What’s in Your Chalice?

Instructing the people of Israel how to tithe, Moses told them:

And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always (Deut 14:23).

These tithes served the practical purpose of feeding the priests of the tabernacle, but more importantly, taught the people to fear the Lord always. The small but beautiful portion of wine, wheat, oil, and livestock that the people brought to the Lord in thanksgiving softened their own hearts and kept them close to God. Abel had known this instinctively, bringing the firstborn of his flocks to God (Gen 4:4), and Christ tells us explicitly: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:21).

Moreover, this small but beautiful token acknowledges what the Lord has already granted His people: “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth” (Deut 14:2). By bringing the treasure of their material fruits to God, the people embrace the Lord’s promise that He makes them His treasure: their hearts are softened, they fear the Lord, and are joined to Him.

Today we can embrace the fulfillment of this covenant in the Eucharistic offering. We bring bread and wine to the assembly of the faithful, where the Lord makes it His own Body and Blood, joins us to Himself, and makes us His Body. For Calistoga Orthodox Wines, it is a privilege to offer parishes a beautiful wine made with prayer, thanksgiving, and sacrifice for the greatest of Mysteries. Both the making of the wine and its purchase by parishes are part of the softening of hearts and the learning of the fear of the Lord, helping us to approach the Holy Gifts in fear and love, with repentance and thanksgiving. When the wine is brought into the assembly at the Great Entrance, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and partaken of by the faithful, it is part of that finest portion and treasure that makes us, by God’s grace, His treasure.

We at Calistoga Orthodox Wines want to thank all of the parishes that use our wine in the Divine Liturgy. Your purchase is not a mere financial transaction: it is a sacrifice on your part to place a beautiful wine in the chalice, and it supports the efforts of repentance and prayer at Holy Assumption Monastery and St. Simeon Orthodox Church. Together we are asking Christ to soften our hearts, teach us the fear of the Lord, and unite us with one another in Him.

Calistoga Orthodox Wines is launching a new website in an effort to improve customers’ ordering experience and better communicate the ongoing efforts of the winery. Visit www.calistogaorthodoxwine.com to learn more.