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The Third Friday of Great Lent: Before Thy Cross

04/02/2021

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, March 26, 2011  Sunday, the third in Lent, is set aside to honor the Venerable and Life-Giving Cross. I offer these thoughts: In a short work, The Beginning of the Day, (I believe it was a special printing and is not generally available), Met. Kallistos Ware notes this about the Cross and its connection with the whole of creation: …[The] created order in its entirety participated in the Savior’s Passion: the earth shook,

The Third Thursday of Great Lent. The Great and Holy Lenten Fast.

04/01/2021

Modern science sees the value of the Church’s tradition of fasting By Abbot Tryphon, March 16, 2019 From Old Testament times, the people of God prepared for holy occasions with fasting and prayer, and the New Testament continued with this holy tradition. The Lord Himself fasted for forty days before beginning His earthly ministry, demonstrating the importance of fasting before starting any spiritual task. Christ even went so far as saying “When you fast” (Matt.

The Third Tuesday of Great Lent: Keeping the Fast

03/30/2021

Keeping the fast for all the right reasons By Abbot Tryphon, March 6, 2020 The Lord condemned the Pharisee, not because he fasted, but because his motivation was based on pride. The Pharisee wished to be seen by men, and he had no fear of God. He dared to stand before the Lord in pride and arrogance, while the Publican stood afar off, beating his breast, begging for the Lord’s mercy. Whereas the Publican saw

The Third Monday of Great Lent: At the Heart of Lent

03/29/2021

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, March 2, 2018  Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You! (Ps. 119:11) Years ago, I heard a statement from an American monk: “The contemplative need go no further than his own heart to find the source of all violence in the world.” It struck me as true then and has only seemed more so as the years have passed. At the time (not

The Second Friday of Great Lent: Unmediated Grace

03/26/2021

By Stephen Freeman, March 30, 2013  This Sunday the Orthodox Calendar commemorates St. Gregory Palamas – perhaps the most significant theologian and teacher of the late Byzantine period. He particularly is important when considering the nature of the Christian experience of God. Orthodoxy believes that it is truly possible to know God though He remains unknowable. The mystery of this true knowledge constitutes the heart of St. Gregory’s work. I first encountered St. Gregory’s writings

The Second Wednesday of Great Lent. A Brief Meditation On Lent

03/24/2021

Reverend Andrew Demotes All of us lead lives so filled with the demands of work and family that little time is left to us to cultivate the garden of our soul. In our preoccupation with the ceaseless business of life, our spirit, if not completely forgotten, is often sadly neglected. When we do find the time to look at ourselves honestly, we soon discover that the spirit of the world has gradually and imperceptibly eaten

The Second Tuesday of Great Lent. Fasting?

03/23/2021

Why should we keep the Lenten Fast? By Abbot Tryphon, March 2, 2020 Fasting is clearly not optional, as Christ said, regarding fasting, “When you fast…” (Matt. 6:16), rather than “if you fast…”. The Lord, when speaking of His disciples, said that when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, they shall fast. When His disciples reported to Him that they had been unable to cast out a demon, the Lord explained to them that this

The Second Monday of Great Lent: Get Real for Lent

03/22/2021

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, February 24, 2018  According to St. Basil, God is the “only truly Existing.” Our own existence is a gift from God who is our Creator. None of us has “self-existing” life. We exist because God sustains us in existence – in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). Sin is the rejection of this gift of God – a movement away from true existence. +++ Much of our attention in the

The First Friday of Great Lent: The Sunday of Orthodoxy

03/19/2021

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, March 7, 2009  The first Sunday of Great Lent is always observed as the “Sunday of Orthodoxy” in our Churches. It marks both the return of the icons to the Churches following the end of the Iconoclast Controversy, but also as a summation of all the Holy Teachings of the faith which Orthodoxy holds and for which many have died. Most of our parishes will have a procession around the Church

The First Wednesday of Great Lent. Balancing Great Lent

03/17/2021

George Tsongranis Do you fast?  Give me proof of it by your works.  If you see a poor man, take pity on him.  If you see a friend being honored, do not envy him.  Do not let only your mouth fast, but also the eye, and the feet, and the hands and all the members of our bodies.  Let the hands fast, by being free of avarice.  Let the feet fast, by ceasing to run

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