We must empower children in the Orthodox faith
Every Orthodox parent wants their children to grow up attending Sunday Liturgies and staying active in the life of the Church throughout their lives. Yet many parents don’t demonstrate the importance of having a relationship with God in front of their children. If we do not make God important, neither will our children. Children observe their parents, and other adults. They see hypocrisy and know when we are not following through with the teachings of the Church during the week. They hear when we take the Lord’s name in vain. They observe when we don’t make prayer central to our day. They notice when we only speak of God on a Sunday morning.
Making the sign of the cross, lighting candles and burning incense only on Sundays teaches our children to compartmentalize their own faith, thus leaving them defenseless in a world filled with temptations and distractions from things that are of a spiritual nature. If we do not demonstrate the importance of prayer before our children, we will leave them defenseless in a world that hates Christ. Our children need to pray with us, read the scriptures with us, and be taught the faith by us. If we do not make our homes a domestic church, our children will be lost to Christ, and Orthodoxy will not be lived out beyond our own grave.
Love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Sunday March 21, 2021 / March 8, 2021
First Sunday of the Great Lent: Triumph of Orthodoxy. Tone eight.
Great Lent. Food with Oil
“Cyprus” Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos from the village Staromniy, Moscow region (movable holiday on the 1st Sunday of the Great Lent).
Venerable Theophylactus, bishop of Nicomedia (845).
New Hieromartyr John priest (1923).
Martyr Vladimir (1942).
Venerables Lazarus and Athanasius, monks of Murman Island, Onega Lake (1391).
Apostle Hermas of the Seventy (1st c.).
Hieromartyr Theodoretus of Antioch (361).
Venerable Dometius, monk (363).
Kursk “Sign” Icon (1898) Icon of the Mother of God.
St. Felix of Burgundy, bishop of Dunwich and enlightener of East Anglia (648) (Celtic & British).
Venerable Paul of Prusias, confessor (840) (Greek).
Martyr Dio (Greek).
Martyrs Quintilian and Capatolinus in Nicomedia.
The Scripture Readings
John 20:11-18
Mary Magdalene Sees the Risen Lord
11 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 13 Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”
14 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”
She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).
17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ”
18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.
Hebrews 11:24-26
24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.
Hebrews 11:32-12:2
32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again.
Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.
39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.
The Race of Faith
12 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
John 1:43-51
Philip and Nathanael
43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
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Father, I totally agree with your posting today – we must teach our children daily to live an orthodox life by demonstration/example. However, I do not remember hearing this when I was younger and had children at home to impress the importance of living that orthodox life on them. Now, I am older, my children have left the home and are living on their own. I am afraid I did not do my job very well and neither of my children attend liturgy consistently. My question is this – is there anything we, older adults, can do to instill a sense of relationship with God?
We older folks can witness our faith by imaging the love of the Saviour to others, praying a blessing when others are having a meal with us (although perhaps just lowering our head and making the sign of the cross, without acting like we are trying to push our faith on our friends or relatives), AND praying for our youth. Many young people do return to the faith, as we’ve seen demonstrated during the pandemic, which large numbers of young people, especially young men, coming to the monastery for services and conversation. Many a young person will be saved by the prayers of their mothers or grandmothers.