Abba Isaac said: “Once I was sitting with Abba Poemen,
and I saw that he was in an ecstasy; and since I used to speak very
openly with him, I made a prostration before him and asked him, ‘Tell
me, where were you?’ And he did not want to tell me. But when I pressed
him, he replied: ‘My thoughts were with St. Mary the Mother of God, as
she stood and wept at the Cross of the Savior; and I wish that I could
always weep as much as she wept then.’”
The Sayings of the Desert Fathers
Behold, the Bridegroom cometh in the middle of the night, and blessed is that servant whom He shall find watching; and again unworthy is he whom He shall find heedless. Beware, therefore, O my soul, lest thou be overcome with sleep, lest thou be given up to death, and be shut out from the Kingdom. But rouse thyself and cry: Holy, Holy, Holy art Thou, O God, through the Theotokos, have mercy on us.
Leo the Great of Rome, Homily 59: On the Holy Passion of Christ From Sermon LIX, given in Wednesday of Holy Week. St Leo the Great (pope of Rome from 440-461, reposed in the Lord AD 461) was bishop in one of the more controversy-ridden periods of Church history. He was engaged in the Christological controversy that consumed the fifth century, and his great Tome was to be of substantial influence in the events leading to the Ecumenical Council of Ephesis in 451. In this sermon, St Leo explores the Passion of Our Lord and its meaning in the Christian Life.
[…]
IV. Christ Bearing His Own Cross is an Eternal Lesson to the Church.
And so the Lord was handed over to their savage wishes, and in mockery of His kingly state, ordered to be the bearer of His own instrument of death, that what Isaiah the prophet foresaw might be fulfilled, saying, "Behold a Child is born, and a Son is given to us whose government is upon His shoulders." When, therefore, the Lord carried the wood of the cross which should turn for Him into the sceptre of power, it was indeed in the eyes of the wicked a mighty mockery, but to the faithful a mighty mystery was set forth, seeing that He, the glorious vanquisher of the Devil, and the strong defeater of the powers that were against Him, was carrying in noble sort the trophy of His triumph, and on the shoulders of His unconquered patience bore into all realms the adorable sign of salvation: as if even then to confirm all His followers by this mere symbol of His work, and say, "He that taketh not his cross and followeth Me, is not worthy of Me." V. The Transference of the Cross from the Lord To Simon of Cyrene Signifies the Participation of the Gentiles in His Sufferings.
But as the multitudes went with Jesus to the place of punishment, a certain Simon of Cyrene was found on whom to lay the wood of the cross instead of the Lord; that even by this act might be pre-signified the Gentiles' faith, to whom the cross of Christ was to be not shame but glory. It was not accidental, therefore, but symbolical and mystical, that while the Jews were raging against Christ, a foreigner was found to share His sufferings, as the Apostle says, "if we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him"; so that no Hebrew nor Israelite, but a stranger, was substituted for the Saviour in His most holy degradation. For by this transference the propitiation of the spotless Lamb and the fulfilment of all mysteries passed from the circumcision to the uncircumcision, from the sons according to the flesh to the sons according to the spirit: since as the Apostle says, "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us," Who offering Himself to the Father a new and true sacrifice of reconciliation, was crucified not in the temple, whose worship was now at an end, and not within the confines of the city which for its sin was doomed to be destroyed, but outside, "without the camp," that, on the cessation of the old symbolic victims, a new Victim might be placed on a new altar, and the cross of Christ might be the altar not of the temple but of the world. VI. We are to See Not Only the Cross But the Meaning of It.
Accordingly, dearly-beloved, Christ being lifted up upon the cross, let the eyes of your mind not dwell only on that sight which those wicked sinners saw, to whom it was said by the mouth of Moses, "And thy life shall be hanging before thine eyes, and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt not be assured of thy life." For in the crucified Lord they could think of nothing but their wicked deed, having not the fear, by which true faith is justified, but that by which an evil conscience is racked. But let our understandings, illumined by the Spirit of Truth, foster with pure and free heart the glory of the cross which irradiates heaven and earth, and see with the inner sight what the Lord meant when He spoke of His coming Passion: "The hour is come that the Son of man may be glorified"; and below He says, "Now is My spirit troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour, but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy Son." And when the Father's voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again," Jesus in reply said to those that stood by, "This voice came not for Me but for you. Now is the world's judgment, now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things unto Me." VII. The Power of the Cross is Universally Attractive.
O wondrous power of the Cross! O in effable glory of the Passion, in which is contained the Lord's tribunal, the world's judgment, and the power of the Crucified! For thou didst draw all things unto Thee, Lord and when Thou hadst stretched out Thy hands all the day, long to an unbelieving people that gainsaid Thee, the whole world at last was brought to confess Thy majesty. Thou didst draw all things unto Thee, Lord, when all the elements combined to pronounce judgment in execration of the Jews' crime, when the lights of heaven were darkened, and the day turned into night, and the earth also was shaken with unwonted shocks, and all creation refused to serve those wicked men. Thou didst draw all things unto Thee, Lord. for the veil of the temple was rent, and the Holy of Holies existed no more for those unworthy high-priests: so that type was turned into Truth, prophecy into Revelation law into Gospel. Thou didst draw all things unto Thee, Lord, so that what before was done in the one temple of the Jews in dark signs, was now to be celebrated everywhere by the piety of all the nations in full and open rite. For now there is a nobler rank of Levites, there are elders of greater dignity and priests of holier anointing: because Thy cross is the fount of all blessings, the source of all graces, and through it the believers receive strength for weakness, glory for shame, life for death. Now, too, the variety of fleshly sacrifices has ceased, and the one offering of Thy Body and Blood fulfils all those different victims: for Thou art the true "Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world," and in Thyself so accomplishest all mysteries, that as there is but one sacrifice instead of many victims, so there is but one kingdom instead of many nations.
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The sons of perdition and the children of darkness went out in the darkness to arrest the Sun, Who had the power to consume them in an instant.
But the Master, knowing their effrontery
and the force of their anger, with gentleness, by His own authority, gave Himself up into the hands of the ungodly.
And lawless men, having bound the most pure Master,
mocked the One Who had bound the strong one with unbreakable bonds, and set us free from the bonds of sins.
They plaited a crown of their own thorns, the fruit borne by the vine of the Jews. In mockery they called Him ‘King’.
The lawless spat in the face of the Most Pure, at Whose glance all the Powers of Heaven and the ranks of Angels quake with fear.
See, once again grief and tears grip hold of my heart,
as I contemplate the Master enduring outrage and insults,
scourgings, spitting from slaves, and blows…
Let us fear, my brethren and not simply listen. The Saviour endured all these things for us…
You that are longed for and loved by Christ, draw near, with compunction and longing for the Saviour. Come, let us learn what took place today in Sion, David’s city.
The longed-for and chosen offspring of Abraham, what did they do today? They gave up to death the most pure Master on this day. Christ our Saviour was unjustly hanged on the tree of the Cross through lawless hands.
Come, let us all wash our bodies with tears and groans,
because our Lord, the King of glory, for us ungodly people
was given up to death… Let us always be fearful, keeping before our eyes the Saviour’s sufferings. Let us always keep in mind His sufferings, because it was for us He suffered, the dispassionate Master; for us, He was crucified — the only sinless One.
What return can we make for all this, brethren?
Let us be attentive to ourselves and not despise His sufferings. Draw near all of you, children of the Church,
bought with the precious and holy blood of the most pure Master. Come, let us meditate on His sufferings with tears,
thinking on fear, meditating with trembling, saying to ourselves: ‘Christ our Saviour - for us, the impious - was given over to death’.
Learn well, brother, what it is you hear: God Who is without sin, Son of the Most High, for you was given up.
Open your heart, learn in details His sufferings and say to yourself, God, Who is without sin:
today was given up,
today was mocked,
today was abused,
today was struck,
today was scourged,
today wore a crown of thorns,
today was crucified,
He, the heavenly Lamb.
Your heart will tremble, your soul will shudder.
Shed tears everyday by this meditation on the Master’s sufferings. Tears become sweet, (for) the soul is enlightened that always meditates on Christ’s sufferings.
Always meditating thus, shedding tears every day,
giving thanks to the Master for the sufferings that He suffered for you, so that in the day of His Coming your tears may become your boast and exaltation before the judgment seat. Endure as you meditate on the loving Master’s sufferings — endure temptations, give thanks from your soul. Blessed is the one who has before his eyes
the heavenly Master and His sufferings, and has crucified himself from all the passions and earthly deeds, who has become an imitator of his own Master. This is the understanding, this is the attitude of servants who love God, when they become ever imitators of their Master
by good works.
Shameless man, do you watch the most pure Master hanging on the Cross,while you pass the time that you have to live on earth in pleasure and laughter? Don’t you know, miserable wretch, that the crucified Lord will demand an account of all your disdainful deeds, for which, when you hear of them, you show no concern; and as you take your pleasure, you laugh and enjoy yourself with indifference?
The day will come,that fearful day, for you to weep unceasingly and cry out in the fire from your pains, and there will be no one at all to answer and have mercy on your soul.
"To remember God is not the same thing as to love God. To fear Him is not the same as to keep His commandments. They are quite different things, though they become one in those who are prefect and impassible."
Yesterday was Forgiveness Sunday – the last day for dairy and fish until Pascha.
Why do we Orthodox abstain from animal products during Great Lent? The answer is surprisingly practical. First, we make ourselves hungry so that we will become hungry for God. Secondly, we will be less governed by the “passions,” because we are abstaining from foods that feed the passions.
Although not well known among non-Orthodox, we Orthodox have found through centuries of experience that a diet without animal products leads to a more prayerful, more peaceful frame of mind. We do eat shellfish (mussels, clams, shrimp, crab, etc) and are able thereby to obtain sufficient protein – even for small children – to maintain adequate growth of cells and maintenance of body processes. Don’t laugh until you try it! During the fast, we are to pray more intensely and more frequently, to attend services more frequently (there are extra services during the week to help sustain us), to give more alms. This year, for instance, many of us will contribute more to the various Haiti relief efforts through our Church. We study the Church Fathers more. We read spiritually supportive works – some of which may have been written recently, but most written well into the past, having passed the “test of time.” Last year, Fr. Stephen Freeman wrote an excellent post on the Difficulty of Lent.
Another article by Archpriest Victor Potopov, The Great Lent – Fasting is also very explanatory. Father Victor says, in part, “Great Lent is for the Orthodox Christian, on the one hand, a time of radiant sorrow, and simultaneously with this, it is a difficult journey, marked by struggle, to the shining and beautiful goal of the feast of the Resurrection of Christ–Holy Pascha.
“Why have we called the time of Great Lent a time of radiant sorrow? We experience sorrow because we are conscious that we have departed from the Father’s house into a far country, that in our vain and distracted life we have not preserved the purity of our baptismal garment, in which we were clothed when we entered the Church. It is necessary to shake off that condition of numbness, those cobwebs of everyday life which suggest to us that the life of this world–which is in us and around us–is the only possible way of life. To yearn for another form of existence–the one revealed to us in the Gospel and in the experience of the saints and ascetics-means to commune with that radiant sorrow which is the beginning of spiritual renewal.
“This sorrow is radiant because we know that God accepts us who return to Him with the very same love and readiness to forgive with which the father accepted and forgave the prodigal son of the Gospel parable.” [--MORE--]
The Lord of all
is the treasure store of all things:
upon each according to his capacity
He bestows a glimpse
of the beauty of His hiddenness,
of the splendor of His majesty.
He is the radiance who, in His love,
makes everyone shine
—the small, with flashes of light from Him,
the perfect, with rays more intense,
but only His Child is sufficient
for the might of His glory.
{Excerpt from St. Ephraim of Syria Hymns on Faith}
15 June 10
The day is moving toward supper-prep time, and it’s time to stop and acknowledge that we are in the midst of the Sts. Peter and Paul Fast. Having rejoiced for fifty days following Pascha (Easter – the Resurrection of Jesus Christ), the Apostles began to prepare for their departure from Jerusalem to spread Christ’s message. According to Sacred Tradition, as part of their preparation, they began a fast with prayer to ask God to strengthen their resolve and to be with them in their missionary undertakings. As Orthodox Christian Fasts go, it is a rather mild fast. From the Monday following the Sunday of All Saints, we abstain from red meat, poultry, meat products, eggs, dairy products, fish, oil, and wine. Fish, wine and oil are allowed on Saturdays and Sundays, and oil and wine are allowed on Tuesdays and Thursdays. These fasting rules are much the same as those observed during the Nativity Fast. The Fast lasts until June 29 (July 12, old style), the Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.
This Fast has existed at least since Pope Leo I (461 AD), and is spoken of in his homilies. It has, however, been forgotten in the West. The Fast is thought to have been instituted out of thanksgiving to God for the witness of the apostles of Christ. With this Fast, believers express their thanks for the apostles’ endurance of persecution during their mission.
