Palm Sunday – Blisswood

St. Mary of Egypt

Parish Mosaic – St. Mary of Egypt with Lampada

Undated Sermon on the Life of St. Mary of Egypt [circa early 2000’s], by +Archpriest John Adams, of Eternal Memory

This week we read again the Great Canon, with the life of St. Mary of Egypt who is one of the most loved and revered saints.

I remember reading it the first time. Eve (Princess Eve Galitzine, a founder of our parish) had xerox copies. Oh, it was so long, but so amazing, remarkable, and moving.

Her life went from one extreme to the other, from the very depths – to the very heights.

Her life is inspiring and edifying. Those themselves who are hopeless – she lifts up, those who have exhausted themselves, like the monk Zosimas, who had started to think of himself as perfect, she humbles.

Living alone in the desert, without food or clothing, tormented, but with prayer and tears through great struggles, she clung to the Mother of God, until she was lifted up spiritually, even physically, above the earth, and above the waters.

Last Sunday was St. John of the Ladder (Climacus), and we saw from his example how the prescribed life of the ascetic leads to understanding. Further, this Sunday, we are shown St. Mary of Egypt’s ascetical life, and we see a radical transformation, a model of repentance. This is how we begin, and how we continue. “Open unto me the Gates of Repentance”. We want to turn in repentance, (to be) enlightened. We want to behold the Resurrection more clearly, more brightly.

(Soon comes) Palm Sunday and the pace picks up. At vigil on Saturday evening, there’s the blessing of bread, wine, oil, and palms are distributed…

Try to attend every (Holy Week) service you can, these services are all unique. They all add an essential element to our spiritual growth.

Clean Monday, Great Lent, Holy Week – Past Posts

Image by Andriy Tod at Unsplash

Let us Spring Clean our souls, Grow in God’s Grace… and Bloom in His Sonshine! May our Great Lenten Journeys be Peaceful, and Fruitful – helping us see Christ in others.

Wishing you all the Bright Joys of the Fast!

Lightfare

Branches of Inner Stillness

O Precious Paradise

Forgive Me

Threshold

Flowers of Penitence

Two Thoughts

Flower of Repentance

Spiritual Springtime

Be Still

Daily Lenten Prayer of St. Ephraim

Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete

Bending the Knees of the Heart

Savouring Great Lent

Let My Prayer Arise

Just For Now

A Lenten Prayer

Beauty of Holiness

Nothing Higher on Earth

God’s Beautiful Promise in the Sky

A Valentine

St. Brigid of Ireland

Gabhaim Molta Brighde

St. Caedmon’s Day Greetings

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

St. Patrick Enlightener of Ireland

Three in One

A Shamrock Day

Feast Day of the Annunciation

Clinging to the Lord

Rock-Steady

Swathed in Light

Reflecting the Refulgent

Skylark Buns Tradition (Baked to celebrate the Feast of the Holy 40 Martyrs of Sebaste)

As the Warmth of the Sun

Adoration of the Cross

Lazarakia Bun Recipe (Traditionally baked for celebrating Lazarus Saturday and/or Palm Sunday)

Lazarus Comes Forth

Palm Sunday Greetings

Bon Voyage ’til Bright Week

Onion Skin Pascha Egg Dye Recipe

Banquet of Faith

Great and Holy Monday

Great and Holy Tuesday

Hymn of Kassiani

Great and Holy Wednesday

Great and Holy Thursday

Great and Holy Friday

Do Not Lament Me O Mother

Great and Holy Saturday

Great and Holy Pascha

Christ is Risen!

Happy Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday Pussy Willows await blessing at last evening’s Vigil Service.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. ~ Zechariah 9:9

God is the Lord, and hath appeared unto us; make ye a feast, and with gladness, come, let us magnify Christ with palms and branches, with hymns crying aloud: blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord our Saviour. ~ Ode 9 of the Feast

We celebrate Palm Sunday today with festive joy. Yesterday’s Lazarus Saturday and today’s Palm (and Flowers) Sunday are a bridge we cross over from Great Lent, into Holy Week.

They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel! ~ St. John 12:13

Hosanna in the highest! Means: O be favourably inclined – in the highest heaven! O Lord, save! While Hosanna in the Highest initially seems like an enthusiastic cheer of welcome and joy, it’s also a deep invocation for protection and salvation from tribulations.

Tomorrow, we begin to wend our way throughout Holy Week’s poignant thoroughfares, until we reach the bright and shining shores of Holy Pascha. The Greatest Feast of all. Pascha… the dawn of the new and unending day… the Holy Resurrection of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

…the Lord is always sitting at the gates of the Heavenly Jerusalem waiting for us to allow Him to enter. He is patiently standing at the door of our heart… waiting for us to open it. ~ Unknown

May your Holy Week be Blessed, Glorious, Peaceful and Fruitful!

Practical Tip: Treat your blessed palm branches and pussy willows respectfully, because they have been blessed. Keep them carefully in your icon corner. If you currently have any old palms or willows that are deteriorating, either compost, bury or burn them, but never put them in the garbage.

Great Lent/Holy Week/Pascha – Resource

Past Posts Resource

Wishing you all the Bright Joys of the Fast!
May your journey to Pascha be Peaceful and Fruitful!

Drying the Flowers From the Cross

…the wood of the Cross hath now put for flower, filling her (the church) with strength and steadfastness. ~ Ode 4, Katavasia of the Cross

Flowers (above) from the recent Procession of the Precious Cross were collected and removed from their oasis boards yesterday. All petals were pulled, separated, and spread out onto a large, hanging, mesh-dryer herb rack – purchased through Amazon a few years ago.

This foldable rack is used each summer to dry our organic herbs and edible flowers for teas, sachets and sleep pillows. It takes about 2 + weeks to dry properly and completely, before storing them in a sealed glass jar, or enclosing them in a sachet bag, or cotton pillow case.

I excluded the “inedible” anemones from this particular drying process, and put them in the compost bin.

If possible, one should never toss out flowers used to decorate icons or the Cross. Do try to compost or reuse them.

Old, blessed pussy willows or Palm Leaves from Palm Sunday, should either be composted, buried, or burned and buried.

Every flower is fragrant through the power of the Holy Spirit, in a delicate flow of aroma and tenderness of colour; the beauty of the Great contained in what is small. Praise and honour to God, Who gives life, Who spreads forth the meadows like a flowering carpet, Who crowns the fields with golden ears of wheat and azure basilisks, and the soul – with the joy of contemplation. Let us rejoice and sing to Him: Alleluia. ~ Akathist: Glory to God for All Things, Kontak. 3

May your day be noticeably Fragrant with the Holy Spirit!

Bon Voyage ’til Bright Week!

Image by Denis Doukhan Pixabay

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!

Lazarakia Buns Recipe for Lazarus Saturday

Lazarus Comes Forth

Natural Onion Skin Brick- Red Dye for Pascha Eggs

May your Lenten Journey continue in peace, and may you be filled to the brim with the blessings of Palm 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.

Great and Holy Monday

Great and Holy Tuesday
Hymn of St. Kassiani The Woman Who Had Fallen Into Many Sins

Great and Holy Wednesday

Great and Holy Thursday

Great and Holy Friday
Do Not Lament Me O Mother One of my favourite hymns by St. Kassiani

Great and Holy Saturday

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.

Thank you for visiting Blisswood!

Palm Sunday Greetings

Basket of Palm Sunday Blessed Willow Branches in Old Chapel of St. Sophia, Canada

Today is Palm Sunday, the Feast Day commemorating the Entrance of our Lord into Jerusalem. Following His glorious miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead, the people went out to meet the Lord with palms and branches. They welcomed Him with honour and shouts of praise. Today is also a bittersweet joy, for we know of the sad events to come during Holy Week.

On this day, we too, wherever we are, (particularly during pandemic isolation) may still bend the knees of our hearts and souls, to worship Christ as King and Lord.

…Let the events themselves – and not just memories break us in body and soul. Then, when we forget ourselves and think rather of Christ, about what is really taking place during these days, we will reach also that Great Saturday when Christ is laid to rest in the tomb – and we also will find rest. When at night we hear the announcement of the Resurrection, we too will be able to suddenly come alive from that terrible numbness, from that terrible death of Christ, from Christ’s dying, of which we shall partake at least a little during these days of the Passion. ~ Metropolitan Anthony Bloom

Lazarus Comes Forth!

I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever believeth in me shall never die. ~ St. John 11:25-26

Today Bethany proclaims beforehand the Resurrection of Christ, the owner of Life, and it rejoices at the raising of Lazarus. ~ 1st Ode in Orthros

From the earliest times, the Church has remembered the miracle of the Raising of Lazarus, and its celebration is closely tied to the Feast of the Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Marking the end of Great Lent, Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday are a two-day festal pause, prior to Holy Week.

In Constantinople, Lazarus Saturday was one of the four ancient baptismal days of the Church. We sing the Traditional Trisagion hymn at the Divine Liturgy for this day, As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ… Reminding us that we too, through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, have buried our old nature. By putting on Christ, we come forth reborn anew.

Therefore we are buried with him by Baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in the newness of life. ~ Romans 6:4

In giving us, before Thy Passion an assurance of the General Resurrection, Thou hast raised Lazarus from the dead, O Christ, our God. Therefore, like the children, we also carry tokens of victory, and cry to Thee, the Conqueror of Death: Hosanna in the highest; blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. ~ Troparion, Tone 1

Displaying Thy two energies, O Saviour, Thou hast made manifest Thy two natures: for Thou art both God and man. Though Thou art the Abyss of knowledge, Thou dost ask where they have laid the body of Lazarus. For it was Thy purpose, O Giver of Life, to raise him from the dead. Going from one place to another, Thou hast, as mortal man, appeared circumscribed; but, as God uncircumscribed, Thou fillest all things. At Thy divine word, Thou hast raised Lazarus, O Christ. I pray Thee, raise me also, dead through my many sins. As true God Thou hast known of the falling asleep of Lazarus and hast announced it beforehand to Thy disciples, giving them a proof, O Master, of the infinite power of Thy divinity. Thou who art by nature uncircumscribed wast circumscribed in the flesh; coming to Bethany, O Master, as man Thou dost weep over Lazarus, and by Thy power as God Thou dost raise him on the fourth day from the dead. ~ Beatitude Verses: Ode 3, 4 6, of the Triodion

…If he was not flesh, who wept at Lazarus’ grave? And if he was not God, who by his command brought out one four days dead? If he was not flesh, who sat on the foal? And if he was not God, whom did the crowds go out to meet with glory? ~ St. Ephraim the Syrian

Lazarus Saturday ~ Glory to God for All Things by Fr. Stephen Freeman

Lazarakia

Lazarakia in Greek, mean Little Lazaruses.

This special Greek bread is traditionally baked to serve on Lazarus Saturday, the day before Palm Sunday… to celebrate the miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Shaped like a man wrapped in a shroud, they are vegan, and contain several sweet spices. Lazarus Saturday ends at sundown, and Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week.

Lazarus Saturday is a special day in the Orthodox Church, and celebrates the final, great miracle of Jesus Christ before His Resurrection. Today prefigures His own death, and demonstrates His Authority over death. Seeing His friend is already four days dead, Jesus sheds tears and cries out: “Lazarus, come forth!”

St. John 11: 1-53

After the Resurrection of Christ, St. Lazarus lived for another 30 years and became the first Bishop of Kition in Cyprus.

In Orthodox countries, on Lazarus Saturday, children go house to house with decorated hand baskets, singing Lazarus Carols, and sharing Lazarakia. Sometimes coins are popped into the children’s baskets by parishioners, as a donation for the church. Some folks slip lenten treats to the children, which they take home and share with their families. It is also customary to collect wildflowers, palms, and branches on this day to adorn homes, as the next day is the feast of Palm Sunday.

There are many ways to make Lazarakia. Although fresh is best, you may certainly bake them ahead of time, and they freeze well.

Here is our own family recipe. It’s a bit different from the recipe on YouTube (seen near bottom of page), but it makes approximately the same quantity of Lazarakia buns as described in the video – depending of course… on the forms’ shapes and sizes. We basically do the same dough preparation as in the video. We make it a 3 braid and use peppercorns for the eyes (which are easier and safer to chew), instead of using whole clove sticks.

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 cups lukewarm water
2 tsp. yeast
4 – 5 cups flour
Zest of half an orange
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup liquid honey
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/8 tsp. ground anise (optional)
peppercorns for the eyes

Knead. Let rise as usual.

Round dough into approximately 3.5 ounce balls. Each ball will be enough to form a smaller circle ball for a head and 3 strips to braid. If you’d like to add a thin forehead headband strip, pull an extra minuscule amount from main ball, roll that out thinly too, and place across forehead. Push in the peppercorn eyes.

Bake in 370 degree oven for about 14 – 17 minutes, or until golden brown. (Baking time depends on the size of the Lazarakia.)

For “Bun-Shine” – a glossy vegan finish, use an extra couple of Tbsp. of olive oil for brushing onto the hot, baked, Lazarakia, after they come out of the oven. Extra yummy with a honey or syrup dip when nibbling.

Here is an excellent YouTube video. It’s easy to follow, with well explained how to’s… Step by step instructions show different ways to form the Lazarakia.

Lazarus Saturday will soon be here! I hope you enjoy the sweet venture of making and/or sharing traditional Lazarakia.

Upon the Willows

This is a pussy willow branch from a third generation church tree… originally grown from a dried and blessed Palm Sunday bouquet, which sprouted in an icon corner!

These furry little catkins are among the first to blossom forth, in early spring, seemingly to show the trees and bushes it’s time to awake from their cold winter sleep!

Pussy willows make easy everlasting flowers. Pick a bunch, and put them into a dry vase. No water. They will keep for years.

If you think of planting a pussy willow tree near your home, do keep it far away from drains. For, as an exuberant willow, it is determined to seek water.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. ~Ecclesiastes 3:11