45. James, Jeremiah, and John

As a kind of respite from all the activity of the Lenten and Paschal season, I decided to find myself a quiet little church on a Greek island, and to stay peacefully there to visit the Bride this week.

She went back to serene celebrations of the birthdays of Her children. As with any good mother, she never forgets a birthday, even though she has so very many children to remember. To be efficient and economical, she asks the bio moms and dads to name their infants at baptism with the name of a saint, or a biblical figure. In this way she groups them all on the same birthday, the day that saint is born into the immortal, eternal kingdom of God at the end of the narrow path that Jesus Christ forged for them.

During this quiet week after the somewhat embarrassing episode with Thomas, She celebrated birthday liturgies for James, the brother of Jesus (April 30), Jeremiah the prophet (May 1), and John the Evangelist (May 8).

I could have looked for three different churches, each named for the saint, but frankly I was too lazy. So I stayed all week in this little chapel on a hill that overlooked a big beautiful sea. Olive groves surrounded the church and little goats frolicked in the front yard. Roosters crowed in the mornings to wake up priest and parishioners for liturgy on those three mornings.

Old women in black were the first to walk in. They swept and tended the candle stands, crossed themselves and kissed icons to wish every saint a good morning.

Other angels, the guardians, and spirits who were given permission to visit filed in too.

Fragrant air filled the flowery incense, and harmonious perfect pitched chanting delighted and comforted me. I could live in this little space forever.