Category Archives: Great Lent

April 1, 2023 · 6:06 pm

St Mary of Egypt

Her feast is set on the Fifth Sunday of Lent. She is the symbol of contrition, conversion and austerity.

The memory of this Saint is celebrated on April 1, where her life is recorded. Since the end of the holy Forty Days is drawing near, it has been appointed for this day also, so that if we think it hard to practice a little abstinence for forty days, we might be roused by the heroism of her who fasted in the wilderness for forty-seven years; and also that the great loving kindness of God, and His readiness to receive the repentant, might be demonstrated. Continue reading →

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Filed under Great Lent, Saints

April 1, 2023 · 5:55 pm

Our Lord’s Teaching on True Greatness – 5th Sunday of Lent, St Mary of Egypt, Mark 10: 32-45

Today’s gospel reading describes Jesus’ ascent to Jerusalem before His Passion. Jesus takes the twelve apostles aside and starts to tell them that he will be betrayed, condemned and put to death, and that He will rise again from the dead. Continue reading →

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Filed under Great Lent, Lenten Homilies

March 26, 2023 · 1:35 pm

Climbing Up by Moving Down

4th Sunday of Lent, St John Climacus, Mark 9: 17-31

In just about any activity that is worthwhile, there is always room for improvement. When we rest content with our past performance in anything, we will never get any better at it. Only those who know their own imperfection and strive to overcome it have much chance of reaching a higher goal. Continue reading →

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March 25, 2023 · 1:43 pm

ANNUNCIATION OF THE THEOTOKOS

On March 25, the Greek Orthodox Church celebrates the Annunciation by Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she should become the mother of Jesus Christ the Son of God, as today is exactly nine months before Christmas!

It is the day Archangel Gabriel announced the Incarnation of Christ, saying to the Theotokos, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. (Luke 1:31) Today we commemorate a sacred event when the love and will of God was made known to humankind.

This holy Feast is a sacred event when the love and will of God was made known to humankind.

We sing the exclamation of the Virgin Mary, My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour! (Luke 1:46-47). We offer thanksgiving and praise to God for His marvellous works and His glorious revelation. Through the message of the Gospel, we affirm that joy greeted the Incarnation of our Lord; joy filled the hearts of the multitudes who received Him in faith and those who found hope; and joy compelled many to go forth to the ends of the world and pro-claim the blessed and eternal life that comes through Christ and the Gospel.

Annunciation of the Theotokos
The Lord wishes to come to our hearts through the Holy Spirit. And for this miracle to happen, He always expects us to respond just like the Virgin Mary did, in practice, in our everyday life. He expects us not only to say but also experience this for a whole lifetime: “Behold the servant of the Lord; be it unto me according to your word.” More or less, every man will find himself, as the Virgin Mary did, at a crucial moment, when he will have to decide whether to say “yes” or “no” to God.

This is the story of our whole life: one way or another, God’s grace hovers around us, trying to convince us to say “yes”. And if we say “yes”, the Logos becomes flesh. Christ indeed comes into us, indeed is carried in us, indeed takes us up-on Himself, and this is how we become of Christ and grow in the Lord.

~ Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos (†)

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Filed under Feast Days, Great Lent

March 19, 2023 · 3:54 pm

SUNDAY OF THE VENERATION OF THE HOLY CROSS – THE THIRD SUNDAY OF GREAT LENT

On the Third Sunday of Great and Holy Lent, the Orthodox Church commemorates the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Services include a special veneration of the Cross, which prepares the faithful for the commemoration of the Crucifixion during Holy Week.

Historical background
The commemoration and ceremonies of the Third Sunday of Lent closely parallel to the feasts of the Veneration of the Cross (September 14) and the Procession of the Cross (August 1). Not only does the Sunday of the Holy Cross prepare us for commemoration of the Crucifixion, but it also reminds us that the whole of Lent is a period when we are crucified with Christ. Continue reading →

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Filed under Great Lent, Lenten Homilies, Readings

February 26, 2023 · 9:04 am

FORGIVENESS SUNDAY: A WORD ON FORGIVENESS

Cheesefare Sunday – Matthew 6: 14-21

In her enduring wisdom and love for mankind, the Church provides us with a period of preparation before we enter Great Lent. We have passed through the Sundays of Zacchaeus, the Publican and the Pharisee, the Last Judgment, and now finally with today – the Sunday which commemorates the expulsion of Adam from Paradise.

In each of these preparatory Sundays, forgiveness is at the heart of the Gospel message. In his great zeal to meet the Lord, Zacchaeus confessed his sins and repented by giving back four-fold his ill-gotten gains. The publican asks for forgiveness through his heartfelt “have mercy upon me, a sinner.” The Sunday of the Last Judgment reminds us that Christ will judge us according to the extent that we were merciful and forgiving of others. Finally, Forgiveness Sunday recalls Adam’s sin and more importantly, his unwillingness to ask for forgiveness. Reflecting upon this ancestral sin, Abba Dorotheos writes:

Again, after his fall, God gave him an occasion to repent and to receive mercy, but he kept his stiff neck held high. He came to him and said ‘Adam, Where are you?’ instead of saying ‘What glory you have left and what dishonour you have arrived at?’ After that, He asked him ‘Why did you sin? Why did you transgress the commandment?’ By asking these questions, He wanted to give him the opportunity to say, ‘Forgive me.’ However, he did not ask for forgiveness. There was no humility, there was no repentance, but indeed the opposite. (Practical Teaching on the Christian Life) Continue reading →

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February 26, 2023 · 8:48 am

Sunday of Forgiveness

The Sunday of Forgiveness is the last Sunday prior to the commencement of Great Lent. During the pre-Lenten period, the services of the Church include hymns from the Triodion, a liturgical book that contains the services from the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, the tenth before Pascha (Easter), through Great and Holy Saturday.

On the Sunday of Forgiveness focus is placed on the exile of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, an event that shows us how far we have fallen in sin and separated ourselves from God. At the onset of Great Lent and a period of intense fasting, this Sunday reminds us of our need for God’s forgiveness and guides our hearts, minds, and spiritual efforts on returning to Him in repentance.

Even in His agony on the Cross the Lord Jesus did not condemn sinners, but held up before His Father forgiveness for their sins, saying: ‘they know not what they do!’ Let us judge no man, that we be not condemned. For no-one is certain that he will not, before his death, commit that very sin for which he has condemned his brother.

St Anastasius of Sinai teaches: ‘If you see someone sinning, do not condemn him, for you do not know how he will finish his life. That thief crucified with Christ was a murderer, and Judas was an apostle of Christ’s, but the thief entered Paradise and Judas went to perdition.

If you see someone sin, you do not know his good works. For many sin in public and repent in private, and we see their sin but do not know of their repentance. Therefore, my brethren, let us condemn no man, that we be not condemned.’