Jesus Christ has taken the world of our sins upon Himself.
For this cause He came into the world…
For this New Beginning!
Do not lament Me, O Mother, Seeing Me in the tomb, The Son conceived in the womb without seed, For I shall arise, And be glorified with eternal glory as God. I shall exalt all who magnify thee in faith and in love. ~ Ode 9, Holy Saturday Canon
Why Did Jesus Die on the Cross? Because of God’s great Love, He did something so special for each one of us. It‘s almost too amazing to even try and think about it! When we love someone very much, we help them as much as we can – without thinking how hard it might be for ourselves to do this. Through Adam and Eve, the first created man and woman, sin entered the world, and now we all sin. There are big sins and little sins, but everyone sins, and any sin separates us from God. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, willingly took all the sins of everyone ever born, which means, you, me, the whole world, and took all these sins upon Himself; because sin separates us from God. When Jesus died and was buried, all our sins died and were buried too. We also remember this at our Baptism. We are now forgiven because of what Jesus did for us on the cross! Jesus loves us so much! And, even if you were the ONLY person living in the whole world, Jesus still would have done this – just for you! Just for one person, because He knows each one of us and loves us all so much! And, because He is the Son of God- He arose victorious, from the dead! “Trampling down death, by death!” This is why we no longer fear death, for death is a new beginning, a new and Eternal Life with God. ~ The Ark Youth Quarterly – St. Sophia Orthodox Church
The whole creation calls thee blessed, O ever-Virgin born today of Anna: thou spotless branch of the root of Jesse, that brought forth Christ as flower. ~ Irmos at Second Canon of the Festal Matins
Thy nativity, O Virgin Theotokos, hath proclaimed Joy to all the world; for from thee hath shone forth Christ our God, the Sun of Righteousness, Who, having annulled the curse, hath given His blessing, and having abolished death, hath granted us life everlasting. ~Troparion Tone 4
Through the prayers of our Most Holy Lady and Ever-Virgin Mary the Theotokos… May your day be filled the bright and saving heavenly light of the Sun of Righteousness!
The Most Holy Mother of God prays for us ceaselessly. She is always visiting us. Whenever we turn to her in our heart, she is there. After the Lord, she is the greatest protection for mankind… She is constantly, by our side, and all too often we forget her. ~ Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica
The Venerable Bede (7th century) likened the Virgin Mary to a white lily… symbolizing her purity, innocence and virginity. The floral centre of yellow anthers, are as the golden radiance of her soul.
As long as they (Christ’s Disciples) were in Palestine, holy Mary spent time with them, helping them confirm themselves in the Saviour’s commandments, encouraging them to all goodness and cheering them. But when the disciples departed from Palestine to distant lands alien and unknown, She remained in John’s house. She did not waste Her time with trifles, but used every minute for the benefit of mankind, the very human race that crucified Her innocent Son! She dedicated her labours and care to visiting the sick and the imprisoned; she comforted, taught, and instructed anyone who needed support or counsel. She lived strictly according to Her Son’s commandments and therefore she could assuage people’s sorrows. She was a source of healing, and shade, and all who drew from that source felt freshness and relief and were fortified by heavenly love. The good works to which she entrusted Herself filled her soul with great blessedness and consolation, which were the reward for the woes and calamities she previously bore. For only after Her Son was resurrected did her eyes open to what had happened, and hope arrived. ~ St. Nikolai Velimirovic (Excerpt fromThe Theotokos on Her Deathbed)
An old English name for the Hosta garden plant, is the Assumption Lily, as it blooms close to the Dormition.
The liturgical colour for feasts honouring the Theotokos is blue. The clergy wear blue vestments, and the faithful sometimes wear a bit of blue too, in her honour. In icons, while her veil is red…the colour of divinity, as she is the Theo(God) tokos(Bearer), her clothes under the veil are green or blue, the colours of humanity. Also, upon her veil, are three stars, which represent her eternal virginity: before, during, and forever after the birth of Our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, she remained a pure virgin. At weddings it is still traditional to wear “a little something blue” in honour of the Theotokos.
St. Ambrose Bishop of Milan (330-397), wrote: “Mary’s life, is a rule of life for all.” …It is important that as Orthodox Christians we know and examine the life of the Theotokos who, after Christ Jesus, so influenced every creature, both the bodiless ones and the earthborn, before, during, and after her earthly sojourn. ~ From The Life of The Virgin Mary, The Theotokos, written and compiled by Holy Apostles Convent
Beautiful Walking Tour inside the Church built over the Virgin Mary’s empty tomb (Thank you for sharing Irena!)
Troparion Tone 1: In giving birth thou didst preserve thy virginity, and in thy falling asleep thou hast not forsaken the world, O Theotokos. Thou hast been translated unto life, for thou art the Mother of Life, and by thy supplications, thou dost deliver our souls from death.
Kontakion Tone 2: The tomb, nor mortality could not hold the Theotokos, who istireless her prayers and supplications. For, as the Mother of Life, she was translated unto life, by Him Who dwelt within her Ever-Virgin womb.
Hold on tightly as possible to the Robe of our Great Lady the Theotokos, that she might help you. May the Theotokos, the tender and caring Mother of the entire world, protect you and the entire world. ~ St. Paisios
There is an ineffable instant in the Liturgy’s Eucharistic Anaphora where heaven and earth converge in Divine Sanctification- unfettered by time or space.
A country jaunt after liturgy and lunch today, had us unexpectedly meandering through a beautiful, 150 year old church yard. The cemetery grounds literally burst with thousands of wild, starry blue Camas Lilies… which were my godmother’s favourite flower.
As we wandered knee-deep, through violet fields, accompanied by trills of birdsong, another melody with joyful words from the end of The Creed came to mind… “I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come. Amen!” What a blessing!
A rocky plaque on site read:
This place Whereon thou standest is Holy Ground Act reverently – Cherish the flowers This is God’s Acre
A cemetery is not a place where corpses are laid, but a place where the Resurrection awaits! ~ Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
Good morning! What a wonderful day the Lord has provided!
Scooting along the remainder of this Lenten Journey, I’m reminded that every Lent is uniquely different, with its own flavour of adventures and distractions.
So, I’m attempting to take a wee posting break until (God-Willing), Bright Week… and greet you now, in advance, on tomorrow’s most beautiful, shining Feast of the Annunciation!
Below, is a Ladybird’s-eye view of past Postings to take you to Pascha!
May your Lenten Journey continue in peace, and may you be filled to the brim with the blessings ofPalm Sunday and Holy Week.
St. Matthew’s Passion Music composed by Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, takes us through the services in Holy Week, as recorded through the Gospel of St. Matthew. Music and Scripture are poignantly entwined.
I’m truly looking forward to greeting you again and “on the other side” of Great and Holy Pascha!
Let us open our arms and throw ourselves in Christ’s embrace. When Christ comes, we will have gained everything. Christ will alter everything within us. He will bring peace, joy, humility, love, prayer and the uplifting of our soul. The grace of Christ will renew us. ~ Elder Porphyrios, Wounded By Love
Here’s a short and edifying Youtube Orthodox Movie with a Trio of Good Proverbs (English Subtitles). My favourites are #2 and #3.
The Lily symbolizes the unfading flower of virginity and purity of the Mother of God. The six anthers with amber pollen splaying out from the flower’s centre, represent the golden radiance of her soul.
The Father is Light, His Son is Light, and the Spirit, the Comforter, is Light: for, shining forth as from one sun, the Trinity divinely illuminates and preserves our souls… The prophets proclaimed thee in ages past, speaking of thee as the ark of holiness, golden censer, candlestick, and table; and we sing thy praises as the Tabernacle that held God. ~ Second Canon at the Festal Matins
The Theotokos is sometimes referred to as the Golden Candlestick; for within her, she contained the Light that Illumines the whole world.
With joy in spirit, let us go before her today, bearing the bright lamps of faith… into the temple of our hearts!
Festal Troparion, Tone 4 Today is the prelude of God’s good will / and the heralding of the salvation of mankind. / In the temple of God, the Virgin is presented openly, / and she proclaimeth Christ unto all. / To her, then, with a great voice let us cry aloud: / Rejoice, O thou fulfillment // of the Creator’s dispensation.
Festal Kontakion, Tone 4 The most pure temple of the Saviour, / the most precious bridal-chamber and Virgin, / the sacred treasury of the glory of God, / is on this day brought into the house of the Lord, / bringing with her the grace that is in the Divine Spirit. / And the angels of God chant praise unto her: // she is the heavenly tabernacle.
Icon ofSt. Annaholding the Most Holy Theotokos – Benaki Museum, Greece, 2017
Greetings on this beautiful Feast Day! (September 21 /8)
In their barren affliction the holy parents [Sts. Joachim and Anna] of the Mother of God cried aloud unto the Lord; and they… received from heaven a gift worthy of God… Today the inhabited earth rejoiceth with thee, O holy Anna. For thou hast borne as blossom the Mother of its Redeemer, even her who brought forth the Rod of our strength from the root of Jesse, and who bore Christ as flower… Husbandman of our Thoughts and gardener of our souls, Thou hast made the barren earth fertile. Thou hast turned the ground that once was parched into fruitful land, rich in corn and bearing fruit. From Holy Anna Thou hast made to blossom… the Theotokos. ~ Matins Excerpts on the Birth of our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos
The root is the household of the Jews, the rod is Mary, the Flower of Mary is Christ. She is rightly called a rod, for she is of the royal lineage, of the house and family of David. Her Flower is Christ, Who destroyed the stench of worldly pollution and poured out the fragrance of eternal life. As He Himself said, ‘I am a flower of the plain, a lily of the valleys.’ ~ St Ambrose of Milan (4th century)
I have been amazed that some are utterly in doubt as to whether or not the Holy Virgin is able to be called the Mother of God. For if our Lord Jesus Christ is God, how should the Holy Virgin who bore him not be the Mother of God? ~ St. Cyril of Alexandria (375 -444 AD)
Here are some traditionson ways to celebrate today! Besides wearing blue in honour of the Theotokos, many hike and go birdwatching after Liturgy and lunch, to count how many birds and species they can see today. (It is said St. Anna saw a mother bird tending her fledglings in a garden nest, which saddened but inspired St. Anna to pray yet again faithfully for the blessing of a child.) If hiking, and you are allowed to, flowers and wild grasses are picked and placed in the family icon corner.
Some families have recently adapted baking a Birthday Cake or another kind of sweet, and sing theTropar of the Nativity of the Theotokos before enjoying the treat. Others share they make blueberry pancakes after Liturgy or bake a blueberry pie for dessert for after dinner!
Thy nativity, O Virgin Theotokos, hath proclaimed Joy to all the world; for from thee hath shone forth Christ our God, the Sun of Righteousness, Who, having annulled the curse, hath given His blessing, and having abolished death, hath granted us life everlasting. ~ Troparion Tone 4
O Most Holy Theotokos, pray to God for us!
Beautiful Orthodox Hymn to the Virgin Mary by St. Nektarios of Aegina Greece (with English translation)
Let thy soul rejoice in the Lord, for He hath clothed thee with the robe of salvation. He hath covered thee with the garment of gladness; like a bridegroom He hath set a crown on thee, and like a bride adorns herself with jewels, so hath He adorned thee. ~ Isaiah 61:10
The prophets proclaimed thee on high, O Virgin: the Jar, the Staff, the Tables of the Law, the Ark, the Candlestick, the Table, the Mount Uncloven, the Golden Censer, the Tabernacle, the gate Impassible, the Palace and Ladder, and the Throne of Kings. ~ Old Testament Foreshadowing References of the Virgin Mary; Greeting hymn sung when Archbishop or Bishop enters a church
Mary properly bore the name Virgin, and possessed to the full all the attributes of purity. She was a virgin in both body and soul, and kept all the powers of her soul and bodily senses far above any defilement. This she did authoritatively, steadfastly, decisively and altogether inviolably at all times, as a closed gate preserves the treasure within, and a sealed book keeps hidden from sight what is written inside. The Scriptures say of her, “This is the sealed book.” (cf. Rev. 5:1-6:1; Dan. 12:4) and “this gate shall be shut, and no man shall enter by it” (Ezek. 44:2). ~St. Gregory Palamas
The wilderness of the soul blossoms like a lily at the coming of the Lord into the heart. Oh, why do we not turn our hearts oftener towards the Lord? How much peace and comfort ever lie concealed in Him for us! Oh, how great is the multitude of Thy sweetness, which Thou hast hidden for them that fear Thee! ~ St. John of Kronstadt
