On this, the last day of Holy week, the very end of our Lenten Journey to Pascha, I thought I'd share with you a tad about the Journey I took this week. In the Orthodox tradition of Holy Week we walk with Christ through his Holy Passion, each and every day of this week. Several …
Tag: great lent
Beauty of Thy House
Smack dab in the middle of our Lenten Journey to Pascha and two weeks into a brand new job has made life quite interesting. Fruitful. Exciting. And really quite amazing. God is so Good! I started my new job the week after Lent started. It is so very exciting. I work part-time for an awesome …
The True Nature of Fasting
This past week I decided to read the Introduction to the Lenten Triodion, a book used when we put together our services during the weeks leading up to and through Great Lent. It is where we get our hymnography for these special services, scripture reading assignments and more. I've used this book for years when …
Memorizing Scripture
Do you memorize scripture? I remember when I was young we always had memory verses to take home from Sunday School. I always took those challenges quite seriously. In vacation bible school once I had to memorize Psalm 23 and recite it in front of parents. It was scary, but I did it. And to …
Clean Monday
Let us set out with joy upon the season of the fast, and prepare ourselves for spiritual combat. Let us purify our soul and cleanse our flesh; and as we fast from food, let us also abstain from every passion. Rejoicing in the virtues of the Spirit may we persevere with love, and so be …
The Book of Joel
During this week before Great Lent begins, called "cheese week", the Church prescribes some reading from the book of Joel on Wednesday. This year the first of the 2 readings caught my attention. Centuries of tradition never ceases to amaze me. Now says the Lord your God,“Turn to Me with all your heart,With fasting, with …
Women’s Retreat Notes-Lenten Disciplines
On February 23rd I attended a women’s retreat at a local church. The title of this retreat was The Three Great Lenten Disciplines: Fasting, Almsgiving and Prayer. Mother Melania from Holy Assumption Monastery in Calistoga, California was the speaker. This retreat was very much a blessing to me. I thought I’d take the time to …
By the Waters of Babylon
By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down & wept, when we remembered Zion. Alleluia. https://youtu.be/d6teZcK4YZs This past Sunday (Saturday evening matins to be exact) we sang this hymn. One of 3 times in the entire year. It is part of the Lenten Triodion and only sung 3 Sundays in a row prior to …
Maxim Mondays
Yesterday, March 18, was the 3rd anniversary of the repose of Fr. Thomas Hopko. Many know Fr. Thomas but if you don't let me introduce you. He was the Dean of St. Vladimir Orthodox Seminary for 10 years and taught Dogmatic Theology for 34 years. He was an author, lecturer, podcaster and an amazing Christian …
Let us set out with JOY!
Let us set out with joy upon the season of the fast, and prepare ourselves for spiritual combat. Let us purify our soul and cleanse our flesh; and as we fast from food, let us also abstain from every passion. Rejoicing in the virtues of the Spirit may we persevere with love, and so be …
