Clean Monday (Καθαρή
Δευτέρα)
Clean Monday begins with the
Vespers of Forgiveness
(held on Cheesefare Sunday evening). This Vespers service is a
little different from most, with certain prayers being said at
the end. They include the Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian.
After these prayers, a very beautiful liturgical custom takes
place. Starting from the highest ranking cleric to the last
person in Church, everyone passes by and greets each other. They
ask forgiveness from each other in preparation for Great Lent.
This “greeting” is a wonderful way to begin Great Lent, in the
spirit of forgiveness and Christian love.
Clean Monday is the first full day of fasting. It is a custom of
certain monasteries and people to fast from everything (except
water) for the first 3 days of Great Lent, to commune during the
first Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. It is important to
note that fasting for each person is determined by their
spiritual father. Fasting and our participation in the services
are ways for us to get closer to God.
On this night, Greek Orthodox Christians also
participate in the “Koulouma” fellowship meal after the first
Compline service.
About the
Sundays of Great Lent...
1st
Sunday of Lent - Sunday of Orthodoxy (Κυριακή της Ορθοδοξίας)
The 1st Sunday of Lent is dedicated to
something that is close
to our hearts:
our Orthodox Church!
Specifically, it’s dedicated to the times where the Church
defeated
iconoclasm.
The heresy of
iconoclasm
was one started by Emperor Leo the Assyrian, who said that icons
should not be allowed in Churches. Iconoclasts destroyed all
kinds of icons, and said that Holy Communion and the Cross were
the only valid kinds of icons.
The Church declared this a heresy because Holy Communion is
not a symbol,
but is the actual Body and Blood of Christ!
When a person kisses an icon or the Cross, they do not worship
them, but
venerate
them (in other words,
show them respect).
The 7th Ecumenical Council, held in Nicaea, declared that it is
honorable and right to declare our Faith in such a way,
depicting our Lord, the Theotokos and the Saints in icons.
To
commemorate this great day, Churches across the world have a
special service that takes place at the end of the Divine
Liturgy. The Altar Boys and various others process around the
Church with icons, showing that
“this is the Faith of the Apostles! This is the Faith of the
Fathers! This is the Faith of the Orthodox! This is the Faith on
which has established the Universe!”
May God bless our Church always!
Biblical Readings:
Epistle: Hebrews 11:24-26, 32-40
Gospel: John 1:43-51
2nd Sunday of Lent - Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas (Αγ.
Γρηγορίου Παλαμά)
The city of Thessaloniki is known for its many Saints. One of
them, the one to whom the Cathedral is dedicated to, is
celebrated this Sunday.
St. Gregory Palamas
was Archbishop of Thessaloniki in the 14th century, and defended
the Faith against Barlaam the Calabrian (who was against
monasticism). He taught that divine grace is not created, but
the uncreated energies of God are poured out throughout
creation; otherwise, humanity could never have authentic
communication with God. He reposed in the Lord in 1359.
As
we celebrated the
Sunday of Orthodoxy
last week, the Church decided to celebrate the memory of a man
who was dedicated to the Faith and was one of its chief
defenders at a time where heresy was threatening the Church.
We also read the Gospel of Christ healing and forgiving the sins
of the paralytic. We see in this Gospel reading that Christ is
not only a man, but the God-Man who came to save us from
corruption. He is the one to forgive our sins, and to bring us
back to Paradise.
Biblical Readings:
Epistle: Hebrews 1:10-2:3
Gospel: Mark 2:1-12
3rd
Sunday of Lent - Cross-Adoring Sunday (Κυριακή
της Σταυροπροσκυνήσεως)
Ιn
the middle of Great Lent, the Church gives its faithful a sign
of victory, one that can bring strength to them in this time of
fasting. The
Sunday of the Holy Cross
is
one that brings everything into perspective, especially with the
Gospel reading, the Lord saying to all His disciples:
"If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and
take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life
will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the
gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man, to gain
the whole world and forfeit his life?"
With us “bearing our crosses” during Great Lent, we also come to
venerate the Holy Cross of the Lord on this day. After the
Doxology (or, in some Churches, at the end of the Divine
Liturgy), the Priest and Altar Boys will process with the Holy
Cross (surrounded by beautiful flowers) in the Church. The
entire Church will chant the hymn of the Cross when the
procession is finished: “Lord,
save Your people and bless Your inheritance. Grant victory to
our rulers over the enemy, and protect Your commonwealth by the
might of Your cross!”
At
the end of the Liturgy, the Priest will give out the flowers by
the Holy Cross to the people as a blessing.
Biblical Readings:
Epistle: Hebrews 4:14-5:6
Gospel: Mark 8:34-38, 9:1
4th Sunday of Lent - St. John of the Ladder (Αγ. Ιωάννης της
Κλίμακος)
Many of our Saints, from
the time they were born to the time they fell asleep in the
Lord, lived lives that were dedicated to God. One of those
Saints includes St. John “of the Ladder”, who is commemorated on
the 4th Sunday of Lent.
St. John St. John “of
the Ladder” was only 16 years old when he left Palestine and
went to St. Catherine’s monastery (at Mt. Sinai, Egypt). He
lived there for 50 years, where he wrote his famous book, “The
Ladder of Divine Ascent”.
This is a “spiritual ladder”; Christians follow certain rules so
that they can get closer to God, and symbolically climb to
heaven. He had struggles, like any person does, but he won over
those struggles that the Devil put for him. That’s why we
celebrate his memory on this Sunday of Lent: St. John is a
perfect example of how a person could be faithful all of their
life, and be together with God in the Kingdom of Heaven.
His prayer and fasting
got him closer to God, and had him to realize that love of God
that only those together with God can feel. Getting closer to
God can be done so many different ways, each with the same
result. From praying and fasting, to going to Sunday School and
reading our Bibles, to going for Holy Communion every Sunday,
it’s about saying in our own way,
“thank you God for me waking up; for coming to
Church; for my entire family; for my friends; for my teachers;
that I have food and drink; that I have so many people that care
for me; thank you that I have You to care for me, so that You
may guide me throughout my life, so I may enter Your Kingdom.”
Biblical Readings:
Epistle: Hebrews 6:13-20
Gospel: Mark 9:17-31
5th Sunday of Lent - St. Mary of Egypt (Αγ. Μαρία η Αιγυπτία)
When people think of
Saints, the majority see them as St. John “of the Ladder” : a
Saint is someone that is together with God all of their lives,
incapable of sin.
Yet, they are so misguided. Saints are regular human beings with
passions, that sinned throughout their lives. We see the same
thing with St. Mary of Egypt, the Saint we commemorate on the
5th Sunday of Lent.
St. Mary of Egypt was
anything
but a Saint throughout the
first part of her life. From a very young age, she was a
prostitute. Being from Egypt, she decided that she wanted to see
the Holy Land and the Tomb of Christ (also known as the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre).
As she went to enter the Church, a force kept her outside. She
was unable to enter, while so many others did. She realized that
God had done this to have her stop her sinning. She promised to
God that day she would stop. She repented with a pure heart, and
she was allowed to enter. She went for Confession, received Holy
Communion, and then went to the desert to live for years in
repentance. Years after, she was visited by a Priest-monk,
Zosimas (later a Saint in our Church). He gave her Holy
Communion, and they discussed her trials and tribulations.
Although she suffered much, she was so happy to be with Christ.
Later that same day, she fell asleep in the Lord.
Moral of today’s Sunday:
It’s never too late to be reunited with God.
He wants us to be in His Loving Embrace. He will forgive us… all
we have to do is ask.
Biblical Readings:
Epistle: Hebrews 9:11-14
Gospel: Mark 10:32-45
Lazarus
Saturday (Σάββατο του Λαζάρου)
The Gospel of St. John
tells us that a few days before this Saturday, Jesus was
informed that his friend, Lazarus, was very ill. Jesus did not
rush to Lazarus, but waited for him to pass away.
Four days after Lazarus’
death, Jesus appeared at the house of Lazarus. Upon his arrival,
Mary and Martha (Lazarus’ sisters) met Him and asked Him why He
didn’t save their brother. Even though they said this, they
still believed that they would see Lazarus again at the General
Resurrection (when all the people who passed away will be
brought back to life, and be judged at the Second Coming).
After this encounter,
Jesus went to see Lazarus’ tomb. It is here we find the shortest
verse in the Bible: “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35) This shows us
that Jesus was a human being: He had emotions, just like
everyone else, and He felt the pain of a friend being lost.
Yet, Jesus does not cry
like those who have no hope; rather, He shows everyone that He
is “the Resurrection and the Life,” (John 11:25) by commanding
Lazarus to come out of the tomb. People initially didn’t
believe; yet, in moments everyone saw Lazarus come out from the
tomb! This miracle shows us that Jesus is also God, having power
over the living and the dead.
From this day until Thomas Sunday, we do not
perform memorials (μνημόσυνα) in Church.
Biblical Readings:
Epistle: Hebrews 12:28-13:8
Gospel: John 11:1-45
