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Twelfth Day of Christmas Advent: Prepare the Way of the Lord!

11/26/2014

Our hymns are “the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord’” (Is. 40:3). Just as St. John the Baptist prepared the way for Christ by calling the people of Israel to repentance (Matt. 3:1-2) so too does the Church prepare us for the Nativity by exhorting us to “bear fruits worthy of repentance” (Matt. 3:8). Repentance begins with humility, contrition, tears, and confession, but it does not end there.

Eleventh Day of Christmas Advent: Let Us Prepare!

11/25/2014

The Church’s command to Bethlehem to prepare and be glad extends also to us. We are invited to go back in time to Judea. This is of course a poetic way of encouraging us to rejoice and marvel-as fervently, as intimately, and as tangibly as hun1anly possible-in the wonder of the Incarnation and of our salvation: Let us celebrate the forefeast of the Nativity of Christ, O people, and raising our minds, let us go

Tenth Day of Christmas Advent: Bethlehem Prepare!

11/24/2014

The Church’s exhortation to get ready for Christmas is conveyed in poetic language. Our hymns command Bethlehem to prepare and make ready for the Nativity of our Lord: Behold, the time of our salvation has drawn near: O Cave, make ready! The Virgin is drawing near to give birth. O Bethlehem, land of Judah, be glad and rejoice, for from you our Lord has dawned. Listen, mountains and hills, and lands around Judea, for Christ

Seventh Day of Christmas Advent: THE ENTRY OF THE MOTHER OF GOD INTO THE TEMPLE (Part II)

11/21/2014

The Temple of God According to the story of the Entry (and the hymns of the Church), the Virgin Mary not only entered the Holy of Holies, but also remained there for twelve years, being fed by an angel: 1 Led by the Holy Spirit, the holy and immaculate maiden is taken to dwell in the holy temple. She who is in truth the most holy temple of our holy God is nourished by an

Sixth Day of Christmas Advent: THE ENTRY OF THE MOTHER OF GOD INTO THE TEMPLE (Part I)

11/20/2014

The Temple of God The most pure Temple of the Savior, the precious Bridal Chamber and Virgin, the sacred Treasure of the glory of God, is brought today into the house of the Lord. She brings with her the grace of the divine Spirit. God’s angels sing her praise: She is the heavenly tabernacle. (Kontakion of the Feast of the Entry of the Mother of God) THERE IS A STRANGE SILENCE about the Nativity in

Fifth Day of Christmas Advent: Beginning of Advent and the Forefeast

11/19/2014

BEGINNING OF ADVENT AND THE FOREFEAST Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight the paths of our God. (Isaiah 40:3) EVERY GREAT FEAST of the Orthodox Church is preceded by a period of preparation. One of the longest and richest periods is Advent. But what does it mean to prepare? For many, the preparation for Christmas is hectic— shopping for presents, making decorations, mailing cards, attending Christmas parties, and so forth. But in the

Fourth Day of Christmas Advent: Preparing for Christ’s Birth

11/18/2014

ORTHODOX WORSHIP As with Great Lent, so too with the Nativity Fast, the approaching feast is prepared for not only by abstinence, but also through the profound meaning of the biblical readings and the hymns (contained in the hymnbooks known as the Menaia for November and December) that we hear in church during this season. Because the main focus of Advent is our preparation for the Nativity-the Incarnation of the Son of God-the hymns for

Third Day of Christmas Advent: The Nativity Fast

11/17/2014

ADVENT-DERIVED FROM the Latin adventus, meaning “coming”—is a word that is not often used by Orthodox Christians living in the Eastern parts of the world. It is used more frequently by Orthodox Christians living in the West, for the simple reason that when they say “Advent”, other Christians immediately understand they are referring to a period of preparation before the Great Feast of Christmas, the Nativity of Our Lord. However, there are three key differences

Philip the Apostle and Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessaloniki

11/14/2014

Philip the Apostle This Apostle, one of the Twelve, was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and was a compatriot of Andrew and Peter. He was instructed in the teachings of the Law, and devoted himself to the study of the prophetic books. Therefore, when the Lord Jesus called him to the dignity of apostleship, he immediately sought out and found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of Whom Moses in the Law and

John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, the “Golden-Mouth”

11/13/2014

This greatest and most beloved of all Christian orators was born in Antioch the Great in the year 344 or 347; his pious parents were called Secundus and Anthusa. After his mother was widowed at the age of twenty, she devoted herself to bringing up John and his elder sister in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. John received his literary training under Anthragathius the philosopher, and Libanius the sophist, who was the greatest

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Twelfth Day of Christmas Advent: Prepare the Way of the Lord!

Eleventh Day of Christmas Advent: Let Us Prepare!

Tenth Day of Christmas Advent: Bethlehem Prepare!

Seventh Day of Christmas Advent: THE ENTRY OF THE MOTHER OF GOD INTO THE TEMPLE (Part II)

Sixth Day of Christmas Advent: THE ENTRY OF THE MOTHER OF GOD INTO THE TEMPLE (Part I)

Fifth Day of Christmas Advent: Beginning of Advent and the Forefeast

Fourth Day of Christmas Advent: Preparing for Christ’s Birth

Third Day of Christmas Advent: The Nativity Fast

Philip the Apostle and Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessaloniki

John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, the “Golden-Mouth”

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