O Lord, wishing to see the tomb of Lazarus—for Thou wast soon to dwell by Thine own choice within a tomb—Thou hast asked: ‘Where have ye laid him?’ And, learning that which was already known to Thee, Thou hast cried to him whom Thou hast loved: ‘Lazarus, come forth.’ And he who was without breath obeyed the One who gave him breath, even Thee, the Saviour of our souls
Stichera for Saint Lazarus : vespers of Lazarus Saturday
The tradition of baking these little sweet spice breads hails from Greece and Cyprus and go back such a long way. In Greek they are called Λαζαράκια which means Little Lazaruses. They are prepared and enjoyed to celebrate the miracle of Jesus raising his dear friend Lazarus from the dead and are shaped like a man wrapped in a burial shroud. They are a fast friendly treat in that they have no eggs, or dairy.
Grace is the foundation of forgiveness. We pray for forgiveness to enter our heart. We beg for forgiveness to enter our heart. We importune God for forgiveness to enter our heart.
Father Stephen Freemen : Glory to God for All Things
Preparing for Pascha – there is spiritual preparation, our fasting, almsgiving and prayer and there is physical preparation : cooking for family & friends. Prepping ahead of time saves me from exhaustion and becoming too much of Martha and not enough Mary during Holy Week. Over the years, I’ve learned to plan ahead. Anything that can be made and frozen we make the week before Holy Week.
“Thus on Easter we celebrate Christ’s Resurrection as something that happened and still happens to us. For each one of us received the gift of that new life and the power to accept it and to live by it. It is a gift which radically alters our attitude toward everything in this world, including death. It makes it possible for us joyfully to affirm: “Death is no more!” Oh, death is still there, to be sure and we still face it and someday it will come and take us. But it is our whole faith that by His own death Christ changed the very nature of death, made it a passage—a “passover,” a “Pascha”—into the Kingdom of God, transforming the tragedy of tragedies into the ultimate victory. “Trampling down death by death,” He made us partakes of His Resurrection. This is why at the end of the Paschal Matins we say: “Christ is risen and life reigneth! Christ is risen and not one dead remains in the grave!”
Father Alexander Schmemann
This year the lenten quarantine left our store supermarket with absolutely no flour. Not only ours, but every supermarket in our area for days has had no flour. We were all so disappointed that we might not be able to bake Tsoureki, a traditional sweet bread that we eat only once a year on Pascha. It’s kind of a big deal in my family, especially the french toast it becomes the day after Pascha!
Luckily my sweet friends who own a local farm to table brewery / restaurant heard of my poverty! Every year I have invited them to our Pascha dinner. They are neither Orthodox, nor Christian, just good friends. They brought me 10 pounds of flour early this morning.
I got right to baking. My arms are sore from all the zesting and kneading 8 loaves of bread… but my house smells delicious!
Where love is there is Christ – Love. And where humility exists, the Grace of God takes up permanent residence, God reigns and the earth is ultimately transformed into Paradise.
Saint Paisios the Athonite
I’m just guessing that right about now you may be looking for mew Lenten recipes. This is usually when I am. And if you are, these Black Bean Burgers are for you! Normally I am not a fan of making a vegan version of dinners that should be meat… over the years my kids have always balked, but not with these. They are simple, tasty and got a thumbs up from 3 our of 3 of my kids.
Recently on my Instagram Feed a friend asked what is #holyordinary and how does it relate to our Divine Liturgy.
Holy Ordinary is life – simple, bare, straightforward – warts and all – yet blessed. Holy Ordinary is eukharistia – a life of Thanksgiving, and contentment. Holy Ordinary is looking for God in the present moment of the ordinary-ness of daily life.
In reference to our Liturgy – let’s focus on our Litanies… fervent supplication – our Litanies orient us toward every day life enveloped in that which is needful – Thy Will be done – in the midst of the sublime foretaste of Heaven which is the Liturgy and the Eucharist. It is simple, true, beautiful and all the while majestic, Holy and sublime.
The first and greatest task of the Church in our modern culture is just to be the Church.
Really be the Church in the fullness of all that this means.
We do not exist to prop up the claims of the state or the claims of the culture. We don’t exist in order to make the world a better place…
The modern challenge is the ancient challenge and that is to be an ancient Christian in the midst of a modern world : to live in union with God in small little and humble ways, moment by moment : loving : forgiving : lending : sharing and keeping Jesus’ commandments and it’s gonna work out. It’s gonna be fine.
That is what Pascha means. We can live like this because God has raised Jesus from the dead. I freely give you all things.
Christ is Risen.
Father Stephen Freeman excerpt taken from the video below. Watch it. It is worth your time.
“Thus on Easter we celebrate Christ’s Resurrection as something that happened and still happens to us. For each one of us received the gift of that new life and the power to accept it and to live by it. It is a gift which radically alters our attitude toward everything in this world, including death. It makes it possible for us joyfully to affirm: “Death is no more!” Oh, death is still there, to be sure and we still face it and someday it will come and take us. But it is our whole faith that by His own death Christ changed the very nature of death, made it a passage—a “passover,” a “Pascha”—into the Kingdom of God, transforming the tragedy of tragedies into the ultimate victory. “Trampling down death by death,” He made us partakes of His Resurrection. This is why at the end of the Paschal Matins we say: “Christ is risen and life reigneth! Christ is risen and not one dead remains in the grave!”
Father Alexander Schmemann
This year the lenten quarantine left our store supermarket with absolutely no flour. Not only ours, but every supermarket in our area for days has had no flour. We were all so disappointed that we might not be able to bake Tsoureki, a traditional sweet bread that we eat only once a year on Pascha. It’s kind of a big deal in my family, especially the french toast it becomes the day after Pascha!
Luckily my sweet friends who own a local farm to table brewery / restaurant heard of my poverty! Every year I have invited them to our Pascha dinner. They are neither Orthodox, nor Christian, just good friends. They brought me 10 pounds of flour early this morning.
I got right to baking. My arms are sore from all the zesting and kneading 8 loaves of bread… but my house smells delicious!
I am sharing the original recipe. I’ve changed a couple things to make it more my own. But this is by far one of the best Tsoureki recipes around! I love the citrus sweetness of it. You can find it over at Saveur I’ve been baking since I found it in 2007 and I look forward to it all year long.
As soon as the first batch cooled, I sent my daughter down the street to drop off a loaf for my friends, who made the bread possible. I will miss them and all my extended family and friends sitting around our table and throughout the house and yard tomorrow. Και του χρόνου’ – may we celebrate Pascha next year in our churches!
Greek Easter Bread from Saveur Magazine
Makes 2 loaves
2 7-gram packets active dry yeast
2 cups warm milk
9-10 cups flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp mahlepi (optional but worth it)
8 tbsp butter melted
6 eggs, 1 lightly beaten
Salt
1 tbsp each of grated lemon and orange zest
How to prepare and bake
Dissolve yeast in milk in a large bowl. Stir in 1 cup of the flour and 1⁄2 cup of the sugar, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside for 1 hour. If using – steep makhlépi, if using, in 1⁄2 cup simmering water for about 5 minutes. Strain, discard makhlépi, and set aside liquid to cool.
If using, stir 1⁄2 cup water or makhlépi-scented liquid into yeast mixture. Add butter and 5 of the eggs and mix thoroughly. Sift 8 cups of the flour, salt, and remaining 1 cup sugar into mixture. Add orange and lemon zest, and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Turn out dough onto a floured surface. Knead (adding more flour if necessary) until smooth, about 10 minutes, then form into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with a clean dish towel and set aside to rise for 2 hours.
Add flour and knead until the dough just no longer sticks to your hands when kneading.
Return dough to floured surface. Divide into 6 parts, rolling into ropes about 15″ long. For each loaf, tightly braid 3 ropes, then press 1 dyed egg (if using) near the end of each braid. Set bread aside to rise again for 1 hour on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
Preheat oven to 350˚.
Brush bread with beaten egg, sprinkle with cumin seeds, and bake until golden, 40–50 minutes.
“Today is the day of salvation and we must never put off prayer for another time. Every moment is the moment to turn to the Lord, to thank the Lord for all His innumerable benefits, to beseech aid from on high, to repent and ask forgiveness, and to ask His blessings. The most essential part of prayer is the inner turning of the heart to the Lord.”
Acquiring the Mind of Christ : Embracing the Vision of the Orthodox Church
These vegan almond shortbread cookies are so easy to make and taste delicious. Because there are no eggs the kiddos can eat all the dough they’d like!! These cookies are
“Orthodox Fast friendly”
“Paleo”
“Low carb“
“grain-free“
These are so easy to make – basically fool proof. The recipe doubles or triples very nicely. I let them cook till they are just a slight golden brown and not super soft to the touch. They will crumble a little easier than other cookies so that really ensures that they are set up nicely. Before you start gathering your ingredients go ahead and preheat your oven to 350F.
Vegan Almond Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
2 cups Blanched almond flour
2-1/2 tablespoons monkfruit sweetener (preferable), coconut sugar or regular sugar
6 tablespoons melted coconut oil
3 tablespoons arrowroot powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips :: I used Lilly sugar free semi-sweet chocolate chips. They are sweetened with Stevia
Preparation
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Using a large melon baller scoop cookie dough and form into a ball. Lay each cookie dough ball on parchment lined cookies sheet and flatten with a fork. Bake cookies in preheated oven about 15-17 minutes checking to make sure they do not over brown. Even if they are a little soft when you take them out they will firm up once they cool. Enjoy with a good book and a cup of coffee!
gladsomelife.com 