Daily Meditations Archives - Page 269 of 351

Renewal (Bright) Wednesday, Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen!

04/15/2015

Beloved brothers and sisters in Our Risen Lord Jesus Christ, CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN! ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! ΑΛΗΘΩΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! ΔΙΑΚΑΙΝΗΣΙΜΟΣ ΕΒΔΟΜΑΔΑ OR BRIGHT OR RENEWAL WEEK [The Week following Holy and Great Pascha] We Orthodox Christians greet one another for the next 40 days until Ascension Thursday with the words: “Christ is Risen! and the response to the Paschal greeting is: “Truly He is Risen!” During the Renewal Week, the Holy Doors leading

Renewal (Bright) Tuesday, Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen!

04/14/2015

Bright Tuesday Commemoration of Sts Raphael, Nicholas and Irene of Lesbos (also April 9). Newly-Appeared Martyrs of Lesbos, Sts Raphael, Nicholas and Irene: these saints were martyred by the Turks on Bright Tuesday (April 9, 1463) ten years after the Fall of Constantinople. For nearly 500 years, they were forgotten by the people of Lesbos, but “the righteous Judge… opened the things that were hid” (2 Macc. 12:41). For centuries the people of Lesbos would

Renewal (Bright) Monday, Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen!

04/13/2015

Bright Monday On Bright Monday the Church commemorates the Sweet-Kissing (Glykophilousa) Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. Like the Iveron Icon (March 31), the Sweet-Kissing Icon was also saved from the iconoclasts by a pious woman in the ninth century. It also traveled miraculously upon the sea, arriving at Mt. Athos, the “Garden of the Theotokos,” where it was honored by the monks. A nobleman named Simeon was an iconoclast who shared the emperor Theophilus’s

The Great and Holy Pascha: Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen!

04/12/2015

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! The body of Our Lord has been transfigured into a body of glory, and has been clothed in power and light. And the Lord rises from the dead, as a Bridegroom comes forth from the chamber. This was accomplished by the power of God, as also the General Resurrection will in the last day be accomplished by the power of God. And in the Resurrection the Incarnation is completed and

The Great and Holy Saturday

04/11/2015

Commemoration of Holy Saturday On Great and Holy Saturday the Church contemplates the mystery of the Lord’s descent into Hades, the place of the dead. Death, our ultimate enemy, is defeated from within. “He (Christ) gave Himself as a ransom to death in which we were held captive, sold under sin. Descending into Hades through the Cross … He loosed the bonds of death” (Liturgy of St. Basil). On Great Saturday our focus is on

Great and Holy Friday

04/10/2015

Commemoration of Great and Holy Friday On this day we commemorate the sufferings of Christ: the mockery, the crown of thorns, the scourging, the nails, the thirst, the vinegar and gall, the cry of desolation, and all the Savior endured on the Cross. The day of Christ’s death is the day of sin. The sin which polluted God’s creation from the breaking dawn of time reached its frightful climax on the hill of Golgotha. There,

Great and Holy Thursday

04/09/2015

The Institution of the Eucharist At the Mystical Supper in the Upper Room Jesus gave a radically new meaning to the food and drink of the sacred meal. He identified Himself with the bread and wine: “Take, eat; this is my Body. Drink of it all of you; for this is my Blood of the New Covenant” (Matthew 26:26-28). We have learned to equate food with life because it sustains our earthly existence. In the

Great and Holy Wednesday

04/08/2015

Holy Unction When one is ill and in pain, this can very often be a time of life when one feels alone and isolated. The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, or Holy Unction as it is also known, reminds us that when we are ion pain, either physical, emotional, or spiritual, Christ is present with us through the ministry of His Church. He is among us to offer strength to meet the challenges

The Great and Holy Tuesday

04/07/2015

On Great Tuesday the Church calls to remembrance two parables, which are related to the Second Coming. The one is the parable of the Ten Virgins (Mt 25.1-3); the other the parable of the Talents (Mt 25.14-30). These parables point to the inevitability of the Parousia and deal with such subjects as spiritual vigilance, stewardship, accountability and judgement. From these parables we learn at least two basic things. First, Judgement Day will be like the

The Great and Holy Monday

04/06/2015

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.