:: St. Stephen's Musings ::

:: Sunday, January 30, 2005 ::

We Are Home

All of Kirsten's vital signs, blood work, and lab results came back and there was nothing but good news to report! She and mom were discharged from the hospital Saturday afternoon and have both taken to breast-feeding perfectly. We are all tired but handling this parenthood thing pretty well so far!

Many of you may have seen the letter I sent out, but here it is in an expanded and edited format:

Kirsten Anysia Ioanna Thienes, was born Tuesday evening at 5:20pm by emergency cesarean under truly miraculous circumstances. Truly, God was glorified!

Even though she was born post-term, Kirsten was a tiny 5 lbs/ 6 oz and 18 inches at birth. When Kirsten was born:

a) she had a non-functioning and discolored umbilical cord that was half the size it should have been
b) the umbilical cord was wrapped tightly around her neck twice, her shoulder, and her abdomen
c) she had a fully expired placenta
d) she emerged from the womb so covered and full of meconium that the two chief doctor's at the birth (with 45 combined years of experience in high-risk, emergency births) said without a doubt it was the most dire meconium situation they had ever seen

Not only was our little girl not a still-birth, but she was healthy beyond all scientific explanation. The staff who saw the birth and those who have seen her file since have told us, many in tears, that they are convinced this birth was a miracle.

The chief surgeon pulled me aside after the birth and said, "I don't know if you're religious or not, but we don't have answers for you. I hope your faith does."

I was there as Kirsten was delivered, and I was allowed to follow her into the adjacent NICU where her Apcar score (the measurement of a baby's response to birth and life outside of the womb that is taken one to five minutes after birth) went from "1" (basically dead) to an "8" in less than 3 minutes with no oxygen, IV, or other medical treatment. The NICU respiratory specialist who worked on her said it was literally "impossible" that her blood-oxygen levels could have been that good since the meconium was fully impacted below her vocal cords and her placenta had already died.

I truly believe she was resurrected from the dead in front of my eyes.

We are also convinced God richly poured out His mercy and love through the prayers of St. John Maximovitch (whose oil was used to anoint Carrie during the pregnancy and whose relics were placed on Carrie minutes before the surgery). We thus have given Kirsten a second middle name, Ioanna, in honor of St. John. May his intercessions continue to bless those, who in faith, seek to emulate his love for Christ.

Glory to God for all things!

Update: I have pictures I can send you if you email me.

Update 2: Seraphim says it well: "Oftentimes it seems that miracles are connected to our own fragility. The fragility of spiritual *and* physical vulnerabilty and need...in spite of the development of the human race into a people that has 'conquered' and discovered so much...we are still left open mouthed, awe struck, on our knees with gratitude."

Update 3: Owen writes a stunning post about having a newborn daughter.

Update 4: "Faith in God pulls down divine power, overturns all human conclusions, works miracles, resurrects the dead and leaves science astounded."---Elder Piasos, "Epistles" pg 215

:: Karl :: 1:16:00 PM [Link] ::

Miracles

Thanks to my sister-in-law for posting a much anticipated update on the miraculous birth of our little girl.

I have been awake now for 50 hours with very little food and have experienced more emotions in the last few days than I can hardly bear. Honestly, I'm too exhausted to post much about the events leading up to, what the hospital staff have now dubbed, "the birth of the miracle baby." All I can say is that truly God is glorified in his saints and that His love was poured out for the salvation of those who witnessed it.

Thank you all for your prayers, support, and selflesness. I can't even begin to tell you how thankful we are...please continue to pray for us and especially little Kirsten.

:: Karl :: 9:44:00 PM [Link] ::

Praying for a Safe Birth

The Orthodox Young Adult group here in Portland gathered together last night for our regular time of spiritual discussion, potluck dinner and prayer.

We typically close the evening with Small Compline but because of my wife's labor difficulties, Fr. Theodore thought it would be appropriate if we all chanted the Supplicatory Canon to the Most Holy Theotokos (also known as The Paraclesis service) instead.

Truly it was a blessing to ask the intercessions of our Mother for a mother!

Carrie woke up this morning with more strong and steady contractions but so far there is no news to report. More updates forthcoming.

Update: We had scheduled a biophysical profile for Thursday, but Carrie just found out she was able to get an appointment for early this evening.

:: Karl :: 9:12:00 AM [Link] ::

Not Quite Here Yet

The wife began to experience regular contractions in the wee hours Sunday morning, lost her mucus plug and labor progressed as expected. Then in the early afternoon the intensity and frequency of contractions tapered off and now have stopped almost entirely. We are in a holding pattern this evening.

More updates as the situation develops. Please keep us in your prayers.

:: Karl :: 7:06:00 PM [Link] ::

The Secret to Doctrinal Unity

While the Divine Liturgy is indeed the major form our unity takes as Orthodox Christians, it is not the basis.

More about that formless basis in a moment, but for now I'd also like to insert the observation that our unity has many other forms than only the Divine Liturgy. It shows up also in shared customs and disciplines such as fasting together at set times, the prayers we have in common that we pray when we are apart. We also have a vast shared literature, especially the Holy Bible and the Creeds and the
conciliar decrees and Fathers.

But the unity of the Church is none of these, singly or combined. They are its forms and they do indeed serve to strengthen and promote our unity, but they are not what produces it.

The secret of unity in doctrine is unity in Life, with an upper-case L.

It is what St. Paul calls "a great mystery", the mystery of Christ and the Church, into which mystery every catechumen is initiated by Holy Baptism, the mystery whose fulfillment and consummation is the goal of an Orthodox Christian's life.

The secret of unity is that we each share with the Risen Lord that same, intimate, personal relationship the Apostles shared with the same Risen Lord. (Yes, that sharing takes place, supremely but not exclusively, in the Divine Liturgy.) That is a spiritual reality not to be reduced to any visible thing or set of visible things.

It means the meaning of my life, now, is Christ. I look at my brother and sister and see that the same Christ Who is my Life is also his and her Life. It is as if we all had our straws dipped into the same drink, the Fountain of Immortality, or were all branches of the same Vine, planted in the same soil, the same Life (sap, nutrients, etc.) circulating through us all.

We look at each other and see another *self*--another hypostasis of one and the same nature we hold in common, that re-created human nature which exists in Christ alone, that He created by uniting, in His Incarnation, what had been human nature with His Divine Nature, by putting to death on the Cross the mortal aspects of the new human nature in Him, by glorifying it in the Resurrection and deifying it in His Ascension into heaven.

That new human nature, which is united to the Divine Nature and is Christ's alone -- but into which you and I, in a great mystery, can be incorporated. It's the living of the Life that is His, the Divine-Human Life, the eternal Life, that doctrine describes and serves. False doctrine describes our Life in Christ/Christ's Life in us badly or not at all; true doctrine describes and serves it well.

He who lives that Life knows the difference. That's the secret to doctrinal unity.

--From the Orthodox/Lutheran discussion group.

:: Karl :: 8:43:00 AM [Link] ::

Eggplant to the Rescue?

I woke up this morning and, lo, my mid-section looked quite fat and protruded. Of course as troubling as this is, it is no big surprise as no one is expecting my delicate condition to be changing any day now.

However, when my wife woke up and realized her belly was also still quite large and pronounced, her patience was tested yet again.

We tried this "foolproof" eggplant recipe on Thursday but to no avail!

Your continued prayers are precious to us.

:: Karl :: 8:20:00 AM [Link] ::

Anniversary

As we wait for the imminent birth of our first child, my wife and I celebrate our third wedding anniversary today.

I love you Carrie!

Update: She says it better than I: "As we enter the 4th year of our marriage together, and await the birth of a new phase of our marriage (parenthood!), may we continue to meditate on the prayers said over us at our wedding. May each Eucharist be a reminder of the reality of our sacred matrimony. May we remember the beautiful crowns, and how we are crowned as ministers of our household, our 'little Church'. May Jesus continue to turn the water of our lives into the wine of the kingdom." Amen, my love. Amen.

:: Karl :: 8:18:00 AM [Link] ::

Affirmations, Calvinism, and Addressing Consciences: Random Monday Musings

* Daily Affirmations for Bloggers. If you've blogged for any significant amount of time you will recognize several of these. A few might even apply to you!

* An Introduction to the Orthodox Church for Truly Reformed Calvinists broken down into seven major categories. Highly recommended.

* This is good to see: An Orthodox intentional community dedicated to serving men with HIV/AIDS.

* Quote du jour from the January issue of Touchstone:

"People do not come to Christ because they seek a new lifestyle aid, or are following a historical argument, or fear eschatological heat...If we are going to be faithful in our witness (pastors and laymen alike), we must stop addressing merely minds, sentiments, and self-interest and start addressing consciences."

:: Karl :: 8:39:00 AM [Link] ::

"Raise Your Right Hand..."

Remember this horrible accident?

Well, the state has charged the motorcyclist with reckless driving and I've been recently subpoenaed to appear in state court later this month as witness for the prosecution.

:: Karl :: 10:33:00 AM [Link] ::

Preparing for Theophany

Today is the Eve of the Feast of Theophany, sometimes called the Feast of Lights or Epiphany.

Some have dubbed Theophany "the green holiday" pointing out that the Orthodox sacramental view of the cosmos draws quite heavily from our understanding of the significance of the baptism of Christ.

As Fr. Thomas Hopko explains, "It is the faith of Christians that since the Son of God has taken human flesh and has been immersed in the streams of the Jordan, all matter is sanctified and made pure in him, purged of its death-dealing qualities inherited from the devil and the wickedness of men."

Growing up in an Anglo-Catholic home with a rich sense of liturgy and feast days, my family would exchange gifts on St. Nicholas Day (Dec 6), Christmas Day and one gift on Epiphany (Jan 6). It was a good way of recognizing the importance of the entire Nativity season. A special family meal, Scripture readings, and a gift helped make Epiphany an important part of our lives as Christians.

What are some ways you and your family celebrate Theophany in your homes and lives?

Update: The Antiochians have some excellent essays and resources on the topic of Theophany. Be sure to check out Fr. Joseph's insightful poem.

:: Karl :: 8:33:00 AM [Link] ::

Sex, Marriage and Theosis: Part II

Part I and the article in question for those late to the discussion.

Archimandrite Luke claims Evdokimov (in a section of "The Sacrament of Love" concerning contraception) "has successfully excluded the spiritual father from any 'interference' in this aspect of the married couple's life."

Not quite. Evdokimov is simply noting that the spiritual father can't rule the couple's relationship in dictatorial fashion and shouldn't give married couples counsel based solely on the narrow view that (as the postscript claims) "conjugal relations within marriage are blessed only for the sake of procreation."

The truth of the matter is that, sans a more complete definition, this narrow (and very Roman Catholic) understanding of marital sexuality *nor* the gradual acceptance of contraception are healthy expressions of the Church's teaching about marriage and sex. Evdokimov appears in places to err on the side of the latter, but in historical context one can see it as an attempt to combat the errors of the former. In any case Evdokimov's comments are certainly not, as Archimandrite Luke believes, a good example of the dreaded "deification of carnal relations."

Later in the article Archimandrite Luke wonders if Evdokimov "hopes for their growth towards spiritual maturity ('the spouses harmonious growth in charisms'), how can they progress without any direction?"

But where does Evdokimov ever say that married couples don't need spiritual direction? There is a subtle but important difference between authoritarian "interference" and pastoral "direction." The questions mount quickly here:

1) Do we, or do we not, believe that marriage is a sacrament and that the grace of Crowning makes married life a path to theosis equal to that of a monastic and that the union of man and women in the life of the Church should be informed but not subserviently defined by a particular strand of Athonite monasticism?

2) Can a spiritual father encourage the faithful to accept "the perfect way" (for example, no contraception) of their own free will without denigrating marriage or simply procreation?

As I noted earlier, one of reasons I admire Evdokimov is that he wasn't afraid to explore ways of bringing a healthy monastic vision and praxis into the life of the parish/laity without subsuming one vocation into the other. Yes, he was a product of the Parisian school which clearly colors some of his views. However, the only alternative was (and continues to be) a certain vocal and active sector of the traditionalist school that sees in marriage nothing but weakness and sin. Too often I have a hard time deciding which side is missing the boat. Too often they seem like equal and opposite sides of the same flawed coin.

The fact is we will not have healthy marriages without a vibrant monastic movement in America that actually informs our praxis, including our sexuality. This is one lesson the more "liberal" Orthodox (especially new converts) need to accept. As I noted in Part I, I sympathize with the traditionalist fears concerning certain ramifications of American Orthodoxy taking its cues from post-Enlightenment culture and western Christendom rather than the historic teachings of the Orthodox Church.

Conversely, those on the side of Archimandrite Luke need to open their minds to the idea that traditional, celibate Athonite monasticism is not the only way to be fully Orthodox and that stubborn insistence in this direction will cripple the spiritual growth of the married laity by forcing on them a vocation and a particular model of orthopraxy they are not called to.

Update: Cparks adds some excellent commentary on this issue. He, like Clifton in the comments here, "thinks we overemphasize [the] importance [of sex] if we treat it any differently than we do food..."

Update 2: The Lutherans at Here We Stand are debating the question: "Can one have any sort of practice of virginity (such as Christ envisions in Mat. 19:12 and Paul recommends in 1 Corinthians 7; cf. Acts 21:9) without forbidding to marry (1 Tim. 4:13) or treating sexual desire within marriage as a venial sin?"

:: Karl :: 7:20:00 AM [Link] ::