Archive for the ‘Holy Week’ Category

• Spend Great and Holy Friday with Us

  Date: 2010.04.02 | Category: Bunky, Cooking, Faith, Family, Food, Health, Holy Week, Hubby, Orthodoxy, Punky, Spunky, mama | Response: 12

  Our day started with our early riser (Spunky) waking up long before the sun began to peak over the horizon. I brought her into our bedroom and attempted to sleep a little bit longer. Shortly after her arrival, Punky came into our room and Bunky began to cry in his crib. So, we made our way downstairs and let Daddy sleep in.

  I made a batch of Kulich (Russian Pascha/Easter Bread), but, with my terrible luck, my bread did not rise… at all.  So I baked a small loaf to see how it would turn out.  Since it turned out fine, I decided to make braided loaves with that dough and I will try again tomorrow with the Kulich.
  (Any tips on how to make my bread rise?)

  While I was mixing up the dough, I sat the kiddos down at the table with a few coloring pages of Great and Holy Friday.  Punky even drew blood on Christ’s hands (look closely at the photo).  He is all about the small details.

  

  Later that day, we headed to church for the Entombment Vespers, where Christ is literally taken down from the cross and placed into the tomb.  It is a wonderful service for children to see what happened when Christ died.  It also made them both very excited for Sunday morning!  Spunky kept asking, “Is Jesus in the soup?” She didn’t understand the word tomb, so I had to explain that to her.

  Speaking of which, Punky and I had a really wonderful talk last night about dying:  He asked me if God was in the sun, and I told him that God made the sun, but he was in Heaven.  Then I explained how after Jesus rose from the dead, He ascended into Heaven, etc.  They he asked me how we could go and see God in Heaven. I told him that when we die, we’ll see Him.  Then he started asking questions about why people die.  It was a very insightful conversation that I had with my four year old. I am very proud of him.

  

  Later this evening, as I was carrying Bunky in his carseat, I tripped in our garage.  Rather than throwing the carseat with my baby boy in it, I tried to land without hurting him.  But, of course, I hurt myself.  I somehow managed to lose both of my shoes, scrape up my toes and some of my nail polish and…
  I broke my toe!

  

  Just my luck! My mom always jokes that I have a “little black cloud that follows me”, but it really seems true. I just can’t catch a break recently.

  Thank you for all your prayers for the sickness in our family.
  We are all feeling much better.

  Unfortunately, my husband also hurt himself this week: he was carrying a large amount of carpet down the steps at our former home, and he fell down the concrete stairs.  Thankfully, he wasn’t hurt too badly, but his knees are very sore.

  I hope everyone had a blessed Good Friday.
  We are looking forward to celebrating our Savior’s resurrection!

• The Twelve Passion Gospels

  Date: 2010.04.01 | Category: Faith, Holy Week, Orthodoxy | Response: 3

  This evening, we read the Twelve Passion Gospels.

  

  Today he who hung the earth upon the waters is hung upon a Tree,
  He who is King of the Angels is arrayed in a crown of thorns.
  He who wraps the heaven in clouds is wrapped in mocking purple.
  He who freed Adam in the Jordan receives a blow on the face.
  The Bridegroom of the Church is transfixed with nails.
  The Son of the Virgin is pierced by a lance.

  Show us also your glorious Resurrection.

• Struggling With Sickness Once Again

  Date: 2010.03.31 | Category: Bunky, Family, Health, Holy Week, Hubby, Leo, Pascha, Punky, Spunky, mama | Response: 8

  Our family has been sick on and off, mostly on, since mid-summer.  Right now, everyone in our home, including the dog, is under the weather.

  Bunky has been on antibiotics since last week, and, now, Punky is as well, after a trip to the doctor this afternoon.  They have ear infections in both ears.  Punky’s fever spiked at 102.6 last night, but I am hoping that he will rest better tonight with some antibiotics and fever-reducing medicine in him.

  I was very sick over the weekend, and my loving husband helped me take the day off and rest in bed.  Bunky spent all morning and part of the afternoon in bed with me.  He is such a sweet bunkmate.  I love that little guy.  Even though he was sick as well, he was a pleasure to cuddle and play with.  I am still coughing a lot and having trouble sleeping at night, but propping up pillows does help a bit. I think all of my coughing has pushed the germies over to my hubby’s side of the bed, and he is now struggling with a slight cold as well.

  Spunky has had a cold for about a week, but it isn’t anything more than that.  She seems to be doing fine; although, she’s been acting a little bit “punkier” in the last few days, so I hope that wears off when the cold makes its way our of our home.

  I’ve opened the windows and tomorrow I plan to clean every inch of the house in the hopes that this sickness will end this week.  We have so much to look forward to in the coming days that I was everyone to feel well so that they can participate in all the wonderful services this weekend.

  If you wouldn’t mind, please say a prayer for our entire family.

• The Last Supper

  Date: 2010.03.31 | Category: Holy Week, Orthodoxy | Response: 0

  When the glorious disciples were enlightened
  at the washing of their feet before the supper,
  then the impious Judas was darkened, ailing with avarice.
  And to the lawless judges he betrays You, the righteous Judge.
  Behold, O lover of money,
  this man who because of money hanged himself.
  Flee from the greedy soul
  which dared such things against the Master.
  O Lord, who is good towards all men, glory to You!

• Palm Sunday

  Date: 2010.03.28 | Category: Faith, Feasts, Friends, Holy Week, Orthodoxy | Response: 3

  Entry into Jerusalem, 12th Century Mosaic
  (via my father in law)

  By raising Lazarus from the dead before Your passion,
  You did confirm the universal Resurrection, O Christ God!
  Like the children with the palms of victory,
  We cry out to You, O Vanquisher of death;
  Hosanna in the Highest!
  Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord!

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Today we had the joy of baptizing ten people at our parish!

  My husband and I are now the godparents of a wonderful little boy, the son of our friends and younger brother of one of Punky’s buddies.
  His patron saint is St. George.

  
  One of the baptisms and our little godson with his family

• Living Out Our Faith for Our Children

  Date: 2010.02.09 | Category: Big Move, Books, Faith, Family, Feasts, Holy Week, Hubby, Lent, Orthodoxy, Pascha, mama | Response: 5

  

  What saves and makes for good children is the life of the parents in the home. The parents need to devote themselves to the love of God. They need to become saints in their relation to their children through their mildness, patience and love. They need to make a new start every day, with a fresh outlook, renewed enthusiasm and love for their children. And the joy that will come to them, the holiness that will visit them, will shower grace on their children. Generally the parents are to blame for the bad behaviour of the children. And their behaviour is not improved by reprimands, disciplining, or strictness. If the parents do not pursue a life of holiness and if they don’t engage in spiritual struggle, they make great mistakes and transmit the faults they have within them. If the parents do not live a holy life and do not display love towards each other, the devil torments the parents with the reactions of the children. Love, harmony and understanding between the parents are what are required for the children. This provides a great sense of security and certainty.

  - Elder Porphyrios

  My husband and I were talking about this just this week.  I always find myself yelling at the children, when it is really a problem with myself and not them.  Yes, they can be infuriating at times, but I need to learn to be patient.  “Patience” and “mildness” are not words a person would connect with me.  Although, I do have “love”- lots of it!  I love my kids like crazy, sometimes too much because I spoil them and let them walk all over me.  I have found that when I am not doing my prayers like I should or reading the Scriptures, I tend to be a crankier person.  There is definitely a connection there.

  As Lent approaches, I am meditating on all of the things that I want to accomplish during this time of the year.  As I’ve already said, I want to get my life organized, and one of the most important parts of that is getting on a schedule.  I want to wake up in the mornings and pray as a family and read the Bible with the children.  I want to teach them about Lent and Pascha (Easter).  I also want to share stories of those who have gone before us, the saints, important people in the Bible, etc. I have ordered two books that I plan to read; although, one is 500 pages, so I am not sure if I’ll get all the way through it.  I want to say prayers at night, and not just the prayers that we do with the children.  I want to take time to prayer by myself before I go to bed.

  I know that paragraph is full of ‘wants”, but I feel like we completely missed Lent last year (with being sick from my pregnancy, moving, packing, etc) and I want to point my eyes toward Christ’s death and resurrection this year.  If I can make these things my desires, I will then be able to shift the focus on Christ.  Then I can be a better example to my children.  Our children do understand, as well as they can, Christ’s death and resurrection.  But it is just as important for them to see our faith lived out in the day to day.

  I hope this coming season is a blessed and fruitful one for all.

  Thanks, Emily, for the quote!

• The Significance of Holy Wednesday

  Date: 2009.04.15 | Category: Holy Week | Response: 1

  Since Eastern Easter/Pascha isn’t until this coming Sunday, I will be posting on Holy Week for the next several days.  I hope you enjoy these posts as we, in the Orthodox Church, prepare for the celebration of the coming of Christ.

  On Great and Holy Wednesday, we are reminded of the sinful woman who poured precious ointment on Christ’s head at Simon the leper’s house (Matthew. 26:7).

  The disciples complained about the wasteful extravagance, for the myrrh could have been sold and the money given to the poor. On this same day Judas agreed to betray the Lord for thirty pieces of silver. But the Savior declared that the woman’s actions would be remembered wherever the Gospel is preached (Mt. 26:13), for she had anointed Him in preparation for His burial (Mt. 26:12).

  The woman who annointed Jesus’ feet, a sinful woman who is saved, is contrasted to Judas, a chosen apostle who is lost. One gives her wealth to Christ and kisses his feet while the other betrays Christ for money with a kiss.