" I AM GREEK AND I WANNA GO HOME "

7th Sunday from Pascha

Today is the seventh Sunday from Pascha. It is the day on which we commemorate the Holy Fathers of the 1st Ecumenical Council (Synod), which took place in 325 AD in Nicaea, Bithynia (Northern Turkey – Asia Minor).

The Holy Gospel extract is part of the Hierarchal Prayer of Jesus Christ, following the Last Supper. Our Lord is praying to His eternal Father as a man. Prayer unites us with each other and with God. It elevates us, because as we all pray to the same God, the God of our Fathers, we are close to Him. As we are close to Him, we become close to each other. Unity is the most important thing for mankind. That is why He and everything tend towards unity. In the Hierarchal prayer that we read, Christ thanks His Father for glorifying Him, in other words for Christ’s sacrifice. The glory of Jesus Christ is His sacrifice for us. This is something very moving for us. He deigned to die for us and rose for us. He did and does everything for us. That is love. Love till death and the Cross and love till the Resurrection and beyond.

Don't Complain

"Do not think that you have a right to complain when your prayers are not answered. God fulfills your desires in a manner that you do not know."

-St. Nektarios the Wonderworker

full-of-grace-and-truth. 

PREPARATION FOR CONFESSION

DURING GREAT LENT, and the other fasts of the Church Year, it is customary for all Orthodox Christians to go to confession to their priest. Properly this should be done several times a year, the exact frequency depending upon how often one is blessed to receive the Holy Mysteries and on the counsel and blessing of one's spiritual father. As a preparation for this sacramental confession and to help one examine one's conscience before coming to confession, the following questions are sometimes distributed in parishes and, although of course the list is not exhaustive, it may be a help to those of our readers who are Orthodox Christians.

Sins against God

Do you pray to God in the morning and evening and before and after meals?

During prayer have you allowed your thoughts to wander?

Have you rushed or gabbled your prayers?

Or when reading in church?

Do you read the Scriptures daily?

Do you read other spiritual writings regularly?

Have you read books whose content are not Orthodox or are even anti-Orthodox, or which are spiritually damaging?

Have you pronounced the name of God without reverence, or in a frivolous manner?

Have you asked God's help before starting every activity?

Have you made the sign of the Cross carelessly, thoughtlessly?

The Son

  A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art.. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.

When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.

About a month later, just before Christmas there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands.

He said, 'Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art.' The young man held out this package. 'I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.'

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture.. 'Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift.'

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.

The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.