Pascha – Blisswood

Let Us Rejoice!

Crow Rejoicing in Sakura Blossoms~ Photo shared by Veronika S.

Christ is Risen! Happy Bright Saturday!

2023 – MP3 of Parish Youth Choir Singing Paschal Tropar:
Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs, bestowing Life!

2017 – Parish Youth and Adults Sing Christ is Risen

More Musical Easter Eggs!

Paschal Poem by St. Nikolai Velimirovich
(As Serbian Orthodox Song YouTube)

Rejoice O ye people, all nations listen:
Christ God is Risen, let us rejoice!
Dance all ye stars, O sing hills and mountains:
Christ God is Risen, let us rejoice!
Whisper ye forests and blow all ye breezes:
Christ God is Risen, let us rejoice!
Roar all ye beasts, proclaim all ye oceans:
Christ God is Risen, let us rejoice!
Buzz all ye bees, sing all ye birds:
Christ God is Risen, let us rejoice!
O little lambs, exult and be merry!
Christ God is Risen, let us rejoice!
Nightingales joyous, singeth their praises:
Christ God is Risen, let us rejoice!
Ring O ye church bells, everyone listen:
Christ God is Risen, let us rejoice!
All angels join us, singing this chorus:
Christ God is Risen, let us rejoice!
Come down O ye heavens sing with us on earth:
Christ God is Risen, let us rejoice!
Glory to Thee, O Lord God, Almighty!
Christ God is Risen, let us rejoice!
Glory, to Thee O God in the Highest:
Christ God is Risen, let us rejoice!

Hristros Voskrese Radost Donese

Palcici Hristos Voskrese

For God is With Us (Appalachian)

Paschal Stichera (Virtual recording during pandemic)

Let God Arise

Christ is Risen! Happy Pascha!

Christ’s Descent into Hades Icon

This icon is frequently referred to as the Anastasis or Resurrection Icon. It is an icon of Pascha (Easter).

The golden bars by Christ’s feet are the gates of Hades, which He has broken and torn apart. At Pascha, a tradition includes the cracking of our blessed Pascha eggs together. This represents how Christ shattered the gates of Hades.

There are keys floating in the abyss below, which symbolizes that he has entered and conquered both death and Hades. Some icons have a skeletal figure who is chained up: that’s Death. He has been bound and killed by Christ. All throughout Pascha-tide until the Ascension, we greet each other with, “Christ is Risen, Truly He is Risen!”

The two figures whom Christ has grasped and is pulling out of Hades are Adam and Eve, symbolizing that His Victory redeems all mankind, even back to the beginning.

This Resurrection scene is taking place in the past, present, and future.

To His left, we see three Old Testament saints: Kings David and Solomon, two of His ancestors according to his fleshly nature. We also see, closest to him St. John the Baptist, who was his Forerunner in both life and death. On the right, we have the New Testament, including the apostles who are alive. The purpose is to show that Christ’s redemption transcends time and space. This is an act that happened in the past, is happening right now, and will happen in the future. Christ is always in the state of redeeming and setting us free.

The blue shape around Christ is called the Mandorla (which is Italian for almond, which describes its shape). The Mandorla is the Uncreated, Eternal Light of Christ. In the writings of the Eastern Orthodox mystics, God is often prayerfully experienced as Light. This is not simply a beautiful bright light. It is the same Light which filled the apostles with wonder when they witnessed His Transfiguration. It is the Light which Christ Himself described as the power of the Kingdom of God (Mark 9:1, Matt. 16:28, Luke 9:27). It is also the Light that is seen when one purifies their heart and mind (Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God).

Those who seek God will find that the more they know Him, the less they comprehend Him.

To know God, to experience Him, is to walk from the darkness of sin, into His Light, to enter into the mystery of His Presence. ~ The Ark Youth Quarterly – St. Sophia Orthodox Church

May you have a glorious, and joyous, Bright Week!

Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay

Truly He is Risen!

Born For Resurrection

Greetings on Great and Holy Saturday!

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

Branches of Inner Stillness

Photo shared by Irena

…Silence fosters stillness; it is indispensable for stillness. Inner stillness, however, goes beyond silence insofar as its aim is to purify the heart and issue in pure prayer. That purification involves the body in its entirety, because body and soul, like mind and heart, are ultimately inseparable. In the words of St. Mark the Ascetic, “The intellect cannot be still unless the body is still also; and the wall between them cannot be demolished without stillness and prayer.” Silence is the prerequisite for inner stillness, and only inner stillness enables us truly to listen to God, to hear His voice, and to commune with Him in the depths of our being. Yet silence and stillness are, like prayer itself, gifts that God can and wants to bestow upon us. The greatest truth about us is that God has created us with a profound longing, a burning thirst for communion with Himself. We can easily pervert that longing into an idolatrous quest for something other than God. Yet God remains faithful even in our times of apostasy. Like the father of the Prodigal Son, He always awaits our return. Once we begin that journey homeward, through repentance and an ongoing struggle against our most destructive passions, God reaches out to embrace, to forgive and to heal all that is broken, wounded and wasted. He reaches into the very fabric of our life, to restore within us the sublime image in which we were made… ~ Fr. John Breck

It’s coming to that amazing time again of recharging our spiritual batteries together. With purpose, we prepare our own humble journeys home to the Greatest Christian Feast of Feasts, Holy Pascha (Easter), the Resurrection of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ. Travelling the quiet routes of the Great Lenten roads ahead, we choose to make bright efforts in good faith, and to the best of our abilities. Our dear Lord desires us to come to Him and fill us with good things… now and forever!

Tomorrow is an invitation of God’s Grace.

Tomorrow is Forgiveness Sunday.

However, today, I bow to you in spirit, bending the knees of my heart, and ask you to please forgive me.

God forgives!

Isn’t that beyond wonderful? God FORGIVES!

May your upcoming Lenten Journey be Peaceful… and may your Branches of Inner Stillness bear Good Fruit.

With Love in Christ.

And Ascended Into the Heavens…

Icon of The Ascension of our Lord was written by a parish founder, of eternal memory

Christ has Ascended!

From Earth to Heaven, in Glory!

Some Ascension Day Traditions

…And on the third day He arose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into the Heavens, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father...~ The Creed

Today is the fulfillment of Pascha, and the joyful revelation of our destiny in Christ. On the fortieth day after His glorious Resurrection, our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven to be glorified on the right hand of God ~ Acts 1:9-11; Mark 16:19

… and lifting his hands he blessed them. While blessing them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy. ~ Luke 24:51-52

Happy Ascension Day of our Lord… and there’s more jubilation coming! Ten days from now is the Great Feast of Pentecost!

How beautiful is the Mystery of Today. And Everyday.

Peace Starts With Each of Us

A bouquet of garden flowers await in a basket on the Eve of Pascha.

Christ is Risen!

You must strive to have peace in your homes. Peace starts with each one of us. When we have peace in us, we spread it around to others. You can see for yourself that there are very few humble and meek souls on the earth – but also that they are truly blessed. ~ Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica (Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives)

Truly He is Risen!

Banquet of Faith

Some of our 2022 Pascha eggs (dyed brick-red with onion skins) sit on a nest of sweet lavender. These floral imprints are from marigold, barrenwort flowers, and a clover leaf.

Dying eggs red for Pascha is an ancient tradition, and symbolize the gift of eternal life though our Lord Jesus Christ’s glorious Resurrection.

Their shells represent the sealed tomb of Jesus, and when we crack our eggs together, we depict the end of the old and the beginning of the new… His Resurrection from the dead, the shattering of the Gates of Hell, and the Promise of Life Eternal!

The tradition of red eggs begins with St. Mary Magdalene, one of the Holy Myrrh-Bearers. As a witness of Christ’s Resurrection, and after His Ascension to the heavens, she began a life of ministry and also became known as an Equal-to-the-Apostles.

According to holy tradition, during her travels, St. Mary Magdalene gained an audience with the Emperor Tiberius in Rome… where she denounced the conduct of Jerusalem’s governor (Pontius Pilate) at Christ’s trial, by his condemning of an innocent man (whom he acknowledged to be) to death.

Then St. Mary Magdalene told the Emperor about the life and miracles of Jesus Christ, and His Resurrection from the dead. To illustrate the symbol of New Life (in Christ), she held an egg out to him, and joyously proclaimed, “Christ is Risen!”

The emperor mocked her saying, “There’s about as much chance of a human being returning to life again from the dead… as there is for that very egg in your hand to turn red!”

An instantaneous sign from God confirmed the truth of her message, and the egg immediately turned red!

Christ’s redemption transcends time and space. When we greet each other during the 40 days of Pascha-tide saying, “Christ is risen,” we confirm that not only did He rise all those years ago, but He remains risen right now.

Christ is risen! Truly He is Risen!

Christ is Risen!

Cherry Blossoms fell like tears, and clung to the under-cloth of Holy Friday’s Winding Sheet.

Christ is risen from the dead, by death, trampling down upon death, and upon those in the tombs, bestowing life! ~ Paschal Tropar

Happy BRIGHT Monday!

…the wood of the Cross hath now put forth flower ~ Ode 3 Katavasia of the Cross

Now all things have been filled with light, both heaven and earth and those beneath the earth; so let all creation sing Christ’s rising, by which it is established. ~ St. John of Damascus, Paschal Canon

Having beheld the Resurrection of Christ, let us worship the Holy Lord Jesus, the only sinless One. We worship Thy Cross, O Christ, and hymn and glorify Thy holy Resurrection, for Thou art our God, and we know none other beside Thee, we call upon Thy name. O come all ye faithful, let us worship Christ’s holy Resurrection; for behold through the Cross, joy hath come to all the world. Ever blessing the Lord, we hymn His Resurrection. For having endured crucifixion, He hath destroyed death by death. ~ 5th Century Matins Hymn

TRULY HE IS RISEN!

Nothing Higher on Earth

Greetings on Forgiveness Sunday!

Great Lent begins Tomorrow.

There is nothing on earth higher, greater or more holy than the Divine Liturgy; nothing more solemn, nothing more life-giving. ~ St. John of Kronstadt

The Church is your hope, the Church is your salvation, the Church is your refuge. ~ St. John Chrysostom

May your Lenten Journey be a peaceful, fruitful preparation for the Great and Holy Feast of Pascha (Easter) – Sunday, April 24th, 2022.

Flowers of Penitence

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing… ~ Isaiah 35:1-2

At winter’s end, the crocus – also known as the penitent flower, appears before the spiritual spring of Great Lent… a season of forgiveness, repentance, efforts, hope, and renewal.

The week preceding Great Lent is called Cheesefare (Maslenitsa), and in 2022, Cheesefare begins Monday, February 28th. Meat is now excluded until Pascha (Easter). Dairy and seafood are (thoroughly) enjoyed this week, and it’s traditional to include blini crepes or pancakes to use up remaining dairy – before the more strict plant-based fare of Great Lent.

This year Great Lent begins on Monday, March 7th.

May we all cultivate fragrant buds of virtue, and Blossom Forth!