Sunday

Hebrews 9   Christ being come an High Priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own Blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the Blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the Mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Saint Focus: The 4th Sunday of Lent this year is also the Feastday of St. Tikhon of Moscow. He literally laid the foundation for Orthodoxy in America at the turn of the 20th century and guided the Russian Church through the turbulence of the Bolshevik revolution. His words still guide us today: “May God teach every one of us to strive for His truth, and for the good of the Holy Church, rather than something for our own sake.”

**This week begins a daily prayer from the East or West

O Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. O Lord, blot out our sins. O Master, pardon our iniquities. O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Thy name’s sake.

 

Monday

In the Divine Services for the fifth week of Great Lent the Holy Church continues to call us to an active bearing of the Lenten efforts, appealing: “Through abstinence the faithful have a fortress with God, through others let us youthfully run the holy course”… The general consolation is encouraging to the bearing of the Lenten effort, and the Holy Church presents us the idea that half of the effort is already accomplished and that its end, Christ’s Resurrection, is near. “Having passed the middle point,”…Together with this the Holy Church motivates her children to fervent continuation of bearing the Lenten efforts and reminds them about “the most glorious grace” “the most honorable fast, through which the prophet Elijah found the fiery chariot, and Moses received the Tablets; Daniel was magnified, and Elisha raised the dead, the Children quenched the fire, and all men are reconciled to God”,

O my God relying on Thy infinite goodness and promises, I hope to obtain pardon of my sins, the help of Thy grace, and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer. (Act of Hope – W)

Tuesday

Excerpts from commentaries on the Book of James..

VENERABLE BEDE: James says that we are tempted by our adversaries in order to learn
the virtue of patience, and thereby to be able to show and to prove that in our hearts we have a
firm belief in a future retribution. In interpreting this verse we must bear in mind what the apostle
Paul said about the same thing: “Knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance
produces character.”  Patience builds character, so that someone who possesses it
cannot be overcome but is shown to be perfect. For this reason believers are tested in order to
improve their patience, so that by it their faith may be seen to be perfect.  Saving wisdom can come only from God and cannot be
found by human free will, without the help of divine grace, as the Pelagians insist. Here,
however, James is speaking particularly about that wisdom which we need when we meet
temptations. He says that if there are some among us who do not understand why it is that we
need to be tested in this way, then we should ask God to explain to us that a father must punish
his children in order to make them ready for the inheritance of eternal life.

Holy Apostles, intercede with our merciful God, that He may grant to our souls the forgiveness of our sins.

Wednesday

Venerable Bede:  The believer must present himself to God, by his exemplary
life, in such a way as to appear to be worthy of being heard by him. For whoever knows that he
has not kept the Lord’s commandments will quite rightly have no hope of being heard by him. As
Scripture says: “If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an
abomination.”   The person who, because of his biting conscience, doubts that
he will receive any of the heavenly gifts will easily abandon his faith when he is tempted and be
carried away into various sins as easily as if he were blown about by the wind.  Everyone who humbly endures adversity for the Lord’s sake will
receive from him the highest rewards of his kingdom.

With the Saints, give rest, O Christ, to the souls of Thy servants, where there is no pain, no sorrow, no sighing, but life everlasting.

Thursday

Venerable Bede:  A double-minded man is one who on the
one hand prays to God and on the other hand fails to obtain anything from him because inside his
conscience is accusing him all the time. A man is double-minded when he wants to have fun in
this world but also reign with God in heaven. Likewise, a man is double-minded when he seeks
the approval of others for his good deeds rather than spiritual rewards from God.   If anyone is so zealous for continence or good works that he
neglects to seek the rewards of eternal recompense in return for them, that person may indeed
appear to have a fine linen miter on his head, but he does not have little crowns, for although he
certainly displays the image of virtue before other human beings, he does not acquire the reward
of virtue with the Lord.

O my God I love Thee above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because Thou art all-good and worthy of all love. I love my neighbor as myself for the love of Thee. I forgive all who have injured me, and ask pardon of all whom I have injured. (Act of Charity)

Friday

… the rich man will see the
wealth in which he gloried, and with which he used to despise the poor in this world, come to an
end. He will be humiliated by his eternal condemnation, like the rich man who despised Lazarus.  The flower of the field is pretty and its
smell is pleasant for a while, but it soon loses the attraction of its beauty and charm. The present
happiness of the ungodly is exactly the same—it lasts for a day or two and then vanishes into
nothing. The rising sun stands for the sentence of the strict Judge, which puts a quick end to the
transient glory of the reprobate. Of course it is also true that the righteous person flourishes,
though not in the same way. The unrighteous flourish for a time, like grass, but the righteous
flourish forever, like great trees, as Scripture says: “The righteous flourish like the palm tree.”

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.

Saturday

The service on this Saturday  is called the Praise of the Most Holy Theotokos, because on this day “we sing the hymns of praise” to the Most Holy Theotokos in memory of the triple deliverance of the imperial city of Constantinople from the attack of enemies through Her intercession In the reign of Heraclius (in 626) the Persians from the East and the Scythians or Avars from the west blockaded Constantinople. Patriarch Sergius took the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos called the Hodigitria and her encased robe, in a cross procession to the walls of city and when he dipped the robe of the Mother of God into the water, the sea began to boil, and the ships sank, and the unwelcome enemies were exterminated. The people spent the whole night in prayer in the Blachernae church, which is on the seacoast, singing the thanksgiving hymns to the Mother of God (Akathist). A similar deliverance of Constantinople from the Agarians occurred during [the 8th century]. The Holy Church entered into the universal use of the thanksgiving hymns to the Theotokos, performed on the 5th Sunday of Great Lent as the first deliverance of Constantinople was about this time.

Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me.  (Jesus Prayer)