Sunday<\/p>\n
Hebrews 9\u00a0 \u00a0Christ 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\u00a0cause 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.<\/p>\n
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: \u201cMay 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
**This week begins a daily prayer from the East or West<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Monday<\/p>\n
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”\u2026 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”,<\/p>\n
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)<\/p>\n
Tuesday<\/p>\n
Excerpts from commentaries on the Book of James..<\/p>\n
VENERABLE BEDE: James says that we are tempted by our adversaries in order to learn
\nthe virtue of patience, and thereby to be able to show and to prove that in our hearts we have a
\nfirm belief in a future retribution. In interpreting this verse we must bear in mind what the apostle
\nPaul said about the same thing: \u201cKnowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance
\nproduces character.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Patience builds character, so that someone who possesses it
\ncannot be overcome but is shown to be perfect. For this reason believers are tested in order to
\nimprove their patience, so that by it their faith may be seen to be perfect.\u00a0\u00a0Saving wisdom can come only from God and cannot be
\nfound by human free will, without the help of divine grace, as the Pelagians insist. Here,
\nhowever, James is speaking particularly about that wisdom which we need when we meet
\ntemptations. He says that if there are some among us who do not understand why it is that we
\nneed to be tested in this way, then we should ask God to explain to us that a father must punish
\nhis children in order to make them ready for the inheritance of eternal life.<\/p>\n
Holy Apostles, intercede with our merciful God, that He may grant to our souls the forgiveness of our sins.<\/p>\n
Wednesday<\/p>\n
Venerable Bede:\u00a0\u00a0The believer must present himself to God, by his exemplary
\nlife, in such a way as to appear to be worthy of being heard by him. For whoever knows that he
\nhas not kept the Lord\u2019s commandments will quite rightly have no hope of being heard by him. As
\nScripture says: \u201cIf one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an
\nabomination.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0The person who, because of his biting conscience, doubts that
\nhe will receive any of the heavenly gifts will easily abandon his faith when he is tempted and be
\ncarried away into various sins as easily as if he were blown about by the wind.\u00a0\u00a0Everyone who humbly endures adversity for the Lord\u2019s sake will
\nreceive from him the highest rewards of his kingdom.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Thursday<\/p>\n
Venerable Bede:\u00a0\u00a0A double-minded man is one who on the
\none hand prays to God and on the other hand fails to obtain anything from him because inside his
\nconscience is accusing him all the time. A man is double-minded when he wants to have fun in
\nthis world but also reign with God in heaven. Likewise, a man is double-minded when he seeks
\nthe approval of others for his good deeds rather than spiritual rewards from God.\u00a0 \u00a0If anyone is so zealous for continence or good works that he
\nneglects to seek the rewards of eternal recompense in return for them, that person may indeed
\nappear to have a fine linen miter on his head, but he does not have little crowns, for although he
\ncertainly displays the image of virtue before other human beings, he does not acquire the reward
\nof virtue with the Lord.<\/p>\n
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)<\/p>\n
Friday<\/p>\n
… the rich man will see the
\nwealth in which he gloried, and with which he used to despise the poor in this world, come to an
\nend. He will be humiliated by his eternal condemnation, like the rich man who despised Lazarus.\u00a0 The flower of the field is pretty and its
\nsmell is pleasant for a while, but it soon loses the attraction of its beauty and charm. The present
\nhappiness of the ungodly is exactly the same\u2014it lasts for a day or two and then vanishes into
\nnothing. The rising sun stands for the sentence of the strict Judge, which puts a quick end to the
\ntransient glory of the reprobate. Of course it is also true that the righteous person flourishes,
\nthough not in the same way. The unrighteous flourish for a time, like grass, but the righteous
\nflourish forever, like great trees, as Scripture says: \u201cThe righteous flourish like the palm tree.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Saturday<\/p>\n
The service on this Saturday \u00a0is 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.<\/p>\n
Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me.\u00a0 (Jesus Prayer)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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