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Daily Meditations

The Great and Holy Wednesday: The Services of the Bridegroom (Part III)

04/27/2016

Holy Wednesday On Holy Wednesday the Church invites the faithful to focus their attention on two figures: the sinful woman who anointed the head of Jesus shortly before the passion (Matthew 26:6-13), and Judas, the disciple who betrayed the Lord. The former acknowledged Jesus as Lord, while the latter severed himself from the Master. The one was set free, while the other became a slave. The one inherited the kingdom, while the other fell into

The Great and Holy Tuesday: The Services of the Bridegroom (Part II)

04/26/2016

Holy Tuesday On Holy Tuesday the Church calls to remembrance two parables, which are related to the Second Coming. The one is the parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-3); the other the parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30). These parables point to the inevitability of the Parousia and deal with such subjects as spiritual vigilance, stewardship, accountability and judgment. From these parables we learn at least two basic things. First, Judgment Day will be

The Great and Holy Monday: The Services of the Bridegroom (Part I)

04/25/2016

Sunday through Monday Evening Introduction Beginning on the evening of Palm Sunday and continuing through the evening of Holy Tuesday, the Orthodox Church observes a special service known as the Service of the Bridegroom. Each evening service is the Matins or Orthros service of the following day (e.g. the service held on Sunday evening is the Orthros service for Holy Monday). The name of the service is from the figure of the Bridegroom in the

Palm Sunday: The Feast of the Entrance of our Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem

04/24/2016

Introduction On the Sunday before the Feast of Great and Holy Pascha and at the beginning of Holy Week, the Orthodox Church celebrates one of its most joyous feasts of the year. Palm Sunday is the commemoration of the Entrance of our Lord into Jerusalem following His glorious miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead. Having anticipated His arrival and having heard of the miracle, the people when out to meet the Lord and welcomed

Saturday of the Holy and Righteous Friend of Christ, Lazarus

04/23/2016

Introduction On the Saturday before Holy Week, the Orthodox Church commemorates a major feast of the year, the miracle of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when he raised Lazarus from the dead after he had lain in the grave four days. Here, at the end of Great Lent and the forty days of fasting and penitence, the Church combines this celebration with that of Palm Sunday. In triumph and joy the Church bears witness

Easter Is More than a Holiday, It’s a Time for Giving of Ourselves

04/22/2016

Easter Is More than a Holiday, It’s a Time for Giving of Ourselves Here’s What’s New:   The Fulfilling of a Journey The Children’s Word: It’s hard to be humble! Fasting is More than a Diet The Pascha Basket Joint Declaration Concerning Christian Persecution and Refugees Great in Zeal, but Little of Stature The Hurriyet Daily News Reports on ‘Orthodox Council Moved fromTurkey… OCN Spark is Here Live Bible Study

The Sixth Friday of Great Lent: Gluttony is the Snare of the Devil & Ridiculous Conceit

04/22/2016

Gluttony is the Snare of the Devil The devil said to Jesus: ‘If you are the son of God, command that these stones become bread.’ [Luke 4:3] Here we learn that there are three principal weapons that the devil likes to carry in order to wound our souls. They are gluttony, arrogance and ambition. He begins with the weapon with which he has already been victorious. We likewise should begin to be victorious in Christ

The Sixth Thursday of Great Lent: Greed is never Satisfied & Anyone Given to Lust is Dead while Alive

04/21/2016

Greed is never Satisfied Ambrose said: ‘Avarice and pride are so much the same evil that you cannot find someone who is proud but not avaricious nor someone who is avaricious but not proud.’ Isidore said: ‘The greater our love for the things we possess, the greater our pain when we lose them. ‘Greed is insatiable. The person who is afflicted with it always needs something else; the more he has, the more he wants.

The Sixth Wednesday of Great Lent: Three Kinds of Lies & Few Manage to Stem the Gossiping Tongue

04/20/2016

Three Kinds of Lies There are three kinds of liar: those who lie with their thoughts, those who lie with words and those who lie with their very lives. The liar of thought, for example, is the individual who is suspicious. If he sees two people talking, he immediately imagines they are talking about him. If they break off their conversation, he is convinced they are doing so because they have seen him coming. Whatever

The Sixth Tuesday of Great Lent: The Worm of Pride & The New Pharisees

04/19/2016

The Worm of Pride Augustine said: ‘We must avoid pride. If it was able to deceive angels, how much more will it be able to scatter human wits.’ Ambrose said: ‘Pride transformed angels into demons, humility makes human beings into saints. Pride leads you to despise God’s commandments, humility urges you to follow them. The proud want to be praised even for what they have not done, the humble try to hide the good they

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