Faith Encouraged
Bright Monday - Know God Face to Face
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Christ Is Risen! What joy! What happiness! What a celebration! Words fail. Songs sung over and over again still cry out for more! Death is conquered by the Unconquered Son. O what news! The whole earth basks in the glow of the Victory of Christ over death! No more fear! No more night! The Son has dawned and there are no dead left in the grave! It all sounds like so much…
The Morning Offering
Jubilation
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And the Resurrection of Jesus Christ The jubilation of the Church is also the jubilation of the Divine Persons of the Holy Trinity at the accomplishment of our salvation. The resurrection of Christ, which brought on the defeat of the power of death, is the cause of joyful praise, because He is the cause of the death of death, and…
Word of the Day
Joy No One Can Suppress (Pascha, May 2)
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Christ is Risen! The word of the day is “alive.” Well, today, we will have a festive Pascha dinner, and we will share Paschal Greeting, “Christ is Risen.” In keeping with this joyful theme, the word of the day is “alive.” Our journey to the Cross is complete, so we think. We can now resume our lives with the memory of the glorious hymns of Pascha to uplift us. But now, let us suppress any suggestion that we can enjoy a time of spiritual relaxation. We now enter into the forty days of the appearances of the Risen Christ. This is the time when Luke says in today’s reading of Acts 1:1-8 that Christ “presented Himself alive after His suffering…
The Morning Offering
Holy Pascha
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The Resurrection of Our Lord, God, and Saviour, Jesus Christ Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen! Хрїстóсъ воскрéсе! Воистину воскресе! Kristus er oppstanden! Han er sannelig oppstanden! Christus ist auferstanden! Er ist wahrhaftig auferstanden! Χριστός ἀνέστη! Ἀληθῶς ανέστη! Христос воскресе! Воистину воскресе! Tha Crìosd air èiridh! Gu dearbh, tha e air èiridh! ハリストス復活！実に復活！ המשיח קם! באמת קם! Kristus nousi…
Glory to God for All Things
Knocking Down the Gates of Hell
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The Swedish Lutheran theologian, Gustav Aulen, published a seminal work on the types of atonement theory in 1930 (Christus Victor). Though time and critical studies have suggested many subtler treatments of the question, no one has really improved on his insight. Especially valuable was his description of the “Classic View” of the atonement. This imagery, very dominant in the writings of the early Fathers and in the liturgical life of the Eastern…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Arise, O God! Great and Holy Saturday
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The Morning Offering
Great and Holy Saturday
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The Orthodox observance of Great and Holy Saturday On Great and Holy Saturday the Church observes the day on which Christ reposed in the tomb. Foreshadowing this day as the blessed the seventh day, by Moses, the Church sees it the Blessed Sabbath. In other words, this is the day of rest on which the only-begotten Son of God rested…
Word of the Day
Your Personal Pascha (Sat. May 1)
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The word of the day is “baptized.” If we have any doubt that the glorious events of our salvation apply to us, we should reread today’s reading of Romans 6:3-11. If we observe the events of these holy days as a spectator, then, of course, they do not happen to us. But the Lord calls us to participate in His sufferings and death so that we might also share in His resurrected life. This is Paul’s proclamation when he writes, “Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life (NKJV Romans 6:4). The Old…
A Lamp for Today
Lighting Up the Apocalypse 7: The Sword and the Stone
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Revelation 2:14-17; Numbers chapters 24-25 and 31; Hebrews 4:12 The third message of the risen Jesus to the churches, and specifically to the church in Pergamum, shows the complexity of human nature, and even the ambiguous character of a worshipping community. The Lord begins by reminding the angel of that church that He is the one who possesses the sharp, two-edged sword. Hebrews 4:12 speaks about a similar sword, sharp on both…
Shepherding our Little Flock
Bridegroom Matins - The oil in the lamp? - Our almsgiving
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This post is a few days late for this year, but the message of the Bridegroom matins has been driven into us over these past days and, as such, is clearly a vital lesson for us to fully understand and to teach our children. The truth is that I have always struggled with the oil in the lamp. What does it represent and why wouldn’t the worthy virgins have shared some oil?…
Faith Encouraged
Christ Destroys Death by Dying - Holy Friday
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On this Holy Friday: Let us pray to the Lord, O God and Father: How can the light of the sun pierce the terrible darkness of this day and its events? Your only Son, the true light, in the darkness of his ordeal, was pleased to embrace in his humanity the sufferings he could not endure in his divinity. And to what purpose, if not to prove that he considered us worthy…
The Morning Offering
Great and Holy Friday
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The Orthodox Observance of Great and Holy Friday The commemorations of Holy Friday begin with the Matins service of the day which is conducted on Thursday evening. The service is a very unique Matins service with twelve Gospel readings that begin with Christ’s discourse at the Last Supper and end with the account of His burial: John 13:31-18:1, John 18:1-29,…
Word of the Day
The Cross: the World’s Shame, the Lord’s Glory (Fri. April 30)
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The word for the day is “glory .” The Cross. A symbol of the world’s hatred, yet the sign of God’s infinite love; an image of defeat, yet an emblem of victory. A sight of shame, yet a vision of glory. Today in our reading of 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:2, Paul writes, “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty” (NKJV vs. 27). By this pronouncement, the apostle notes that the Cross contradicts everything that this world stands for. The Cross judges all the values and aspirations of worldliness; its power, its pleasures, its…
Faith Encouraged
Betrayal In The Upper Room - Holy Thursday
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On this Holy Thursday: Let us pray to the Lord, O you whose love for us is eternal and unchanging: Today, as your Son reclined at table with his chosen friends, he gave them the mysteries of his life-giving love for us, to be present forever on the altars of his holy churches throughout the world. Now, as we celebrate the institution of these mysteries, we entreat you to dispel all doubt…
Word of the Day
With What Spirit Will We Hear the Twelve Gospels? (Thurs. April 29)
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The word of the day is “open.” Among our readings today is Isaiah 50:4-11. The prophet writes, “The Lord God has opened My ear, and I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away” (NKJV Isaiah vs. 5). This statement is especially appropriate for tonight’s reading of the Twelve Gospels of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. These passages are both meaningful and challenging. Throughout the service, our natural human nature makes it difficult for us to stand and concentrate on the readings. Thus, we might ask with what spirit will we hear and pay attention to them? With what Spirit Will We Listen? With what spirit will we hear listen to the story of our salvation? Will our…
No Other Foundation
How Does God Guide the Church?
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Anyone who believes Christ’s word that the gates of hell will never prevail against His Church and that the Spirit will guide the Church into all truth (Matthew 16:18, John 16:13) must also believe that God watches over His Church to guide it throughout the centuries. This guidance does not mean that no one in authority will ever make a mistake or that everything the Church ever does will be uniformly wonderful.…
The Morning Offering
Holy and Great Thursday
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Holy Thursday Commemorations Along with the commemoration of the Lord’s washing of the disciples’ feet, the agony in the garden of Gethsemane, and the betrayal of Christ by Judas, the Church commemorates the institution of the Eucharist, on Great and Holy Thursday. At the Mystical Supper in the Upper Room Jesus gave a dramatically new meaning to the food and…
Faith Encouraged
Love Is Never A Waste - Holy Wednesday
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On this Holy Wednesday: Let us pray to the Lord, O Lord who, in Your mercies and bounties, heals the disorders of our souls and bodies, do, the same Master, sanctify this Oil, that it may be effectual for those who shall be anointed therewith, unto healing, and unto relief from every passion, every malady of the flesh and of the spirit, and every ill; and that therein may be glorified Your…
Word of the Day
What Kind of Deliverer Do We Seek? (Wed. April 28)
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The word of the day is “deliverer.” Today in our reading of Exodus 2:11-22, we find that Moses has grown up. Leaving the palace, he tried to join himself to his own people. The Orthodox Study Bible comments that “He went out among His brethren because he refused to be the son of Pharoah’s daughter (Hebrews 11:24-26) (OSB fn. 2:11). The Orthodox Study Bible adds that “Moses was forty years old at the time, and he knew he was Israel’s deliverer. Thus. He defended an Israelite and killed the Egyptian.” He supposed that the Israelites would understand his calling from God, but they did not” (OSB fn. 2:11). Moses: as Deliverer Now, if Moses believed he was the Hebrew’s deliverer,…
The Morning Offering
HOLY WEEK
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Holy and Great Wednesday The theme of Holy and Great Wednesday is the commemoration of the sinful woman who anointed Jesus before his Crucifixion and Burial; a second theme is the agreement to betray Jesus made by Judas Ascariot. The day begins with the celebration of the Presanctified Liturgy on Tuesday afternoon. Later that evening, the Matins follows the special…
The Morning Offering
All-Merciful Saviour Monastery
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All-Merciful Saviour Monastery on Vashon Island in the Salish Sea
Glory to God for All Things
The Bridegroom and Judgment
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Behold, the Bridegroom comes at midnight, and blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching; and again, unworthy is the servant whom He shall find heedless. Beware, therefore, O my soul, do not be weighed down with sleep, lest you be given up to death and lest you be shut out of the Kingdom. But rouse yourself crying: Holy, holy, holy, art Thou, O our God. Through the Theotokos, have mercy on us. +…
Faith Encouraged
Ignorance Is Not A Virtue - Holy Tuesday
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On this Holy Tuesday: Let us pray to the Lord. O you who observe all things with your eye that never sleeps, who afford us such saving lessons in your desire to grant mercy to all who seek it: We give thanks to you for raising us from bed and sleep to enjoy the light of another day. Receive this morning worship we offer you as we continue to follow the passion…
Word of the Day
Behold the Bridegroom Comes (Tues. April 27)
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The word of the day is “compassion.” Today’s reading of Exodus 2:5-10 tells the story of how the deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt began.. It started with compassion. An Egyptian princess discovers a basket made of bulrushes floating on the Nile. She opens the ark. Her heart goes out to the baby inside, who is crying. She knows that the infant is a Hebrew boy who should have been killed at birth. But she saves the child and intends to raise him in the palace. The baby’s sister is standing by and runs to fetch the child’s mother. The princess will pay her to nurse the child. In this way, by compassion, Moses is delivered from death…
The Morning Offering
HOLY WEEK
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Holy and Great Tuesday Bridegroom Matins is a service specific to the first four evenings of Holy Week (though it is often omitted on Holy Wednesday in favor of the service of Holy Unction) and commemorates the last days in the earthly life of the Lord. Incorporated into these services is the theme of the first three days of Holy…
Every Thought Captive
Holy Week and The New Media Epidemic
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Holy Week is upon us in the Orthodox Church. We have celebrated the confirmation of the universal resurrection in our Lord’s raising up of his friend Lazarus, four days in the tomb. We have also cried out with the children running before our Lord in his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Last evening we returned to Church to contemplate the approach of the Bridegroom. The troparion still rings in my ears. Behold, the Bridegroom comes in the middle of the night, and blessed is the servant He shall find vigilant; but unworthy is he whom he…
Word of the Day
On Bearing the Fruits of Repentance (Mon. April 26)
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The word of the day is “fruit.” Today in Matthew 21:18-43, we read of another astonishing act of the Lord. We think of the Lord as merciful and longsuffering, and He is. Yet as He returns from Bethany to the Holy City, He stops to pick figs from a tree on the side of the road. But the tree was bearing only leaves. In response, Jesus says, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again” (OSB vs. 18). Immediately the tree withers. The Gospel of Mark makes this seemingly spiteful action is even more puzzling. Mark says that figs were not in season at that time (Mark 11:13). Why then should Jesus expect to find fruit on it? And why…
