Life & Faith
Entry of Our Lord into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday)
Palm Sunday is the celebration of the triumphant entrance of Christ into the royal city of Jerusalem.
He rode on a colt for which He Himself had sent, and He permitted the people to hail Him publicly as a king. A large crowd met Him in a manner befitting royalty, waving palm branches and placing their garments in His path. They greeted Him with these words: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel! (John 12:13)
Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday
The week following the Sunday of Saint Mary of Egypt is called Palm or Branch Week. At the Tuesday services of this week the Church recalls that Jesus’ friend Lazarus has died and that the Lord is going to raise him from the dead (Jn 11). As the days continue toward Saturday, the Church, in its hymns and verses, continues to follow Christ towards Bethany to the tomb of Lazarus. On Friday evening, the eve of the celebration of the Resurrection of Lazarus, the “great and saving forty days” of Great Lent are formally brought to an end:
Having accomplished the forty days for the benefit of our souls, we pray to Thee, O Lover of Man, that we may see the holy week of Thy passion, that in it we may glorify Thy greatness and Thine unspeakable plan of salvation for our sake . . . (Vespers Hymn).
Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel
Synaxis of the Holy Archangel Gabriel: The Archangel Gabriel was chosen by the Lord to announce to the Virgin Mary about the Incarnation of the Son of God from Her, to the great rejoicing of all mankind. Therefore, on the day after the Feast of the Annunciation, the day on which the All-Pure Virgin is glorified, we give thanks to the Lord and we venerate His messenger Gabriel, who contributed to the mystery of our salvation.
Gabriel, the holy Archistrategos (Leader of the Heavenly Hosts), is a faithful servant of the Almighty God. He announced the future Incarnation of the Son of God to those of the Old Testament; he inspired the Prophet Moses to write the Pentateuch (first five books of the Old Testament), he announced the coming tribulations of the Chosen People to the Prophet Daniel (Dan. 8:16, 9:21-24); he appeared to Saint Anna (July 25) with the news that she would give birth to the Virgin Mary.
Fourth Sunday of the Great Lent
Sunday March 29, 2020
Fourth Sunday of the Great Lent
Great Lent. Food with Oil
Venerable John Lestvichnik (movable holiday on the 4th Sunday of the Great Lent).MartyrSabinas of Hermopolis, Egypt (303).whom we commemorate today
Holy Confession 10:00 A.M.Divine Liturgy 10:30 A.M
Holy Epistle:Hebrews 6:13-20Holy Gospel:Mark 9:17-31
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TONE 8 TROPARION
Thou didst descend from on high, O Merciful One! / Thou didst accept the three-day burial to free us from our sufferings! / O Lord, our Life and Resurrection: glory to Thee!
GLORY TO THE FATHER AND TO THE SON AND TO THE HOLY SPIRIT.
KONTAKION:
By rising from the tomb, Thou didst raise the dead and resurrect Adam. / Eve exults in Thy Resurrection, / and the world celebrates Thy rising from the dead, O greatly Merciful One!
The Fourth Sunday of Great Lent: Venerable John Lestvichnik, Troparion, Tone I —
Thou didst prove to be a freeman of the desert, an angel in a body, and a wonder-worker, O our God - bearing Father John. By fasting, vigil and prayer thou didst obtain heavenly gifts, and thou healest the sick and the souls of those who have recourse to thee with faith. Glory to Him Who gave thee strength, glory to Him Who crowned thee, glory to Him Who works through thee healings for all.
Kontakion, Tone I —
Offering ever-blossoming fruits of learning from thy book, O wise one, thou delightest the hearts of those who study it seriously, O blessed one. For it is a ladder which leads up from the earth to the heavenly and abiding glory souls who with faith honour thee.
St. John of the Ladder (Climacus)
St. John Climacus is honored by the Church as a great ascetic and as the author of a remarkable work entitled, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, and therefore he has been named “Climacus,” or “of the Ladder.”
There has been very little information preserved about his origin. Tradition tells us that he was born in around the year 570, and was the son of Sts. Xenophon and Maria, who are commemorated on January 26/February 28. St. John came to the monastery on Mt. Sinai at age sixteen. Abba Martyrius became his spiritual father and mentor. After four years of living on Mt. Sinai, John was tonsured a monk. One of the fathers present at his tonsure foretold that John would become a great luminary of Christ's Church. St. John labored in asceticism for nineteen years in obedience to his spiritual father. After the death of Abba Martyrius, St. John chose the life of reclusion, departing to a desert place called Thola, where he lived forty years in silence, fasting, prayer, and repentant tears. It is not by chance that St. John speaks so much of repentant tears in The Ladder. "As fire burns and destroys dead wood, so do pure tears cleanse all impurity, both inwardly and outwardly." His prayer was strong and effective—this can be seen in the following example of the great ascetic's life.
Coronavirus Advice From Met. Onuphry of Kiev and Ukrainian Hierarchs
Introduction: One of the most alarming aspect of the Coronavirus epidemic is not only the disease itself, but its effect on our faith, unprecedented questions which arise because of it, and the atmosphere of uncertainty.
In these times, we present spiritual advice from the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine, other Ukrainian Hierarchs.
