, arms, long and graceful lines, strong feet, and connection with the floor) that I'm enjoying honing in ballet so that I can apply it to my belly dancing. I'm feeling quite inspired by it all!

In other news, my Word on Fire version of the Gospels arrived this week!

I'm loving it, and apparently these are nearly all sold out until the fall already! I'm hoping I don't regret not getting one of the sturdier covers (I went with paperback), but I absolutely love it. There are a few paperback copies left to purchase as of when I'm writing this, and I will say this particular paperback is much thicker and sturdier than usual! I just started reading the opening commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, and so far, I'm intrigued. :-)

I also made a purchase I can't believe I didn't already have:

I mean...this is perfect for me, right? How did I not already own this? :-0 The Catholic All Year Compendium has suggestions for liturgical home living for the entire year. My sister mentioned populating her new academic planner with the designated "meat Fridays" (that fall on solemnities) for the year, and I was instantly interested. We don't abstain from meat on Fridays outside of Lent, but when have you ever known your Catholic Librarian to shy away from a challenge? ;-)  Lots of good stuff in here, I'm excited to get started!

Do you have any new books or new inspiration this week? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!