DEVOTIONS & PRAYERS

SOME THOUGHTS FROM SAINT SIMEON THE NEW THEOLOGION

2010-06-18T22:56:00.000-07:00

From his "One Hundred & Fifty-Three Practical & Theological Texts"...

104. Anyone who thinks himself intelligent because of his scholarly or scientific learning will never be granted insight into divine mysteries unless he first humbles himself and becomes a fool (cf. I Cor. 3:18), discarding both his presumption and the knowledge that he has acquired. But if he does this and with unhesitating faith allows himself to be led by those wise in divine matters, he will enter with them into the city of the living God. Guided and illumined by the divine Spirit, he will see and learn what others cannot ever see or learn. He will then be taught by God (cf. John 6:45).
. . .
106. Even now, living in our midst, there are people who are dispassionate and saintly, filled with divine light, who have so mortified whatever in them pertains to the earth (cf. Col. 3:5), freeing it from all impurity and impassioned desire, that not only do they themselves not think or act maliciously, but even when drawn in this direction by another they are unwavering in their dispassion. Those who accuse these saints of folly, and who do not believe them when in the wisdom of the Spirit they teach about divine matters, would have recognized them had they understood the sacred writings of that are read and sung daily. For if they possessed a mature knowledge of the Holy Scriptures they would have believed in the blessings spoken of and bestowed on us by God. But because out of self-conceit and negligence they do not share in these blessings, in their unbelief they slander those who do share in them and who teach others about them.

As to those that fall away from God, I wonder where it is they exist, those that are far removed from Him that is everywhere, and verily, O brothers, is it a wonder full of great trembling, one that requires the reasoning of an illumined mind,

in order properly to understand this thing and not to fall into heresy as a result of ignorance of the words of the Holy Ghost. They, too, will wholly have existence within the universe, but outside of the divine light and even outside of God.

For, just as those that cannot see the shining sun, although they are wholly bathed in its light, end their days outside of the light, severed from any sense or sight of it, so too in this universe is the divine light of the Trinity,

and in its midst the sinners that are enclosed in darkness, unseeing, bereft of any divine sense, but consumed and chastised by their conscience, will know for all eternity unspeakable affliction and ineffable pain.

(St. Symeon the New Theologian, Hymns, I, 215-231)

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Akathist to Jesus, Light to those in Darkness

2010-06-18T20:51:00.000-07:00

Kontakion 1 (Tone 7)
Out of the depths of darkness and despair I cry to You, O Lord, You that hung upon the Cross in darkness. From the pit of pain and confusion, I lift up this prayer, and with all my heart I sing aloud to You: Jesus, light to those in darkness, glory to You!

Ikos 1 (see Ps. 77)
In the day of my trouble, I seek You, O Lord, and in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying. My eyes find no rest from weeping, and I am so troubled that I cannot speak. Yet as my spirit ponders in the night, I raise this song to You:
JESUS, rescuer of the abandoned!
JESUS, hope of those in despair!
JESUS, guiding star to the lost!
JESUS, joyful return of the exile!
JESUS, unforeseen victory!
JESUS, eternal triumph!
JESUS, radiant dawn after endless night!
JESUS, everlasting light of the Kingdom!
JESUS, wipe away my tears!
JESUS, calm the panic of my heart!
JESUS, exultation of those hemmed in by fear!
JESUS, joy of those crushed by sorrow!
JESUS, light to those in darkness, glory to You!

Kontakion 2 (see Ps. 88)
O Lord God of my salvation, I have cried out to You day and night. My soul is full of troubles and my life has drawn near to Sheol. I lie in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep; my friends and those who love me are removed far from me, and my companions are in darkness. But by Your grace, I defy the darkness, and I declare Your saving help in the land of forgetfulness, crying aloud, Alleluia!

Ikos 2
Sorrow has isolated me from all those around me, and I cannot feel Your love either, O Lord. I walk about in the light like one forsaken among the dead, like the slain who molder in the grave whom You remember no more. But You are the One who performs wonders for the dead, and whose steadfast love is declared in the grave. Trusting in You alone, I make known Your wonders:
JESUS, comforter of the bereaved!
JESUS, consoler of the dying!
JESUS, liberty of the imprisoned and forgotten!
JESUS, companion of the divorced and abandoned!
JESUS, grant peace to a heart in turmoil!
JESUS, work through me to touch others in pain!
JESUS, calmer of storms!
JESUS, haven of the voyager!
JESUS, resurrection for those whose children have died!
JESUS, serenity for those in chronic pain!
JESUS, promise of final triumph!
JESUS, possession of invincible peace!
JESUS, light to those in darkness, glory to You!

Kontakion 3: (see Ps. 143)
The enemy has pursued my soul, O Lord, he has crushed my life to the ground, and I am made to sit in darkness, like those who have been long dead. My spirit within me is overwhelmed by depression, and my heart within is appalled. But I am Your servant, O merciful God, and Your good Spirit will lead me on level paths with renewed strength. Looking to that day, even now I stretch out my hands, crying: Alleluia!

Ikos 3
Despite the attacks of my spiritual foes, I put my trust in You, O Saviour, knowing that You will teach me the way in which I should walk in safety. Though I dwell in parched land, I look to You for the water of life, offering to You such songs as these:
JESUS, shield and buckler!
JESUS, unfailing defense!
JESUS, well-spring in the desert!
JESUS, fountain of the Kingdom!
JESUS, drive away all depression!
JESUS, be my radiance of heart!
JESUS, security in the midst of enemies!
JESUS, hope when all other hope is lost!
JESUS, pledge of eternal gladness!
JESUS, banisher of life’s shadows!
JESUS, vindicate my innocence!
JESUS, forgive all my sins!
JESUS, light to those in darkness, glory to You!
Kontakion 4 (see Mt. 15:21:28, Ps. 54)
The Syro-Phoenician woman whose daughter was cruelly demon-possessed shouted after You, O Son of David, only to learn that You were sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Despite Your silence, the faith of this Gentile found Your compassion, and she returned home singing: Alleluia!

Ikos 4
Despite my many and ceaseless supplications, I can find no answer, O Lord, and my heart is too tired to go on. I feel unworthy even to gather up the crumbs under Your table, and from all sides I find nothing but discouragement. But knowing that You save those who invoke Your Name, O Jesus, and trusting that You will give ear to the words of my mouth, I bow down before You, saying:
JESUS, welcomer of strangers!
JESUS, boast of the saints!
JESUS, save me as I chant Your Name with love!
JESUS, vindicate me as I cling to Your mercy with faith!
JESUS, pardoner of my many offences!
JESUS, healer of my sinful heart!
JESUS, feeder of children!
JESUS, feast of the poor!
JESUS, King who gives strength to the weary!
JESUS, Master who grants deliverance to the oppressed!
JESUS, destroyer of demons!
JESUS, song of the angels!
JESUS, light to those in darkness, glory to You!

Kontakion 5 (see Mk. 10:46-52, Ps. 57)
The blind beggar Bartimaeus thought that You would pass him by, O Saviour, and though many rebuked him, he did not cease to cry, “Have mercy on me, Son of David!” In Your customary lovingkindness, You called him to Yourself and granted him illumination, so that he followed You on the way, singing Alleluia!

Ikos 5
Like a child left alone in the dark, I cry out to You, Son of David, taking refuge in the shadow of Your wings until the storms of destruction pass by. Though my soul is among lions who roar out that there is no salvation for me, my heart is steadfast and I sing these praises:
JESUS, sight for the blind!
JESUS, wealth for the beggar!
JESUS, harbour for those who are bestormed!
JESUS, fortress for all who are besieged!
JESUS, Your glory is above the heavens!
JESUS, Your radiance fills the earth!
JESUS, exaltation of the transcendent Father!
JESUS, bestower of the life-giving Spirit!
JESUS, hear my cry when all others are deaf!
JESUS, call me to Your throne and save me!
JESUS, bottomless ocean of mercy!
JESUS, infinite firmament of truth!
JESUS, light to those in darkness, glory to You!

Kontakion 6 (see Ps. 42-43)
Like the deer who pants for flowing streams, like the parent who mourns the loss of a child, I am left breathless. Grief grips me, and my tears have been my food day and night. Although all the waves of panic have rolled over me, You remain the help of my countenance, O God, and my song to You in the night remains: Alleluia!

Ikos 6
The joy of Paschal processions around the House of God remains a distant memory, O Lord, and my soul is in despair. All my former faith has been disturbed, so that I say to God my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?” But the Lord will yet command His steadfast love to me, and hoping in His help I praise Him, saying:
JESUS, joy of homecoming for those on earth!
JESUS, long-awaited reunion with all in heaven!
JESUS, dry my bitter tears!
JESUS, restore my forgotten song!
JESUS, light sent out from the luminous Father!
JESUS, truth that leads us to the heavenly altar of God!
JESUS, celebration that lifts the heavy heart!
JESUS, tranquility that calms the troubled mind!
JESUS, return of celebration for the down-cast!
JESUS, restoration of festivity for the weary!
JESUS, You that make the woeful to dance!
JESUS, You that make the depressed to sing!
JESUS, light to those in darkness, glory to You!

Kontakion 7 (see Mk. 5:21-24, 35-43)
The man whose young daughter had just died was in anguish, O Lord, when it seemed that Your coming to save her was too late. But You told him to fear not, but to have faith, and with a simple command You raised the girl from death. Beside himself with joy, the bereaved parent exclaimed, Alleluia!

Ikos 7
Like those whose houses are made desolate by death, my own home is filled with mourning, and I look to the dawning of each new day with fear. But keeping my faith in You, I trample down my fear, and open my mouth with defiance to offer these hymns to You, O Life-giving Lord:
JESUS, vanquisher of hell!
JESUS, giver of resurrection!
JESUS, banish my fear of the future!
JESUS, heal the sorrows of my past!
JESUS, redeem my soul in peace from the battle with my foes!
JESUS, conquer my many spiritual enemies!
JESUS, You that put despair to flight!
JESUS, You that fill the heart with hope!
JESUS, light that no darkness can extinguish! JESUS, joy that no sorrow can quench!
JESUS, glorious liberty of the children of God!
JESUS, endless song of those raised to new life!
JESUS, light to those in darkness, glory to You!

Kontakion 8 (see Mk. 5:25-34, Ps. 38)
The woman with a hemorrhage suffered for many years, growing only worse for all the money she had spent on physicians. In her uncleanness, she was afraid to approach You, O Lord, and so she secretly touched the hem of Your garment to find healing. But when You found her in the crowd, You took away her fears as well as her disease and dismissed her in peace. When she experienced Your unexpected compassion, her heart leaped up and cried, Alleluia!

Ikos 8
O Lord, there is no soundness in my flesh and my pain is ever with me. My wounds grow foul and fester, and I go about mourning all the day. Though many try to comfort me, I am benumbed, and find only groaning because of the tumult of my heart. But You are not far from me, O my God, and You will make haste to help me. Therefore I open my mouth in praise to the Lord my salvation, saying:
JESUS, health of my bones!
JESUS, promise of my resurrection!
JESUS, unfailing strength!
JESUS, forgiveness of my folly!
JESUS, healing for all who just touch the hem of Your robe!
JESUS, restoration for all who but trust in Your mercy!
JESUS, sudden joy!
JESUS, eternal exultation!
JESUS, hold me up when I am ready to fall!
JESUS, forgive me when my iniquities go over my head!
JESUS, power of my youth!
JESUS, wisdom of my old age!
JESUS, light to those in darkness, glory to You!

Kontakion 9 (see Mk. 5:1-20, Ps. 56)
The Gadarene demoniac was overwhelmed by a legion of demons within, O saving Master, and he dwelt in the deserts of despair, for no human chains were strong enough to restrain his fury. Seeing his Saviour come near, he ran up to Him and bowed down before Him, imploring deliverance. When You drove out his enemies and drowned his sins in the depths of the sea, he breathed forth a sigh of peace, saying Alleluia!

Ikos 9
My spiritual foes have trampled me to the ground, O Lord my God, for they are many who fight against me. A legion of internal sins fights proudly against me, lurking to trip up my every step. Yet You have seen all my tears, O Christ, and noted all my grief in Your book, and You will deliver my feet from falling so that I may walk before You in the light of life, praising Your word and saying:
JESUS, absolution of the condemned!
JESUS, song of the forgiven!
JESUS, drive away my countless foes!
JESUS, forgive the multitude of my sins!
JESUS, robe of the naked!
JESUS, sanity for the distracted!
JESUS, terror of demons who fly from Your Name!
JESUS, hymn of the angels who draw near to Your love!
JESUS, You that wipe away my tears!
JESUS, You that calm my agitation!
JESUS, You that bring joy to those in the desert!
JESUS, You that restore the exile to his home!
JESUS, light to those in darkness, glory to You!

Kontakion 10 (see Lk. 7:11-17)
The widow whose only son had died was left all alone in the world, abandoned by those who had loved her. When her son was being carried out to burial, the Lord met her and bade her dry her tears. With a word he raised the young man to new life, teaching all there to change their funeral dirge to the song Alleluia!
Ikos 10
O Lord, I am separated from the one who once loved me, and sorrow has estranged me from my friends. I am weary with crying, and my eyes fail while I wait for my God. Emptiness and loneliness crush me every night, and meaninglessness haunts me by day. From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint, lifting up to You these praises:
JESUS, unfailing friend for the abandoned!
JESUS, lover of my soul!
JESUS, serenity for those in the midst of storms!
JESUS, renewed strength for the burdened!
JESUS, fill the emptiness of my heart!
JESUS, use me as the instrument of Your peace!
JESUS, strength for the day of battle!
JESUS, banner of glorious victory!
JESUS, healer of the past!
JESUS, guide for the future!
JESUS, triumphant forgiveness!
JESUS, eternal vindication!
JESUS, light to those in darkness, glory to You!

Kontakion 11 (see Jn. 11:1-44, Ps. 6)
Jesus allowed His beloved friend Lazarus to face the bitterness of death, so that he lay in the tomb for four days, his flesh experiencing corruption. But Christ came into the world to trample down death, and with a mighty cry He summoned Lazarus from the depths, so that the man doomed to death emerged from the tomb to cry: Alleluia!

Ikos 11
That which I greatly feared has come upon me, and death looms before me. My faith in which I trusted is no defense against the cold fear that grips my heart, and every night I flood my bed with tears. But You, O Jesus, are the resurrection and the life, and even in Sheol I will not cease to give You praise:
JESUS, hope of those sentenced to death!
JESUS, resurrection of those who believe in Your word!
JESUS, song that no fear can silence!
JESUS, tranquility that no horror can shake!
JESUS, raise my eyes from death to see Your unfading Kingdom!
JESUS, fill my heart with the promise of Your unending life!
JESUS, radiant glory of those facing death!
JESUS, timeless boast of the martyrs!
JESUS, courage in the face of mortal danger!
JESUS, constancy before continual trial!
JESUS, divine glory, transfiguring the wounded hearts!
JESUS, victory of God, bringing the embattled home!
JESUS, light to those in darkness, glory to You!

Kontakion 12 (see Lk. 22:41-44, Heb. 5:7-9)
With loud cries and tears, O Jesus, You asked that the cup of grief might be removed from You, and sweat from Your holy body fell like drops of blood. Though all Your disciples forsook You and fled, O Christ, You never faltered, but fulfilled the will of the Father until the end. Marveling at Your faithfulness, we who are weak exclaim, Alleluia!
Ikos 12
For the sake of us men and for our salvation, O Son of God, You hung upon the Cross. Though You cried out that God had forsaken You, in obedience You drained the cup of suffering to its very dregs. Though all those around You jeered at You and blasphemed, You committed Your spirit into the Father’s hands and died in the darkness. Struck with awe at this mystery, we sinners cry from the depths of our souls:
JESUS, Lamb whose meekness is stronger than the world!
JESUS, Sacrifice whose Blood washes clean the whole earth!
JESUS, rejected by men, obedient to the death of the Cross!
JESUS, King of the ages, ruling from the heavenly throne!
JESUS, keep me from failing in the hour of trial!
JESUS, strengthen me for the impending battle!
JESUS, whose death on the Tree tramples down my mortality!
JESUS, whose lifting up on the Cross casts down the ruler of this age!
JESUS, everlasting Pascha and power of God!
JESUS, universal Kingdom given to us sinners!
JESUS, light of the despairing children of the earth!
JESUS, light of the triumphant saints in glory!
JESUS, light to those in darkness, glory to You!

Kontakion 13 (said thrice)
O Jesus our Lord, God and Saviour, in Your word alone we put our trust. Though suffering and agitation fill our minds, we reach up through the darkness to seize Your hand and receive Your mercy. Be our joy and peace as we pass through this terrible valley, and carry us through when our strength fails that we may sing to You through the ages, Alleluia!

And again,
Ikos 1
In the day of my trouble, I seek You, O Lord, and in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying. My eyes find no rest from weeping, and I am so troubled that I cannot speak. Yet as my spirit ponders in the night, I raise this song to You:
JESUS, rescuer of the abandoned!
JESUS, hope of those in despair!
JESUS, guiding star to the lost!
JESUS, joyful return of the exile!
JESUS, unforeseen victory!
JESUS, eternal triumph!
JESUS, radiant dawn after endless night!
JESUS, everlasting light of the Kingdom!
JESUS, wipe away my tears!
JESUS, calm the panic of my heart!
JESUS, exultation of those hemmed in by fear!
JESUS, joy of those crushed by sorrow!
JESUS, light to those in darkness, glory to You!

And again,
Kontakion 1 (Tone 7):
Out of the depths of darkness and despair I cry to You, O Lord, You that hung upon the Cross in darkness. From the pit of pain and confusion, I lift up this prayer, and with all my heart I sing aloud to You: Jesus, light to those in darkness, glory to You!

Prayer:
O Jesus our King, have mercy on us as we struggle, and receive our songs as a fragrant offering and a sweet-smelling sacrifice. In all our turmoil, emptiness and suffering, we turn to You, praising You for Your great glory. Lift us up as a father lifts up his little child, and bring us through this season of darkness and pain into Your marvelous light. Resolve our distresses as You will, according to Your great wisdom and love. We accept all that comes from Your merciful hand, and ask that You grant us to do Your will. Thus strengthened to walk in a way that is pleasing to You, to our last breath we never cease to praise Your most holy Name, together with that of Your Father who has no beginning and Your all-holy, good and life-creating Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.
Amen.

Saint Nicholas

2009-12-06T19:52:00.000-08:00

Pope Benedict Plans to Beatify Newman During Visit to Britain

2009-11-29T17:40:00.000-08:00

By Simon Caldwell

LONDON (UK Catholic Herald) - The Pope is to waive his own rules so he can preside in person over the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman during a papal visit to Britain next year, according to sources close to the Vatican.

Pope Benedict XVI will personally take charge of the ceremony to declare the Victorian convert Blessed when he visits England in early September at the invitation of Gordon Brown.

The Pope has previously insisted that all beatifications are carried out by a Vatican official in the diocese in which the candidate died, which in Newman's case is Birmingham.

But because the Pope has such a strong devotion to Cardinal Newman and his theological writings he has decided to break his own rules and beatify the cardinal himself.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster refused to either confirm or deny the report: "The details of the Pope's visit are far from clear," he said. "What is clear is that the Holy Father has a great and long-standing devotion to Cardinal Newman and the beatification of Cardinal Newman is due."

Fr Ian Ker, author of the definitive biography of Cardinal Newman, said: "By breaking his own rules Pope Benedict clearly shows he regards Newman as a completely exceptional case, one of the great theologians of the Catholic Church. Many of the popes have been anxious to canonise Newman. They look to him as a man who welcomed modernisation but in fidelity to Church authority and in continuity with the traditions of the Church."

Pope Benedict announced the beatification in July after Vatican theologians ruled that the inexplicable healing of Jack Sullivan, an American with a severe spinal condition, was a miracle brought about by praying for help to Cardinal Newman.

Pope on Advent: With Jesus, there is no life without meaning

2009-11-29T16:55:00.000-08:00

Vatican City, Nov 29, 2009 / 11:26 am (CNA) - On Saturday night, Pope Benedict XVI officiated a celebration in St. Peter's Basilica of first vespers before the first Sunday of the Advent season. His message in the homily was one of 'silence and hope' during the season of Advent.

The Holy Father ushered the Church into the new liturgical year, telling those in attendance at yesterday evening's celebration of first vespers that "Advent invites us to pause in silence to understand a Presence."

In his homily, Pope Benedict, gave a short lesson on the meaning of 'advent' to those early Christians who adopted the word "to explain their relationship with Jesus Christ." He taught that the word adventus would have been understood by them in that time to mean "God is here, he hasn't retired to his world, he hasn't left us alone." He further explained that an additional definition of the word could be " a visit from God."

His Holiness implored that the faithful put aside the activities, amusements, and multiple societal interests that "possess us" and can "sweep us away" to take the time observe silence and seek to understand signs of God that are present in every day life. These signs, he said, illustrate the presence of His love.

The Pontiff explained that "Advent invites and stimulates us to contemplate the Lord present."

It's also a time of expectation and hope, the Pope said. "It is a favorable occasion for our salvation." But, he continued, one has "hoped too little if beyond the profession or social position he has nothing left to hope in"

"Hope signals the path for humanity, and for Christians," he continued, " this is encouraged by a certainty: the Lord is present in our lives."

Through this relationship, he said, when a person's "time is full of sense, and in each instant we perceive something specific and valid, then the joy of the expectation makes the present more precious."

Pope Benedict called the congregation to "live the present intensely" and to "project it towards the future" with the gifts given to each of them. "In this way," he related, "the Christian Advent becomes occasion for a reawakening of the true meaning of expectation in us, returning to the heart of our faith that the mystery of Christ, the much awaited Messiah... "

"And if Jesus is present there no longer exists any time without meaning and empty," said the Holy Father, "if He is present, we can continue to hope even when others can no longer assure us of support, even when the present becomes difficult."

"Advent is a time of the presence and the expectation in the eternal," he stated. "Exactly for this reason, it is... the time of joy, an internalized joy, that no suffering can negate. Joy because God is made child."

Communion Prayer of St Philoxenus of Mabbug

2009-11-14T19:54:00.000-08:00

When you have extended your hands and taken the body, bow, and put your hands before your face, and worship the living Body whom you hold. Then speak with him in a low voice, and with your gaze resting upon him say to him:

I carry you, living God, who is incarnate in the bread, and I embrace you in my palms, Lord of the worlds whom no world has contained. You have circumscribed yourself in a fiery coal within a fleshly palm–you Lord, who with your palm measured out the dust of the earth. You are holy, God incarnate in my hands in a fiery coal which is a body. See, I hold you, although there is nothing that contains you; a bodily hand embraces you, Lord of natures whom a fleshly womb embraced. Within a womb you became a circumscribed body, and now within a hand you appear to me as a small morsel.

As you have made me worthy to approach you and receive you–and see, my hands embrace you confidently–make me worthy, Lord, to eat you in a holy manner and to taste the food of your body as a taste of your life. Instead of the stomach, the body’s member, may the womb of my intellect and the hand of my mind receive you. May you be conceived in me as you were in the womb of the Virgin. There you appeared as an infant, and your hidden self was revealed to the world as corporeal fruit; may you also appear in me here and be revealed from me in fruits that are spiritual works and just labors pleasing to your will.

And by your food may my desires be killed; and by the drinking of your cup may my passions be quenched. And instead of the members of myg inwardly, and excel outwardly, and run diligently, and to attain to the full stature of an interior human being. May I become a perfect man, mature in the intelligence residing in all my spiritual members, my head being crowned with the crown of perfection of all of my behavior. May I be a royal diadem in your hands, as you promised me, O hidden God whose manifestness I embrace in the perfection of your body. body, may my thoughts receive strength from the nourishment of your body. Like the manifest members of my body, may my hidden thoughts be engaged n exercise and in running and in works according to your living commands and your spiritual laws. From the food of your body and the drinking of your blood may I wax stron

St Philoxenus of Mabbug

Saint John Chrysostom, "On Leading Others to Christ"

2009-11-14T18:55:00.000-08:00

Nothing is more frigid than a Christian who does not care about the salvation of others. You cannot plead the excuse of poverty here; the widow who gave her two mites will stand to accuse you. Peter said, “Silver or gold I have none.” Paul was so poor he often went hungry, lacking the necessary food. You cannot allege lack of education or preparation. They were unlearned men. You cannot plead infirmity. Timothy was often laid low by sickness and the Apostle had to counsel him to take a little wine for his stomach. Every one can profit his neighbor if he will do what he can.

Do not say, It is impossible for me to lead others to the faith. If you are a Christian, it is impossible for it not to be so. The natural properties of things cannot be denied. This witnessing to others is part of the very nature of being a Christian. It would be easier for the sun to cease to shine and give forth heat than for a Christian not to send forth light; easier for the light to be darkness than for this to be so.

Saint John Chrysostom, "On Living Simply"

2009-11-14T18:51:00.000-08:00

“We who are disciples of Christ claim that our purpose on earth is to lay up treasures in heaven. But our actions often contradict our words. Many Christians build for themselves fine houses, lay out splendid gardens, construct bathhouses, and buy fields. It is small wonder, then, that many non-believers refuse to believe what we say. “If their eyes are set on mansions in heaven,” they ask, “why are they building mansions on earth? If they put their words into practice, they would give away their riches and live in simple huts.” So these non-believers conclude that we do not sincerely believe in the religion we profess; and as a result they refuse to take this religion seriously. You may say that the words of Christ on these matters are too hard for you to follow; and that while your spirit is willing, your flesh is weak. My answer is that the judgment of the non-believers about you is more accurate than your judgment of yourself. While the non-believers accuse us of hypocrisy, many of us should plead guilty.”

Infant of Prague

2009-09-29T08:33:00.001-07:00

The Grace-Giving Infant Jesus of Prague

The charming statue of the Child Jesus, displayed for people to venerate in the church of Our Lady of Victory in the Lesser Town district of Prague, receives visitors from dozens of countries from all over the world every day. Many people who have prayed to God before the statue have had their prayers answered in miraculous and unusual ways. People come here to pray for help, healing, or peace; some come in trust expecting the birth of a child; and many return to give thanks.

The statue is 47 cm high and made out of wood with the surface modelled in coloured wax. It represents a small child, clothed in a long robe below which his bare feet can be seen. His sweet face attracts visitors through its beauty. The right hand of the Infant Jesus is raised in blessing, while his left hand holds a sphere surmounted by a cross – the whole of our universe rests in his hands. His royal insignia express the faith that all Christians have in common – the faith in the divinity of Jesus. In him almighty God himself, ruler over all things, became a human being.
History of the Infant Jesus of Prague

The Infant Jesus of Prague originally came from Spain. The legend tells that the Infant Jesus appeared miraculously to a certain monk, who modelled the statue based on the appearance of the apparition. According to another legend the statue belonged to St. Teresa of Avila, the founder of the Discalced Carmelites, who was aflame with a great love for the Child Jesus. She is said to have given the statue to a friend of hers, whose daughter was setting out to travel to Prague.

When the Duchess Maria Manrique de Lara came to Bohemia to marry a Bohemian nobleman in 1556, she received the statue from her mother as a wedding gift. When her daughter Polyxena of Lobkowicz was widowed, she gave the precious statue to the monastery of the Discalced Carmelites attached to the church of Our Lady of Victory in 1628.

The Carmelites placed the statue in the novitiate chapel, so that the young monks could learn from the virtues of the Child Jesus. At that time the Thirty Years' War was raging through Europe and even the Infant Jesus was not spared when the Saxon army occupied Prague in 1631. It was only after his return to Prague in 1637 that Father Cyril of the Mother of God, originally from Luxemburg, discovered the statue, abandoned in a corner. To his sorrow, however, he found that the Infant Jesus had had both hands broken off. At this moment it seemed to him that the Infant Jesus was saying to him:

"Have mercy on me and I will have mercy on you.
Give me hands and I will give you peace.
The more you honour me, the more I will bless you."

Eventually Father Cyril had new hands made for the Infant Jesus. The gold coin invested in this was returned many times over, as the Child Jesus began to bless the monastery, the local people, and the whole of Prague. Miraculous healings were attributed to him, as was the protection of Prague when it was laid siege to by the Swedes in 1639. In 1651 the statue was carried as a pilgrim round all the churches in Prague and in 1655 it was solemnly crowned by the Bishop of Prague. This event is still remembered today on the anniversary feast-day, falling on the first Sunday in May.

The statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague
Origin, size, material and appearance

According to the sources, the statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague, the original of which is venerated in the church of Our Lady of Victory in the Lesser Town district of Prague, originally came from Spain. It was probably made there in the second half of the 16th century or earlier.

The statue is 47 cm high and represents Jesus when he was only a few years old. On a 2-cm base there is a figure measuring 45 cm, dressed in a long flowing robe. Parts of the feet are visible beneath the bottom of the robe. The face is very delicately modeled and framed by medium-length curling hair.

The core of the statue is carved out of wood, which is probably covered with linen, and the surface is modeled in coloured wax. The surface of the wax is quite fragile. In order to protect the statue from damage, it's bottom half till the waist is enclosed in a silver case.
Gestures and royal attributes of the statue

The Infant Jesus has his right hand raised in blessing, while the left hand has its palm turned upwards and holds a symbol of rule over the world – the imperial orb surmounted by a cross. There is an opening in the palm of the hand, in which the orb is fixed. In the past, the statue was decorated with small jewels, presented as gifts by the faithful. The most valuable one was a copy of the Order of the Golden Fleece, which is now lost.

The crown which currently adorns the head of the Infant Jesus was made in the years 1810 to 1820. The Infant Jesus also has a second crown dating from 1767. Both crowns were made in the workshops of Prague goldsmiths. The crown is not placed directly on the statue but is fixed independently just above it.

Robes of the Infant Jesus of Prague
Purpose of dressing the statue

The ancient tradition of dressing the grace-giving statue of the Infant Jesus is intended to bring Jesus closer to the faithful as a real human being. It helps us to experience the closeness of Jesus and to express our love and reverence. It is not a case of idolatry, for the statue is not alive and it serves only as a reminder and a means of enabling a spiritual encounter with the living Christ.

The statue itself represents Jesus as a very small child, wearing a simple gown. This statue, sublime in its simplicity, is dressed in a white alb and royal robes to express the thought that is common to all Christians, that this child is a king of the house of David, and, what is more, that Jesus is Son of God and God himself, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

The Infant Jesus of Prague has been dressed in different clothes from time immemorial, and people know him best in his royal robes. Most of his outfits are gifts of thanksgiving. The wardrobe numbers around a hundred costumes, some of which are incomplete or unusable. Some of the costumes can be seen in the museum, which the public can visit free of charge. The task of changing the Infant Jesus' robes is entrusted to the Carmelite Sisters of the Child Jesus, who help the Discalced Carmelite Fathers to look after this place of pilgrimage.
Colours of the robes

The robes of the Infant Jesus of Prague are changed so that the colour corresponds to the liturgical season, which is governed by the church calendar. Four basic colours are normally used:

* White – festive colour of purity and holiness – for feast days and the Easter and Christmas periods
* Red – colour of blood and fire, royal colour – for Holy Week, Pentecost time and feasts of the Holy Cross
* Violet – solemn colour symbolising repentance – for the Lenten and Advent seasons
* Green – colour of life and hope – for ordinary time (colour used most often)

On the feast of his coronation the Infant Jesus is usually dressed in royal robes with an ermine mantle. On special occasions other colours are used:

* Rose – colour of subdued joy – may be used on the third Sunday of Advent and the fourth Sunday of Lent
* Gold – festive colour – may replace other colours
Blue – sometimes used as a festive colour, especially for feasts of Our Lady

Chaplet to the Child Jesus

This chaplet consists of three "Our Fathers" in honor of the Holy Family, and twelve "Hail Marys" in memory of the twelve childhood years of Jesus Christ. To this chaplet of fifteen beads is attached a medal of the Infant Jesus.

The chaplet can be recited in the following way:

Begin on the medal with the words: "Holy Infant Jesus, bless and protect us!" or with the following invocation: "Divine Infant Jesus, I adore Your Cross,and I accept all the crosses you will be pleased to send me. Adorable Trinity, I offer you for the glory of the Holy Name of God all the adorations of the Sacred Hear of the Holy Infant Jesus."

You may kiss the medal.

Say three times "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us" and the prayer "Our Father".

Then twelve times "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us" and the prayer "Hail Mary". During each "Hail Mary" it is recommended that you meditate on one of the twelve mysteries of Jesus' childhood:

1. The Incarnation of the Son of God
2. The life in the womb of the Virgin Mary
3. The birth in Bethlehem
4. The adoration by the shepherds
5. The circumcision of the Lord
6. The adoration by the three magi
7. The presentation in the Temple
8. The flight to Egypt
9. The stay in Egypt
10. The return to Nazareth
11. The hidden life in Nazareth
12. The twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple

At the end, you may add (once or thrice): "Glory be to the Father…" and "Holy Infant Jesus, bless and protect us!"

Venerable Carlo Gnocchi

2009-09-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

G. K. Chesterton once wrote of war that if it is, “not a holy war, it is an unholy one: a massacre.” (CW, XXX, P. 307) The horrific realities of war are often not realized until they have been experienced. Until then it is easy to glorify war and get caught up in the patriotism that drives young men to fight. Venerable Don Carlo Gnocchi (pronounced NO-kee) embodies one man who was transformed by his wartime experience.

Don Carlo was an Italian priest who desired to serve as a military chaplain. Before having the honor, he encouraged young men to enlist during World War II. Even though the Italian army was currently controlled by the Fascist regime, he believed that fighting for one's country was a way of defending the weak. He rightly saw war as an opportunity to make better men because war allows men to practice heroic virtue. Eventually he was given a post with the Alpine regiment fighting in Albania. While he was serving on the front lines he witnessed countless young men sacrificing their lives for commanders who did not value life and who were ultimately fighting for an unjust cause.

When Don Carlo returned to his hometown he was dismayed that all the boys he had been teaching had decided to follow his lead and join the military. He had no choice but to re-enlist and serve alongside these young men (now fighting under German command) on the frigid Russian front. 68,000 troops were sent to Russia and only 7,000 returned. Some were lost to the fighting, but most were lost to the extreme cold.

The most difficult task Don Gnocchi had to undertake began after the war ended. He traveled throughout Italy to personally console the families of his fallen friends and give them any letters or belongings that he had been entrusted with. In his journeys he realized that the real war was not over. The real war was being fought in the lives of the victims. With so many men gone, many families were left with no one to care for them. Among the needy were a large number of children who had lost limbs because of land mines placed in the Italian countryside. Without fathers to support them, these children had no futures, and their special needs surpassed the abilities of the orphanages to care for them.

Don Carlo had no money and no plan, but he put his trust in God and began gathering all these children. He started by opening up the rectory to disabled children but he required more help and better facilities to sustain the growth and adequately care for the orphans. It took the support of many generous people and powerful Church leaders to provide the housing, food and medical attention that these poor mutilati needed.

Don Carlo's story is unique because he not only provided for the physical care of the orphans, he championed the Catholic theology of redemptive suffering and taught the children how to live it. When we offer up our suffering for others, we offer it for those we love and for the weakest people in society. Don Carlo showed his children that even the weakest of people can unite their suffering to the suffering of Christ on the cross. When they do this they are participating in the life of Christ and helping Him with His work on earth and in the Church.

The Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundazione for disabled children is well-respected and continues to thrive in Italy today. It has expanded its care to elderly people who are unable take care of themselves and for terminal cancer patients. On January 17^th, 2009 a miracle attributed to Venerable Don Carlo Gnocchi was promulgated by Pope Benedict XVI and he will be beatified on October 25^th, 2009.

Dormition and Assumption of the Virgin Mary Theotokos, August 15th

2009-08-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

Although probably not unknown in the early Church, the earliest references to the Dormition and Assumption of the Virgin Mary appear in the 4th (or possibly late 3rd) century in Liber Requiei Mariae (The Book of Mary's Repose), and in the writings of a Bishop Meliton. Some of the Church Fathers believed that the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM) was assumed while still alive, others that she was assumed after she had died. Both views are permitted under the infallible definition of Pius XII. St. John of Damascus (d. AD 755) relates a tradition where, during the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451), the emperor Marcian and his wife wished to find the body of Mary. He tells how all the apostles had seen her death, but her tomb was empty upon inspection.

Festivals commemorating the death of the Blessed Virgin Mary were common from the 5th century onwards, although the exact dates were never universally fixed. In AD 556 the patriarch of Alexandria, Theodosius, attests to two popular Marian feasts in Egypt: Mary's death (January 16) and Assumption (August 9). Theodosius understood Mary to have died before being assumed, and according to the feast dates in Egypt at the time, she was assumed 206 days after her death. In AD 600, the emperor Mauricius decreed that the Assumption was to be celebrated on August 15. Soon, the Church in Ireland adopted this date, and it was later introduced in Rome. As the cult of Mary grew in the West, there was more pressure for the Catholic Church to define the exact nature of the Assumption. Pope Pius did this in 1950, in terms that are still rather general, and can be accepted by Western Catholics, Eastern Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox.

The Eastern Church teaches that the Virgin Mary died a fully human death before being assumed, and celebrates the feast accordingly. According to various traditions known in the East, St. Thomas was not around when Mary passed away, just as he was absent when Jesus was raised from the dead. Because he was three days late to Mary's funeral, he requested to see Mary's body. However, when her tomb was opened, her body was not found. This is not viewed as a resurrection like her Son's, but as the first fruits of our own bodily resurrection. In one of the most complicated of Christian Hymns (utilizing all 8 tones of the Eastern chanting system) the story of her journeying to heaven is revealed as her funeral procession. The apostles act as her pall-bearers. As she arrives in heaven, she is the first given the task of all the glorified saints, that of praying for us to her Son and our Lord.

Protestants have generally rejected the Assumption of Mary theologically and devotionally, probably because it is not explicitly biblical. Many Reformation denominations (like Anglicanism and Lutheranism) have set aside August 15th as a day commemorating the Blessed Virgin Mary, although without the explicit context of the Assumption. However, the Assumption of Mary is an ancient belief certainly fitting the honor of the one chosen to bear the Son of God. This dogma is solidly within the biblical tradition of holy and unique individuals being taken bodily to heaven (like Elijah and Enoch). She who is "Mother of the Lord," "full of grace," and whom "all generations shall call blessed" is certainly worthy of this honor. Church Father John of Damascus describes the importance of celebrating the Assumption quite well:

Let us then also keep the solemn [Assumption] feast today to honour the joyful departure of God's Mother...Thus, recognizing God's Mother in this Virgin, we celebrate her falling asleep, not proclaiming her as God - far be from us these heathen fables - since we are announcing her death, but recognizing her as the Mother of the Incarnate God...Let us honour her in nocturnal vigil; let us delight in her purity of soul and body, for she next to God surpasses all in purity...Let us show our love for her by compassion and kindness towards the poor...Let our souls rejoice in the Ark of God...With Gabriel, the great archangel, let us exclaim, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Hail, inexhaustible ocean of grace. Hail, sole refuge in grief. Hail, cure of hearts. Hail, through whom death is expelled and life is installed" (Sermon II: On the Assumption).

Prayer From the Festal Menaion

(tone 1) "By the royal command of God,
the divinely inspired apostles are caught up
from over all the world into the clouds on high.

(tone 5) Reaching thy immaculate body,
the source of Life, they salute it with mighty honour.

(tone 2) The highest powers of heaven
stood by with their own Master.

(tone 6) Seized with dread
they accompany thy inviolate body that had held God,
and they went on high before thee, crying, unseen,
to the hierarchies above:
'Lo, the Queen of all, the Maid of God, is nigh.'

(tone 3) Open wide the gates and receive above the world
the Mother of the everlasting Light.

(tone 7) For through her the salvation of all mankind has come.
We have not the strength to look upon her,
and are unable to render honours worthy of her,

(tone 4) for her excellence is past all understanding.

(tone 8) Therefore, O most pure Theotokos,
who livest forever with Thy Son, the King Who brings life,
pray without ceasing that thy newborn people
be guarded on every side and saved from all adverse assault:
for we are under thy protection,

(tone 1) and we bless thee in beauty and light unto all ages."
From the Vespers of the Dormition

__________________________________________________________________

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – August 15
Adapted from The Liturgical Year by Abbot Gueranger

Ancient Coptic Rite Icon of the Assumption “Today the Virgin Mary ascended to Heaven; rejoice, for She reigns with Christ forever.” The Church will close Her chants on this glorious day with this sweet antiphon, which resumes the object of the Feast and the spirit in which it should be celebrated.

No other solemnity breathes, like this one, at once triumph and peace; none better answers to the enthusiasm of the many and the serenity of souls consummated in love. Assuredly that was as great a triumph when Our Lord, rising by His own power from the tomb, cast Hell into dismay; but to our souls, so abruptly drawn from the abyss of sorrows on Golgotha, the suddenness of the victory caused a sort of stupor to mingle with the joy of that greatest of days. In presence of the prostrate angels, the hesitating apostles, the women seized with fear and trembling, one felt that the divine isolation of the Conqueror of death was perceptible even to His most intimate friends, and kept them, like Magdalene, at a distance.

Mary’s death, however, leaves no impression but peace; that death had no other cause than love. Being a mere creature, She could not deliver Herself from that claim of the old enemy; but leaving Her tomb filled with flowers; She mounts up to Heaven, flowing with delights, leaning upon Her Beloved (Cant. 8: 5). Amid the acclamations of the daughters of Sion, who will henceforth never cease to call Her Blessed, She ascends surrounded by choirs of heavenly spirits joyfully praising the Son of God. Never more will shadows veil, as they did on earth, the glory of the most beautiful daughter of Eve. Beyond the immovable Thrones, beyond the dazzling Cherubim, beyond the flaming Seraphim, onward She passes, delighting the heavenly city with Her sweet perfumes. She stays not till She reaches the very confines of the Divinity; close to the throne of honor where Her Son, the King of ages, reigns in justice and in power; there She is proclaimed Queen, there She will reign for evermore in mercy and in goodness.

Among the feasts of saints, this is the solemnity of solemnities. “Let the mind of man,” says St. Peter Damian, “be occupied in declaring Her magnificence; let his speech reflect Her majesty. May the Sovereign of the world deign to accept the goodwill of our lips, to aid our insufficiency, to illumine with her own light the sublimity of this day.”

It is no new thing, then, that Mary’s triumph fills the hearts of Christians with enthusiasm. If certain ancient calendars give to this Feast the title of Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we cannot thence conclude that in those times the Feast had no other object than Mary’s holy death; the Greeks, from whom we have the expression, have always included in the solemnity the glorious triumph that followed Her death.

At Rome the Assumption or Dormition of the Holy Mother of God appears in the 7th century to have already been celebrated for an indefinite length of time; nor does it seem to have had any other day than August 15. According to Nicephorus Callistus, the same date was assigned to it for Constantinople by the Emperor Mauritius at the end of the 6th century. The historian notes, at the same time, the origin of several other solemnities, while of the Dormition alone, he does not say that it was established by Mauritius on such a day; hence learned authors have concluded that the Feast itself already existed before the imperial decree was issued, which was thus only intended to put an end to its being celebrated on various days.

At that very time, far away from Byzantium, the Merovingian Franks celebrated the glorification of Our Lady on January 18. However the choice of this day may be accounted for, it is remarkable that the Copts on the borders of the Nile announce on January 28, the repose of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and the Assumption of Her body into Heaven; they, however, repeat the announcement on August 21, and two weeks earlier they, like the Greeks, begin their Lent in honor of the Mother of God.

Some authors think that the Assumption has been kept from apostolic times; but the primitive liturgical documents are silent about it. The hesitation as to the date of its celebration, and the liberty so long allowed with regard to it, seem to point to the spontaneous initiative of divers Churches, owing to some fact attracting attention to the mystery or throwing some light upon it. Of this nature we may reckon the account everywhere spread abroad about the year 451, in which Juvenal of Jerusalem related to the Empress St. Pulcheria and her husband Marcian the history of the tomb which the Apostles had prepared for Our Lady at the foot of Mount Olivet, and which was found empty of its precious deposit. The following words of St. Andrew of Crete in the 7th century show how the solemnity of the Assumption gained ground in consequence of such circumstances. The Saint was born at Damascus, became a monk at Jerusalem, was afterwards Deacon at Constantinople, and lastly Bishop of the celebrated island from which he takes his name; no one then could speak for the East with better authority. “The present solemnity,” he says, “is full of mystery, having for its object to celebrate the day whereon the Mother of God fell asleep; this solemnity is too elevated for any discourse to reach; by some this mystery has not always been celebrated, but now all love and honor it. Silence long preceded speech, but now love divulges the secret. The gift of God must be manifested, not buried; we must show it forth, not as recently discovered, but as having recovered its splendor. Some of those who lived before us knew it but imperfectly; that is no reason for always keeping silence about it; it has not become altogether obscured; let us proclaim it and keep a feast. Today let the inhabitants of Heaven and earth be united, let the joy of Angels and men be one, let every tongue exult and sing Hail to the Mother of God.”

In 1870 an earnest desire was expressed to have the doctrine of Mary’s Assumption defined as a dogma of faith; however, due to the Italian civil war, the Vatican Council was suspended too soon to complete our Lady’s crown. This was accomplished in 1950, by His Holiness, Pope Pius XII.

THE DREADFUL STATE OF THE LUKEWARM SOUL

2009-08-09T05:01:00.000-07:00

Sermon by St John Vianney

In speaking to you today, my dear brethren, of the dreadful state of the lukewarm soul, my purpose is not to paint for you a terrifying and despairing picture of the soul which is living in mortal sin without even having the wish to escape from this condition. That poor unfortunate creature can but look forward to the wrath of God in the next life. Alas! These sinners hear me; they know well of whom I am speaking at this very moment.... We will go no further, for all that I would wish to say would serve only to harden them more.

In speaking to you, my brethren, of the lukewarm soul, I do not wish, either, to speak of those who make neither their Easter duty nor their annual Confession. They know very well that in spite of all their prayers and their other good works they will be lost. Let us leave them in their blindness, since they want to remain that way....

Nor do I understand, brethren, by the lukewarm soul, that soul who would like to be worldly without ceasing to be a child of God. You will see such a one at one moment prostrate before God, his Saviour and his Master, and the next moment similarly prostrate before the world, his idol.

Poor blind creature, who gives one hand to God and the other to the world, so that he can call both to his aid, and promise his heart to each in turn! He loves God, or rather, he would like to love Him, but he would also like to please the world. Then, weary of wanting to give his allegiance to both, he ends by giving it to the world alone. This is an extraordinary life and one which offers so strange a spectacle that it is hard to persuade oneself that it could be the life of one and the same person. I am going to show you this so clearly that perhaps many among you will be hurt by it. But that will matter little to me, for I am always going to tell you what I ought to tell you, and then you will do what you wish about it....

I would say further, my brethren, that whoever wants to please both the world and God leads one of the most unhappy of lives. You shall see how. Here is someone who gives himself up to the pleasures of the world or develops some evil habit.

How great is his fear when he comes to fulfil his religious duties; that is, when he says his prayers, when he goes to Confession, or wants to go to Holy Communion! He does not want to be seen by those with whom he has been dancing and passing nights at the cabarets, where he has been giving himself over to many kinds of licentiousness. Has he come to the stage when he is going to deceive his confessor by hiding the worst of his actions and thus obtain permission to go to Holy Communion, or rather, to commit a sacrilege? He would prefer to go to Holy Communion before or after Mass, that is to say, when there is no one present. Yet he is quite happy to be seen by the good people who know nothing about his evil life and among whom he would like to arouse good opinions about himself. In front of devout people he talks about religion. When he is with those who have no religion, he will talk only about the pleasures of the world. He would blush to fulfil his religious practices in front of his companions or those boys and girls who share his evil ways....

This is so true that one day someone asked me to allow him to go to Holy Communion in the sacristy so that no one would see him. Is it possible, my brethren, that one could think upon such horrible behaviour without shuddering?

But we shall proceed further and you will see the embarrassment of these poor people who want to follow the world without -- outwardly at any rate -- leaving God. Here is Easter approaching. They must go to Confession. It is not, of course, that they want to go or that they feel any urge or need to receive the Sacrament of Penance. They would be only too pleased if Easter came around about once every thirty years. But their parents still retain the exterior practice of religion. They will be happy if their children go to the altar, and they keep urging them, then, to go to Confession. In this, of course, they make a mistake. If only they would just pray for them and not torment them into committing sacrileges. So to rid themselves of the importunity of their parents, to keep up appearances, these people will get together to find out who is the best confessor to try for absolution for the first or second time

"Look," says one, "my parents keep nagging at me because I haven't been to Confession. Where shall we go?" "It is of no use going to our parish priest; he is too scrupulous. He would not allow us to make our Easter duty. We will have to try to find So-and-So. He let this one and that one go through, and they are worse than we are. We have done no more harm than they have."

Another will say: "I assure you that if it were not for my parents I would not make my Easter duty at all. Our catechism says that to make a good Confession we must give up sin and the occasions of sin, and we are doing neither the one nor the other. I tell you sincerely that I am really embarrassed every time Easter comes around. I will be glad when the time comes for me to settle down and to cease gallivanting. I will make a confession then of my whole life, to put right the ones I am making now. Without that I would not die happy."

"Well," another will say to him, "when that time comes you ought to go to the priest who has been hearing your confessions up to the present. He will know you best." "Indeed no! I will go to the one who would not give me absolution, because he would not want to see me damned either."

"My word, aren't you good! That means nothing at all. They all have the same power."

"That is a good thing to remember when we are doing what we ought to do. But when we are in sin, we think otherwise.

One day I went to see a girl who was pretty careless. She told me that she was not going back to Confession to the priests who were so easy and who, in making it seem as if they wanted to save you, pushed you into Hell."

That is how many of these poor blind people behave. I "Father," they will say to the priest, "I am going to Confession to you because our parish priest is too exacting. He wants to make us promise things which we cannot hold to. He would have us all saints, and that is not possible in the world. He would want us never to go to dances, nor to frequent cabarets or amusements. If someone has a bad habit, he will not give Absolution until the habit has been given up completely. If we had to do all that we should never make our Easter duty at all. My parents, who are very religious, are always after me to make my Easter duty. I will do all I can. But no one can say that he will never return to these amusements, since he never knows when he is going to encounter them."

"Ah!" says the confessor, quite deceived by this sincere sounding talk, "I think your parish priest is perhaps a little exacting. Make your act of contrition, and I will give you Absolution. Try to be good now."

That is to say: Bow your head; you are going to trample in the adorable Blood of Jesus Christ; you are going to sell your God like Judas sold Him to His executioners, and tomorrow you will go to Holy Communion, where you will proceed to crucify Him. What horror! What abomination! Go on, vile Judas, go to the holy table, go and give death to your God and your Saviour! Let your conscience cry out, only try to stifle its remorse as much as you can.... But I am going too far, my brethren. Let us leave these poor blind creatures in their gloom.

I think, brethren, that you would like to know what is the state of the lukewarm soul. Well, this is it. A lukewarm soul is not yet quite dead in the eyes of God because the faith, the hope, and the charity which are its spiritual life are not altogether extinct. But it is a faith without zeal, a hope without resolution, a charity without ardour....

Nothing touches this soul: it hears the word of God, yes, that is true; but often it just bores it. Its possessor hears it with difficulty, more or less by habit, like someone who thinks that he knows enough about it and does enough of what he should.

Any prayers which are a bit long are distasteful to him. This soul is so full of whatever it has just been doing or what it is going to do next, its boredom is so great, that this poor unfortunate thing is almost in agony. It is still alive, but it is not capable of doing anything to gain Heaven....

For the last twenty years this soul has been filled with good intentions without doing anything at all to correct its habits.

It is like someone who is envious of anyone who is on top of the world but who would not deign to lift a foot to try to get there himself. It would not, however, wish to renounce eternal blessings for those of the world. Yet it does not wish either to leave the world or to go to Heaven, and if it can just manage to pass its time without crosses or difficulties, it would never ask to leave this world at all. If you hear someone with such a soul say that life is long and pretty miserable, that is only when everything is not going in accordance with his desires. If God, in order to force such a soul to detach itself from temporal things, sends it any cross or suffering, it is fretful and grieving and abandons itself to grumbles and complaints and often even to a kind of despair. It seems as if it does not want to see that God has sent it these trials for its good, to detach it from this world and to draw it towards Himself. What has it done to deserve these trials? In this state a person thinks in his own mind that there are many others more blameworthy than himself who have not to submit to such trials.

In prosperous times the lukewarm soul does not go so far as to forget God, but neither does it forget itself. It knows very well how to boast about all the means it has employed to achieve its prosperity. It is quite convinced that many others would not have achieved the same success. It loves to repeat that and to hear it repeated, and every time it hears it, it is with fresh pleasure. The individual with the lukewarm soul assumes a gracious air when associating with those who flatter him. But towards those who have not paid him the respect which he believes he has deserved or who have not been grateful for his kindnesses, he maintains an air of frigid indifference and seems to indicate to them that they are ungrateful creatures who do not deserve to receive the good which he has done them....

If I wanted to paint you an exact picture, my brethren, of the state of a soul which lives in tepidity, I should tell you that it is like a tortoise or a snail. It moves only by dragging itself along the ground, and one can see it getting from place to place with great difficulty. The love of God, which it feels deep down in itself, is like a tiny spark of fire hidden under a heap of ashes.

The lukewarm soul comes to the point of being completely indifferent to its own loss. It has nothing left but a love without tenderness, without action, and without energy which sustains it with difficulty in all that is essential for salvation. But for all other means of Grace, it looks upon them as nothing or almost nothing. Alas, my brethren, this poor soul in its tepidity is like someone between two bouts of sleep. It would like to act, but its will has become so softened that it lacks either the force or the courage to accomplish its wishes.

It is true that a Christian who lives in tepidity still regularly -- in appearance at least -- fulfils his duties. He will indeed get down on his knees every morning to say his prayers. He will go to the Sacraments every year at Easter and even several times during the course of the twelve months. But in all of this there will be such a distaste, so much slackness and so much indifference, so little preparation, so little change in his way of life, that it is easy to see that he is only fulfilling his duties from habit and routine .... because this is a feast and he is in the habit of carrying them out at such a time. His Confessions and his Communions are not sacrilegious, if you like, but they are Confessions and Communions which bear no fruit -- which, far from making him more perfect and more pleasing to God, only make him more unworthy. As for his prayers, God alone knows what -- without, of course, any preparation -- he makes of these.

In the morning it is not God who occupies his thoughts, nor the salvation of his poor soul; he is quite taken up with thoughts of work. His mind is so wrapped up in the things of earth that the thought of God has no place in it. He is thinking about what he is going to be doing during the day, where he will be sending his children and his various employees, in what way he will expedite his own work. To say his prayers, he gets down on his knees, undoubtedly, but he does not know what he wants to ask God, nor what he needs, nor even before whom he is kneeling. His careless demeanour shows this very clearly. It is a poor man indeed who, however miserable he is, wants nothing at all and loves his poverty. It is surely a desperately sick person who scorns doctors and remedies and clings to his infirmities.

You can see that this lukewarm soul has no difficulty, on the slightest pretext, in talking during the course of his prayers.

For no reason at all he will abandon them, partly at least, thinking that he will finish them in another moment. Does he want to offer his day to God, to say his Grace? He does all that, but often without thinking of the one who is addressed. He will not even stop working. If the possessor of the lukewarm soul is a man, he will turn his cap or his hat around in his hands as if to see whether it is good or bad, as though he had some idea of selling it. If it is a woman, she will say her prayers while slicing bread into her soup, or putting wood on the fire, or calling out to her children or maid. If you like, such distractions during prayer are not exactly deliberate. People would rather not have them, but because it is necessary to go to so much trouble and expend so much energy to get rid of them, they let them alone and allow them to come as they will.

The lukewarm Christian may not perhaps work on Sunday at tasks which seem to be forbidden to anyone who has even the slightest shred of religion, but doing some sewing, arranging something in the house, driving sheep to the fields during the times for Masses, on the pretext that there is not enough food to give them -- all these things will be done without the slightest scruple, and such people will prefer to allow their souls and the souls of their employees to perish rather than endanger their animals. A man will busy himself getting out his tools and his carts and harrows and so on, for the next day; he will fill in a hole or fence a gap; he will cut various lengths of cords and ropes; he will carry out the churns and set them in order. What do you think about all this, my brethren? Is it not, alas, the simple truth? ....

A lukewarm soul will go to Confession regularly, and even quite frequently. But what kind of Confessions are they? No preparation, no desire to correct faults, or, at the least, a desire so feeble and so small that the slightest difficulty will put a stop to it altogether. The Confessions of such a person are merely repetitions of old ones, which would be a happy state of affairs indeed if there were nothing to add to them. Twenty years ago he was accusing himself of the same things he confesses today, and if he goes to Confession for the next twenty years, he will say the same things. A lukewarm soul will not, if you like, commit the big sins. But some slander or back-biting, a lie, a feeling of hatred, of dislike, of jealousy, a slight touch of deceit or double-dealing -- these count for nothing with it. If it is a woman and you do not pay her all the respect which she considers her due, she will, under the guise of pretending that God has been offended, make sure that you realise it; she could say more than that, of course, since it is she herself who has been offended. It is true that such a woman would not stop going to the Sacraments, but her dispositions are worthy of compassion.

On the day when she wants to receive her God, she spends part of the morning thinking of temporal matters. If it is a man, he will be thinking about his deals and his sales. If it is a married woman, she will be thinking about her household and her children. If it is a young girl, her thoughts will be on her clothes.

If it is a boy, he will be dreaming about passing pleasures and so on. The lukewarm soul shuts God up in an obscure and ugly kind of prison. Its possessor does not crucify Him, but God can find little joy or consolation in his heart. All his dispositions proclaim that his poor soul is struggling for the breath of life.

After having received Holy Communion, this person will hardly give another thought to God in all the days to follow. His manner of life tells us that he did not know the greatness of the happiness which had been his.

A lukewarm Christian thinks very little upon the state of his poor soul and almost never lets his mind run over the past. If the thought of making any effort to be better crosses his mind at all, he believes that once he has confessed his sins, he ought to be perfectly happy and at peace. He assists at Holy Mass very much as he would at any ordinary activity. He does not think at all seriously of what he is doing and finds no trouble in chatting about all sorts of things while on the way there. Possibly he will not give a single thought to the fact that he is about to participate in the greatest of all the gifts that God, all-powerful as He is, could give us. He does give some thought to the needs of his own soul, yes, but a very small and feeble amount of thought indeed. Frequently he will even present himself before the presence of God without having any idea of what he is going to ask of Him. He has few scruples in cutting out, on the least pretext, the Asperges and the prayers before Mass. During the course of the service, he does not want to go to sleep, of course, and he is even afraid that someone might see him, but he does not do himself any violence all the same. He does not want, of course, to have distractions during prayer or during the Holy Mass, yet when he should put up some little fight against them, he suffers them very patiently, considering the fact that he does not like them. Fast days are reduced to practically nothing, either by advancing the time of the main meal or, under the pretext that Heaven was never taken by famine, by making the collation so abundant that it amounts to a full meal. When he performs good or beneficial actions, his intentions are often very mixed -- sometimes it is to please someone, sometimes it is out of compassion, and sometimes it is just to please the world. With such people everything that is not a really serious sin is good enough. They like doing good, being faithful, but they wish that it did not cost them anything or, at least, that it cost very little. They would like to visit the sick, indeed, but it would be more convenient if the sick would come to them. They have something to give away in alms, they know quite well that a certain person has need of help, but they wait until she comes to ask them instead of anticipating her, which would make the kindness so very much more meritorious. We will even say, my brethren, that the person who leads a lukewarm life does not fail to do plenty of good works, to frequent the Sacraments, to assist regularly at all church services, but in all of this one sees only a weak, languishing faith, hope which the slightest trial will upset, a love of God and of neighbour which is without warmth or pleasure. Everything that such a person does is not entirely lost, but it is very nearly so.

See, before God, my brethren, on what side you are. On the side of the sinners, who have abandoned everything and plunge themselves into sin without remorse? On the side of the just souls, who seek but God alone? Or are you of the number of these slack, tepid, and indifferent souls such as we have just been depicting for you? Down which road are you travelling?

Who can dare assure himself that he is neither a great sinner nor a tepid soul but that he is one of the elect? Alas, my brethren, how many seem to be good Christians in the eyes of the world who are really tepid souls in the eyes of God, Who knows our inmost hearts....

Let us ask God with all our hearts, if we are in this state, to give us the grace to get out of it, so that we may take the route that all the saints have taken and arrive at the happiness that they are enjoying. That is what I desire for you....

Vatican declares Kerala priest as 'Servant of God'

2009-06-09T17:06:00.000-07:00

The Catholic church on Tuesday declared Father Antony Thachuparambil, popularly known as 'Missionary of Chelakkara', as 'Servant of God'.

The declaration was made by Thrissur Archbishop Mar Andrews Thazhath at St Mary's Forane Church in Chelakkara near Thrissur on Tuesday morning.

Father Francis Aloor, spokesman for the Archdiocese, said the Pope's 'bull' (document from Vatican) was read out by the Senior Vicar General Father Raphael Thattil during a high con-celebrated mass led by Thazhath, Archbishop Emeritus, Mar Jacob Thoomkuzhy amid a large gathering of faithful and laymen.

Declaration of a faithful as 'Servant of God' is the first step for canonisation under the Roman Catholic Church.

Other steps towards the sainthood, are declarations of Venerable, Blessed and Canonisation, Aloor said.

Following order of 'No-objection' in this regard, the work of the Tribunal for the canonisation of Thachuparambil would be initiated by the Postulator Father Paul Pulicken, he said.

Born in 1894 at Chalakudy, Thachuparambil had served about three decades since 1930 in Chelakkara, an extremely backward forest area.

He had made immense contribution for the overall development of Chelakkara, serving all sections of the society irrespective of caste, creed, colour and religion.

Thachuparambil has established a school, Balabhavan for orphans and a church in the 1930s. He died on June 9, 1963.

U.S. bishops launch website for Year for Priests

2009-06-09T17:05:00.001-07:00

Washington D.C., Jun 9, 2009 / 01:18 am (CNA).- The U.S. bishops’ conference has set up a website to help mark the Year for Priests by providing prayers and other resources.

Pope Benedict XVI designated the Year to begin on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, June 19. His announcement also designated St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, as the Universal Patron of All Priests. According to a press release from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations has set up a website in service of the year’s theme.

“Please pray for our priests that they might always be faithful to their sacred calling,” the site says.

The site includes Pope Benedict’s message for the Year of Priests and the announcement of the celebration’s plenary indulgence in English and Spanish. It also provides prayers for both priests and laity in PDF format so that they may be downloaded and printed for diocesan and parochial use.

The Secretariat plans to provide monthly articles by prominent Catholic women who will write about their “faith and trust” in the priesthood.

Other activities for the Year of Priests include a gathering of priests in Rome as well as a retreat on the national level. Information on the retreat will also be provided through the website, which is located at http://www.usccb.org/yearforpriests/index.shtml

Curé of Ars, born at Dardilly, near Lyons, France, on 8 May, 1786; died at Ars, 4 August, 1859; son of Matthieu Vianney and Marie Beluze.

In 1806, the curé at Ecully, M. Balley, opened a school for ecclesiastical students, and Jean-Marie was sent to him. Though he was of average intelligence and his masters never seem to have doubted his vocation, his knowledge was extremely limited, being confined to a little arithmetic, history, and geography, and he found learning, especially the study of Latin, excessively difficult. One of his fellow-students, Matthias Loras, afterwards first Bishop of Dubuque, assisted him with his Latin lessons.

But now another obstacle presented itself. Young Vianney was drawn in the conscription, the war with Spain and the urgent need of recruits having caused Napoleon to withdraw the exemption enjoyed by the ecclesiastical students in the diocese of his uncle, Cardinal Fesch. Matthieu Vianney tried unsuccessfully to procure a substitute, so his son was obliged to go. His regiment soon received marching orders. The morning of departure, Jean-Baptiste went to church to pray, and on his return to the barracks found that his comrades had already left. He was threatened with arrest, but the recruiting captainbelieved his story and sent him after the troops. At nightfall he met a young man who volunteered to guide him to his fellow-soldiers, but led him to Noes, where somedeserters had gathered. The mayor persuaded him to remain there, under an assumed name, as schoolmaster. After fourteen months, he was able to communicate with his family. His father was vexed to know that he was a deserter and ordered him to surrender but the matter was settled by his younger brother offering to serve in his stead and being accepted.

Jean-Baptiste now resumed his studies at Ecully. In 1812, he was sent to the seminary at Verrieres; he was so deficient in Latin as to be obliged to follow the philosophy course in French. He failed to pass the examinations for entrance to the seminary proper, but on re-examination three months later succeeded. On 13 August, 1815, he was ordained priest by Mgr. Simon, Bishop of Grenoble. His difficulties in making the preparatory studies seem to have been due to a lack of mental suppleness in dealing with theory as distinct from practice -- a lack accounted for by the meagreness of his early schooling, the advanced age at which he began to study, the fact that he was not of more than averageintelligence, and that he was far advanced in spiritual science and in the practice of virtue long before he came to study it in the abstract. He was sent to Ecully as assistant to M. Balley, who had first recognized and encouraged his vocation, who urged him to persevere when the obstacles in his way seemed insurmountable, who interceded with the examiners when he failed to pass for the higher seminary, and who was his model as well as his preceptor and patron. In 1818, after the death of M. Balley, M. Vianney was made parish priest of Ars, a village not very far from Lyons. It was in the exercise of the functions of the parish priest in this remote French hamlet that as the "curé d'Ars" he became known throughout France and the Christian world. A few years after he went to Ars, he founded a sort of orphanage for destitute girls. It was called "The Providence" and was the model of similar institutions established later all over France. M. Vianney himself instructed the children of "The Providence" in the catechism, and these catechetical instructions came to be so popular that at last they were given every day in the church to large crowds. "The Providence" was the favourite work of the "curé d'Ars", but, although it was successful, it was closed in 1847, because the holy curé thought that he was not justified in maintaining it in the face of the opposition of many good people. Its closing was a very heavy trial to him.

But the chief labour of the Curé d'Ars was the direction of souls. He had not been long at Ars when people began coming to him from other parishes, then from distant places, then from all parts of France, and finally from other countries. As early as 1835, his bishop forbade him to attend the annual retreats of the diocesan clergy because of "the souls awaiting him yonder". During the last ten years of his life, he spent from sixteen to eighteen hours a day in the confessional. His advice was sought by bishops, priests, religious, young men and women in doubt as to their vocation, sinners, persons in all sorts of difficulties and the sick. In 1855, the number of pilgrims had reached twenty thousand a year. The most distinguished persons visited Ars for the purpose of seeing the holy curé and hearing his daily instruction. The Venerable Father Colin was ordained deacon at the same time, and was his life-long friend, while Mother Marie de la Providence founded the Helpers of the Holy Souls on his advice and with his constant encouragement. His direction was characterized by common sense, remarkable insight, and supernatural knowledge. He would sometimes divine sins withheld in an imperfect confession. His instructions were simple in language, full of imagery drawn from daily life and country scenes, but breathing faith and that love of God which was his life principle and which he infused into his audience as much by his manner and appearance as by his words, for, at the last, his voice was almost inaudible.

The miracles recorded by his biographers are of three classes:

* first, the obtaining of money for his charities and food for his orphans;
* secondly, supernatural knowledge of the past and future;
* thirdly, healing the sick, especially children.

The greatest miracle of all was his life. He practised mortification from his early youth. and for forty years his food and sleep were insufficient, humanly speaking, to sustain life. And yet he laboured incessantly, with unfailing humility, gentleness, patience, and cheerfulness, until he was more than seventy-three years old.

On 3 October, 1874 Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney was proclaimed Venerable by Pius IX and on 8 January, 1905, he was enrolled among the Blessed. Pope Pius X proposed him as a model to the parochial clergy.

YEAR FOR PRIESTS

2009-06-09T16:50:00.000-07:00

VATICAN CITY, 9 JUN 2009 (VIS) - In the Vatican Basilica at 6 p.m. on Friday 19 June, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Benedict XVI will preside at Second Vespers to mark the opening of the Year for Priests, which coincides with the 150th anniversary of the death of St. Jean Marie Vianney “Cure of Ars”.

Pope Benedict XVI has declared a “Year for Priests” beginning with the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 19, 2009. The year will conclude in Rome with an international gathering of priests with the Holy Father on June 19, 2010.

With the announcement of this Year for Priests, the Pope has declared St. John Vianney the Universal Patron of Priests on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the death of the Curé d’Ars.

On this website you will find a number of resources to aid your parish’s celebration of the year for priests. There is also information regarding events for priests that will occur throughout the Year for Priests.

Please pray for our priests that they might always be faithful to their sacred calling.

Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI

Announcing the Year for Priests

Your Eminences,
Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood,

I am glad to be able to welcome you at a special Audience on the eve of my departure for Africa, where I am going to present the Instrumentum Laboris of the Second Special Assembly of the Synod for Africa that will be held here in Rome next October. I thank Cardinal Cláudio Hummes for the kind words with which he has interpreted the sentiments you share and I thank you for the beautiful letter you wrote to me. With him, I greet you all, Superiors, Officials and Members of the Congregation, with gratitude for all the work you do at the service of such an important sector of the Church's life.

The theme you have chosen for this Plenary Assembly "The missionary identity of the priest in the Church as an intrinsic dimension of the exercise of the tria munera" suggests some reflections on the work of these days and the abundant fruit that it will certainly yield. If the whole Church is missionary and if every Christian, by virtue of Baptism and Confirmation quasi ex officio (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1305), receives the mandate to profess the faith publicly, the ministerial priesthood, also from this viewpoint, is ontologically distinct, and not only by rank, from the baptismal priesthood that is also known as the "common priesthood". In fact, the apostolic mandate "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole of creation" (Mk 16: 15) is constitutive of the ministerial priesthood. This mandate is not, as we know, a mere duty entrusted to collaborators; its roots are deeper and must be sought further back in time.

The missionary dimension of the priesthood is born from the priest's sacramental configuration to Christ. As a consequence it brings with it a heartfelt and total adherence to what the ecclesial tradition has identified as apostolica vivendi forma. This consists in participation in a "new life", spiritually speaking, in that "new way of life" which the Lord Jesus inaugurated and which the Apostles made their own. Through the imposition of the Bishop's hands and the consecratory prayer of the Church, the candidates become new men, they become "presbyters". In this light it is clear that the tria munera are first a gift and only consequently an office, first a participation in a life, and hence a potestas. Of course, the great ecclesial tradition has rightly separated sacramental efficacy from the concrete existential situation of the individual priest and so the legitimate expectations of the faithful are appropriately safeguarded. However, this correct doctrinal explanation takes nothing from the necessary, indeed indispensable, aspiration to moral perfection that must dwell in every authentically priestly heart.

Precisely to encourage priests in this striving for spiritual perfection on which, above all, the effectiveness of their ministry depends, I have decided to establish a special "Year for Priests" that will begin on 19 June and last until 19 June 2010. In fact, it is the 150th anniversary of the death of the Holy Curé d'Ars, John Mary Vianney, a true example of a pastor at the service of Christ's flock. It will be the task of your Congregation, in agreement with the diocesan Ordinaries and with the superiors of religious institutes to promote and to coordinate the various spiritual and pastoral initiatives that seem useful for making the importance of the priest's role and mission in the Church and in contemporary society ever more clearly perceived.

The priest's mission, as the theme of the Plenary Assembly emphasizes, is carried out "in the Church". This ecclesial communal, hierarchical and doctrinal dimension is absolutely indispensable to every authentic mission and, alone guarantees its spiritual effectiveness. The four aspects mentioned must always be recognized as intimately connected: the mission is "ecclesial" because no one proclaims himself in the first person, but within and through his own humanity every priest must be well aware that he is bringing to the world Another, God himself. God is the only treasure which ultimately people desire to find in a priest. The mission is "communional" because it is carried out in a unity and communion that only secondly has also important aspects of social visibility. Moreover, these derive essentially from that divine intimacy in which the priest is called to be expert, so that he may be able to lead the souls entrusted to him humbly and trustingly to the same encounter with the Lord. Lastly, the "hierarchical" and "doctrinal" dimensions suggest reaffirming the importance of the ecclesiastical discipline (the term has a connection with "disciple") and doctrinal training and not only theological, initial and continuing formation.

Awareness of the radical social changes that have occurred in recent decades must motivate the best ecclesial forces to supervise the formation of candidates for the ministry. In particular, it must foster the constant concern of Pastors for their principal collaborators, both by cultivating truly fatherly human relations and by taking an interest in their continuing formation, especially from the doctrinal and spiritual viewpoints. The mission is rooted in a special way in a good formation, developed in communion with uninterrupted ecclesial Tradition, without breaks or temptations of irregularity. In this sense, it is important to encourage in priests, especially in the young generations, a correct reception of the texts of the Second Ecumenical Vatican Council, interpreted in the light of the Church's entire fund of doctrine. It seems urgent to recover that awareness that has always been at the heart of the Church's mission, which impels priests to be present, identifiable and recognizable both for their judgement of faith, for their personal virtues as well as for the habit, in the contexts of culture and of charity.

As Church and as priests, we proclaim Jesus of Nazareth Lord and Christ, Crucified and Risen, Sovereign of time and of history, in the glad certainty that this truth coincides with the deepest expectations of the human heart. In the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word, that is, of the fact that God became man like us, lies both the content and the method of Christian proclamation. The true dynamic centre of the mission is here: in Jesus Christ, precisely. The centrality of Christ brings with it the correct appreciation of the ministerial priesthood, without which there would be neither the Eucharist, nor even the mission nor the Church herself. In this regard it is necessary to be alert to ensure that the "new structures" or pastoral organizations are not planned on the basis of an erroneous interpretation of the proper promotion of the laity for a time in which one would have "to do without" the ordained ministry, because in that case the presuppositions for a further dilution of the ministerial priesthood would be laid and possible presumed "solutions" might come dramatically to coincide with the real causes of contemporary problems linked to the ministry.

I am certain that in these days the work of the Plenary Assembly, under the protection of the Mater Ecclesiae, will be able to examine these brief ideas that I permit myself to submit to the attention of the Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops, while I invoke upon you all an abundance of heavenly gifts, as a pledge of which I impart a special, affectionate Apostolic Blessing to you and to all your loved ones.

Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI
to the Members of the Congregation for the Clergy
on the Occasion of their Plenary Assembly
Monday, 16 March 2009

Please Pray for Priests
Dear Lord,
we pray that the Blessed Mother
wrap her mantle around your priests
and through her intercession
strengthen them for their ministry.
We pray that Mary will guide your priests
to follow her own words,
“Do whatever He tells you” (Jn 2:5).
May your priests have the heart of St. Joseph,
Mary’s most chaste spouse.
May the Blessed Mother’s own pierced heart
inspire them to embrace
all who suffer at the foot of the cross.
May your priests be holy,
filled with the fire of your love
seeking nothing but your greater glory
and the salvation of souls.
Amen.
Saint John Vianney, pray for us.

A Priest’s Prayer
Loving Father,
I praise you, I love you, I adore you.
Send your Holy Spirit to enlighten my mind
to the truth of your Son, Jesus,
Priest and Victim.
Through the same Spirit guide my heart to his Sacred Heart,
to renew in me a priestly passion
that I, too, might lay down my life upon the altar.
May your Spirit wash away my impurities
and free me from all my transgressions
in the Cup of Salvation,
Let only your will be done in me.
May the Blessed Mother of your dearly beloved Son,
wrap her mantle around me and protect me from all evil.
May she guide me to do whatever He tells me.
May she teach me to have the heart of St. Joseph, her spouse,
to protect and care for my bride.
And may her pierced heart inspire me
to embrace as my own your children
who suffer at the foot of the cross.
I humbly cry to her:
please be my consoling mother,
and help me to be a better son.
Lord, make me a holy priest,
inflamed with the fire of your love, seeking nothing
but your greater glory and the salvation of souls.
I humbly bless and thank you, my Father,
through the Spirit, in Christ Jesus,
your Son and my brother.
Amen.
O Mary, Queen of priests, pray for us.
Saint John Vianney, pray for us.

Feast of the Ascension

2009-05-22T00:16:00.001-07:00

This Holy day of Obligation, 40th day of Easter, commemorates Christ's Ascension into Heaven from Mount Olivet 40 days after He rose from the dead (Mark 16:14-20). After the Gospel is sung, the Paschal Candle, lit from the New Fire of the Easter Vigil, is extinguished to symbolize the departure of Christ (if you use a Paschal candle at home, it should be put away today, too).

The story of Our Lord's Ascension and His foretelling of the Pentecost to come is recounted most fully by Luke in in Acts 1:1-11:

The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, of all things which Jesus began to do and to teach, Until the day on which, giving commandments by the Holy Ghost to the apostles whom he had chosen, he was taken up. To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion, by many proofs, for forty days appearing to them, and speaking of the kingdom of God. And eating together with them, he commanded them, that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but should wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard (saith he) by my mouth. For John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence.

They therefore who were come together, asked him, saying: Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? But he said to them: It is not for you to know the times or moments, which the Father hath put in his own power: But you shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had said these things, while they looked on, he was raised up: and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they were beholding him going up to heaven, behold two men stood by them in white garments. Who also said: Ye men of Galilee, why stand you looking up to heaven? This Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come, as you have seen him going into heaven. Then they returned to Jerusalem...

He ascended to be glorified with the Father, to sit at the Father's right hand, to rule as King of Kings, to send us the Holy Ghost, and, as Hebrews 1:1-2 says, to be our High Priest Who

is set on the right hand of the throne of majesty in the heavens, A minister of the holies, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord hath pitched, and not man.

And He ascended to prepare a place for us. St. John recounts in the first 3 verses of the fourteenth chapter of his Gospel that after the Last Supper, Our Lord told His disciples:

Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many mansions. If not, I would have told you: because I go to prepare a place for you. And if I shall go, and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will take you to myself; that where I am, you also may be.

Glorious promise to those who believe and obey! And there is something else most splendid about the Ascension: Christ foretold it, and in such a way as to teach the Apostles of the miraculous nature of the Eucharist. In John 6:56-58, we read:

For My Flesh is meat indeed: and My Blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My Flesh, and drinketh My Blood, abideth in Me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth Me, the same also shall live by Me.

Immediately after hearing these words, some of His disciples are scandalized -- some even to the point of walking away from Him. Jesus then said to them that they would know His words are true when they will see an obvious miracle with their own eyes -- His Ascension. Verses 62-63:62

But Jesus, knowing in himself, that his disciples murmured at this, said to them: Doth this scandalize you? If then you shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?

As to the place of His Ascension, the Golden Legend, written in A.D. 1275 by Jacobus de Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa, has this to say:

As to the first he ascended from the mount of Olives by Bethany; the which mountain, by another relation, is said the mountain of three lights. For by night on the side of the west it is lighted of the fire that burneth in the Temple, which never is put out ne quenched. On the morning it is light of the orient, for she hath first the rays of the sun before it shineth in the city, and also it hath great abundance of oil that nourisheth the light, and therefore it is said the hill of three lights.

Unto this hill Jesu Christ commanded his disciples that they should go. For on the day of his Ascension he appeared two times, one time to eleven disciples that ate in the hall where they had supped with him. All the apostles and the disciples and also the women, abode in that part of Jerusalem which is called Mello, in the mountain of Sion, where David had made his palace. And there was the great hall arrayed and ordained for to sup, whereas Jesu Christ commanded that they should make ready for to eat the Paschal Lamb, and in this place the eleven apostles abode, and the other disciples, and the women abode in divers mansions there about.

And when they had eaten in this hall, our Lord appeared to them and reproved them of their incredulity. And when he had eaten with them, and had commanded them that they should go to the Mount of Olivet on the side by Bethany, he appeared again to them, and answered to them of the demands that they made to him indiscreetly, and with his hands lifted he blessed them; and anon before them he ascended unto heaven.

Of the place of this ascension saith Sulpicius, Bishop of Jerusalem, and it is in the Gloss. For there was edified a church in the place where were made the signs of his ascension. Never sith [afterwards] might be set there any pavement, it could not be laid ne set but anon it issued out, and the stones of the marble sprang into the visages of them that set it. And that is a sign that they be stones on which Christ passed upon, which lie in the powder and dust, and abide for a token and sign certain.

The footprints said to be His are now enclosed in a shrine called the Chapel of the Ascension near the top of the mountain (picture above). The original building was destroyed by the Persians in A.D. 614, but was rebuilt by Crusaders. The Moslems took control of the building in the 13th century and transformed it into a mosque, walling in the arches, and adding a dome.

Customs

As to customs, it is traditional to eat some sort of bird on this day, in honor of Christ Who "flew" to Heaven. If you live in a hilly or mountainous area, climbing the hills in commemoration of Jesus and the Apostles' climbing the Mt. of Olives, whence Jesus ascended to Heaven, is customary. Putting the two together, a picnic that includes some sort of bird and eaten on a hill or mountain would be a perfect way to spend the day.

In some parts of Italy (Tuscany, for ex.) there is the interesting custom of catching crickets on this day. Families will have a picnic while the children look for crickets, which are said to bring blessings (as they are seen to do in the East, too) -- especially if they still sing when taken home in little cricket cages. Back in the day, a man would adorn his beloved's doors with flowers on this Feast, and give her a cricket cage, too. I have no idea as to how crickets came to be associ

ated with the Ascension, but the Feast is also known in parts of Italy as "La Festa del Grillo" ("the Feast of the Cricket"). Now this custom usually takes place on the Sunday after Ascension Day, and caged crickets are sold so that children can release them -- but crickets can be kept as singing pets, too!

Something else wonderful happens in Italy on the Feast of the Ascension and the days following: in Venice, there is a clock tower in the Piazza San Marco. This marvelous clock, made in A.D. 1499 (and recently restored) indicates not

only the minutes and hours, but the days, months, Zodiacal signs, and phases of the Moon as well. At the top of the tower are two large figures known as the Moors ("Mori"), who signal the hour by striking a large bell. Underneath them is a large, golden lion -- the symbol of St. Mark, patron of Venice. Underneath this is a niche which holds a figure of Our Lady and her Son. Twice a year -- on the Feast of the Epiphany and during the festivities surrounding the Ascension (known as "la Festa della Sensa" in Venice) -- doors on either side of Our Lady open up, and out come the three Magi, led by an angel. The angel and Kings make their way around Our Lady and Jesus, the angel regaling them with his trumpet, and the Kings bowing and removing their crowns. ¹

Also on this day, a very old civic ritual is re-enacted in this city. The Ascension had always been an important Feast to the Venetians: in A.D. 1000, the Doge left on this Feast Day to aid the Dalmatians who were being threatened by the Slavs. This led to Venetian security and became celebrated annually with a blessing of the sea. Then, in A.D. 1177, the Doge helped bring about a peace between Barbarossa and the Papal States. Pope Alexander III was so grateful for the Doge's service that he sent a blessed ring as a sign of the sovereignty that the Doge and his successors will have perpetually over the sea. The blessing of the sea turned into a "marriage with the sea," and since that time, the Doge of Venice would board an ornate, gilded boat (the Bucintoro, or Bucentaur) and be rowed to the lagoon in front of the church of San Nicolo del Lido, accompanied by clergy and government types, a

nd with a procession of other decorated boats following behind. There, the Doge would throw a ring into the waters while saying the words "Desponsamus te mare, in signum veri perpetuique dominii," which mean, "We marry you, oh sea, as a symbol of perpetual dominion." Now the mayor throws the ring, thereby uniting that beautiful city with the sea... (See paintings of the Clock Tower and the voyage of the Doge on the bucintoro, painted by Francesco Guardi.)

Reading

Sermons by Pope Leo the Great (ca. 395-461)

Sermon LXXIII

The events recorded as happening after the Resurrection were intended to convince its truth. Since the blessed and glorious Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, whereby the Divine power in three days raised the true Temple of God, which the wickedness of the Jews had overthrown, the sacred forty days, dearly-beloved are to-day ended, which by most holy appointment were devoted to our most profitable instruction, so that, during the period that the Lord thus protracted the lingering of His bodily presence, our faith in the Resurrection might be fortified by needful proofs.

For Christ's Death had much disturbed the disciples' hearts, and a kind of torpor of distrust had crept over their grief-laden minds at His torture on the cross, at His giving up the ghost, at His lifeless body's burial. For, when the holy women, as the Gospel-story has revealed, brought word of tile stone rolled away from the tomb, the sepulchre emptied of the body, and the angels bearing witness to the living Lord, their words seemed like ravings to the Apostles and other disciples. Which doubtfulness, the result of human weakness, the Spirit of Truth would most assuredly not have permitted to exist in His own preacher's breasts, had not their trembling anxiety and careful hesitation laid the foundations of our faith. It was our perplexities and our dangers that were provided for in the Apostles: it was ourselves who in these men were taught how to meet the cavillings of the ungodly and the arguments of earthly wisdom. We are instructed by their lookings, we are taught by their hearings, we are convinced by their handlings. Let us give thanks to the Divine management and the holy Fathers' necessary slowness of belief. Others doubted, that we might not doubt.

II.

And therefore they are in the highest degree instructive. Those days, therefore, dearly-beloved, which intervened between the Lord's Resurrection and Ascension did not pass by in uneventful leisure, but great mysteries were ratified in them, deep truths revealed. In them the fear of awful death was removed, and the immortality not only of the soul but also of the flesh established. In them, through the Lord's breathing upon them, the Holy Ghost is poured upon all the Apostles, and to the blessed Apostle Peter beyond the rest the care of the Lord's flock is entrusted, in addition to the keys of the kingdom. Then it was that the Lord joined the two disciples as a companion on the way, and, to the sweeping away of all the clouds of our uncertainty, upbraided them with the slowness of their timorous hearts. Their enlightened hearts catch the flame of faith, and lukewarm as they have been, are made to burn while the Lord unfolds the Scriptures. In the breaking of bread also their eyes are opened as they eat with Him: how far more blessed is the opening of their eyes, to whom the glorification of their nature is revealed than that of our first parents, on whom fell the disastrous consequences of their transgression.

III.

The prove the Resurrection of the flesh. And in the course of these and other miracles, when the disciples were harassed by bewildering thoughts, and the Lord had appeared in their midst and said, "Peace be unto you," that what was passing through their hearts might not be their fixed opinion (for they thought they saw a spirit not flesh), He refutes their thoughts so discordant with the Truth, offers to the doubters' eyes the marks of the cross that remained in His hands and feet, and invites them to handle Him with careful scrutiny, because the traces of the nails and spear had been retained to heal the wounds of unbelieving hearts, so that not with wavering faith, but with most stedfast knowledge they might comprehend that the Nature which had been lain in the sepulchre was to sit on God the Father's throne.

IV.

Christ's Ascension has given us greater privileges and joys than the devil had taken from us. Accordingly, dearly-beloved, throughout this time which elapsed between the Lord's Resurrection and Ascension, God's Providence had this in view, to teach and impress upon both the eyes and hearts of His own people that the Lord Jesus Christ might be acknowledged to have as truly risen, as He was truly born, suffered, and died. And hence the most blessed Apostles and all the disciples, who had been both bewildered at His death on the cross and backward in believing His Resurrection, were so strengthened by the clearness of the truth that when the Lord entered the heights of heaven, not only were they affected with no sadness, but were even filled with great joy. And truly great and unspeakable was their cause for joy, when in the sight of the holy multitude, above the dignity of all heavenly creatures, the Nature of mankind went up, to pass above the angels' ranks and to rise beyond the archangels' heights, and to have Its uplifting limited by no elevation until, received to sit with the Eternal Father, It should be associated on the throne with His glory, to Whose Nature It was united in the Son. Since then Christ's Ascension is our uplifting, and the hope of the Body is raised, whither the glory of the Head has gone before, let us exult, dearly-beloved, with worthy joy and delight in the loyal paying of thanks. For today not only are we confirmed as possessors of paradise, but have also in Christ penetrated the heights of heaven, and have gained still greater things through Christ's unspeakable grace than we had lost through the devil's malice. For us, whom our virulent enemy had driven out from the bliss of our first abode, the Son of God has made members of Himself and placed at the right hand of the Father, with Whom He lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.

Sermon LXXIV

The mystery of our salvation, dearly-beloved, which the Creator of the universe valued at the price of His blood, has now been carried out under conditions of humiliation from the day of His bodily birth to the end of His Passion. And although even in "the form of a slave" many signs of Divinity have beamed out, yet the events of all that period served particularly to show the reality of His assumed Manhood.

But after the Passion, when the chains of death were broken, which had exposed its own strength by attacking Him, Who was ignorant of sin, weakness was turned into power, mortality into eternity, contumely into glory, which the Lord Jesus Christ showed by many clear proofs in the sight of many, until He carried even into heaven the triumphant victory which He had won over the dead. As therefore at the Easter commemoration, the Lord's Resurrection was the cause of our rejoicing; so the subject of our present gladness is His Ascension, as we commemorate and duly venerate that day on which the Nature of our humility in Christ was raised above all the host of heaven, over all the ranks of angels, beyond the height of all powers, to sit with God the Father. On which Providential order of events we are founded and built up, that God's Grace might become more wondrous, when, notwithstanding the removal from men's sight of what was rightly felt to command their awe, faith did not fail, hope did not waver, love did not grow cold. For it is the strength of great minds and the light of firmly-faithful souls, unhesitatingly to believe what is not seen with the bodily sight, and there to fix one's affections whither you cannot direct your gaze. And whence should this Godliness spring up in our hearts, or how should a man be justified by faith, if our salvation rested on those things only which lie beneath our eyes? Hence our Lord said to him who seemed to doubt of Christ's Resurrection, until he had tested by sight and touch the traces of His Passion in His very Flesh, "because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed: blessed are, they who have not seen and yet have believed."

II.

In order, therefore, dearly-beloved, that we may be capable of this blessedness, when all things were fulfilled which concerned the Gospel preaching and the mysteries of the New Testament, our Lord Jesus Christ, on the fortieth day after the Resurrection in the presence of the disciples, was raised into heaven, and terminated His presence with us in the body, to abide on the Father's right hand until the times Divinely fore-ordained for multiplying the sons of the Church are accomplished, and He comes to judge the living and the dead in the same flesh in which He ascended. And so that which till then was visible of our Redeemer was changed into a sacramental presence, and that faith might be more excellent and stronger, sight gave way to doctrine, the authority of which was to be accepted by believing hearts enlightened with rays from above.

III.

This Faith, increased by the Lord's Ascension and established by the gift of the Holy Ghost, was not terrified by bonds, imprisonments, banishments, hunger, fire, attacks by wild beasts, refined torments of cruel persecutors. For this Faith throughout the world not only men, but even women, not only beardless boys, but even tender maids, fought to the shedding of their blood. This Faith cast out spirits, drove off sicknesses, raised the dead: and through it the blessed Apostles themselves also, who after being confirmed by so many miracles and instructed by so many discourses, had yet been panic-stricken by the horrors of the Lord's Passion and had not accepted the truth of His resurrection without hesitation, made such progress after the Lord's Ascension that everything which had previously filled them with fear was turned into joy. For they had lifted the whole contemplation of their mind to the Godhead of Him that sat at the Father's right hand, and were no longer hindered by the barrier of corporeal sight from directing their minds' gaze to That Which had never quitted the Father's side in descending to earth, and had not forsaken the disciples in ascending to heaven.

IV.

The Son of Man and Son of God, therefore, dearly-beloved, then attained a more excellent and holier fame, when He betook Himself back to the glory of the Father's Majesty, and in an ineffable manner began to be nearer to the Father in respect of His Godhead, after having become farther away in respect of His manhood. A better instructed faith then began to draw closer to a conception of the Son's equality with the Father without the necessity of handling the corporeal substance in Christ, whereby He is less than the Father, since, while the Nature of the glorified Body still remained the faith of believers was called upon to touch not with the hand of flesh, but with the spiritual understanding the Only-begotten, Who was equal with the Father. Hence comes that which the Lord said after His Resurrection, when Mary Magdalene, representing the Church, hastened to approach and touch Him: "Touch Me not, for I have not yet ascended to My Father:" that is, I would not have you come to Me as to a human body, nor yet recognize Me by fleshly perceptions: I put thee off for higher things, I prepare greater things for thee: when I have ascended to My Father, then thou shall handle Me more perfectly and truly, for thou shall grasp what thou canst not touch and believe what thou canst not see. But when the disciples eyes followed the ascending Lord to heaven with upward gaze of earnest wonder, two angels stood by them in raiment shining with wondrous brightness, who also said, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing into heaven? This Jesus Who was taken up from you into heaven shall so come as ye saw Him going into heaven." By which words all the sons of the Church were taught to believe that Jesus Christ will come visibly in the same Flesh wherewith He ascended, and not to doubt that all things are subjected to Him on Whom the ministry of angels had waited from the first beginning of His Birth. For, as an angel announced to the blessed Virgin that Christ should be conceived by the Holy Ghost, so the voice of heavenly beings sang of His being born of the Virgin also to the shepherds. As messengers from above were the first to attest His having risen from the dead, so the service of angels was employed to foretell His coming in very Flesh to judge the world, that we might understand what great powers will come with Him as Judge, when such great ones ministered to Him even in being judged.

And so, dearly-beloved, let us rejoice with spiritual joy, and let us with gladness pay God worthy thanks and raise our hearts' eyes unimpeded to those heights where Christ is. Minds that have heard the call to be uplifted must not be pressed down by earthly affections, they that are fore-ordained to things eternal must not be taken up with the things that perish; they that have entered on the way of Truth must not be entangled in treacherous snares, and the faithful must so take their course through these temporal things as to remember that they are sojourning in the vale of this world, in which, even though they meet with some attractions, they must not sinfully embrace them, but bravely pass through them. For to this devotion the blessed Apostle Peter arouses us, and entreating us with that loving eagerness which he conceived for feeding Christ's sheep by the threefold profession of love for the Lord, says, "dearly-beloved, I beseech you, as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul." But for whom do fleshly pleasures wage war, if not for the devil, whose delight it is to fetter souls that strive after things above, with the enticements of corruptible good things, and to draw them away from those abodes from which he himself has been banished? Against his plots every believer must keep careful watch that he may crush his foe on the side whence the attack is made. And there is no more powerful weapon, dearly-beloved, against the devil's wiles than kindly mercy and bounteous charity, by which every sin is either escaped or vanquished. But this lofty power is not attained until that which is opposed to it be overthrown. And what so hostile to mercy and works of charity as avarice from the root of which spring all evils? And unless it be destroyed by lack of nourishment, there must needs grow in the ground of that heart in which this evil weed has taken root, the thorns and briars of vices rather than any seed of true goodness. Let us then, dearly-beloved, resist this pestilential evil and "follow after charity," without which no virtue can flourish, that by this path of love whereby Christ came down to us, we too may mount up to Him, to Whom with God the Father and the Holy Spirit is honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Footnotes:
¹ The twice-a-year appearances of the Magi -- again, on the Epiphany and during the days surrounding the Ascension -- total fifteen days in all. This clock can be seen briefly but very up-close in action in SUMMERTIME on in a 1955 film directed by David Lean and starring Katharine Hepburn and Rossano Brazzi. The movie is not believable (the leading man's character seems way too creepily "oily" for Hepburn's character to fall for, and so quickly, too), has some unintentionally funny dialogue (listen for the atrocious bit about ravioli), and has an immoral message (centering approvingly on an adulterous affair), but -- oh, the scenery!

TROPARION (TONE 4)
You ascended in glory, O Christ our God, and gladdened Your Disciples by the promise of the Holy Spirit. Through Your blessing they were confirmed in their belief that You are the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world.

The Ascension of Christ
by St. Augustine of Hippo

This reading, used in the Roman Liturgy's office of readings for the Solemn Feast (Solemnity) of the Ascension, is taken from a homily by St. Augustine (Sermo de Ascensione Domini, Mai 98, 1-2, PLS 2, 494-495). The Ascension is the second glorious mystery of the Rosary.

Today our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven; let our hearts ascend with him. Listen to the words of the Apostle: If you have risen with Christ, set your hearts on the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God; seek the things that are above, not the things that are on earth. For just as he remained with us even after his ascension, so we too are already in heaven with him, even though what is promised us has not yet been fulfilled in our bodies.

Christ is now exalted above the heavens, but he still suffers on earth all the pain that we, the members of his body, have to bear. He showed this when he cried out from above: Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? and when he said: I was hungry and you gave me food.

Why do we on earth not strive to find rest with him in heaven even now, through the faith, hope and love that unites us to him? While in heaven he is also with us; and we while on earth are with him. He is here with us by his divinity, his power and his love. We cannot be in heaven, as he is on earth, by divinity, but in him, we can be there by love.

He did not leave heaven when he came down to us; nor did he withdraw from us when he went up again into heaven. The fact that he was in heaven even while he was on earth is borne out by his own statement: No one has ever ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.

These words are explained by our oneness with Christ, for he is our head and we are his body. No one ascended into heaven except Christ because we also are Christ: he is the Son of Man by his union with us, and we by our union with him are the sons of God. So the Apostle says: Just as the human body, which has many members, is a unity, because all the different members make one body, so is it also with Christ. He too has many members, but one body.

Out of compassion for us he descended from heaven, and although he ascended alone, we also ascend, because we are in him by grace. Thus, no one but Christ descended and no one but Christ ascended; not because there is no distinction between the head and the body, but because the body as a unity cannot be separated from the head.

ONE OF THE BEST MOVIES I'VE EVER SEEN!

2009-05-11T21:54:00.001-07:00

a great movie, probably the best movie to experience and witness eastern christian spirituality!

Winner of 5 Nika Awards (Russian Oscars) including Best Film. Somewhere in Northern Russia in a small Russian Orthodox monastery lives a very unusual man. His fellow-monks are confused by his bizarre conduct. Those who visit the island believe that the man has the power to heal, exorcise demons and foretell the future. However, he considers himself unworthy because of a sin he committed in his youth. The film is a parable, combining the realities of Russian everyday life with monastic ritual and routine.

Video Details

Actors: Pyotr Mamonov, Viktor Sukhorukov, Viktoriya Isakova, Yana Yesipovich, Dmitri Dyuzhev
Directors: Pavel Lungin
Format: NTSC, Widescreen, Subtitled, Import
Language: Russian
Subtitles: English, Russian
Number of discs: 1
Rating:
Studio: VOX - Video
Run Time: 112 minutes

you can purchase it here (even using paypal)
http://www.archangelsbooks.com/proddetail.asp?prod=VIDOSTROV

BBC video: Extreme Pilgrim - Ascetic Christianity

2009-05-11T21:49:00.000-07:00

Pope Benedict’s homily at Mass in Amman

2009-05-10T12:22:00.000-07:00

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I rejoice that we are able to celebrate this Eucharist together at the beginning of my Pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Yesterday, from the heights of Mount Nebo, I stood and looked out upon this great land, the land of Moses, Elijah, and John the Baptist, the land where God’s ancient promises were fulfilled in the coming of the Messiah, Jesus our Lord. This land witnessed his preaching and miracles, his death and resurrection, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Church, the sacrament of a reconciled and renewed humanity. As I pondered the mystery of God’s fidelity, I prayed that the Church in these lands would be confirmed in hope and strengthened in her witness to the Risen Christ, the Savior of mankind. Truly, as Saint Peter tells us in today’s first reading, “there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we are to be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Today’s joyful celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice expresses the rich diversity of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land. I greet all of you with affection in the Lord. I thank His Beatitude Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, for his kind words of welcome. With respect and gratitude I likewise greet His Royal Highness Prince Ghazi Bin Mohammad, who represents the King of Jordan, and I thank him for his presence in our midst. My greeting goes also to the many young people from Catholic schools who today bring their enthusiasm to this Eucharistic celebration.

In the Gospel we have just heard, Jesus proclaims: “I am the good shepherd… who lays down his life for the sheep” (Jn 10:11). As the Successor of Saint Peter, to whom the Lord entrusted the care of his flock (cf. Jn 21:15-17), I have long awaited this opportunity to stand before you as a witness to the Risen Savior, and to encourage you to persevere in faith, hope and love, in fidelity to the ancient traditions and the distinguished history of Christian witness which you trace back to the age of the Apostles. The Catholic community here is deeply touched by the difficulties and uncertainties which affect all the people of the Middle East. May you never forget the great dignity which derives from your Christian heritage, or fail to sense the loving solidarity of all your brothers and sisters in the Church throughout the world!

“I am the good shepherd”, the Lord tells us, “I know my own, and my own know me” (Jn 10:14). Today in Jordan we celebrate the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. As we reflect on the Gospel of the Good Shepherd, let us ask the Lord to open our hearts and minds ever more fully to hear his call. Truly, Jesus “knows us”, even more deeply than we know ourselves, and he has a plan for each one of us. We know, too, that wherever he calls us, we will find happiness and fulfilment; indeed, we will find our very selves (cf. Mt 10:39). Today I invite the many young people here present to consider how the Lord is calling you to follow him and to build up his Church. Whether it be in the priestly ministry, in consecrated life or in the sacrament of marriage, Jesus needs you to make his voice heard and to work for the growth of his Kingdom.

In today’s second reading, Saint John invites us to “think of the love that the Father has lavished on us” by making us his adopted children in Christ. Hearing these words should make us grateful for the experience of the Father’s love which we have had in our families, from the love of our fathers and mothers, our grandparents, our brothers and sisters. During the celebration of the present Year of the Family, the Church throughout the Holy Land has reflected on the family as a mystery of life-giving love, endowed in God’s plan with its own proper calling and mission: to radiate the divine Love which is the source and the ultimate fulfilment of all the other loves of our lives. May every Christian family grow in fidelity to its lofty vocation to be a true school of prayer, where children learn a sincere love of God, where they mature in self-discipline and concern for the needs of others, and where, shaped by the wisdom born of faith, they contribute to the building of an ever more just and fraternal society. The strong Christian families of these lands are a great legacy handed down from earlier generations. May today’s families be faithful to that impressive heritage, and never lack the material and moral assistance they need to carry out their irreplaceable role in service to society.

An important aspect of your reflection during this Year of the Family has been the particular dignity, vocation and mission of women in God’s plan. How much the Church in these lands owes to the patient, loving and faithful witness of countless Christian mothers, religious Sisters, teachers, doctors and nurses! How much your society owes to all those women who in different and at times courageous ways have devoted their lives to building peace and fostering love! From the very first pages of the Bible, we see how man and woman, created in the image of God, are meant to complement one another as stewards of God’s gifts and partners in communicating his gift of life, both physical and spiritual, to our world. Sadly, this God-given dignity and role of women has not always been sufficiently understood and esteemed. The Church, and society as a whole, has come to realize how urgently we need what the late Pope John Paul II called the “prophetic charism” of women (cf. Mulieris Dignitatem, 29) as bearers of love, teachers of mercy and artisans of peace, bringing warmth and humanity to a world that all too often judges the value of a person by the cold criteria of usefulness and profit. By its public witness of respect for women, and its defence of the innate dignity of every human person, the Church in the Holy Land can make an important contribution to the advancement of a culture of true humanity and the building of the civilization of love.

Dear friends, let us return to the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel. I believe that they contain a special message for you, his faithful flock in these lands where he once dwelt. “The good shepherd”, he tells us, “lays down his life for his sheep.” At the beginning of this Mass, we asked the Father to “give us new strength from the courage of Christ our shepherd”, who remained steadfast in fidelity to the Father’s will (cf. Opening Prayer, Mass of the Fourth Sunday of Easter). May the courage of Christ our shepherd inspire and sustain you daily in your efforts to bear witness to the Christian faith and to maintain the Church’s presence in the changing social fabric of these ancient lands.

Fidelity to your Christian roots, fidelity to the Church’s mission in the Holy Land, demands of each of you a particular kind of courage: the courage of conviction, born of personal faith, not mere social convention or family tradition; the courage to engage in dialogue and to work side by side with other Christians in the service of the Gospel and solidarity with the poor, the displaced, and the victims of profound human tragedies; the courage to build new bridges to enable a fruitful encounter of people of different religions and cultures, and thus to enrich the fabric of society. It also means bearing witness to the love which inspires us to “lay down” our lives in the service of others, and thus to counter ways of thinking which justify “taking” innocent lives.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my own, and my own know me” (Jn 10:14). Rejoice that the Lord has made you members of his flock and knows each of you by name! Follow him with joy and let him guide you in all your ways. Jesus knows what challenges you face, what trials you endure, and the good that you do in his name. Trust in him, in his enduring love for all the members of his flock, and persevere in your witness to the triumph of his love. May Saint John the Baptist, the patron of Jordan, and Mary, Virgin and Mother, sustain you by their example and prayers, and lead you to the fullness of joy in the eternal pastures where we will experience for ever the presence of the Good Shepherd and know for ever the depths of his love. Amen.
_____________________________________________________
Patriarch’s greeting to pope at Mass in Amman

Holy Father,

Jordan today with all its citizens, Muslims and Christians, together with the Assembly of the Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land, cardinals, patriarchs, bishops and Catholic clergy of the Middle East, with all of our dear guests and friends who came from the neighboring Arab countries and from all over the world to pray today with your holiness, to express their devotion and love, proudly welcome you along with your esteemed delegation: Ahlan wasahlan, you are most welcome to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, our dearly beloved homeland.

As I humbly stand before you, on behalf of all the Jordanians in general and the Catholic community in particular, I cannot help but evoke the exceptional ties between the Holy See and Jordan, especially between our dearest royal family and the successors of St. Peter. We are anxious today to show you our Arab Jordanian hospitality and warmth, hoping you will enjoy your stay with us as much as we are enjoying it.

Your holiness, on top of being the authoritative voice of truth, love, freedom and peace in the world, we dearly welcome as the successor of St. Peter, commissioned by the Lord, to strengthen your brothers in faith and your brothers in humanity; and we look up at you, as our beloved Holy Father, firmly believing, this visit will confirm us in faith.

Holy Father, God has his own ways. Last week was Vocations’ Promotion Day for the universal church. On this happy occasion, we need to update you about the vocations situation in the Holy Land. I admit that we are facing some vocations problems — for the first time ever in its history, our major seminary in Beit Jala is fully occupied, it is indeed jam-packed and we had to start expanding and enlarging our facilities and dorms to accommodate the extra numbers of seminarians. Please, your holiness, join us as we raise our thankful prayers to the Lord for these blessings, as we join you in your intention prayer: “that the laity and the Christian communities may be responsible promoters of priestly and religious vocations.”

It is an amazing grace! Despite emigration and despite our small and dwindling numbers in this Holy Land, we have abundant vocations. Most of them come from our parochial schools in Jordan, where political stability, which is chiefly the result of prolonged wise governance, is an appropriate milieu for the growth of family values, where these vocations come from. Thus, with a joyful and enthusiastic spirit, together with the universal church, on the 19th of next month we will begin the year dedicated to the priesthood.

From these same Arab Christian families stemmed the Rosary Sisters congregation, the only local one. On behalf of the Latin Patriarchate and of the Rosary Sisters, we are grateful to your holiness for the future beatification of their founder, Sister Marie Alphonsine. Indeed the Rosary Sisters are our main partners, collaborating with other generous religious congregations in our mission in the Holy Land. For all of them, we ask your benediction.

Your holiness, it is our deepest pride that in the last five years our Latin Patriarchate has given two bishops to North Africa, and is fully ready to collaborate with our mother Church in Rome wherever there is a need.

Holy Father, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is well known for its welcoming and friendly nature. Evidence of this is the millions of refugees, together with Asian and foreign workers, who have been welcomed onto this blessed soil. Recently, in the aftermath of the American invasion of Iraq, more than a million Iraqis took refuge in Jordan. Almost 40,000 of them are Christians. We know Holy Father how much the issue of the world refugees concerns you personally. We would like to assure you that our diocese is doing its utmost to provide them with pastoral needs. Though extremely challenging, their presence has been a wonderful opportunity for our people and government to live out the beatitudes and to put into practice toward them our traditional Jordanian warmth and solidarity.

Holy Father, successor of Peter, our dearest pastor, from the bottom of our happy hearts we say to you again Ahalan wasahlan, welcome to Jordan. Please, pray for us and bless our countries and our peoples.

Pope Benedict XVI dedicates catechesis to St. John Damascene

2009-05-06T22:48:00.000-07:00

On St. John Damascene

"God Wants to Rest in Us"

VATICAN CITY, MAY 6, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience in St. Peter's Square. He continued his series on great writers of the Church in the Middle Ages, focusing today on St. John Damascene.

Dear brothers and sisters:

I would like to speak today about John Damascene, a prominent personality in the history of Byzantine theology, a great doctor in the history of the universal Church. He is above all an eye witness of the passage from the Greek and Syriac culture, shared in the eastern part of the Byzantine Empire, to the culture of Islam, which took over space with its military conquests in the territory ordinarily recognized as the Middle or Near East.

John, born to a rich Christian family, took on while still young the post -- perhaps also held by his father -- as the economic head of the kingdom. Quite soon, however, unsatisfied with life at court, he fully developed a choice for the monastic life, entering the monastery of San Sabas, close to Jerusalem. It was around the year 700. Never leaving the monastery, he dedicated himself with all his strength to ascesis and literary activity, without spurning a certain pastoral activity, of which his numerous homilies give witness. His liturgical memorial is celebrated Dec. 4. Pope Leo XIII proclaimed him a doctor of the universal Church in 1890.

In the East, he is remembered above all for his three discourses against those who calumniate holy images, [discourses] which were condemned after his death by the iconoclast Council of Hieria (754). These discourses, however, were the principal motive for his reinstatement and canonization by the orthodox fathers gathered in the Second Council of Nicaea (787), the Seventh Ecumenical Council. In these texts it is possible to find the first important theological attempts to legitimize the veneration of sacred images, uniting to them the mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God in the womb of the Virgin Mary.

John Damascene was also one of the first to distinguish between the public and private worship of Christians, and between adoration (latreia) and veneration (proskynesis): The first can only be directed to God, highly spiritual; the second on the other hand can use an image to direct oneself to he who is represented by it.

Obviously, a saint cannot in any way be identified with the material of which an icon is made. This distinction quickly resulted very important to respond in a Christian way to those who claimed as universal and perennial the observance of the severe prohibition in the Old Testament about the use of images in worship. This was a great discussion also in the Islamic world, which accepts this Jewish tradition of the total exclusion of images for worship. Christians on the other hand, in this context, considered the problem and found a justification for the veneration of images.

Damascene wrote: "In other times, God had never been represented in an image, being incorporeal and without a face. But given that now God has been seen in the flesh and has lived among man, I represent what is visible in God. I do not venerate matter, but the Creator of matter, who has made himself matter for me and has deigned to dwell in matter and carry out my salvation through matter. I will never cease because of this to venerate the matter through with salvation has come to me.

"But I do not venerate it absolutely like [I do] God! How could God be that which has received existence from non being? ... Rather I venerate and respect also all the rest of the matter that has procured salvation, inasmuch as it is full of holy energies and graces. Is not perhaps matter the wood of the cross thrice blessed? ... And the ink and the holy book of the Gospels are not matter? The salvific altar that dispenses us the bread of life is not matter? ... And before all, is not matter the flesh and the blood of my Lord? Should the sacred character of all of this be suppressed? Or should it be conceded to the tradition of the Church the veneration of the images of God and that of the friends of God that are sanctified by the name they carry, and because of this reason are dwelt in by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Do not be offended therefore by matter: It is not despicable because nothing that God has made is despicable" (Contra imaginum calumniatores, I, 16, ed. Kotter, pp. 89-90).

We see that, because of the Incarnation, matter appears as divinized, is seen as the dwelling place of God. This is a new vision of the world and material realities. God has become flesh and flesh has become truly the dwelling place of God, whose glory shines forth in the human face of Christ. Therefore the invitations of the doctor of the East are even today extremely current, considering the great dignity that matter has received in the Incarnation, able to come to be, in faith, efficient sign and sacrament of man's encounter with God.

John Damascene is, therefore, a privileged witness of the veneration of icons, which would come to be one of the most distinctive aspects of Eastern theology and spirituality up to today. And nevertheless it is a form of worship that simply belongs to the Christian faith, to the faith in this God that has become flesh and made himself visible. The teaching of St. John Damascene thus is inserted in the tradition of the universal Church, whose doctrine on the sacraments takes into account that material elements taken from nature can change through grace in virtue of the invocation (epiclesis) of the Holy Spirit, accompanied by the confession of the true faith.

United to these underlying ideas, John Damascene also places the veneration of the relics of the saints, on the base of the conviction that holy Christians, having been made participants in the resurrection of Christ, cannot be considered simply as "the dead." Enumerating, for example, those whose relics or images are worthy of veneration, John specifies in his third discourse in defense of images: "Before all (we venerate) those among whom God has rested, the only holy one who dwells among the saints (cf. Isaiah 57:15), such as the holy Mother of God and all the saints. These are those who, inasmuch as possible, have made themselves similar to God with their will and by the indwelling and help of God, [and] are really called gods (cf. Psalm 82:6), not by nature, but rather by contingence, as red-hot iron is called fire, not by nature, but by contingence and through participation in the fire. It is said, in fact: "You will be holy because I am holy" (Leviticus 19:2)" (III, 33, col. 1352 A).

After a series of references of this type, Damascene could serenely deduce, therefore:"God, who is good and superior to all goodness, did not content himself with the contemplation of himself, but rather wanted there to be beings benefited by him who could come to be participants in his goodness: For this he created out of nothing all things, visible and invisible, including man, a visible and invisible reality. And he created him thinking of him and making him a being capable of thinking (ennoema ergon) enriched by the word (logo[i] sympleroumenon) and oriented toward the spirit (pneumati teleioumenon)" (II, 2, PG 94, col. 865A).

And to clarify later this thought, he adds: "It is necessary to leave oneself full of awe (thaumazein) at all the works of providence (tes pronoias erga), praise them all and accept them all, overcoming the temptation to point out in them aspects that to many seem unjust or iniquitous (adika), and admitting instead that God's project (pronoia) goes beyond the cognitive and understanding capacity (agnoston kai akatalepton) of man, meanwhile on the other hand only he knows our thoughts, our actions and even our future" (II, 29, PG 94, col. 964C).

Already Plato, on the other hand, said that all philosophy begins with awe: Also our faith begins with awe at creation, at the beauty of God who becomes visible.

This optimism of natural contemplation (physikè theoria), of this seeing in visible creation the good, the beautiful and the true, this Christian optimism is not a naïve optimism: It takes into account the wound inflicted on human nature by free choice desired by God and used inappropriately by man, with all the consequences of widespread disharmony that have come from it. From here stems the need, clearly perceived by the theology of Damascene, that the nature in which the goodness and beauty of God is reflected, wounded by our fault, "would be strengthened and renewed" by the descent of the Son of God in the flesh, after in many ways and on many occasions God himself had tried to show that he had created man so that he would be not only in "being," but in "being good" (cf. La fede ortodossa, II, 1, PG 94, col. 981).

With a passionate exclamation, John explains: "It was necessary for nature to be strengthened and renewed and that the path of virtue would be indicated and concretely taught (didachthenai aretes hodòn), [the path] that banishes corruption and leads to eternal life ... Thus appeared on the horizon of history the great sea of the love of God for man (philanthropias pelagos) ..."

It is a beautiful expression. We see, on one hand, the beauty of creation and on the other, the destruction caused by human fault. But we see in the Son of God, who descends to renew nature, the sea of the love of God for man.

John Damascene continues: "He himself, the Creator and Lord, fought for his creature, transmitting his teaching to him with his example ... And thus the Son of God, while subsisting in the form of God, descended from the heavens and lowered himself ... toward his servants ... carrying out the newest thing of all, the only thing truly new under the son, through which he manifested in fact the infinite power of God" (III, 1. PG 94, col. 981C-984B).

We can imagine the consolation and the joy that filled the hearts of the faithful with these words so full of fascinating images. We too hear them today, sharing the same sentiments of the Christians of that time: God wants to rest in us, he wants to renew nature also through our conversion, he wants to make us participants in his divinity. May the Lord help us to make these words the essence of our lives.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Saint John Damascene was a towering figure in the history of Eastern theology. He was born into a wealthy Christian family at a time when his native Syria was already under Arab rule. He left a promising career in government in order to enter monastic life. His best-known works are his Discourses against the Iconoclasts, which offer an important contribution to the proper theological understanding of the veneration of sacred images. Saint John Damascene was among the first to distinguish between adoration, which is due to God alone, and veneration, which can rightly be given to an image in order to assist the Christian to contemplate him whom the image represents. It is true that in the Old Testament, divine images were strictly forbidden. But now that God has become incarnate and has assumed visible, material form in Jesus, matter has received a new dignity. The wood of the Cross, the book of the Gospels, the altar of sacrifice: all have been used by God to bring about our salvation. Matter now serves as a sign and sacrament of our encounter with God. When we participate in the sacraments, when we venerate icons, if we do so in faith and in the power of the Holy Spirit, they truly become a means of grace. Despite human sinfulness, God has chosen to dwell within men and women, making them holy, making them sharers in his infinite goodness and holiness. Let us welcome him with joy into our hearts.

St. John of Damascus
Feastday: December 3
b. 645 d. 749

Saint John Damascene has the double honor of being the last but one of the fathers of the Eastern Church, and the greatest of her poets. It is surprising, however, how little that is authentic is known of his life. The account of him by John of Jerusalem, written some two hundred years after his death, contains an admixture of legendary matter, and it is not easy to say where truth ends and fiction begins.

The ancestors of John, according to his biographer, when Damascus fell into the hands of the Arabs, had alone remained faithful to Christianity. They commanded the respect of the conqueror, and were employed in judicial offices of trust and dignity, to administer, no doubt, the Christian law to the Christian subjects of the Sultan. His father, besides this honorable rank, had amassed great wealth; all this he devoted to the redemption of Christian slaves on whom he bestowed their freedom. John was the reward of these pious actions. John was baptized immediately on his birth, probably by Peter II, bishop of Damascus, afterwards a sufferer for the Faith. The father was anxious to keep his son aloof from the savage habits of war and piracy, to which the youths of Damascus were addicted, and to devote him to the pursuit of knowledge. The Saracen pirates of the seashore neighboring to Damascus, swept the Mediterranean, and brought in Christian captives from all quarters. A monk named Cosmas had the misfortune to fall into the hands of these freebooters. He was set apart for death, when his executioners, Christian slaves no doubt, fell at his feet and entreated his intercession with the Redeemer. The Saracens enquired of Cosmas who he was. He replied that he had not the dignity of a priest; he was a simple monk, and burst into tears. The father of John was standing by, and expressed his surprise at this exhibition of timidity. Cosmas answered, "It is not for the loss of my life, but of my learning, that I weep." Then he recounted his attainments, and the father of John, thinking he would make a valuable tutor for his son, begged or bought his life of the Saracen governor; gave him his freedom, and placed his son under his tuition. The pupil in time exhausted all the acquirements of his teacher. The monk then obtained his dismissal, and retired to the monastery of S. Sabas, where he would have closed his days in peace, had he not been compelled to take on himself the bishopric of Majuma, the port of Gaza.

The attainments of the young John of Damascus commanded the veneration of the Saracens; he was compelled reluctantly to accept an office of higher trust and dignity than that held by his father. As the Iconoclastic controversy became more violent, John of Damascus entered the field against the Emperor of the East, and wrote the first of his three treatises on the Veneration due to Images. This was probably composed immediately after the decree of Leo the Isaurian against images, in 730.

Before he wrote the second, he was apparently ordained priest, for he speaks as one having authority and commission. The third treatise is a recapitulation of the arguments used in the other two. These three treatises were disseminated with the utmost activity throughout Christianity.

The biographer of John relates a story which is disproved not only by its exceeding improbability, but also by being opposed to the chronology of his history. It is one of those legends of which the East is so fertile, and cannot be traced, even in allusion, to any document earlier than the biography written two hundred years later. Leo the Isaurian, having obtained, through his emissaries, one of John's circular epistles in his own handwriting -- so runs the tale -- caused a letter to be forged, containing a proposal from John of Damascus to betray his native city to the Christians. The emperor, with specious magnanimity, sent this letter to the Sultan. The indignant Mahommedan ordered the guilty hand of John to be cut off. John entreated that the hand might be restored to him, knelt before the image of the Virgin, prayed, fell asleep, and woke with his hand as before. John, convinced by this miracle, that he was under the special protection of our Lady, resolved to devote himself wholly to a life of prayer and praise, and retired to the monastery of Saint Sabas.

That the Sultan should have contented himself with cutting off the hand of one of his magistrates for an act of high treason is in itself improbable, but it is rendered more improbable by the fact that it has been proved by Father Lequien, the learned editor of his works, that Saint John Damascene was already a monk at Saint Sabas before the breaking out of the Iconoclastic dispute.

In 743, the Khalif Ahlid II persecuted the Christians. He cut off the tongue of Peter, metropolitan of Damascus, and banished him to Arabia Felix. Peter, bishop of Majuma, suffered decapitation at the same time, and Saint John of Damascus wrote an eulogium on his memory. Another legend is as follows: it is probably not as apocryphal as that of the severed hand: -- The abbot sent Saint John in the meanest and most beggarly attire to sell baskets in the marketplace of Damascus, where he had been accustomed to appear in the dignity of office, and to vend his poor ware at exorbitant prices. Nor did the harshness of the abbot end there. A man had lost his brother, and broken-hearted at his bereaval, besought Saint John to compose him a sweet hymn that might be sung at this brother's funeral, and which at the same time would soothe his own sorrow. John asked leave of the abbot, and was curtly refused permission. But when he saw the distress of the mourner he yielded, and sang him a beautiful lament. The abbot was passing at the time, and heard the voice of his disciple raised in song. Highly incensed, he expelled him from the monastery, and only re- admitted him on condition of his daily cleaning the filth from all the cells of his brethren. An opportune vision rebuked the abbot for thus wasting the splendid talents of his inmate. John was allowed to devote himself to religious poetry, which became the heritage of the Eastern Church, and to theological arguments in defense of the doctrines of the Church, and refutation of all heresies. His three great hymns or "canons," are those on Easter, the Ascension, and Satin Thomas's Sunday. Probably also many of the Idiomela an Stichera which are scattered about the office- books under the title of "John" and "John the Hermit" are his. His eloquent defense of images has deservedly procured him the title of "The Doctor of Christian Art." The date of his death cannot be fixed with any certainty; but it lies between 754 and before 787.

Saint John Damascene and the Iconoclasts

St. John the Evangelist succinctly described the essence of the Incarnation when he wrote: “The Word was made Flesh and dwelt amongst us.”

Fr. Leonard Feeney, M.I.C.M., speaking about the Incarnational nature of Christianity, stated:

I am going to tell you now, and will tell you many times again, how grateful I am to Saint John for making the Incarnational message of Christianity so completely unmistakable and never to be doubted again, by his brilliant phrase in the beautiful canticle which opens his Gospel. Instead of saying, ‘God became visible,’ Saint John says, ‘The word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us.’ Everyone knows what ‘was made flesh’ means.

…Visible gets a very strong, central and safeguarded value when you put it that way. Flesh is visible, and unmistakably so. God is there to be heard, as flesh speaks; to be seen as flesh walks. A woman could touch the hem of God’s garments.

The whole story of our Emmanuel’s entrance into the world is finished after that matchless challenge of Saint John. There can be no arbitrary discussions about what you mean by visible any more…. God has been flesh in this world, and if you are not finding Him from the messages, the words, the pictures, the records, the reports that ultimately stem from Flesh and Blood pointing to Himself, opening His Heart, and saying: ‘This is God! Bones and blood, and nail-pierced hands’ — you have not got Christianity. I do not care what else you are touching — you have not got Christianity.

…Christianity is an overt, seeable, tangible, liftable, dealable-with religion. You can point to it! There it goes! Here it lies!

It is so precious in visible form, in Incarnational form, that even when the great soul that kept it alive is gone — let us say when the soul of a saint has left his body — the body is still sacred to Christianity. Its bones are relics. Its clothing is a relic. The beard of Saint Francis, the robe of St. Dominic, the Little Flower’s hair and shoes, the mantle which she wore, the little bed she slept on, and the straw on which she coughed herself to eternity — all are relics.

…Let me go back and speak again about the word visible. Visible means: visible either in origin or termination. Either the lead or the finish is something tangible, seeable, or holdable.

Visibility must occur somewhere in the arrangement that touches you, if you are going to be a true Catholic according to Christ’s Incarnational requirements.

Father Feeney is best known for his defense of the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus (no salvation outside the Church). It is likely that future generations will know him as an “Apostle of the Incarnation” because he defended the necessity of God’s Incarnational economy against those who deny that all men must, if they are to be saved, be united to Christ as members of his Mystical Body.

The subject of this article — Iconoclasm — was another attack on the Incarnation that occurred in a more direct and obvious way. Iconoclasm was a frontal assault on that seeable, touchable, and holdable attribute of the Church. Iconoclasm and the Iconoclasts would have eradicated that visible notion of the Church and made her the invisible entity, the “mere Christianity,” that she has become today in the minds of many. By seeking to suppress the very visible representations of Our Lord Jesus Christ, His Mother, and the Communion of Saints in Heaven, the Iconoclasts attempted to de-Incarnationalize Christianity and replace it with an immaterial and ethereal contemplation of God. To de-Incarnationalize Christianity is to remove the visible essence of the Church and her moral authority from the mind, to eradicate the priestly hierarchy, and to break down the distinction between the sacred and the profane. Once the Church and her visible essence have been removed from the mind, the other Authority — the State — soon fills the vacuum, and its “civil” religion replaces that of the True Faith. There are many examples of this in history, including the Protestant Revolt. Wherever Protestantism took hold (often accompanied by Iconoclasm), the end product was the consolidation of power — both civil and religious — in the hands of the State.

Just as Father Feeney was raised up by God to defend the Incarnation in our time, there was a great defender of the True Faith and Incarnational Christianity who was raised up by God at the time of the Iconoclast Heresy. He was known as the “Golden Stream,” the Chrysorrhoës (due to the eloquence by which he was able to defend the Faith and vanquish the poor thinking of the adversaries), and his name was St. John of Damascus or — to the West — St. John Damascene. This article will describe that early attack on the Incarnation and St. John’s heroic defense of Him.

Roots of Iconoclasm

Iconoclasm comes from the Greek Eikonoclasmos , which is literally “image breaking.” Eradication of the visible representations, in any form, be it statues or paintings of Christ, His Mother, or the Saints, was the end to which Iconoclasts strove. The rise of Iconoclasm can be traced to a variety of causes, all coming together at that particular time in history. As is the case with all heresy, we are dealing not only with a doctrinal error, but also with historical circumstances which form its particular character. To aid us in our understanding of Iconoclasm then, we will quickly glance at a few circumstances and attributes of the heresy, and then we will go on to describe the events which occurred at this pivotal era in the history of Christendom.

Geographically:

Iconoclasm and the Iconoclasts operated within the boundaries of the Byzantine Roman Empire, with some minor exceptions. 1

The Holy Father in Rome opposed any manifestation of Iconoclasm in the Church in the West. Likewise, those Eastern Patriarchs who were not within the bounds of the Roman Empire, but situated in lands under the control of Islam, were against the Iconoclasts.

Iconodules (”Defenders of Images”) who lived within territories controlled by the Moslems were free to write against the Iconoclast heresy without fear of persecution. As we will see, our hero, St. John of Damascus, was one such Iconodule.

Politically:

The carrying out of the persecution came primarily from the secular head of state, the Roman Emperor, and the Praetorian Guard — his professional army.

During the 8th and 9th centuries, the Byzantine Empire was closely allied with the Jewish Kingdom of Khazaria. Not only was there a close military alliance (both kingdoms opposed the advancement of Islam into North Central Asia and the West), there existed as well a close political relationship between the Roman Emperor and the Kagans of Khazaria. In fact the relationship was so close that Khazaria could claim to have contributed at least two Emperors and two Empresses to the throne of Byzantium during this time. (For example, the first of the Iconoclast Emperors, Leo the Isaurian, arranged for the marriage of his son Constantine to the daughter of the Kagan of Khazaria. 2 Constantine’s son by his Khazarian wife would rule Byzantium as Leo IV, “the Khazar.”)

Part of the relationship between Khazaria and Byzantium included the contribution of Khazarian soldiers to the Emperor’s professional army — his Praetorian Guard. (Note: The professional soldier swore allegiance to the person of the Emperor and not the Empire at large.) It was the army that first put Leo on the throne.

The Roman Emperors never gave up their claims to Pontificus Maximus in regard to religious things even after having become Christian. Caesaro-Papism (head of state = head of church) was rooted in their makeup since the times of pagan Rome, when the Caesars were looked upon as gods. Eradicating visible manifestations of the Spiritual Authority would certainly fit well into the Emperor’s plans, as he wanted to consolidate power within his realm.

Theologically and Philosophically:

St. John’s arguments show that the Iconoclast position de-Incarnationalizes religion and turns it into a form of Manichaeism, 3 where flesh is evil and the corporate body of the Church is replaced by the individual’s immaterial contemplation of a God who is no longer “the Word made Flesh.”

Carried to its extreme, Iconoclasm becomes Docetism, 4 where God merely appears to use a body of flesh. Docetism is very much alive in many modern Christian heresies.

Enter the Iconoclasts

The Roman Emperor Leo III, “the Isaurian,” who reigned from 716 to 741, was the first of the Iconoclasts. As his surname denotes, he came from the district of Isauria, located in what is now south central Turkey. Isauria was once a part of the district of Galatia in the time of the Apostles. St. Paul evangelized this region of Asia Minor where he attempted to convert his fellow Jews to the Catholic Faith. From his Epistle to the Galatians we can see that he came amongst large numbers of Jews who lived in that area, many of whom never ceased to pervert and distort the teachings of the true Faith. In fact, at the time of Leo, many Jews still lived in this region as did members of the heretical sect called the Paulicians, 5 whose teachings mirrored those of Mani-chaeism. The Catholic historian Conybeare made the observation that the Iconoclast Emperors were practically Paulicians themselves.

The story is told of Leo III’s youth that, while still in his father’s cabin amid the mountains of Isauria, he once heard Jews blaspheme and curse an image of the Redeemer. One of them turned to him and jokingly remarked: “Were you emperor, would you not destroy all those impious images?” “I swear,” replied the boy, “that I should not spare a single one!” 6

In time, Leo’s father, a peasant tradesman, moved the family to Thrace (where many Paulicians were emigrating), raised sheep, and sent 500 of them, with his son Leo in the bargain, as a present to the Emperor Justinian II. Leo became guardsman of the palace, then commander of the Anatolian legions. After forcing the Roman Emperor Theodosius III to abdicate, Leo was made Emperor by the vote of his army, thus becoming the fourth emperor in three years to sit upon the Byzantine throne. His rule would last 25 years, and through him would begin what is known in history as the Isaurian dynasty.

In the year 723, in order to prove to his subjects that he was not a Jew, Leo issued a decree giving all Byzantine Jews the choice between Christianity or banishment. By and large, the Jews received baptism. 7

Three years later, Leo published another decree announcing that in gratitude for the favors heaped upon him by God since his accession, he wished to destroy the idolatry which had crept into the Church; that the pictures of Christ, of the Blessed Virgin, and the Saints were idols (based upon his understanding of Exodus 20:4-5) to which honor was given that was only due to a jealous God. He accordingly ordered their removal from the churches, oratories and private dwellings. St. Germanus, the Patriarch of Constantinople, refused to sign his name to the edict, and in reply to the Emperor he said: “Christians do not worship images, but only honor them as memorials of the saints and of their virtues. Painting is but an epitome of history for Christians, not an idolatry. You must distinguish between direct and relative veneration .” (Emphasis ours. This sentence briefly puts forth a major argument used by Catholics against the Iconoclasts. It is found in St. John’s writings and in the texts of the Council of Nicea II.) Leo refused to understand so clear and simple an explanation. He again ordered St. Germanus to receive his decree with the alternative of banishment or even death in case of refusal. When Germanus again refused, the Emperor physically struck the Patriarch and, in time, with the senate’s approval, sent him into exile as a traitor. A willing and compliant priest named Anastasius took the Patriarch’s place.

As Father J.E. Darras relates, “From that hour an unparalled fanaticism wreaked its fury upon every sacred symbol. Leo’s troops broke into the churches and private dwellings, destroyed every pious work of art, and murdered all who dared to oppose them. Leo found it profitable to confiscate a number of gold and silver statues, costly vessels used in the service of the altar, jewels which enriched the images of Mary, so dear to the faithful hearts of the empire, and destroyed a large brass crucifix with which the piety of Constantine the Great had adorned one of the porticos of the imperial palace. Since it had always been held in special reverence by the inhabitants of Constantinople, some women of the lower class rushed upon the officer who had executed the impious order and murdered him. This but gave the signal for a savage slaughter, and these women were put to death with a number of other Catholics. The martyrs were covered with a coat of pitch, and burned upon a pile of sacred images. Their calcined bodies were then thrown to dogs.”

The celebrated Byzantine library was contained in a basilica situated between the imperial palace and the church of St. Sophia. This basilica, called the Octagon, from the eight splendid porticos which gave entrance to it, was the residence of the professors of theology. The Emperor directed these scholars to subscribe to his decree, which they refused to do. Unable to convince them, Leo became determined to destroy them, and so with a sociopathic cruelty, he consigned the books, the basilica, and the professors to the flames.

A Golden Stream Flows out of the East

There is a river that rises out of the southeastern slopes of Mount Hermon in the Anti-Lebanon Mountains that flows to the southernmost lake of Damascus. It is highly extolled by the local inhabitants for its purity and clearness. It was called, in Greek, Chrysorrhoës , or “golden stream.” Damascus owes everything to the river Barada, as it is called today. Its value to the Damascenes is inestimable, as it fertilizes the fields that provide much of the food for the city.

In the year of Our Lord 676, St. John Damascene was born into an illustrious Christian family in Damascus. St. John’s father was the grand vizier (high executive officer) at the court of the Umayyad caliphs of Damascus, Syria at this time being under the control of the Moslems. The family enjoyed the esteem of the caliphs to an eminent degree.

Wanting to give his son the best education possible, St. John’s father had been seeking for some time the right teacher for the job. Divine Providence helped him find a poor Sicilian monk named Cosmas, who had spent his life in the study of philosophy and the sciences. Under Cosmas’ tutelage, St. John made quick and steady progress in the study of grammar, dialectics, algebra, geometry, music, astronomy, and especially theology. The Catholic historian, M. Charles Lenormand, eulogizes St. John’s intellectual impact on his people: “Who opens the list of those master-minds that inspired the genius of Arabia? It is a very good Catholic, a Father of the Church, St. John Damascene, who initiates the Arab mind into the reasonings of Greek philosophy, not at the court of the Abbasids, but a century earlier in that of the Umayyad dynasty; not in Baghdad, but at Damascus. The illustrious Father, St. John, who enjoyed the highest consideration at the court, yet had left it for the religious cell, and was certainly the most renowned character of his day in the East, introduced the Arabs into the sphere of Aristotle’s philosophy.” (Though excelled by his pupil, the monk Cosmas was also a great man. Raised to the episcopal see of Majuma, he won the martyr’s palm in 743.)

Seeing the qualities that St. John exhibited, the caliph of Damascus made him vizier upon the death of John’s father. But St. John had other plans in mind. He preferred the life of solitude, so he obtained the caliph’s permission to live in retirement. He then entered the monastic life.

In 726, when the Iconoclast Leo began to issue his infamous decrees against images, St. John immediately entered the fight. He wrote his first treatise on the defense of images, which won great popularity in the East, and spread rapidly throughout the empire. St. John’s first work began: “Conscious of my own unworthiness, I ought perhaps to have kept an unbroken silence; but at the sight of the Church tossed by a violent storm, the words break of their own accord from my lips, for I fear God more than any earthly emperor.” St. John then goes on to discuss the question with depth, clearness, and learning. He proves the lawfulness of venerating images, by Sacred Scripture, Catholic tradition, and sound logical arguments. He wrote: “A picture is to the ignorant what a book would be to the learned. The picture does the same office through the sight as the word through the hearing. Holy images are a memorial of the Divine works. Besides, the decision in such matters falls not within the province of princes, but of councils. It was not to kings that Jesus Christ gave power to bind and to loose; it was to the apostles and their successors, the bishops and doctors of the Church. Let these rash innovators recall the words of the apostle St. Paul: Should an angel come down from heaven to preach to you another gospel than that which you have received… We will not finish the text, but leave them time for repentance. But if — what God forbid — they obstinately cling to their error, we may then add the rest: Let him be anathema!” Needless to say, this work created a deep impression in the Catholic world. And it enraged Emperor Leo.

To revenge himself on St. John, Leo committed an infamous fraud. He caused a skillful forger to counterfeit the handwriting of St. John, and then addressed a spurious letter from St. John to the Emperor, inviting him to march upon Damascus, which he promised to place in his power. Leo then sent the false document to the caliph of Damascus as a pledge of his friendship and a proof of his desire to preserve peace between them. The caliph, taken in by the fraud, and too much angered to listen to St. John, ordered his right hand to be cut off.

After the bloody punishment, St John threw himself upon his knees before an image of the Blessed Virgin, begging Her to intercede with her Divine Son for the restoration of his mutilated hand, that he might still defend the cause of holy images. His prayer was granted; his severed hand was restored to his arm!

Struck by the miraculous cure, the caliph loaded the saint with favors.

In the meantime, Pope St. Gregory II was rallying about him all the powers of the West to meet the onslaught of Iconoclasm. The people of Rome, upon learning of the lengths to which the Iconoclasts had desecrated the holy places and the destruction that was caused to holy pictures, began a program of destruction of their own. It was not holy pictures that they began to trample under foot, but images and statues of the Emperor! At the same time Pope Gregory was clearly laying down the Catholic teaching on the subject in his letters to Leo. The Emperor, maddened by such resistance on the part of the Church, organized a conspiracy against the Pontiff’s life. His plans went awry. The conspirators were discovered and put to death. One of Leo’s underlings, Paul, exarch of Ravenna assembled an army and prepared to take Rome in order to force the election of a new Pope. Against this threat the Roman people took up arms. People in the surrounding countries hastened to join the Romans in order to defend the city and the person of the Sovereign Pontiff. Paul was forced to retreat before such an imposing array of arms.

Leo’s senseless rage caused two results of vast importance in the history of the Church. It brought to the fore the importance of the temporal independence of the Popes, and it helped to establish the foundations of the Western power of the Franks and their protector role to the Primal See.

As he became increasingly powerless against the Church of Rome, in 733 the Emperor redoubled his cruelty towards the Catholics in his empire. He issued an imperial edict withdrawing all the provinces between Sicily and Thrace — comprising Greece, Illyria, and Macedonia — from the Roman Church’s immediate jurisdiction, and declared them henceforth subject to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The tax of Sicily and Calabria was increased by 33 percent, and even the children were taxed from the day of their birth.

In 741, Leo died and left the empire to his son Constantine Copronymus. 8 The second of the Iconoclast emperors, Constantine would make the persecutions enacted by his father seem tame in comparison.

Copronymus held a special hatred for the religious in his empire, partly due to his Paulician leanings and partly due to the fearless eloquence of the holy monk St. John of Damascus, whose reputation was becoming as wide as the boundaries of the East. St. John’s genius grew with the indignation everywhere aroused through the Catholic world by the cruelty of the Iconoclasts. His works followed each other with wonderful rapidity. In the immense tome called the Source of Science , addressed to his early teacher, Cosmas, then bishop of Majuma, St. John treats of the whole of human intellectual achievement and crowns it all with the divine science of theology. He met the various heretical systems with the truths of the Faith, and proved, by powerful reasoning and a captivating eloquence, the absurdity of Iconoclasm. Besides Source of Science , the Golden Stream’s writings also include three separate treatises in defense of holy images.

To popularize devotion to the Blessed Virgin and the Saints, he wrote hymns full of sublime beauty. For instance, in singing the praises of the Mother of God, St. John wrote: “Mother of life, kill in me the passions of the body, which are the death of the spirit. Protect my soul when it leaves this earthly tabernacle to soar above, to a better world. The storm of passion plays wildly round me now, the billows of iniquity hurry me to the gulf of despair. Star of the sea, still the foaming surge. The roaring lion seeks to devour me. Leave me not to his fury, O Immaculate Virgin; thou who didst give to the world the divine Child Whose hand hath broken the lion’s teeth.” Though St. John may not have intended to insert such polemics in his sublime praises of the Theotokos, we wonder if the lion reference (leo , in Latin) is a coincidence.

In 754, Constantine Copronymus convoked the famous Iconoclast council 9 with 138 Eastern bishops, fawning slaves, wherein the veneration of images was condemned, and those who honored them were anathematized. The documents of the pseudo-council contained several colorful expressions of hatred for St. John of Damascus. He was nicknamed “Manzer” (bastard), and they called him a “traitorous worshipper of images,” the “cursed favourer of Saracens,” a “wronger of Jesus Christ,” a “teacher of impiety,” and a interpreter of the Scriptures”!

Upon the close of this pseudo-synod, the work of devastation — the plundering of churches and monasteries, and the shedding of Catholic blood — was resumed with the same savage fury as in the days of Leo. The Iconoclast heresy did as much to swell the martyr ranks of the Church as the paganism of Nero and Diocletian. Throughout the liturgical year, the Roman Martyrology bears testimony to the carnage, naming a host of martyrs who died “for the defense of holy images.” Holy priests, virgins consecrated to the service of the altar, persons of every rank and condition, covered with blood and loaded with chains, were savagely dragged through the streets of Constantinople, and then plunged into dark dungeons to die of hunger and misery. Some of the most celebrated martyrs of this time included St. Stephen, abbot of the monastery of St. Auxentius, St. Andrew the Calybite, and St. Peter the Stylite.

The Iconoclasts Vanquished

It would be only after the death of Constantine Copronymus’ son Leo IV, “the Khazar,” that the Byzantine Empire would again establish good relations with the Catholic Church. An Ecumenical Council, the 7th in the history of the Church, would be convened in Nicaea in 787. Nicaea II condemned the erroneous teachings that were promulgated by the Iconoclast pseudo-synod of 754, and it confirmed Catholic tradition as regards the veneration of images. The Council also characterized the Iconoclasts as “godless Jews and enemies of truth,” and it also made repeated references to the iconoclastic acts as being initiated by Jews. 10

As a footnote, the Council reversed Leo the Isaurian’s decree forcing baptism upon the Jews in the Empire. The Council decreed that those Jews who were forced to christianize would no longer be considered Catholics, unless they had truly converted.

St. John Damascene would not live to see the Council vindicate him and his heroic defense of the Incarnation (he died in 756), but he would go down in history as one of the greatest teachers of the Church. He is referred to as the “Thomas Aquinas of the East” because he introduced Aristotle’s logic to the study of theology among the Greeks. In fact, pre-dating St. Thomas Aquinas, he is looked upon as the father and founder of scholastic theology. He is also the last of the Greek Fathers of the Church, and with him the Patristic age came to an end. He was declared a Doctor of the Universal Church by another Leo — Pope Leo XIII — in 1890.

Holy Minds Think Alike

As we started with an Apostle of the Incarnation describing for us the essence of Incarnational Christianity, let us end with St. John of Damascus, the great defender of the Incarnation, describing in similar terms, the essence of the Incarnation:

“Of old, God the incorporeal and uncircumscribed was never depicted. Now, however, when God is seen clothed in flesh, and conversing with men (Bar. 3:38), I make an image of the God whom I see. I do not worship matter, I worship the God of matter, who became matter for my sake, and deigned to inhabit matter, who worked out my salvation through matter. I will not cease from honoring that matter which works my salvation. I venerate it, though not as God. How could God be born out of lifeless things? And if God’s body is God by union, it is immutable. The nature of God remains the same as before, the flesh created in time is quickened by a logical and reasoning soul. I honor all matter besides, and venerate it. Through it, filled, as it were, with a divine power and grace, my salvation has come to me. Was not the thrice happy and thrice blessed wood of the Cross matter? Was not the sacred and holy mountain of Calvary matter? What of the life-giving rock, the Holy Sepulchre, the source of our resurrection: was it not matter? Is not the most holy book of the Gospels matter? Is not the blessed table matter which gives us the Bread of Life? Are not the gold and silver matter, out of which crosses and altar-plate and chalices are made? And before all these things, is not the Body and Blood of Our Lord matter? Either do away with the veneration and worship due to all these things, or submit to the tradition of the Church in the worship of images, honoring God and His friends, and following in this the grace of the Holy Spirit. Do not despise matter, for it is not despicable.”

Dear Golden Stream, pray for us!

1 One exception had to do with the Caliph Yazid, who ruled in Palestine from 720-724. A monk named John testified, at the 7th Ecumenical Council, that a Palestinian Jew named Tessarakontapechys (”Forty-Cubits-High”) had promised the Caliph that he would reign for thirty years if he would destroy ‘every representational painting, whether on tablets or in wall mosaics or on sacred vessels and altar coverings, and all such objects as are found in all Christian churches…and so also all representations of any kind whatever that adorn and embellish the market places of cities…’ The Caliph yielded to the advice of the Jew, and a minor iconoclastic event occurred in his territory. Ironically, the Caliph died the very next year.

2 The rulers of the Khazar kingdom made Judaism the formal religion of the state in the eighth century. For more on this and the history of Khazaria, see Arthur Koestler’s The Thirteenth Tribe and Kevin Brook’s website .

3 Manichaeism is a complex heresy whose major tenet was that a good god created spirits and an equally powerful evil god created matter. Combated effectively by St. Augustine (d. 430), the Manichaean sect died, but the error lived on. See the article “St. Dominic de Guzman ” in Housetops No. 47.

4 Docetism is derived from the Greek dokesis, means “appearance” or “semblance.” The Docetae were not heretics, properly speaking, as this error came from outside the Church. Docetism was always an accompaniment of Gnosticism and Manichaeism. Gnosticism finds its roots in the Jewish Kabbala. This is evidenced in the writings of St. Ignatius of Antioch, a direct disciple of St. John the Evangelist, when he wrote of the Docetics in his time (c. 105) being closely connected with the practice of Judaism. There were other early Church Fathers who also made this Judaic-Docetic connection, among them St. Polycarp (†166), another disciple of St. John.

5 Fr. Adrian Fortescue wrote in his article on the Paulicians that they rejected the Old Testament; there was no Incarnation, Christ was an angel sent into the world by God (the Paulicians believed as the Docetae: He only “seemed” to have taken on our humanity; His real mother was the heavenly Jerusalem. His work consisted only in His teaching; to believe in Him saves men from judgment. The true baptism and Eucharist consist in hearing His word, as in John 4:10.) Many Paulicians, nevertheless, let their children be baptized by the Catholic clergy. They honored not the Cross, but only the book of the Gospel. They were Iconoclasts, rejecting all pictures. Their Bible was a fragmentary New Testament. They rejected St. Peter’s epistles because he had denied Christ. They referred always to the “Gospel and Apostle”, apparently only St. Luke and St. Paul; though they quoted other Gospels in controversy. The whole ecclesiastical hierarchy is bad, as also are all sacraments and ritual. As they were very anti-ascetical, they held a special aversion to monks.

6 General History of the Catholic Church from the Commencement of the Christian Era to the Twentieth Century, M. L’Abbe J.E. Darras, © 1898, p. 310.

7 As history has shown, whenever this phenomenon has occurred, many of these Jews, while ostensibly practicing Catholicism, secretly continued to follow the rites of Judaism to which they remained deeply attached. Unfortunately, this “Marranist phenomenon” did not stop here. Many of these false Christians went on to enter the ranks of the clergy and religious, becoming priests, nuns, and even bishops!

8 As one author put it, Constantine was branded with arguably the worst moniker in history. “Copronymus” comes from Kopros , the Greek word for dung.

9 Catholic historian, M. Poujoulat, wrote: “Cold rigid Protestantism devoid of greatness of life, is enthusiastic in its admiration of the Iconoclast council of 754. With Leo the Isaurian and Copronymus, it raises the cry of idolatry! superstition! on seeing our churches decorated with the masterpieces of great artists.”

10 Mansi, Giovanni Domenico; Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio . Florentiae, Expensis Antonii Zatta, 1859-1898, Volume 13, 24E-32A, and 41A.

MID-PENTECOST IS CELEBRATEDTHE EASTERN CHURCCHTHIS WEEK ON WEDNESDAY

2009-05-03T20:18:00.000-07:00

MID PENTECOST
Jesus Christ Teaching in the Temple

This icon portrays Christ as a youth teaching the elders in the Temple, but it is used to commemorate his teaching in the Temple in the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles in John 7, which happens in the Autumn of the year. But it was a time for blessing the waters as a foreshadowing of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. At the end of this feast, Jesus gave the promise of the Holy Spirit:
"In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Spirit was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)" -John 7:37-39
That is why this feast is midway between Paskha and Pentecost, connecting the two.

Hymn of the feast
In the midst of this Feast, O Savior, give thou my thirsty soul to drink of the waters of true worship; for thou didst call out to all, saying, Whosoever is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Wherefore, O Christ our God, Fountain of life, glory to thee.

Mid-Pentecost or Midfeast is a feast day which occurs during the Paskhal season in the Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite.

Mid-Pentecost celebrates the midpoint between the Feasts of Paskha (Easter) and Pentecost. Specifically, it falls on the 25th day of Paskha.

Mid-Pentecost is a one-week feast which begins on the 4th Wednesday of Paskha, and continues until the following Wednesday. That is to say, it has an Afterfeast of seven days. Throughout these eight days (including the day of the feast) hymns of Mid-Pentecost are joined to those of the Paskhal season. Many of the hymns from the first day of the feast are repeated on the Apodosis (leave-taking of the feast). Although it is ranked as a Feast of the Lord and has an Afterfeast, Mid-Pentecost itself is not considered to be one of the Great Feasts of the Church year.

The liturgical texts for the feast are found in the Pentecostarion (the liturgical book containing propers for the period from Paskha to Pentecost). There are three Old Testament readings appointed for Vespers; but, uniquely, no Matins Gospel. In some places an All-Night Vigil is celebrated for this feast, though a Vigil is not called for in the Typicon (book of rubrics). At the Divine Liturgy, the reading from the Apostle is Acts 14:6-18.

The theme of the feast is Christ as Teacher, based upon the words from the Gospel of the day (John 7:14-30): "Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught...Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself."

The icon of the feast depicts the young Jesus in the Temple in Jerusalem speaking with the Elders (Luke 2:46-47), the first biblical example of Jesus as teacher (Rabbi). In traditional Orthodox icons of this subject, the figure of Jesus is depicted larger than those of the Elders, showing his superior spiritual status.

The Troparion of the Feast hints at the encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan Woman, which will be celebrated on the following Sunday:

In the middle of the Feast, O Savior, fill my thirsting soul with the waters of godliness, as You did cry to all: 'If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink' (John 7:37). O Christ God, Fountain of our life, glory be to You!

The scripture verse from John 7, quoted by the Troparion, will be read on the day of Pentecost.

Mid-Pentecost, has historically been the Altar Feast of the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.

St. Alphonsus Liguori’s 50 Maxims for Attaining Perfection in the Love of Jesus Christ

2009-04-27T20:34:00.000-07:00

To desire ardently to increase in the love of Jesus Christ
To make acts of love toward Jesus Christ. Immediately on waking, and before going to sleep, make an act of love, seeking always to unite your own will to the will of Jesus Christ.
Often to meditate on His Passion.
Always to ask Jesus Christ for His love.
To communicate often and many times in the day to make spiritual communions.
Often to visit the Most Holy Sacrament.
Every morning to receive from the hands of Jesus Christ himself your own cross.
To desire Paradise and Death in order to be able to love Jesus Christ perfectly and for all eternity.
Often to speak of the love of Jesus Christ.
To accept contradictions for the love of Jesus Christ.
To rejoice in the happiness of God.
To do that which is most pleasing to Jesus Christ, and not to refuse Him anything that is agreeable to Him.
To desire and to endeavor that all should love Jesus Christ.
To pray always for sinners and for the souls in Purgatory.
To drive from your heart every affection that does not belong to Jesus Christ.
Always to have recourse to the Most Holy Mary, that she may obtain for us the love of Jesus Christ.
To honor Mary in order to please Jesus Christ.
To seek to please Jesus Christ in all of your actions.
To offer yourself to Jesus Christ to suffer any pain for His love.
To be always determined to die rather than commit a willful venial sin.
To suffer crosses patiently, saying, “Thus it pleases Jesus Christ.”
To renounce your own pleasures for the love of Jesus Christ.
To pray as much as possible.
To practice all the mortifications that obedience permits.
To do all your spiritual exercises as if it were for the last time.
To persevere in good works in the time of aridity.
Not to do nor yet to leave undone anything through human respect.
Not to complain in sickness.
To love solitude, to be able to converse alone with Jesus Christ.
To drive away melancholy.
Often to recommend yourself to those persons who love Jesus Christ.
In temptation, to have recourse to Jesus crucified, and to Mary in her sorrows.
To trust entirely in the Passion of Jesus Christ.
After committing a fault, not to be discouraged, but to repent and resolve to amend.
To do good to those who do evil.
To speak well of all, and to excuse the intention when you cannot defend the action.
To help your neighbor as much as you can.
Neither to say nor to do anything that might vex him. And if you have been wanting in charity, to ask his pardon and to speak kindly to him.
Always to speak with mildness and in a low tone.
To offer to Jesus Christ all the contempts and persecution that you meet with.
To look upon Superiors as the representatives of Jesus Christ.
To obey without answering and without repugnance, and not to seek your own satisfaction in anything.
To like the lowest employments.
To like the poorest things.
Not to speak either good or evil of yourself.
To humble yourself even towards inferiors.
Not to excuse yourself when you are reproved.
Not to defend yourself when found fault with.
To be silent when you are disquieted.
Always to renew your determination of becoming a saint, saying,
“My Jesus, I desire to be all Yours, and You, my Christ must be all mine.”

4 YEARS LATER....

2009-04-20T18:01:00.000-07:00

Oremus pro Pontifice nostro Benedicto.
Let us pray for Benedict, our Pope.

Dominus conservet eum, et vivificet eum, et beatum faciat eum in terra, et non tradat eum in animam inimicorum eius. (Ps 40:3)

May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies. (Ps 40:3)

Pater noster, Qui es in caelis, sanctificetur Nomen Tuum. Adveniat regnum Tuum. Fiat voluntas Tua, sicut in caelo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo. Amen.

Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom, come! Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace! The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Deus, omnium fidelium pastor et rector, famulum tuum Benedictum, quem pastorem Ecclesiae Tuae praeesse voluisti, propitius respice: da ei, quaesumus, verbo et exemplo, quibus praeest, proficere: ut ad vitam, una cum grege sibi credito, perveniat sempiternam.Per Christum, Dominum nostrum. Amen.

O God, Shepherd and Ruler of all Thy faithful people, look mercifully upon Thy servant Benedict, whom Thou hast chosen as shepherd to preside over Thy Church. Grant him, we beseech Thee, that by his word and example, he may edify those over whom he hath charge, so that together with the flock committed to him, may he attain everlasting life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Sunday after Easter is Divine Mercy Sunday

2009-04-17T16:34:00.000-07:00

How should we prepare for this great Feast of Mercy?

Jesus told St. Faustina that this Feast of Mercy would be a very special day when "all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened". (Diary 699) Our Lord made a great promise to all those souls who would go to Confession and then receive Him in Holy Communion on the Feast of Mercy, on the Sunday after Easter, which is now called Divine Mercy Sunday throughout the Catholic Church.

Jesus promised that "The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain the complete forgiveness of sins and punishment."(Diary 699) He went on to say "I want to grant a complete pardon to the souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion on the Feast of My Mercy." (Diary 1109)

We want to encourage everyone to take advantage of this incredible promise and the additional Plenary Indulgence on this great Feast of Mercy "Divine Mercy Sunday". We want you to benefit fully from these promises, and we also want you to notify all of your family and friends about them too and urge them to return to the practice of their faith!

The Image of The Divine Mercy, which Our Lord requested to be solemnly blessed and venerated on this day, will be on display in our church. Pope John Paul II said that the image portrays the Risen Jesus Christ bringing Mercy to the whole world. Our Lord said "I want the image to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter, and I want it to be venerated publicly so that every soul may know about it. I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish". (Diary 341, 48) Please take the time to visit with this Image of The Divine Mercy and venerate Jesus.

Jesus said to St. Faustina "I am offering people a vessel with which they are to keep coming for graces to the fountain of mercy. That vessel is this image with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You". (Diary 327) "The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the cross. …Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him." (Diary 299)

About the feastday "Divine Mercy Sunday", Jesus said "…tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon the souls who approach the Fount of My Mercy. On that day all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet.... Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy". (Diary 699)

Our Lord said "When you go to confession, to this fountain of My mercy, the Blood and Water which came forth from My Heart always flows down upon your soul…" and "Every time you go to confession, immerse yourself entirely in My mercy with great trust, so that I may pour the bounty of My grace upon your soul. When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I Myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy" (1602) Make your confession before Me. The person of the priest is… only a screen. Never analyze what sort of a priest that I am making use of; open your soul in confession to Me, and I will fill it with My light." (1725)

It is required of all Catholics to confess their serious sins at least once every year. If you haven’t yet met this obligation then take advantage of this outstanding opportunity to receive an outpouring of an ocean of graces that Jesus promises on this day. Those who have already confessed their sins should make room for others.

The Church allows for one to go to Confession for up to about 20 days, before or after Divine Mercy Sunday.

Excerpts taken from the Diary of St. Faustina, copyright 1987 Marians of the Immaculate Conception, Stockbridge MA., USA

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History:
The Feast of Divine Mercy, celebrated on the Octave of Easter (the Sunday after Easter Sunday), is a relatively new addition to the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar. Celebrating the Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ, as revealed by Christ Himself to Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, this feast was extended to the entire Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II on April 30, 2000, the day that he canonized Saint Faustina.

A plenary indulgence (the forgiveness of all temporal punishment resulting from sins that have already been confessed) is granted on the Feast of Divine Mercy if to all the faithful who go to Confession, receive Holy Communion, pray for the intentions of the Holy Father, and "in any church or chapel, in a spirit that is completely detached from the affection for a sin, even a venial sin, take part in the prayers and devotions held in honour of Divine Mercy, or who, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed or reserved in the tabernacle, recite the Our Father and the Creed, adding a devout prayer to the merciful Lord Jesus (e.g. 'Merciful Jesus, I trust in you!')."

A partial indulgence (the remission of some temporal punishment from sin) is granted to the faithful "who, at least with a contrite heart, pray to the merciful Lord Jesus a legitimately approved invocation."

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DIVINE MERCY NOVENA
Introduction:

The Divine Mercy novena began as a private devotion which Our Lord revealed to Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska. The words of the prayers were dictated by Christ Himself to Saint Faustina, and Saint Faustina recorded in her diary Our Lord's instructions for each day's prayer.

Christ asked Saint Faustina to recite the novena starting on Good Friday and ending on Divine Mercy Sunday, the Octave of Easter (the Sunday after Easter Sunday). The novena can recited at any time of the year, however, and it is often accompanied by the Divine Mercy Chaplet, which Our Lord also revealed to Saint Faustina.
First Day:

For the first day of the Divine Mercy novena, Christ asked Saint Faustina to pray for the sake of all mankind, especially sinners. She recorded the following words of Our Lord in her diary: "Today bring to Me all mankind, especially all sinners, and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. In this way you will console Me in the bitter grief into which the loss of souls plunges Me."

Prayer for the First Day of the Divine Mercy Novena

Most Merciful Jesus, whose very nature it is to have compassion on us and to forgive us, do not look upon our sins but upon our trust which we place in Your infinite goodness. Receive us all into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart, and never let us escape from It. We beg this of You by Your love which unites You to the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon all mankind and especially upon poor sinners, all enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion show us Your mercy, that we may praise the omnipotence of Your mercy for ever and ever. Amen.

Second Day:

For the second day, Christ asked Saint Faustina to pray for the sake of priests, monks, and nuns. She recorded the following words of Our Lord in her diary: "Today bring to Me the Souls of Priests and Religious, and immerse them in My unfathomable mercy. It was they who gave me strength to endure My bitter Passion. Through them as through channels My mercy flows out upon mankind."

Prayer for the Second Day of the Divine Mercy Novena

Most Merciful Jesus, from whom comes all that is good, increase Your grace in men and women consecrated to Your service, that they may perform worthy works of mercy; and that all who see them may glorify the Father of Mercy who is in heaven.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the company of chosen ones in Your vineyard—upon the souls of priests and religious; and endow them with the strength of Your blessing. For the love of the Heart of Your Son in which they are enfolded, impart to them Your power and light, that they may be able to guide others in the way of salvation and with one voice sing praise to Your boundless mercy for ages without end. Amen.

Third Day:

For the third day, Christ asked Saint Faustina to pray for the sake of all the faithful. She recorded the following words of Our Lord in her diary: "Today bring to Me all Devout and Faithful Souls, and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. These souls brought me consolation on the Way of the Cross. They were a drop of consolation in the midst of an ocean of bitterness."

Prayer for the Third Day of the Divine Mercy Novena

Most Merciful Jesus, from the treasury of Your mercy, You impart Your graces in great abundance to each and all. Receive us into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart and never let us escape from It. We beg this grace of You by that most wondrous love for the heavenly Father with which Your Heart burns so fiercely.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon faithful souls, as upon the inheritance of Your Son. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, grant them Your blessing and surround them with Your constant protection. Thus may they never fail in love or lose the treasure of the holy faith, but rather, with all the hosts of Angels and Saints, may they glorify Your boundless mercy for endless ages. Amen.

Fourth Day:

For the fourth day, Christ asked Saint Faustina to pray for the sake of all those who do not believe in God and those who do not know Christ. She recorded the following words of Our Lord in her diary: "Today bring to Me those who do not believe in God and those who do not know Me, I was thinking also of them during My bitter Passion, and their future zeal comforted My Heart. Immerse them in the ocean of My mercy."

Prayer for the Fourth Day of the Divine Mercy Novena

Most compassionate Jesus, You are the Light of the whole world. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who do not believe in God and of those who as yet do not know You. Let the rays of Your grace enlighten them that they, too, together with us, may extol Your wonderful mercy; and do not let them escape from the abode which is Your Most Compassionate Heart.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls of those who do not believe in You, and of those who as yet do not know You, but who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Draw them to the light of the Gospel. These souls do not know what great happiness it is to love You. Grant that they, too, may extol the generosity of Your mercy for endless ages. Amen.

Fifth Day:

For the fifth day, Christ asked Saint Faustina to pray for the sake of all those who, while Christians, have separated themselves from the Roman Catholic Church. She recorded the following words of Our Lord in her diary: "Today bring to Me the Souls of those who have separated themselves from My Church, and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. During My bitter Passion they tore at My Body and Heart, that is, My Church. As they return to unity with the Church My wounds heal and in this way they alleviate My Passion."

Prayer for the Fifth Day of the Divine Mercy Novena

Most Merciful Jesus, Goodness Itself, You do not refuse light to those who seek it of You. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who have separated themselves from Your Church. Draw them by Your light into the unity of the Church, and do not let them escape from the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart; but bring it about that they, too, come to glorify the generosity of Your mercy.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls of those who have separated themselves from Your Son's Church, who have squandered Your blessings and misused Your graces by obstinately persisting in their errors. Do not look upon their errors, but upon the love of Your own Son and upon His bitter Passion, which He underwent for their sake, since they, too, are enclosed in His Most Compassionate Heart. Bring it about that they also may glorify Your great mercy for endless ages. Amen.

Sixth Day:

For the sixth day, Christ asked Saint Faustina to pray for the sake of all little children and the meek and humble. She recorded the following words of Our Lord in her diary: "Today bring to Me the Meek and Humble Souls and the Souls of Little Children, and immerse them in My mercy. These souls most closely resemble My Heart. They strengthened Me during My bitter agony. I saw them as earthly Angels, who will keep vigil at My altars. I pour out upon them whole torrents of grace. I favor humble souls with My confidence."

Prayer for the Sixth Day of the Divine Mercy Novena

Most Merciful Jesus, You yourself have said, "Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart." Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart all meek and humble souls and the souls of little children. These souls send all heaven into ecstasy and they are the heavenly Father's favorites. They are a sweet-smelling bouquet before the throne of God; God Himself takes delight in their fragrance. These souls have a permanent abode in Your Most Compassionate Heart, O Jesus, and they unceasingly sing out a hymn of love and mercy.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon meek souls, upon humble souls, and upon little children who are enfolded in the abode which is the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls bear the closest resemblance to Your Son. Their fragrance rises from the earth and reaches Your very throne. Father of mercy and of all goodness, I beg You by the love You bear these souls and by the delight You take in them: Bless the whole world, that all souls together may sing out the praises of Your mercy for endless ages. Amen.

Seventh Day:

For the seventh day, Christ asked Saint Faustina to pray for the sake of all those most devoted to His mercy. She recorded the following words of Our Lord in her diary: "Today bring to Me the Souls who especially venerate and glorify My Mercy, and immerse them in My mercy. These souls sorrowed most over my Passion and entered most deeply into My spirit. They are living images of My Compassionate Heart. These souls will shine with a special brightness in the next life. Not one of them will go into the fire of hell. I shall particularly defend each one of them at the hour of death."
Prayer for the Seventh Day of the Divine Mercy Novena

Most Merciful Jesus, whose Heart is Love Itself, receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who particularly extol and venerate the greatness of Your mercy. These souls are mighty with the very power of God Himself. In the midst of all afflictions and adversities they go forward, confident of Your mercy; and united to You, O Jesus, they carry all mankind on their shoulders. These souls will not be judged severely, but Your mercy will embrace them as they depart from this life.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls who glorify and venerate Your greatest attribute, that of Your fathomless mercy, and who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls are a living Gospel; their hands are full of deeds of mercy, and their hearts, overflowing with joy, sing a canticle of mercy to You, O Most High! I beg You O God: Show them Your mercy according to the hope and trust they have placed in You. Let there be accomplished in them the promise of Jesus, who said to them that during their life, but especially at the hour of death, the souls who will venerate this fathomless mercy of His, He, Himself, will defend as His glory. Amen.

Eighth Day:

For the eighth day, Saint Faustina recorded these words of Christ: "Today bring to Me the Souls who are in the prison of Purgatory, and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. Let the torrents of My Blood cool down their scorching flames. All these souls are greatly loved by Me. They are making retribution to My justice. It is in your power to bring them relief. Draw all the indulgences from the treasury of My Church and offer them on their behalf. Oh, if you only knew the torments they suffer, you would continually offer for them the alms of the spirit and pay off their debt to My justice."

Prayer for the Eighth Day of the Divine Mercy Novena

Most Merciful Jesus, You Yourself have said that You desire mercy; so I bring into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls in Purgatory, souls who are very dear to You, and yet, who must make retribution to Your justice. May the streams of Blood and Water which gushed forth from Your Heart put out the flames of Purgatory, that there, too, the power of Your mercy may be celebrated.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls suffering in Purgatory, who are enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. I beg You, by the sorrowful Passion of Jesus Your Son, and by all the bitterness with which His most sacred Soul was flooded: Manifest Your mercy to the souls who are under Your just scrutiny. Look upon them in no other way but only through the Wounds of Jesus, Your dearly beloved Son; for we firmly believe that there is no limit to Your goodness and compassion. Amen.

Ninth Day:

For the ninth day, Christ asked Saint Faustina to pray for the sake of all the souls who have become lukewarm in their belief. She recorded the following words of Our Lord in her diary: "Today bring to Me the Souls who have become Lukewarm, and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. These souls wound My Heart most painfully. My soul suffered the most dreadful loathing in the Garden of Olives because of lukewarm souls. They were the reason I cried out: 'Father, take this cup away from Me, if it be Your will.' For them, the last hope of salvation is to run to My mercy."

Prayer for the Ninth Day of the Divine Mercy Novena

Most compassionate Jesus, You are Compassion Itself. I bring lukewarm souls into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart. In this fire of Your pure love, let these tepid souls who, like corpses, filled You with such deep loathing, be once again set aflame. O Most Compassionate Jesus, exercise the omnipotence of Your mercy and draw them into the very ardor of Your love, and bestow upon them the gift of holy love, for nothing is beyond Your power.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon lukewarm souls who are nonetheless enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Father of Mercy, I beg You by the bitter Passion of Your Son and by His three-hour agony on the Cross: Let them, too, glorify the abyss of Your mercy. Amen.

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BRIGHT WEEK IN THE EASTERN RITE

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Bright Week or Renewal Week is the name used by the Eastern Churches for the period of seven days beginning on Paskha (Easter) and continuing up to (but not including) the following Sunday, which is known as Thomas Sunday. Latin rite and other Christian groups such as Anglicans refer to this period as Easter Week, not to be confused with the Octave of Easter, which includes the following Sunday.

The entire week following Paskha is to be set aside by Eastern Rite Christians for the celebration of the Resurrection. According to the 66th canon of the Council in Trullo: "from the holy day of the Resurrection of Christ our God until New Sunday (i.e. Thomas Sunday) for a whole week the faithful in the Holy Churches should continually be repeating psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, rejoicing and celebrating Christ, and attending to the reading of the Divine Scriptures and delighting in the Holy Mysteries. For in this way shall we be exalted with Christ; raised up together with Him. For this reason on the aforesaid days that by no means there be any horse races or any other public spectacle".

Liturgical aspects

The entire week is considered to be one continuous day, and the name of each day of the week is called "Bright" (e.g., "Bright Monday"). Every service during the week is completely different than at any other time of the year. Everything in the services is sung joyfully rather than read. Normally, the entire Psalter is read during the course of a week (and twice a week during Great Lent), but during Bright Week no psalms at all are read. Each of the Little Hours is replaced by a special service known as the Paskhal Hours. The normal Prayers Before Communion are replaced with the Paskhal Canon.

The hymns chanted every day are identical to those chanted on the Sunday of Paskha, with the exception of a few parts that are taken from the Octoechos (the "Book of the Eight Tones"). Each day has a different tone assigned to it: Easter Sunday is Tone One, Bright Monday is Tone Two, and so on through the eight tones (skipping Tone Seven, the "Grave Tone"): Sunday of Paskha (Tone One), Bright Monday (Tone Two), Bright Tuesday (Tone Three), Bright Wednesday (Tone Four), Bright Thursday (Tone Five), Bright Friday (Tone Six), Bright Saturday (Tone Eight).

During all of Bright Week the Holy Doors on the Iconostasis are kept open—the only time of the year when this occurs. The open doors represent the stone rolled away from the Tomb of Christ, and the Epitaphios (Slavonic: Plashchanitza / English Shroud), representing the burial clothes, is visible through them on the Holy Table (altar). The doors are closed before the Ninth Hour on the eve of Thomas Sunday. However, the Afterfeast of Paskha will continue until the eve of the Ascension.

In Bright Week the normal fasting rules are suspended, and the entire week is fast-free, with special Paskhal foods, such as Paskha (a special dish made of cheese, eggs and other products that were forbidden during Great Lent), kulich and other easter breads being eaten every day. Red Easter eggs are blessed at the end of the Paskhal Vigil, and are eaten throughout Bright Week (though some are usually reserved for Radonitza - on Thomas Sunday when the joy of Paskha is brought to the cemetaries and eggs are left on the graves.).

At the end of Vespers on the Sunday of Paskha there is a Cross Procession three times around the Church, at which the Icon of the Resurrection and the Artos are carried along with the book of Gospels. On the last circuit, or on each of the 4 corners or sides of the Church building there is a reading from the Gospel and the priest sprinkles the faithful with holy water. On Bright Monday through Bright Saturday, this Cross Procession takes place in the same manner after Matins or the Divine Liturgy. Unfortunately this tradition is becoming less frequent. It can also be done after the Vespers, it is easier for those who work to come to evening vespers after work.

The above-mentioned Artos is a loaf of leavened bread that was blessed during the Paskhal Vigil, and is symbolic of the physical presence of the Resurrected Christ among the Apostles. This Artos is kept in the Church during Bright Week, either in the nave, next to the Icon of the Resurrection; in front of the Icon of Christ on the Iconostasis; or in front of the Holy Doors. Throughout the week, whenever anyone enters the church, he or she kisses the Artos as well as the icons, as a means of symbolically greeting the resurrected Christ. Special bread stamps with icons of the resurrection can be purchased for the Artos or it can be inscribed before baking with the initials of Paskha (XB-Slavonic, XA-Greek, HA-Romanian, CA-Yupik or CR-English whichever the language)

On Bright Friday, in addition to the normal Paskhal hymns and the hymns from the Octoechos, special stichera and a canon in honor of the Theotokos (Mother of God or Birthgiver of God) are chanted in commemoration of her Icon of the "Life-giving Spring."

The Life-giving Spring or Life-giving Font is both the feast day of a historic church in Constantinople and an icon of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) which is venerated by the Eastern Churches.

The tradition surrounding the feast concerns a soldier named Leo Marcellus, who would later become the Byzantine Emperor Leo I. On April 4, 480,[1] as Leo was passing by the grove, he came across a blind man who had become lost. Leo took pity on him, led him to the pathway, seated him in the shade and began to search for water to give the thirsty man. Leo heard a voice say to him, "Do not trouble yourself, Leo, to look for water elsewhere, it is right here!" Looking about, he could see no one, and neither could he see any water. Then he heard the voice again, "Leo, Emperor, go into the grove, take the water which you will find and give it to the thirsty man. Then take the mud [from the stream] and put it on the blind man's eyes.... And build a temple [church] here ... that all who come here will find answers to their petitions." Leo did as he was told, and when the blind man's eyes were anointed he regained his sight.

After he became emperor, Leo built a church dedicated to the Theotokos of the Life-giving Spring over the site where the spring was located.[2] After the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, the church was torn down by the Turks, and the stones used to build a mosque of Sultan Bayezid. Only a small chapel remained at the site of the church. Twenty-five steps led down to the site of the spring surrounded by railing. As a result of the Greek Revolution of 1821, even this little chapel was destroyed and the spring was left buried under the rubble.

In 1833 the reforming Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II gave permission for the Christians to rebuild the church. When the foundations of the original church were discovered during the course of construction, the Sultan issued a second firman permitting not only the reconstruction of the small chapel, but of a large church according to the original dimensions. Construction was completed on December 30, 1834, and theEcumenical Patriarch, Constantine II consecrated the church on February 2, 1835.

On September 6, 1955, the church was destroyed again by Moslems during a riot. Another small chapel has been rebuilt on the site, but the church has not yet been restored to its former size. The spring still flows to this day and is considered by the faithful to have wonderworking properties.

The feast day is observed on Bright Friday; i.e., the Friday following Paskha (Easter). It is the only feast day which may be celebrated during Bright Week, all other commemorations which happen to fall during this time are usually transferred to another day. The propers (hymns and prayers) of the feast are combined with the Paskhal hymns, and there is often a Lesser Blessing of Waters performed after the Divine Liturgy on Bright Friday.

Outside the Imperial City of Constantinople, near the Golden Gate (Porta Aurea) used to be found a grove of trees. There was located a shrine which from early times had been dedicated to the Theotokos and a spring of water. Over time, the grove became overgrown and the spring became fetid.

Apolytikion in the Third Tone

As a life-giving fount, thou didst conceive the Dew that is transcendent in essence, O Virgin Maid, and thou hast welled forth for our sakes the nectar of joy eternal, which doth pour forth from thy fount with the water that springeth up unto everlasting life in unending and mighty streams; wherein, taking delight, we all cry out: Rejoice, O thou Spring of life for all men.

Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone

O Lady graced by God, you reward me by letting gush forth, beyond reason, the ever-flowing waters of your grace from your perpetual Spring. I entreat you, who bore the Logos, in a manner beyond comprehension, to refresh me in your grace that I may cry out, "Hail redemptive waters."

On Bright Saturday, after the Divine Liturgy, the priest says a prayer over the Artos and it is broken up and distributed to the faithful.

Bright Week begins the liturgical season known as the Pentecostarion, the period of fifty days which begins on Paskha and continues to Pentecost and its afterfeast. (as an aside - 7 x 7 or pefect times perfect PLUS 1 = 50 the FULLNESS, birth of the Church)

Every day throughout the coming year is dependent upon the date of Paskha for determining both the Tone of the Week (Octoechos - 8 tones) and the Epistle and Gospel readings.

In short:ChurchChurch
In Bright Week, our prayers in Church and at home are sung and not read and the usual morning and evening prayers are replaced by the Paskhal Hours.

In Bright Week, we do not read from the psalter at home or in Church for the prophecies have been fulfilled for Christ is risen!

In Bright Week, the entire Paskhal season there is no prostrating or kneeling permitted in Church or at home for we stand with the resurrected Christ.

In Bright Week and throughout the Paskhal season we begin all of our prayers at home and in Church by singing the troparion of Paskha 3x: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!”
And we end with it also then chant “We glorify His rising on the third day”

From Paskha to Pentecost, we do not pray “O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth…” for the Comforter comes on Pentecost.

PASKHAL SERMONOF SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM

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In the very early years of its history the Eastern Churches adopted the custom of using the Paschal sermon of St. John Chrysostom at the Pasckal Vigil service held during the Saturday night before Paskha morning. Chrysostom first proclaimed this sermon as instructions to catechumens, new Christian converts, who were baptized during that vigil service.

The service itself is the high point of the year in Eastern worship, and the Chrysostom sermon, recited (preached) in every Eastern Catholic church each year, is one of the high points of the service. It is presented enthusiastically and with flourish. In one service I attended, the congregation joined the priest in saying the words, “It was angered” and “Christ is risen!” as those were repeated again and again. The poetic sermon is heard but once a year, but many worshipers know it by heart.

Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed!
If there are devout and God-loving people here,
let them enjoy this beautiful, radiant festival.
If there are prudent servants,
enter joyously into the Lord’s joy.
Whoever may be spent from fasting,
enjoy now your reward.
Whoever has toiled from the first hour,
receive today your just settlement.
If any came after the third hour,
celebrate gratefully.
If any of you arrived after the sixth,
have no misgivings, you have lost nothing.
If some have been as late as the ninth,
come forward, do not be at a loss.
If any of you have arrived only at the eleventh hour,
do not be dismayed for being late.

The Master is gracious;
He accepts the last even as the first;
He gives rest to those of the eleventh as well as to
those who have labored from the first;
He is lenient with the last while looking after the first;
to the one He gives, to the other He gives freely;
He accepts the labors and welcomes the effort;
honors the deed, but commends the intent.
So, all of you, enter into the joy of our Lord:
first and second, share the bounty.
Rich and poor alike, celebrate together.
Sober or heedless, honor the day.
Those who fasted, and those who did not, rejoice
today.
The table is full, everyone fare sumptuously.
The calf is fatted; no one go away hungry.
Everyone, savor the banquet of faith;
relish the riches of His goodness.

No one need lament poverty,
for the kingdom is seen as universal.
No one need grieve over sins;
forgiveness has dawned from the tomb.
No one need fear death;
the Savior's death has freed us from it.
While its captive He stifled it.
He despoiled Hades as He descended into it; it was embitered when it tasted His flesh.
Foreseeing this, Isaiah proclaimed: "Hades," he
said, "was embitered when he met You below."
It was embitered! because it was abolished
It was embitered! because it was mocked
It was embitered! because it was slain.
It was embitered! because it was shackled.
It received a body and encountered God.
It took earth and came face-to-face with heaven.
It took what I saw and fell by what if could not see.
Death, where is your sting?
Hades, where is your victory?
Christ is risen and you are overthrown.
Christ is risen and demons have fallen.
Christ is risen and angels rejoice. Christ is risen and life rules. Christ is risen and not one dead remains in the tomb.
For Christ, having risen from the dead,
has become the firstfruits of those that slept.
To Him be the glory and the dominion, forever. Amen.

NOTE:
St. John Chrysostom (the name means “golden mouthed”) was one of the most famous preachers and reformers of the second half of the fourth century. He was a priest in his native city of Antioch, Syria, and later became Patriarch of Constantinople. Beginning in 390, he preached a famous series on the New Testament, including ninety sermons on Matthew, eighty-eight on John, and thirty-two on Romans. His reforms to purify the church brought him banishment; he died at age fifty in the year 407 during a forced march into exile. He is the author to whom the majority of the makeup and structure of the Eastern Catholic Liturgy.

2009-04-11T23:53:00.001-07:00

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CHRIST IS RISEN!
INDEED HE IS RISEN!

THE ALL-GLORIOUS FEAST OF
P A S K H A
THE PASSOVER OF THE LORD

Paskha (or Pascha / Greek: Πάσχα), also called Easter, is the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord. Paskha is a transliteration of the Greek word, which is itself a transliteration of the Hebrew pesach, both words meaning Passover.

Celebration of the feast

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the central and pivotal celebration of the Eastern Christian tradition. Twelve weeks of preparation precede it. This is made up of pre-lenten Sundays, Great Lent, and Holy Week. The faithful try to make this long journey with repentance, forgiveness, reconciliation, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and study. When the feast finally arrives, it is celebrated with a collection of services combined as one.

Paskha is often called the Feast of Feasts.

Midnight Office

Sometime before midnight, on the Blessed Sabbath the Midnight Office service is chanted. In the Slavic practice, the priest goes to the tomb and removes the epitaphios and carries it through the Holy Doors and places it on the altar table where it remains for forty days until the day of Ascension. In the Byzantine practice, the epitaphios has already been removed (during the Lamentations Orthros on Holy Friday evening).

Matins

Paskhal matins begins with a procession that starts around midnight. The people leave the dark church building singing, carrying banners, icons, candles, and the Gospel. The procession circles the outside of the church and returns to the closed front doors. In Greek practice, the Gospel which tells of the empty tomb is now read. In Syrian practice, following the Gospel reading, the priest beats on the door and takes part in a dialogue with an interlocutor inside the church doors, crying out with the words of Psalm 23 (24): "Lift up your heads, O gates! And be exalted, you everlasting doors, that the king of glory may enter in!" In Slavic practice, neither of these rites is preserved. Next, the Paskhal troparion is sung for the first time, together with the verses of Psalm 67 (68) which will begin all of the Church services during the Paskhal season.

Let God arise,
Let His enemies be scattered,
Let those who hate Him flee from before His face!
As smoke vanishes, so let them vanish; as wax melts before the fire,
So the sinners will perish before the face of God;
but let the righteous be glad.
This is the day which the Lord has made,
let us rejoice and be glad in it!

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

The doors are opened and the faithful re-enter. The church is brightly lit and adorned with flowers. It is the heavenly bride and the symbol of the empty tomb.

The icon of Christ raising Adam and Eve in Hades stands in the center of the church, where the grave just was. It shows Christ destroying the gates of hell and freeing Adam and Eve from the captivity of death.

We hear the constant proclamation of the celebrant: Christ is risen! The faithful continually respond: Indeed he is risen! and censing of the icons and the people.

Following the entrance into the church, the Paskhal canon ascribed to St. John of Damascus is chanted with the Paskhal troparion as the constantly recurring refrain. Matins ends with the stichera:

O day of resurrection! Let us beam with God's own pride! Let everyone embrace in joy! Let us warmly greet those we meet and treat them all like brothers, even those who hate us! Let all the earth resound with this song: Christ is risen from the dead, conquering death by death, and on those in the grave bestowing life!

Hours

Next, in some traditions, the Paskhal Hours are also sung. At the conclusion, the celebrant solemnly proclaims the famous Paskhal Sermon of St. John Chrysostom.(see above!) This sermon is an invitation to all of the faithful to forget their sins and to join fully in the feast of the resurrection of Christ.

Divine Liturgy

Next, the Paskhal Divine Liturgy begins with the singing once more of the festal troparion with the verses of Psalm 67 (68). The antiphons of the liturgy are special psalm verses that praise and glorify the salvation of God. Again, the troparion is repeated over and over. And the baptismal verse from Galatians: As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Galatians 3:27) replaces the Thrice-Holy Hymn.

The readings take the faithful back again to the beginning, and announces God's creation and re-creation of the world through the living Word of God, his Son Jesus Christ. The epistle reading is the first nine verses of the Book of Acts. The gospel reading is the first seventeen verses of the Gospel of John. It is customary on this day to read the Gospel in several languages.

The Liturgy of St John Chrysostom continues as usual. Holy communion has, again and again, the troparion of the Resurrection. It is sung while the faithful partake. To Orthodox Christians, receiving communion on Easter Sunday is very important. Many parishes take the Paskhal Sermon of St. John Chrysostom literally and commune all Orthodox Christians who are in attendance.

Day without evening

To Eastern / Byzantine Catholics, the celebration of Paskha reveals the mystery of the eighth day. It is not merely an historical reenactment of the event of Christ's Resurrection. It is a way to experience the new creation of the world a taste of the new and unending day of the Kingdom of God.

This new day is conveyed to the faithful in the length of the Paskhal services, in the repetition of the Paskhal order for all the services of Bright Week, and in the special Paskhal features retained in the services for the forty days until Ascension. Forty days are, as it were, treated as one day.

GREAT AND HOLY SATURDAY THE GREAT SABBATH OF THE LORD

2009-04-10T22:19:00.000-07:00

One of the primary sources for the liturgical texts of this great day and the Church’s iconography come from the Pseudepigrapha of the New Testament in the Acts of Pontius Pilate which are contained in the Gospel of Nicodemus.

If you have never read or maybe even never heard of these texts please take some time during the Paskhal season to look at them. Not only are they edifying but very exciting!
I have included them below....

Christ’s Descent into Hell
From the Summa Theologica
of St. Thomas Aquinas

“It was fitting for Christ to descend into hell. First of all, because He came to bear our penalty in order to free us from penalty, according to Isaiah 53:4: "Surely He hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows." But through sin man had incurred not only the death of the body, but also descent into hell. Consequently since it was fitting for Christ to die in order to deliver us from death, so it was fitting for Him to descend into hell in order to deliver us also from going down into hell. Hence it is written (Hosea 13:14): "O death, I will be thy death; O hell, I will be thy bite." Secondly, because it was fitting when the devil was overthrown by the Passion that Christ should deliver the captives detained in hell, according to Zechariah 9:11: "Thou also by the blood of Thy Testament hast sent forth Thy prisoners out of the pit." And it is written (Colossians 2:15): "Despoiling the principalities and powers, He hath exposed them confidently." Thirdly, that as He showed forth His power on earth byliving and dying, so also He might manifest it in hell, by visiting it and enlightening it. Accordingly it is written (Psalm 23:7): "Lift up your gates, O ye princes," which the gloss thus interprets: "that is--Ye princes of hell, take away your power, whereby hitherto you held men fast in hell"; and so "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow," not only "of them that are in heaven," but likewise "of them that are in hell," as is said in Philippians 2:10.
The name of hell stands for an evil of penalty, and not for an evil of guilt. Hence it was becoming that Christ should descend into hell, not as liable to punishment Himself, but to deliver them who were.
Christ's Passion was a kind of universal cause of men's salvation, both of the living and of the dead. But a general cause is applied to particular effects by means of something special. Hence, as the power of the Passion is applied to the living through the sacraments which make us like unto Christ's Passion, so likewise it is applied to the dead through His descent into hell. On which account it is written (Zechariah 9:11) that "He sent forth prisoners out of the pit, in the blood of His testament," that is, by the power of His Passion.
Christ's soul descended into hell not by the same kind of motion as that whereby bodies are moved, but by that kind whereby the angels are moved, as was said in I, 53, 1.”

COMMENTS ON THE MAIN THEMES
On Great 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). The hymnographer of the Church describes the mystery with these words:

Come, let us see our Life lying in the tomb, that He may give life to those that in their tombs lie dead. Come, let us look today on the Son of Judah as He sleeps, and with the prophet let us cry aloud to Him: Thou hast lain down, Thou hast slept as a lion; who shall awaken Thee, O King? But of Thine own free will do Thou rise up, who willingly dost give Thyself for us. O Lord, glory to Thee.

Today a tomb holds Him who holds the creation in the hollow of His hand; a stone covers Him who covered the heavens with glory. Life sleeps and hell trembles, and Adam is set free from his bonds. Glory to Thy dispensation, whereby Thou hast accomplished all things, granting us an eternal Sabbath, Thy most holy Resurrection from the dead.
(Hymns of the Ainoi)

On Great Saturday our focus is on the Tomb of Christ. This is no ordinary grave. It is not a place of corruption, decay and defeat. It is life-giving (zoopoios) a source of power, victory and liberation.

O happy tomb! It received within itself the Creator, as one asleep, and it was made a divine treasury of life, for our salvation who sing: O God our Deliverer, blessed art Thou.

The Life of all submits to be laid in the tomb, according to the law of the dead, and He makes it a source of awakening, for our salvation who sing: O God our Deliverer, blessed art Thou.
(Hymns of the 7th Ode)

Great Saturday is the day between Jesus' death and His resurrection. It is the day of watchful expectation, in which mourning is being transformed into joy. The day embodies in the fullest possible sense the meaning of xarmolipi - joyful-sadness, which has dominated the celebrations of Great Week. The hymnographer of the Church has penetrated the profound mystery, and helps us to understand it through the following poetic dialogue that he has devised between Jesus and His Mother:

Weep not for me, O Mother, beholding in the sepulcher the Son whom thou hast conceived without seed in thy womb. For I shall rise and shall be glorified, and as God I shall exalt in everlasting glory those who magnify thee with faith and love.

"O Son without beginning, in ways surpassing nature was I blessed at Thy strange birth, for I was spared all travail. But now beholding Thee, my God, a lifeless corpse, I am pierced by the sword of bitter sorrow. But arise, that I may be magnified."

"By mine own will the earth covers me, O Mother, but the gatekeepers of hell tremble as they see me, clothed in the bloodstained garment of vengeance: for on the Cross as God have I struck down mine enemies, and I shall rise again and magnify thee."

"Let the creation rejoice exceedingly, let all those born on earth be glad: for hell, the enemy, has been despoiled. Ye women, come to meet me with sweet spices: for I am delivering Adam and Eve with all their offspring, and on the third day I shall rise again."
(9th Ode of the Canon)

Great Saturday is the day of the pre-eminent rest. Christ observes a Sabbath rest in the tomb. His rest, however, is not inactivity but the fulfillment of the divine will and plan for the salvation of humankind and the cosmos. He who brought all things into being, makes all things new. The recreation of the world has been accomplished once and for all. Through His incarnation, life and death Christ has filled all things with Himself He has opened a path for all flesh to the resurrection from the dead, since it was not possible that the author of life would be dominated by corruption.

Moses the great mystically prefigured this present day, saying:

"And God blessed the seventh day." For this is the blessed Sabbath, this is the day of rest, on which the only-begotten Son of God rested from all His works. Suffering death in accordance with the plan of salvation, He kept the Sabbath in the flesh; and returning once again to what He was, through His Resurrection He has granted us eternal life, for He alone is good and loves mankind.
(Hymn of the Ainoi)

St. Paul tells us that "God was in Jesus Christ reconciling the world to Himself" (2 Cor 5.19). Hence, eternal life - real and selfgenerating - penetrated the depths of Hades. Christ who is the life of all destroyed death by His death. That is why the Church sings joyously "Things now are filled with light, the heaven and the earth and all that is beneath the earth" (Canon of Pascha). The Church knows herself to be "the place, the eternal reality, where the presence of Christ vanquishes Satan, hell and death itself.
The solemn observance of Great Saturday help us to recall and celebrate the great truth that "despite the daily vicissitudes and contradictions of history and the abiding presence of hell within the human heart and human society," life has been liberated! Christ has broken the power of death.

The death of Christ is the greatest miracle as well as the ultimate manifestation of God's boundless love for the whole creation. It is no mere man who died. The One who was laid in the tomb is none other than the eternal and deathless Word of God, who taking on flesh humbled Himself, obediently accepting even death, death on a cross (Phil 2.8). Pascha has nothing to do with romanticism and sentimentalities. Someone put it in these bold, vivid terms: "Easter is not about the return of the robin in spring or crocuses or a butterfly coming out of the cocoon or any of that pagan drivel. Its about a Body that somehow got loose. The Gospel accounts strain to describe what happened, but don't make any mistake
about it, they're trying to describe something unearthly: death working backwards. So I can't talk about 'the eternal rebirth of hope' or 'Jesus living on in our hearts.' We're talking about a dead Jew, crucified, who came back to life ... This is God we're talking about, a real God, people, not some projection of our ego."

It is not without significance that the icon of the Resurrection in our Church is the Descent of Christ into Hades, the place of the dead. This icon depicts a victorious Christ, reigned in glory, trampling upon death, and seizing Adam and Eve in His hands, plucking them from the abyss of hell. This icon expresses vividly the truths resulting from Christ's defeat of death by His death and resurrection.

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Here is a reflection of Great and Holy Saturday
by the Rt. Rev. Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann

Great and Holy Saturday is the day on which Christ reposed in the tomb. The Church calls this day the Blessed Sabbath.

The great Moses mystically foreshadowed this day when he said:
God blessed the seventh day.
This is the blessed Sabbath.
This is the day of rest,
on which the only-begotten Son of God rested from all His works . . . .
(Vesperal Liturgy of Holy Saturday)

By using this title the Church links Holy Saturday with the creative act of God. In the initial account of creation as found in the Book of Genesis, God made man in His own image and likeness. To be truly himself, man was to live in constant communion with the source and dynamic power of that image: God. Man fell from God. Now Christ, the Son of God through whom all things were created, has come to restore man to communion with God. He thereby completes creation. All things are again as they should be. His mission is consummated. On the Blessed Sabbath He rests from all His works.

THE TRANSITION
Holy Saturday is a neglected day in parish life. Few people attend the Services. Popular piety usually reduces Holy Week to one day — Holy Friday. This day is quickly replaced by another — Easter Sunday. Christ is dead and then suddenly alive. Great sorrow is suddenly replaced by great joy. In such a scheme Holy Saturday is lost.

In the understanding of the Church, sorrow is not replaced by joy; it is transformed into joy. This distinction indicates that it is precisely within death the Christ continues to effect triumph.

TRAMPLING DOWN DEATH BY DEATH
We sing that Christ is ". . . trampling down death by death" in the troparion of Easter. This phrase gives great meaning to Holy Saturday. Christ’s repose in the tomb is an "active" repose. He comes in search of His fallen friend, Adam, who represents all men. Not finding him on earth, He descends to the realm of death, known as Hades in the Old Testament. There He finds him and brings him life once again. This is the victory: the dead are given life. The tomb is no longer a forsaken, lifeless place. By His death Christ tramples down death.

THE ICON OF THE DESCENT INTO HADES
The traditional icon used by the Church on the feast of Easter is an icon of Holy Saturday: the descent of Christ into Hades. It is a painting of theology, for no one has ever seen this event. It depicts Christ, radiant in hues of white and blue, standing on the shattered gates of Hades. With arms outstretched He is joining hands with Adam and all the other Old Testament righteous whom He has found there. He leads them from the kingdom of death. By His death He tramples death.

Today Hades cries out groaning:
"I should not have accepted the Man born of Mary.
"He came and destroyed my power.
"He shattered the gates of brass.
"As God, He raised the souls I had held captive."
Glory to Thy cross and resurrection, O Lord!
(Vesperal Liturgy of Holy Saturday)

THE VESPERAL LITURGY
The Vespers of Holy Saturday inaugurates the Paschal celebration, for the liturgical cycle of the day always begins in the evening. In the past, this service constituted the first part of the great Paschal vigil during which the catechumens were baptized in the "baptisterion" and led in procession back into the church for participation in their first Divine Liturgy, the Paschal Eucharist. Later, with the number of catechumens increasing, the first baptismal part of the Paschal celebration was disconnected from the liturgy of the Paschal night and formed our pre-paschal service: Vespers and the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great which follows it. It still keeps all the marks of the early celebration of Pascha as baptismal feast and that of Baptism as Paschal sacrament (death and resurrection with Jesus Christ — Romans 6).

On "Lord I call" the Sunday Resurrectional stichira of tone 1 are sung, followed by the special stichiras of Holy Saturday, which stress the death of Christ as descent into Hades, the region of death, for its destruction. But the pivotal point of the service occurs after the Entrance, when fifteen lessons from the Old Testament are read, all centered on the promise of the Resurrection, all glorifying the ultimate Victory of God, prophesied in the victorious Song of Moses after the crossing of the Red Sea ("Let us sing to the Lord for gloriously has He been glorified"), the salvation of Jonah, and that of the three youths in the furnace.

Then the epistle is read, the same epistle that is still read at Baptism (Romans 6:3-11), in which Christ’s death and resurrection become the source of the death in us of the "old man," the resurrection of the new, whose life is in the Risen Lord. During the special verses sung after the epistle, "Arise O God and judge the earth," the dark Lenten vestments are put aside and the clergy vest in the bright white ones, so that when the celebrant appears with the Gospel the light of Resurrection is truly made visible to us, the "Rejoice" with which the Risen Christ greeted the women at the grave is experienced as being directed to us.

The Liturgy of St. Basil continues in this white and joyful light, revealing the Tomb of Christ as the Life-giving Tomb, introducing us into the ultimate reality of Christ’s Resurrection, communicating His life to us, the children of fallen Adam.

One can and must say that of all services of the Church that are inspiring, meaningful, revealing, this one — the Vespers and Liturgy of St. Basil the Great on the Great and Holy Saturday — is truly the liturgical climax of the Church. If one opens one’s heart and mind to it and accepts its meaning and its light, the very truth of Orthodoxy is given by it, the taste and the joy of that new life which shown forth from the grave.

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The Acts of Pilate (Latin Acta Pilati Greek Πράξεις Πιλάτου) is a book of the New Testament Pseudepigrapha.[1] Its date is uncertain. The text is found in the Gospel of Nicodemus, with additional material.

ACTS OF PILATE

PART II. THE DESCENT INTO HELL

I (XVII)
1 And Joseph arose and said unto Annas and Caiaphas: Truly and of right do ye marvel because ye have heard that Jesus hath been seen alive after death, and that he hath ascended into heaven. Nevertheless it is more marvelous that he rose not alone from the dead, but did raise up alive many other dead out of their sepulchres, and they have been seen of many in Jerusalem. And now hearken unto me; for we all know the blessed Simeon, the high priest which received the child Jesus in his hands in the temple. And this Simeon had two sons, brothers in blood and we all were at their falling asleep and at their burial. Go therefore and look upon their sepulchres: for they are open, because they have risen, and behold they are in the city of Arimathaea dwelling together in prayer. And indeed men hear them crying out, yet they speak with no man, but are silent as dead men. But come, let us go unto them and with all honour and gentleness bring them unto us, and if we adjure them, perchance they will tell us concerning the mystery of their rising again.

2 When they heard these things, they all rejoiced. And Annas and Caiaphas, Nicodemus and Joseph and Gamaliel went and found them not in their sepulchre, but they went unto the city of Arimathaea, and found them there, kneeling on their knees and giving themselves unto prayer. And they kissed them, and with all reverence and in the fear of God they brought them to Jerusalem into the synagogue. And they shut the doors and took the law of the Lord and put it into their hands, and adjured them by the God Adonai and the God of Israel which spake unto our fathers by the prophets, saying: Believe ye that it is Jesus which raised you from the dead? Tell us how ye have arisen from the dead.

3 And when Karinus and Leucius heard this adjuration, they trembled in their body and groaned, being troubled in heart. And looking up together unto heaven they made the seal of the cross with their fingers upon their tongues, and forthwith they spake both of them, saying: Give us each a volume of paper, and let us write that which we have seen and heard. And they gave them unto them, and each of them sat down and wrote, saying:

II (XVIII)
1 O Lord Jesu Christ, the life and resurrection of the dead (al. resurrection of the dead and the life of the living), suffer us to speak of the mysteries of thy majesty which thou didst perform after thy death upon the cross, inasmuch as we have been adjured by thy Name. For thou didst command us thy servants to tell no man the secrets of thy divine majesty which thou wroughtest in hell.

Now when we were set together with all our fathers in the deep, in obscurity of darkness, on a sudden there came a golden heat of the sun and a purple and royal light shining upon us. And immediately the father of the whole race of men, together with all the patriarchs and prophets, rejoiced, saying: This light is the beginning (author) of everlasting light which did promise to send unto us his co-eternal light. And Esaias cried out and said: This is the light of the Father, even the Son of God, according as I prophesied when I lived upon the earth: The land of Zabulon and the land of Nephthalim beyond Jordan, of Galilee of the Gentiles, the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light, and they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them did the light shine. And now hath it come and shone upon us that sit in death.

2 And as we all rejoiced in the light which shined upon us, there came unto us our father Simeon, and he rejoicing said unto us: Glorify ye the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God; for I received him in my hands in the temple when he was born a child, and being moved of the Holy Ghost I made confession and said unto him: Now have mine eyes seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles, and to be the glory of thy people Israel. And when they heard these things, the whole multitude of the saints rejoiced yet more.

3 And after that there came one as it were a dweller in the wilderness, and he was inquired of by all: Who art thou? And he answered them and said: I am John, the voice and the prophet of the most High, which came before the face of his advent to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation unto his people, for the remission of their sins. And when I saw him coming unto me, being moved of the Holy Ghost, I said: Behold the Lamb of God, behold him that taketh away the sins of the world. And I baptized him in the river of Jordan, and saw the Holy Ghost descending upon him in the likeness of a dove, and heard a voice out of heaven saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And now have I come before his face, and come down to declare unto you that he is at hand to visit us, even the day spring, the Son of God, coming from on high unto us that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

III (XIX)

1 And when father Adam that was first created heard this, even that Jesus was baptized in Jordan, he cried out to Seth his son, saying: Declare unto thy sons the patriarchs and the prophets all that thou didst hear from Michael the archangel, when I sent thee unto the gates of paradise that thou mightest entreat God to send thee his angel to give thee the oil of the tree of mercy to anoint my body when I was sick. Then Seth drew near unto the holy patriarchs and prophets, and said: When I, Seth, was praying at the gates of paradise, behold Michael the angel of the Lord appeared unto me, saying: I am sent unto thee from the Lord: it is I that am set over the body of man. And I say unto thee, Seth, vex not thyself with tears, praying and entreating for the oil of the tree of mercy, that thou mayest anoint thy father Adam for the pain of his body: for thou wilt not be able to receive it save in the last days and times, save when five thousand and five hundred (al. 5,952) years are accomplished: then shall the most beloved Son of God come upon the earth to raise up the body of Adam and the bodies of the dead, and he shall come and be baptized in Jordan. And when he is come forth of the water of Jordan, then shall he anoint with the oil of mercy all that believe on him, and that oil of mercy shall be unto all generations of them that shall be born of water and of the Holy Ghost, unto life eternal. Then shall the most beloved Son of God, even Christ Jesus, come down upon the earth and shall bring in our father Adam into paradise unto the tree of mercy.

And when they heard all these things of Seth, all the patriarchs and prophets rejoiced with a great rejoicing.

IV (XX)

1 And while all the saints were rejoicing, behold Satan the prince and chief of death said unto Hell: Make thyself ready to receive Jesus who boasteth himself that he is the Son of God, whereas he is a man that feareth death, and sayeth: My soul is sorrowful even unto death. And he hath been much mine enemy, doing me great hurt, and many that I had made blind, lame, dumb, leprous, and possessed he hath healed with a word: and some whom I have brought unto thee dead, them hath he taken away from thee.

2 Hell answered and said unto Satan the prince: Who is he that is so mighty, if he be a man that feareth death? for all the mighty ones of the earth are held in subjection by my power, even they whom thou hast brought me subdued by thy power. If, then, thou art mighty, what manner of man is this Jesus who, though he fear death, resisteth thy power? If he be so mighty in his manhood, verily I say unto thee he is almighty in his god-head, and no man can withstand his power. And when he saith that he feareth death, he would ensnare thee, and woe shall be unto thee for everlasting ages. But Satan the prince of Tartarus said: Why doubtest thou and fearest to receive this Jesus which is thine adversary and mine? For I tempted him, and have stirred up mine ancient people of the Jews with envy and wrath against him. I have sharpened a spear to thrust him through, gall and vinegar have I mingled to give him to drink, and I have prepared a cross to crucify him and nails to pierce him: and his death is nigh at hand, that I may bring him unto thee to be subject unto thee and me.

3 Hell answered and said: Thou hast told me that it is he that hath taken away dead men from me. For there be many which while they lived on the earth have taken dead men from me, yet not by their own power but by prayer to God, and their almighty God hath taken them from me. Who is this Jesus which by his own word without prayer hath drawn dead men from me? Perchance it is he which by the word of his command did restore to life Lazarus which was four days dead and stank and was corrupt, whom I held here dead. Satan the prince of death answered and said: It is that same Jesus. When Hell heard that he said unto him: I adjure thee by thy strength and mine own that thou bring him not unto me. For at that time I, when I heard the command of his word, did quake and was overwhelmed with fear, and all my ministries with me were troubled. Neither could we keep Lazarus, but he like an eagle shaking himself leaped forth with all agility and swiftness, and departed from us, and the earth also which held the dead body of Lazarus straightway gave him up alive. Wherefore now I know that that man which was able to do these things is a God strong in command and mighty in manhood, and that he is the saviour of mankind. And if thou bring him unto me he will set free all that are here shut up in the hard prison and bound in the chains of their sins that cannot be broken, and will bring them unto the life of his god head for ever.

V (XXI)

1 And as Satan the prince, and Hell, spoke this together, suddenly there came a voice as of thunder and a spiritual cry: Remove, O princes, your gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. When Hell heard that he said unto Satan the prince: Depart from me and go out of mine abode: if thou be a mighty man of war, fight thou against the King of glory. But what hast thou to do with him? And Hell cast Satan forth out of his dwelling. Then said Hell unto his wicked ministers: Shut ye the hard gates of brass and put on them the bars of iron and withstand stoutly, lest we that hold captivity be taken captive.

2 But when all the multitude of the saints heard it, they spake with a voice of rebuking unto Hell: Open thy gates, that the King of glory may come in. And David cried out, saying: Did I not when I was alive upon earth, foretell unto you: Let them give thanks unto the Lord, even his mercies and his wonders unto the children of men; who hath broken the gates of brass and smitten the bars of iron in sunder? he hath taken them out of the way of their iniquity. And thereafter in like manner Esaias said: Did not I when I was alive upon earth foretell unto you: The dead shall arise, and they that are in the tombs shall rise again, and they that are in the earth shall rejoice, for the dew which cometh of the Lord is their healing? And again I said: O death, where is thy sting? O Hell, where is thy victory?

3 When they heard that of Esaias, all the saints said unto Hell: Open thy gates: now shalt thou be overcome and weak and without strength. And there came a great voice as of thunder, saying: Remove, O princes, your gates, and be ye lift up ye doors of hell, and the King of glory shall come in. And when Hell saw that they so cried out twice, he said, as if he knew it not: Who is the King of glory? And David answered Hell and said: The words of this cry do I know, for by his spirit I prophesied the same; and now I say unto thee that which I said before: The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle, he is the King of glory. And: The Lord looked down from heaven that he might hear the groanings of them that are in fetters and deliver the children of them that have been slain. And now, O thou most foul and stinking Hell, open thy gates, that the King of glory may come in. And as David spake thus unto Hell, the Lord of majesty appeared in the form of a man and lightened the eternal darkness and brake the bonds that could not be loosed: and the succour of his everlasting might visited us that sat in the deep darkness of our transgressions and in the shadow of death of our sins.

VI (XXII)

1 When Hell and death and their wicked ministers saw that, they were stricken with fear, they and their cruel officers, at the sight of the brightness of so great light in their own realm, seeing Christ of a sudden in their abode, and they cried out, saying: We are overcome by thee. Who art thou that art sent by the Lord for our confusion? Who art thou that without all damage of corruption, and with the signs (?) of thy majesty unblemished, dost in wrath condemn our power? Who art thou that art so great and so small, both humble and exalted, both soldier and commander, a marvelous warrior in the shape of a bondsman, and a King of glory dead and living, whom the cross bare slain upon it? Thou that didst lie dead in the sepulchre hast come down unto us living and at thy death all creation quaked and all the stars were shaken and thou hast become free among the dead and dost rout our legions. Who art thou that settest free the prisoners that are held bound by original sin and restorest them into their former liberty? Who art thou that sheddest thy divine and bright light upon them that were blinded with the darkness of their sins? After the same manner all the legions of devils were stricken with like fear and cried out all together in the terror of their confusion, saying: Whence art thou, Jesus, a man so mighty and bright in majesty, so excellent without spot and clean from sin? For that world of earth which hath been always subject unto us until now, and did pay tribute to our profit, hath never sent unto us a dead man like thee, nor ever dispatched such a gift unto Hell. Who then art thou that so fearlessly enterest our borders, and not only fearest not our torments, but besides essayest to bear away all men out of our bonds? Peradventure thou art that Jesus, of whom Satan our prince said that by thy death of the cross thou shouldest receive the dominion of the whole world.

2 Then did the King of glory in his majesty trample upon death, and laid hold on Satan the prince and delivered him unto the power of Hell, and drew Adam to him unto his own brightness.

VII (XXIII)

Then Hell, receiving Satan the prince, with sore reproach said unto him: O prince of perdition and chief of destruction, Beelzebub, the scorn of the angels and spitting of the righteous why wouldest thou do this? Thou wouldest crucify the King of glory and at his decease didst promise us great spoils of his death: like a fool thou knewest not what thou didst. For behold now, this Jesus putteth to flight by the brightness of his majesty all the darkness of death, and hath broken the strong depths of the prisons, and let out the prisoners and loosed them that were bound. And all that were sighing in our torments do rejoice against us, and at their prayers our dominions are vanquished and our realms conquered, and now no nation of men feareth us any more. And beside this, the dead which were never wont to be proud triumph over us, and the captives which never could be joyful do threaten us. O prince Satan, father of all the wicked and ungodly and renegades wherefore wouldest thou do this? They that from the beginning until now have despaired of life and salvation-now is none of their wonted roarings heard, neither doth any groan from them sound in our ears, nor is there any sign of tears upon the face of any of them. O prince Satan, holder of the keys of hell, those thy riches which thou hadst gained by the tree of transgression and the losing of paradise, thou hast lost by the tree of the cross, and all thy gladness hath perished. When thou didst hang up Christ Jesus the King of glory thou wroughtest against thyself and against me. Henceforth thou shalt know what eternal torments and infinite pains thou art to suffer in my keeping for ever. O prince Satan, author of death and head of all pride, thou oughtest first to have sought out matter of evil in this Jesus: Wherefore didst thou adventure without cause to crucify him unjustly against whom thou foundest no blame, and to bring into our realm the innocent and righteous one, and to lose the guilty and the ungodly and unrighteous of the whole world? And when Hell had spoken thus unto Satan the prince, then said the King of glory unto Hell: Satan the prince shall be in thy power unto all ages in the stead of Adam and his children, even those that are my righteous ones.

VIII (XXIV)

1 And the Lord stretching forth his hand, said: Come unto me, all ye my saints which bear mine image and my likeness. Ye that by the tree and the devil and death were condemned, behold now the devil and death condemned by the tree. And forthwith all the saints were gathered in one under the hand of the Lord. And the Lord holding the right hand of Adam, said unto him: Peace be unto thee with all thy children that are my righteous ones. But Adam, casting himself at the knees of the Lord entreated him with tears and beseechings, and said with a loud voice: I will magnify thee, O Lord, for thou hast set me up and not made my foes to triumph over me: O Lord my God I cried unto thee and thou hast healed me; Lord, thou hast brought my soul out of hell, thou hast delivered me from them that go down to the pit. Sing praises unto the Lord all ye saints of his, and give thanks unto him for the remembrance of his holiness. For there is wrath in his indignation and life is in his good pleasure. In like manner all the saints of God kneeled and cast themselves at the feet of the Lord, saying with one accord: Thou art come, O redeemer of the world: that which thou didst foretell by the law and by thy prophets, that hast thou accomplished in deed. Thou hast redeemed the living by thy cross, and by the death of the cross thou hast come down unto us, that thou mightest save us out of hell and death through thy majesty. O Lord, like as thou hast set the name of thy glory in the heavens and set up thy cross for a token of redemption upon the earth, so, Lord, set thou up the sign of the victory of thy cross in hell, that death may have no more dominion.

2 And the Lord stretched forth his hand and made the sign of the cross over Adam and over all his saints, and he took the right hand of Adam and went up out of hell, and all the saints followed him. Then did holy David cry aloud and say: Sing unto the Lord a new song, for he hath done marvelous things. His right hand hath wrought salvation for him and his holy arm. The Lord hath made known his saving health, before the face of all nations hath he revealed his righteousness. And the whole multitude of the saints answered, saying: Such honour have all his saints. Amen, Alleluia.

3 And thereafter Habacuc the prophet cried out and said: Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people to set free thy chosen. And all the saints answered, saying: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. God is the Lord and hath showed us light. Amen, Alleluia. Likewise after that the prophet Micheas also cried, saying: What God is like thee, O Lord, taking away iniquity and removing sins? and now thou withholdest thy wrath for a testimony that thou art merciful of free will, and thou dost turn away and have mercy on us, thou forgivest all our iniquities and hast sunk all our sins in the depths of the sea, as thou swarest unto our fathers in the days of old. And all the saints answered, saying: This is our God for ever and ever, he shall be our guide, world without end. Amen, Alleluia. And so spake all the prophets, making mention of holy words out of their praises, and all the saints followed the Lord, crying Amen, Alleluia.

IX (XXV)

But the Lord holding the hand of Adam delivered him unto Michael the archangel, and all the saints followed Michael the archangel, and he brought them all into the glory and beauty (grace) of paradise. And there met with them two men, ancients of days, and when they were asked of the saints: Who are ye that have not yet been dead in hell with us and are set in paradise in the body? then one of them answering, said: I am Enoch which was translated hither by the word of the Lord, and this that is with me is Elias the Thesbite which was taken up in a chariot of fire: and up to this day we have not tasted death, but we are received unto the coming of Antichrist to fight against him with signs and wonders of God, and to be slain of him in Jerusalem, and after three days and a half to be taken up again alive on the clouds.

X (XXVI)

And as Enoch and Elias spake thus with the saints, behold there came another man of vile habit, bearing upon his shoulders the sign of the cross; whom when they beheld, all the saints said unto him: Who art thou? for thine appearance is as of a robber; and wherefore is it that thou bearest a sign upon thy shoulders? And he answered them and said: Ye have rightly said: for I was a robber, doing all manner of evil upon the earth. And the Jews crucified me with Jesus, and I beheld the wonders in the creation which came to pass through the cross of Jesus when he was crucified, and I believed that he was the maker of all creatures and the almighty king, and I besought him, saying: Remember me, Lord, when thou comest into thy kingdom. And forthwith he received my prayer, and said unto me: Verily I say unto thee, this day shalt thou be with me in paradise: and he gave me the sign of the cross, saying: Bear this and go unto paradise, and if the angel that keepeth paradise suffer thee not to enter in, show him the sign of the cross; and thou shalt say unto him: Jesus Christ the Son of God who now is crucified hath sent me. And when I had so done, I spake all these things unto the angel that keepeth paradise; and when he heard this of me, forthwith he opened the door and brought me in and set me at the right hand of paradise, saying: Lo now, tarry a little, and Adam the father of all mankind will enter in with all his children that are holy and righteous, after the triumph and glory of the ascending up of Christ the Lord that is crucified. When they heard all these words of the robber, all the holy patriarchs and prophets said with one voice: Blessed be the Lord Almighty, the Father of eternal good things, the Father of mercies, thou that hast given such grace unto thy sinners and hast brought them again into the beauty of paradise and into thy good pastures: for this is the most holy life of the spirit. Amen, Amen.

XI (XXVII)

These are the divine and holy mysteries which we saw and heard, even I, Karinus, and Leucius: but we were not suffered to relate further the rest of the mysteries of God, according as Michael the archangel strictly charged us, saying: Ye shall go with your brethren unto Jerusalem and remain in prayer, crying out and glorifying the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, who hath raised you from the dead together with him: and ye shall not be speaking with any man, but sit as dumb men, until the hour come when the Lord himself suffereth you to declare the mysteries of his god head. But unto us Michael the archangel gave commandment that we should go over Jordan unto a place rich and fertile, where are many which rose again together with us for a testimony of the resurrection of Christ the Lord. For three days only were allowed unto us who rose from the dead, to keep the passover of the Lord in Jerusalem with our kindred (parents) that are living for a testimony of the resurrection of Christ the Lord: and we were baptized in the holy river of Jordan and received white robes, every one of us. And after the three days, when we had kept the passover of the Lord, all they were caught up in the clouds which had risen again with us, and were taken over Jordan and were no more seen of any man. But unto us it was said that we should remain in the city of Arimathaea and continue in prayer.

These be all things which the Lord bade us declare unto you: give praise and thanksgiving (confession) unto him, and repent that he may have mercy upon you. Peace be unto you from the same Lord Jesus Christ which is the Saviour of us all. Amen.

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Great and Holy Friday

Introduction

On Great and Holy Friday the Church commemorates the death of Christ on the Cross. This is the culmination of the observance of His Passion by which our Lord suffered and died for our sins. In the Eastern Rite Catholic Church this commemoration begins on Thursday evening with the Matins of Holy Friday and concludes with a Vespers on Friday afternoon that observes the un-nailing of Christ from the Cross and the placement of His body in the tomb.

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, sin and evil, destruction and death came into their own. Ungodly men had Him nailed to the Cross, in order to destroy Him. However, His death condemned irrevocably the fallen world by revealing its true and abnormal nature.

In Christ, who is the New Adam, there is no sin. And, therefore, there is no death. He accepted death because He assumed the whole tragedy of our life. He chose to pour His life into death, in order to destroy it; and in order to break the hold of evil. His death is the final and ultimate revelation of His perfect obedience and love. He suffered for us the excruciating pain of absolute solitude and alienation - "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me!" (Mark 15:34). Then, He accepted the ultimate horror of death with the agonizing cry, "It is finished" (John 19:30). His cry was at one and the same time an indication that He was in control of His death and that His work of redemption was accomplished, finished, fulfilled. How strange! While our death is radical unfulfillment, His is total fulfillment.

The day of Christ's death has become our true birthday. "Within the mystery of Christ dead and resurrected, death acquires positive value. Even if physical, biological death still appears to reign, it is no longer the final stage in a long destructive process. It has become the indispensable doorway, as well as the sure sign of our ultimate Pascha, our passage from death to life, rather than from life to death.

From the beginning the Church observed an annual commemoration of the decisive and crucial three days of sacred history, i.e., Great Friday, Great Saturday and Paskha. Great Friday and Saturday have been observed as days of deep sorrow and strict fast from Christian antiquity.

Great Friday and Saturday direct our attention to the trial, crucifixion, death and burial of Christ. We are placed within the awesome mystery of the extreme humility of our suffering God. Therefore, these days are at once days of deep gloom as well as watchful expectation. The Author of life is at work transforming death into life: "Come, let us see our Life lying in the tomb, that he may give life to those that in their tombs lie dead" (Sticheron of Great Saturday Orthros).

Liturgically, the profound and awesome event of the death and burial of God in the flesh is marked by a particular kind of silence, i.e. by the absence of a eucharistic celebration. Great Friday and Great Saturday are the only two days of the year when no eucharistic assembly is held. However, before the twelfth century it was the custom to celebrate the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts on Great Friday.

The divine services of Great Friday with the richness of their ample Scripture lessons, superb hymnography and vivid liturgical actions bring the passion of Christ and its cosmic significance into sharp focus. The hymns of the services on this day help us to see how the Church understands and celebrates the awesome mystery of Christ's passion and death.

Icons of the Commemoration

of Great and Holy Friday


Christ is depicted nailed to the Cross. The wound on His right side pours out both blood and water.	The mount where Christ was crucified was known as Golgotha, or the "place of the skull". A skull can be seen below the Cross.

On Great and Holy Friday, Orthodox churches display the icon known as the "Axra Tapeinosis - The Extreme Humility." This icon depicts the crucified dead body of Christ upright in the Tomb with the Cross in the background. It combines the two awesome events of Great Friday - the crucifixion and burial of Christ.


On the left-hand side of the icon are depicted Mary, the Mother of God (front) and Mary Magdalene (right).	On the right-hand side of the icon are depicted Saint John and Saint Longinus, the Centurion.

The Church also has an icon of the Crucifixion of Christ. He is shown nailed to the Cross. His right side is pierced and from the wound flows blood and water. At the foot of the Cross is a skull. (Golgotha, the Mount of the Crucifixion, means "the place of the skull.") Tradition related that the Cross of Christ stood directly over the grave of our Forefather Adam. On the top bar of the Cross is the inscription "I.N.B.I.", the initials for the Greek words meaning "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." To the left of Christ, the Theotokos and St. Mary Magdalene are often pictured as well; the youthful St. John the Beloved Disciple and St. Longinus the Centurion (Mark 15:39) are shown to the right if they are depicted.

Mary Magdalene, Mary, the Mother of God, John the beloved disciple, and Joseph of Arimathea are shown preparing Christ's body for the tomb

Another icon that depicts the events of Holy Friday is known as the Epitaphios Thrinos. In this icon, Christ has been taken off of the Cross, and His body is being prepared for burial. Shown around the body and mourning His death are His mother, the Theotokos and Virgin Mary, John the beloved disciple, Joseph of Arimathea, and Mary Magdelene.

In addition to these icons, Eastern Catholics process with and display a large wooden Crucifix with an image of Christ attached. At the Vespers on Friday, the image of Christ is removed from the Cross and wrapped in a white cloth. Another icon, one that depicts the body of Christ removed from the Cross, appears on the Epitaphios that is carried and placed in the Tomb during this service.

Eastern Rite Catholic Celebration

of Great And Holy Friday

The commemorations of Holy Friday begin with the Matins service of the day which is conducted on Thursday evening. The service is a very unique Matins service with twelve Gospel readings that begin with Christ's discourse at the Last Supper and end with the account of His burial: John 13:31-18:1, John 18:1-29, Matthew 26:57-75, John 18:28 - 19:16, Matthew 27:3-32, Mark 15:16-32, Matthew 27:33-54, Luke 23:32-49, John 19:38-42, Mark 15:43-47, John 19:38-42, Matthew 27:62-66

These readings relate the last instructions of Christ to His disciples, the prophecy of the drama of the Cross, the dramatic prayer of Christ and His new commandment. After the reading of the fifth Gospel comes the procession with the Crucifix around the church, while the priest chants the Fifteenth Antiphon:

"Today is hung upon the Tree, He Who did hang the land in the midst of the waters. A Crown of thorns crowns Him Who is King of Angels. He is wrapped about with the purple of mockery Who wrapped the Heavens with clouds. He received buffetings Who freed Adam in Jordan. He was transfixed with nails Who is the Bridegroom of the Church. He was pierced with a spear Who is the Son of the Virgin. We worship Thy Passion, O Christ. Show also unto us thy glorious Resurrection."

(here is how it's done!)

During the Procession, Eastern Rite Catholics kneel and venerate the Cross and pray for their spiritual well-being, imitating the thief on the Cross who confessed his faith and devotion to Christ. The faithful then approach and reverently kiss the Crucifix which has been placed at the front of the Church.

On Friday morning, the services of the Royal Hours are observed. These services are primarily readings of prayers, hymns, and passages from the Old Testament, Epistles, and Gospels. The Scripture readings for these services are: First Hour: Zechariah 11:10-13, Galatians 6:14-18, Matthew 27:1-56; Third Hour: Isaiah 52:13-54:1, Hebrews 2:11-18; Luke 23:32-49; Ninth Hour: Jeremiah 11:18-23,12:1-5,9-11,14-15, Hebrews 10:19-31, John 18:28-19:37.

The Vespers of Friday afternoon are a continuation of the Royal Hours. During this service, the removal of the Body of Christ from the Cross is commemorated with a sense of mourning. Once more, excerpts from the Old Testament are read together with hymns, and again the entire story is related, followed by the removal of Christ from the Cross and the wrapping of His body with a white sheet as did Joseph of Arimathea.

As the priest reads the Gospel, "and taking the body, Joseph wrapped it in a white cloth," he removes the Body of Christ from the Cross, wraps it in a white cloth and takes it to the altar. The priest then chants a mourning hymn: "When Joseph of Arimathea took Thee, the life of all, down from the Tree dead, he buried Thee with myrrh and fine linen . . . rejoicing. Glory to Thy humiliation, O Master, who clothest Thyself with light as it were with a garment." The priest then carries the cloth on which the Body of Christ is painted or embroidered around the church before placing it inside the Sepulcher, a carved bier which symbolizes the Tomb of Christ. We are reminded that during Christ's entombment He descends into Hades to free the dead of the ages before His Resurrection.

The Scripture readings for the Vespers are: Exodus 33:11-23; Job 42:12-17; Isaiah 52:13-54:1; I Corinthians 1:18-2:2; and from the Gospels Matthew 27:1-38; Luke 23:39-43; Matthew 27:39-54; John 19:31-37; and Matthew 27:55-61.

Hymns and Prayers for Great and Holy Friday

Fifteenth Antiphon of the Matins (Plagal of the Second Tone)
Today He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung upon the Cross. He who is King of the angels is arrayed in a crown of thorns. He who wraps the heavens in clouds is wrapped in the purple of mockery. He who in Jordan set Adam free receives blows upon His face. The Bridegroom of the Church is transfixed with nails. The Son of the Virgin is pierced with a spear. We venerate Thy Passion, O Christ. Show us also Thy glorious Resurrection.

Ninth Hour
When the transgressors nailed Thee, O Lord of glory, to the Cross, Thou hast cried aloud to them: 'How have I grieved you? Or wherein have I angered you? Before me, who delivered you from tribulation? And how do ye now repay me? Ye have given me evil for good: in return for the pillar of fire, ye have nailed me to the Cross; in return for the cloud, ye have dug a grave for me. Instead of manna, ye have given me gall; instead of water, ye have given me vinegar to drink. Henceforth I shall call the Gentiles, and they shall glorify me with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Sticheron of Vespers
A dread and marvelous mystery we see come to pass this day. He whom none may touch is seized; He who looses Adam from the curse is bound. He who tries the hearts and inner thoughts of man is unjustly brought to trial. He who closed the abyss is shut in prison. He before whom the powers of heaven stand with trembling, stands before Pilate; the Creator is struck by the hand of His creature. He who comes to judge the living and the dead is condemned to the Cross; the Destroyer of hell is enclosed in a tomb. O Thou who dost endure all these things in Thy tender love, who hast saved all men from the curse, O long-suffering Lord, glory to Thee.

Apostichon of Vespers
In the flesh Thou wast of Thine own will enclosed within the tomb, yet in Thy divine nature Thou dost remain Uncircumscribed and limitless. Thou hast shut up the treasury of hell, O Christ, and emptied all his palaces. Thou hast honored this Sabbath with Thy divine blessing, with Thy glory and Thy radiance.

Great and Holy Thursday

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Receive me today, Son of God, as a partaker of Your mystical supper; for I will not reveal Your mystery to Your enemies, nor give you a kiss as did Judas. But as the thief I confess to You: Lord, remember me in Your kingdom.

On Great & Holy Thursday the Holy Fathers draw our attention to four events: the washing of the feet, the Mystical Supper, the agonizing Prayer and the Seizing of the Lord.

The Church turns to the events that occurred in the Upper Room and at the garden of Gethsemane. In the Upper Room, Jesus established and instituted the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist. At the Mystical Supper, He 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."

We have learned to equate food with life because it sustains our earthly existence. In the Eucharist the distinctively unique human food--- bread and wine--- becomes our gift of life. Consecrated and sanctified, the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. This change is not physical but mystical and sacramental. While the qualities of bread and wine remain, we partake of the true Body and Blood of Christ. In the eucharistic meal God enters into such a communion of life that He feeds humanity with His own being, while still remaining distinct. In the words of St. Maximos the Confessor, Christ, "transmits to us divine life, making Himself eatable." The Author of Life shatters the limitations of our createdness, Christ acts that "we might become sharers of divine nature."

The Eucharist is at the center of the Church's life. It is her most profound prayer and principal activity. It is at one and the same time the source and the summit of her life. In the Eucharist, the Church manifests her true nature and is continuously changed from a human community into the Body of Christ, the Temple of the Holy Spirit, and the People of God. In the Eucharist the Church remembers and enacts sacramentally the redemptive event of the Cross and participates in its saving grace. The Eucharist goes not repeat what cannot be repeated. Christ is not slain anew and repeatedly. Rather the Eucharistic food is changed concretely and really into the Body and Blood of the Lamb of God, "Who gave Himself up for the life of the world." In the Eucharist we receive and partake of the resurrected Christ. We share in His sacrificed, risen and deified Body, "for the remission of sins and life eternal." In the Eucharist Christ pours into us-- as a permanent and constant gift-- the Holy Spirit, "Who bears witness with out spirit that we are children of God-- and if children-- then heirs with Christ."

The events initiated by Jesus at the Mystical Supper were profoundly significant. By teaching and giving his disciples His final instructions and praying for them as well, He revealed again His divine Sonship and authority. By establishing the Eucharist, he enshrines to perfection God's most intimate purposes for our salvation, offering Himself as Communion and life. By washing the feet of His disciples, He summarized the meaning of His ministry, manifested His perfect love and revealed His profound humility.

The act of washing of the feet (John 12:2-17) is closely related to the sacrifice of the Cross. Both reveal aspects of Christ's kenosis. While the Cross constitutes the ultimate manifestation of Christ's perfect obedience to His Father, the washing of the feet signifies His intense love and the giving of Himself to each person's ability to receive Him.

Another significant episode leading to the Passion was the prayer and agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. Although Jesus was the Son of God, He was destined as man to accept fully the human condition, to experience suffering and to learn obedience. Divesting himself of divine prerogatives, the Son of God assumed the role of a servant. He lived a truly human existence. Though He Himself was sinless, He allied Himself with the whole human race, identified with the human predicament and experienced the same tests. The moving events in the Garden of Gethsemane dramatically and poignantly disclosed the human nature of Christ. The sacrifice He was to endure for the salvation of the world was imminent. Death, with all its brutal force and fury, stared directly at Him. Its terrible burden and fear-- the calamitous result of the ancestral sin-- caused Him intense sorrow and pain. Instinctively, as a man He sought to escape it. He found Himself in a moment of decision. In His agony he prayed to His Father: "Abba, Father, all things are possible to Thee; remove this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what Thou will."

Jesus offered His unconditional love and trust to the Father. He reached the extreme limits of self-denial-- "not what I will"-- in order to accomplish His Father's will. His acceptance of death was not some kind of stoic passivity and resignation but an act of absolute love and obedience. In that moment of decision, when He declared His acceptance of death to be in agreement with the Father's will, he broke the power of the fear of death with all its attending uncertainties anxieties and limitations. He learned obedience and fulfilled the divine plan.

Prayer is the power that fuels the spiritual life. As breathing, eating, drinking, and thinking are essential to human existence, prayer is a fundamental element and activity of the Christian life. Authentic Orthodox spirituality is constituted by a vibrant prayer life rooted in the life of the Church, her faith and her sacraments; and related, as well, to the practice of fasting, which is seen primarily as obedience to and love for God, the transformation of the passions, and acts of charity. Prayer is the most sublime experience of the human soul. Without it the soul is left cold and spiritless. It cannot enter into a sustained personal relationship with God.

Prayer is an act of faith. It brings us to the threshold of another world. Through it we reach and cross the ultimate frontier. We touch another world, which we come to experience as extraordinary peace, beauty, goodness, joy and trust. We encounter the living God and converse with Him. The Holy One, who alone has existence, embraces us with his tender mercy, compassion and love. Divine light penetrates the depths of our soul to reveal our sins, purge our iniquities, heal our brokenness, illumine our intellect, strengthen our will, and gladden our heart.

At the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas betrayed Christ with a kiss, the sign of friendship and love. The betrayal and crucifixion of Christ carried the ancestral sin to its extreme limits. In these two acts the rebellion against God reached its maximum capacity. The seduction of man in paradise culminated in the death of God in the flesh. To be victorious evil must quench the light and discredit the good. In the end, however, it shows itself to be a lie, an absurdity and sheer madness. The death and resurrection of Christ rendered evil powerless.

On Great Thursday light and darkness, joy and sorrow are so strangely mixed. At the Upper Room and in Gethsemane the light of the kingdom and the darkness of hell come through simultaneously. The way of life and the way of death converge. We meet them both in our journey through life.

Prayer of St. John Chrysostom

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O my all-merciful God and Lord,
Jesus Christ, full of pity:
Through Your great love You came down
and became incarnate in order to save everyone.
O Savior, I ask You to save me by Your grace!
If You save anyone because of their works,
that would not be grace but only reward of duty,
but You are compassionate and full of mercy!

You said, O my Christ,
“Whoever believes in Me shall live and never die.”
If then, faith in You saves the lost, then save me,
O my God and Creator, for I believe.
Let faith and not my unworthy works be counted to me, O my God,
for You will find no works which could account me righteous.

O Lord, from now on let me love You as intensely as I have loved sin,
and work for You as hard as I once worked for the evil one.
I promise that I will work to do Your will,
my Lord and God, Jesus Christ, all the days of my life and forever more.

O Nymphios - Christ the BridegroomThe first days of Great & Holy Week are upon us

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The first three days of Great & Holy Week in the Eastern Catholic tradition

Christ the Bridegroom is the central figure in the parable of the ten Virgins (Matthew 25: 1-13); Christ is the divine Bridegroom of the Church as described in the Book of Isaiah (chapter 54), as well as the primary image of Bridegroom Matins. The title is suggestive of his divine presence and watchfulness ("Behold the Bridegroom comes in the middle of the night...") during Holy Week and his selfless love for his Bride, the Church.

The Bridegroom is also the name given to the central icon used in Bridegroom Matins. The Bridegroom icon and service is also commonly known in the Greek “O Nymphios”.

( let this video play as you read.... )

Bridegroom Matins
Bridegroom Matins is a service specific to the first three evenings (as Matins - a morning service is celebrated “in anticipation” on the eves of feasts and certain other days) of Holy Week and commemorates the last days in the earthly life of the Lord. Incorporated into these services is the theme of the first three days of Holy Week; which is the last teachings of Christ to his disciples. As such, these services incorporate readings and hymns inspiring this theme. The mood of the services is to experience sorrow and to feel Christ's voluntary submission to His passions and highlight the purpose behind the evil that is about to take place against the Lord. The atmosphere is one of mourning (for sins) and is symbolic of the shame the Christian should feel for the Fall of Adam and Eve, the depths of hell, the lost Paradise and the absence of God. The vestments of the Priest and the altar clothes are black or deep purple to symbolise and enhance the atmosphere of mourning and remembrance of sins. The main emphasis of the Bridegroom Service is metanoia and each service has its own particular theme on repentance and watchfulness. One of its primary features is its troparion:

Behold, the Bridegroom comes in the middle of the night, and blessed is the servant He shall find vigilant;
but unworthy is he whom he shall find neglectful.
Beware therefore, O my soul, lest you be weighed down by sleep,
lest you be given over to death and be closed out from the kingdom;
but rise up crying out: "Holy! Holy! Holy are You our God;
through the intercessions of the Theotokos, have mercy on us.

Palm Sunday evening
During the first service on Palm Sunday evening, the priest carries the icon of Christ the Bridegroom into the church. The Bridegroom troparion is sung during this procession, and the icon is brought to the front of the church and remains there until Holy Thursday. The icon depicts Christ as the Bridegroom of the Church, bearing the marks of his suffering, yet preparing the way for a marriage feast in his Kingdom. He is dressed in the icon according to the mockery of the Roman guards just prior to his crucifixion.

* The crowns - a symbol of his marriage to the Church.
* The rope - a symbol of bondage to sin, death and corruption which was loosed with Christ's death on the Cross.
* The reed - a symbol of his humility; God rules his kingdom with humility.

Sunday evening also includes this kontakion:
Jacob lamented the loss of Joseph, but that noble one was seated in a chariot and honored as a king; for by not being enslaved then to the pleasures of the Egyptian woman, he was glorified by Him that beholdeth the hearts of men and bestoweth an incorruptible crown.

Holy Monday evening
On Holy Monday (Tuesday Matins), the Blessed Joseph, the son of Jacob the Patriarch, is commemorated because he is seen as a prototype of Christ.

Joseph was betrayed by his brothers, thrown into a pit and sold into slavery by them. In the same way, the Lord was rejected, betrayed by his own, and sold into the slavery of death and like Joseph forgave and spared his brothers during the famine when they came to him, so too, Jesus Christ offers himself as a sacrifice and forgives all those who come to him in faith.

The Gospel reading for the day is of the Barren Fig Tree, which Christ cursed and withered because it bore no fruit. The fig tree is representative of those who have heard God's word, but who fail to bear the fruits of faith. Originally the withering of the fig tree was a testimony against those Jews who rejected God's word and his Messiah. It is also a warning to all people, in all times, of the importance of not only hearing the God's word, but putting it into action.

Monday evening also includes this kontakion:
Being mindful of the hour of the end, O my soul, and fearing because of the cutting down of the fig tree, labor diligently with the talent that was given thee, O hapless one, and be watchful and cry: Let us not remain outside the bridal chamber of Christ.

Holy Tuesday evening
On Holy Tuesday (Matins for Wednesday), the Parable of the Ten Virgins is read. It tells the story of the five virgins who filled their lamps in preparation for receiving the bridegroom while the other five allowed their lamps to go out and hence were shut out of the marriage feast. This parable is a warning that Christians must always be prepared to receive the Lord when he comes again. The theme of the day is reinforced by the exaposteilarion hymn:

I see Thy Bridal Chamber adorned, O my Savior, but have no wedding garment that I may enter. O Giver of Light, enlighten the vesture of my soul, and save me.

Holy Tuesday's Bridegroom Matins also includes commemoration of Kassiani (September 7), also known by the names of Kasia, Kasiani or Ikessia, was a great hymnographer from the 9th century. According to the Synaxaristi not many details of her life have been recorded but she has remained in ecclesiastical history for her great hymns. His Eminence Metropolitan Sophronios Eustratiadis of Leontopoleos [1] writes that Kassiani was "an orphaned girl from the Byzantine era, beautiful and wise, a saintly ascetic and respectful virgin". [2] Kassiani is also linked to the Emperor Theophilos (9th century) and his search for a bride. Theophilos was angered with a reply by Kassiani to a question of his, and he impulsively chose St. Theodora, who was standing next to Kassiani, to be his elected bride. Kassiani also played a great role in the restoration of the Holy Icons.

Heartbroken by Theophilos, one of those poems was the beautiful hymn of Kassiani, which in the Byzantine tradition is such a major feature that the service held on Holy Tuesday evening is often referred to simply as the Hymn of Kassiani. Theophilos searched for Kassiani and found her at a convent and the two never saw each other again. Her repentance and love for Christ is the theme of the wonderful Hymn of Kassiani which is chanted on this night, reminding all that they may be forgiven if they repent.

The text of the hymn, based on the account of the sinful woman who is introduced by the Evangelist St Luke in his Gospel (7:36-50). Kassiani contrasts the repentance of the sinful woman with Eve's fall (Gen. 3:8-11):

The woman who had fallen into many sins, perceiving Your divinity, O Lord, received the dignity of a myrrh-bearer, for with lamentation she brought fragrant myrrh to You before Your burial. And she cried: Woe is me, for love of sin and stings of lustful passion envelop me as the night, dark and moonless. As You cause the clouds to drop down the waters of the sea, accept the fountain of my tears. As by Your indescribable condescension You bowed down the heavens, so incline to the groaning of my heart. I shall kiss Your most pure feet and wipe them with the hair of my head, those same feet whose sound Eve heard at dusk in Paradise when she hid herself in fear. Who can count the multitude of my sins? Who can measure the depths of Your judgments, O Saviour of my soul? Do not turn away from me, Your servant, for You have immeasurable mercy.

Tuesday evening also includes this kontakion:
I have transgressed far more than the harlot, O Good One, yet have never brought you showers of tears; but entreating in silence, I fall before you, as I kiss your immaculate feet with love, that as Master you may grant me forgiveness of offences, as I cry out, O Saviour: deliver me from the filth of my works.

( here is some chanting in English...)

( here are the words... )
AS THE LORD WAS GOING TO HIS VOLUNTARY PASSION,
HE SAID TO THE APOSTLES ON THE WAY,
BEHOLD, WE GO UP TO JERUSALEM,
AND THE SON OF MAN SHALL BE DELIVERED UP, AS IT IS WRITTEN OF HIM.
COME, THEREFORE, LET US ALSO GO WITH HIM,
PURIFIED IN MIND.
LET US BE CRUCIFIED WITH HIM AND DIE THROUGH HIM
TO THE PLEASURES OF THIS LIFE.
THEN WE SHALL LIVE WITH HIM AND HEAR HIM SAY:
I GO NO MORE TO THE EARTHLY JERUSALEM TO SUFFER,
BUT TO MY FATHER AND YOUR FATHER,
TO MY GOD AND YOUR GOD.
I SHALL RAISE YOU UP TO THE JERUSALEM ON HIGH
IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE OTHER AWESOME LITURGICAL
TEXTS OF THE BRIDEGROOM MATINS SERVICES:

TODAY CHRIST'S HOLY PASSION DAWNS UPON THE WORLD AS A SAVING LIGHT,
FOR HE COMES OF HIS GOODNESS TO SUFFER:
HE WHO HOLDS ALL THINGS IN HIS HAND
CONSENTS TO BE HUNG UPON THE WOOD
IN ORDER TO SAVE MANKIND.

TODAY SHINES AS THE FIRST-FRUITS OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD!
COME, THEN, ALL WHO LOVE THE FEAST AND JOIN TOGETHER IN HYMNS,
FOR THE CREATOR COMES TO ACCEPT THE CROSS,
THE AFFLICTIONS, THE BEATINGS AND THE JUDGMENT BY PILATE.
A SERVANT STRIKES HIM ON THE HEAD,
BUT HE ENDURES ALL THINGS THAT HE MAY SAVE MANKIND.
THEREFORE, LET US CRY OUT TO HIM:
GRANT REMISSION OF SINS TO THOSE WHO VENERATE YOUR HOLY PASSION IN FAITH,
CHRIST OUR GOD, THE LOVER OF MANKIND!

WE HAVE REACHED THE SAVING PASSION OF CHRIST OUR GOD.
LET US, THE FAITHFUL, GLORIFY HIS INEFFABLE FORBEARANCE,
THAT IN HIS COMPASSION HE MAY RAISE US UP WHO WERE DEAD IN SIN,
FOR HE IS GOOD AND LOVES MANKIND.

YOU TAUGHT YOUR DISCIPLES, LORD, TO DESIRE WHAT IS PERFECT,
SAYING: BE NOT LIKE THE GENTILES, WHO OPPRESS THE WEAK.
IT SHALL NOT BE SO WITH YOU, MY DISCIPLES.
FOR OF MY OWN WILL I AM POOR.
LET THE FIRST AMONG YOU, THEREFORE, BE THE SERVANT OF ALL.
LET THE RULER BE LIKE THOSE WHO ARE RULED.
LET HIM WHO IS FIRST BE LIKE THE LAST.
FOR I HAVE COME TO SERVE ADAM IN HIS POVERTY,
AND TO GIVE MY LIFE AS A RANSOM FOR THE MANY WHO CRY TO ME:
O LORD, GLORY TO YOU!

THE FIG TREE WAS WITHERED UP BECAUSE IT WAS UNFRUITFUL.
WE SHOULD FEAR THE SAME PUNISHMENT, O BRETHREN,
AND BRING WORTHY FRUITS OF REPENTANCE TO CHRIST,
WHO BRINGS TO US GREAT MERCY.

LET US LOVE THE BRIDEGROOM, BRETHREN.
LET US KEEP OUR LAMPS AFLAME WITH VIRTUES AND TRUE FAITH,
SO THAT WE, LIKE THE WISE VIRGINS OF THE LORD,
MAY BE READY TO ENTER WITH HIM INTO THE MARRIAGE FEAST.
FOR THE BRIDEGROOM, AS GOD, GRANTS UNTO ALL AN INCORRUPTIBLE CROWN.

JUDAS LOVES MONEY WITH HIS MIND.
THE IMPIOUS ONE MOVES AGAINST THE MASTER.
HE WILLS AND PLANS THE BETRAYAL.
RECEIVING DARKNESS, HE FALLS FROM THE LIGHT.
HE AGREES TO THE PRICE AND SELLS THE PRICELESS ONE.
AS PAYMENT FOR HIS DEEDS THE WRETCH GAINS HANGING AND A TERRIBLE DEATH.
FROM HIS LOT DELIVER US, CHRIST GOD,
GRANTING REMISSION OF SINS TO THOSE WHO CELEBRATE YOUR IMMACULATE PASSION WITH LOVE.

Why are you idle, my wretched soul? What useless cares cause you to
be lost in dreams? Why busy yourself with things that pass away? The
last hour is at hand, and we shall be parted from all earthly things.
Therefore, while there is yet time, rouse yourself and cry: I have
sinned before You, my Savior. Do not cut me off like the barren fig
tree. In Your compassion, O Christ, take pity on me who call out with
fear:

HOW SHALL I, THE UNWORTHY ONE,
APPEAR IN THE SPLENDOR OF YOUR SAINTS?
FOR IF I DARE ENTER YOUR BRIDAL CHAMBER WITH THEM,
MY GARMENTS WILL BETRAY ME;
THEY ARE UNFIT FOR A WEDDING.
THE ANGELS WILL CAST ME OUT IN CHAINS.
CLEANSE THE FILTH OF MY SOUL, O LORD,
AND SAVE ME IN YOUR LOVE FOR MANKIND.

O CHRIST THE BRIDEGROOM,
MY SOUL HAS SLUMBERED IN LAZINESS.
I HAVE NO LAMP AFLAME WITH VIRTUES.
LIKE THE FOOLISH VIRGINS I WANDER AIMLESSLY WHEN IT IS TIME FOR WORK.
BUT DO NOT CLOSE YOUR COMPASSIONATE HEART TO ME, O MASTER.
ROUSE ME, SHAKE OFF MY HEAVY SLEEP.
LEAD ME WITH THE WISE VIRGINS INTO THE BRIDAL CHAMBER,
THAT I MAY HEAR THE PURE VOICE OF THOSE THAT FEAST AND CRY UNCEASINGLY:
O LORD, GLORY TO YOU!

(!!! ONE OF MY FAVORITES!!!)
COME, FAITHFUL,
LET US WORK ZEALOUSLY FOR THE MASTER,
FOR HE DISTRIBUTES WEALTH TO HIS SERVANTS.
LET EACH OF US ACCORDING TO HIS ABILITY
INCREASE HIS TALENT OF GRACE:
LET ONE BE ADORNED IN WISDOM THROUGH GOOD WORKS;
LET ANOTHER CELEBRATE A SERVICE IN SPLENDOR.
THE ONE DISTRIBUTES HIS WEALTH TO THE POOR;
THE OTHER COMMUNICATES THE WORD TO THOSE UNTAUGHT.
THUS WE SHALL INCREASE WHAT HAS BEEN ENTRUSTED TO US,
AND, AS FAITHFUL STEWARDS OF GRACE,
WE SHALL BE ACCOUNTED WORTHY OF THE MASTER'S JOY.
MAKE US WORTHY OF THIS, CHRIST OUR GOD,
IN YOUR LOVE FOR MANKIND.

AS THE SINFUL WOMAN WAS BRINGING HER OFFERING OF MYRRH,
THE DISCIPLE WAS SCHEMING WITH LAWLESS MEN.
SHE REJOICED IN POURING OUT HER PRECIOUS GIFT.
HE HASTENED TO SELL THE PRECIOUS ONE.
SHE RECOGNIZED THE MASTER, BUT JUDAS PARTED FROM HIM.
SHE WAS SET FREE, BUT JUDAS WAS ENSLAVED TO THE ENEMY.
HOW TERRIBLE IS SLOTHFULNESS!
HOW GREAT HER REPENTANCE!
SAVIOR, YOU SUFFERED FOR OUR SAKES:
GRANT US ALSO REPENTANCE, AND SAVE US.

O, THE WRETCHEDNESS OF JUDAS!
HE SAW THE HARLOT KISS THE FOOTSTEPS OF CHRIST,
BUT DECEITFULLY HE CONTEMPLATED THE KISS OF BETRAYAL.
SHE LOOSED HER HAIR WHILE HE BOUND HIMSELF WITH WRATH.
HE OFFERED THE STENCH OF WICKEDNESS INSTEAD OF MYRRH,
FOR ENVY CANNOT DISTINGUISH VALUE.
O, THE WRETCHEDNESS OF JUDAS!
DELIVER OUR SOULS FROM THIS, O GOD.

TODAY, THE EVIL ASSEMBLY HAS GATHERED AND PLOTS AGAINST YOU.

TODAY JUDAS RECEIVED CONDEMNATION FROM THE AGREEMENT:
CAIAPHAS CONFESSES UNKNOWINGLY.
FOR THE SAKE OF ALL YOU WILL ACCEPT DEATH FREELY;
CHRIST GOD, OUR REDEEMER: GLORY TO YOU!

a note on this great day...

2009-04-04T02:40:00.000-07:00

today is the saturday of the raising of lazarus.

i never cease to be moved on this great day, a respite from what should have been a more rigorous attempt at the great fast. a respite i don’t deserve, like all the blessing from Christ. but it has come all the same to call out to me to remember the unfathomable depths of the compassion of the Lord.

fr. alexander schmemann used to call this a small Paskha, a little passover if even temporary, because we know that Lazarus died later after becoming the bishop of Cyprus.

after the journey of lent we come to this two-day feast and are remind of the great love Jesus has for us. although this account is very personal, what with Jesus being lazarus’ friend we must not loose the cosmic and ontological significance of what occurs.

as He approaches the tomb of Lazarus, and after being scolded by the sisters of His friend for His tarrying, Jesus is faced with the awful and devastating effects of our condition.

the Logos of God who created us in the garden steps face to face with sin and our mortality’s disordering affects.

not only is His beloved friend dead ... but 4 days dead - and - now he stinks from the decomposition of his flesh. in the icon we see the attendants even covering their noses & mouths.

lazarus is not 1 day, not even 3 days, but four days dead. the wholeness of the three day watch plus one day.

in other words perfectly dead - even stinking in the tomb.
it is i believe the only time there is no euphemism used by Christ. the girl raised was called asleep. lazarus. Jesus says “is dead”.

then, the shortest verse in the scriptures. tow short and simple words.

Jesus wept!

the Creator sees His creature lying dead in the grave, naked and bereft of glory and beauty.

we know first hand the terrible effects of the fall on us. we feel the weight of our burdens and are constantly reminded of our physical frailty and the temporal reality of our present state. we “feel our pain”.

but we are now confronted with the effects our disobedience & fall, our mortality & condition have on our friend Jesus ... He weeps!

we glimpse in a vivid way what compels our Christ to humble Himself in such an ineffably incomprehensible way, even as Creator, He deigns of His own will, to become creature.

no longer is He utterly OTHER but now He become UTTERLY us in His person. uniting us to Himself and in the coming week “forging a path for all flesh to the resurrection.

He lays bare, His incomprehensible love for us. for all of us to see,
and (in anthropomorphic terms), He reveals His emotional devastation at our state and He shows the depths of His inner mourning over our chosen lot.

(back in the garden He told us that if we rejected His will we “will surely die” and now, seeing what we’ve brought upon ourselves He readies to make Himself a remedy to our sin.)

this is a truly great and awesome day. the love of Jesus and His compelling desire for our release and salvation are laid bare before us.

i prepare myself to walk, no ... run the course of the passion with you o Christ. strengthen me to hold fast with those who exalted You upon Your entrance into jerusalem and may i flee from their deceit who turned their voice from praise to jeers at Your crucifixion. let e always instead be compelled by Your love and moved to charity and philanthropy by the great mystery of Your condescension.

i praise Your compassion and glorify Your suffering, by Your cross, You have redeemed the world!

padre seraphim

Saturday of the Holy and Righteous Friend of Christ, Lazarus

2009-04-02T22:09:00.001-07:00

Saturday of the Resurrection Holy and Righteous Friend of Christ, Lazarus, later first bishop of Cyprus

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 to the power of Christ over death and exalts Him as King before entering the most solemn week of the year, one that leads the faithful in remembrance of His suffering and death and concludes with the great and glorious Feast of Pascha.

Biblical Story

Icon of the Raising of Lazarus

The story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead by Jesus Christ is found in the Gospel of John 11:1-45. Lazarus becomes ill, and his sisters, Mary and Martha send a message to Jesus stating, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” In response to the message, Jesus says, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (vv. 1-4).

Jesus did not immediately go to Bethany, the town where Lazarus lived with his sisters. Instead He remained in the place where He was staying for two more days. After this time, He told his disciples that they were returning to Judea. The disciples immediately expressed their concern, stating that the Jews there had recently tried to stone Him (John 10:31). Jesus replied to His disciples, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them” (vv. 5-10).

After He said this, Jesus told his disciples that Lazarus had fallen asleep and that He was going there to wake him. The disciples wondered why He would go to wake Lazarus, since it was good for him to sleep if he was ill. Jesus, however, was referring to the death of Lazarus, and thus told the disciples directly that Lazarus was dead (vv. 11-14).

When Jesus arrived at Bethany, Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Since Bethany was near Jerusalem, many of the Jews had come to console Mary and Martha. When Martha heard that Jesus was approaching she went to meet Him and said to Him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of Him.” Jesus told her that her brother will rise again. Martha said that she knew he would rise again in the resurrection on the last day. Jesus replied, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” Jesus asked Martha if she believed this. She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world” (vv. 17-27).

Martha returned to tell Mary that Jesus had come and was asking for her. Mary went to meet Him, and she was followed by those who were consoling her. The mourners followed her thinking that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When she came to Jesus, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus saw her weeping and those who were with her, and He was deeply moved. He asked to be taken to the tomb of Lazarus. As Jesus wept for Lazarus the Jews said, “See how He loved him.” Others wondered that if Jesus could open the eyes of the blind, He certainly could have kept Lazarus from dying (vv. 28-37).

Jesus came to the tomb and asked that the stone that covered the door be taken away. Martha remarked that Lazarus had now been in the tomb for four days and that there would be a stench. Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” The stone was taken away, and Jesus looked toward heaven and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” When He had said this, He called out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” Lazarus walked out of the tomb, bound with the strips of burial cloth, and Jesus said, “Unbind him, and let him go” (vv. 38-44).

As a result of this miracle, many of the Jews that were present believed in Jesus. Others went and told the Pharisees what Jesus had done. In response the Pharisees and chief priests met and considered how they might arrest Him and put Him to death (v. 45ff).

This miracle is performed by Christ as a reassurance to His disciples before the coming Passion: they are to understand that, though He suffers and dies, yet He is Lord and Victor over death. The resurrection of Lazarus is a prophecy in the form of an action. It foreshadows Christ’s own Resurrection eight days later, and at the same time it anticipates the resurrection of all the righteous on the Last Day: Lazarus is “the saving first-fruits of the regeneration of the world.”

As the liturgical texts emphasize, the miracle at Bethany reveals the two natures of Christ the God-man. Christ asks where Lazarus is laid and weeps for him, and so He shows the fullness of His manhood, involving as it does human ignorance and genuine grief for a beloved friend. Then, disclosing the fullness of His divine power, Christ raises Lazarus from the dead, even though his corpse has already begun to decompose and stink. This double fullness of the Lord’s divinity and His humanity is to be kept in view throughout Holy Week, and above all on Good Friday. On the Cross we see a genuine human agony, both physical and mental, but we see more than this: we see not only suffering man but suffering God.

Icon of the Feast

The icon of the Saturday of Lazarus shows Christ calling His friend to come out of the tomb (1). Lazarus is coming forth from the tomb (2), still bound in the strips of burial cloth. His sisters, Mary and Martha are bowing before Christ, expressing both their sorrow in the death of their brother, but also their faith in Christ as the Messiah and Son of God. Next to them is someone who has followed the request of our Lord and removed the stone from the door of the tomb (3).


1. Christ calls his friend Lazarus to come out from his tomb.	2. Lazarus is seen answering the call of his friend while still bound in his burial cloth.

Standing with Christ are his disciples who are witnesses of this miracle, a true manifestation of the power of God that would bring them assurance during the Passion of our Lord.


3. Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, bow before Christ as they witness this awesome miracle. A young man pulls the stone away from the front of the tomb.	4. A man who is a part of the crowd that followed Christ, witnesses the miracle.

In the center of the icon is a person (4) who represents the crowd who also witnessed the miracle. Some believed, but others went and told the Pharisees and chief priests who continued their machinations to bring about the arrest of Christ and His death. The walled city of Jerusalem, where Christ will arrive in triumph the following day, is depicted in the background.

THE FINAL DAY OF THE GREAT FAST ACCORDING TO THE EASTERN RITE

2009-04-02T21:55:00.000-07:00

COME, BRETHREN,
AND BEFORE THE END OF THE FAST,

LET US DRAW NEAR WITH PURE HEARTS
TO THE COMPASSIONATE GOD,

LAYING ASIDE ALL EARTHLY CARES,
CARING INSTEAD FOR OUR SOULS.

BY ABSTINENCE,
LET US RENOUNCE OUR LOVE OF PLEASURE,
AND CONCERN OURSELVES INSTEAD WITH CHARITY,

FOR IN THIS WAY, AS IT IS WRITTEN,
SOME HAVE UNKNOWINGLY BEEN HOSTS TO ANGELS.

BY PROVIDING FOR THE NEEDY,
LET US FEED HIM WHO HAS FED US WITH HIM OWN FLESH;

LET US CLOTHE OURSELVES IN HIM
WHO CLOTHES HIMSELF IN LIGHT AS A GARMENT,

SO THAT BY THE INTERCESSIONS
OF THE MOST PURE MOTHER AND VIRGIN THEOTOKOS,

WE MAY RECEIVE FORGIVENESS OF OUR SINS,
AND CRY TO HIM WITH COMPUNCTION:

SAVE US, LORD!
FROM THE CONDEMNATION OF THOSE ON YOUR LEFT HAND,

AND MAKE US WORTHY TO STAND AT YOUR RIGHT HAND,

FOR YOU ARE THE MERCIFUL LOVER OF YOUR PEOPLE

!

SIXTH WEEK OF LENT / LAZARUS DIES AND IS BURIED

2009-04-02T17:15:00.000-07:00

SIXTH WEEK OF LENT
WEDS. / THUR. COMMEMORATION, LAZARUS DIES AND IS BURIED

TODAY LAZARUS IS BURIED
AND HIS SISTERS SING IN LAMENTATION.
BUT IN YOUR DIVINE FOREKNOWLEDGE,
YOU HAVE PREDICTED WHAT SHOULD COME TO PASS:
LAZARUS IS SLEEPING, YOU PROPHESIED TO YOUR DISCIPLES,
BUT NOW I GO TO RAISE UP HIM WHOM I CREATED!
THEREFORE WE ALL CRY TO YOU: GLORY TO YOUR MIGHTY POWER!

JESUS AS YOU WALKED IN THE FLESH,
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE JORDAN,
YOU SAID TO YOUR COMPANIONS:
MY FRIEND LAZARUS IS ALREADY DEAD,
AND NOW HAS BEEN COMMITTED TO THE TOMB.
AND SO FOR YOUR SAKES, I REJOICE, MY FRIENDS,
FOR BY THIS YOU SHALL LEARN THAT I KNOW ALL THINGS.
FOR I AM GOD, INSEPARABLE FROM THE FATHER,
THOUGH IN MY VISIBLE APPEARANCE I AM MAN.
LET US GO, THEN, TO BRING HIM BACK TO LIFE,
THAT DEATH MAY FEEL THE DEFEAT AND COMPLETE DESTRUCTION I BRING UPON IT,
GRANTING THE WORLD GREAT MERCY.

FAITHFUL, LET US FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE OF MARTHA AND MARY:
LET US SEND OUR ACTS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS TO INTERCEDE BEFORE THE LORD,
THAT HE MAY COME TO RAISE UP FROM THE DEAD OUR SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING WHICH LIES INSENSIBLE WITHIN THE TOMB OF NEGLIGENCE,
LACKING ALL FEELING OF THE FEAR OF GOD,
AND DEPRIVED OF LIVING ACTION.
LET US CRY: MERCIFUL LORD, AS ONCE BY YOUR DREAD AUTHORITY
YOU RAISED UP YOUR FRIEND LAZARUS,
SO NOW GIVE LIFE TO US ALL, AND GRANT US YOUR GREAT MERCY!

LAZARUS HAS NOW BEEN TWO DAYS IN THE TOMB.
HE SEES THE DEAD FROM ALL THE AGES.
HE BEHOLDS STRANGE SIGHTS OF TERROR,
A COUNTLESS MULTITUDE, PRISONERS OF HELL.
HIS SISTERS LAMENT BITTERLY, BEHOLDING HIS TOMB.
BUT CHRIST COMES TO BRING HIS FRIEND TO LIFE,
THAT A SINGLE HYMN OF PRAISE MAY BE OFFERED UP BY ALL WITH ONE ACCORD:
SAVIOR, BLESSED ARE YOU! HAVE MERCY ON US!

LAZARUS HAS NOW BEEN DEAD FOR TWO DAYS.
HIS SISTERS MARTHA AND MARY SHED TEARS OF GRIEF FOR HIM,
GAZING AT THE STONE BEFORE HIS TOMB.
BUT THE CREATOR HAS COME WITH HIS DISCIPLES,
TO DESPOIL DEATH AND BESTOW LIFE!
THEREFORE LET US CRY OUT TO HIM:
O LORD, GLORY TO YOU!

SIXTH WEEK OF LENT
FRI. / SAT.. COMMEMORATION, THE LORD RAISES LAZUS FOUR DAYS DEAD

WISHING TO SEE THE TOMB OF LAZARUS, LORD,
SINCE OF YOUR OWN WILL, YOU WERE SOON TO DWELL IN A TOMB,
YOU ASKED: WHERE HAVE YOU LAID HIM?
LEARNING THAT WHICH WAS ALREADY KNOWN TO YOU,
YOU CRIED TO YOUR BELOVED FRIEND: LAZARUS, COME FORTH!
HE WHO HAD NO BREATH OBEYED THE LORD WHO GAVE HIM BREATH:
YOU, THE SAVIOR OF OUR SOULS.

YOU HAVE COME TO THE PLACE OF THE BURIAL OF LAZARUS, LORD,
THE TOMB OF A MAN FOUR DAYS DEAD.
WEEPING FOR YOUR FRIEND, BREAD OF LIFE, YOU RAISED HIM UP.
THEREFORE DEATH WAS BOUND BY YOUR VOICE,
GRAVE CLOTHES WERE LOOSENED BY YOUR HAND.
THE BAND OF DISCIPLES WAS FILLED WITH JOY.
ONE SONG OF ADORATION WAS SUNG BY ALL:
BLESSED ARE YOU, SAVIOR! HAVE MERCY ON US!

YOUR VOICE DESTROYED THE KINGDOM OF HELL, LORD.
YOUR POWERFUL WORD RAISED FROM THE TOMB THE ONE WHO WAS FOUR DAYS DEAD.
LAZARUS BECAME THE SAVING FIRST-FRUITS OF THE WORLD'S REGENERATION.
ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE FOR YOU, LORD AND KING OF ALL.
GRANT YOUR SERVANTS CLEANSING AND GREAT MERCY!

YOU CAME TO THE TOMB OF LAZARUS, LORD.
YOU CALLED HIM BY NAME,
WISHING TO ASSURE YOUR DISCIPLES OF YOUR OWN RESURRECTION!
HELL WAS VANQUISHED!
IT RELEASED LAZARUS WHO WAS DEAD FOUR DAYS.
HE CRIED OUT TO YOU:
GLORY TO YOU, BLESSED LORD!

YOU CAME TO BETHANY TO WAKE LAZARUS, LORD,
ACCOMPANIED BY YOUR DISCIPLES.
YOU WEPT FOR HIM.
BUT HE WAS RAISED BY YOUR ALMIGHTY POWER!
A MAN FOUR DAYS DEAD CRIED TO YOU, OUR SAVIOR:
GLORY TO YOU, BLESSED LORD!

STANDING BY THE TOMB OF LAZARUS, SAVIOR,
YOU CALLED TO YOUR FRIEND, WHO WAS DEAD.
HE HEARD YOUR VOICE, AND AWOKE AS FROM SLEEP.
MORTALITY WAS SHAKEN BY IMMORTALITY.
BY YOUR WORD THE BOUND WAS UNBOUND.
ALL IS POSSIBLE! ALL THINGS SERVE AND SUBMIT TO YOU, LOVING LORD.
OUR SAVIOR, GLORY TO YOU!

WE HAVE COMPLETED THE FORTY DAYS WHICH PROFIT OUR SOULS.
LET US SING: REJOICE, CITY OF BETHANY, HOME OF LAZARUS!
REJOICE, MARY AND MARTHA, HIS SISTERS!
TOMORROW CHRIST WILL COME AND RAISE YOUR DEAD BROTHER TO LIFE.
BITTER AND UNSATISFIED, HELL WILL HEAR HIS VOICE.
SHAKING AND GROANING, IT WILL RELEASE BOUND LAZARUS.
THE ASSEMBLY OF HEBREWS WILL BE AMAZED.
THEY WILL GREET HIM WITH PALMS AND BRANCHES!
THOUGH THEIR PRIESTS AND ELDERS LOOK ON HIM WITH ENVY AND MALICE,
THE CHILDREN SHALL PRAISE HIM IN SONG:
BLESSED IS HE THAT COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD,
THE KING OF ISRAEL!

Christ - the Joy, the Truth, and the Light of All, the Life of the World and the Resurrection - has appeared in his goodness to those on earth. He has become the Image of our resurrection, granting divine forgiveness to all.

O Christ God, when Thou didst raise Lazarus from the dead, before Thy Passion, thou didst confirm the universal resurrection. Wherefore, we, like babes, carry the insignia of triumph and victory, and cry to Thee, O vanquisher of death, Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord. Listen »

By Your word, O Word of God, Lazarus now leaps out of death, having returned to this life. Therefore the peoples honor You with their branches, O Mighty One; for You shall destroy Hades utterly by Your own death.

Hieromartyr Hypatius, Bishop of Gangra, March 30

2009-03-29T21:52:00.001-07:00

Hieromartyr Hypatius, Bishop of Gangra, was bishop of the city of Gangra in Paphlagonia (Asia Minor). In the year 325 he participated in the First Ecumenical Council at Nicea, at which the heresy of Arius was anathematized.

Born in Cilicia, he was bishop in the town of Gangra. At the First Ecumenical Council, he was lauded on all sides for his devout life and miracles. The Emperor Constantius ordered a bust of Hypatius to be made in the saint's lifetime, and he kept this bust in his palace as a weapon against every adverse power.

When St Hypatius was returning in 326 from Constantinople to Gangra, followers of the schismatics Novatus and Felicissimus fell upon him in a gorge and he was pushed off the road into the mud. The heretics also ran him through with swords and spears. On top of that, a woman of that company threw a rock at his head, and the saint thus finished his earthly course. But this woman suddenly went insane, and, taking the same rock, began to strike herself with it. When they brought her to the grave of St Hypatius and prayed for her, she was healed by Hypatius's compassionate spirit and spent the rest of her life in repentance and prayer

Like the Protomartyr Stephen, St Hypatius prayed for his murderers. The murderers hid his body in a cave, where a Christian who kept straw there found his body. Recognizing the bishop's body, he hastened to the city to report this, and the inhabitants of Gangra piously buried their beloved archpastor.

After his death, the relics of St Hypatius were famous for numerous miracles, particularly for casting out demons and for healing the sick.