The Chrismation of the Handmaid of God Veronica
August 2020
My mother-in-law Coryn was chrismated the handmaid Veronica in early August. There is a joy in having anyone enter the Orthodox Church, but when it’s your family and you are the godparent the joy grows exponentially. Each baptism or chrismation is a reliving of each one before it back to the first. Because hers was a chrismation without baptism it most closely resembled my becoming Orthodox. This time of being a godmother I didn’t look over the service, nervous that I’d say something wrong. There was confidence that it would all come back. Because it was a pandemic and we had traveled for the service, we stood apart from one another as well as we could, and I wore my mask. The service was held outside where the Pascha baskets are blessed in the shadow of the church building. The Sandia Mountains loomed before us reminding me of the scripture Psalm 121: 1-2, “I lift mine eyes up to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
We were a small representation of the family, just Mike, Jonah, Justin, and me, but we all participated. The boys acted as altar servers and Mike took pictures. I helped the handmaid of God Veronica get up from kneeling and she squeezed my hand for support during the service, it was a blessed moment of motherhood, daughterhood and sisterhood rolled into one.
My favorite part though was spitting on the devil. We moved to the parking lot for this part.
At the end of the exorcism, the priest asks three times, “Do you renounce Satan, and all his works, and all his angels, and all his service, and all his pride?”
Each time Veronica said, “I do renounce him!” I knew what was coming so I started working my jaws.
The priest asked again three times, “Have you renounced Satan?”
She replied each time, “I have renounced him!” Oh boy, was I ready!
Then the priest said, “Breathe and spit upon him!”
She mumbled, “Breathe and spit upon him?”
I gathered all the saliva gathered in my mouth and spit the biggest lougee the farthest I have ever spit before. She watched me and spit a good one too!
The service continued but as we walked back to the outside altar table the priest said, “You really spit on the devil!” I felt so proud.
The pandemic has changed much in our lives, but our faith remains strong. God is still working in people’s hearts even if services have to be done outside or with limited attendance. The world has seen pandemics come and go and the Church and her traditions remain a constant that will last through the ages no matter what happens around us.
August 2020
My mother-in-law Coryn was chrismated the handmaid Veronica in early August. There is a joy in having anyone enter the Orthodox Church, but when it’s your family and you are the godparent the joy grows exponentially. Each baptism or chrismation is a reliving of each one before it back to the first. Because hers was a chrismation without baptism it most closely resembled my becoming Orthodox. This time of being a godmother I didn’t look over the service, nervous that I’d say something wrong. There was confidence that it would all come back. Because it was a pandemic and we had traveled for the service, we stood apart from one another as well as we could, and I wore my mask. The service was held outside where the Pascha baskets are blessed in the shadow of the church building. The Sandia Mountains loomed before us reminding me of the scripture Psalm 121: 1-2, “I lift mine eyes up to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
We were a small representation of the family, just Mike, Jonah, Justin, and me, but we all participated. The boys acted as altar servers and Mike took pictures. I helped the handmaid of God Veronica get up from kneeling and she squeezed my hand for support during the service, it was a blessed moment of motherhood, daughterhood and sisterhood rolled into one.
My favorite part though was spitting on the devil. We moved to the parking lot for this part.
At the end of the exorcism, the priest asks three times, “Do you renounce Satan, and all his works, and all his angels, and all his service, and all his pride?”
Each time Veronica said, “I do renounce him!” I knew what was coming so I started working my jaws.
The priest asked again three times, “Have you renounced Satan?”
She replied each time, “I have renounced him!” Oh boy, was I ready!
Then the priest said, “Breathe and spit upon him!”
She mumbled, “Breathe and spit upon him?”
I gathered all the saliva gathered in my mouth and spit the biggest lougee the farthest I have ever spit before. She watched me and spit a good one too!
The service continued but as we walked back to the outside altar table the priest said, “You really spit on the devil!” I felt so proud.
The pandemic has changed much in our lives, but our faith remains strong. God is still working in people’s hearts even if services have to be done outside or with limited attendance. The world has seen pandemics come and go and the Church and her traditions remain a constant that will last through the ages no matter what happens around us.