Exaltation of the Cross

O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance. Grant victories to the Orthodox Christians over their adversaries; and by the virtue of Thy Cross, preserve Thy habitation 

~Troparion for the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

As Thou was mercifully crucified for our sake, grant mercy to those who are called by Thy name; make all Orthodox Christians glad by Thy power, granting them victories over their adversaries, by bestowing on them the invincible trophy, Thy weapon of peace 

~Kontakion for the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

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Read more about this feast here, here and here.

Sunday School Lesson I wrote for this feast is here.

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Things we can do for this feast at home:

~decorate a Cross with basil and flowers (I prefer roses personally)

~have an icon of this feast at home 

~pray the Kontakion and Troparion at home

~have a festal meal for this day (in some practices

it is a Wine and Oil Fast day)

~Ask God for His mercy as we seek to also take up our 

Cross and follow Christ

~Go to vespers or matins or vigil for the Feast

~go to liturgy on the Feast Day

~if you have children you can have them draw their cross

or read them the story of the Cross from here

or this story if you have it (since it is now out of print)

~see Mat. Emily's blog for more ideas

{Our Faith @ Home}: Feast of Holy Dormition

Every year I mean to post on the 

Feast of Dormition on the Feast Day itself

but have not been able to.

So I thought I would do it now,

as we on the 'old calendar' are still in this festal time.

I explained to one of the children at church

that Christ holds the soul of His Mother

after she has died.

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I really find that by thoughtful explanations

children will fear death much less

and understand the reality of the cloud of witnesses,

the Saints of the Lord and the hope we have...

There are very early writings about the 

Mother of God's death, how all the apostles save St. Thomas

were gathered at her side and sang hymns of praise.

We bless flowers and herbs on this feast day.

I made this icon years ago in Ottawa

out of a calendar;

frame it and had it blessed!

I wish to do even more one day for 

our Lady's Dormition;

it is such a beautiful feast

and deserves royal and beautiful treatment... 

Mr. Husband got blue flowers for the feast.

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There are many things we can do for this feast....

~have flowers blessed

~have the icon of Holy Dormition at one's home

~pray the Kontakion and Troparion 

at home for the 9 days of this feast

~make a festal meal 

~read more on the feast; this book is a slow but absorbing read.

~decorate your festal icon of the Holy Dormition with flowers

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I would love to hear of more traditions for this feast!

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Troparion of the Dormition:

In giving birth thou didst preserve thy virginity,  

and in thy falling asleep thou hast not forsaken the world,

 O Theotokos.  Thou hast been translated to life, 

as thou art the Mother of Life.  

And by thy supplications thou dost deliver our souls from death.

Kontakion for the Dormition: 

The tomb and mortality could not hold the Theotokos, 

who is untiring in her supplications and 

our certain hope in her intercessions.  

For, as the Mother of Life, she hath passed over to the Life 

Who dwelt within her ever-virgin womb.

Ideas for the six weeks of Great Lent

• Here are a few ideas for Great Lent
• that I have had this year.
• I welcome all ideas, comments and other thoughts on
• how we can do our Lenten Journey.
• I hope to be doing some posts on books for Great Lent
• and other places for encouragement, learning and inspiration for our
• Lenten Journey.
• *
• Here is what I have so far:
• 
  
• The six weeks of the Great Lent are:
1. First Sunday (Sunday of Orthodoxy),
• Forgiveness Sunday
• ask forgiveness to family, friends
• Be at peace with everyone as much as possible
• Pray prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian
• Consider doing things like:
• limiting or stopping watching TV, listening to distracting music, having a time each day or certain days a week for 15 or 20 minutes of silence, read a spiritual book, book a time for going to Confession, being off FB, limiting computer time,
• Fasting but with humility
• Blessing of Icons
2. Second Sunday (St. Gregory Palamas),
• Put out icon of St. Gregory
• Read a homily St. Gregory wrote
• Read about St. Gregory’s life
3. Third Sunday (Adoration of Cross),
• Read the prayer to the Cross
• pray part or all of the Akathist to the Life-Giving Cross
• We are halfway there… think of ways that you can gain refreshment and strength for the rest of the way
• Think about how you or you and your family are going to do Holy Week… start planning for this, including what you will need to have ready for Pascha (practically speaking: clothes, baskets, food, recipes, hotel if needed), plan for going to confession before Holy Week
4. Fourth Sunday (St. John of Climacus),
• Put out icon of the Ladder if you have not done so and own one
• read part of St. John’s book, the ladder of divine ascent or about this book
• Read this homily about the Ladder and St. John
5. Fifth Sunday (St. Mary of Egypt),
• Put out icon of St.Mary of Egypt
• Read or listen to the story of St. Mary’s life
• Get this Akathist
6. Palm Sunday through Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday.
• Pray for God’s mercy in Holy Week as many temptations can arise
• Go to the services of Holy Week
• Be at peace as much as possible, judge no one

The Four Weeks before Great Lent

The icons for the first four weeks before

Great Lent officially begins are:

The Publican and the Pharisee.

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Sunday of the Tax Collector and Pharisee:

Beautifully we are shown how we need humility 

to be saved and that prayer is not telling God

a list of what we proudly think we do right

but instead simply that we realize our state before God,

our spiritual poverty, our sin, our illnesses

and ask God for mercy.

The Prodigal Son and his Father

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Sunday of the Prodigal Son (from the Parable):

Having realized our state before God, 

that we have wasted all that we have been given in 

distraction, in poor choices, in even giving ourselves over to

a harlot, seeing that we have loved ourselves instead of loving God,

we realize we are the prodigal and need to make our way home

to our Father...

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Instructive also is the realization of how we are often also the 

un-compassionate older brother who refuses to rejoice with

the salvation of his younger brother who has come home:

it is safe to say that for the most of us 

we are not only the prodigal but still sadly the self-righteous older brother

who does not see his own spiritual poverty,

demonstrated if only by his lack of compassion... 

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Wonderfully the Father is compassionate, is waiting for us,

runs to us when we turn towards Him in repentance.

He waits to heal us, restore us to His family and He loves us.

Deep hope is given for repentance! 

The Final Judgment

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Sunday of Meat (the Final Judgment):

A sober realization that what we do on this earth

will be judged one day and that we truly need 

God's mercy and that we need to 

examine our lives...

are we seeing others as a Christ

 that we are to love, to serve?

What will Christ say to us one day?

It is all the more reason for us to learn to pray:

Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me a sinner!

Adam and Eve's expulsion for Paradise

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Sunday of Cheese (Adam's expulsion from Paradise):

We realize that we too have been expelled from Paradise:

This world is not our home ~ it is fallen from Paradise...

Heaven or Hell is made in part daily by us

in our hearts and in our world:

Great Lent could be seen as a journey towards

the only thing that can restore Paradise to us:

Christ's Cross and Christ's Resurrection.

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Many of us are wondering this Lent how we can make this journey.

Great Lent is often a time of great trials for us,

as well as for seeking to see where we really are:

in great need of God's mercy and often, we realize, far from our

Heavenly Father and poor in our love of His Son,

Our Saviour Christ.

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Here is a small list of ideas I have come up with for these 4 weeks

before Great Lent begins...

(my apologies for not having this ready 4 weeks, 

it's just how it has happened...)

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FYI, the headings for these 4 weeks are from here.

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• • The four weeks preceding Lent are known as:
  1. Sunday of the Tax Collector and Pharisee (from the Parable),
  • Begin reading focused spiritual reading to prepare for Lent as our life situation permits
  2. Sunday of the Prodigal Son (from the Parable),
  • Clean lampadas, clean house for blessing before Lent, begin thinking pointedly on what one can do differently during Great Lent, ideas include:
  • tithe of the year - see this list and this podcast by Fr. Thomas Hopko
  • going off FB
  • Psalter reading, praying an Akathist, praying one of the hours,
  • building habits of order in one’s life and home
  • books on Lent for children, YA and adults
  • being reconciled with one another
  • fasting in food but also can do ‘spiritual fasts’... like from worry or judging others
  3. Sunday of Meat (the Final Judgment),
  • This Sunday is the last day to eat meat, as health permits (talking to one's spiritual father or priest about this is best, esp. if you have issues of health, have young children, have an infant, or are in a family that are not ready to engage in the fast as a family, for whatever reason).
  • Butterweek ~ special pancakes, meals, preparing for the fast
  • Praying the Akathist to the Protection of the Mother of God for her help during Great Lent
  • Continue praying for wisdom as to what one can do for our Lenten Journey of this year
  4. Sunday of Cheese (Adam's expulsion from Paradise);
  • This Sunday is the last day to eat dairy, as health permits
  • Read something about Lent, think about how we too have been expelled from Paradise and that we need to desire Christ
  • Being reconciled to each other, forgiving each other as we start Lent so that we can indeed have the first day of Lent being our 'Clean Monday'
  • Putting out Lenten Icons
  • FYI: how to make icons inexpensively
  
  
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  This list is in now ways exhaustive and is based on my
  own experience and what I have learned.
  That said,
  I would LOVE to hear other people's ideas, thoughts and suggestions
  for preparing for this Great Lenten Journey.
  So please do leave comments or send me an email!
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