Tag: Theotokos

Under the Laurel Tree: The Story of My Next Book

· Nicole M. Roccas 20 Leave a Comment on %s
Four years ago, I found out that something I assumed would be a given–something I had grown up staking my heart on–may never come to be.  Until then, I had never really faced a struggle that was truly insurmountable. For the most part, whatever challenges came my way were resolved by extra studying, diligent research, a better-paying job,…

“Yes, and”: What Improv Comedy Taught Me about the Annunciation

· Nicole M. Roccas 6 Leave a Comment on %s
My husband and I recently finished the first level of improv comedy courses at The Second City Toronto training centre (where John Candy got his start, nbd). A 7-week course, it was perhaps the most terrifying, fun, and challenging things we have ever done together. Lately I’ve been reflecting on all the things it taught me, not only…

Waiting for the Mother of God: Hope and Mystery in the Ultrasound Room (Guest Post)

· Nicole M. Roccas 2 Leave a Comment on %s
This morning I’m delighted to welcome Caroline Langston to the blog. Caroline and I met a year and a half ago at the 2017 Ancient Faith Conference for Writing and Podcasting and have continued to spur one another on in matters of writing and faith. Today Caroline is sharing a slice of her journey waiting for her youngest…

Translating the Untranslatable: Reflections on an Icon of the Mother of God

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Last week, my husband and I went to the funeral for his godfather, Demetrios, who had fallen asleep a few days prior from cancer. May his memory be eternal. At one point during the visitation, I came into the room where Demetrios’ body lay and found my husband standing quietly in the back corner while others milled around…

How I Learned to Pray (Almost) Every Morning, And Free Sheet Music (Guest post)

· Nicole M. Roccas
This morning I am delighted to introduce one of my good friends and music aficionado, Sarah Bereza. She’s going to tell us a bit about how she adopted a morning prayer and singing routine with her toddler… ~*~ Do you wish you prayed every morning? Or most mornings? Or at least, some mornings? For a long time, I didn’t pray…

Waiting in Faithful Expectation for the Fullness of Time (Guest Post)

· Nicole M. Roccas
Welcome to the next installment of the Nativity Blogathon on Time Eternal. This morning, I am SO EXCITED to introduce you to my beloved spiritual father, Fr. Steven Kostoff. _Time and Despondency_ readers may recall from its sporadic references to him that Fr. Steven has been lending his pastoral guidance to my despondency almost as soon as I…

Meeting Vulnerability in the Presentation of Our Lord

· Nicole M. Roccas
February 2, the Presentation of our Lord, the marks the next of the twelve major feast days on the Church calendar. It’s a time we commemorate the Jewish ceremony of the redemption of the firstborn as well as the ceremonial purification of the Theotokos after childbirth. In Greek, the feast sometimes referred to as the Meeting. In that…

On the Feast of the Presentation: Being a Modern Woman in an Ancient Calendar

· Nicole M. Roccas 1 Leave a Comment on %s
Several events coincided this morning: 1.) I woke up, for the first time this year, to snow on the ground (cue the coziness). 2.) I also woke up to find that a Time Eternal podcast episode I produced in tandem with my friend, Angela Doll Carlson, had been posted. It’s entitled “Being a Modern Woman in an Ancient Calendar.”…

Forefeasts and Afterfeasts: Becoming Present in the Periphery

· Nicole M. Roccas 1 Leave a Comment on %s
I don’t know about you, but these autumnal days have been busy and bleary. I always want autumn to tarry, to pass me slowly and contemplatively by. It never seems to obey, though–falls are always busy, the leaves bid farewell too quickly, and the rough winds fly like they are in a hurry. When I am busy like this, I…

(Re)learning to Wait: the Nativity of the Theotokos and other September Feasts

· Nicole M. Roccas 10 Leave a Comment on %s
On September 8, we commemorate the nativity—or birth—of the Theotokos. It’s the first of the twelve major feasts of the Orthodox calendar following the start of the ecclesiastical new year on September 1st. With this particular feast, the annual narrative of Christ’s life, death and resurrection begins anew. The previous Church year, which concluded with the falling asleep…