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Holy and Great Monday

04/26/2021

On Great Monday we commemorate Joseph the Patriarch, the beloved son of Jacob. A major figure of the Old Testament, Joseph’s story is told in the final section of the Book of Genesis (chs. 37-50). Because of his exceptional qualities and remarkable life, our patristic and liturgical tradition portrays Joseph as typos Christou, i.e., as a prototype, prefigurement or image of Christ. The story of Joseph illustrates the mystery of God’s providence, promise and redemption.

Palm Sunday

04/25/2021

At the outset of His public ministry Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God and announced that the powers of the age to come were already active in the present age (Lk 7.18-22). His words and mighty works were performed “to produce repentance as the response to His call, a call to an inward change of mind and heart which would result in concrete changes in one’s life, a call to follow Him and accept His

The Saturday of Lazarus

04/24/2021

The solemnities of Great Week are preceded by a two-day festival commemorating the resurrection of Lazaros and the triumphant entry of Christ into Jerusalem. These two events punctuate Christ’s ministry in a most dramatic way (Jn 11:1 – 12:19). By causing the final eruption of the unrelenting hostility of His enemies, who had been plotting to kill him, these two events precipitate Christ’s death. At the very same time, however, these same events emphasize His

The Sixth Friday of Great Lent: Let’s Get Out of This Place

04/23/2021

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, April 11, 2020 The Saturday before Palm Sunday is known as Lazarus Saturday among the Orthodox, and they celebrate Christ raising him from the dead just prior to His entrance into Jerusalem (gospel of John). It is a feast that offers something of a preview of Christ’s resurrection, and a foretaste of the General Resurrection at the End of the Age. Some years back I sat in a cave that is purported to

The Sixth Thursday of Great Lent. Orthodox Pharisees. Why Do You Judge Your Brother?

04/22/2021

Orthodox Pharisees The Orthodox Faith is nothing without transformation of life By Abbot Tryphon, March 9, 2020 If our spiritual life is concentrated only on external practices and traditions, but does nothing to bring about real change, we have gained nothing. Too many people think as long as they keep the fasting rules, do their prayers, and attend the services, they are good Orthodox Christians. Yet if there is no love, no charity, and forgiveness

The Sixth Wednesday of Great Lent: The Mystical Reality of Holy Week

04/21/2021

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, April 6, 2015 As we journey through Holy Week… For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. (1Co 15:16-19 NKJ) Earlier this Spring, two

Thoughts for Palm Sunday and Holy Week

04/20/2021

SSCORRE! Saint Sophia Cathedral Online Resources for our Religious Edification Topic of the Week – Thoughts for Palm Sunday and Holy Week “We have already arrived at the last week of Great Lent. The piety of our people has named it “Silent” or “Deaf”, because during it there are no Salutations to the Theotokos. But there is another reason that such a week exists. The nickname is not at all by accident. It is a time

The Sixth Tuesday of Great Lent. Our Struggle for Repentance. Ask for Repentance

04/20/2021

Our Struggle for Repentance Ask for repentance in your prayer and nothing else By Abbot Tryphon, September 5, 2020 The first step in becoming truly repentant is found in a heartfelt contrition before God for our sins. Saint Paul tells us that we must “Pray without ceasing (Thessalonians 5:17)”, and the Church Fathers saw this as the basis for the use of the Jesus Prayer – “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on

The Sixth Monday of Great Lent: The Mystery of Holy Week and Pascha

04/19/2021

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, April 2, 2018 This [coming] weekend, Orthodox Churches [begin] the observation of Holy Week. The services are long and plentiful. In my parish, from Lazarus Saturday to Pascha, there will be somewhere on the order of 40 hours of services. It is a large parish effort. Most of the services have the participation of the full choir. Last night, I had the anxious face of a young server in the altar

The Fifth Friday of Great Lent: St. Mary of Egypt and Moral Progress

04/16/2021

By Stephen Freeman, January 11, 2015 The suggestion has been made several times recently that my criticism of moral progress is not supported by the example of the saints. Surely, it is said, the transformations we read about in the lives of the saints are clear examples of moral progress. A noted such example, perhaps the greatest story of repentance and asceticism known in the Church, is that of St. Mary of Egypt. It is worth looking

Blog

Holy and Great Monday

Palm Sunday

The Saturday of Lazarus

The Sixth Friday of Great Lent: Let’s Get Out of This Place

The Sixth Thursday of Great Lent. Orthodox Pharisees. Why Do You Judge Your Brother?

The Sixth Wednesday of Great Lent: The Mystical Reality of Holy Week

Thoughts for Palm Sunday and Holy Week

The Sixth Tuesday of Great Lent. Our Struggle for Repentance. Ask for Repentance

The Sixth Monday of Great Lent: The Mystery of Holy Week and Pascha

The Fifth Friday of Great Lent: St. Mary of Egypt and Moral Progress

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