Thine Own of Thine Own

Saint Vladimir's Press and Jane G. Meyer were generous enough to send me a copy of their recent book, "The Woman and the Wheat" so that I may share my thoughts on this blog. In some ways, I feel very unqualified to do so, not having a literary background. Therefore, I can only speak as a mother who happens to have studied Theology in order to better teach my own children, if God so wills.

"In the “Woman and the Wheat”, Jane G. Meyer introduces to adults and children the phrase from the Divine Liturgy “Thine Own of Thine Own we offer unto Thee.” With poetic rhythm and soothing illustrations, the book preserves the ancient art of baking prosforo as a joy-filled offering to God to be consecrated and received back again in the Holy Eucharist. It captures the cycle of God’s blessings, through hard work and prayer for one’s self and one’s neighbor, encouraging all of us to a fuller experience of the liturgical life."

Because the book touches on very important elements of Orthodox theology, I would strongly suggest following up on certain points with your children and families. For us, it was a bit unclear how many loaves in fact the woman was offering. This led into a fruitful discussion about the differences between Prosforo, Artoclasia, Andithoro, and normal dinner table bread.

Jane also chose to use the word "myrrh" however she is referring to the moment when the priest censes the Holy Gifts with incense during the Proskimidi. This point of clarification can lead to a more detailed lesson about the Proskimidi itself. For example, the "Lamb" and Wine remain separate, even as they become the Holy Body and Blood of our Lord at the time of the Consecration until the priest receives the Eucharist himself, and unites the two for us to receive from the chalice by the spoon. Stay tuned, I find this an important topic to write about in a future post!

In closing, I would like to commend Jane and St Vladimir's for taking on such a challenging topic in a children's book. Nothing Orthodox ever  seems easy or simple, but it is certain to enrich our lives.