What Happened on the Cross by St. John of Damascus (7th century) By nothing else except the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ has death been brought low: The sin of our first parent destroyed, hell plundered, resurrection bestowed, the power given us to despise the things of this world,
Great and Holy Friday begins with reading of the Royal Hours leading up to Vespers of Friday afternoon, at which time the removal of the Body of Christ from the Cross is commemorated. The priest removes the Body of Christ, the Epitaphios, from the Cross, wraps it in a white
The Aggressive Secularization of America As an American I have watched with sadness, the eroding of our Christian values and standards of living. When I was in grade school, each day was begun with the reading of the Bible, broadcast over the intercom system (yes, we had the technology when
I’ve never met an atheist! The young man announced at the beginning of a college class, that he was an atheist. I’d been invited as a guest lecturer, and had opened the talk with the observation that everyone has a nous that hungers for God. This young man took exception,
Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives “Our life depends on the kind of thoughts we nurture. If our thoughts are peaceful, calm, meek, and kind, then that is what our life is like. If our attention is turned to the circumstances in which we live, we are drawn into a whirlpool
The Joyful Sorrow in the Expectation of the Resurrection The main reason Christianity spread so rapidly following the Resurrection of Christ, was the power behind the resurrection. The truth of Christ’s resurrection empowered believers to joyfully embrace martyrdom, knowing that they would be joined in eternal bliss with their resurrected
Palm SundayPalm Sunday is the feast of the Church where we believers greet our Lord our king: the Word of God made flesh. He is greeted not simply as the One who came to us once riding on a donkey, but as the One who is always present with us,
Confronting Our Weaknesses As we continue our Lenten journey, this is a time when the Church puts much emphasis on the role of repentance. We strive to go to confession more frequently during Great Lent, just as we’ve increased our level of fasting, and frequency of attending the services. Holy
The Veneration of the Virgin Mary “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women (Luke 1:28).” This salutation addressed to the Virgin Mary by the Archangel Gabriel, forms a part of the hymn of the Church most frequently sung in her honor. Elizabeth, the
Our server has been down all morning, so I had to come to Seattle in order to send off the blog. Sorry! No time to write an essay if I’m going to provide the all important Scripture readings for the day. I’ve also included the schedule for Holy Week; Love