The Nativity of Christ

St. Nicholas

Troparion, Tone IV:

"The truth of things revealed thee to thy flock as a rule of faith, a model of meekness and a teacher of abstinence wherefore thou hast attained the heights through humility and riches through poverty. O hierarch Nicholas our father, entreat Christ God that our souls be saved."


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St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, pray for us!

In The Flesh

“When God became known to us in the flesh, He neither received the passions of human nature, nor did the Virgin Mary suffer pain, nor was the Holy Spirit diminished in any way, nor was the power of the Most High set aside in any manner, and all this was because all was accomplished by the Holy Spirit. thus the power of the Most High was not abased, and the child was born with no damage whatsoever to the mother’s virginity.”

-St. Gregory of Nyssa

You are at the Olympic Games

"How long are you going to wait before you demand the best for yourself and in no instance bypass the discriminations of reason? You have been given the principles that you ought to endorse, and you have endorsed them. What kind of teacher, then, are you still waiting for in order to refer your self-improvement to him? You are no longer a boy, but a full-grown man. If you are careless and lazy now and keep putting things off and always deferring the day after which you will attend to yourself, you will not notice that you are making no progress, but you will live and die as someone quite ordinary. From now on, then, resolve to live as a grown-up who is making progress, and make whatever you think best a law that you never set aside. And whenever you encounter anything that is difficult or pleasurable, or highly or lowly regarded, remember that the contest is now: you are at the Olympic Games, you cannot wait any longer, and that your progress is wrecked or preserved by a single day and a single event. That is how Socrates fulfilled himself by attending to nothing except reason in everything he encountered. And you, although you are not yet a Socrates, should live as someone who at least wants to be a Socrates."

-Epictetus

Fear of God

"Always have the fear of God in your heart, and remember that God is always with you, everywhere, whether you are walking or sitting."

-St. Gennadius of Constantinople

It is Nothing

"But do not of your own accord make your troubles heavier to bear and burden yourself with complaining. Pain is slight if opinion has added nothing to it; but if, on the other hand, you begin to encourage yourself and say, "It is nothing, – a trifling matter at most; keep a stout heart and it will soon cease"; then in thinking it slight, you will make it slight. Everything depends on opinion; ambition, luxury, greed, hark back to opinion. It is according to opinion that we suffer"

-Seneca, Letter 78

Divine Liturgy - Monastery of Vatopedi

Sunset at the Adelaide Oval, Day 4 of the Second Test

Source: Cameron Spencer, Getty Images.

Patient Endurance

“Patient endurance kills the despair that kills the soul; it teaches the soul to take comfort and not to grow listless in the face of its many battles and afflictions”

-St. Peter of Damaskos

Smith's Wicket Falls

The captain is bowled for 40 in the second test.

After a tense first day, Australia find themselves 209/4 at stumps.

Steve Smith 141*

Brilliant innings from the Australian captain.

Spiritual Father

"The spiritual father only shows the  way, like a signpost, but we have to traverse it ourselves. If the spiritual father shows the way and the disciple doesn't move himself, then he won't get anywhere, and will rot near the signpost."

-St. Nikon of Optina

MEMO: The Ashes begin in 55 minutes

This is going to be huge.

River

"Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away."

-Marcus Aurelius

Retreat

"Men seek retreats for themselves, houses in the country, sea-shores, and mountains; and thou too art wont to desire such things very much. But this is altogether a mark of the most common sort of men, for it is in thy power whenever thou shalt choose to retire into thyself. For nowhere either with more quiet or more freedom from trouble does a man retire than into his own soul."

-Marcus Aurelius

Christian Humility

"Behold, this is the true and the Christian humility.  In this you will be able to achieve victory over every vice, by attributing to God rather than to yourself the fact that you have won."

-St. Martin of Braga

All Souls' Day

Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Te decet hymnus Deus, in Sion,
et tibi reddetur votum in Ierusalem.
Exaudi orationem meam;
ad te omnis caro veniet.
Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Halloween, All Hallows' Eve

"Dómine, Deus noster, multíplica super nos grátiam tuam: et, quorum prævenimus gloriósa solemnia, tríbue subsequi in sancta professióne lætítiam."

"Pour forth abundantly upon us of thy mercy, O Lord our God, and grant us grace to follow in their joy in their holy testifying all thy blessed servants the Eve of whose glorious and solemn Commemoration we are keeping."

Information on Halloween and its connection to the Church's calendar.

Heartbreak for the Dodgers. Unbridled joy for the Astros.

"The greatest testament to Game 5 and to the delicious madness of the whole Astros-Dodgers maelstrom in the World Series is that the players themselves can hardly believe what they, and their opponents, are accomplishing.

Many teams in many sports respect each other. But the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers almost seem in awe of their foes and, a bit sheepishly, of themselves, too. Is this really happening? Are we truly this evenly matched, this obstinate and, under incredible pressure, performing so superlatively, inning after breathless inning?

After the Astros’ 13-12 victory in 10 innings — a five-hour, 17-minute game that had so many thrills that it never lost its almost insane pace and pressure — Houston’s Carlos Correa, a 23-year-old superstar in the peak of health said, with a straight face, “I feel like I’m going to have a heart attack out there."

-Thomas Boswell

Vain Pursuits

“Why do you increase your bonds? Take hold of your life before your light grows dark and you seek help and do not find it. This life has been given to you for repentance; do not waste it in vain pursuits.”

-St. Isaac the Syrian

Image of God

“Never confuse the person, formed in the image of God, with the evil that is in him: because evil is but a chance misfortune, an illness, a devilish reverie. But the very essence of the person is the image of God, and this remains in him despite every disfigurement.”

-St. John of Kronstadt

Treatment

“The person who truly wishes to be healed is he who does not refuse treatment. This treatment consists of the pain and distress brought on by various misfortunes. He who refuses them does not realize what they accomplish in this world or what he will gain from them when he departs this life.”

-St. Maximus the Confessor

The Monk

"Fathers and teachers, what is the monk? In the cultivated world the word is nowadays pronounced by some people with a jeer, and by others it is used as a term of abuse, and this contempt for the monk is growing. It is true, alas, it is true, that there are many sluggards, gluttons, profligates and insolent beggars among monks. Educated people point to these: “You are idlers, useless members of society, you live on the labor of others, you are shameless beggars.” And yet how many meek and humble monks there are, yearning for solitude and fervent prayer in peace! These are less noticed, or passed over in silence. And how surprised men would be if I were to say that from these meek monks, who yearn for solitary prayer, the salvation of Russia will come perhaps once more! For they are in truth made ready in peace and quiet “for the day and the hour, the month and the year.” Meanwhile, in their solitude, they keep the image of Christ fair and undefiled, in the purity of God's truth, from the times of the Fathers of old, the Apostles and the martyrs. And when the time comes they will show it to the tottering creeds of the world. That is a great thought. That star will rise out of the East."

-Fyodor Dostoevsky,  The Brothers Karamazov

THE DODGERS WIN THE PENNANT!

For the first time since 1988, the Los Angeles Dodgers win the Pennant and will be in the World Series.  What a team!

Enrique Hernandez's pivotal grand slam to make it 7-0 in the third.

Bryce Harper Goes Long

Harper demolishes an 80.4 mph curveball deep into the Washington night.

Goosebumps.

Blessed Art Thou O Lord - Ευλογιτάρια (Byzantine Chant) Pl. 1st Tone

The Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-giving Cross

"Father, glorify Your name. Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again." Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him." Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself. This He said, signifying by what death He would die. The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?" Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light. These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them."

-Matins Gospel, John 12:28-36

Fr. David Jones - Has Modern Man Lost His Interior?

Contentment

"That person, then, whoever it may be, whose mind is quiet through consistency and self-control, who finds contentment in himself, and neither breaks down in adversity nor crumbles in fight, nor burns with any thirsty need nor dissolves into wild and futile excitement, that person is the wise one we are seeking, and that person is happy."

-Cicero, Tusculan Disputations 4.37

Lord of Hosts

O Lord of hosts, be with us, for we have no other help in times of adversity, but thee.
O Lord of hosts, have mercy on us.
Stichos 1: Praise ye God in His saints, praise Him in the firmament of His power.
Stichos 2: Praise Him for His mighty acts, praise Him according to the multitude of His greatness.
Stichos 3: Praise Him with the sound of the Trumpet, praise Him with the psaltery and harp.
Stichos 4: Praise Him with timbrel and dance, praise Him with strings and flute.
Stichos 5: Praise Him with tuneful cymbals, praise Him with cymbals of jubilation. Let every breath praise the Lord.
Stichos 6: Praise ye God in His saints, praise Him in the firmament of His power.

Blessed be the Furnace of Doubt

"I want to say to you, about myself, that I am a child of this age, a child of unfaith and scepticism, and probably (indeed I know it) shall remain so to the end of my life. How dreadfully has it tormented me (and torments me even now) this longing for faith, which is all the stronger for the proofs I have against it. And yet God gives me sometimes moments of perfect peace; in such moments I love and believe that I am loved; in such moments I have formulated my creed, wherein all is clear and holy to me. This creed is extremely simple; here it is: I believe that there is nothing lovelier, deeper, more sympathetic, more rational, more manly, and more perfect than the Saviour; I say to myself with jealous love that not only is there no one else like Him, but that there could be no one. I would even say more: If anyone could prove to me that Christ is outside the truth, and if the truth really did exclude Christ, I should prefer to stay with Christ and not with truth."

-Fyodor Dostoyevsky

I have a deep admiration for Dostoevsky.  A Russian Orthodox priest that I know once told me that he considers him to be a saint.  He suffered deep doubts with the faith and asked Christ for clarity. Christ let him bask in the darkness and it is in the darkness that his faith in Christ was made purer.  In his words,

"It is not as a child that I believe and confess Jesus Christ. My hosanna is born of a furnace of doubt."

Blessed be the furnace of doubt. 

African Orthodox Pilgrims Chant Agni Parthene

Do Good While You Have Time

Brothers and sisters, do good while you have time!  Engage in prayer, perform your duties in your state of life with due diligence for who knows when you will have to make account in front of God.

Brothers, purify your hearts and if you are married, please ask God for the blessings needed to take care to take care of your wives and children.

Sisters, please, please, please, cover yourselves with a true sense of modesty.  I see so many sisters who dress immodestly even in the houses of worship!  This is very offensive to God!  By dressing immodestly, you will only receive the condemnation of God and the disrespect of man.

We have time to change.  We have time to purify ourselves.  Let us take care of our obligations to God and man in the time we have left.

Great Support

"I think baseball is a great support to people who have emotional voids, gaps, emotional difficulties. That is to say: all of us. Those parts of us that don’t function well. Those parts of us that are sad or depressed—not every day. They can really use baseball. It isn't just the child in a wheelchair or the shut-in senior citizen listening to the radio that needs the game. There’s part of us, part of everybody who’s a baseball fan, who needs the game at that level."

-Thomas Boswell

Pontifical High Mass offered by Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke

Holy Mount Athos - Elders & Hermits - Psalm 50

Hans Zimmer - The Mole (Dunkirk)

Megaloschemos II

Agni Parthene - Valaam Brethren Choir

The Truth

"Our mind is so darkened by the fall that unless we force ourselves to remember death we can completely forget about it. When we forget about death, then we begin to live on earth as if we were immortal, and we sacrifice all our activity to the world without concerning ourselves in the least either about the fearful transition to eternity or about our fate in eternity. Then we boldly and peremptorily override the commandments of Christ; then we commit all the vilest sins; then we abandon not only unceasing prayer but even the prayers appointed for definite times—we begin to scorn this essential and indispensable occupation as if it were an activity of little importance and little needed. Forgetful of physical death, we die a spiritual death."

-St. Ignatius Bryanchaninov

Hope

"True hope seeks the one Kingdom of God and is sure that everything necessary for this mortal life will surely be given. The heart cannot have peace until it acquires this hope. This hope pacifies it fully and brings joy to it. The most holy lips of the Saviour spoke about this very hope: “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

-St. Seraphim of Sarov

Eternal Torments

“A man obtains the fear of God if he has the remembrance of his unavoidable death and of the eternal torments that await sinners; If he tests himself every evening as to how he has spent the day, and every morning as to how he has spent the night, and if he is not sharp in his relations with others.”

-St. Dorotheos

Eλεησόν με ό Θεός

Joe Root: 184*

"Win first toss: check. Score first hundred as captain: check. Bat through to the close: check. Joe Root stepped into the breach with England in a familiar spot of bother on the first day of the series and produced an equally familiar response to repel South Africa at Lord's. If Root might have preferred his scriptwriters to provide a more solid base from which to begin his work in charge of the Test side, he could have barely a quibble with how his own day progressed."

-England seize day as Root launches captaincy with 184*

Highlights of day one (Root's innings)


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Edit: Joe Root's wicket has fallen for 190 early in the proceedings of day two.  A valiant effort from the new England captain.

Strict Account

"Refuse to listen to the devil when he whispers to you: give me now, and you will give tomorrow to God. No, no! Spend all the hours of your life in a way pleasing to God; keep in your mind the thought that after the present hour you will not be given another and that you will have to render a strict account for every minute of this present hour."

-St. Theophan

Galle International Stadium

Home of Galle Cricket Club and also hosts Sri Lankan Test and ODI matches.  A beautiful venue for the gentleman's game.

Old Roman Chant: Terra Tremuit

Icon of Christ on Mount Athos

Third Sunday After Pentecost

"If therefore thine eye be single thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. Here the mind is called the eye, and the entire composition of the soul is called the body. Thus, when the mind is simple then it is light in the soul; when the mind is evil, then it is dark in the soul. What are a simple mind and an evil mind? A simple mind is one which accepts the word of God as is written, and is convinced beyond a doubt that all is indeed as is written. It has no deceit, no wavering, or hesitation. An evil mind is one which approaches the word of God with slyness, artful disputing, and questioning. It cannot directly believe, but subjects the word of God to its sophistry. It approaches the word not as a disciple, but as a judge and critic, to test something stated there, and then either scoffs at it, or says in a haughty manner, “Yes, not bad.” Such a mind has no firm tenets, because it clearly does not believe the word of God, and its own rationale is always unstable—today one way, tomorrow another. It has only wavering, confusion, questions without answers; everything is out of place with it, and it walks in the dark, fumbling its way. A simple mind sees everything clearly: every thing in it has a definite character, determined by the word of God. That is why every thing in it has its place, and it knows exactly how to behave with relation to things—it walks along open, visible roads, with complete assurance that they lead to the true goal."

-St. Theophan the Recluse

My Hope is in Christ

"I shall spare myself neither care nor labour nor vigils for the salvation of souls. My hope is in Christ, who strengthens the weakest by His divine help; I can do all in Him who strengthened me! His power is infinite, and if I lean on Him it will be mine; His wisdom is infinite, and if I look to Him for counsel I shall not be deceived; His goodness is infinite, and if my trust is stayed on Him I shall not be abandoned. Hope unites me to my God and Him to me. Although I know I am not sufficient for the burden, my strength is in Him. For the salvation of others I must bear weariness, face dangers, suffer offences, confront storms, fight against evil. He is my Hope."

-Pope St. Pius X

Profitable

"Silence is more profitable than speech, for as it has been said, 'the words of wise men are heard even in quiet.'"

-St. Basil the Great

Holy Companions

"Draw nigh to the righteous, and through them you will draw nigh to God. Communicate with those who possess humility, and you will learn morals from them. A man who follows one who loves God becomes rich in the mysteries of God; but he who follows an unrighteous and proud man gets far away from God, and will be hated by his friends."

-St. Isaac the Syrian

Pakistan Zindabad!

Pakistan, who were heavy underdogs coming into the competition, have performed the impossible by defeating South Africa, Sri Lanka, an undefeated England in the semis and finally demolished India in the final of the Champions Trophy.  The boys have a lot to be proud of and it shows you that in cricket, anything can happen.

Mohammad Amir's two huge wickets that set the tone early in India's innings.

"You had to be there. Thousands upon thousands of cricket fans streaming down the Harleyford Road and in through the gates named after two of Surrey's most favourite sons: one, Jack Hobbs, the Master, from an age few of those chanting their affections could even begin to understand; the other, Alec Stewart, whose association with the ground began with watching his father and continues to this day, as the lads under his wing press for honours and caps exactly as he once did.

"The Oval, the place of Hobbs, yes, and of Andy Sandham; of the Bedser twins, May and Barrington; of Laker and Lock, Edrich, Arnold and Jackman; of the Stewarts, the Butchers, the Bicknells, the Hollioakes, and now the Currans, about to make their mark. But none of these fine men were a whisper on the day of the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy, the day that this little corner of South London became Asian and the vibrant colours of India and Pakistan provided the backdrop to a monumental achievement...."

-Ringside at the miracle of Pakistan by Mark Nicholas 

Third Finding of the Head of the Forerunner

Troparion, Tone IV

As a divine treasure hidden in the ground
Was your head revealed to us by Christ, O prophet and forerunner.
We have gathered in commemoration of this finding
With inspired hymns of praise to the Savior,
Who saves us from corruption through your prayers!

Cathedral Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos, Sarajevo, Bosnia

The Solemn Vigil of Pentecost

This Saturday, God willing, I will have the grace to attend the pre-1955 Solemn Vigil of Pentecost in the Norbertine Rite.  Gregory DiPippo on NLM wrote a nice write-up on the Vigil.

Already in very ancient times, the sacrament of baptism was celebrated on the feast of Pentecost as on Easter; this is said explicitly by Pope Saint Siricius (384-399) in a letter to bishop Himerius of Tarragon. (Epist. ad Himerium cap. 2 : Patrologia Latina vol. XIII, col. 1131B-1148A) Pope Saint Leo I (440-461) reasserts that this was the practice of the Church in a letter to the bishops of Sicily, exhorting them to follow the example of the Apostle Peter, who baptized three thousand persons on Pentecost day. (Epist. XVI ad universos episcopos per Siciliam constitutos : P.L. LIV col. 695B-704A) This custom is expressed in the liturgy of the vigil of Pentecost, which resembles in many respects the rite of Holy Saturday. This resemblance is found in the Missal of St. Pius V, as in all of the missals that came before it, and in the medieval usages of the great cathedrals and religious orders.

The rite begins in the penitential color, violet. There is no blessing of a Paschal fire, nor of a Paschal candle, nor the Exsultet; therefore, the vigil begins with six prophecies, repeated from the vigil of Easter, each of which is followed by a prayer. (The three tracts from Easter night are also repeated in their respective places). The six prayers are different from those of the Easter vigil, but express in many respects the same ideas. After the sixth prophecy, the blessing of the baptismal font is repeated, changing only the prayer at the beginning, following which the Litany is sung. During the Litany, the major ministers return to the sacristy and change to red vestments for the Mass.

Other rites of the Easter vigil are repeated at this vigil Mass; there is no Introit, and the bells are rung at the Gloria in excelsis. (The Introit Cum sanctificatus fuero was later assigned for private Masses only.) The collect of the Mass refers to the baptismal character of this celebration even more clearly than that of the Easter vigil Mass. After the Alleluja of the Mass is sung the same Tract which is sung on Easter night. At the Gospel, the acolytes do not carry candles. Just as on Easter night the Resurrection is watched for, but not anticipated, so also with this same gesture, the Church watches for the coming of the Holy Spirit in tongues of fire, as Christ told His disciples to do, but does not anticipate it. A further reference to the baptisms done in the first part of the rite is found in the Canon of the Mass, in which the proper Hanc igitur of Easter is said. This text speaks explicitly of those whom the Lord “(has) deigned to regenerate of water and the Holy Spirit, granting to them remission of their sins. ” It is said in this Mass, and though the entire octave of Pentecost, as it is also said at the Mass of the Easter vigil, and throughout the octave. 

St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia

St. Simon the Zealot, Apostle

Troparion (Tone 2):

O holy apostle Simon,
entreat the merciful God,
to grant our souls forgiveness of transgressions.

Kontakion (Tone 3):

Let us all bless the eloquent Simon in praise,
who sowed the doctrines of wisdom in the hearts of the faithful;
for he now stands before the throne of glory
and rejoices with the angels,
as he prays for us all unceasingly.

Sunday of the Blind Man

"We have just read the long lesson of the man born blind, whom the Lord Jesus restored to the light; but were we to attempt handling the whole of it, and considering, according to our ability, each passage in a way proportionate to its worth, the day would be insufficient. Wherefore I ask and warn your Charity not to require any words of ours on those passages whose meaning is manifest; for it would be too protracted to linger at each. I proceed, therefore, to set forth briefly the mystery of this blind man’s enlightenment. All, certainly, that was done by our Lord Jesus Christ, both works and words, are worthy of our astonishment and admiration: His works, because they are facts; His words, because they are signs. If we reflect, then, on what is signified by the deed here done, that blind man is the human race; for this blindness had place in the first man, through sin, from whom we all draw our origin, not only in respect of death, but also of unrighteousness. For if unbelief is blindness, and faith enlightenment, whom did Christ find a believer at His coming? Seeing that the apostle, belonging himself to the family of the prophets, says: And we also in times past were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. Ephesians 2:3 If children of wrath, then children of vengeance, children of punishment, children of hell. For how is it by nature, save that through the first man sinning moral evil rooted itself in us as a nature? If evil has so taken root within us, every man is born mentally blind. For if he sees, he has no need of a guide. If he does need one to guide and enlighten him, then is he blind from his birth."

-St. Augustine of Hippo

Arvo Part - Trisagion for String

Ἅγιος ὁ Θεός, Ἅγιος ἰσχυρός, Ἅγιος ἀθάνατος, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς."

Arvo Part - Summa

Fatima and the Sacrament of Confession - Father Isaac Relyea

No nonsense talk from Fr. Relyea.  How many priests talk this boldly about the Truth during these wicked times?

Great Doxology

Dominica III Post Pascha

"Caríssimi: Obsecro vos tamquam ádvenas et peregrínos abstinére vos a carnálibus desidériis, quæ mílitant advérsus ánimam, conversatiónem vestram inter gentes habéntes bonam: ut in eo, quod detréctant de vobis tamquam de malefactóribus, ex bonis opéribus vos considerántes, gloríficent Deum in die visitatiónis. Subjécti ígitur estóte omni humánæ creatúræ propter Deum: sive regi, quasi præcellénti: sive dúcibus, tamquam ab eo missis ad vindíctam malefactórum, laudem vero bonórum: quia sic est volúntas Dei, ut benefaciéntes obmutéscere faciátis imprudéntium hóminum ignorántiam: quasi líberi, et non quasi velámen habéntes malítiæ libertátem, sed sicut servi Dei. Omnes honoráte: fraternitátem dilígite: Deum timéte: regem honorificáte Servi, súbditi estóte in omni timóre dóminis, non tantum bonis et modéstis, sed étiam dýscolis. Hæc est enim grátia: in Christo Jesu, Dómino nostro."

"Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, to refrain yourselves from carnal desires which war against the soul, Having your conversation good among the Gentiles: that whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by the good works, which they shall behold in you, glorify God in the day of visitation. Be ye subject therefore to every human creature for God's sake: whether it be to the king as excelling; Or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of the good: For so is the will of God, that by doing well you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not as making liberty a cloak for malice, but as the servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this is thankworthy, if for conscience towards God, a man endure sorrows, suffering wrongfully."

Rachmaninoff's All Night Vigil

свѣте тихꙑи свѧтꙑѧ славꙑ беꙁсъмрьтнаего отьца
небесьнаего свѧтаего блаженнаего іисꙋсе христе
пришедъше на ꙁападъ слъньца видѣвъше свѣтъ вечерьнꙑи
поемъ отьца сꙑна и свѧтаего дꙋха бога
достоинъ еси во вьсѧ времена пѣтъ бꙑти гласꙑ преподобьнꙑми
сꙑне божии животъ даѧи тѣмъже миръ тѧ славитъ

Lord Have Mercy

"Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and pray for them." 

-Our Lady of Fatima

God is With Us: Znamenny Chant

"God is with us! Understand this, O nations, and submit yourselves for God is with us.

"Hear this, even to the farthest bounds of the earth, for God is with us. Submit yourselves, O mighty ones, for God is with us. If you rise up again in your might, you will be overthrown, for God is with us. The Lord shall destroy all who take counsel together, and the word which you speak shall not abide with you, for God is with us. For we do not fear your terror, and we are not troubled, for God is with us. But we will ascribe holiness to the Lord our God, and Him will we hold in awesome fear, for God is with us. And if I put my trust in Him, He shall be my sanctification, for God is with us. I will set my hope on Him, and through Him I shall be saved -lo, I and the children whom God has given me, for God is with us. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness - on them a light has shined, for God is with us. For unto us a Child is born; to us a Son is given, for God is with us. And the government shall be upon His shoulder, and of His peace there will be no end, for God is with us. And His name shall be called the Messenger of Great Counsel, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, the Father of the World to Come, for God is with us."

Иисусова молитва

Господи Ісусе Христе Сыне Божїй помилѹй мѧ грѣшнаго.

Sts. Philip and James

From Mattins:

"Philip was born in the town of Bethsaida, and was one of the first of the twelve Apostles who were called by the Lord Christ. Then Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him We have found Him of Whom Moses in the Law, and the Prophets, did write." And so he brought him to the Lord. How familiarly he was in the company of Christ, is manifest from that which is written " There were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the Feast the same came therefore to Philip, and desired him, saying: Sir, we would see Jesus." When the Lord was in the wilderness, and was about to feed a great multitude, "He said unto Philip Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat" Philip, after that he had received the Holy Ghost, took Scythia, by lot, as the land wherein he was to preach the Gospel, and brought nearly all that people to believe in Christ. At the last he came to Hierapolis in Phrygia, and there, for Christ's Name's sake, he was fastened to a cross and stoned to death. The day was the first of May. The Christians of Hierapolis buried his body at that place, but it was afterwards brought to Rome and laid in the Basilica of the Twelve Apostles, beside that of the blessed Apostle James.

"JAMES, surnamed the Just, the brother of our Lord Jesus Christ, was a Nazarite from the womb. During his whole life he never drank wine or strong drink, never ate meat, never shaved, and never took a bath. He was the only man who was allowed to go into the Holy of Holies. His raiment was always linen. So continually did he kneel in prayer, that the skin of his knees became horny, like a camel's knees. After Christ was ascended, the Apostles made James Bishop of Jerusalem and even the Prince of the Apostles gave special intelligence to him after that he was delivered from prison by an angel. When in the Council of Jerusalem certain questions were mooted touching the law and circumcision, James, following the opinion of Peter, addressed a discourse to the brethren, wherein he proved the call of the Gentiles, and commanded letters to be sent to such brethren as were absent, that they might take heed not to lay upon the Gentiles the yoke of the Law of Moses. It is of him that the Apostle Paul saith, writing to the Galatians " Other of the Apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother."

"So great was James' holiness of life that men strove one with another to touch the hem of his garment. When he was ninety-six years old, and had most holily governed the Church of Jerusalem for thirty years, ever most constantly preaching Christ the Son of God, he laid down his life for the faith. He was first stoned, and afterward taken up on to a pinnacle of the Temple and cast down from thence. His legs were broken by the fall, and he was wellnigh dead, but he lifted up his hands towards heaven, and prayed to God for the salvation of his murderers, saying " Lord, forgive them, for they know not what they do " As he said this, one that stood by smote him grievously upon the head with a fuller's club, and he resigned his spirit to God. He testified in the seventh year of Nero, and was buried hard by the Temple, in the place where he had fallen. He wrote one of the Seven Epistles which are called Catholic."

Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women

Troparion, Tone II:

When Thou, the Deathless Life, didst go down to death, then didst Thou slay hell by the lightning flash of Thy Divinity. And when Thou didst raise the dead from the lower world, all the Powers of Heaven cried aloud: Christ our God, Giver of Life, glory to Thee.

Noble Joseph took Thy immaculate Body down from the Tree, wrapped It in a clean shroud and spices, and having embalmed It laid It in a new sepulchre. But on the third day Thou didst rise, O Lord, granting to the world great mercy.

To the myrrbearing women at the sepulchre an Angel appeared and cried: Myrrh is fit for the dead, but Christ has shown Himself a Stranger to corruption. So cry: The Lord has risen, granting to the world great mercy.

Kontakion, Tone II:

Thou didst command the Myrrbearers to rejoice, O Christ our God, Thou didst dry the tears of our first mother Eve by Thy Resurrection, and Thou didst command the Apostles to preach: The Saviour has risen from the tomb.

St. Peter of Verona

"Peter was born at Verona, in the year of our Lord 1205, of parents polluted with the Manichaean heresy, but he himself began his lifelong strife against error when he was but a little child. When he was seven years old he went to school, and was asked by his heretic uncle what he learnt there he answered that he had learnt the Christian Creed and neither his father nor his uncle were ever able to shake his constancy in the faith, either by cajolements or threats. When he was a young lad he went to Bologna to study, and there he was called by the Holy Ghost to an higher state of life, and entered the Order of Friars Preachers, at fifteen years of age.

"He was marked by great perfection as a Friar so watchful was he over the purity of his body and soul, that he never felt himself defiled by a mortal sin. He chastened his body by fasting and watching, and ennobled his soul by the contemplation of the things of God. He was constantly busied in works for furthering the salvation of souls and had a peculiar gift of grace for clearly convincing heretics. Such was his power as a preacher, that countless crowds were drawn together to hear him, and many were moved to repentance.

"The faith which was in him burnt so hotly, that he longed to seal his confession with his blood, and oftentimes he earnestly besought from God the grace to do so. It was but a little while before the heretics murdered him, that he foretold, in preaching, his own approaching death. While he was intrusted with the duties of the Holy Inquisition, he was returning from Como to Milan, when an ungodly ruffian assailed him and wounded him once and again in the head with a sword. Peter, to whom these blows were nearly fatal, began with his last breath to recite that Profession of the Faith, to which as a little child he had clung with such manly courage, but the murderer thrust the weapon into his side, and he passed away to receive a Martyr's palm in heaven. It was (the 6th day of April, in) the year of salvation 1252. In the following year, Innocent IV., seeing by how many miracles God had been pleased to glorify him, added his name to the sacred roll of Martyrs."

-Second Nocturn from Mattins  

Cherubic Hymn: Extended Melody - Χερουβικόν: Αργό Μέλος- 1st Tone

Οἱ τὰ Χερουβεὶμ μυστικῶς εἰκονίζοντες,
καὶ τῇ ζωοποιῷ Τριάδι τὸν Τρισάγιον ὕμνον προσάδοντες,
πᾶσαν τὴν βιοτικὴν ἀποθώμεθα μέριμναν.
Ὡς τὸν Βασιλέα τῶν ὅλων ὑποδεξόμενοι,
ταῖς ἀγγελικαῖς ἀοράτως δορυφορούμενον τάξεσιν.
Ἀλληλούϊα, Ἀλληλούϊα, Ἀλληλούϊα. 

 

Иже херувимы тайно образующе,
и Животворящей Троицѣ трисвятую пѣснь припѣвающе,
Всякое нынѣ житейское отложимъ попеченіе.
Яко да Царя всѣхъ подъимемъ,
ангельскими невидимо дориносима чинми.
Аллилуіа 

 

We who mystically represent the Cherubim,
and who sing to the Life-Giving Trinity the thrice-holy hymn,
let us now lay aside all earthly cares
that we may receive the King of all,
escorted invisibly by the angelic orders.
Alleluia

Michael Giacchino - There's No Place Like Home / Prayer Request

There will never another show like "Lost".  It was not just a television program, it was an experience. An experience that delved into religious, philosophical and scientific conundrums.  Even though it was not a Catholic show per se, it had many Catholic elements that were fused in.

"It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress."
-Jacob

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If I could ask the wonderful readers of this humble blog to pray for my recovery.   I had a surgery done yesterday to repair my hiatal hernia and thus strengthening my LES muscles.  The surgery was a success however I have a month long recovery period (maybe quicker since I am young!).  I will be watching this show again in this month of recovery so I thought it was fitting to talk about it.  Also, I know of a man who found much consolation in this program when he was in the hospital looking for an organ donor.

The Sacred Liturgy

"I would give my life for the smallest ceremony of Holy Church."
-St. Teresa of Avila

While Alive They Were Dead

"'The world' is the general name for all the passions. When we wish to call the passions by a common name, we call them the world. But when we wish to distinguish them by their special names, we call them passions. The passions are the following: love of riches, desire for possessions, bodily pleasure from which comes sexual passion, love of honor which gives rise to envy, lust for power, arrogance and pride of position, the craving to adorn oneself with luxurious clothes and vain ornaments, the itch for human glory which is a source of rancor and resentment, and physical fear. Where these passions cease to be active, there the world is dead…. Someone has said of the Saints that while alive they were dead; for though living in the flesh, they did not live for the flesh. See for which of these passions you are alive. Then you will know how far you are alive to the world, and how far you are dead to it.”

-St. Isaac the Syrian

St. Thomas Sunday

Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you."

When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you."

And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.

Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."

And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!"

Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing."

And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"

Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book;

but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

-St. John 20:19-31

Old Believers Celebrating Pascha

The venerable, ancient, and legitimate Russian tradition.  May God protect the Old Believers and bring all of their communities into communion with the Church.

The Loss of Catholic Culture

From Fr. Ray Blake's blog,

"Our loss is more than a liturgical tradition, it is a culture. Nowadays the great problem of the Church is not what we have lost but the fact that we have now very little to offer, the problem is not what has been taken but that which have freely given up and we have no alternative vision to offer."

I recommend reading the whole piece in addition to Joseph Shaw's piece on Hamish Fraser.  

Vidi Aquam

To be sung before Sunday High Masses during the Pascha season.

Vidi aquam egrediéntem de templo, a látere dextro, allelúia: et omnes ad quos pervénit aqua ista salvi facti sunt et dicent: allelúia, allelúia. 

Confitémini Dómino, quóniam bonus: quóniam in sæculum misericórdia ejus. 

P.  Glória Patri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sancto.
S.  Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, et in sæcula sæculórum. Amen. 

Vidi aquam egrediéntem de templo, a látere dextro, allelúia: et omnes ad quos pervénit aqua ista salvi facti sunt et dicent: allelúia, allelúia.

I saw water flowing from the right side of the temple, alleluia; and all they to whom that water came were saved, and they shall say, alleluia, alleluia. 

Praise the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy endureth forever.  

P.  Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
S.  As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. 

I saw water flowing from the right side of the temple, alleluia; and all they to whom that water came were saved, and they shall say, alleluia, alleluia.

Day V in the Pascha Octave

From Matins, I Nocturn:

"Mary Magdalene, a woman in the city, who was a sinner, through love of the truth washed away by her tears the befoulment of her sin, and the word of the Truth was fulfilled which He spake: Her sins, which are many, are forgiven: for she loved much. Luke vii. 47. She that had remained cold while she sinned, became burning when she loved. For after that she had been to the Sepulchre, and had not found there the Body of the Lord, and had believed that It had been taken away, and had told His disciples, they came and saw, and thought it was even as the woman had said, and it is written: Then the disciples went away again unto their own home but Mary stood without at the sepulchre, weeping.

"In connection with this matter, we ought to ponder what great store of love there was in that woman's heart, who, when even His disciples were gone away, could not tear herself from the grave of the Lord. She sought Him Whom she had not found there, and as she sought, she wept, and the fire of love in her heart yearned after Him, Who she believed had been taken away. And so it came to pass that she, who had lingered to seek Him, was the only one who then saw Him, since the back-bone of a good work is endurance, and the voice of the Truth Himself hath said: He that endureth to the end shall be saved. 

"As Mary wept there, she stooped down and looked into the Sepulchre. It was but a little while and she had seen how the Sepulchre was empty, and had told that the Lord was taken away. Why then should she stoop down and look in again? But she loved Him so well, that one look was not enough; the energy of her affection constrained her to search again and again. She began by searching and not finding; but she endured in her search, and, behold, it came to pass that she found. And this was done that our own longings for Christ's presence might be taught to expand, and know that as they expand they will meet with Him to Whom they aspire."

-Pope St. Gregory the Great

Seeking the Living Among the Dead

"The angel of God asks the Myrrh-bearing women as though in astonishment: “Why do you seek the living One among the dead?” As though the perceiver of the mystery of God and God’s power wanted to say: “How could you have thought for a moment that He is the hostage of death? Do you not know that He is the principal source of life? Do you not know that all life is through Him and that not one living thing can borrow not even a drop of life from any other source? Did He not fully reveal to you His authority over life and death on earth? Who gave life to the lifeless Lazarus? Who took away the life of the barren fig tree?”

"O my brethren, let us also cease to look for the living among the dead. If there are some of us who are still seeking Christ among the dead, let them desist from this soul-destroying effort. This is the vain effort of the Jews, pagans and non-Christians. We know that the Lord and Giver of life is not in the tomb but on the Throne of Glory in the heavens. The spirit, not darkened by sin, looks up into heaven and does not see the tomb; and the spirit, darkened by sin, looks into the tomb and does not see heaven. Sin and virtue govern the spiritual vision of man and reveals to each man its own world at cross-purposes with one another. Sin overthrows the vision of the spirit to the earth and reveals to it the corruption of the world. Virtue uplifts the spirit to heaven and reveals to it the eternal world and the resurrected Christ as the King in that world.

"O my brethren, let us not seek life among creation, but from the Creator. Let us not commit an even graver sin i.e., let us not seek the Creator in the tomb of creation nor the Illuminating, Immortal One in the darkness of death.

"O Lord Jesus, Victor over death, we cry out to You: resurrect us also into life eternal from the corruption and darkness of death.

"To You be glory and thanks always. Amen."

-St. Nikolai Velimirovich

The Holy Fire 2017

On Holy Saturday, God revealed his majesty once more with the descent of the Holy Fire to the His Holiness, Patriach Theophilos III.

Blessed be God!

Bright Monday

Every year on Bright Monday, the Russian Greek Catholic Church that I attend offers one of the most beautiful liturgies a human can experience.  A Festal Divine Liturgy is celebrated accompanied with an outdoor procession with the recitation of the Four Gospels of the Resurrection at the four corners of the Church.

Tonight, as I listened to our holy Priest reciting the Troparion below while blessing us with the Paschal Trikirion

"Christ is risen from the dead, trampling on death by death, and on those in the tombs bestowing life."

I had to hold back tears at this sublime realization that Our Lord has conquered death by his own death.  My soul, which is encumbered by sin, has been redeemed by our Great God.  He entered Hades and took the Just into Paradise.  He then rose from the dead showing that death did not have the final word over Him.  He shattered the Enemy by "trampling on death by death."

At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, we then all went outside with lit candles in our hands and walked to the four corners of the Church hearing the Four Gospels.

We were also given red eggs before we left.  The story goes that St. Mary Magdalene went to the Emperor and told him that Christ had risen.  The Emperor noticed that there was someone there who had a basket of eggs.  He said that if Christ had truly risen, then He would perform a miracle by making those eggs red.  The eggs did turn red affirming the Truth of the Resurrection!

Christ is Risen!   Indeed He is Risen!

Victimae Paschali Laudes

Víctimæ pascháli laudes ímmolent Christiáni.
Agnus rédemit oves: Christus ínnocens Patri reconciliávit peccatóres.
Mors et vita duéllo conflixére mirándo: dux vitæ mórtuus regnat vivus.
Dic nobis, María, quid vidísti in via?
Sepúlcrum Christi vivéntis et glóriam vidi resurgéntis.
Angélicos testes, sudárium et vestes.
Surréxit Christus, spes mea: præcédet vos in Galilaeam.
Scimus Christum surrexísse a mórtuis vere: tu nobis, victor Rex, miserére. Amen. Allelúja.

Christ is Risen! Blessed Pascha!

Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!

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From Matins:

"Dearly beloved brethren, ye have heard the deed of the holy women which had followed the Lord; how that they brought sweet spices to His sepulchre, and, now that He was dead, having loved Him while He was yet alive, they followed Him with careful tenderness still. But the deed of these holy women doth point to somewhat which must needs be done in the holy Church. And it behoveth us well to give ear to what they did, that we may afterward consider with ourselves what we must do likewise after their example. We also, who believe in Him That was dead, do come to His sepulchre bearing sweet spices, when we seek the Lord with the savour of good living, and the fragrant report of good works. Those women, when they brought their spices, saw a vision of Angels, and, in sooth, those souls whose godly desires do move them to seek the Lord with the savour of good lives, do see the countrymen of our Fatherland which is above.

"It behoveth us to mark what this meaneth, that they saw the Angel sitting on the right side. For what signifieth the left, but this life which now is? or the right, but life everlasting? Whence also it is written in the Song of Songs.  His left hand is under my head, and His right hand doth embrace me. Since, therefore, our Redeemer had passed from the corruption of this life which now is, the Angel which told that His undying life was come, sat, as became him, on the right side. They saw him clothed in a white garment, for he was herald of the joy of this our great solemnity, and the glistering whiteness of his raiment told of the brightness of this holy Festival of ours. Of ours, said I? or of his? But if we will speak the truth, we must acknowledge that it is both his and ours. The Again-rising of our Redeemer is a Festival of gladness for us, for us it biddeth know that we shall not die for ever; and for Angels also it is a festival of gladness, for it biddeth them know that we are called to fulfill their number in heaven.

"See this glad Festival then, which is both his and ours, the Angel appeared in white raiment. For as the Lord, rising again from the dead, leadeth us unto the mansions above, He repaireth the breaches of the heavenly Fatherland. But what meaneth this, that the Angel said unto the women which came to the sepulchre: Fear not? Is it not as though he had said openly: Let them fear which love not the coming of the heavenly countrymen; let them be afraid who are so laden by fleshly lusts, that they have lost all hope ever to be joined to their company. But as for you, why fear ye, who, when ye see us, see but your fellow countrymen? Hence also Matthew, writing of the guise of the Angel, saith His countenance was like lightning, and His raiment white as snow. The lightning speaketh of fear and great dread, the snow of the soft brilliancy of rejoicing."

-Pope St. Gregory the Great 

A Blessed Pascha to everyone!  Our Lenten sacrifices were not made in vain.  Let us now enjoy the fruits of the Resurrection!

Lamentations

The Lamentations Service of Holy Saturday. A haunting rendition of one of my favorite services of the year.

Night of the Apocalypse/Bright Saturday (Coptic)

"After the Raising of the Incense, the Third and Sixth Hours are prayed according to the rituals of that night. After the Third and Sixth Hours Prayers have been read, the church begins to read the Holy Book of Revelation. The Holy Book of Revelation is read on Night of the Apocalypse because the Holy Book of Revelation refers to the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ; the Church. 

"In the Holy Gospel of St. John, St. John calls Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ the "bridegroom" (John 3:29) and in the Holy Book of Revelation 21:9 St. John refers to the "bride" of the Lord Jesus Christ; the church...and tells St. John..."Come I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife." Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ shed His blood on the cross and descended into Hades to get his bride, the saints and then opened the gates of Paradise. Now there is a bridegroom and we await the bride by reading the description of the church in the Holy Book of Revelation.

 "The story of salvation is that God the Father chose a bride for His Son, who paid for His bride, not with gold or silver, but with His Precious Blood. We are engaged to the Lord Jesus Christ; purified by His water and blood (Ephesians 5:25), wedded at the moment of His death on Great Friday. 

"All the hymns of the holy book of revelations are related to the bride of Christ: the church. These hymns call the bride to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, enumerate the number the sealed bride, the song of the bride (Alleluia), and the foundation of the heavenly Jerusalem (the bride of Christ). 

"The book of revelation is read between the Sixth and the Ninth hour since at that time the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, shed His blood and descended into Hades to restore Adam and his children to the paradise of joy. 

"The anointing of oil by the priests to the congregation before the Divine Liturgy is referred to in the Holy Book of Revelation 7:2-8, in which the servants of God must have sealed upon their foreheads. We are anointed with oil to seal us; to say that we are the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ. Following this, the Ninth Hour is prayed in preparation for the Divine Liturgy."

The Divine Liturgy 

"The Night of Apocalypse ends with the Divine Liturgy and the Holy Communion; called the "Supper of the Wedding of the Lamb" (Revelation 19:9). This Divine Liturgy is unique in that we do not pray the "Prayer of Reconciliation" because the Lord Jesus Christ must trample death by His death (1 Corinthians 15) and death was not yet abolished at this point. Although we do not pray the Commemoration of the Saints on Covenant Thursday, we do pray the Commemoration of the Saints on Bright Saturday because Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has opened the gates of Paradise. 

"During Holy Communion the church prays the Eleventh Hour, chants selected Holy Psalms, and reads the prophecies of the Glorious Feast of Resurrection. 

"May we all enter into a blessed Holy Week with daily church attendance and solemn prayers and scriptural readings befitting its spiritual remembrance." 

-H.G Bishop Youssef

Tenebrae - Good Friday

"Thou hast hidden me from the secret counsel of the wicked, from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity. Now let us fix our eyes upon our Head. Many martyrs have. suffered such things as He suffered, but God's hiding of His suffering servants is not so well seen in the Martyrs, as it is in the Captain of the Martyrs. And it is in Him that we best see how it fared with them. He was hidden from the secret counsel of the wicked; hidden by God, being Himself God; hidden, as touching the Manhood, by God the Son, and the very Manhood, Which is taken into God the Son; because He is the Son of man, and He is the Son of God; Son of God, as being in the form of God; Son of man, as having taken upon Him the form of a servant, Whose life no man taketh from Him, but Who layeth it down of Himself. He hath power to lay it down, and He hath power to take it again, What then was all that they which hated Him could do? They could kill the Body, but they were not able to kill the Soul. Consider this very earnestly. It had been a small thing for the Lord to preach to the Martyrs by His word, if He had not also nerved them by His example.

"We know what secret counsel was that of the wicked Jews, and what insurrection was that of the workers of iniquity. Of what iniquity were they the workers? The murder of our Lord Jesus Christ. Many good works, saith He, have I showed you for which of those works go ye about to kill Me? He had borne with all their weaknesses: He had healed all their diseases: He had preached unto them the kingdom of heaven: He had discovered to them their iniquities, that they might rather hate them, than the Physician That came to cure them. And now at last, without gratitude for all the tenderness of His healing love, like men raging in an high delirium, throwing themselves madly on the Physician, Who had come to cure them, they took counsel together how they might kill Him, as if to see if He were a Man and could die, or Something more than a man, and That would not let Himself die. In the Wisdom of Solomon we recognize their words, Let us condemn Him with a shameful death. Let us examine Him; for, by His own saying, He shall be respected. If He be the Son of God, let Him help Him.

"They whetted their tongue like a sword. The Jews cannot say: We did not murder Christ, albeit they gave Him over to Pilate His judge, that they themselves might seem free of His death. For when Pilate said unto them, Take ye Him: and kill Him, they answered, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death. They could throw the blame of their sin upon a human judge: but did they deceive God, the Great Judge? In that which Pilate did, he was their accomplice, but in comparison with them, he had far the lesser sin. Pilate strove as far as he could, to deliver Him out of their hands; for the which reason also he scourged Him, and brought Him forth to them He scourged not the Lord for cruelty's sake, but in the hope that; he might so slake their wild thirst for blood: that, perchance, even they might be touched with compassion, and cease to lust for His death, when they saw What He was after the flagellation. Even this effort he made! But when Pilate saw that he could not prevail, but that rather a tumult was made, ye know how that he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying: I am innocent of the blood of this Just Person. And yet he delivered Him to be crucified! But if he were guilty who did it against his will, were they innocent; who goaded him on to it? No. Pilate gave sentence against Him. and commanded Him to be crucified. But ye, O ye Jews, ye also are His murderers! Wherewith? With your tongue, whetted like a sword. And when? But when ye cried, Crucify Him! Crucify Him!"

-Matins, Second Nocturn, St. Augustine.

Great and Holy Thursday

"When Thy glorious Disciples were enlightened at the supper by the feet washing, then the impious Judas was darkened with the disease of avarice, and he delivered Thee, the Just Judge, to the lawless judges. See, O lover of money, this man through money came to hang himself. Flee the insatiable desire which dared to do such things to the Master. O Lord, Who art good towards all, glory to Thee."

-Troparion, Tone VIII

Great and Holy Wednesday

"I have sinned more than the harlot, O Good One, and I come to Thee with none of her showers of tears. But praying in silence, I fall down before Thee and lovingly embrace Thy immaculate feet, that as the Lord Thou mayest grant me forgiveness of sins as I cry to Thee, O Saviour: Deliver me from the mire of my evil deeds."

-Kontakion, Tone IV

Great and Holy Tuesday

"Behold, the Bridegroom is coming in the middle of the night, and blessed is the servant whom He shall find awake and watching, but unworthy is he whom He shall find idle and careless. Beware, then, my soul, lest thou be weighed down with sleep, lest thou be given up to death and shut out of the Kingdom. But awake and cry: Holy, Holy, Holy, art Thou, O God: through the intercessions of the Forerunner, save us. (Sung three times; The third ending is: through the Mother of God, have mercy on us)."

-Troparion for today



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Fr. Schmemann's explanations on the ceremonies of Holy Week.

Great and Holy Monday

"And in the morning, returning into the city, he was hungry. And seeing a certain fig tree by the way side, he came to it, and found nothing on it but leaves only, and he saith to it: May no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And immediately the fig tree withered away. And the disciples seeing it wondered, saying: How is it presently withered away?

"And Jesus answering, said to them: Amen, I say to you, if you shall have faith, and stagger not, not only this of the fig tree shall you do, but also if you shall say to this mountain, Take up and cast thyself into the sea, it shall be done. And in all things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive. And when he was come into the temple, there came to him, as he was teaching, the chief priests and ancients of the people, saying: By what authority dost thou these things? and who hath given thee this authority? Jesus answering, said to them: I also will ask you one word, which if you shall tell me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven or from men? But they thought within themselves, saying:

"If we shall say, from heaven, he will say to us: Why then did you not believe him? But if we shall say, from men, we are afraid of the multitude: for all held John as a prophet. And answering Jesus, they said: We know not. He also said to them: Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things. But what think you? A certain man had two sons; and coming to the first, he said: Son, go work today in my vineyard. And he answering, said: I will not. But afterwards, being moved with repentance, he went. And coming to the other, he said in like manner. And he answering, said: I go, Sir; and he went not.

"Which of the two did the father' s will? They say to him: The first. Jesus saith to them: Amen I say to you, that the publicans and the harlots shall go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of justice, and you did not believe him. But the publicans and the harlots believed him: but you, seeing it, did not even afterwards repent, that you might believe him. Hear ye another parable. There was a man an householder, who planted a vineyard, and made a hedge round about it, and dug in it a press, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen; and went into a strange country. And when the time of the fruits drew nigh, he sent his servants to the husbandmen that they might receive the fruits thereof. And the husbandmen laying hands on his servants, beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.

"Again he sent other servants more than the former; and they did to them in like manner. And last of all he sent to them his son, saying: They will reverence my son. But the husbandmen seeing the son, said among themselves: This is the heir: come, let us kill him, and we shall have his inheritance. And taking him, they cast him forth out of the vineyard, and killed him. When therefore the lord of the vineyard shall come, what will he do to those husbandmen?

"They say to him: He will bring those evil men to an evil end; and will let out his vineyard to other husbandmen, that shall render him the fruit in due season.  Jesus saith to them: Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? By the Lord this has been done; and it is wonderful in our eyes.  Therefore I say to you, that the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and shall be given to a nation yielding the fruits thereof."



-Gospel for Bridegroom Matins, St. Matthew 21: 18-43

RIP, Richie

Today marks the two year anniversary of Richie Benaud's death.  For cricket fans, his voice was a deep consolation providing us hours on hours of cricket coverage.  The video below is of his last few minutes on the air.


May God grant him eternal rest.

"Time to say good bye.  Add to that, thank you for having me.  It's been absolutely marvelous for forty-two years.  I've loved every moment of it and it's been a privilege to go into everyone's living room throughout that time.  What's even better, it's been a great deal of fun....but not so for the batsman.  McGrath has picked him up, late in the day, he's got a beauty to Kevin Pietersen."


Fitting how his last call was the fall of a wicket which interrupted his farewell speech.  It was never about him, it was always about the action on the pitch.

Sermon for Palm Sunday

Holy Week (Coptic)

Here is the Holy Week schedule for the Coptic Orthodox Church on my street.  What an incredible week we have coming up.

Let us pray that God may unite the Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Churches with the Church of Rome soon so that we may all be able to participate fully in all of the liturgies of the Church.



Palm Sunday: 
Raising of Incensing and Palm Sunday Procession: 7:00-8:30
The Divine Liturgy: 8:30-12:30
Funeral Service office for the Congregation: 12:30-13:30
Evening Prayers of the Holy Pascha: 17:00-20:30

Monday:
Daytime Prayers of the Holy Pascha: 7:00-10:30
Evening Prayers of the Holy Pascha: 18:00-21:00

Tuesday:
Daytime Prayers of the Holy Pascha: 7:00-11:00
Evening Prayers of the Holy Pascha: 18:00-21:00

Wednesday:

Daytime Prayers of the Holy Pascha: 7:00-10:30

Evening Prayers of the Holy Pascha: 18:00-21:00

Covenant Thursday:

Daytime Prayers of the Holy Pascha,including Matins, prayers of the 3rd, 6th, 9th hrs: 8:00-11:30

Blessing of Water and Washing of Feet: 11:00-12:30
The Divine Liturgy ended by the 11th hour: 12:30-15:00
Evening Prayers of the Holy Pascha: 17:30-21:30

Great Friday: 
Daytime Prayers of the Holy Pascha:  8:00-18:00

Apocalypse Night/Saturday:
Praises and Readings,
“The Book of Revelation”- Apocalypse: 23:00 (Friday night) - 5:00 (Saturday morning).
Divine Liturgy of Bright Saturday: 5:00-7:00

PASCHA/SATURDAY NIGHT:
DIVINE LITURGY OF THE GLORIOUS RESURRECTION: 19:00-0:00 (Midnight)

Palm Sunday

My favorite day in the liturgical year.  Today, we get the Missa Sicca, the Procession, and then the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as we enter Jerusalem with Our Lord.


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"This is the glorious mystery which ushers in the great week, the week of dolours. Holy Church would have us give this momentary consolation to our heart, and hail our Jesus as our King. She has so arranged the service of to-day, that it should express both joy and sorrow; joy, by uniting herself with the loyal hosannas of the city of David; and sorrow, by compassionating the Passion of her divine Spouse. The whole function is divided into three parts, which we will now proceed to explain.

"The first is the blessing of the palms; and we may have an idea of its importance from the solemnity used by the Church in this sacred rite. One would suppose that the holy Sacrifice has begun, and is going to be offered up in honour of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Introit, Collect, Epistle, Gradual, Gospel, even a Preface, are said, as though we were, as usual, preparing for the immolation of the spotless Lamb; but, after the triple Sanctus! Sanctus! Sanctus! the Church suspends these sacrificial formulas, and turns to the blessing of the palms. The prayers she uses for this blessing are eloquent and full of instruction; and, together with the sprinkling with holy water and the incensation, impart a virtue to these branches, which elevates them to the supernatural order, and makes them means for the sanctification of our souls and the protection of our persons and dwellings. The faithful should hold these palms in their hands during the procession, and during the reading of the Passion at Mass, and keep them in their homes as an outward expression of their faith, and as a pledge of God’s watchful love.

"It is scarcely necessary to tell our reader that the palms or olive branches, thus blessed, are carried in memory of those wherewith the people of Jerusalem strewed the road, as our Saviour made His triumphant entry; but a word on the antiquity of our ceremony will not be superfluous. It began very early in the east. It is probable that, as far as Jerusalem itself is concerned, the custom was established immediately after the ages of persecution. St. Cyril, who was bishop of that city in the fourth century, tells us that the palm-tree, from which the people cut the branches when they went out to meet our Saviour, was still to be seen in the vale of Cedron [Cateches. x. versus fin.] Such a circumstance would naturally suggest an annual commemoration of the great event. In the following century, we find this ceremony established, not only in the churches of the east, but also in the monasteries of Egypt and Syria. At the beginning of Lent, many of the holy monks obtained permission from their abbots to retire into the desert, that they might spend the sacred season in strict seclusion; but they were obliged to return to their monasteries for Palm Sunday, as we learn from the life of Saint Euthymius, written by his disciple Cyril [Act. SS. Jan. 20]. In the west, the introduction of this ceremony was more gradual; the first trace we find of it is in the sacramentary of St. Gregory, that is, at the end of the sixth, or the beginning of the seventh, century. When the faith had penetrated into the north, it was not possible to have palms or olive branches; they were supplied by branches from other trees. The beautiful prayers used in the blessing, and based on the mysteries expressed by the palm and olive trees, are still employed in the blessing of our willow, box, or other branches; and rightly, for these represent the symbolical ones which nature has denied us.

"The second of to-day’s ceremonies is the procession, which comes immediately after the blessing of the palms. It represents our Saviour’s journey to Jerusalem, and His entry into the city. To make it the more expressive, the branches that have just been blessed are held in the hand during it. With the Jews, to hold a branch in one’s hand was a sign of joy. The divine law had sanctioned this practice, as we read in the following passage from Leviticus, where God commands His people to keep the feast of tabernacles: And you shall take to you, on the first day, the fruits of the fairest tree, and branches of palm-trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God [Lev. xxiii. 40]. It was, therefore, to testify their delight at seeing Jesus enter within their walls, that the inhabitants, even the little children, of Jerusalem, went forth to meet Him with palms in their hands. Let us, also, go before our King, singing our hosannas to Him as the conqueror of death, and the liberator of His people.

"During the middle ages, it was the custom, in many churches, to carry the book of the holy Gospels in this procession. The Gospel contains the words of Jesus Christ, and was considered to represent Him. The procession halted at an appointed place, or station: the deacon then opened the sacred volume, and sang from it the passage which describes our Lord’s entry into Jerusalem. This done, the cross which, up to this moment, was veiled, was uncovered; each of the clergy advanced towards it, venerated it, and placed at its foot a small portion of the palm he held in his hand. The procession then returned, preceded by the cross, which was left unveiled until all had re-entered the church. In England and Normandy, as far back as the eleventh century, there was practised a holy ceremony which represented, even more vividly than the one we have just been describing, the scene that was witnessed on this day at Jerusalem: the blessed Sacrament was carried in procession. The heresy of Berengarius, against the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, had been broached about that time; and the tribute of triumphant joy here shown to the sacred Host was a distant preparation for the feast and procession which were to be instituted at a later period.

"We have mentioned these different usages, as we have done others on similar occasions, in order to aid the faithful to the better understanding of the several mysteries of the liturgy. In the present instance, they will learn that, in to-day’s procession, the Church wishes us to honour Jesus Christ as though He were really among us, and were receiving the humble tribute of our loyalty. Let us lovingly go forth to meet this our King, our Saviour, who comes to visit the daughter of Sion, as the prophet has just told us. He is in our midst; it is to Him that we pay honour with our palms: let us give Him our hearts too. He comes that He may be our King; let us welcome Him as such, and fervently cry out to Him: ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’

"At the close of the procession a ceremony takes place, which is full of the sublimest symbolism. On returning to the church, the doors are found to be shut. The triumphant procession is stopped; but the songs of joy are continued. A hymn in honour of Christ our King is sung with its joyous chorus; and at length the subdeacon strikes the door with the staff of the cross; the door opens, and the people, preceded by the clergy, enter the church, proclaiming the praise of Him, who is our resurrection and our life.

"This ceremony is intended to represent the entry of Jesus into that Jerusalem of which the earthly one was but the figure - the Jerusalem of heaven, which has been opened for us by our Saviour. The sin of our first parents had shut it against us; but Jesus, the King of glory, opened its gates by His cross, to which every resistance yields. Let us, then, continue to follow in the footsteps of the Son of David, for He is also the Son of God, and He invites us to share His kingdom with Him. Thus, by the procession, which is commemorative of what happened on this day, the Church raises up our thoughts to the glorious mystery of the Ascension, whereby heaven was made the close of Jesus’ mission on earth. Alas! the interval between these two triumphs of our Redeemer are not all days of joy; and no sooner is our procession over, than the Church, who had laid aside for a moment the weight of her grief, falls back into sorrow and mourning.

"The third part of to-day’s service is the offering of the holy Sacrifice. The portions that are sung by the choir are expressive of the deepest desolation; and the history of our Lord’s Passion, which is now to be read by anticipation, gives to the rest of the day that character of sacred gloom, which we all know so well. For the last five or six centuries, the Church has adopted a special chant for this narrative of the holy Gospel. The historian, or the evangelist, relates the events in a tone that is at once grave and pathetic; the words of our Saviour are sung to a solemn yet sweet melody, which strikingly contrasts with the high dominant of the several other interlocutors and the Jewish populace. During the singing of the Passion, the faithful should hold their palms in their hands, and, by this emblem of triumph, protest against the insults offered to Jesus by His enemies. As we listen to each humiliation and suffering, all of which were endured out of love for us, let us offer Him our palm as to our dearest Lord and King. When should we be more adoring, than when He is most suffering?"

-Palm Sunday, Dom Prosper Gueranger, The Liturgical Year