Christ is born! Glorify Him! "What shall we offer You, O Christ who for our sakes appeared on earth as man? Every creature made by You offers You thanks. The angels offer You a hymn; the heavens a star; the Magi, gifts; the shepherds, their wonder; the earth its cave; the wilderness, the manger: and we offer You a Virgin Mother. O God before the ages, have mercy on us." This is one of the most beautiful of all hymns in our Byzantine tradition. We sing it at Great Vespers on the Eve of Christmas.

The Nativity in the flesh of our Lord,  God and Savior, Jesus Christ

As I write this, a great wind has thrown up a major sand storm. As the sun sets over the windswept Mojave its failing light has turned everything to soft, luminous shades of pinks and purples. Once again the earth has offered its gift of praise to the Creator. And once again we human beings are left behind by nature, tied up in our own selfish concerns, and forgetting the reason for our being.

The Mother of God never forgot her place in God’s love. She is the one who is "full of grace", who proclaimed the greatness of the Lord, who "pondered all these things in her heart" and who stood weeping beneath the Cross awaiting the joyful Resurrection. She is the one who sits silently at the center of the Pentecost icon, at home among the disciples and their most perfect teacher on earth. This is why we hymn her at Christmas as the one gift of all humanity to the new-born Christ. The only sinless one among us never forgot to give thanks.

From the snowy hills of Bethlehem to the sand-washed plains of the Mojave Desert there seems to be a vast distance. So too between that perfect, adoring Mother and my own self-centered sinfulness there seems to be a world of difference. Yet a single hymn of praise offered up to God unites all that separates hill and plain, mountain and sea and all things that are in them. If only I join my feeble heart to that strong hymn of Mary, then all that distance is as nothing, all my sin is swallowed up in the bright light of Christ’s Nativity and washed away in the Jordan of his Baptism.

May the power of Christmas and the bright light of Theophany lead all of us to true worship of the God who loves us as we begin our common journey into the new century that faces us.

Wishing all of our friends and benefactors a very merry and blessed Christmas and a happy New Year, I ask again for your prayers for me and my brothers. With my prayers and blessings,

* While in Pennsylvania Fr. Nicholas also visited our brothers of Holy Trinity Byzantine Benedictine Monastery in Butler, PA. Our two communities have pledged themselves to developing a deeper fraternal relationship for our mutual support.

Food and fellowship under Br. Moses' watchful eye.

Candlelight procession at Great Vespers

* The monks had their annual community retreat on the second week following the pilgrimage.

* On November 17 Fr. Nicholas and Br. Maximos joined the Italo-Greek Byzantine Catholic community of Las Vegas, NV for a service of thanksgiving on the occasion of the dedication of their new church.

* Thanksgiving Day was observed once again as a liturgical feast day throughout the Eparchy of Van Nuys. Archimandrite Wesley joined the monks for part of the day. Also with them were Fr. Justin Rose from St. Philip Melkite Church, San Bernardino, CA and Archimandrite Nicholas, an Orthodox priest from Toronto, Canada.

* On December 1st, Br. Maximos gave a talk on the Divine Praises of the Byzantine Church at St. Gabriel’s Byzantine Catholic Church in Las Vegas.

* The Monastery is again distributing food, clothing and financial assistance to local needy this winter. Demand is up slightly from last year.

* The monks received a large donation of food from the people of St. Anne’s Byzantine Catholic Church in San Luis Obispo to help see them through the winter! Parishioners Sam and Betty Gutierrez drove to the Monastery with this gift.

* Fr. Peter Knowles from the Russian Catholic Center in Melbourne, Australia began another extensive visit to the Monastery in November. Fr. Peter is giving retreats and missions in various parishes during his stay.

So many things help to make a home a domestic church:

• Icons

• incense burners

• prayer ropes (chotkis)

• oil lamps

We have a good selection of these items available, as well as lives of saints and prayer books for the home. Our icons include plain prints, mounted prints and imported hand painted icons.

Feel free to call at any time with your orders. Or you can e-mail Brother Basil at: monkbasil@mscomm.com.

A few years ago we began an appeal for funds to dig a new well. Thanks to good management, we have been able to eke out what we pray will be another two years use of our existing well.

When the present 150 feet well was dug, about 30 years ago, the water table was about 50 feet higher. Over that period water use in Newberry Springs has outstripped replenishment of ground water. The Mojave Water Agency has taken steps to reverse this over the long term (by piping in water underground from the California Aqueduct into an adjoining water table). But we can expect the next decade to see a further gradual drop.

In a nutshell, we need a new well shaft dug to 300 feet. We have cost estimates ranging from $12, 500 to $19,000. We plan to apply for grant assistance to cover much of the cost, but we will need donor help to raise the whole amount. Please consider this cause when planning your group’s fundraising goals in 2,000.

Brother Moses’ Kitchen

Thai Style Hot & Sour Soup

 Ideal food for winter sniffles!

• 1 tbs. chopped garlic

• 1 qt. vegetable stock

• 1 pkg. extra firm tofu

• 1 can coconut milk

• 3 tbs. rice wine vinegar

• 1 c. of dried shitake mushrooms

• 3-6 tbs. chile paste (or to taste)

• 1 onion, chopped fine

• 2 stalks lemon grass

• 2 tbs. soy sauce

• 1 c. shrimp (optional)

Method

Soak mushrooms in boiling water for 10 minutes. Save liquid. Sauté onion & garlic in a little oil. Add chile paste, then broth, coconut milk & lemon grass. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Add reserved liquid from mushrooms, soy sauce & vinegar and continue to simmer. While simmering, slice mushrooms & dice tofu. Add these to the soup, together with shrimp if using them. Enjoy!

Visiting the Monastery

When visiting the Monastery, be sure to book ahead to ensure we have room. We welcome parish groups, though for the time being, some may prefer to stay overnight at one of the clean, convenient and inexpensive hotels in Barstow (a 25 minute drive from us). We can give you recommendations when you call. For bookings, please call us. We are easy to reach by car from either Los Angeles or Las Vegas. The most convenient airport is Las Vegas, which means our visitors can also make use of the inexpensive airfares often available to that destination. The drive from Las Vegas takes about 2 1/2 hours, and from Los Angeles, about 3 hours. We can also arrange to collect visitors who arrive by Greyhound Bus at Barstow.