Apply Wine and Oil
I just love the interaction between Christ and the lawyer that we see in Luke 10. Christ asks: “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” The lawyer replies: “You shall love the Lord your God from all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with […]
How to Pray for Ukraine
Ukraine’s top Church leader, Metropolitan Onufriy, not only called on his people to pray (early on in the war), but gave them a prayer rule. It is short and simple, and he asked them to pray it at least once a day. Pray Psalm 90 (91) with twelve prostrations or bows. “He who dwells in the […]
Why Fast?
Our Lord began his ministry with a fast, and addressed fasting not with an indifference of saying “if you fast”; rather teaching his disciples with the words “when you fast . . . ” Matthew 6:16-18 16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that […]
Great Lent & Fasting
The season of Great Lent is the time of preparation for the feast of the Resurrection of Christ. It is a time of renewed devotion: of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, repentance & renewal of our minds, hearts and deeds in conformity with Christ and His teachings, our return to the great commandments of loving God […]
Preparing for the Journey to Pascha!
Pre-Lent The paschal season of the Church is preceded by the season of Great Lent, which is itself preceded by its own liturgical preparation. The first sign of the approach of Great Lent comes five Sundays before its beginning. On this Sunday the Gospel reading is about Zacchaeus the tax-collector. It tells how Christ brought […]