Transformation...

IN MY KITCHEN... Today was baking day. I love my Prosphora baking days. I try to keep them as calm and serene as I can, with 4 kids in the house. I always start in prayer, since I am making something that will be transformed into something holy.

For those of you who don't know what Prosphora is here is a brief explanation. A prosphoron (Greek: πρόσφορον, offering) is a small loaf of leavened bread used in Orthodox Christian and Greek Catholic (Byzantine) liturgies. The plural form is prosphora (πρόσφορα). The term originally meant any offering made to a temple, but in Orthodox Christianity it has come to mean specifically the bread offered at the Divine Liturgy (Eucharist). To read more click here...

I guess the thing I enjoy the most about being a Prosphora baker is the honor of making something so ordinary as bread that will be later transformed into a great sacrifice and made holy. For me that is the key to life itself. To know that we are just merely human beings, but with God's help and our obedience we can be transformed into something holy! To me that is an AWESOME thought.

In the season of motherhood of having small children again, I can not always be as consistent as I'd like with my church attendance and participation in the life cycle of the church year. By making prosphora I am able to, in away, take part even when I physically can not be there. I can make my offering and while I can not always be a witness to it, something I created is there. I have been blessed to bake for the church for the last 7 years and now it is such a part of my prayer life, I don't know what I'd do with out it. It keeps me humble and keeps me connected to the thought that even the ordinary through God's handiwork can be transformed. What a blessing indeed!!