SSCORRE!
Saint Sophia Cathedral
Online Resources for our Religious Edification
Topic of the Week – The Annunciation
“There are times in the life of a Christian when he or she must either say “yes” or “no”…. Sometimes saying “yes” means suffering greatly for the name of Christ…. We have come to a time in this country where we better be ready to say “yes” and “no” when it matters….”
Excerpted from Turning “No” into “Yes” by Fr. James Guirguis
Adult/Family & High School:
The Virgin Mary said “yes” to the will of God. And our ancestors Adam and Eve said “no” to the command of God…. This “No” did not take anything from God but it took everything away from us.What was taken away from us by the act of “No”, could only be returned to us by a powerful act of “Yes….” the truth is that her “yes” was also a burden…. a woman who was found pregnant out of wedlock, might be stoned and killed as this was considered a great offense since the time of the law of Moses. Her “yes” to God might have meant her life. Later on her “yes” meant that she was displaced from her home and hunted along with her beloved Son…. she would live for years as a refugee and alien in the strange land of Egypt. Sometimes saying “yes” means suffering greatly for the name of Christ.The thousands of martyrs of our holy Church remind us that often our “yes” to God is a kind of a death sentence. When our heroic men and women and children were asked if they would worship idols… to deny their faith in Christ they said “no” and when they were asked to affirm their beliefs, they said “yes” to belief in Jesus Christ. They took this all the way through the sufferings and tortures and to death….
One woman said “no” to God and “yes” to herself. The other reversed the course of nature by reversing the response of humanity. She said “yes” to God and “no” to herself. The secret that becomes evident in her life and in the life of everyone who says yes to God is that when we say yes to Him and allow Him to do His will in our lives, we are not saying “no” to ourselves at all. In fact we are finally living up to the purpose for which we were created. We become exalted by God to a very high state and this is more true with the Virgin Mother than with any other who has ever lived a merely human life.
God exalted her because she humbled herself and was obedient, she said “yes” to Him.
What about each of us? How will we answer this high calling that is put before us? May we each give a good answer to the glory of God, AMEN.“
Read the entire article Turning “No” into “Yes” by Fr. James Guirguis
Preschool/Elementary:
Listen to the story of The Annunciation / Christina’s Favorite Saints 1 from AFR Readings from Under the Grapevine
Draw and color the-annunciation-of-the-
Choose some Simple Ways to Celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation
A Message from Maria Spanos
I am passionate about our Orthodox Christian faith and seek to help others learn as much as they can about it. My purpose here is to share online resources that help strengthen our relationship with Christ and bind us closer to His Church. I believe they are invaluable in learning about our precious Orthodox Tradition, and are a great aid for teaching family members, friends and others about Orthodoxy. ~Maria
Two of my favorite quotes:
“A true Christian behaves in this life so that it may be a preparation for the future one and not only a life here below. In his actions, he does not think what will be said of him here but of what will be said there in heaven; he represents to himself that he is always in the presence of God, of the angels and all the saints, and remembers that someday they will bear witness of his thoughts, words, and deeds.” — Saint John of Kronstadt
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“Of all the holy works, the education of children is the most holy.”
— St. Theophan the Recluse
