Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Sunday, April 26, 2020
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Life and Death 2nd Sunday after Easter Bishop's Blessing
Life and Death
2nd Sunday after Easter
This is the
second Sunday after Easter in the western church, the Bishop's blessing for the
day. May Almighty God who by His freely- given mercy created you; may He give
hope to you of rising again in the Resurrection of His Only- Begotten Son.
Amen. May He raise you from the tombs of your faults, who raised Him from the
dead . Amen. So that you may live happily with Him without end, Whom you
believe truly a rose from the dead. Amen. May He Whose Kingdom and Dominion
remain without end, be pleased to sustain us unto ages of Ages. Amen. May the
blessing of God: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and the piece of
the Lord be ever with you. Amen. +William.
Sunday, April 19, 2020
First Sunday after Easter/Resurrection Day Bishop's Blessing
Bishop's blessing, 1st Sunday after Easter. May God who's
only - begotten Son was pleased to appear on this day to His Disciples while
the doors were closed, be pleased to fill you by the gift of his Blessing, and
be pleased to open the doors of the Heavenly Kingdom to you. Amen. And may He
Who cut away wounds of doubt from their breasts by taking on the wounds of his
Body, grant that by faith you may believe that He is risen and that you may be
without the stains of all deficiencies. Amen. And may you, who believe He is
God and Lord, along with Thomas who's exclamations and bowing down were drawn
forth from him, be strong enough to be watchful against all evils in this age,
and be strong enough to stand present in the congregation of the Saints in the
future. Amen. May He whose Kingdom and Dominion remain without end, be pleased
to sustain us unto ages of ages. Amen. May the blessing of God: the Father and
the Son and the Holy Spirit and the Peace of the Lord be ever with you. Amen.
+William
Monday, April 13, 2020
Resurrection Day, Pascha, Easter April 12, 2020
Resurrection Sunday
Greetings in Christ Jesus,
Sunday April 12, 2020
The Feast of Feasts
Epistle: 1
Corinthians 5: 6-8
6 Your glorying is not good. Know you not that a
little leaven corrupts the whole lump? 7 Purge out the old leaven,
that you may be a new paste, as you are unleavened. For Christ our Passover is
sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us feast, not with the old leaven, nor
with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of
sincerity and truth.
Psalm: 65/66
1 Unto the end, a canticle of a psalm of the
resurrection. Shout with joy to God, all the earth, 2 sing a psalm
to his name; give glory to his praise. 3 Say unto God, How terrible
are Your works, O Lord! In the multitude of Your strength Your enemies shall
lie to You. 4 Let all the earth adore You, and sing to You: let it
sing a psalm to Your name. 5 Come and see the works of God; who is
terrible in his counsels over the sons of men. 6 Who turns the sea
into dry land, in the river they shall pass on foot: there shall we rejoice in
him. 7 Who by his power rules for ever: his eyes behold the
nations; let not them that provoke him be exalted in themselves. 8 O
bless our God, you Gentiles: and make the voice of his praise to be heard. 9 Who
has set my soul to live: and has not suffered my feet to be moved: 10 For
You, O God, has proved us: You have tried us by fire, as silver is tried. 11 You
have brought us into a net, You have laid afflictions on our back: 12 You
have set men over our heads. We have passed through fire and water, and You
have brought us out into a refreshment. 13 I will go into Your
house with burnt offerings: I will pay You my vows, 14 which my
lips have uttered, And my mouth has spoken, when I was in trouble. 15 I
will offer up to You holocausts full of marrow, with burnt offerings of rams: I
will offer to You bullocks with goats. 16 Come and hear, all you
that fear God, and I will tell you what great things he has done for my soul. 17 I
cried to him with my mouth: and I extolled him with my tongue. 18 If
I have looked at iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. 19 Therefore
has God heard me, and has attended to the voice of my supplication. 20 Blessed
be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.
Psalm: 150
1 Alleluia.
Praise the Lord in his holy places: praise him in the firmament of his power. 2 Praise
him for his mighty acts: praise him according to the multitude of his
greatness. 3 Praise
him with sound of trumpet: praise him with psaltery and harp. 4 Praise
him with timbrel and choir: praise him with strings and organs. 5 Praise
him on high sounding cymbals: praise him on cymbals of joy: 6 let
every spirit praise the Lord. Alleluia.
Gospel: Matthew
28: 1-20
1 And in the end of the Sabbath, when it began
to dawn towards the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalen and the other
Mary, to see the sepulcher. 2 And behold there was a great
earthquake. For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and coming, rolled
back the stone, and sat upon it. 3 And his countenance was as
lightning, and his raiment as snow. 4 And for fear of him, the guards
were struck with terror, and became as dead men. 5 And the angel
answering, said to the women: Fear not; for I know that you seek Jesus who was
crucified. 6 He is not here, for he is risen, as he said. Come, and
see the place where the Lord was laid. 7 And going quickly, tell
his disciples that he is risen: and behold he will go before you into Galilee;
there you shall see him. Lo, I have foretold it to you. 8 And they
went out quickly from the sepulcher with fear and great joy, running to tell
his disciples. 9 And behold Jesus met them, saying: All hail. But
they came up and took hold of his feet, and adored him.
10 Then Jesus said to them: Fear not. Go, tell
my brethren that they go into Galilee, there they shall see me.
11 Who
when they were departed, behold some of the guards came into the city, and told
the chief priests all things that had been done. 12 And they being
assembled together with the ancients, taking counsel, gave a great sum of money
to the soldiers, 13 saying: Say you, His disciples came by night,
and stole him away when we were asleep. 14 And if the governor
shall hear this, we will persuade him, and secure you. 15 So they
taking the money did as they were taught: and this word was spread abroad among
the Jews even unto this day. 16 And the eleven disciples went into
Galilee, unto the mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
17 And
seeing him they adored: but some doubted. 18 And Jesus coming,
spoke to them, saying: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. 19 Going
therefore, teach all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 20 Teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even
to the end of the world.
My Friends,
CHRIST IS RISEN!
Beloved Brethren, Freed from the darkness of the world and
elected to the promise of justice and heavenly light, let us implore the
inexhaustible goodness of Almighty God the Father, through Christ His Son, that
His Holy Catholic Church may be spread throughout the world, that church which
He gathered unto Himself by the Passion and glorious Blood of His most beloved
Son. May He guard it by the protection of His Majesty against all the insidious
things of this world. May He bestow a protection and defense, and grant it a
perpetual time of tranquility, through the Risen Christ, who reigns with the
Father and the Holy Spirit, God, throughout all ages of ages. R. Amen.
Christ is risen, Alleluia, death is defeated, sin has been
overcome, all of this done by our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ through
sinless life, His crucifixion, death, and resurrection. This is a glorious day for those who believe.
Praise God and glorify His holy name. I pray that on this day that there is a
true awakening in each and every one of us. I pray that as the Psalmist says we
have been proven, that during the days leading up to this day we have been
tried by fire as silver is tried, I pray
that we have had afflictions laid upon our backs, and that we all have passed
through fire and water, and have been brought out into a refreshment. My
friends, this is how our faith grows, this is what kindles the fire within us.
Come all of you and enter into the joy of our Lord. All of
you, the first and you the last, all can receive your reward; rich and poor,
sober and weak, celebrate the day; those who have kept the fast and those who
have not, rejoice today. The Lord says; My peace I give to you - Alleluia - my
peace I leave you - Alleluia. Abundant peace is for those who are attentive to
Your Law, O Lord - Aleluia - and there is no scandal in them - Alleluia. For
the King of Heaven with peace - Alleluia -
Who is full of the promise of life - Alleluia. Sing you a new song -
Alleluia - all you holy ones come forth - Alleluia. Come, eat my Bread -
Alleluia - and drink the wine which has been mixed for you - Alleluia.
St. John Chrysostom said;
Let all Pious men and all lovers of God rejoice in
the splendor of this feast; let the wise servants blissfully enter into the joy
of their Lord; let those who have borne the burden of Lent now receive their
pay, and those who have toiled since the first hour, let them now receive their
due reward; let any who came after the third hour be grateful to join in the
feast, and those who may have come after the sixth, let them not be afraid of
being too late, for the Lord is gracious and He receives the last even as the
first. He gives rest to him who comes on the eleventh hour as well as to him
who has toiled since the first: yes, He has pity on the last and He serves the
first; He rewards the one and is generous to the other; he repays the deed and
praises the effort.
Come you all: enter into the joy of your Lord. You the first
and you the last, receive alike your reward; you rich and you poor, dance
together; you sober and you weaklings, celebrate the day; you who have kept the
fast and you who have not, rejoice today. The table is richly loaded: enjoy its
royal banquet. The calf is a fatted one: let no one go away hungry. All of you
enjoy the banquet of faith; all of you receive the riches of his goodness.
Let no one grieve over his poverty, for the universal
kingdom has been revealed; let no one weep over his sins, for pardon has shone
from the grave; let no one fear death, for the death of our Savior has set us
free: He has destroyed it by enduring it, He has despoiled Hades by going down
into its kingdom, He has angered it by allowing it to taste of his flesh.
When Isaiah foresaw all this, he cried out: “O Hades, you
have been angered by encountering Him in the nether world.” Hades is angered
because frustrated, it is angered because it has been mocked, it is angered
because it has been destroyed, it is angered because it has been reduced to
naught, it is angered because it is now captive. It seized a body, and lo! it
discovered God; it seized earth, and, behold! it encountered heaven; it seized
the visible, and was overcome by the invisible.
O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your
victory? Christ is risen and life is freed, Christ is risen and the tomb is
emptied of the dead: for Christ, being risen from the dead, has become the
Leader and Reviver of those who had fallen asleep. To Him be glory and power
for ever and ever. Amen.
From the words of Saint Gregory of Nyssa we read;
The reign of life has begun, the tyranny of death is
ended. A new birth has taken place, a new life has come, a new order of
existence has appeared, our very nature has been transformed! This birth is not
brought about by human generation, by the will of man, or by the desire of the
flesh, but by God.
If you wonder how, I will explain in clear language. Faith
is the womb that conceives this new life, baptism the rebirth by which it is
brought forth into the light of day. The Church is its nurse; her teachings are
its milk, the bread from heaven is its food. It is brought to maturity by the
practice of virtue; it is wedded to wisdom; it gives birth to hope. Its home is
the kingdom; its rich inheritance the joys of paradise; its end, not death, but
the blessed and everlasting life prepared for those who are worthy.
This is the day the Lord has made – a day far different from
those made when the world was first created and which are measured by the
passage of time. This is the beginning of a new creation. On this day, as the
prophet says, God makes a new heaven and a new earth. What is this new heaven?
you may ask. It is the firmament of our faith in Christ. What is the new earth?
A good heart, a heart like the earth, which drinks up the rain that falls on it
and yields a rich harvest.
In this new creation, purity of life is the sun, the virtues
are the stars, transparent goodness is the air, and the depths of the riches of
wisdom and knowledge, the sea. Sound doctrine, the divine teachings are the
grass and plants that feed God’s flock, the people whom he shepherds; the
keeping of the commandments is the fruit borne by the trees.
On this day is created the true man, the man made in the
image and likeness of God. For this day the Lord has made is the beginning of
this new world. Of this day the prophet says that it is not like other days,
nor is this night like other nights. But still we have not spoken of the
greatest gift it has brought us. This day destroyed the pangs of death and
brought to birth the firstborn of the dead.
I ascend to my Father and to your Father, to my God and to
your God. O what wonderful good news! He who for our sake became like us in
order to make us his brothers, now presents to his true Father his own humanity
in order to draw all his kindred up after him.
St. Maximus of Turin
Christ is risen! He has burst open the gates of hell
and let the dead go free; he has renewed the earth through the members of his
Church now born again in baptism, and has made it blossom afresh with men
brought back to life. His Holy Spirit has unlocked the doors of heaven, which
stand wide open to receive those who rise up from the earth.
CHRIST IS RISEN!
Because of Christ’s resurrection the thief ascends to
paradise, the bodies of the blessed enter the holy city, and the dead are
restored to the company of the living. There is an upward movement in the whole
of creation, each element raising itself to something higher. We see hell
restoring its victims to the upper regions, earth sending its buried dead to
heaven, and heaven presenting the new arrivals to the Lord. In one and the same
movement, our Savior’s passion raises men from the depths, lifts them up from
the earth, and sets them in the heights.
Christ is risen! His rising brings life to the dead,
forgiveness to sinners, and glory to the saints. And so David the prophet
summons all creation to join in celebrating the Easter festival: Rejoice and be
glad, he cries, on this day which the Lord has made!
THE LIGHT OF CHRIST – ENDLESS DAY
The light of Christ is an endless day that knows no night.
Christ is this day, says the Apostle; such is the meaning of his words: Night
is almost over; day is at hand.
He tells us that night is almost over, not that it is about
to fall. By this we are meant to understand that the coming of Christ’s light
puts Satan’s darkness to flight, leaving no place for any shadow of sin. His
everlasting radiance dispels the dark clouds of the past and checks the hidden
growth of vice. The Son is that day to whom the day, which is the Father,
communicates the mystery of his divinity. He is the day who says through the
mouth of Solomon: I have caused an unfailing light to rise in heaven. And as in
heaven no night can follow day, so no sin can overshadow the justice of Christ.
The celestial day is perpetually bright and shining with brilliant light;
clouds can never darken its skies. In the same way, the light of Christ is
eternally glowing with luminous radiance and can never be extinguished by the
darkness of sin. This is why John the evangelist says: The light shines
in the darkness, and the darkness has never been able to overpower it.
REJOICE IN THIS HOLY DAY
And so, my brothers, each of us ought surely to rejoice on
this holy day. Let no one, conscious of his sinfulness, withdraw from our
common celebration, nor let anyone be kept away from our public prayer by the
burden of his guilt. Sinner he may indeed be, but he must not despair of pardon
on this day which is so highly privileged; for if a thief could receive the
grace of paradise, how could a Christian be refused forgiveness?
My friends,
By overcoming we gain wisdom and knowledge. So today praise
Him that has tried us through fire, glorify the name of the one who teaches us
and purifies us and has by His crucifixion, death, and resurrection, given us
the ability to attain this new life through His blood. He is our strength; He
is our High Priest and Mediator between us and the Father. Jesus the Christ
unites us to the Father.
May the peace of our Lord Jesus the Christ be with you
throughout this day and the rest of your life. May the Holy Spirit fill us all
to overflowing so that everyone in whose path we cross may receive a blessing
from our Lord Jesus the Christ.
Blessings
In Christ.
Many Blessings!
+William
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