#Father Alexander Schmemann

[orthodoxadventure]

Great and Holy Thursday

Commemorated on May 2

THURSDAY: The Last Supper

Two events shape the liturgy of Great and Holy Thursday: the Last Supper of Christ with His disciples, and the betrayal of Judas. The meaning of both is in love. The Last Supper is the ultimate revelation of God’s redeeming love for man, of love as the very essence of salvation. And the betrayal of Judas reveals that sin, death and self-destruction are also due to love, but to deviated and distorted love, love directed at that which does not deserve love. Here is the mystery of this unique day, and its liturgy, where light and darkness, joy and sorrow are so strangely mixed, challenges us with the choice on which depends the eternal destiny of each one of us. “Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour was come... having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end...” (John 13:1). To understand the meaning of the Last Supper we must see it as the very end of the great movement of Divine Love which began with the creation of the world and is now to be consummated in the death and resurrection of Christ.

God is Love (1 John 4:8). And the first gift of Love was life. The meaning, the content of life was communion. To be alive man was to eat and to drink, to partake of the world. The world was thus Divine love made food, made Body of man. And being alive, i.e. partaking of the world, man was to be in communion with God, to have God as the meaning, the content and the end of his life. Communion with the God-given world was indeed communion with God. Man received his food from God and making it his body and his life, he offered the whole world to God, transformed it into life in God and with God. The love of God gave life to man, the love of man for God transformed this life into communion with God. This was paradise. Life in it was, indeed, eucharistic. Through man and his love for God the whole creation was to be sanctified and transformed into one all-embracing sacrament of Divine Presence and man was the priest of this sacrament.

But in sin man lost this eucharistic life. He lost it because he ceased to see the world as a means of Communion with God and his life as eucharist, as adoration and thanksgiving. . . He loves himself and the world for their own sake; he made himself the content and the end of his life. He thought that his hunger and thirst, i.e. his dependence of his life on the world—can be satisfied by the world as such, by food as such. But world and food, once they are deprived of their initial sacramental meaning—as means of communion with God, once they are not received for God’s sake and filled with hunger and thirst for God, once, in other words, God is no longer their real “content,” can give no life, satisfy no hunger, for they have no life in themselves... And thus by putting his love in them, man deviated his love from the only object of all love, of all hunger, of all desires. And he died. For death is the inescapable “decomposition” of life cut from its only source and content. Man thought to find life in the world and in food, but he found death. His life became communion with death, for instead of transforming the world by faith, love, and adoration into communion with God, he submitted himself entirely to the world, he ceased to be its priest and became its slave. And by his sin the whole world was made a cemetery, where people condemned to death partook of death and “sat in the region and shadow of death” (Matt. 4:16).

But if man betrayed, God remained faithful to man. He did not “turn Himself away forever from His creature whom He had made, neither did He forget the works of His hands, but He visited him in diverse manners, through the tender compassion of His mercy” (Liturgy of Saint Basil). A new Divine work began, that of redemption and salvation. And it was fulfilled in Christ, the Son of God Who in order to restore man to his pristine beauty and to restore life as communion with God, became Man, took upon Himself our nature, with its thirst and hunger, with its desire for and love of, life. And in Him life was revealed, given, accepted and fulfilled as total and perfect Eucharist, as total and perfect communion with God. He rejected the basic human temptation: to live “by bread alone”; He revealed that God and His kingdom are the real food, the real life of man. And this perfect eucharistic Life, filled with God, and, therefore Divine and immortal, He gave to all those who would believe in Him, i,e. find in Him the meaning and the content of their lives. Such is the wonderful meaning of the Last Supper. He offered Himself as the true food of man, because the Life revealed in Him is the true Life. And thus the movement of Divine Love which began in paradise with a Divine “take, eat. ..” (for eating is life for man) comes now “unto the end” with the Divine “take, eat, this is My Body...” (for God is life of man). The Last Supper is the restoration of the paradise of bliss, of life as Eucharist and Communion.

But this hour of ultimate love is also that of the ultimate betrayal. Judas leaves the light of the Upper Room and goes into darkness. “And it was night” (John 13:30). Why does he leave? Because he loves, answers the Gospel, and his fateful love is stressed again and again in the hymns of Holy Thursday. It does not matter indeed, that he loves the “silver.” Money stands here for all the deviated and distorted love which leads man into betraying God. It is, indeed, love stolen from God and Judas, therefore, is the Thief. When he does not love God and in God, man still loves and desires, for he was created to love and love is his nature, but it is then a dark and self-destroying passion and death is at its end. And each year, as we immerse ourselves into the unfathomable light and depth of Holy Thursday, the same decisive question is addressed to each one of us: do I respond to Christ’s love and accept it as my life, do I follow Judas into the darkness of his night?

The liturgy of Holy Thursday includes: a) Matins, b) Vespers and, following Vespers, the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great. In the Cathedral Churches the special service of the Washing of Feet takes place after the Liturgy; while the deacon reads the Gospel, the Bishop washes the feet of twelve priests, reminding us that Christ’s love is the foundation of life in the Church and shapes all relations within it. It is also on Holy Thursday that Holy Chrism is consecrated by the primates of autocephalous Churches, and this also means that the new love of Christ is the gift we receive from the Holy Spirit on the day of our entrance into the Church.

At Matins the Troparion sets the theme of the day: the opposition between the love of Christ and the “insatiable desire” of Judas.

“When the glorious disciples were illumined by washing at the Supper, Then was the impious Judas darkened with the love of silver And to the unjust judges does he betray Thee, the just Judge. Consider, 0 Lover of money, him who hanged himself because of it. Do not follow the insatiable desire which dared this against the Master, 0 Lord, good to all, glory to Thee.”

After the Gospel reading (Luke 12:1-40) we are given the contemplation, the mystical and eternal meaning of the Last Supper in the beautiful canon of Saint Cosmas. Its last “irmos,” (Ninth Ode) invites us to share in the hospitality of the Lord’s banquet:

“Come, 0 ye faithful Let us enjoy the hospitality of the Lord and the banquet of immortality In the upper chamber with minds uplifted....”

At Vespers, the stichira on “Lord, I have cried” stress the spiritual anticlimax of Holy Thursday, the betrayal of Judas:

“Judas the slave and Knave, The disciple and traitor, The friend and fiend, Was proved by his deeds, For, as he followed the Master, Within himself he contemplated His betrayal....”

After the Entrance, three lessons from the Old Testament:

1) Exodus 19: 10-19. God’s descent from Mount Sinai to His people as the image of God’s coming in the Eucharist.

2) Job 38:1-23, 42:1-5, God’s conversation with Job and Job’s answer: “who will utter to me what I understand not? Things too great and wonderful for me, which I knew not...”—and these “great and wonderful things” are fulfilled in the gift of Christ’s Body and Blood.

3) Isaiah 50:4-11. The beginning of the prophecies on the suffering servant of God,

The Epistle reading is from I Corinthians 11:23-32: Saint Paul’s account of the Last Supper and the meaning of communion.

The Gospel reading (the longest of the year is taken from all four Gospels and is the full story of the Last Supper, the betrayal of Judas and Christ’s arrest in the garden.

The Cherubic hymn and the hymn of Communion are replaced by the words of the prayer before Communion:

“Of Thy Mystical Supper, O Son of God, accept me today as a communicant, For I will not speak of Thy Mystery to Thine enemies, Neither like Judas will I give Thee a kiss; But like the thief will I confess Thee: Remember me, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom.”

by The Very Rev. Alexander Schmemann, S.T.D. Professor of Liturgical Theology, Saint Vladimir’s Seminary

[vigilantkatholixx]

VI. Embracing Masculinity

Robert Moore – King, Warrior, Magician, Lover David Deida – The Way of the Superior Man Walter Newell – The Code of Man: Love, Courage, Pride, Family, Country Frederic Delavier – Strength Training Anatomy Mark Rippetoe – Starting Strength Tony Robbins – Awaken The Giant Within Marcus Aurelius – The Meditations Sun Tzu – The Art of War Robert Greene – The 48 Laws of Power Yamamoto Tsunetomo – Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai

VII. Traditional Christianity

G.K. Chesterton – Orthodoxy Venerable Fulton Sheen – The Moral Universe Hilaire Belloc – Survivals and New Arrivals Michael Walsh – Roman Catholicism: The Basics Archbishop James Gibbons – The Faith of Our Fathers Henri Daniel Rops – This is the Mass Fr. Frederick William Faber – The Precious Blood or the Price of Our Salvation Fr. Frederick William Faber – The Creator and The Creature Robert Hugh Benson – Christ in the Church Cardinal Manning – The Holy Ghost, The Sanctifier Colin Lindsay – The Evidence for the Papacy Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre – An Open Letter to Confused Catholics Fr. James F. Wathen – The Great Sacrilege Fr. Luigi Villa – Vatican II About Face! Fr. Joseph Deharbe – A Complete Catechism of the Catholic Religion ——– Alexander Schmemann – For the Life of the World Kallistos Ware – The Orthodox Way Lorenzo Scupoli – Unseen Warfare John Marler – Youth of the Apocalypse and The Last True Rebellion Seraphim Rose – Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future

VIII. History Revisited.

Admiral Raphael Semmes – Memoirs of Service Afloat Anne Jean Marie René Savary – Memoirs of the Duke of Rovigo Claude François de Méneval – Memoirs to Serve for the History of Napoleon I K. P Pobyedonostseff – Reflections of a Russian Statesman Edmund Burke – Reflections on the Revolution in France Regine Pernoud – Those Terrible Middle Ages: Debunking the Myths Lothrop Stoddard – The French Revolution on San Domingo Sidney George Fisher – True History of the American Revolution Lawrence H. Keeley – War Before Civilization: The Myth of the Peaceful Savage Alexis de Tocqueville – The Old Regime and the Revolution Peter Oliver – Origin and Progress of the American Rebellion

[thesynaxarium]

Today’s Gospel reading is Matthew 25:31-46, the parable of the Last Judgment. It reminds us that while trusting in Christ’s love and mercy, we must not forget His righteous judgment when He comes again in glory. If our hearts remain hardened and unrepentant, we should not expect the Lord to overlook our transgressions simply because He is a good and loving God. Although He does not desire the death of a sinner, He also expects us to turn from our wickedness and live (Ezek. 33:11). The time for repentance and forgiveness is now, in the present life. At the Second Coming, Christ will appear as the righteous Judge, “Who will render to every man according to his deeds” (Rom. 2:6). Then the time for entreating God’s mercy and forgiveness will have passed. As Father Alexander Schmemann reminds us in his book GREAT LENT (Ch. 1:4), sin is the absence of love, it is separation and isolation. When Christ comes to judge the world, His criterion for judgment will be love. Christian love entails seeing Christ in other people, our family, our friends, and everyone else we may encounter in our lives. We shall be judged on whether we have loved, or not loved, our neighbor. We show Christian love when we feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit those who are sick or in prison. If we did such things for the least of Christ’s brethren, then we also did them for Christ (Mt.25:40). If we did not do such things for the least of the brethren, neither did we do them for Christ (Mt.25:45). Today is the last day for eating meat and meat products until Pascha, though eggs and dairy products are permitted every day during the coming week. This limited fasting prepares us gradually for the more intense fasting of Great Lent. Source: https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2021/03/07/5-sunday-of-meatfare-of-the-last-judgment https://www.instagram.com/p/Co0HjQCL7JH/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[hieromonkcharbel]

The joy of the Messiah's appearance abounds in the Church's liturgical services of the Winter Pascha. When the "Hail" of the angelic salutation is translated "Rejoice," as it often is in the church services since in Greek that is what it literally means, there is an even greater presence of the "good news of great joy" for the faithful, since they, together with the whole of creation, are greeted with this salutation again and again in the songs of the festal celebration.

Let creation exceedingly rejoice,

For the Creator fashions himself as a creature.

And He who was before all things now manifests Himself as God newly revealed.

Let the wise men go to meet Him with their gifts;

Let the shepherds clap their hands in faith at the wonder;

and let mortal men join the angels with rejoicing.

Be joyful, O earth!

Behold, Christ draws near to be born in Bethlehem.

Be glad, O sea!

And dance for joy, O company of prophets,

For today you behold the fulfillment of your words.

Rejoice, all you righteous!

Let the kings of the whole earth sing with rejoicing,

And let the nations be in exceeding joy!

Mountains, hills, and valleys,

Rivers, seas, and the whole of creation:

Magnify the Lord who now is born.

Rejoice, O Virgin,

The Theotokos who of the Holy Spirit

Has borne life into the world

For the salvation of all!

One of the most devastating accusations that can be made against Christians is that they have no joy. Joyless Christians are a contradiction in terms. People who are bitter, complaining, condemning, accusing, dissatisfied and depressed are certainly not Christians. They can only be people whose life is untouched by grace, people whose existence is confined to the suffocating limitations of "this world" whose "ruler" is the devil and whose "form... is passing away" (Jn 12:31; 1 Cor 7:31). They cannot possibly be those who belong to Christ and the kingdom of God. For Christians by definition have Christ's "joy fulfilled in themselves" (Jn 17:13). They are people whose joy, which no one can take away, is literally full and complete (Jn 15:11; 16:22, 24).

In his famous book For the Life of the World, Father Alexander Schmemann speaks about the joy of Christians. From its very beginning, he says,

Christianity has been the proclamation of joy, of the only possible joy on earth. It rendered impossible all the joy we usually think of as possible. But within this impossibility, at the very bottom of this darkness, it announced and conveyed a new all-embracing joy, and with this joy it transformed the End into a Beginning. Without the proclamation of this joy, Christianity is incomprehensible. It is only as joy that the Church was victorious in the world, and it lost the world when it lost that joy, and ceased to be a credible witness to it. Of all the accusations against Christians, the most terrible one was uttered by Nietzsche when he said that Christians had no joy.

Father Alexander goes on to say that before Christians can do anything else with all of their "programs and missions, projects and techniques," they "must recover the meaning of this great joy." he says that joy "is not something one can define or analyze. One enters into joy. 'Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord' (Mt 25:21)." And one enters into this joy, this exceeding great joy, he insists, only by entering into the liturgical, eucharistic life of the Church herself. Here, and only here, as in the celebration of the Nativity of Christ and His Epiphany in the world, can a person partake of that joyful reality for which the world itself was created in the beginning.

The above is an excerpt from The Winter Pascha, by Fr. Thomas Hopko

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading: Saturday, July 1, 2023

July 1st_June 18

St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker (movable holiday on Saturday closest to June 19th).

SAINT JOHN OF SHANGAÏ AND SAN FRANCISCO (1966)

In honor of the June 2nd feast of the great hierarch, ascetic, and wonderworker, John Maximovich of Shangaï and San Francisco,  we let Archpriest Peter Perekrestov, an eyewitness of the opening of St John’s coffin on October 12th, 1993, recounts the event.

Vladika John passed away in 1966 while visiting Seattle with the wonder-working Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God. After the service, he went to his cell and was found reposed before the icon. The funeral was held in San Francisco, but not immediately, because it took a long time for all the bishops to assemble. Metropolitan Laurus (then Igumen Laurus) and Archbishop Averky (Taushev) traveled for three days by car from Jordanville - almost three thousand miles. Although Vladika John's body had not been embalmed, it showed no signs of decay before or after the funeral. San Francisco's Board of Supervisors had given the Holy Virgin Cathedral parish council special permission to bury the Archbishop within the city confines, under the church building. We used to have a storage room in the basement. This room was transformed into the sepulcher where Vladika John's remains were laid to rest.

People went to his tomb before the glorification, as with Blessed Xenia in St. Petersburg. Initially, they prayed for Vladika John, but then they started praying to him, leaving him their lists of names. And numerous miracles occurred. The veneration of Saint John and the process of his glorification began as a grassroots movement and was not one directed from above. His reverence was growing rapidly, and thus the question of his canonization arose relatively soon. However, it was a great miracle that a decision regarding his canonization was made.

At that time, the head of our Russian Church Abroad was Metropolitan Vitaly (Ustinov), and it is no secret that he had not been favorably disposed toward Archbishop John. As a result, Vladika Vitaly was less popular in San Francisco. Nevertheless, Archbishop Anthony (Medvedev), the ruling hierarch of the Western American Diocese, told me after returning from the Synod meeting in September 1993: "You won't believe what just happened. At the Synod meeting, I suggested that materials for the possible glorification of Archbishop John be collected, and Metropolitan Vitaly unexpectedly said: 'Let's glorify him'!"

After this turn of events, it was decided to uncover Vladika John's remains. Archbishop Anthony invited Archbishop Laurus, to whom he was very close and trusted, and several priests, including an archimandrite who used to be Archbishop John's leading acolyte. The keeper of the sepulcher was also invited.

For some reason, there are particular days when every single detail is remembered. Father Alexander Schmemann reflects on this in his diaries. We can forget details of very important days: our wedding or ordination days, but some days and moments are always remembered. We recall every fact: the weather and the color of people's clothing. For example, although I served with Archbishop Anthony (Medvedev) for twenty years, I remember only certain moments well. I can close my eyes and feel him sitting nearby, see him separating his Panagia and Cross on his chest, and clearly see his facial expression. In the same way, I remember the day when holy Vladika John's relics were opened: It was like a small Pascha.

Most of us have never opened a coffin after twenty-five years after the burial. From a human perspective, I felt trepidation and some reluctance before St. John's remains opened. I was a young priest and honestly couldn't say I felt too comfortable around dead bodies. At about 9:00 p.m., we went down to the sepulcher and began serving a Panikhida. Our wives and children knew about this. Although Vladika Anthony asked us to keep this a secret, we convinced him we could not keep this a secret from our wives. They would ask where we were going at that hour. Vladika Anthony then gave us his permission to tell them.

They were waiting for us at home with great anxiety. Several days before the opening of the relics, a small delegation had gone down to the sepulcher to investigate things. The board consisted of three clergymen, one of them being a carpenter. The casket was in an aboveground concrete sarcophagus. The delegation needed to know in advance how the extremely heavy cover of the coffin would be removed. Because of their efforts, when we went to open the remains, we knew what needed to be done. Two-by-fours, a crowbar, sheets, and other items had been prepared. We lifted the cover of the sarcophagus and saw a corroded metal casket under it. The coffin was covered by a bishop's mantle, which had been put there on the day of Archbishop John's funeral. The mantle was intact. Then the coffin was raised slightly with ropes, but it started to collapse because it had completely rusted through in many places. So we put the two-by-fours under the casket to support it. The next step was to open the casket lid.

The key to the lid had been kept by one hieromonk for more than twenty-five years. He approached the casket and solemnly put the key into the keyhole, but the lid would not open. It has rusted through, and the lock did not work. Then our protodeacon got down to business and tried to force open the lid with a crowbar. He was a very strong Russian and weighed around 375 pounds. However, Archbishop Anthony disapproved of such use of brutal force, believing it is not proper and pious to open the lid in such a manner, so he stopped the protodeacon, crossed himself, closed his eyes, and started reading the 50th Psalm.

I would like to step back momentarily and recall the events that led to this. When my wife and I were deciding whether or not to move to San Francisco, she was quite hesitant because we would be living very far from family. In the Russian Church Abroad, we do not have such a strict policy regarding clergy assignments and transfers as in Russia. Usually, a bishop will propose, and the priest can either agree or refuse. The quandary is that many of our priests have secular jobs, and not everyone can leave his job because not every parish can provide its clergy with a decent salary. So we went to San Francisco for a "scouting" trip. I had more superficial reasons for moving there. I thought of the grand cathedral, the numerous youth, the large Russian population, and the active parish school. But my wife was a bit skeptical about those things. We saw the city, got to meet some of the clergy, and, right before our departure, were invited by Vladika Anthony to his residence. Archbishop Anthony lived alone. He did not have a cell attendant or a driver. He usually used the city buses and always carried a briefcase with him. He even put his food purchases in that leather briefcase when he went shopping. The Archbishop greeted us at the door, sat us down, and started cooking everything himself. When the food was ready, he faced the icon corner and said the Lord's Prayer. My wife later remarked that she had never seen anyone reading "Our Father" in such a way. Vladika Anthony was not simply reading a prayer; he stood before the living God, addressing Him. There was no formal element in his prayer. When we left Archbishop Anthony's quarters, I asked my wife: "Well, Lena, what do you think?" she replied: "With a bishop like that, one can live and serve anywhere." That was the deciding factor for us regarding our move to California

This same bishop was praying during the opening of St. John's relics. Vladika Anthony completed Psalm 50, took the lid, and quickly opened it. I believe we could not open the lid from the beginning because God wanted the relics to be uncovered by Archbishop Anthony, a man of high spiritual life and purity. The lid opened, and we glimpsed at St. John's vestments. Initially, they were white but now had become green. It seemed they were moldy. We then touched the vestments, which fell apart in our hands because of decomposition. When a priest is buried, his face is covered with an aer: the one used to wrap the Holy Gifts at the Liturgy. Such an aer was covering St. John's face. Archbishop Anthony crossed himself and raised the aer covering Vladika John's face. This was the moment when I saw Archbishop John's face for the first time. His face and body were intact - incorrupt - and we were looking at true relics.

Vladika Anthony appointed me as the photographer for this event. I was taking pictures with a film camera (this was in 1993). I ran out of the film and rushed home. All the lights were on in our apartment-it was like the Pascha. Although it was around midnight, my wife was waiting for me. I began saying loudly: "He is incorrupt! His relics are incorrupt!" I then grabbed some film and ran back to the sepulcher. Matushka started to phone others to share our joy. When I returned to the sepulcher, a sick boy was brought to the relics who was the son of one of our diocesan priests. Archbishop Anthony gave his blessing for the boy to touch the relics. And the boy was healed. Now he is entirely healthy, much taller than I, and plays college rugby. A wooden casket had been prepared in advance to replace the metal one that had rusted away. We placed the relics in the wooden coffin, closed it, and left the sepulcher praising God.

The preparations for the glorification were moving ahead quickly. New vestments were being sewn for St. John. We opened the relics again in several months to wash them and vest Vladika, but we needed to figure out how to do this. No reference book had detailed instructions on cleaning and preparing relics before a glorification service. Archbishop Anthony was searching all his books. He found some historical data on canonizations, including how St. Theodosy of Chernigov and St. Ioasaph of Belgorod were glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church. He also found some articles in the publication of The Church Herald and other old periodicals. There was some information there, but we had to figure out most things ourselves. In Russia, perestroika had only just begun, and the opening of relics was not yet widespread. There was nobody to ask. We washed St. John's relics using water, oil, and rosewater. Initially, his skin seemed light in color, almost white, but it turned a rather dark amber color after it was washed. I combed out his hair and beard (I even found several hairs in the comb afterward). We changed his vestments and left him in the sepulcher until 1994, when he was glorified on the day of his repose, July 2

St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco was glorified as follows: First, the relics were brought from the sepulcher to the cathedral proper and placed in the center of the church. A Panikhida was then served, the last one for Archbishop John. At the end of the Panikhida, an icon of St. John, wrapped in a cloth, was laid upon the closed reliquary. The Panikhida finished with the words: "May God bless and give him rest, and by his holy prayers have mercy on us." After the Panikhida, the All-Night Vigil began, at which the stichera (verses) to the new saint were sung. During the litya, when a list of saints is remembered, St. John was mentioned for the first time: "Our father among the saint's John, Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker, whose glorification is presently taking place, and all the saints..." That Vigil was unforgettable!

Saturday, July 1st, 2023. St Jon's relics has been brought out of its shrine and sits in the middle of the church from Thursday to Saturday 

During the polyeleos, the Metropolitan came up to the reliquary, untied the icon of St. John on top of it, and two tall priests raised it on high so the faithful could see it. Afterward, the reliquary lid was lifted, and everyone could see St. John's relics. Immediately, all present did a full prostration, and the numerous clergy sang the Magnification to the new saint.

The glorification service was beautiful and genuinely conciliar, with the participation of numerous faithful. It was also one of the most important spiritual events in my life. And I will not cease to remark that our generation is highly blessed. Not one generation has received as many mercies from God as we have: We have not experienced wars and witnessed the rebirth of church life in Russia and the glorification of the New Martyrs and St. John. In addition to these blessings, we have seen and taken part in a tremendous and unprecedented miracle: the unification of the two parts of the Russian Church!

Archpriest Peter Perekrestov is currently archpriest of the Holy Virgin Cathedral “Joy of All Sorrows” of San Francisco, where St John Maximovich of Shanghaï and San Francisco reposes.

Source: Orthodox Christianity

PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11 

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself. He became obedient to the point of death, even at the end of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

LUKE 10:38-42; 11:27-28 

38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village, and a confident woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me." 41 And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her. 27 And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!" 28 But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"

[donkeyokay]

The problems of contemporary consciousness, of young people, are often rubbish. There are two sources of sin: flesh and pride. And people are often trying to cover them up with complexities so they look nice and deep (“He has great problems…”)

The inadequacy and falsity of pastoral counseling, of religious “therapy,” is quite often as false as the refusal to face sin. Real faith always consists of growing in the virtue of simplicity—joyful, wholesome, and liberating. “Difficulties,” “complexities” and “problems” are trivial alibis of a self-centered human being enamored with his self-image of a tormented, complex man.

The Journals of Father Alexander Schmemann

May 14th, 1973

[traumacatholic]

Indeed, something strange happens here with religion: instead of help, we are given the cross, instead of promises of comfort and well-being, we hear the certainty: “They persecuted me, they will persecute you.” And when we hear the Gospel about the Pharisees who derided the crucified Christ—“He saved others, he cannot save himself! He is the king of Israel; let him come down now from the cross and we will believe in him” (Mt 27:42)—are we not immediately reminded of the derision and accusations that are heard today: “So, wasn’t your God able to help you?” And indeed, as long as we expect from God only this type of help, only miracles that would eliminate the sufferings from our life, then these accusations will continue. And they will continue because any cheap pill is certainly better able to relieve a headache than prayer and religion. And we will never understand the mystery of the Cross as long as we expect this type of pill from religion—be it for something trivial or important. As long as this is the case, regardless of all the gold or silver with which it is covered, the Cross remains what the apostle Paul said at the dawn of Christianity: “a scandal for the Jews, and folly for the Gentiles” (1 Cor 1:23). In our given situation the “Jews” represent those who seek only help from religion, while the “Gentiles” are those who seek clever and easy explanations. And in this case the Cross is truly a scandal and folly.

O Death, Where Is Thy Sting? Father Alexander Schmemann

[evolutiontopeacefulmystic]

Quotes by Saint Rachel Held Evans:

“As a Christian, my highest calling is not motherhood; my highest calling is to follow Christ.”

“God's ways are higher than our ways not because he is less compassionate than we are but because he is more compassionate than we can ever imagine.”

“What a comfort to know that God is a poet.”

“This is what God's kingdom is like: a bunch of outcasts and oddballs gathered at a table, not because they are rich or worthy or good, but because they are hungry, because they said yes. And there's always room for more.”

“I have come to regard with some suspicion those who claim that the Bible never troubles them. I can only assume this means they haven’t actually read it.”

“I explained that when our gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender friends aren’t welcome at the table, then we don’t feel welcome either, and that not every young adult gets married or has children, so we need to stop building our churches around categories and start building them around people.”

+LORD JESUS YESHUA THE MESSIAH CHRIST, SON OF GOD/ALLAH, THROUGH THE POWERFUL PRAYERS OF Saints Mary Magdalene the Apostle, Mother Maria Skobtsova the New Martyr of Paris, Mother Walatta Petros, Father Moses the Ethiopian, Holy Byzantine Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes The Merciful, Pulcheria the Holy Byzantine Empress, Coretta Scott King, Maya Angelou, Mary of Egypt, Marsha P. Johnson, Rachel Held Evans, Bayard Rustin, Florence Li Tim-Oi, Father Sophrony Sakharov of Essex, Gorazd Pavlik of Prague, Grigol Peradze, Gabriel Urgebadze, John Maisuradze, George-John Mkheidze, Joseph Kottis the Hesychast, Gabra Manfas Qeddus, Takla Haymanot, Yared of Ethiopia, Herman of Alaska, Peter the Aleut Cungagnaq, Alexander Schmemann, Anthony Bloom of Sourozh, Archpriest Stefan Wu Zhiquan, Raphael Hawaweeny of Brooklyn, Silouan Antonov the Athonite, Olga Michael of Alaska, Archangel Michael, Archangel Raphael, Archangel Gabriel, Archangel Uriel / Archangel Ariel, Archangel Selaphiel, Archangel Jehudiel, Archangel Barachiel, Archangel Raguel, Archangel Jeremiel, Archangel Anael, Archangel Jophiel, Archangel Zadkiel, George Perry Floyd Jr., Theodora of Vasta, Seraphim Mouraviov of Vyritsa, Seraphim Moshnin of Sarov, Barsanuphius Plikhankov of Optina, Dimitri Klepinin the New Martyr, Ilya Elias Fondaminsky, George Yuri Skobtsov, and Andrei Rublev, HAVE MERCY ON US SINNERS & ON THE WHOLE COSMOS! + Lord Jesus Yeshua the Messiah Christ, Pre-Eternal Patriarch, Pre-Eternal Bishop & Son of God, through the most powerful prayers of your most Holy Mother the Theotokos (and First Woman Priest), have mercy on us sinners!

[dramoor]

Father Alexander Schmemann celebrated the divine liturgy for the last time on Thanksgiving Day. This was particularly appropriate since Father Alexander had devoted his whole life to teaching, writing and preaching about the Eucharist; for the word eucharist in Greek means thanksgiving. At the conclusion of the liturgy, Father Alexander took from his pocket a short written sermon, in the form of a prayer, which he proceeded to read. This was a strange occurrence since Father never wrote his liturgical homilies, but delivered them extemporaneously. These were his words, which proved to be the last ever spoken by him from the ambo in Church.

Thank You, O Lord!

“Everyone capable of thanksgiving is capable of salvation and eternal joy.

Thank You, O Lord, for having accepted this Eucharist, which we offered to the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and which filled our hearts with the joy, peace and righteousness of the Holy Spirit.

Thank You, O Lord, for having revealed Yourself unto us and given us the foretaste of Your Kingdom.

Thank You, O Lord, for having united us to one another in serving You and Your Holy Church.

Thank You, O Lord, for having helped us to overcome all difficulties, tensions, passions, temptations and restored peace, mutual love and joy in sharing the communion of the Holy Spirit.

Thank You, O Lord, for the sufferings You bestowed upon us, for they are purifying us from selfishness and reminding us of the ‘one thing needed;’ Your eternal Kingdom.

Thank You, O Lord, for having given us this country where we are free to Worship You.

Thank You, O Lord, for this school, where the name of God is proclaimed.

Thank You, O Lord, for our families: husbands, wives and, especially, children who teach us how to celebrate Your holy Name in joy, movement and holy noise.

Thank You, O Lord, for everyone and everything.

Great are You, O Lord, and marvelous are Your deeds, and no word is sufficient to celebrate Your miracles.

Lord, it is good to be here! Amen.”

(Via The Orthodox Church, Vol. 20, No. 2, February 1984)

(Image via wheeljournal.com)

[westernriteorthodoxrosary]

HANNUKAH (Chanukah) MIRACLE!   2 Maccabees 10:5-9 It happened that on the same day on which the sanctuary had been profaned by the foreigners, the purification of the sanctuary took place, that is, on the twenty-fifth day of the same month, which was Chislev. And they celebrated it for eight days with rejoicing, in the manner of the feast of booths, remembering how not long before, during the feast of booths, they had been wandering in the mountains and caves like wild animals. Therefore bearing ivy-wreathed wands and beautiful branches and also fronds of palm, they offered hymns of thanksgiving to him who had given success to the purifying of his own holy place. They decreed by public ordinance and vote that the whole nation of the Jews should observe these days every year. Such then was the end of Anti′ochus, who was called Epiph′anes. +LORD JESUS YESHUA THE MESSIAH CHRIST, SON OF GOD,  through the prayers of the Holy Maccabee Martyrs Abim, Antonius, Gurias, Eleazar, Eusebonus, Alimus, Marcellus, Solomonia, and Eleazar, have mercy on us sinners! Lord Jesus Yeshua the Messiah Christ, Son of God, through the prayers of Judas Maccabeus, have mercy on us sinners! LORD JESUS YESHUA THE MESSIAH CHRIST, SON OF ALLAH (GOD), THROUGH THE PRAYERS OF SAINT JUDE (THADDEUS) THE APOSTLE, HAVE MERCY ON US SINNERS!

Kontakion to Holy Martyr Menas of Egypt: Today the church honors those who fought the good fight and died for their faith: / The victorious Menas, the noble Victor and the ascetic Vincent. / The church glorifies their divine struggle and cries out with love: / Glory to You, O Christ, the lover of mankind. +LORD JESUS CHRIST, SON OF GOD, through the most powerful prayers of Saints Menas the Martyr of Egypt, Maria Skobtsova the New Martyr of Paris, Moses the Ethiopian, Chiune Sugihara of Lithuania, Alexander Schmorell of Munich, Walatta Petros, Grigol Peradze, Pavel Peter Gojdič, Gabriel Urgebadze, Raphael Hawaweeny of Brooklyn, Mary of Egypt, Symeon the New Theologian, Paisius Velichkovsky, Barsanuphius Plikhankov of Optina and Seraphim Moshnin of Sarov, HAVE MERCY ON US SINNERS!

Holy Virgin Protection Hymns: O Mother of God, sheltered by thy coming/ We faithful people today keep feast in joy./ And beholding thy most pure image/ moved to the depths of our heart we say/ Protect us with thy precious veil/ and deliver us from every ill/ by entreating Christ thy son and our God to save our souls. Today the Virgin stands forth in the church/ and invisibly with the choir of the saints prays to God for us./ The hierarchs bow down with the angels,/ the apostles and the prophets rejoice/ for the Mother of God prays to the eternal God for us. We magnify thee/ O most holy Virgin/ and we honor thy precious veil/ for Saint Andrew beheld thee/ in the air praying to God for us. Lord Jesus Yeshua the Messiah Christ, Son of God (Allah/ Elohim), through the prayers of thy most Holy Mother the Theotokos, have mercy on us sinners!

Most Holy Theotokos and Saints Mary Magdalene, Maxim Sandovich of Gorlice, Seraphim Moshnin of Sarov, Milad Makeen Zaky, Abanub Ayad Atiya, Maged Soliman Shehata, Youssef Shukry Younan, Kirollos Boshra Fawzy, Bishoy Astafanous Kamel, Samuel Astafanous Kamel, Malak Ibrahim Sinyout, Tawadros Youssef Tawadros, Gerges Milad Sinyout, Mina Fayez Aziz, Hany Abdel Mesih Salib, Samuel Alham Wilson, Ezzat Boshra Naseef, Luka Nagaty Anis, Gaber Mounir Adly, Essam Baddar Samir, Malak Farag Abrahim, Sameh Salah Farouk, Gerges Samir Megally, Mathew Ayairga, Magdy Sobhy Tawfeek, Sahar Talaat Rezk, Katherine Magdy Sobhy, Pavel Peter Gojdič, Father Samaan Shehata, John Maximovitch the Wonderworker of Shanghai and San Francisco, Takla Haymanot of Ethiopia, Yared of Ethiopia, Gabra Manfas Queddus, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna the New Martyr, Maria Skobtsova the New Martyr of Paris, Thérèse Martin of the Child Jesus of Lisieux, Claudia Procula, Vida Dutton Scudder, Florence Converse, Dymphna, Khalid Jabara the Antiochian Orthodox Martyr of Oklahoma, and Michael the Archangel pray for us always!

Gospel of John 20:11-16        But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus [Yeshua] had lain. Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus [Yeshua] standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus [Yeshua]. Jesus [Yeshua] said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus [Yeshua] said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).

Protection Prayer: Today the faithful celebrate the feast with joy / illumined by your coming, O Mother of God. / Beholding your pure image we fervently cry to you: / “Encompass us beneath the precious veil of your protection; / deliver us from every form of evil by entreating Christ, / your Son and our God that He may save our souls.” Saints Mary Magdalene the Apostle, Andrew the Fool-for-Christ of Constantinople, Epiphanius, Romanos the Melodist, Metropolitan Peter Polyansky of Krutitsy, Thomas the Apostle, Sebastian Dabovich of Jackson and San Francisco, Olga Michael of Alaska, Maria Skobtsova the New Martyr of Paris, Gregory Palamas, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna The New Martyr of Russia, Thekla the Protomartyr, Pavel Peter Gojdič, Tikhon Bellavin of Moscow, Apostle Paul, John Maximovitch the Wonderworker of Shanghai and San Francisco, Josephine Bakhita, André Bessette of Montreal, Nektarios Kefalas of Aegina and Pentapolis, Grigol Peradze,Paisios Eznepidis of Mount Athos, Porphyrios Bairaktaris of Kafsokalivia, Peter the Apostle, Paul the Apostle, Pope Pius I, Gabra Manfas Qeddus, Takla Haymanot, Yared of Ethiopia, Hilda of Whitby,Florence Li Tim-Oi, Apostle Prochorus, Michael (Mikhail I) of Kiev, Olympia the Deaconess, Phoebe the Deaconess, Thérèse Martin of the Child Jesus of Lisieux,Herman of Alaska, Peter the Aleut (Cungagnaq), Hildegard von Bingen,Innocent Popov-Veniaminov of Alaska, Kateri Tekakwitha, and Seraphim Moshnin of Sarov pray for us always!!

Prayer to Saint Joseph the Betrothed:  O St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in thee all my interests and desires. O St. Joseph, do assist me by thy powerful intersession and obtain for me from thy Divine Son all the spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, Our Lord, so that having engaged here below thy Heavenly power I may offer my Thanksgiving and Homage to the most loving of Fathers. O St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating thee with Jesus asleep in thy arms. I dare not approach while He reposes near thy heart. Press Him in my name, and kiss His fine head for me, and ask Him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, patron of departing souls, pray for us. Amen. Господи Иисусе Христе, Сыне Божий, помилуй нас грешники!

Prayer to Saint Panteleimon: You emulated the Merciful One, and received from Him the grace of healing, Passion-bearer and healer Panteleimon; by your prayers, heal our spiritual diseases and continually drive away the temptations of the enemy from those who cry out in faith “Save us, O Lord.” Doamne Iisuse Hristoase, Fiul lui Dumnezeu, Miluieşte-ne pe noi pacatosii!

Troparion to Saint Maria Skobtsova the New Martyr of Paris:

You became a bride of Christ, O venerable Mother, And offered your body and soul to Him as a living sacrifice. You exposed the evil side of humanity’s ways, By allowing the light of the Resurrection to shine forth from you. We celebrate your memory in love, O Martyr and Confessor Maria. Pray to Christ our God that He may save our souls. +++ Lord Jesus Yeshua the Messiah Christ, Son of God, through the powerful prayers of your Most Holy Virgin Mother Mariam (Mary) the Theotokos and your Saints Mary Magdalene, Maria Skobtsova the New Martyr of Paris, Moses the Ethiopian (Moses the Black), Walatta Petros, Mary of Egypt, John Climacus, Gregory Palamas, Seraphim Moshnin of Sarov, Dimitri Klepinin the New Martyr, Ilya Elias Fondaminsky, George Yuri Skobtsov, Takla Haymanot of Ethiopia, Yared of Ethiopia, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna the New Martyr of Russia, Alexander Hotovitzky, Kassiani the Hymnographer, Innocent Popov-Veniaminov of Alaska, Athanasius of Alexandria, Herman of Alaska, Peter Cungagnaq the Aleut, Olga Michael of Alaska, Gabra Manfas Qeddus, Silouan Antonov the Athonite, Sophrony Sakharov, Alexander Schmemann, Anthony Bloom of Sourozh, Nektarios Kefalas of Aegina & Pentapolis, Mitrophan Yang of China, and Joseph Kottis the Hesychast, have mercy on us sinners and have mercy on the whole universe.+++

FAVORITE QUOTE FROM SAINT MARIA SKOBTSOVA OF PARIS: “However hard I try, I find it impossible to construct anything greater than these three words, ‘Love one another’ —only to the end, and without exceptions: then all is justified and life is illumined, whereas otherwise it is an abomination and a burden.” LORD JESUS YESHUA THE MESSIAH CHRIST, SON OF THE LIVING GOD, THROUGH THE PRAYERS OF THE MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS & SAINTS MOTHER MARIA SKOBTSOVA THE NEW MARTYR OF PARIS, FATHER MOSES THE ETHIOPIAN (MOSES THE BLACK), MOTHER WALATTA PETROS, DOROTHY DAY, OSCAR ROMERO, SERAPHIM MOSHNIN OF SAROV, GREGORY PALAMAS, ARCHANGEL MICHAEL, HOLY RIGHTEOUS JOSHUA SON OF NAVI (NUN), ELIAS THE PROPHET, MOSES THE PROPHET, ARCHANGEL URIEL, AND GRAND DUCHESS ELIZABETH FYODOROVNA THE NEW MARTYR OF RUSSIA, HAVE MERCY ON US SINNERS!

Ethiopian Orthodox Akathist to Saint Mother Walatta Petros:

Hail to you, Walatta Petros, a garden! Wrapped in heavenly scent, you are shade for the doves, from the heat of misery that fills our world. Hail to you, Walatta Petros, a mirror! You reveal the Trinity in its holiness to everyone, high and low: now the faithful sit safe on dry ground. Hail to you, Walatta Petros, a light! Your preaching split the darkness and the foolish friends of this world ran eagerly toward repentance. Peace upon you! What no eye has seen nor ear ever heard, that mystery you chose as your wedding finery, refusing a life of luxury.  Hail to you, Walatta Petros, our mother! Strength of will carried you through the narrow gate —like thousands of martyrs before and the righteous monks of Waseef. Peace upon you and your forebear Shenoute, arrayed in the armor of chastity! Come, comfort our distress and woe; guard us while the whirlwind rages. Hail to you Walatta Petros, who brings harmony! May the power of your help outweigh the schemes of Satan and of men; may it veil us like a cloud. Peace upon you! We make a walled fortress from your aid; we fear not the assault of godless enemies when they rise against us. Peace upon you! For your children, the brothers and all the sisters— plead without ceasing in the presence of the Lord, that they may avoid temptation. Peace upon you! You escaped the snares of beastly inquity by carrying the guarantee of victory—the cross— as did the disciples of Saint Macarius. Hail to you, Walatta Petros! From the Four Creatures of Heaven to where the Holy Trinity is worshipped, raise the incense of our song— with a censer wrought of light! LORD JESUS YESHUA THE MESSIAH CHRIST, SON OF GOD, HAVE MERCY ON US SINNERS! MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS and Saints Mary Magdalene, Mother Walatta Petros, Mother Maria Skobtsova the New Martyr of Paris, Father Seraphim Moshnin of Sarov, John Maximovitch the Wonderworker of Shanghai and San Francisco, Job Zhelezo of Pochaev, Gabriel Urgebadze, Raphael Hawaweeny of Brooklyn, George Karslidis the Righteous of Drama, John Jacob the Chozebite Romanian (Ioan Iacob Hozevitul), Paisios Eznepidis of Mount Athos, Pavel Peter Gojdič, Isidore of Seville, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna the New Martyr of Russia, Archbishop Iakovos Koukouzis of America, and Porphyrios Bairaktaris of Kafsokalivia pray for us always!

Prayer to Archangel Michael: St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen. +LORD JESUS YESHUA THE MESSIAH CHRIST, PRE-ETERNAL BISHOP, PRE-ETERNAL PATRIARCH & SON OF GOD, through the prayers of Saints Mary Magdalene, Raphael Hawaweeny of Brooklyn, Gabriel Urgebadze, Tikhon Bellavin of Moscow, Moses the Ethiopian, Archangel Michael, Archangel Raphael, Archangel Gabriel, Archangel Uriel / Archangel Ariel, Archangel Selaphiel, Archangel, Jehudiel, Archangel Barachiel, Archangel Raguel, Archangel Jeremiel, Archangel Anael, Archangel Jophiel, Archangel Zadkiel, and Maria Skobtsova the New Martyr of Paris, HAVE MERCY ON US SINNERS!

Dormition Prayer: Neither the tomb, nor death, could hold the Theotokos, who is constant in prayer and our firm hope in her intercessions. For being the Mother of Life, she was translated to life, by the One who dwelt in her virginal womb. Most Holy Theotokos save us! LORD YESHUA THE MESSIAH, SON OF GOD, HAVE MERCY ON US SINNERS! Saints Mardarije Uskoković of Libertyville, Maria Skobtsova the New Martyr of Paris, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna the New Martyr,Seraphim Moshnin of Sarov, John Maximovitch of Shanghai and San Francisco,Nektarios Kefalas of Aegina and Pentapolis, Grigol Peradze, and Holy Righteous Abraham pray for us always!

The Transfiguration Troparion / Kontakion:

Saints Mark Ji Tianxiang, Dimitri Klepinin the New Martyr, Ilya Elias Fondaminsky, George Yuri Skobtsov, Takla Haymanot of Ethiopia, Yared of Ethiopia, Alexander Hotovitzky, Spyridon of Trimythous, Sebastian Dabovich of Jackson and San Francisco, Olga Michael of Alaska, Florence Li Tim-Oi, Pavel Peter Gojdič, Maxim Sandovich, Ahmed the Calligrapher, Maria Skobtsova the New Martyr of Paris, Gregory Palamas, Seraphim Moshnin of Sarov, Porphyrios Bairaktaris the Kapsokalyvite, Paisios Eznepidis of Mount Athos, Holy Prophet and God-Seer Moses, Prophet Elijah/Elias, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna The New Martyr of Russia, and Leonty Turkevich of New York pray for us! You were transfigured on the mountain, O Christ God, / revealing Your glory to Your disciples as far as they could bear it. / Let Your everlasting Light also shine upon us sinners, / through the prayers of the Theotokos. / O Giver of Light, glory to You! On the Mountain You were Transfigured, O Christ God, / And Your disciples beheld Your glory as far as they could see it; / So that when they would behold You crucified, / They would understand that Your suffering was voluntary, / And would proclaim to the world, / That You are truly the Radiance of the Father!

Song of Songs/ Song of Solomon 5:10-16

My beloved is a shining and fiery light, Chosen from countless thousands. His head is like refined gold; His locks of hair are shiny and black, Like a raven’s feathers. His eyes are like those of doves sitting by pools of water, having eyes bathed in milk and fitly set. His cheeks are like bowls of spices pouring forth perfumes. [His face is rugged, his beard smells like sage, His voice, his words, warm and reassuring.] His lips are lilies dripping choice myrrh. His hands are like elaborate gold set with precious stones. His stomach is like an ivory tablet inlaid with sapphire stones. His legs are like pillars or marble established on golden feet. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as the cedar trees. His mouth is most sweet and altogether desirable. This is my beloved, my companion, O daughters of Jerusalem!

The Beatitudes:

In Thy Kingdom remember us O Lord, when Thou comest in Thy Kingdom. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Most Holy Theotokos and Saints Dimitri Klepinin the New Martyr, Ilya Elias Fondaminsky, George Yuri Skobtsov, Takla Haymanot of Ethiopia, Yared of Ethiopia, Gabra Manfas Qeddus, Maria Skobtsova the New Martyr of Paris, Gregory Palamas, Seraphim Moshnin of Sarov, Porphyrios Bairaktaris the Kapsokalyvite, Paisios Eznepidis of Mount Athos, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna The New Martyr of Russia, John Maximovitch the Wonderworker of Shanghai and San Francisco, Patrick of Ireland, Bridget of Ireland, Archangel Michael, Christopher of Lycia, Raphael Hawaweeny of Brooklyn, John Sergiyev of Kronstadt, Pavel Peter Gojdič, Dymphna, Nino of Georgia, Joseph the Betrothed, Queen Esther, Judith the Conqueror of Holofernes, Archangel Uriel, Gabriel Urgebadze, Grigol Peradze, Apollonia, Panteleimon the Holy Unmercenary Healer, and Mary Magdalene pray for us always!

“I AM the Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, he it is that BEARS MUCH FRUIT, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” Most Holy Theotokos and Saints Mary Magdalene, Claudia Procula, Maria Skobtsova the New Martyr of Paris, John the Theologian, Pavel Peter Gojdič, John Maximovitch of Tobolsk, John Maximovitch the Wonderworker of Shanghai and San Francisco, Takla Haymanot of Ethiopia, Yared of Ethiopia, Gabra Manfas Queddus, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna the New Martyr, Seraphim Moshnin of Sarov, Herman of Alaska, Matrona Nikonova the Wonderworker of Moscow, Patrick of Ireland, Paisios Eznepidis of Mount Athos, Josephine Bakhita, Dymphna, Herman of Alaska, Job Zhelezo of Pochaev, Luke Voino-Yasenetsky the Blessed Surgeon of Simferopol and Crimea, Peter the Aleut, André Bessette of Montreal, Porphyrios Bairaktaris of Kafsokalivia, Raphael Hawaweeny of Brooklyn, Gregory Palamas, Nilus of Sora / Nil Sorski, Christopher of Lycia, Thérèse Martin of the Child Jesus YESHUA of Lisieux, Vida Dutton Scudder, Florence Converse and Tikhon Bellavin of Moscow PRAY FOR US ALWAYS!

Prophesy of Daniel 3:16-18, 3:23-24

Shadrach (Hananiah), Meshach (Mishael), and Abednego (Azariah) answered the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is in the heavens, able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.” And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the fiery furnace. And they walked about in the midst of the flames, singing hymns to God and blessing the Lord. +MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS AND SAINTS MARY MAGDALENE, Holy Prophet Daniel, Shadrach (Hananiah), Meshach (Mishael), Abednego (Azariah), Gabriel Urgebadze, Panteleimon the Unmercenary Healer, Apollonia, Xenia of St. Petersburg, Dymphna, Barsanuphius of Optina, Sophrony Sakharov, Grigol Peradze, Isaac the Syrian, Kassiani the Hymnographer, Holy Righteous Father Abraham, Queen Esther, Judith conquerer of Holofernes, John Maximovitch the Wonderworker of Shanghai & San Francisco, John Sergiyev of Kronstadt, Seraphim Moshnin of Sarov, Phoebe the Deaconess, Patrick of Ireland, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna the New Martyr of Russia, Pachomius the Great, Alexander Hotovitzky, Alexis Toth of Wilkes-Barre, Phanourios the Great Martyr, Herman of Alaska, Peter the Aleut, Mitrophan Yang, Nectarios Kephalas of Aegina & Pentapolis, King David, King Solomon,Gabra Manfas Qeddus, Takla Haymanot, Yared of Ethiopia, Gregory Palamas, Holy Prophet and God-seer Moses, Elijah/ Elias the Prophet, Holy Righteous Joshua (Jesus) son of Navi (Nun) , Christopher of Lycia, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom, Hesychius the Horebite, Anthony the Great of Egypt, Michael the Archangel, Raphael, Gabriel, Uriel, Salathiel, Jehudiel, Jeremiel, Barachiel the Archangel, Pavel Peter Gojdič, André Bessette of Montreal, Josephine Bakhita, Maria Skobtsova the New Martyr of Paris, Paisios Eznepidis of Mount Athos and Porphyrios Bairaktaris of Kafsokalivia PRAY FOR US ALWAYS!

“Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” Most Holy Theotokos and Saints Mary Magdalene, Claudia Procula, Maria Skobtsova the New Martyr of Paris, Pavel Peter Gojdič, Vida Dutton Scudder, Florence Converse, Sergius, Bacchus, Bayard Rustin, Coretta Scott King, Paisios Eznepidis of Mount Athos, Josephine Bakhita, André Bessette of Montreal, Porphyrios Bairaktaris of Kafsokalivia, Holy Righteous Prophet-King David, Jonathan, Raphael Hawaweeny of Brooklyn, Silouan Antonov the Athonite, Sophrony Sakharov of Essex, Florence Li Tim-Oi, Grigol Peradze, Maxim Sandovich of Gorlice, and Seraphim Moshnin of Sarov pray for us always!

Saint Porphyrios Bairaktaris of Kafsokalivia Quote:

“This is the way we should see Christ— He is our friend, our brother. He is whatever is good and beautiful. He is everything. Yet, He is still a friend and He shouts it out, “You’re my friends, don’t you understand that? We’re brothers. I’m not threatening you. I don’t hold hell in my hands. I love you. I want you to enjoy life together with me.” Christ is Everything. He is joy, He is life, He is light. He is the true light who makes man joyful, makes him soar with happiness; makes him see everything, everybody; makes him feel for everyone, to want everyone with him, everyone with Christ.“ -Saints Porphyrios Bairaktaris of Kafsokalivia, Paisios of Mount Athos, Maria Skobtsova the New Martyr of Paris, Seraphim Moshnin of Sarov, John Maximovitch of Shanghai and San Francisco, John Jacob the Romanian Chozebite of Hazeva, Ephrem the Syrian, Nektarios Kefalas of Aegina and Pentapolis, Grigol Peradze, Mitrophan Yang of Beijing, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna  the New Martyr,Moses the Black, Tikhon Bellavin of Moscow, and Nino of Georgia pray for us always! LORD YESHUA THE MESSIAH, SON OF ALLAH / ELOHIM, HAVE MERCY ON US AND ON THE WHOLE UNIVERSE! LORD JESUS CHRIST, SON OF GOD, HAVE MERCY ON US AND ON THE WHOLE UNIVERSE!

Prayer of Saint Paisios Eznepidis of Mount Athos: “Our Lord Jesus Yeshua the Messiah Christ: Do not abandon your servants who live far away from the Church. May your love convict them and bring them back to you.Lord have mercy on your servants who are suffering from cancer. On your servants who suffer either from small or serious ailments. On your servants who suffer from physical infirmities. On your servants who suffer from spiritual infirmities. Lord have mercy on our leaders and inspire them to govern with Christian love. Lord have mercy on children who come from troubled homes. On troubled families and those who have been divorced. Lord have mercy on all the orphans of the world, on all those who are suffering pain and injustices since losing their spouses. Lord have mercy on all those in jail, on all anarchists, on all drug abusers, on all murderers, on all abusers of people, and on all thieves. Enlighten these people and help them to straighten out their lives. Lord have mercy on all those who have been forced to emigrate. On all those who travel on the seas, on land, in the air, and protect them. Lord have mercy on our Church, the bishops, the priests and the faithful of the Church. Lord have mercy on all the monastic communities, male and female, the elders and eldresses and all the brotherhoods of Mt. Athos. Lord have mercy on your servants who find themselves in the midst of war. On your servants who are being pursued in the mountains and on the plains. On your servants who are being hunted like birds of prey. Lord have mercy on your servants who were forced to abandon their homes and their jobs and feel afflicted. Lord have mercy on the poor, the homeless and the exiled.Lord have mercy on the nations of the world. Keep them in your embrace and envelope them with your holy protection. Keep them safe from every evil and war. Keep our beloved Greece (we can add here the USA [or Planet Earth]) in your protective embrace day and night. Embrace her with your holy protection defending her from all evil and war. Lord have mercy on those who have been abandoned and have suffered injustice. Have mercy on families that are going through trying times. Pour your abundant love upon them. Lord have mercy on your servants who suffer from spiritual and bodily problems of all kinds.Lord have mercy on those who are despairing. Help them and grant them peace. Lord have mercy on those that have requested that we pray for them. Lord grant eternal rest to all those who have passed on to eternal life throughout the ages.”

[orthodoxadventure]

Great and Holy Tuesday

Commemorated on April 30

MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY: THE END

These three days, which the Church calls Great and Holy have within the liturgical development of the Holy Week a very definite purpose. They place all its celebrations in the perspective of End Times; they remind us of the eschatological meaning of Pascha. So often Holy Week is considered one of the “beautiful traditions” or “customs,” a self-evident “part” of our calendar. We take it for granted and enjoy it as a cherished annual event which we have “observed” since childhood, we admire the beauty of its services, the pageantry of its rites and, last but not least, we like the fuss about the Paschal table. And then, when all this is done we resume our normal life. But do we understand that when the world rejected its Savior, when “Jesus began to be sorrowful and very heavy... and his soul was exceedingly sorrowful even unto death,” when He died on the Cross, “normal life” came to its end and is no longer possible. For there were “normal” men who shouted “Crucify Him” who spat at Him and nailed Him to the Cross. And they hated and killed Him precisely because He was troubling their normal life. It was indeed a perfectly “normal” world which preferred darkness and death to light and life.... By the death of Jesus the “normal” world, and “normal” life were irrevocably condemned. Or rather they revealed their true and abnormal inability to receive the Light, the terrible power of evil in them. “Now is the Judgment of this world” (John 12:31). The Pascha of Jesus signified its end to “this world” and it has been at its end since then. This end can last for hundreds of centuries, but this does not alter the nature of time in which we live as the “last time.” “The fashion of this world passeth away...” (I Cor. 7:31).

Pascha means passover, passage. The feast of Passover was for the Jews the annual commemoration of their whole history as salvation, and of salvation as passage from the slavery of Egypt into freedom, from exile into the promised land. It was also the anticipation of the ultimate passage—into the Kingdom of God. And Christ was the fulfillment of Pascha. He performed the ultimate passage: from death into life, from this “old world” into the new world into the new time of the Kingdom. And he opened the possibility of this passage to us. Living in “this world” we can already be “not of this world,” i.e. be free from slavery to death and sin, partakers of the “world to come.” But for this we must also perform our own passage, we must condemn the old Adam in us, we must put on Christ in the baptismal death and have our true life hidden in God with Christ, in the “world to come....”

And thus Easter is not an annual commemoration, solemn and beautiful, of a past event. It is this Event itself shown, given to us, as always efficient, always revealing our world, our time, our life as being at their end, and announcing the Beginning of the new life.... And the function of the three first days of Holy Week is precisely to challenge us with this ultimate meaning of Pascha and to prepare us to the understanding and acceptance of it.

1. This eschatological (which means ultimate, decisive, final) challenge is revealed, first, in the common troparion of these days:

Troparion—Tone 8

Behold the Bridegroom comes at midnight, And blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching, And again unworthy is the servant whom He shall find heedless. Beware, therefore, O my soul, do not be weighed down with sleep, Lest you be given up to death and lest you be shut out of the Kingdom. But rouse yourself crying: Holy, Holy, Holy, are You, O our God! Through the Theotokos have mercy on us!

Midnight is the moment when the old day comes to its end and a new day begins. It is thus the symbol of the time in which we live as Christians. For, on the one hand, the Church is still in this world, sharing in its weaknesses and tragedies. Yet, on the other hand, her true being is not of this world, for she is the Bride of Christ and her mission is to announce and to reveal the coming of the Kingdom and of the new day. Her life is a perpetual watching and expectation, a vigil pointed at the dawn of this new day. But we know how strong is still our attachment to the “old day,” to the world with its passions and sins. We know how deeply we still belong to “this world.” We have seen the light, we know Christ, we have heard about the peace and joy of the new life in Him, and yet the world holds us in its slavery. This weakness, this constant betrayal of Christ, this incapacity to give the totality of our love to the only true object of love are wonderfully expressed in the exapostilarion of these three days:

“Thy Bridal Chamber I see adorned, O my Savior And I have no wedding garment that I may enter, O Giver of life, enlighten the vesture of my soul And save me.”

2. The same theme develops further in the Gospel readings of these days. First of all, the entire text of the four Gospels (up to John 13: 31) is read at the Hours. This recapitulation shows that the Cross is the climax of the whole life and ministry of Jesus, the Key to their proper understanding. Everything in the Gospel leads to this ultimate hour of Jesus and everything is to be understood in its light. Then, each service has its special Gospel lesson.

On Tuesday:

At Matins: Matthew 22: 15-23, 39. Condemnation of Pharisees, i.e. of the blind and hypocritical religion, of those who think they are the leaders of man and the light of the world, but who in fact “shut up the Kingdom of heaven to men.”

At the Presanctified Liturgy: Matthew 24: 36-26, 2. The End again and the parables of the End: the ten wise virgins who had enough oil in their lamps and the ten foolish ones who were not admitted to the bridal banquet; the parable of ten talents “. . . Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh.” And, finally the Last Judgment.

3. These Gospel lessons are explained and elaborated in the hymnology of these days: the stichiras and the triodia (short canons of three odes each sung at Matins). One warning, one exhortation runs through all of them: the end and the judgment are approaching, let us prepare for them:

“Behold, O my soul, the Master has conferred on thee a talent Receive the gift with fear; Lend to him who gave; distribute to the poor And acquire for thyself thy Lord as thy Friend; That when He shall come in glory, Thou mayest stand on His right hand And hear His blessed voice: Enter, my servant, into the joy of thy Lord.” (Tuesday Matins)

4. Throughout the whole Lent the two books of the Old Testament read at Vespers were Genesis and Proverbs. With the beginning of Holy Week they are replaced by Exodus and Job. Exodus is the story of Israel’s liberation from Egyptian slavery, of their Passover. It prepares us for the understanding of Christ’s exodus to His Father, of His fulfillment of the whole history of salvation. Job, the Sufferer, is the Old Testament icon of Christ. This reading announces the great mystery of Christ’s sufferings, obedience and sacrifice.

5. The liturgical structure of these three days is still of the Lenten type. It includes, therefore, the prayer of Saint Ephrem the Syrian with prostrations, the augmented reading of the Psalter, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts and the Lenten liturgical chant. We are still in the time of repentance, for repentance alone makes us partakers of the Pascha of Our Lord, opens to us the doors of the Paschal banquet. And then, on Great and Holy Wednesday, as the last Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is about to be completed, after the Holy Gifts have been removed from the altar, the priest reads for the last time the Prayer of Saint Ephrem. At this moment, the preparation comes to an end. The Lord summons us now to His Last Supper.

by THE VERY REV. ALEXANDER SCHMEMANN

[thesynaxarium]

Today’s Gospel reading is Matthew 25:31-46, the parable of the Last Judgment. It reminds us that while trusting in Christ’s love and mercy, we must not forget His righteous judgment when He comes again in glory. If our hearts remain hardened and unrepentant, we should not expect the Lord to overlook our transgressions simply because He is a good and loving God. Although He does not desire the death of a sinner, He also expects us to turn from our wickedness and live (Ezek. 33:11). The time for repentance and forgiveness is now, in the present life. At the Second Coming, Christ will appear as the righteous Judge, “Who will render to every man according to his deeds” (Rom. 2:6). Then the time for entreating God’s mercy and forgiveness will have passed. As Father Alexander Schmemann reminds us in his book GREAT LENT (Ch. 1:4), sin is the absence of love, it is separation and isolation. When Christ comes to judge the world, His criterion for judgment will be love. Christian love entails seeing Christ in other people, our family, our friends, and everyone else we may encounter in our lives. We shall be judged on whether we have loved, or not loved, our neighbor. We show Christian love when we feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit those who are sick or in prison. If we did such things for the least of Christ’s brethren, then we also did them for Christ (Mt.25:40). If we did not do such things for the least of the brethren, neither did we do them for Christ (Mt.25:45). Today is the last day for eating meat and meat products until Pascha, though eggs and dairy products are permitted every day during the coming week. This limited fasting prepares us gradually for the more intense fasting of Great Lent. Source: https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2021/03/07/5-sunday-of-meatfare-of-the-last-judgment https://www.instagram.com/p/Cac848_PEVj/?utm_medium=tumblr

[hieromonkcharbel]

“…as we stand before God, remembering all that He has done for us, and offer to Him our thanksgiving for all His benefits, we inescapably discover that the content of all this thanksgiving and remembrance is Christ. All remembrance is ultimately the remembrance of Christ, all thanksgiving is finally thanksgiving for Christ. ‘In Him was life and that life was the light of men.’ And in the light of the Eucharist we see that Christ is indeed the life and light of all that exists, and the glory that fills heaven and earth. There is nothing else to remember, nothing else to be thankful for, because in Him everything finds its being, its life, its end.”

Father Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World

[orthodoxydaily]

SUNDAY of ORTHODOXY ( 1st Sunday of Great lent)

By Fr. Alexander Schmemann

February 26, 2012

Rejoicing today in the triumph of Orthodoxy on this first Sunday of Lent, we joyfully commemorate three events: one event belonging to the past; one event to the present; and one event which still belongs to the future.

Whenever we have any feast or joy in the Church, we Orthodox first of all look back — for in our present life we depend on what happened in the past. We depend first of all, of course, on the first and the ultimate triumph—that of Christ Himself. Our faith is rooted in that strange defeat which became the most glorious victory — the defeat of a man nailed to the cross, who rose again from the dead, who is the Lord and the Master of the world. This is the first triumph of Orthodoxy. This is the content of all our commemorations and of all our joy. This man selected and chose twelve men, gave them power to preach about that defeat and that victory, and sent them to the whole world saying preach and baptize, build up the Church, announce the Kingdom of God. And you know, my brothers and sisters, how those twelve men — very simple men indeed, simple fishermen — went out and preached. The world hated them, the Roman Empire persecuted them, and they were covered with blood. But that blood was another victory. The Church grew, the Church covered the universe with the true faith. After 300 years of the most unequal conflict between the powerful Roman Empire and the powerless Christian Church, the Roman Empire accepted Christ as Lord and Master. That was the second triumph of Orthodoxy. The Roman Empire recognized the one whom it crucified and those whom it persecuted as the bearers of truth, and their teaching as the teaching of life eternal. The Church triumphed. But then the second period of troubles began.

The following centuries saw many attempts to distort the faith, to adjust it to human needs, to fill it with human content. In each generation there were those who could not accept that message of the cross and resurrection and life eternal. They tried to change it, and those changes we call heresies. Again there were persecutions. Again, Orthodox bishops, monks and laymen defended their faith and were condemned and went into exile and were covered with blood. And after five centuries of those conflicts and persecutions and discussions, the day came which we commemorate today, the day of the final victory of Orthodoxy as the true faith over all the heresies. It happened on the first Sunday of Lent in the year 843 in Constantinople. After almost 100 years of persecution directed against the worship of the holy icons, the Church finally proclaimed that the truth had been defined, that the truth was fully in the possession of the Church. And since then all Orthodox people, wherever they live, have gathered on this Sunday to proclaim before the world their faith in that truth, their belief that their Church is truly apostolic, truly Orthodox, truly universal. This is the event of the past that we commemorate today.

But let us ask ourselves one question: Do all the triumphs of Orthodoxy, all the victories, belong to the past? Looking at the present today, we sometimes feel that our only consolation is to remember the past. Then Orthodoxy was glorious, then the Orthodox Church was powerful, then it dominated. But what about the present? My dear friends, if the triumph of Orthodoxy belongs to the past only, if there is nothing else for us to do but commemorate, to repeat to ourselves how glorious was the past, then Orthodoxy is dead. But we are here tonight to witness to the fact that Orthodoxy not only is not dead but also that it is once more and forever celebrating its own triumph — the triumph of Orthodoxy. We don’t have to fight heresies among ourselves, but we have other things that once more challenge our Orthodox faith.

Today, gathered here together, Orthodox of various national backgrounds, we proclaim and we glorify first of all our unity in Orthodoxy. This is the triumph of Orthodoxy in the present. This is a most wonderful event: that all of us, with all our differences, with all our limitations, with all our weaknesses, can come together and say we belong to that Orthodox faith, that we are one in Christ and in Orthodoxy. We are living very far from the traditional centers of Orthodoxy. We call ourselves Eastern Orthodox, and yet we are here in the West, so far from those glorious cities which were centers of the Orthodox faith for centuries — Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Moscow. How far are those cities. And yet, don’t we have the feeling that something of a miracle has happened, that God has sent us here, far into the West, not just in order to settle here, to increase our income, to build up a community. He also has sent us as apostles of Orthodoxy, so that this faith, which historically was limited to the East, now is becoming a faith which is truly and completely universal.

This is a thrilling moment in the history of Orthodoxy. That is why it is so important for us to be here tonight and to understand, to realize, to have that vision of what is going on. People were crossing the ocean, coming here, not thinking so much about their faith as about themselves, about their lives, about their future. They were usually poor people, they had a difficult life, and they built those little Orthodox churches everywhere in America not for other people but for themselves, just to remember their homes, to perpetuate their tradition. They didn’t think of the future. And yet this is what happened: the Orthodox Church was sent here through and with those poor men. The truth itself, the fullness of the apostolic faith—all this came here, and here we are now, filling this hall and proclaiming this apostolic faith — the faith that has strengthened the universe. And this leads us to the event which still belongs to the future.

If today we can only proclaim, if we can only pray for that coming triumph of Orthodoxy in this country and in the world, our Orthodox faith forces us to believe that it is not by accident but by divine providence that the Orthodox faith today has reached all countries, all cities, all continents of the universe. After that historic weakness of our religion, after the persecutions by the Roman Empire, by the Turks, by the godless atheists, after all the troubles that we had to go through, today a new day begins. Something new is going to happen. And it is this future of Orthodoxy that we have to rejoice about today.

We can already have a vision of that future when, in the West, a strong American Orthodox Church comes into existence. We can see how this faith, which for such a long time was an alien faith here, will become truly and completely universal in the sense that we will answer the questions of all men, and also all their questions. For if we believe in that word: “Orthodoxy,” “the true faith”; if for one moment we try to understand what it means: the true, the full Christianity, as it has been proclaimed by Christ and His disciples; if our Church has preserved for all ages the message of the apostles and of the fathers and of the saints in its purest form, then, my dear friends, here is the answer to the questions and to the problems and to the sufferings of our world. You know that our world today is so complex. It is changing all the time. And the more it changes, the more people fear, the more they are frightened by the future, the morethey are preoccupied by what will happen to them. And this is where Orthodoxy must answer their problem; this is where Orthodoxy must accept the challenge of modern civilization and reveal to men of all nations, to all men in the whole world, that it has remained the force of God left in history for the transformation, for the deification, for the transfiguration of human life.

The past, the present, the future: At the beginning, one lonely man on the cross — the complete defeat. And if at that time we had been there with all our human calculations, we probably would have said: “That’s the end. Nothing else will happen.” The twelve left Him. There was no one, no one to hope. The world was in darkness. Everything seemed finished. And you know what happened three days later. Three days later He appeared. He appeared to His disciples, and their hearts were burning within them because they knew that He was the risen Lord. And since then, in every generation, there have been people with burning hearts, people who have felt that this victory of Christ had to be carried again and again into this world, to be proclaimed in order to win new human souls and to be the transforming force in history.

Today this responsibility belongs to us. We feel that we are weak. We feel that we are limited, we are divided, we are still separated in so many groups, we have so many obstacles to overcome. But today, on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, we close our eyes for a second and we rejoice in that unity which is already here: priests of various national churches praying together, people of all backgrounds uniting in prayer for the triumph of Orthodoxy. We are already in a triumph, and may God help us keep that triumph in our hearts, so that we never give up hope in that future event in the history of orthodoxy when Orthodoxy will become the victory which eternally overcomes all the obstacles, because that victory is the victory of Christ Himself.

As we approach the most important moment of the Eucharist, the priest says, “Let us love one another, that with one mind we may confess….” What is the condition of the real triumph of Orthodoxy? What is the way leading to the real, the final, the ultimate victory of our faith? The answer comes from the Gospel. The answer comes from Christ Himself and from the whole tradition of Orthodoxy. It is love. Let us love one another, that with one mind we may confess . . . confess our faith, our Orthodoxy. Let us, from now on, feel responsible for each other. Let us understand that even if we are divided in small parishes, in small dioceses, we first of all belong to one another. We belong together, to Christ, to His Body, to the Church. Let us feel responsible for each other, and let us love one another. Let us put above everything else the interests of Orthodoxy in this country. Let us understand that each one of us today has to be the apostle of Orthodoxy in a country which is not yet Orthodox, in a society which is asking us: “What do you believe?” “What is your faith?” And let us, above everything else, keep the memory, keep the experience, keep the taste of that unity which we are anticipating tonight.

At the end of the first century — when the Church was still a very small group, a very small minority, in a society which was definitely anti-Christian when the persecution was beginning — St. John the Divine, the beloved disciple of Christ, wrote these words: “And this is the victory, our faith, this is the victory.” There was no victory at that time, and yet he knew that in his faith he had the victory that can be applied to us today. We have the promise of Christ, that the gates of hell will never prevail against the Church. We have the promise of Christ that if we have faith, all things are possible. We have the promise of the Holy Spirit, that He will fill all that which is weak, that He will help us at the moment when we need help. In other words, we have all the possibilities, we have everything that we need, and therefore the victory is ours. It is not a human victory which can be defined in terms of money, of human success, of human achievements. What we are preaching tonight, what we are proclaiming tonight, what we are praying for tonight, is the victory of Christ in me, in us, in all of you in the Orthodox Church in America. And that victory of Christ in us, of the one who for us was crucified and rose again from the dead, that victory will be the victory of His Church.

Today is the triumph of Orthodoxy, and a hymn sung today states solemnly and simply: “This is the Apostolic faith, this is the Orthodox faith, this is the faith of the Fathers, this is the faith that is the foundation of the world.” My dear brothers and sisters, this is also our own faith. We are chosen. We are elected. We are the happy few that can say of our faith, “apostolic,” “universal,” “the faith of our fathers,” “Orthodoxy,” “the truth.” Having this wonderful treasure, let us preserve it, let us keep it, and let us also use it in such a way that this treasure becomes the victory of Christ in us and in His Church. Amen.

[canonjohntwis]

40 pointers to Christ’s Resurrection - 1 Easter’s not just a day but over a month in the Church Calendar recalling how ‘After Christ’s suffering he presented himself alive to his disciples by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days speaking about the kingdom of God’ (Acts 1:3). Over the next 40 days this Instagram blog will present pictures and pointers to what’s most remarkable about the Founder of Christianity and the Christianity he founded. With Father Alexander Schmemann ‘I would love to tell you that the only meaningful thing in life is what conquers death and not ‘what’ but ‘who’ - Christ’. More at https://40resurrectionpointers.blogspot.co.uk/

[traumacatholic]

My Lord, what a desert of fear, of mindlessness, and of suffering has mankind produced with all of its progress and all of its synthetic happiness! It has reached the moon, it has overcome distances, has conquered nature, yet it seems that no words of Holy Scripture so well express the state of the world as: “the whole creation has been groaning in travail” (Rom 8:22). It truly groans and suffers, and in the midst of the suffering resounds that proud and senseless and fearful declaration: “If I do not see, I will not believe.”

O Death, Where Is Thy Sting? Father Alexander Schmemann