Behold the Bridegroom comes in the middle of the night;
and blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching,
but unworthy is he whom He shall find in slothfulness.
Beware then, O my soul, and be not overcome by sleep,
lest thou be given over to death and shut out from the Kingdom.
But return to soberness and cry aloud :
Holy Holy Holy art Thou, O God
Through the prayers of the Theotokos have mercy upon us.
The service of Matins
Holy and Great Monday
“Palm Sunday is ‘the end of an entire process of preparation, as revealed in the Bible. It was the end of all that God did for us, and thus this short hour of Christ’s earthly triumph acquires an eternal meaning.
It introduces the reality of the Kingdom into our time, into all hours, and makes this Kingdom the meaning of time and it’s ultimate goal. The Kingdom was revealed in this world and from that hour. It’s presence judges and transforms history…
On Palm Sunday, this reality is our own involvement in and our responsibility to the Kingdom of God… And He does not need any “symbols” for He did not die on the Cross that we may eternally “symbolize” His life…If we are not ready to stand by the solemn oath which we renew every year on Palm Sunday, if we do not mean to make the Kingdom of God the measure of our whole life – then meaningless is our commemoration and vain are the branches we take home from Church.’ “
Father Alexander Schmemman
“We understand that it is because He wept, because He loved His friend Lazarus that Jesus had the power of calling him back to life. The power of resurrection is not a divine “power in itself”, but the power of love – or rather love as power.
God is Love and Love is Life.
Love creates Life.
It is Love that weeps at the grave and it is Love that restores life.
This is the meaning of the divine tears of Jesus. In them love is at work again – recreating, redeeming, restoring the life of man: Lazarus! Come forth!”
“A small but persistent discipline is a great force;
for a soft drop of water falling persistently,
hollows out hard rock.”
Saint Isaac of Syria
may that small persistence be the rain of contrition and prayer,
grace.thanksgiving.joy – eucharisteo
unrelenting.patient.purposeful – rejoicing.thanksgiving.choosing God
may grace hollow a room in the bedrock of our hearts
making straight the way for the Lord
Blessed Feast of the Raising of Lazarus!
While the Church is one in essence, it is diverse in gifts and function. Unity does not mean uniformity. Each member is unique before God, with gifts and roles granted by Him. Diversity in operation is (1) based on the ascent of the Son and the descent of the Spirit (2) guided by specially gifted people and (3) for the sake of the maturity and stability of the body.
Footnotes on Ephesians 4:7
The Orthodox Study Bible: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today’s World
“for each person, there is a unique path towards God and those who are spiritual should know this mystery and dispense for their brothers the knowledge of these unique paths.”
The Enlargement of the Heart
Archimandrite Zacharias
“Since Christ is the power and wisdom of God the Father—the brightness of the Father’s glory (Heb 1:3), the substantial and perfect Image of the invisible God—where He is, there is the uncreated and saving grace of God. His Cross restores man to immortality and stirs up desire for the things of heaven.”
The Orthodox Study Bible: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today’s World
footnotes 1 Corinthians 1:24
“We have the cross of our Lord as our boundary line, and by it we are fenced around and shut off from our former sins.”
“…we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
To follow Christ means to have the capacity to coexist with other people who may be radically difference from you.
Kyriacos C Markides
Inner River : A Pilgrimmage to the
Heart of Chrstian Spirituality
Like everything that is beautiful, the flower gives pleasure by being seen, and we should Glorify the Creator by looking at and enjoying it’s beauty.
Saint Clement of Alexandria
Those planted in the house of the Lord Shall blossom forth in the courts of our God; They shall still be increased in a rich old age, And shall be prospering So as to proclaim, “The Lord my God is upright, And there is no wrongdoing in Him.”
The Orthodox Study Bible: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today’s World
You are blessed by the Lord who made heaven and earth
Psalm 113: 23
“The true vision of God consists in this, that the soul that looks up to God never ceases to desire Him.”
Saint Gregory of Nyssa
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