Luke 19:1-10

 

In the Name of The Father Son and Holy Spirit,

Glory Be To Jesus Christ

 

 Jesus Christ changes lives.

 We see that vividly today with what happens to Zacchaeus when he comes
in contact with the Lord.

 Zacchaeus goes from a proud, corrupt tax collector, someone considered
unclean by the Jewish community, to a humble giver of all that he has.

 We see humility in his climbing
of a tree just to get a look at Christ.

 And then he promises to give half of all his possessions to the poor in
the presence of christ.

 No longer is he seeking to keep all that he has taken, but he is willing
to give beyond the teaching of tithing.

 And we learn that from this encounter and visit by Christ, Zacchaeus
would become a disciple of St. Peter, be
ordained, and eventually become a Bishop
of Caesarea.

 We too are or at least can be changed by Christ.

 We can choose to follow christ right now regardless of who we are or
what we have done or not done.

 At the beginning of our lord’s ministry he called on persons to
repent—or change.

 

 Wow is a good time to start as we approach the Lenten Triodion, the
three sundays that will lead us into Great Lent—a period of repentance, as we
prepare for Pascha.

 We need to use the time for our spiritual growth in and through the
church.

 We would do well to hear the words again of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk as we
seek to respond to the lord’s call to change—to repent.

 “You came into the world to save sinners, therefore you came to save me
also.

 “You came to find and to save him who was lost, therefore you came to
seek me too

 “My Master has come and has bestowed His love of mankind upon me.”

 My sisters and brothers, May we in receiving His love, become a lover of
all…

 Now and Ever And Unto Ages of Ages

 Glory Be To
Jesus Christ!

Luke 15:35-43

Glory Be To Jesus
Christ

 

 Christ warns us of ears that do not hear;
of eyes that fail to see.

 What He is warning us about is faith to
perceive Truth, failing to grasp what is lasting, ignorance to what is Truth.

 In other words living in the darkness of a
fallen world, stumbling around, and being separate from the Lord.

 The remedy Christ’s offers is the restoration
of sight in His way, as we see in today’s Gospel.

 He confronts someone who is physically blind
and gives him physical sight, but He does more than that.

 St. Cyril notes that the blind man received
spiritual sight for he could now recognize Christ as God, and become one of His
followers.

 And while his physical sight at most could
last a earthly lifetime, his spiritual vision will be with him in the eternal
Kingdom.

  And
what a sight it was to gain for this man.

 The first person he gets to see with his
vision restored is God the Son.

 And He acknowledges Him as that Son.

  For us
too when our spiritual vision is working properly we too see God.

 Do we acknowledge Christ also as that Son.

 We may quickly says yes and on the surface
of it appear to do so.

 But we need to ask do we respond to Christ’s
message.

 He calls on us to be loving.

 He calls on us not to judge.

 He calls on us to be charitable.

 He calls on us to Repent, to worship, to
treat properly the Church—His Body—which He has given to us.

 We can use His teachings and calls as a
checklist, seen in Christ’s light, with eyes that truly comprehend what is
truth.

 It is His truth set before our eyes that we
must keep in focus, and that we must cling to.

 Writing in the 7^th Century, St.
Isaac said:

 

Be
mindful of God, so that in every moment He may be mindful of you.

   If He is mindful of you, He will give
you salvation.  Do not forget Him, letting yourselves be seduced by vain
distractions. 

 Do you want Him to forget you in your times
of temptation? 

 Stay near Him and obey Him in the days of
your prosperity. 

 You will be able to rely on His word in
difficult days, because prayer will keep you safe in His continual
presence. 

 Remain constantly before His face, think of
Him, remember Him in your heart. 

 Otherwise, if you only meet Him from time to
time, you risk losing your close friendship with Him.

 May we so remain through God’s Grace,

NOW
AND EVER AND UNTO AGES OF AGES.

Glory
Be To Jesus Christ!

 

Matthew 4:12-17 In the Name of The Father Son and Holy Spirit, Glory Be To Jesus Christ The writer, Emerson or Elliot, wrote that the sunset is only the way to another sunrise. It is a good image of darkness being turned into light. They are applicable words today as we hear in the Gospel the words of the prophet: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,        And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death        Light has dawned."   In the beginning, Adam and Eve dwelled in God’s light, in perfect harmony with the divine, in obedience to Him.    Through their defiance of God, through having it their own way, they plunged themselves and Creation into darkness.   And from that time persons were still engulfed in the darkness, with only partial visions of the Divine, until Christ.   With Christ, the Sun of the Light, came restoration.    Today even after the coming of christ some still find the darkness and dwell in it.       They seek their own way, stumbling on a path with which without Christ leads  to ruin.    Our Lord addresses this when he calls on each of us to repent--to change-- for the kingdom of God is at hand or in reach.     change can be difficult.   Hearts become hardened, ears close, eyes fail to see all that has been put before us.    We become set in certain ways.   We become prideful, arrogant, close minded.   Yet christ tells us change is needed.   He does this not to make life unpleasant, but rather to open to us all that life can be.             The good news for those who desire a relationship with God  is that he does prick our conscience.   He doesn’t desert us.   He shines His beautiful light in the darkness and exposes all to what is Holy and divine.   And He invites us to be partakers of these good things in which we find real joy in His love.   He tells us the door is always open to His Kingdom if we wish to enter.   A  kingdom that is lasting, that is founded on love and truth, and that has no place for false pride, unbridled selfishness, harsh sentiments.       He seeks to lead us into that joyful abode in eternity,   and has given us the Church now to carry out His mission.    If we seek the Lord and open ourselves to Him if we remind ourselves that we have put on Christ in our Baptism as we sing in Church, of which we are reminded at Theophany,  then our weaknesses will be overcome and we can be transformed.    The light that shines in darkness will then be a beacon for us.    Leading us to the One Who loves, the One Who saves--our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.       LET US then REPENT FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND….            Now and Ever and Unto Ages of Ages.. Glory Be to Jesus Christ.

Matthew 1:1-25
In the Name of The Father Son and Holy Spirit,
Glory Be To Jesus Christ

    In today’s Gospel we hear the long line of the ancestors of Christ.
    They are part of generations who had waited for the kingdom of God--waited for the prophesized Messiah.
   The people long ago chosen by God, a people who endured suffering under various rulers and kings.
    At times they rejected even their own faith--or waivered--turning to pagan symbols, and away from the One God, Yahweh.
  But God persevered and they returned to Him again and again.
   The names we heard today represent a progression through those years, and a people from whom the Messiah would come.
   The generations of Christ’s ancestors culminate with Mary and Joseph.
   Two humble persons of faith, whom God would call in a special way.
   Our Lord in his earthly ministry would say many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see and did not see it.
  And to hear what you hear and have not heard it.
  He spoke then to His followers of His day, and He speaks to His followers today--we in His Holy Church.
  Christ came in His own special way--surprising the people--
  He would come humbly, not to build an earthly Kingdom, but to establish one that would never end.
  That is the gift He offers us on the Nativity--in His Incarnation.
  This is the unity of the human--us--and the Divine--God.
  This makes possible our place in eternity; our resurrection.
  His birth was not in a palace but in a cave in which animals dwelled.
  The offering acceptable to God from Mary was not slaughtered lambs, sacrifices,  not incense, but rather a simple “yes, ” from a young woman.
  She became our offering to God--the offering of humanity.
  Our Lord in his ministry would speak of flowers being arrayed in more glory than even Solomon.
  We can see this in Mary.
  Not earthly glory.
  Not the robes of an earthly  queen.
  And yet through her would come glory that the world had never seen.
  In her would come the greatest revelation of God--our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
  Yet given all this there would still be some who could not see or hear.
  That divide between people of faith and those without it remains today.
  Some still pursue earthly kings and kingdoms, and find more glory in them then in the dwelling places of God and eternal life.
   To the people then and the people of today who travel on those paths not treaded upon by the Holy, Christ says,
     O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her winds, but you were not ready.
     My dear sisters and brothers in Christ--with all that we have witnessed from God.
    With all that we have experienced in God.
    With all that we have received through God--
      Will we allow ourselves to be gathered as one in Him, for Him and through Him?
    Will we be as baby chicks through the arrival of the baby Jesus?
   For truly He is Immanuel...
  Truly He is God with us...
         NOW AND EVER AND UNTO AGES OF AGES…
     GLORY BE TO JESUS CHRIST.

Luke 14:16-24
In the Name of The Father Son and Holy Spirit,
Glory Be To Jesus Christ

      We speak of catching a train, not being late for a flight, the time a bus is departing.
   All so we are not left behind, while others move on.
   To this we can add, don’t be left behind when it comes to God.
  He has invited us.
  He has given this time to ride with Him.
  He has also given us direction and purpose in that invitation.
  And He awaits patiently.
  We need to respond and travel with Him through our life--so we can arrive with Him at our ultimate destination--the Kingdom of God.
  Christ’s parable today speaks of those who miss the journey--those invited to His table, His banquet, but who fail to come.
  And He reminds us that others will continue to be called and we may find that they left without us and are on their way with Him to the glories of God.
  The loss will be suffered by those who failed to respond positively to the Lord’s message--His teachings.
  It is they who are deprived of the peace, joy and fulfillment that can be found in Christ.
   We pray, help us Lord to respond.
   Strengthen us to follow You.
   We have seen people throughout history who when called either responded yes, or turned away.
  The Bible records this over and over.
  The scattered people of the Old Testament--
  Assembled by God into the tribes of Israel and forged into a nation.
   Those who remained loyal to the true message of God, became ancestors of the Lord whose Nativity we soon will celebrate.
  And those who turned away--whose places  were filled by others--Jews and Gentiles were united as followers of Christ, as the new Israel.
  St. Paul says there is no longer distinction between these people and with us--no national, racial, ethnic barriers...
  All who are willing to follow Christ are welcome.
  Christ invites us, as we sing, come taste and see...and know that the Lord is good.
  My sisters and brothers in Christ, may we respond with a resounding yes to this call, whether we be whole or infirmed, maimed physically or spiritually.
  Let us simply come ourselves and invite others to join us.
  There is room at the table for all.
  St. Gregory says,                                   
              “Our Lord invites us to feast...through Himself, through his angels, through the patriarchs, the prophets, the apostles and the pastors of the Church, and He invites also through us.”
    Let us as the Nativity approaches, share the message, that God is calling, sharing His invitation with others, announcing His birth to friends and acquaintances and bringing to all of them the good news of salvation as realized through the incarnation.
  Now and Ever unto ages of ages.
 Glory Be to Jesus Christ! Glory Forever!

Fr. William DuBovik

Luke 13:16-17

In the Name of The Father Son and Holy Spirit,
Glory Be To Jesus Christ

     Some of us recall how special the Sabbath was treated even in secular life.
      Few businesses were open; it was difficult to even buy a newspaper if one did not get to a drugstore by early afternoon.
   Schools and clubs and athletic teams did not schedule activities for the morning of the Sabbath.
   Life paused--took a time out from ordinary activities--
 Persons could replenish themselves and renew their relationship with God through participating in services at His Holy House.
  Thus The Sabbath was a gift from God to each of us, and it remains a good gift if we accept it.
   We do need time to pause, rest and turn our attention to God, to do good things and observe special moments as family.
   To spend some time focusing on Christ’s teachings and actions.
   While we need this each day, at least in honoring the Sabbath, a commandment by the way, we avoid crowding out God at least on one day.
   And Christ thought enough of this day to teach about it.
  And to activate its healing power in his healing of the woman.
  It was not  not a restraint but a gift of freedom.   
  And Christ opens to us  the deeper meaning to this gift from God.
  He tells us to use the Sabbath to do things God’s way and not our way.
   We must choose.
  My sisters and brothers in Christ, we suffer and lose something when we ignore the sabbath.
  Worshipping God, praying to Him, offering Him glory and especially offering Him our love, uplifts us spiritually and awakens the Holy in us. It heals us.
  It can absorb the icky earthly stuff crowding us.
   Just look at how we treat a birthday or anniversary that we share with others.
   Imagine telling a wife or husband when reminded of an anniversary or other special day.
   Oh yes, but I have to go out and do other things.
   I have to leave you behind.
   Hopefully we do not treat someone we love like this.
   And we should not leave God behind in our love for him.
    We are the worst for it if we do. Both now, and dependent on God’s mercy, later into eternity.
   Let us pray for the will  to make the Sabbath a reality in our lives.
   A time to worship, to love, to listen to care, and to heal.
 A time to care for ourselves, too, spiritually and physically, as we have needs, and to care for those around us.         
  Let the Sabbath strengthen us, and give us a way to be Christians in the true meaning of the word.
NOW AND EVER AND UNTO AGES OF AGES.
                   GLORY BE TO JESUS CHRIST!

Fr. William
 Luke 10:25-37

    In the Name of the Father, the Son and The Holy Spirit. Glory Be To Jesus Christ!
   
    I heard a clergyman ask are you a spiritual snorkler or a spiritual scuba diver?
    He explained that a snorkler goes under water skimming the surface with a mask.
   They look at the beauty surrounding them, but they are limited by the length of the tube through which they breathe.
  A diver in contrast is equipped to go deep, further than just skimming the surface.
  Rather they plunge into deep water and can feel and touch their surroundings.
  He used this analogy to ask how do persons experience and practice their faith.
  Are we content to skim the surface--spending an hour or so at Liturgy--and not really participating here?
  Such a person is content to squeeze God in here and there, where He won’t bother their other affairs.
  They keep Him at a distance, away from their daily lives.
  Such an approach does not make one a Christian, and is not what Christ taught.
  Christ says dive deeply, immerse yourself  in Him and His Church.
  And thus become part of the beauty that we see.
  We need to come to Church with awe, deeply, enthusiastically for our worship of God, our love for Him.
  Do we pray each word with the celebrant?  focus on god and the Holy?
  Do we sing and hear and join in our hymns with words that are prayer and more than sounds and notes.
  Do we come prepared as we can in responding yes to the Lord’s invitation to His Banquet?
  And once outside of Church do we quickly return to skimming, avoiding the thoughts that God is present with us, as we join in gossip, malicious talk and acts, seeking revenge and avoiding kindness toward others?
  Christ teaches another way as He makes clear in today’s Gospel of the lawyer.
  Christ says do not just skim the surface limiting our acts of giving of ourselves to others.
   and it is not always about giving money, although that has a place,  for we give of ourselves in other meaningful ways.
   St. Justing writes that the sign of purity is to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep;
   To be in pain with the sick and in anguish with the sinners; to rejoice with the repentant and to participate in the agony of those who suffer...
   to criticize no one, and in the purity of one’s own mind to see all as good and holy.”
  Christ tells the Lawyer to extend such treatment to all persons. 
     Be a Diver and find salvation, find unity with Christ, find life as His Body the Church, the precious gift He gave to us.
  The Church is His acting in the world even while he is not physically present, and He gives us the honor of being that Church.
  In other words always seeking to act as He did and does--
  Healing, loving, forgiving, worshipping--practicing those acts of kindness which while not the goal of doing them--reap great rewards.
  St. Ambrose of Milan said,  If you clothe the naked, you clothe yourself with righteousness; if you bring the stranger under your roof, if you support the needy, he procures for you the friendship of the saints and eternal habitations. That is no small recompense. You sow earthly things and receive heavenly.
  And that is what our life is about--attaining to the Kingdom through God’s Grace with which we work, and through which we worship.
   Our worship indeed summons us to dive deeply and teaches us to do so throughout all of our activities in this world.
   It is here that we assemble as the Body of Christ and for which we prepare for our eternal life. Some day we will be brought here for our own funeral and persons will pray for us on our journey to the Kingdom.
   This is a serious matter for each of us.
  For it is in the Church that we are strengthened as Christians, that we experience more fully God, that we are not restricted in showing our love for God.
  Fr. Alcividis Calivas writes that prayer is the most sublime experience of the human soul and worship is the most profound activity of the people of God.
  And prayer and worship is the reason for All Saints Church, and is paramount in our lives.
   May it bring us from skimming the surface of the spiritual life, to diving deeply in the presence of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
   Now and Ever and Unto Ages of Ages. Glory Be To Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
 
 

Luke 16:19-31

In the Name of The Father Son and Holy Spirit,
Glory Be To Jesus Christ

     What do can you give to one who has everything?
   In God’s wisdom, such a person is given someone who has little or nothing.
     God gave the wealthy man in today’s gospel parable,  someone poor.
   In this gift of Lazarus, the wealthy man was given the means to salvation.
   This is so for Christ tells us that what we do to and for the least among us we do to and for him.
  The question for us is what do we do to and for Christ in our witness and mission to all of our sisters and brothers in Christ.
   Last week we heard of the seeds, the word of God, planted among people.
   He described persons in whom the seeds fail to grow or last and fall away from the church;  and then those who have faith and goodness in their hearts in whom the seeds sprout.
   The seed he plants today is one of caring.
   The lesson contained in this parable served as an inspiration for Albert Schweitzer, the renowned physician and surgeon, as well as a deacon, and musician.  
   The seed of caring grew in him.       
   Despite Schweitzer’s  controversial and false ideas of Christ and of minorities, it is said that in hearing the parable, he saw the wealthy man as wealthy Europe, and Lazarus as representing the sick and helpless people of Africa.
   He established a hospital in africa which treated thousands of persons over the years.
  We need to decide who or what represents the wealthy one for us, maybe even realizing it is at times  ourselves.
   And we need to determine who or what are the Lazaruses before us, and to pray that we may have the will and strength to help them.
   Then we need the humility to realize that one day Lazarus might be us.
   God’s love is never exhausted, and we can spend it helping those around us without depleting it.     
  Missing  the opportunities before us to give and to help is tragic.
    St. Basil commented that this love we need and which we share is not taught.
    He says just as no one taught us to love our parents, so too we did not learn to love God from some outside instruction.
   Rather in each of us the seed of the ability to love has been planted.
   And he adds, “you and I ought to welcome this seed, cultivate it carefully, nourish it attentively and foster its growth by going to the school of God’s commandments with the help of his grace.”
    That love and grace needs to energize our repentance, so that we can truly join with god in welcoming the Lazaruses among us.
    NOW AND EVER AND UNTO AGES OF AGES
           GLORY BE TO JESUS CHRIST!      

Fr. William DuBovik

Luke 7:11-16

In the Name of The Father Son and Holy Spirit,
Glory Be To Jesus Christ

        Our Lord visited the temple throughout his life.
     We see Him being brought there as an infant and being held by Simeon and Anna, an event we celebrate at the Presentation of the Lord.
    Later we see him as an older child, a teen-ager, sitting in the Temple and instructing the elders there about God.
   In adulthood we read of Him praying often, and of His literally ridding the Temple of the money changers, who were seeking to use God’s house for business and commerce.
   Today our Lord visits this temple, as He says, where two or three are gathered in My name, there I will be. And we proclaim this at our Liturgy and services--Christ is Among Us.
   Our Lord’s presence goes deeper--it goes into our hears.
   St. Paul writing to the Corinthians speaks of another visit to the temple.
   That is of God dwelling in us--through which we are living Temples of what is Holy.
    We are a temple not of the world with its idols and false gods, that beckon us, but rather are the sons and daughters of the One God, Who dwells among us, and we become His temple.
   To the Ephesians, Paul speaks of us as citizens with the saints and with those of the household of God.
   Good company for us.
   Paul notes that our foundation as Church are the apostles and prophets and that Christ is the chief cornerstone. A strong foundation of all that is Holy.
   St. Paul goes on to say that as God’s people, belonging to God, we must resist things that are unclean, and separate ourselves from those who reject God and all that is Holy.
   This journey to unity with God is one of true love, true kindness, of true life.
   Through these things we are cleansed and we benefit ourselves.
   Failing to do this can result in a false comfort in the way things are; a comfort that clouds the vision of what a life lived in God really is.
   Misguided priorities, poor outlooks, following the ways of the fallen, while ignoring God’s word are all part of the darkness obscuring the light of Christ in our hearts and minds.
   St. John Chrysostom says that these things which we fill ourselves are often suffocating.
   Pursue that which is in the Bible and in the Church for in these things are found eternal life.
   My sisters and brothers in Christ, the antidote to suffocating is breathing.
   We speak of the Holy Spirit as blowing where it will, and we truly need to feel that breeze--the Spirit blowing in our lives.
   And we speak of a cleansing breath in labor, as well as part of an ancient meditative technique.
   We need a spiritual cleansing breath, a deep breath with a resolve to rid ourselves of that which is fallen and decayed, and to be renewed in Jesus Christ.
   St. Paul calls us citizens of the saints.
   That is a very special calling, which we need to always realize in our lives, reflecting Christ in our conduct with each other and in our reverence for and worship of the Lord.
   Earthly kingdoms come and go. History teaches us that.
   Earthly leaders rise and fall. And history again attests to that.
   Our Kingdom is not of this world, but is an eternal dwelling with God.
   It is in and with God that we find this Kingdom and it is through Him that we can make it our eternal dwelling place.
   Now and Ever and Unto Ages of Ages.
   Glory Be to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
   
 

Luke 5:1-11
In the Name of The Father Son and Holy Spirit,
Glory Be To Jesus Christ.
     The best advice we can offer and receive is trust in the Lord.
     We see this message in many ways in the life of Christ.
      In today’s Gospel, we witness the apostles, unsuccessful at fishing, willing to trust in the Lord, and be rewarded with a plentiful catch.
     And our Lord responds and notes that through Him, the apostles will witness and participate in greater things, catching not just fish, but also persons.   
   This ability will come through their faith or trusting in Him, from which they will open themselves to receive the Grace of God.
    St. Paul notes the power of god in his writing to the Corinthians.
 He says that all the forces arrayed against them, and likewise us, will not overcome us if we have Christ on our side.
    It is with Christ that we are not crushed.
    He goes on to eloquently write:
  We are persecuted yes, but not forsaken.
 Struck down, but not destroyed.
    Perplexed but not despairing
    And all of this is possible because Jesus Christ is in our life, and because we have faith and trust in Him.
   My sisters and brothers in Christ, he is the difference in our life--the Lord brings us through difficulties, tragedies, fallen acts, and offers us forgiveness, love and mercy, founded in Truth.
    All is renewed in Christ.
   It is for us to feel this, and to act knowing of this renewal.
   For it is out of His love that we were created, and in His love that we are preserved and made whole again.
   As. St. John of Krondstadt wrote:
    “Jesus Christ with the Father and the Holy Ghost is an unfathomable abyss of love to all.”
     May we return that gift with our love for Him.
   Now and Ever and Unto Ages of Ages...
    Glory Be To Jesus Christ. Glory Forever.

Matthew 19:16-26
In the Name of The Father Son and Holy Spirit,
Glory Be To Jesus Christ


   He went away.
     And he was sorrowful.
     For he had great possessions.
  
We hear this description of one who cannot tear himself from some
worldly things so that he can more fully attach himself to that which is
holy.
    He was someone for which life was very good in terms of wealth.
   He obeyed the teachings of his faith as he understood them.
   Yet, when given an opportunity to have a true and lasting treasure—a relationship with the Lord, he turns
away.
    He cannot take that last step—that so important final commitment that can change one’s life.
   Don’t we too hesitate and hang on to what we feel is comforting, those things with which we are familiar.
 St. Paul when writing to the Corinthians says that things which are seen are temporary but the things which are not seen are eternal.
   We like the man in the gospel often cannot live accordingly to that fact.
   What Christ calls him to do is to realize the faith that he lives in a true commitment to the Lord.
   
Coming to a house of worship, following the practices, crossing
ourselves, in doing all of these things we can still fall short of a
true and intimate relationship with Christ.
   He calls us too, to take the step to a real commitment—translating what we do here to our activities everywhere.
   
We need to
sincerely ask ourselves—literally take some time during the day to do
this—examine ourselves seeking to find what small or large thing keeps
us away from the Lord.
   It is there and we can find it if we seek God’s help.
 We may not like what we find, not wanting to give up what we are comfortable with.
   But it is there.
 This week we will celebrate the life of one who did have an intimate relationship with Christ—the Theotokos.
   As we celebrate her birth we celebrate her parents Joachim and Anna.
     All of them knew a life of commitment to God—total commitment.
    Parents dedicating their daughter to God, bringing the child they longed for to the temple, and leaving her there.
   And the child turning her life over to God, giving birth to Christ—completing joining her will to God’s.
   In thinking of this i
recalled how I am at times saddened going through papers in my office.
   Amongst them I sometimes find a baptismal certificate that was never  received.
   These were parents who promised to come to church, to bring their child to church if i only would baptize them.
   And for a few, I never saw them or their infant again.
   We pray for them
  That is why we in the church look for a commitment from persons before administering the precious sacraments of the church.
   For us, we would do well to learn from Mary and her family.
   We need her humility in relating to God and each other.
   We need the dedication shown by Mary and her family.
   We need to live in the faith they showed.
  We need to struggle to take that next step—that step toward a fuller commitment to our Lord.
   The man in today’s gospel
encounters God and says no to him.
   Mary encounters God through his angel and says yes.
   Mary, as life-changing, bewildering, amazing the message of Gabriel sounded to her, selects the path opened to her by God.
   We witness and enjoy the fruits of the results.
    Indeed, many are called, but few are chosen.
   Now and ever and unto ages of ages.
   Glory be to Jesus Christ!
Glory forever!

  Fr. William
Sunday After Dormition
 In the Name of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit!
Glory Be To Jesus Christ. Glory Forever!
We continue our liturgical observance of the Dormition of our Holy Mother, which we celebrated Monday.
We can speak in terms of her death as celebration in the same way we can speak of celebrating Christ’s Resurrection at our funerals.
In death, we are delivered by Christ and receive the fruits of His Resurrection as we observe with our Holy Mother.
St. John of Kronstadt in contemplating the Dormition notes the similarities with our own death, as well as the lessons the Dormition offers us for our own salvation.
    At the Dormition we note that the soul of the Theotokos is carried to heaven by her Son, and her body, having been buried in Gethsemane by the Apostles, is brought to Heaven after three days.
    This is the translation to which we aspire in our own death.
    In fact we speak of death as a falling asleep, as passing away, for as St. John notes, our Lord has conquered death on the Cross for each of us.
   And our souls go to another place, another age, another world, as we enter eternal life.
   It is like a dream, notes the saint, from which we are awakened by the Lord.
   And from the awakening we go to the Resurrection of life or of condemnation as we read in the fifth chapter of St. John’s Gospel.
   We, of course, seek to attain to the Resurrection of life and so must prepare throughout our lives--always struggling to repent from sinful conduct that may take us away from the Lord.
   In our repentance, St. John adds, we seek to embrace the virtues of meekness, humility, gentleness, chastity, mercifulness, abstention, spiritual contemplation, along with having a burning love for God and for our neighbors.
  In acting this way, God comes to dwell in us.
   The Dormition thus calls us and leads us to call others to prepare ourselves for God’s dwelling, the saint notes;                 
    and to seek for  ourselves a  death that is unashamed, peaceful;
  and which will serve as the pledge of a good answer at the dread judgment seat of Christ.
Amen.
Now and Ever and Unto Ages of Ages.
Glory Be To Jesus Christ!

Fr. William
Matthew 9:27-35

In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Glory Be To Jesus Christ!

    We read and hear our Lord speaking of ears that can hear and eyes that can see.
    In today’s Gospel from the ninth chapter of Matthew, we read of our Lord’s restoration of sight to two who were born blind.
    As we read, we need to comprehend that it is not just physical sight that our Lord is able to restore, but importantly for each of us, spiritual sight as well.
    What good, in fact, is physical sight if we use it to see sordid things; if we look with anger and hatred at others; if we have visions of fallen things.
   If it is the Satanic and not the Holy in our sight.
   The sight our Lord gives, physically in today’s Gospel, goes much deeper.
   He gives us the ability and inclination to look at others with love and with compassion.
   To see His Creation and all the Beauty He offers us in the sky, the Sea, the intricacies of all living things, and in each other.
   Truly to behold all of this and to also embrace the vision we have of the Lord Himself, his angels, His saints, His Church.
    And that is the vision for which we pray for ourselves and for each other.
    One can be physically blind and yet perceive God in His Glory, can be sensitive to all the things around oneself.
    That is the vision which is a gift from God and one for which we can be thankful.
    And it is a gift that the Lord calls us to share with others.
    Through such sharing and participating in the good works to which God calls us, we will help to shine Christ’s light for those who see only darkness.
    In this way we can with Christ open hearts and minds of those unable to perceive the Holy, the beautiful, the meaningful in life.
   Now and Ever and Unto Ages of Ages...Glory Be To Jesus Christ! Glory Forever!

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Glory Be To Jesus Christ.
    Last week we celebrated the Sunday of All Saints.
    Today as we look at our calendars and hear our hymns, we find that the Church has put before us again many of the saints.
    She does this because in her wisdom she knows that speaking of all the saints may seem distant as many of them have lived in far off lands at distant times.
  Now we we can speak of celebrating All Saints of America and mentioning too All Saints of Russia, where we find our ancestral roots as the Church.
    Our saints have come closer to us, in geography but also many in their time upon this earth.
     St. Alexis was a priest in the latter half of the 1800s and early 1900s who served in Wilkes Barre, PA.
    St. Raphael served the Arab Christian community in Brooklyn, New York.
    St. Nicholai of Zhicha, resided at St. Tikhon’s monastery
 And we have those in alaska who we associate with missionary work and the advancement of the Orthodox Church in North America. Names like Herman, Innocent, Peter, Jacob, Juvenaly and John.
   We pray too for St. Tikhon, the first bishop of New York, who later would become patriarch of Russia in difficult times.
   The saints indeed are close to us.
   St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco once said.
   Saints retain all that is characteristic of the human condition; they know everything
that pertains to us. They are near to God, but they are also near to us; they walked and lived among us.
   Close to us too is their message and inspiration as followers of Christ.
   As we see in the words of many who themselves had been recognized as saints.
   St. Augustine wrote that we shall come to resemble that which we love--
   We seek to resemble the saints and come to grow in their and our likeness of God.
    In writing to Philip, St. Paul says:      
“Imitate me and pay attention to those who walk in the same way, for you have us as examples…For our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philip. 3: 17,20).
  Truly our ultimate Citizenship is In Heaven, our destination after this earthly sojourn as we seek to unite with Christ.
         St. John Chyrsostom continues this theme with the words,
  “If anyone wishes to imitate me, if anyone wishes to walk the same road, [let him] know the manner of my walk, that is, my conduct in life.”
   When we look for persons to emulate, we only need look at the lives of the saints for a proper perspective...and resist the glamor of a fallen world with its fallen idols.
  We also ask the saints for their intercessions, and read about the saints for inspiration.        
    St. John of Kronstadt,  says:
      “We ought to have the most lively spiritual union with the heavenly inhabitants: all the saints, apostles, prophets, martyrs, prelates, the venerable and the righteous, as they are all members of the single Body, the Church of Christ, to which we sinners also belong, and the living Head of which is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
       The Saints are our friends, our guides to salvation, who pray and intercede for us.”  
     And it has been written by an elder on Mt. Athos (Agapios Landos0 that a person is touched more profoundly by reading one beautiful life of a saint than by all discourses and philosophies.   
    As we spoke about last week, in the saints we find Humility, a love for others, a caring for others and a passion for the Lord.
     It is this life to which the apostles are called in today’s gospel.
    And it is this life to which we today continue to be called.
   May we find strength, wisdom and the humility to respond to this call in all of our activities in all of our relationships and in our life in Jesus Christ, our Lord.                                   
              Now and ever and unto ages of ages.
    Glory Be To Jesus Christ.

In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Glory Be To Jesus Christ!

When persons here of someone getting promoted at work, or getting some benefit in earthly terms, we sometimes here the phrase that they have a friend in high places.
   As Christians, followers of Christ, we too have a friend or friends in very high places.
   That friend is the saints who inspire our life in and as the church, and whose works, repentance, humility and reverence are examples for each of us.
    On this patronal feast day of our parish, we commemorate all the saints.
   Remembering and honoring and venerating those who through their lives encountered Christ and reflected Him in their conduct.
   It is Christ we see when we look at a saints, and it is this image of Christ that we look upon each other when we are united with the Lord.
     I would like to share anew some words of Dimitri Stanaloe as he discusses what a saint is:
     He writes that in saints there is nothing trivial, coarse or base or insincere.
    Rather we find in them delicacy, sensibility, transparency, purity, reverence.
     That saints avoid upsetting others, rather trying to help persons in their weaknesses, and in overcoming loneliness.
    Saints he says give of themselves and sacrifice themselves
 Saints are humble and they avoid theatrics and hypocrisy.
    They are whom God created and do not desire earthly glory.
    They are true servants of God and not of this world, which does not glorify them.
and most important for us they are that friend in a high place—God’s Kingdom—as they help us overcome our difficulties, and help us realize the meaning of being a special creation of God.
      My sisters and brothers in Christ, in realizing who we are—special children of God—we too can take our place among the saints.
       St. Augustine  said that we shall come to resemble that which we love.
     We ourselves need to emulate the saints in their love of God—And so become more like him in our lives.
      Let us  struggle in our own lives to live among the examples that the saints give us....                 
     Let us pray that we may be strengthened in loving others, caring for others,  and in our passion for the lord.
     Let us pray that our lives may be turned toward peace and understanding of all persons, loving rather than hurting.
     Let us remain faithful to Christ in all circumstances, regardless of the obstacles before us.
     May we seek to always do battle with our sins, and to always rise and steady ourselves through God’s grace when we stumble and at times fall.       
    And let us, as Christ calls us today to do in the Gospel—put him first in every circumstance, in every activity, in every relationship, in every situation...
    Knowing that through Him all things are made possible, and our lives are made eternal...
      Now and Ever and Unto ages of Ages...
     Glory Be To Jesus Christ...

In The Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit! Glory Be To Jesus Christ!
    Then will I sprinkle clean water upon your and you will be clean from all your uncleanliness and from all your idols will I cleanse you.
     A new heart also will I give you.
    And a new spirit will I put within you.
   And I will take away the stony heart of your flesh And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes
   We hear those words of God from the prophet Ezekial in the Old Testament.
    They especially ring out today as we celebrate Pentecost and acknowledge that we are enlivened by the sending of the Holy Spirit to us as a community--His Church.
   We sometimes refer to Pentecost as the birth of the Church, but we need to recognize that the Church--as the Body of Christ--was eternal.
  So what we see today is the Holy Spirit descending upon the special gathering that would comprise the Holy Orthodox Church, in which we gather today.
  Nor is it the first time that the Holy Spirit, which also is eternal, has come upon the earth.
   We know as the Church the Spirit coming upon the Theotokos, and conceiving in her the Christ child.
   And we likewise have seen the Spirit manifested as a dove at the Baptism of Christ.
   But even in earthly terms we see the Spirit acting throughout the history of persons.
   In the Old Testament we read of the Spirit moving the earth, as we read in Genesis.
   The spirit garnished the heavens we read in Job.
   The Psalmist writes of the Spirit being sent forth upon us.
   Moses speaks of the Spirit dividing the waters.
   Samuel relates:
   The spirit of the Lord spake by me and His word was in my tongue.
   The power to receive Divine Revelation through the Spirit is reflected too in Numbers as we read that the Lord gave the spirit to the elders and from then on they could prophesy.
   And those are but a few of the references to the Spirit.
   The importance is that the Spirit guides persons to the actions of God, receiving His Word through the action of the Holy Spirit coming upon them and us.
   How special then is today.
   As we pray we feel God’s hand upon us, comforting us in His love; guiding us in His truth.
  We are renewed by the Spirit which came upon the Baptismal waters of in our own rebirth in Christ.
  May today’s celebration of Pentecost renew us and may it rekindle in us the awareness of the spirit in our lives, as we live the miracle of life in Christ’s Holy Church.
       Now and Ever and Unto Ages of Ages.
    Glory Be To Jesus Christ! Glory Forever!

Life is relational for us.
 That is, we live life in relationships with others, with all the persons with whom we interact on a variety of levels.
    We interact with spouses, children, family, friends, those with whom we work, those with whom we attend school, those with whom we turn to for business or personal needs, and those with whom we participate in and as Church.
     Today’s Gospel lesson gives us a prescription or call to improve our relationships through the prayer of Christ that we may all be One.
    And it does so calling us to that special relationship in the Church--His community--from which all else flows, or should flow.
     We say this because the Church Can be life-changing and is life sustaining, and thus Feeds all of our relationships and activities.
     The Oneness Christ prays for us, is reflected in the Oneness of the Trinity--three persons operating  in complete synergy; in a harmony of wills, in a perfect relationship.
 That prayer for Oneness manifests itself in the Church--in the Eucharistic banquet:
Our participation in this mystery is a communal act, which draws us into an intimate relationship with the Lord--and brings us together as common partakers who together taste of the Kingdom.
    Indeed that taste and experience of the Kingdom permeates our entire Liturgy.
    We proclaim it in fact at the opening doxology--Blessed is the Kingdom.
    And we journey through the Liturgy as One, with each other and especially with God--from our petitions through which we express a common vision of all that is good and all that needs unity with God...
    To our praises as we join with the saints, seen in our iconography, to offer our love to God.
    Then through hearing our Lord’s teachings to each of us in the Gospel.
    Through our expression of our faith in the Creed...
     Through the musical poetry of our hymns, inspired by our choir, with which we join.
     And through our final prayers and our veneration of Christ’s Holy Cross through which we attain to salvation as persons in this community of His Body--the Church.
    This taste of the kingdom and this feeling of Oneness needs to be carried forward with us--in our fellowship with each other, in our meetings at Church, and as we go out into the world--One in Christ--and deal with others in a spirit of love, forgiveness and caring.
   And further with understanding, patience, compassion.
   It is through such a mindset that we will acquire the peace of Christ, the Gift of the Holy Spirit.
   St. Innocent noted that Christ bore every kind of offense and insult with meekness and love.
   He did not complain of His offenders, and even did not get angry with his most open enemies who slandered Him and wanted to kill Him.
   Instead of striking back, as Christ easily could have done, He wished them all good, He did good things to them, and He prayed for them, and Wept for them.
    My sisters and brothers in Christ--in our Oneness, let us do likewise.
    Now and Ever and Unto Ages of Ages.
    Glory Be To Jesus Christ! Glory Forever!

 

 Memorial Day 2011

This weekend, actually Monday, we observe Memorial Day, remembering all who have died who have served this country in the military.
We will offer a prayer for them at the end of our Liturgy.
I did want to share a sobering and sad thought.
I read recently that more than 1.3 million American service men and women have died on our shores and abroad in service to the country.
Of that total, 600,000 died on fields of battle in the Civil War alone--all Americans fighting each other.
Now through the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan 5,000 Americans have been killed, and are still being killed.
And these are just totals for Americans.
So many more serving foreign countries have lost their lives.
Clearly we need to do better in human relations, in relations between countries.
We pray that God will make us strong enough to seek and find peaceful solutions to our conflicts.
May we grow in His love.

Christ is Risen! Indeed He Is Risen!
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
Easter sermon, April the 11, 1999
  After reading St. John Chrysostom's Easter message
If I may I wish to add just a few words of my own.
    Christ is life and the victory of life.
   In the world in which He came, death was prevalent and seemed to be all-powerful over men;
    When He came, He defeated death by His Resurrection.
   And nowadays we live in a world which is full of torment, of pain,
of fear, of murder, of death, and we may say,
   “But where is the victory?”..
   The victory is in each of us, the victory is in all those of us who believe that death cannot separate us from God, that death is no longer a victory of evil
over us, but a triumph of us through our faith, because death is no longer separation.
   Saint Paul says that for him death is a meeting with Christ; as long as he lives in the flesh he is separated, partly, from God. But with his death he enters in full unity and communion with Him.
   This is our faith, but there is more to it in a sense, because life is triumphant in our midst. 
   However frightening and dark the world is nowadays, we know that victory has already been won, that God has won and that we who believe in Him partake
together with Him in His victory.
   And therefore, let us bring, to all around us, this message of life and glory!
Christ is risen!
Now and ever...Christ is Risen!

Mark 2:1-12
In the Name of The Father Son and Holy Spirit,
Glory Be To Jesus Christ

      What will we do to draw closer to Christ?
      To open ourselves to His healing of both body and soul?
      What efforts will we make this Lent and beyond?
      As Orthodox Christians, we know some of the efforts made for us on our behalf.
     Parents cared enough about us and Christ to bring many of us as infants to Church to be Baptized.
     We thus enjoyed an initial cleansing in the waters prepared for us through the Holy Spirit.
    And our cleansing continued as youth and into adulthood as we participated in the Mysteries of Repentance, of the Eucharist, becoming one in the Body of Christ, sustained by our worship in His Holy Church.
    Again parents brought us, and teachers taught us.
    And today we hear of the paralytic whose friends were unwilling to sit back, to allow him toremain paralyzed by the ills of the fallen world.
     Neither was he.
    They came to Christ as must we again and again--each time we stumble, fall, get setback or seek to move forward.
    Our Lord’s initial response to the paralytic is to forgive His sins by which he demonstrates that fallenness can be seen in not only physical maladies but also in our spiritual sins.
   In other words, the cure we seek from Christ is truly holistic--of body and soul.
   Last week we spoke of remaining on the path that Christ has prepared and walked Himself.
   It is important that we advance spiritually, toward Christ, and not remain paralyzed unable or unwilling to move or improve.
   My sisters and brothers in Christ, we can use this Lenten period this present time to do just this.
   to be enthused by our worship--not seeing it as empty ritual--not avoiding it as simply an extra in life--but welcoming it as that intimate encounter with God to which He invites us and out of His love envelops us.
   We need to come to the Chalice mindful of the meaning of our act, proclaiming as He says, His Resurrection when we partake of His Body and Blood, humbly, reverently and with proper preparation.
   If these things become habit, if our mind strays, we need to adjust.
 perhaps using a service book if our mind is wandering;
  other times putting it away, if we are reading but not truly hearing the words.
  We can join in singing at times with some of the simpler melodies offered-- from Lord Have mercy to amen.
    Beyond our life in Church we can reflect on our relationship with Christ with those around us.
    When we leave our Church we do not leave God behind, closing the door and telling Him to stay in here. That He belongs in the Church but not the outside--so then persons can be free to live in animosity, to do evil, to seek revenge because we know that we are right and everyone else is wrong.
   We are rather called to be stewards of all that God has given us and this means working in our society as His helpers, opposing evil, improving things.
   Smiling at others; offering acts of kindness; filling some need or helping to heal some hurt    be it in our homes, our schools, our places of work, our communities and, yes, yes, even in our Churches.
   Let us remind ourselves of the words and thoughts we have shared before:
   There truly is no weakness in caring; no shame in sharing tears; and no futility in being God’s helpers here on earth.
   As the writer penned: Little things mean a lot.
   And little things can be life-changing for us and bring us closer to Christ.
   The paralytic in today’s Gospel benefited from the kindness and effort of friends; and the kindness and effort offered by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
   He offers to us that kindness, He has made the effort to finds us and invite us to His Church--
   He cares--
   And so can we.
   Now and Ever and Unto Ages of Ages.
   Glory Be To Jesus Christ
   Glory Forever!

"Do we forgive our neighbors their trespasses?” St. Tikhon of Zadonsk asks. And he continues that if we do, “God also forgives us in His mercy.

    Do we refuse to forgive? God, too, will refuse to forgive us.

    As we treat our neighbors, so also does God treat us.  

  The forgiveness, then, of your sins or unforgiveness, and hence also your salvation or destruction, depend on you yourself. 

     For without forgiveness of sins there is no salvation.

   In hearing the words of St. Tikhon some may have questions or have reservations about forgiveness.

    Some may find actions by others simply too reprehensible to forgive.

   They need to recall that sin is the absence of God in our lives through some acts on our part.

 the acts may vary but the manifestation of sin is the same.

 some also may question what it is that they have done that requires being forgiven.

  Fr. Alexander Schmemann commented on this, noting that one may not have committed obvious wrongs against another, show hatred and animosity, yet we offend God and others through indifference and selfishness.     

       He sums this up as a wall we erect around ourselves, thinking if we are simply polite and friendly we fulfill God’s commandments.

    He goes on to say that what we need to do is experience each other as one child of God encountering another.

    My sisters and brothers in Christ, it is in such an encounter that we experience true love for each other.

     And it is this love that allows us to taste of the Kingdom of God even now--in the present moment.

     Finally, if we still have doubts about forgiveness, we only need to turn to the words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Who taught:

       “If you forgiven men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

           Now and ever and unto ages of ages.  Glory be to Jesus Christ! Glory forever! 

Luke 18:10-14

In the Name of The Father Son and Holy Spirit,
Glory Be To Jesus Christ

     For many persons Halloween is more than a one day event, it is a lifetime of acts.
    By this I mean that as we associate costumes that hide who we really are and the true us on Halloween, so some throughout their lives seek to posture as something they think will be glorified, exalted, respected or perhaps feared.
   They fail to connect to their real selves and to expose their real self to others.
   Perhaps some are fearful of hurt, ridicule.
   Others may have in fact become so much like who they pretended to be that they have lost their selves.
   We see examples throughout society.
    We might meet some who because of their work or wealth fashion themselves above others--trying to create themselves as some sort of mini-god.
   Their goal is the praise of others. To be thought of as superior to others because of some status they have attained to.
    We even see this at the heart of racism--when persons decide that one’s skin color makes one superior to someone who is of a different color.
    We might at some quiet moment in our life, some time when we are open to prayer, and to receiving the word of Christ, what does all this matter?
    All of these things, all of the posturing, all of the pretense, stem from things temporal...those passing things which occupy so many for most of their lives.
   The One lasting thing in our lives is our relationship to Christ through His Holy Church.
   And Christ’s example to us is humility.
   Over and over He speaks of humility and we see it today in the contrast of the Publican and Pharisee--one seeking status, and exalting himself; the other humble and repentant.
   We know who Christ sets as the example for us.
   And that example from Christ is not reserved for just His words, for He lived his teachings and His admonitions.
   In Christ we see the awesome God, the Creator of all things, descending to earth to become like us in everything but sin.
    He accepted a lowly place in society; accepted humiliation; and accepted death on the Cross at the hands of those He created.
    One would think that such a life would not draw followers, would not be respected, and yet He is followed by hundreds and hundreds of millions throughout the world, who rightly recognize Him as God.
          And so do we.
      Let us in recognizing Him seek with all of our heart and mind--literally to grow in Him, through Him and like Him.
    As we approach the Great Lent, let us recommit ourselves to Him through increased worship, prayer, mediation and so important good works toward others offered by a humble heart.
   In Christ, St. Paul wrote that there are not distinctions based on earthly circumstances and accidents.
   We are all One.
   It is up to us to realize this and live accordingly,
    Now and ever and unto ages of ages.
    Glory Be To Jesus Christ!
    Glory forever.
 

 

Luke 19:1-10
In the Name of The Father Son and Holy Spirit,
Glory Be To Jesus Christ

   From Zacchaeus we learn a lesson in relating to Christ.
   He is moved to turn from sinful behavior and the mistreatment of others and to come to Christ.
   Do we hear that voice within us?
   We see Zacchaeus with a desire to see Christ and yet his view is blocked.
   What things or persons block our view?
   Zacchaeus, as the Caananite woman of whom we heard last week, perseveres.
Do we?
    To rid himself of the obstacles, he climbs a tree.
   And his efforts result in not only seeing Christ but being seen by Him.
 ushered in for this tax collector is a new life with Christ.
    Do we seek such a new life?
     Would we welcome the changes to get it?
  Will we remove the obstacles that may block our view and our unity with Christ?
  They come in many shapes and sizes.
    The voices of false prophets that bombard us.
    These are obstacles.
 The actions of those who fall short of Christian behavior.
   These are obstacles.
 The daily problems we may encounter.
    These are obstacles.
  Like Zacchaeus we can climb above them and not yield to fallen voices and messages from wherever they may come--   We need that clear view of Christ that Zacchaeus sought.
and we must seek to live the life of a Christian, a follower of Christ.
     St. Ignatius of Antioch when he was to be martyr'd said,  "It’s one thing to call one self a Christian, an entire different thing to be a Christian.
   Our life as a true Christian begins in His Church, and that is why it is so joyful to welcome the newly Baptized Andrew here through the Mysteries of the Church.
    We pray that his vision may always include Christ, as we also pray for his sponsors, parents, grandparents and friends-- and as   we do for each other.
    My sisters and brothers in Christ, there is simply no time too early or too late to turn to Christ,  be it as an infant or on our death bed, to renew ourselves in him, seeking to dwell with Him now and into eternity.
    The climb is worth it.
    The joy is great. And there is no greater joy, nothing more fulfilling than a life in Christ through His Holy Church.
     There is no greater calling than to be a Christian in all ways, at all times, with all persons.
    May God forgive us for the times we are not.
 
Now and Ever and Unto Ages of Ages
Glory Be to Jesus Christ.

 

ARCHPASTORAL MESSAGE OF HIS BEATITUDE METROPOLITAN JONAH
 FOR SANCTITY OF LIFE SUNDAY 2011

January 23, 2011

Sanctity of Life Sunday

To the Venerable Hierarchs, Clergy, Monastics and Faithful of the 
Orthodox Church in America
Dearly Beloved in Christ:
The Orthodox Church is like St John the Baptist crying out in the wilderness, or Jesus baptizing by the Jordan.
   We, like them, preach a message of repentance and the remission of sins in the new desert, 
the decadent culture of the modern West, mired in the chaos of moral collapse.  
     The Orthodox Church's message is a message of hope, of healing, of the transformation of one's life, of attaining to the fullness of personhood, of the realization of the divine potential in each human being.
 Yet, this message requires not only acceptance, but a voluntary cooperation by those who accept this message.
  The Church demands a serious discipline of all who would be members, all who would follow this straight and narrow difficult path that leads to salvation.
   It is a way that demands that we be crucified to the world and its desires, dead to the flesh and its demands, so that we can be focused solely on God.
  The culture of this world cries out for "justice." It demands vengeance, and it despises the forgiveness of God.
  It cries out for bread in the wilderness; and when it is not satisfied with bread, it demands meat.
  It ignores the radiant Presence of God, and laments the fleshpots of Egypt.
  Nothing can satisfy its endless lusts for money, 
sex and power.
  In terror it refuses to even stand in silence and 
contemplate the abyss of death, ever trying to distract itself from the ultimate annihilation it so boldly preaches.
  This complete denial of death thus leads it to the kind of decadence that has overtaken us: greed, hedonism and licentiousness, which have led to gender confusion, depersonalization, and the loss of value of human life.
  A culture of hedonism leads only to the narcissism of a solitary individual, enslaved by his/her lusts, using others for the gratification of the passions.
The world validates abortion, the sacrifice of the life of an innocent child for the convenience of the mother, oblivious to the suffering it will cause that very woman.
  It depersonalizes the child, as a "fetus;" while at the same time developing technologies to save nearly identical fetuses in troubled pregnancies.
  The criterion is not the life of the child;
  the criterion is simply the desire of the 
parent:
 whether the parent wants the child or not.
  If so, no expense is spared.
  If not, it is a useless bother, a mass of flesh to be excised like a tumor.
  What is left, however, is a lifetime of regret, 
guilt, self-hatred and self-loathing.
 This is not just an act, but a state of sin.
The last thing the world wants to hear about is sin.
  And if it refuses to admit sin, neither can it receive forgiveness.
  Often rightly it cries out against the injustice of the hypocrisy of judgment and condemnation by those who are righteous in their own 
eyes.
  But no matter how loud the outcry, the reality of the sin remains, the broken lives and broken hearts.
  What it needs is to hear the call to repentance, and to heed it.
  It is the bitter medicine that alone will bring healing.
  But it is only bitter in that it is the toxin that destroys pride, which is the cancer at the heart of the illness.
  The Lord Jesus cries out through the Church, Repent and receive the remission of your sins!  
  Whether those in the Church heed it or not, 
it is this good news that gives hope.
  To receive it is an act of  humility.
  To accept the message of repentance, to transform one's life in obedience to Christ's teachings, is the means of life itself. 
  It demands that we accept responsibility for our sins.
  But by accepting this responsibility, we overcome them and their effect through repentance.
  For having accepted responsibility for our own 
sins, we are no longer controlled by them, but rather, we gain control over our own lives.
  We can no longer live by following our mindless passions and desires; rather, we must live deliberately, in a disciplined way, denying the passions of the mind and of the flesh.
  The Church's discipline of life is strict, but ultimately, it is the path to true freedom.
  It is a path to salvation and sanctity, shown 
again and again in the lives of the saints; it is the path to true personhood and true maturity.
  Those who would try to change it, so 
that it accords with the values and standards of the world, miss the point that the Church's discipline, morality and life is not of this world, and calls us above and beyond it.
  The Church's discipline, the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Apostles passed on through the 
Fathers, is not judged by this world, but in fact is the conscience of the world, judging the world. The
  Church's discipline is the only way out of the morass of sin and brokenness, bitter self-enslavement and self-condemnation, and cycles of abuse.

 The discipline of the Church brings us to freedom, because it not only is a code of behavior, but heals our souls, and allows us to 
give and accept forgiveness.
  This forgiveness, through repentance, cleanses and purifies, and allows us to accept ourselves and others without judgment.
  Thus, we are free!
  We live in God's freedom, and the fullness of his love.
  Thus, however we have sinned, we can be forgiven.
  Whether we have aborted a child, or consented to it, we can be forgiven.
  If we bear a child as a single mother, we can be accepted in the community of the Church with love.
  If we have judged and condemned others, and burn with resentment, we can be freed through repentance.
  No matter what we have done, no matter how broken we are or how completely we have messed up our lives, we can be healed, forgiven, accepted and loved. 
  And then maybe we can forgive ourselves, and attain to that true freedom.
The Lord said, "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
  How true these words are! They are freedom and they are life. No matter how much the world has pulled us down, how deeply it has had us in its grasp, if we accept this light burden and easy yoke of the Orthodox discipline of life through repentance, He is faithful to forgive us our sins.  
  And thus with Christ and in Christ, we overcome the world.

With love in Christ,

+ Jonah
Archbishop of Washington
Metropolitan of All America and Canada


Luke 13:10-17

In the Name of The Father Son and Holy Spirit,
Glory Be To Jesus Christ

          We celebrated Thanksgiving in the past week and there is much for which to be thankful for God.
     this very day, the Sabbath, the Lord’s Day, is given to us by God as a gift.
     And we celebrate on Sunday, when we come together in worship, in commemoration of the Resurrection.
     The Sabbath was given to us to free us from enslavements.
     Free us as it did the ancient Israelites from burdens imposed in many ways by worldly things.
    It was not a day given to the freedom to do the work of God’s Holy House--the Church--in our worship, prayer, singing, and it is how we gather.
    Christ makes clear that it is not a day of a new type of enslavement as some in today’s Gospel would have it, those who admonished Him for helping someone on this day.
    He makes clear the gift was for our good.
    Indeed we remember that all good things we receive are from God as we pray in the prayer before the Ambon near the end of each Liturgy.
    Today I wanted to share a sermon of thanks from Fr. Alexander Schmemann.
    Some of you may be familiar with these words, read them or heard them.
   They are inspiring and especially so given they were the last words of a homily delivered by Father in the last Liturgy he would celebrate before his death.
    They are a good reminder of all that we are given:
     Thank You, O Lord!
Everyone capable of thanksgiving is capable of salvation and eternal joy.
  Thank You, O Lord, for having accepted this Eucharist, which we offered to the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and which filled our hearts with the joy, peace and righteousness of the Holy Spirit.
Thank You, O Lord, for having revealed Yourself unto us and given us the foretaste of Your Kingdom.
  Thank You, O Lord, for having united us to one another in serving You and Your Holy Church.
   Thank You, O Lord, for having helped us to overcome all difficulties, tensions, passions, temptations and restored peace, mutual love and joy in sharing the communion of the Holy Spirit.
    Thank You, O Lord, for the sufferings You bestowed upon us, for they are purifying us from selfishness and reminding us of the "one thing needed;" Your eternal Kingdom. 
    Thank You, O Lord, for having given us this country where we are free to Worship You.  
     Thank You, O Lord, for this school, where the name of God is proclaimed.
   Thank You, O Lord, for our families: husbands, wives and, especially, children who teach us how to celebrate Your holy Name in joy, movement and holy noise. 
     Thank You, O Lord, for everyone and everything. 
    Great are You, O Lord, and marvelous are Your deeds, and no word is sufficient to celebrate Your miracles.
     Lord, it is good to be here! Amen.
     May we join with him in the same spirit.
     Now and Ever and Unto ages of Ages.
     Glory Be To Jesus Christ!
     Glory forever!

Fr. William
Luke 10:38-42, 11:27-28

In the Name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit...Glory Be to Jesus Christ

We celebrate today a special commemoration of faith and dedication to God.
On this Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos in the Temple we witness first the dedication to God of Joachim and Anna.
They were holy elderly people who prayed fervently for a child and promised if their prayer was granted they would offer her to God.
And so they did, bringing her to the temple at age 3.
Not unlike parents today who in their faith bring their children to the Church, this holy temple, to be baptized.
And true to their word Joachim and Anna left their child in the temple dedicating her to God.
We read in Church tradition that they visited her as their years went on, and that she busied herself with weaving and prayer--or in other words work and worship.
We hear about these two things, work and worship in today’s Gospel in which Martha is busying herself, making things ready, with work around the house; and in which Mary chooses to set at the Master’s feet, hearing His word.
And Christ reminds Martha that while her work is not to be condemned, she must not be so consumed with earthly activities that she neglects what is most needed in life--worship, prayer and devotion to God.
This too reminds us of many situations today in which people with good intentions busy themselves to a frenzy, to the exclusion of all else, in their earthly work and tasks, forgetting that all the good that we can do or accomplish flows from our relationship with God and our worship of Him.
We can see this in Churches in which some forget that all the activities that we can do flow from and are dependent on worship, and that worship is not dependent upon them.
For ultimately the good that we can accomplish is of God.
     Stephen Graham, a gifted English writer, who visited Russia in the early 1900s wrote a classic book, The Way of Martha and the Way of Mary, in which he describes a truly Christian approach.
    He notes that without the spiritual good seen in Christ we lack the personal character and spiritual beauty to lighten up and the landscape and the people around us.
   In other words, we can feed someone earthly food, raise money for a cause, clothe another--and these are all good works--the ways of Martha--but what will persons gain with only such gifts--a temporary deliverance from suffering?
And yes this is good.
But think how much more is gained if in our devotion to God we witness for Him through our works and open the lives of others to Him.
Is this not good?
Cannot people through such efforts and witness gain eternal life?
 That then is the course for us--the way of Martha in tending to the needs of others, in accomplishing our works; but always grounding these efforts in the way of Mary--dependent on and sustained in the Lord.
    Now and Ever and Unto Ages of Ages...
   Glory Be to Jesus Christ...Glory Forever.

Fr. William
Luke 8:41-56

In the Name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit...Glory Be to Jesus Christ!
Throughout history persons have invented for themselves many gods--or concept of some greater being.
Such beings breathed fire upon the earth, were seen in stars, were all powerful and as far as the earth was concerned largely remote.
The knowledge of Who the one real God really was began with the people of Israel, in God’s contact with them.
And yet if we restricted our knowledge of Who God was to the Old Covenant, the Old Testament, we would frequently see an image not totally reflecting the God we know today through the total Revelation of Jesus Christ.
Through the gift of Christ we have come to know God as one of great compassion, of forgiveness of patience, of caring and of healing.
Little wonder that he shocked some of those around Him whose view of God was somewhat different as we read throughout the New Testament.
This God, the only God, living in Trinity, is a compassionate God.
And we see this throughout the Bible in the examples of His healing of persons, physically and spiritually.
We see it in today’s Gospel of Luke, when he heals the woman and returns another to life.
Metropolitan Anthony of blessed memory sees in Christ’s healing all encompassing acts in which not only the body is healed, but that the total person is made whole, physically and spiritually.
Those who benefited from healing were those who were ready to accept a new life in Christ.
They were open to surrendering old ways, which had left them lost, and to be truly reborn.
They had come to the point in life where they grasped that the teachings of God, which we proclaim in the Church He established, were paramount, and thus could unlearn all of their former false notions.
Metropolitan Anthony leaves us with two questions that I would like to share with your today as we journey in this life together, and as we often pray for healing for ourselves or another.
     He writes, let us ask ourselves:
     Can I say to the Lord, I believe Lord--help my lack of belief, my inner hesitation born of the experience I have of a broken personality and of a distorted world.
     Help be believe that wholeness and harmony are possible.
    And let us also ask ourselves whether we are prepared to accept new life, wholeness on God’s own terms: to remain in this world as Christ lived in it, possessed of sacrificial love, renouncing ourselves, caring only for the other person’s salvation, and every other person’s life.
     If we are, he continues, then we turn to God and say, I believe Lord; I open myself to wholeness:
     I may not achieve it at once, but I will struggle for it, give all my life for it, and serve everyone possessed of Thine Own sacrificial love.
...Now and Ever and Unto Ages of Ages...
   Glory Be to Jesus Christ...Glory Forever.

Luke 16:19-31
In the Name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit...Glory Be to Jesus Christ!

The change of which Christ speaks when He calls on us to repent is one of love for God and for each other, and in fact for all others.
    He stresses how important this is when He speaks to us of the rich man and Lazarus.
    We see in the narrative how important are our thoughts and attitudes, for they color our activities--how we behave.
    The behavior God calls us too is one of love and caring for each other, and in that spirit of love, reverence and worship of God.
   He says to us that with such an attitude, such actions, we will rejoice with God always, here and into eternity.
   St. Macarius  speaks of the soul being totally faithful to God, losing attachments to earthly things, and coming to know a total love of the Lord.
    Being faithful means to be completely loyal, devoted and obedient to the Lord.
    And our Lord calls us to remember those among us who suffer.
    Suffer from hunger.
    Suffer from depression.
    Suffer from being alone.
    Suffer from a lack of kindness.
   Attend to them He tells us, as the rich man in the Gospel wished he had done to Lazarus, one of those in need in this earthly life.
   In attending to those at our gate or door, or in our community or world, we thus emulate God.
   For did not God see a suffering people--lost, alienated, perishing--us.
   And did He not send His son to attend to our wounds?
   My sisters and brothers in Christ, we can join Him in saving acts, a prayer, a gift, a meal, a pair of shoes, a smile, a hand...
   In so doing we will grow in the love He offers us and to which He calls us to share with each other.
    We will then find that place in the Kingdom, carved out for us, and we will find peace and comfort their with God, and all His children, our sisters and brothers, in eternity.
   That is worth changing for...
   Now and Ever and Unto Ages of Ages...
   Glory Be to Jesus Christ...Glory Forever.
 

Today we celebrate the birth of our nation, commemorating the issuing of our Declaration of Independence.

    It is a monumental day in history for it began the journey of this young country into a democratic nation that would come to lead the world in the recognition of the freedom of her people.

     We are truly thankful for this gift of freedom, that has made it possible for our Church like many others to have a place without fear of suppression.

    We are also thankful as persons that the freedom we were given reflects the freedom that was bestowed upon us by God, and so we can work out our salvation in Christ.

    We would do well to ask what are our responsibilities as people free through God’s gift, and free in this country.

    You might remember the words of the Elder Cleopas who in speaking about our responsibilities as persons says that each one of us needs to have the heart of a child toward God, the mind of a judge toward ourselves, and the heart of a Mother toward our neighbor.

   His words echo those of  St. Paul who while giving a picture of a community of the Church, offers us good teachings toward being in community in this country.

    We live in relationship to others, and see ourselves in God and each other.

   God ordained such an existence from the beginning when in seeing Adam, He created Eve, so that they would not have to dwell in isolation.

   We are called to live in harmony with each other, as the Psalmist notes when he speaks of how good it is when persons dwell together.

    The opposite is strife, animosity, division, hate, war.

    St. Paul pictures a community like a body with each part working together for the whole.

    Each of us in community is part of one body and each of us can use the gifts given to us by God for the common good.

    In doing so we also are strengthened living in harmony for we recognize our dependence upon each other and God, and this chases away pride, envy and so many things that contribute to discord as a people.

    It allows us to look upon ourselves more realistically and understand our unity with God and each other.

    The light of Christ illumines us as persons living in community, sharing stewardship for all we have been given, including this country, which continues to offer so much to the world.

   My sisters and brothers in Christ, may we live as the words of St. Cleopas declares:

    Mindful of our dependence on God as children are on their parents;

       Aware of our strengths and shortcomings that keep us faithful to a God who gives and forgives;

      And bearing the heart of a mother in sacrifice and caring for each other, who all are truly our sisters and brothers in Christ.

that those around us are truly our sisters and brothers in Christ

   Now and Ever and Unto Ages of Ages!

   Glory Be To Jesus Christ!

In the Name of The Father Son and Holy Spirit,

Glory Be To Jesus Christ

 

     Writing about the saints, John of Kronstadt,  says:

   “We ought to have the most lively spiritual union with the heavenly inhabitants: all the saints, apostles, prophets, martyrs, prelates, the venerable and the righteous, as they are all members of the single Body, the Church of Christ, to which we sinners also belong, and the living Head of which is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

     “This is why we call upon them in prayer, converse with them, thank them and praise them.

          It is urgently necessary for all Christians to be in union with them, if they desire to make Christian progress;

     for the Saints are our friends, our guides to salvation, who pray and intercede for us.”

    And while St. John speaks of  the universal Church, we know that for each parish, the Catholicity, or fullness, of the Church is present.

   We are blessed in worshipping at the Church we call and compose—All Saints Church.

    But the Church and our life here is not just about a building on

Scarborough Street

.

    All Saints is about an uplifting, a dedication to  life lived differently as followers of Christ.

    And in living that life we look to the saints for inspiration and intercession.

     Metroplitan Anthony of Blessed Memory said of today:

       “we are keeping the Day of All Saints, of all those who have heard Christ speak, whose hearts and minds have been set afire, and went out into the world to bring to the whole world the good news:

         

    As witnesses for Christ,  It is  our responsibility to bring to the world  the good news of Christ.

    The good news not only that he has come, but that he has shown the way to new life, and offers to each, life eternal lived in him.

   The Good news that we are loved by our heavenly father, and that our sins are forgiven by him—loved even when we may stumble and fall.

   loved despite our imperfections, our misdeeds.

    The good news that he transforms us even now, as he did the lives of the saints whom we today commemorate.

    My sisters and brothers in christ, we are in good company at this holy house—the company of all the saints.

     St. Dimitry of Rostov describes them saying,

      The lives and praises of the saints are like the stars in brilliance.

    Because of their number, we do not know the names of all the saints; still, they amaze us by their radiant majesty, as do the stars, which while fixed in their position in the heavens, illumine all that is below... shining upon the land and guiding by their light those at sea.

     Similarly, the radiance of the saints, though their relics be entombed in sepulchers, is not bounded by the ends of this earth here below.

    Therefore, we marvel at their lives and are amazed at how God has glorified them that please Him."
    May they intercede for us bringing us ever closer to Jesus Christ, so that we too will please God and find glory in Him.

    Now and ever and unto ages of ages.

    Glory Be To Jesus Christ.

 

John 17,1-13

In the Name of The Father Son and Holy Spirit,

Glory Be To Jesus Christ

 

     It is good to be here.

    The apostles new this feeling when they were with Christ, and especially at the revelation of His Divinity.

   We taste it too when we assemble as Church—His Body—in the presence of His Divinity.

   It is good to be here when we immerse ourselves in the Lord—in His goodness, in His love, in His truth.

   It is a joyful time to dwell with each other, among One Who embodies goodness—and Whose desires for us are grounded in that goodness.

    We hear our Lord’s prayer for us in the Gospel, that we may be One—that we may share in a life with each other and God, as He does with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

   Such life is special.

   And such life is one to cherish.

   In this mystical assembly we probably experience it to the fullness given to us.

   Doing so, we  pray that what we  experience here as community, in a special Oneness, in an envelope of holiness—will stay with us.

    If only we could continue this experience—the experience of being close to God with such intensity—throughout the days of our lives.

   If the words we uttered each day, were prayerful words.

   If the sounds we heard, were of Heavenly hymns.

    If the food we ate, lifted us as does the Eucharist.

   If the sights we saw were in his image.

   No doubt this is the life attained to by saints and ascetics, who lived each moment in the light of Christ.

   And we pray that we in some way may participate again and again in such moments, as God wills for us, and as He gives us the Grace to do.

     In the Book of Revelation we read that no one is worthy to open the Book of Life except One—and that One is the Lamb, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

      May we with reverence, through prayer, through focus, through love, in some way, assist in turning at least one of the pages as One with each other and with Him.

    For this He prays. And we do too.

    Now and Ever and Unto Ages of Ages.

    Glory Be to Jesus Christ!

Mark 10:32-45

In the Name of The Father Son and Holy Spirit,

Glory Be To Jesus Christ

 

    If it were not for Jesus Christ, the story of St. Mary, whom we commemorate today, would not have been possible.

    For it was Christ who closed the gap created by the fall between human and divine.

   Christ is the bridge Who makes our repentance—our return to God possible.

   He restores human life to its full potential, that of Theosis, our journey to become like God.

   And so Mary through Christ’s saving acts, founded in His awesome love for each of His Creation, finds her way from a life of sin to that of a saint.

      As we journeyed through Great Lent, which now has ended as we enter Holy Week, we learned the lessons of repentance through the lives of various persons, through parables, through our services such as the Canon of St. Andrew.

       We learned of the need to draw close to God, and we heard many lessons in how to do it.

      Our Lord teahces that we need to be forgiving, caring and loving in our relationship with each person we meet.

    And that relationships with each other are a key as to how we relate to God.

    Reflecting on this, St. Macarius of Egypt said:

    There is no other way to be saved, except though hour neighbor.

    He continued:

     “This is purity of heart, when yousee the sinful or the sick, to feel compassion on them and to be tenderhearted toward them.”

     In Orthodoxy we learn that it is in our relationships to each other we discover who we are and then realize the image and likeness of God in which each of us was made.

    And that image, tarnished and discolored by behavior, as it was in Mary, is never lost.

    No one is lost, Christ teaches, for He came to find and rescue each of us.

    It does not matter what we have done, or what we have failed to do.

    God assures us that all will be forgiven if we come in repentance to the Lord, asking sincerely for the forgiveness of our sins or misdeeds, and from that point struggling to live a new life in Christ.

     My sisters and brothers in Christ, this is a great love.

    And we need to ask how does our love compare.

     Would we have felt compassion toward Mary if we had met her on one of the pilgrimages during which she sinned.

    Many would simply have judged her, condemned her, and left her behind, unworthy of them.    

      Many would have failed to see their own weaknesses, however they manifested themselves, in her weakness.

    Yet Christ was there for St. Mary as He is for us today.

    And Mary responds, seeking to live a new life in Christ, as she travels to the dessert to spend her remaining days.

    May we find our own way to duplicate Mary’s conversion and come to our Lord, to His Church, humbly, with reverence, and as we pray in the fear of God...

      praying that He will give us the Grace to continue to struggle to draw closer and closer to Him on this pilgrimage we call life

     NOW AND EVER AND UNTO AGES OF AGES.

     GLORY BE TO JESUS CHRIST!

Mark 8:34-9:1

In the Name of The Father Son and Holy Spirit,

Glory Be To Jesus Christ

 

    In reflecting on the Cross, Metropolitan Anthony Bloom of blessed memory, cites St. John’s Chrysostom’s definition of a real king.

    A king, the saint wrote, is one who completely identifies himself with his people so that his very purpose in life is only to serve them, even unto death.

    That description certainly fits our Lord—whose whole life was one of love and service to others for whom—us—He even died.

    St. Paul, as we heard, calls Christ the High Priest—as one who offers gifts and sacrifices for sin.

     And it is this King, this high priest, who today invites us to turn our lives around in taking up our own Cross in the way He did.

    Acceptance, sacrifice, the assurance of something better and more complete in God’s Kingdom.

    These are the ways of the Cross, too often ignored or even rejected in our lives.

    Yet Christ states the undeniable fact that needs to permeate and take hold in our hearts and minds—all the earthly things and persons we may treasure and value, even our own life—pass—

    and only one thing and one person remains—God and our place and life in His  Kingdom.

     We may want to deny this, hide it, rail against it—but we cannot change it.

    And once we accept this, it will be easier to embrace and live the way of the Cross, to which Christ calls us.

     St. Innocent—and how profitable it is to immerse ourselves in this saint’s words—

    St. Innocent wrote that a person who goes that way into the Heavenly Kingdom will find themselves rewarded for all their work, desires, intentions, sorrows and restraint  in this life,  and that further that which awaits them cannot be told or imagined.

   My sisters and brothers in Christ, now is the time, in St. Innocent’s words, while the doors of the Heavenly Kingdom are still open to us, that we need to begin our journey through them, carrying our Cross, into everlasting life with our Heavenly Father.

    Now and Ever and Unto Ages of Ages

    Glory Be To Jesus Christ.

    Glory Forever.

Great Lent is a time for dying.

Death to sin.

Death to lukewarm faith.

Death to pride.

Death to lust.

Death to greed.

Death to gluttony.

Death to laxity in worship.

Death to hurtful words,

 deeds, acts and thoughts.

Death to the demons

 that seek to invade our minds and hearts.

Death to false gods

and pagan notions.

Let us so die to the old man

So we may cling to the new--

our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Great Lent is a humbling time,

 and humility is what we so need

 in a world that worships too often

 and too much celebrity, riches, pride and power.

St. Andrew of Crete guide us through your Great Canon.

Lead us to understand

 who we were intended to be,

 who we are and

 who will we become through God’s Grace.

We die with Christ and so we will live with Him.

--Fr. William

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