Monday Morning Reflections - Keeping Lent at Home

Dear Parish Faithful,

The Lord is mu light and my salvation;

   whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of  my life;

   of whom shall I be afraid?  (Ps. 27:1)

The Sun is Shining! - The days have been beautiful with the sun shining to lift up our spirits. I hope it continues. Perhaps a good time to catch up with work around the house. But I hope even more that everyone is well. We are perhaps now fully realizing what Jesus was getting at when He basically taught us to approach life "one day at a time." I again ask: Is anyone in need of any assistance? If so, please do not hesitate to let me know. Please continue to communicate with one another.

Fourth Sunday of Great Lent - On this Sunday, we commemorate one of the truly greatest of our spiritual writers, St. John of the Ladder. His book, The Ladder of Divine Ascent (hence the title given to him) remains possibly as the classic of Orthodox spirituality. Here is a link to a brief summary of St. John's life:      https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/03/30/100943-venerable-john-climacus-of-sinai-author-of-the-ladder

A St. John Chrysostom Type Question? - If St. John were to pose a question to us in today's chaotic times, I think he would ask something like this: Are you reading the Scriptures, Lives of Saints and Orthodox literature as much as you are reading up on the coronavirus or spending time on various forums of social media? With his rhetorical skills he would challenge - or perhaps even chastise us all - for any lack of caring for our "souls" at a time when we are so anxious about our bodies. He would most probably refer us to the words of Christ in Matt. 6:25-34. With our travel and gathering restrictions, we are unable to assemble in church, thus making it all the more imperative that we find a balance in our homes between our necessary daily preoccupations and the tools given to us by the Church to nurture our spiritual life at a time when so much in our lives has been disrupted. I again make the point that our domestic practice of observing Great Lent will offer structure and discipline to our lives when things are "out of sync."

I understand that now the "social distancing" mandate will be in effect at least through the month of April. It thus seems virtually certain that we will not be able to gather in church for Holy Week and Pascha. Painful just to write that! Who would have thought that just a few weeks ago? I will do my best to offer at least an edited version of the Holy Week services in the church with presvytera Deborah. By then, I will have figured out zoom or we will stream the services. I would also highly recommend purchasing all of the Holy Week and Pascha booklets that contain the full text of the services. These booklets, the same ones that we use in church for the services, are ideal for maintaining a semblance of Holy Week in our homes. Through the text of these services, we can follow Christ from Palm Sunday to Golgotha, and then to the empty tomb.I believe that some of you already have this set. Be that as it may, here is a link to St. Vladimir's Press - hoping, of course, that the press is still mailing out orders. The price is quite reasonable for about ten or so booklets. 

https://svspress.com/lenten-service-books-package/

Does the Lord continue to sleep?

Dear Parish Faithful,

Remember, O Lord, those who are absent for honorable reasons. Have mercy on them and on us according to the multitude of Thy mercies.

~ Liturgy of St. Basil the Great

Today is the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent and we commemorate the great ascetic and spiritual teacher, St. John Klimakos (of the Ladder). However, every Sunday is first and foremost the Lord's Day, or the Day of Resurrection, for the Lord Jesus Christ was raised from the dead "on the first day of the week." In the Kontakion appointed for Tone 8, which we just chanted in the Service of The Typika this morning, this truth reverberates loud and clear:

By rising from the tomb, Thou didst raise

the dead and resurrect Adam. Eve exults

in Thy Resurrection, and the world

celebrates Thy Rising from the dead, O

greatly Merciful One!

This is the Christian hope that is the ultimate basis of our Faith: that the "sting of death" has been removed by the Death and Resurrection of Christ. However, the path to the Resurrection must go through the Cross. There is no other way. In order to rise from the dead, Jesus had to willingly and obediently ascend the Cross "in the flesh." That was the "cup" from which he had to drink, as this was the fulfillment of the divine economy, known to God from all eternity. 

Therefore, as we pass through these Sundays of Great Lent, and as we get closer to Holy Week, the appointed Gospel readings from St. Mark (8:34-9:1; 9:17-31; 10:32-45) for the final three Sundays of Great Lent focus on the three passion prophecies of the Lord. Jesus was not taken unawares of His impending passion.  (However, we must never lose sight of the fact that each of these passion prophecies culminates with an equal prophecy of the Lord's rising after three days). As Jesus set His face boldly toward Jerusalem and His appointed destiny with the Cross as the Suffering Servant of the Lord, He prepared His disciples for what was preordained to happen in the Holy City (Mk. 10:32).

"O faithless generation . . ."

This morning, we heard the second of those passion prophecies, following  the  dramatic  healing of the boy tormented by a "mute spirit" that often drove him toward self-destructive behavior: "The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise." Again, Jesus is in control as He knows the will of His heavenly Father. But what is the response of His disciples to this prophecy: "But they did not understand the saying and they were afraid to ask him." 

In the dramatic episode of the healing of that young boy, Jesus was forced to rebuke His disciples by saying: "O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?" It is my humble opinion that these words apply to each and every generation of Christ's disciples down through the centuries. And that probably includes all of us. It is a real struggle to be faithful, or so it seems to the vast majority of us.

"The Lord continues to sleep . . ."

As St. Gregory the Theologian said in the fourth century, when a famine was raging in his native land: "the Lord apparently continues to sleep" (see Mk. 4:38). And now, with a raging coronavirus threatening one and all; and as we await and brace ourselves for it to strike our tristate area with its peak wave, it is a challenge to remain faithful as our fears and anxieties are perhaps intensified; and as we may join St. Gregory in thinking that the Lord continues to sleep. But as the Lord then "awoke" and stilled the storm, so we believe that that will occur yet again as "peace" and a "great calm" will again be enjoyed by us all (Mk. 4:39). But for the moment, the storm continues to threaten us.

The days ahead promise no immediate relief, but only further dangers. We need to be cautious and careful. Yet, from our Orthodox Christian perspective, we emphatically believe that "God is with us;" and that God is not "angry" with us if our faith was ever to waver, but rather that God "is compassionate and merciful, long-suffering and of great goodness." The God who raised Jesus from the dead, is the God whose love is without limit.

This is an unprecedented event for the entire world. We trust that our scientists, specialists, and health care personal are doing their utmost to limit the extent of the coronavirus pandemic. We continue to pray for them and to cooperate with their guidance as they attempt to lead us through this crisis with their expertise. We also continue to pray for and support each other. And, as Christians, we continue to place our faith in the God who redeemed and saved the whole world - for the "life of the world"- in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

A Perfect Prayer for These Times

Dear Parish Faithful,

Synaxis of the Optina Elders

A Perfect Prayer for These Times - I believe that many of you have access to this extraordinary prayer and are hopefully offering it to God on a daily basis, but if not, please avail yourselves of the attachment. It is the "perfect" prayer for the day that is ahead of us as it focuses us on the will of God and a willingness to accept what the day brings to us with faith, hope and love. It is from the Optina Elders, spiritual guides of a very prominent monastery that flourished primarily in 19th c. Russia up to the Revolution.

Morning Prayer of the Last Elders of Optina

Spending a Lot of Time Together ? - Some practical advice for married couples on how to navigate the rough waters of "domestic turmoil" - a.k.a. arguing - from a fine book on the Orthodox perspective of marriage by Bp. John Abdalah or the Antiochian Archdiocese and Nicholas Mamey.

Six Simple Rules for Quarreling Married Couples 

Reflections on the Coronavirus (from various sources)

Dear Parish Faithful,

I have put together a rather miscellaneous group of texts from various sources, ranging from the patristic era to the current Patriarch of Constantinople, to some of our good contemporary writers. These texts all have in common (except perhaps from St. Basil the Great's) the theme of a response to the coronavirus. They can be sober and realistic, and they can be uplifting.

We are learning that we are all in this struggle together. Great Lent is a time of asceticism, and what we may not have joyfully embraced is being imposed on us by unforeseen circumstances beyond our immediate control. We are learning to simplify and to re-evaluate what is most dear and precious to us.

Perhaps there is a bit of irony in that we are now even more truly feeling what it is like to be a community united in Christ, more than when we had the freedom to choose to be in church - or not. We seem to always appreciate what we have the most precisely when we no longer have it. What committed Orthodox Christian does not miss the Liturgy?

Let us therefore continue to pray for one another, to communicate with one another, and to support each other as well as possible in our present circumstances: "Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ."

_____


"Perhaps some of you have felt that these drastic measures undermine or harm our faith.
However, that which is at stake
is not our faith - it is the faithful.
It is not Christ - it is our Christians.
It is not the divine-man - but human beings.
Our faith is firmly established in the roots of our culture. Our faith is a living faith, and there is no exceptional circumstance that can limit or suppress it.....

Have courage! And may God be with us!"

- Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople

_____

The Hasidic communities in New York City, who have resisted following social distancing rules, have become a hotspot of coronavirus. I guess they have courageously rejected the dominion of death. Now look. Because they didn’t want to change their lives, other people — health care workers — have to bear the burden of trying to save the lives of those who end up in the hospital because of it.
Rod Dreher
_____

Prayer for a Pandemic

May we who are merely inconvenienced, remember those whose lives are at stake.May we who have no risk factors remember those most vulnerable.
May those who have the luxury of working from home remember those who must choose between preserving their health or making their rent.
May those who have the flexibility to care for our children when schools close remember those who have no options.
May we who have to cancel a trip remember those who have no safe place to go.
May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of the economic market remember those who have no margin at all.
May those who settle for quarantine at home remember those who have no home.
As fear grips our country, let us choose love during this time when we cannot physically wrap our arms around each other, let us find ways to be the loving embrace to God and our neighbor.
Amen

- prayer by Cameron Wiggins Bellm

_____


I don't know if I can get sick receiving the Eucharist. I don't think I'm supposed to have a self-assured answer to that. I still partake anyway, when given the opportunity and do so gratefully without undue fear. In part because I know that even bodily sickness can be for my healing, on a deeper level. I hear the words "for the healing of soul and body" as "for the re-orientation of soul and body toward Christ," not as "for the complete medical/biological treatment of all bodily and spiritual ailments as understood by 21st-century Western medicine." We hope to receive the Eucharist on our deathbed; if we truly believed it were for the healing of soul and body in the strictly medical or biological sense, why do we still die? Indeed, in this circumstance we'd consider a death after receiving the Eucharist to be a good death.

- Dr. Nicole Roccas

_____

Separation, especially separation from loved ones, is always difficult. To paraphrase what others have said, “separation is a type of crucifixion.” Yet, as Christians who are physically separated from each other and consequently separated from the Lord’s table we can remind ourselves that the fibers of mutual care and love have not been severed. If anything, being apart from one another offers us the possibility to understand the other more clearly which in turn allows us to see the other as a precious gift never to be taken for granted. Separation from the Liturgy offers us the possibility to see that our coming together as the Church is an act of love for the one who loved us first and not an act of thoughtless habit or obligation.

- Fr. Robert Arida
_____

When you sit down to eat, pray. When you eat bread, do so thanking Him for being so generous to you. If you drink wine, be mindful of Him who has given it to you for your pleasure and as a relief in sickness. When you dress, thank Him for His kindness in providing you with clothes. When you look at the sky and the beauty of the stars, throw yourself at God’s feet and adore Him who in His wisdom has arranged things in this way. Similarly, when the sun goes down and when it rises, when you are asleep or awake, give thanks to God, who created and arranged all things for your benefit, to have you know, love and praise their Creator.

- St. Basil the Great

The Announcement of the Incarnation

Dear Parish Faithful,

"Behold the handmaiden of the Lord, be it unto me according to your will." (Lk. 1:38)

 

 

Today, March 25, is the Feast of the Annunciation to the Most Holy Theotokos.  This great feast always falls during Great Lent, and when it falls on a weekday, it is the only instance of having the full eucharistic Liturgy served for its commemoration (but, alas, that has proved to be impossible this year).  Clearly a sign of the feast’s significance.  Thus, the Annunciation is something of a festal interlude that punctuates the eucharistic austerity of the lenten season.  Yet, because it does occur during Great Lent, this magnificent feast appears and disappears rather abruptly.  It seems as if we have just changed the lenten colors in church to the blue characteristic of feasts dedicated to the Theotokos, when they are immediately changed back again!  This is so because the Leavetaking of the Annunciation is on March 26.  If we are not alert, it can pass swiftly by undetected by our “spiritual radar” which needs to be operative on a daily basis.

This Feast has its roots in the biblical passage in St. Luke’s Gospel, wherein the evangelist narrates that incredibly refined dialogue between the angel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary (LK. 1:26-38).  The angel Gabriel will “announce” the joyful news of the impending birth of the Messiah, and hence our English name of “Annunciation” for the Feast.  However, the Greek title of Evangelismos is even richer in that it captures the truth that the Gospel – evangelion – is being “announced” in the encounter between God’s messenger and the young maiden destined to be the Mother of God.  Her “overshadowing” by the Holy Spirit is “Good News” for her  and for the entire world!  

 

Even though the Feast of the Lord’s Nativity in the flesh dominates our ecclesial and cultural consciousness, it is this Feast of the Annunciation that reveals the Incarnation, or the “becoming flesh” of the eternal Word of God.  It is the Word’s conception in the womb of the Virgin Mary that is the “moment” of the Word’s enfleshment.  Hence, the Church’s insistence that a new human being begins to exist at the moment of conception. The Word made flesh – our Lord Jesus Christ – will be born nine months later on December 25 according to our liturgical calendar; but again, His very conception is the beginning of His human life as God-made-man.  The troparion of the Feast captures this well:

Today is the beginning of our salvation; the revelation of the eternal Mystery! 
The Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin as Gabriel announces the coming of Grace.
Together with him let us cry to the Theotokos:  Rejoice, O Full of Grace, the Lord is with you.

Was the Virgin Mary randomly chosen for this awesome role?  Was she compelled to fulfill the will of God regardless of her spiritual relationship with God?  Was she a mere instrument overwhelmed or even “used” by God for the sake of God’s eternal purpose?  That the Virgin Mary was “hailed” as one “highly favored” or “full of grace” (Gk. kecharitōmenē) when the angel Gabriel first descended to her, points us well beyond any such utilitarian role for her.  

 

On the contrary, the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary  is understood and presented by the Church as the supreme example of synergy in the Holy Scriptures.  The word synergy denotes the harmonious combination and balance between divine grace and human freedom that can occur between God and human beings.  God does not compel, but seeks our free cooperation to be a “co-worker” with God in the process of salvation and deification.  In this way, God respects our human self-determination, or what we refer to as our freedom or “free will.”  It is the Virgin Mary’s free assent to accept the unique vocation that was chosen for her from all eternity that allows her to become the Theotokos, or God-bearer.  This is, of course, found in her response to the angel Gabriel’s announcement, and following her own perplexity:  “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” This teaching on synergy finds its classical expression in a justifiably famous passage from St. Nicholas Cabasilas’ Homily on the Annunciation.  The passage itself is often cited as an excellent and eloquent expression of the Orthodox understanding of synergy:

 

The incarnation of the Word was not only the work of the Father, Son and Spirit – the first consenting, the second descending, and third overshadowing – but it was also the work of the will and faith of the Virgin. Without the three divine persons this design could not have been set in motion; but likewise the plan could not have been carried into effect without the consent and faith of the all-pure Virgin.  Only after teaching and persuading her does God make her his Mother and receive from her the flesh which she consciously wills to offer him.  Just as he was conceived by his own free choice, so in the same way she became his Mother voluntarily and with her free consent.

We praise the Virgin Mary as representing our longing for God and for fulfilling her destiny so that we may receive the gift of salvation from our Lord who “came down from heaven and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man” (Nicene Creed):

Hail, thou who art full of grace:  the Lord is with thee.
Hail, O pure Virgin; 

Hail, O Bride unwedded.

Hail, Mother of life: blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

(Dogmatikon, Vespers of the Annunciation)

_____

We have a remarkably rich resource page for this Feast on our parish website. It is a veritable feast in itself of homilies - from the Fathers or contemporary Orthodox theologians - that bring to mind the riches of the Annunciation. As we are home most of the time, please avail yourselves of some of this rich material.

https://www.christthesavioroca.org/annunciation

Keeping the Annunciation - plus Recent Updates

FEAST of the ANNUNCIATION

Dear Parish Faithful,

Presvytera and I just concluded a modified version of the Great Vespers for the Feast of the Annunciation at the church. Tomorrow morning, I will do the Typika (Reader Service for the Feast). I am sending you the link from our Diocesan website so that you can do this service in your homes tomorrow, March 25. It is a beautiful and wonderful Feast. It is the Feast of the Incarnation - the great Mystery of God becoming man in and through the Virgin Mary, who is therefore truly the Theotokos!

https://domoca.org/coronavirus-resource-page/

Fr. Steven

• See also our Annunciation Festal Resource Page

_____________

CORONAVIRUS UPDATES

Dear Parish Faithful,

"For God has not destined us for wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we wake or sleep we might live through him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." (I Thess. 5:10-11)

New Directives - I am expecting to receive new directives from Bp.Paul within the hour. To anticipate, he will confirm what I stated yesterday, that all public liturgical services are to be suspended indefinitely. Not quite sure when that will take effect, but we will know soon.

Can We Offer Assistance? - We are trying to figure out the most effective way of responding to anyone's particular needs. Please contact me if you need any kind of assistance - from a ride to a food delivery, etc. Many of you have readily responded to be on alert if a need arises. We have various parishioners committed in various parts of the tri-state area. We hope that everyone is fine, but if not, we want to offer assistance. We must "bear one another's burdens," as the Apostle Paul teaches. And remember the "phone ministry" I encouraged yesterday. Some people may just need that phone call and a concerned and caring voice.

Confessing Your Sins - I am more than willing to schedule a phone confession with anyone. Please send me a date and time and I will let you know if that works.

Parish Pledging - More than a few parishioners have asked me about to fulfill one's stewardship pledge at this time. I spoke with our treasurer, Darren Payne, and we thought the simplest method was to either mail your pledge in to the church and Darren plans on coming down to pick up the bills together with the collected pledges; or mail your pledge directly to Darren, at: 7520 Hollywood Dr. West Chester OH 45069.

The Jesus Prayer - A reminder that Orthodox Christians around the world are saying the Jesus Prayer - according to their own time zone - between 10:00 - 10:15 p.m.

Suggestions for Ongoing Communication - The governor's "stay at home" mandate is now in effect. Here are some good suggestions for staying "in touch" as a parish community, though we cannot communicate the best way, which is "face-to-face:

• Lenten recipes
• Activities to do at home with kids
• Crafts or hobbies to share..photos of personal art projects
• Ideas of what to do around the house during our 'stay-at-home' days-DYI
• Photos of the parish members in general..just a smiling face 😁
• Ways to reach out to neighbors and parish members

Please send me any contributions that you may have to the above list. I will forward everything to the parish.

- Fr. Steven

The Cross: 'To Refresh Our Souls and Encourage Us'

Dear Parish Faithful,

The Third Sunday of Great Lent - the Sunday of the Cross - must take on a greater resonance for us as we continue to struggle with the ever-encroaching presence of the coronavirus. 

 

Of course, our church services are severely limited and most of you will find yourselves at home on Sunday morning. But during that time, everyone should take a conscious break away from the internet, from our smartphones and from our televisions and turn to the Gospel and prayer. 

 

As I continue to say, the Gospel reveals the "big picture" about life and death. For the Lord transformed an instrument of death into a path to life everlasting. As a nation, we are collectively taking up a cross despite our unwillingness to put our current crisis in that language. The Cross of Christ has no place whatsoever in a society enamored with a sense of entitlement and the guarantee of a "good life." (In a secular society can there even be a source to this entitlement and this guarantee of a good life?). 

 

Yet, as Christians, we claim to be "cross-bearers," as opposed to simply being "cross-wearers." We trust in the Lord and place ourselves in His hands. We continue to pray for a swift end to this pandemic. And yet, the future days, weeks and months ahead of us remain an unsettling prospect of further disorientation. So, let us make room for the Cross and Resurrection to fill in the "big picture."

The following meditation from a few years ago, is meant to focus our attention on Christ as we journey further into Great Lent and the great culmination of the Cross and Resurrection. This is our hope and our joy!

_____

The Cross: 'To Refresh Our Souls and Encourage Us'

 

Dear Parish Faithful and Friends in Christ, 

“Before Thy Cross, we bow down in worship, O Master, and Thy Holy Resurrection, we glorify.”

This hymn – together with the accompanying rite of venerating the Cross – replaces the usual Trisagion hymn during the Divine Liturgy on the Third Sunday of Great Lent. According to The Synaxarion of the Lenten Triodion and Pentecostarion, the full title of this mid-lenten commemoration is “The Sunday of the Veneration of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross.” Notice, that though our concentration is on the Cross of our Lord, the hymn culminates with the Resurrection.  This is in full agreement with the Gospel passages in which Christ reveals to His disciples that He is bound for Jerusalem and death on the Cross and that He will rise on the third day. (MK. 8:31; 9:31; 10:34)

  

In a wonderful commentary, The Synaxarion sets before our spiritual sight the meaning of this particular commemoration and its timing: 

The precious and Life-Giving Cross is now placed before us to refresh our souls and encourage us who may be filled with a sense of bitterness, resentment, and depression.  The Cross reminds us of the Passion of our Lord, and by presenting to us His example, it encourages us to follow Him in struggle and sacrifice, being refreshed, assured and comforted. [p. 78]

Hopefully, the first three weeks of the Fast – even if we have truly “crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” [Galatians 5:24] – have not led us to experience “bitterness, resentment and depression!”  However, we could be suffering from precisely those spiritual wounds for other reasons and diverse circumstances in our lives, both external and internal.  My own pastoral experience tells me that this is probably – if not assuredly – the case.  And there is no better time than Great Lent to acknowledge this.  Such acknowledgment could lead to genuine healing if pursued in a patient and humble manner.

How, then, can we be healed?  Perhaps the Sunday of the Cross reveals our basic starting point.  The Cross of our Lord, placed before our vision, can release us from our bondage to these passions when we realize that Christ transformed this instrument of pain, suffering and death into an “emblem of victory.”  Christ has absorbed and taken our sins upon Himself, nailing them to the Cross. In the process, “He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in Him" -- or, in some variations, “in it,” meaning the Cross [Colossians 2:15].  These “principalities and powers” continue to harass us to this day, but if we are “in Christ,” then we can actualize His victory over them and reveal their actual powerlessness.  Our lenten journey is leading us to the foot of the Cross and to the empty and life-giving tomb, and the Third Sunday of Great Lent anticipates our final goal so as to encourage us.  Again, from The Synaxarion:

As they who walk on a long and hard way are bowed down by fatigue find great relief and strengthening under the cool shade of a leafy tree, so do we find comfort, refreshment, and rejuvenation under the Life-Giving Cross, which our Holy Fathers 'planted' on this Sunday.  Thus, we are fortified and enabled to continue our Lenten journey with a light way, rested and encouraged. [p. 79]

Certainly none of the above is meant to deflect our attention away from the “scandal of the Cross” by poeticizing this scandal away in pious rhetoric.  We must never lose sight of the sufferings of our Lord on the Cross, and the “price” He paid to release us from bondage to sin and death.  The world in its indifference will never come to understand the enormity of Christ’s sacrifice.  So as not to lose sight of the utter horror of crucifixion as a form of capital punishment, I would like to include a passage from Martin Hengel’s book Crucifixion:

Crucifixion satisfied the primitive lust for revenge and the sadistic cruelty of individual rulers and of the masses.  It was usually associated with other forms of torture, including at least flogging.  At relatively small expense and to great public effect the criminal could be tortured to death for days in an unspeakable way.  Crucifixion is thus a specific expression of the inhumanity dormant within men which these days is expressed, for example, in the call for the death penalty, for popular justice and for harsher treatment of criminals, as an expression of retribution.  It is a manifestation of trans-subjective evil, a form of execution which manifests the demonic character of human cruelty and bestiality. [p. 87]

So much for the “noble simplicity and greatness” of the ancient world - and the contemporary world, for that matter!  But there is “nothing new under the sun,” and fallen human nature is just as cruel and evil today.  Again, Christ absorbed all of that human cruelty and bestiality on the Cross.  This was a scandal, for the Son of God died the death of a slave on the Cross [Philippians 2:8].  Now, as a “new creation” in Christ, we must of course manifest our freedom from precisely that dark and demonic abyss into which human beings can plunge, and manifest the transfiguration of our human “energy” into the virtues that are so wonderfully revealed in the lives of the saints.  This was the prayer of the Apostle Paul when the light of the crucified and risen Lord began to shine in a world of darkness: 

May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us [or you] to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the Kingdom of His beloved Son, in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. [Colossians 1:14]

The Church understands and will put before our gaze the sufferings of the Lord during Holy Week.  But it is also from within the Church that we come to know the victory of Christ achieved through His death on the Cross and fully revealed in His Resurrection.  Thus the marvelous paradox of venerating a “Life-Giving Cross!”  The rhetoric of the Church’s language is thereby not empty but revelatory of a mystery that has been accomplished in our midst.  The Synaxarion concludes its section on “The Sunday of the Veneration of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross” with the following prayer, a fitting way, I hope, to conclude this meditation: 

O Christ our God, through the power of the Holy Cross, deliver us from the influence of our crafty enemy and count us worthy to pass with courage through the course of the forty days and to venerate Thy divine Passion and Thy Life-Giving Resurrection.  Be merciful to us, for Thou alone art good and full of love for mankind.  Amen.

Prayers and a Paragraph

Dear Parish Faithful.

The link below is to a Special Prayer Service seeking deliverance and protection from the coronavirus. I believe it comes from the OCA Diocese of New York/New Jersey. It is meant to be prayed before one's icon corner. Please avail yourselves of it as you see best.

https://nynjoca.org/files/2020/covid-19/covid-19-prayer-service.pdf

I have also included a paragraph that I found on a particular diocesan website that, I believe, is just the right response to what we are going through. We commemorate the Cross of our Lord this coming Sunday, and we look to the Crucified One as our ultimate salvation.

We find ourselves in a Lent that is not typical, but offers us the chance at real asceticism. We have been given our own metaphorical desert to labor in. We have the opportunity to pray more diligently and intentionally than before. While we are separated by distance, we are joined by faith. We are never truly alone for we are surrounded by that great cloud of witnesses. And when we, at last, emerge on the other side of this time of trial, and can once again join together in the fullness of the liturgical worship of the Church, it will be as glorious as Pascha for our path must always pass through the Cross before it can arrive at the Resurrection.

COVID Update 3/18 - With Caution, Trust and Prayer

Dear Parish Faithful,

"In my distress, I cry to the Lord, that He may answer me." (Psalm 120:1)

"My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:2)

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever." (Psalm 136:1)

Attached is His Grace, Bp. Paul's directive for our Diocese of the Midwest. My own parish directives, based on what is written here, follow immediately below.

Icon of the Theotokos and St Luke the Surgeon of Crimea, directing a physician, with Christ Pantocrator.

We continue to navigate a less than friendly landscape as we struggle with our best response to COVID-19. My position is to approach this will all-due seriousness and then formulate directives accordingly. If we are to "err," it will be on the side of caution. One thing we are not going to do is to "tempt" God by "proving" our faithfulness by making careless decisions. The Apostle Paul teaches there is such a thing as "zeal for God, but not according to knowledge." (Rom. 10:2) We are dealing with a scientific/medical/biological issue with this virus, and we need to trust our health care professionals who are working tirelessly to limit the effect of this pandemic as much as that is humanly possible. We should also pray for our doctors, nurses, health care workers, and all others who are on the "front line" in this battle.

Be that as it may, the plan, at least tentatively at the moment, is to celebrate the Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning, March 22, at 9:30 a.m. We will be severely limited in that only 10 persons are able to be present. This is the directive of Bishop Paul, our diocesan hierarch (based on the most current guidelines of the CDC). This allows for "social distancing," one of the crucial strategies meant to limit the spread of the virus. Trying to figure out the best way to do this is difficult, but what I have come with up is the following: I would ask those of you who are willing to come to the Liturgy to inform me, and I will compose a list. I will draw from this list on a weekly basis (anticipating that this will continue for many weeks to come). As it is, that number ten is further limited in that room must be made for the priest, at least one deacon, and two-three choir members. Perhaps the reader will be drawn from among the choir members.

To again state the obvious, anyone who feels the slightest bit ill should not consider coming to church at the present moment. Be aware of what health professionals are warning about the "age factor." The older we are, the more threatening is the virus. Anyone with any type of medical condition that compromises one's immune system should also apply common sense and not come to church. This is crucial not only for you, but also for your neighbor.

Again, send me a note indicating that you would like to come to church on these Sundays when we must limit our numbers.

For the moment, that is my pastoral directive. If anything changes, I will alert the parish immediately.

In Christ,
Fr. Steven

UPDATES: Statement from Holy Synod, Schedule Changes, more

Dear Parish Faithful,

Christ is in our midst!
He is and ever shall be!

Here is the latest statement from the Holy Synod of Bishops. To be brief for the moment, here is what I have decided for upcoming liturgical services, based on what is presented here:

• The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts for tomorrow evening will be cancelled.

• Our next service will the Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning, March 22, the Third Sunday of Great Lent and also the Sunday of the Cross. 

• We will serve the Vesperal Liturgy for the Feast of the Annunciation on Wednesday evening, March 25.

I will write in further detail tomorrow. My main concern is working out a system that will limit our liturgical gatherings to ten faithful parishioners in response to the CDC's directive to do so. That, in itself, is complicated. His Grace Bishop Paul is following that directive and will do so until further changes, if any, are recommended. If conditions continue to worsen, and a new directive from the CDC is issued, than I will make a further reassessment based on that directive.

Again, we are facing unprecedented conditions with the outbreak of the coronavirus; and I am trying to act as responsibly as possible bearing the moral responsibility that I carry for each and every member of our community's well-being - both spiritual and physical.

As I wrote the other day, continue observing Great Lent among your families. The crucified Lord of Glory is with us all "unto the end of the age." (Matt. 28:20)

In Christ,
Fr. Steven

______________

From: "Archdeacon Joseph Matusiak"
To: "steven k"
Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2020 3:09:39 PM
Subject: Holy Synod Statement on COVID-19 & Archpastoral Letter of His Beatitude

Reverend Fathers,

On Monday, March 16, 2020, His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon convened a special meeting of the Holy Synod. Following a day of meetings with health-care experts, Metropolitan Tikhon led the Holy Synod in a discussion on the effects of the spreading outbreak on the parishes, clergy, and faithful of the Orthodox Church in America.

Following that meeting His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon and the members of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America have today issued a further statement on the Coronavirus outbreak which can be read here.

At the same time, His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon has issued an Archpastoral Letter to the clergy, monastics and faithful of the Orthodox Church in America which can be read here.

Please be sure to check our resource page on the Coronavirus outbreak. We are updating it regularly.

Archdeacon Joseph

An Unforeseen Lent - Reflections and Pastoral Guidance & Helps

Dear Parish Faithful,

"For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends his rain on the just and on the unjust." (Matt. 5:45)

"For God shows no partiality." (Rom. 2:11)

"O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine Inheritance!"

The Second Sunday of Great Lent -

We served the Liturgy of St. Basil yesterday morning and there were eight of us present. Felt something like a weekday Liturgy. Yet, it was very prayerful and peaceful. In the Liturgy of Preparation, I prayed for the entire parish; and the Liturgy was offered "on behalf of all."

Christ healing the Ten Lepers

An Unforeseen Lent -

It was only two weeks ago, that we embarked on our lenten journey together as a parish community and within our own homes. Looking back two weeks ago, I am fairly certain that no one envisioned the environment that we are now find ourselves in with the outbreak and continuing spread of the coronavirus. Two weeks ago, it was still "over there," but now it is "here," and that changes everything. 

Everyone, of course, may have his or her own level of anxiety and unease - perhaps even fear - but we are in uncharted territory in the overall scheme of things today. This is all new for us. And yet, we are apparently making the necessary adjustments from day-to-day, as our normal life routines have been put on indefinite hold. You may or may not be at work at the same level; and your children are now home for the foreseeable future. No picnic on that account! 

I am now awaiting further pastoral directives by tomorrow from His Grace, Bishop Paul, but I am rather certain that our liturgical cycle will continue to be disrupted at least for the immediate future. (I would say that it is "most unlikely" that we will serve the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gift this coming Wednesday evening).

My pastoral concern is that we allow this to overwhelm us to a such an extent that we also suspend our lenten efforts and put our Church life "on hold" until life is again normalized. I believe that this would be a costly mistake because it is precisely the lenten lifestyle that will keep us focused on Christ at at time when that is essential for our interior well-being as we face this crisis, both as unique persons, as a community of faithful Orthodox Christians, and as members of our local communities. 

Our "spiritual lives" are not just one more pious option that we embrace or ignore based upon the condition of our "comfort zones" or immediate emotional or psychological needs. We always need Christ - actually "the One thing needful" - and especially when we are "anxious" (see Matt. 6:25-34). Christ is our only true consolation. 

So, I strongly encourage everyone to continue with the lenten lifestyle that you decided upon just two weeks ago. We all know how to make the necessary adjustments when needed. But the discipline alone of the lenten effort will surely strengthen us all and maintain within us a sense of purpose, even more so at a time of disruptive events.

With that in mind, I would like to offer some pastoral guidelines that, even if obvious, may be actually helpful to bring these things to mind:

+ Continue your Rule of Prayer, for sure both in the morning and in the evening. I will assume that we all have an Orthodox Prayer Book. Some are more comprehensive than others, and if you look through them, you will find prayers that are written by the saints for precisely "times of trouble." You may find a Canon of Repentance, or perhaps an Akathist to Jesus Christ or the Theotokos, These are now most timely.

+ Continue using the Lenten Prayer of St. Ephraim at home, alone or with the family. It is a powerful prayer as it is, but by using it at home it keeps us connected with the life of the Church. Our home, as St.John Chrysostom teaches is a "small church."

+ Continue your scriptural reading as you planned for this Great Lent. I would suggest chanting/reading a few psalms each day. The great penitential psalms are: 6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143. Our parish website has the daily readings all printed out, together with the lives of the saints on their day of commemoration. Avail yourselves of this excellent resource.

+ Continue with the lenten reading that you chose two weeks ago. At a time such as this, we need to be reminded of the "big picture" within which our lives unfold both in times of serenity and times of upheaval. Our Orthodox literature does that with great depth and insight.

+ Continue in the fasting practices that you chose to embrace two weeks ago to the extent to which that is possible. Outside of medical reasons or the unavailability of the fasting foods that we eat, I am not sure why we should abandon these practices. As I said above, the discipline of the fast in its own way gives us a sense of day-to-day continuity and purpose, and again, keeps us connected to the Church.

+ Keeping up with the Services of the Church. I rather doubt that many of you have a copy of The Triodion at home (!) to read the lenten services. Be that as it may, there are now many websites that provide streaming services that allow you "participate" to some extent in the liturgical services. Some have already told me how they watched the Liturgy at the Holy Transfiguration Monastery yesterday morning. I also sent out a copy of The Reader Service that is used when we cannot have the full Liturgy. Avail yourselves of these sources.

• Lenten Triodion Online
• Service of the Typika (Readers Service) 
• OCA Resources for the Coronavirus Outbreak

I would like to add, that we should all practice common sense and adhere to all of the helpful practical guidelines that are being given to us to help minimize the opportunities for the coronavirus to invade our lives. By now, we all know these thoroughly. By responsibly following these guidelines with care we can only help ourselves and our families - and our neighbors. It is "bad theology" to think that our "faith" will keep us safe. That really has nothing to do with it if you read the words of Christ quoted at the beginning of this letter. All are susceptible. For we all live in the same world with its manifold imperfections and brokenness. If we get sick, then it is our faith that carries us through that sickness together with medical care. No matter what happens we are always in the hands of God. That is our faith - the faith that has "overcome the world" (Jn. 16:33).

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: Attendance at Sunday Liturgy to be limited by Pastoral Care

Dear Parish Faithful,

I continue to monitor the tense situation with the coronavirus and I am in conversation with professional healthcare personnel and other Orthodox priests. At the same time, I feel a moral and pastoral responsibility to the parish and our larger community, to protect everyone's well-being.

Therefore, taking my lead from the directive of Archbishop Alexander Golitsin of the Diocese of the South, we are going to drastically limit the number of participants at tomorrow's Liturgy.

If you have not received a personal phone call from me, please do not come to the Liturgy here tomorrow morning.

I continue to believe that we should serve the Liturgy, which is offered on behalf of the entire parish, our city and "all humankind."

In Christ,
Fr. Steven 


NOTES: 

• Great Vespers this evening, March 14, is canceled.  

• Church School and Fellowship Hour are canceled until further notice. Please see Fr Steven's complete March 13 message for more information and directives during the coronavirus crisis.

• Updates will continue to be posted here and on our Parish website. 

• Those interested in following the Divine Services from home, may wish to view the live-streamed services from the Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration in Ellwood City PA.
• The Monastery also records select Lenten services, which can be viewed on their YouTube Channel.

RELATED LINKS:

• Archpastoral Message from Archbishop Alexander (Golitzin) of the Diocese of the South, Orthodox Church in America (PDF) 

• Statement by the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America

• Updates on the Coronavirus Crisis on our Parish Website

Further Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic, and Pastoral Directives

Dear Parish Faithful,

3/14/2020, 4:00pm - UPDATE - SEE THIS NEW POST FOR INFO ON HOW WE ARE CONDUCTING THE SUNDAY DIVINE LITURGY. Additional info, updates and links are also provided.

We are awaiting a pastoral letter from the Holy Synod of Bishops concerning the presence and spread of the coronavirus with practical measures to guide our parish communities in these "time of troubles."

In the interval, I would like to set forth some practical approaches that demonstrate that we are taking this very seriously, and that with prudence and care, we can make "adjustments" that reflect that care with everyone's well-being in mind. If there are specific instructions from the Holy Synod not reflected below, then I will make those further adjustments as I receive them.

As of today, we will serve the Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. And that means that we will have Great Vespers on Saturday evening at 6:00 p.m.  (Note: Fr Steven later decided to cancel Great Vespers this Saturday, March 14.)

We are canceling the Memorial Liturgy that was scheduled for Saturday morning. We may try and work that Liturgy in at a later date, and I will keep everyone informed. If you would like to send me a list of names of your loved ones to pray for, I will do that in the church tomorrow morning.

This evening at 7:00 p.m. we will chant the Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos, seeking her intercessions.

Pastoral Suggestions for Consideration:

• Those who are over 60 years old are most at risk as we have learned. If one also has a heart condition or respiratory condition/asthma; diabetes; or really any other condition that compromises one's health, than you have to seriously take that into consideration when decided about being in church with a larger group of people. 

• As to the Liturgy itself, I earlier this week sent out my own pastoral response concerning the reception of Holy Communion at a time such as this. I continue to stand by what I wrote there. However, if anyone feels any unease about receiving the Eucharist, then abstain without feeling any "pangs of conscience."

• For that matter, if you choose not to come to the Liturgy, I would also say that that is fully understandable. Again, if you make that decision, do so without any "pangs of conscience." The Lord understands our fears.

Directives to be Followed:

• There will be no bowl with blessed bread for after receiving the Eucharist. 

• Do not kiss the icons when offering your veneration. Simply cross yourself as usual and make a reverent bow before each of the holy icons.

• Do not kiss the Cross at the end of the Liturgy. I will bless you as you approach.

• Do not kiss my hand.

• Church School classes are cancelled until further notice.

• Fellowship Hour is cancelled until further notice. Coffee will be available if you would like to stay back for a cup before "departing in peace."

This is a time of great anxiety, for the simple fact that this is a very serious health threat to the whole nation and our community. We always pray that God will be merciful in our repeated petition of "Lord, have mercy!" That prayer now takes on an added urgency.

In Christ,

Fr. Steven

Holy Communion and the Coronavirus - A Pastoral Response

Dear Parish Faithful,

"In the fear of God, with faith and love, draw near!"

Threatened with the spread of the coronavirus, there is understandable anxiety about how this new virus spreads and what precautions we can all take to limit that threat in our own lives and in the lives of our families and communities. This anxiety has led to some concerned questions about our own Communion practices within the life of the Church.

I believe these concerned questions can be formulated in this way: Is the reception of Holy Communion, especially among the laity as we use one chalice and one Communion spoon (though now two of each in our own parish practice) one more possible source of spreading this virus? Is it safe, therefore, to receive Holy Communion in the manner in which we do within the Orthodox Church at a time like this?

Not much by way of guidance on our communion practices has yet emerged from the various Orthodox jurisdictions about this issue. Though the recent set of guidelines from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North America simply states that Holy Communion will continue to be administered as according to normal practice.

In offering my own pastoral perspective on this issue and our age-old practice, I would like to broaden the overall approach and place this into a much wider context, covering the manner in which Holy Communion - the Eucharist - is prepared and received and fully consumed at each and every eucharistic Liturgy. In the process, I may be describing some practices that some of you may not be that aware of, or of which you may have only a vague notion. With this in mind, hopefully this will be educational as well as essential for addressing our immediate concerns.

For the parish, the Divine Liturgy begins with the exclamation "Blessed is the Kingdom..." and it unfolds from there, culminating in the reception of Holy Communion. Yet, the Liturgy actually begins with a short service known in the Greek as the Proskomedia. This can be loosely translated as "The Liturgy of Preparation." This starts about twenty minutes before the opening proclamation of the Kingdom as just described. It takes place on a special table to the left of the altar table, unseen behind the iconostasis. The presiding priest, assisted by a deacon if there is one, as in our parish, is basically "preparing" the bread and wine that will eventually be consecrated and "become" the Body and Blood of Christ during the Liturgy.

On the practical level, the priest must make an assessment concerning the parish as to how many communicants on a given Sunday to anticipate. He must "know" his parish. The priest will therefore cut the Lamb out of the center of the prosphora (baked loaf of leavened altar bread) especially prepared and "offered" for the Liturgy (prosphora is from the Gk. verb "to offer") and place it on the paten. Preparing and baking the prosphora is an essential ministry in every parish. The size of the Lamb is thus determined by how many communicants are anticipated. The priest or deacon will then pour wine into the chalice, again the amount of wine determined by the anticipated number of communicants. This is certain not an exact science, as it is based on approximation. But the priest must make sure that the size of the Lamb and the amount of wine will be "enough" when it comes time for Communion. In my near forty years as a priest, I have never underestimated what was needed!

At the Great Entrance, the paten with the prepared Lamb and the chalice with the prepared wine are carried in a solemn procession, accompanied by prayers and commemorations, to be then placed on the altar table. This bread and wine will be consecrated as the culmination of the Anaphora. The priest will pray: "And make this bread the precious Body of Thy Christ; Amen." He then prays "And that which is in this cup, the precious Blood of Thy Christ; Amen." And then: "Making the change by thy Holy Spirit. Amen. Amen. Amen." This invocation of the Holy Spirit "upon us and upon these Gifts here offered" is called the Epiclesis. It is central to our liturgical celebration. Thus, the mystery of the Liturgy, as the bread and wine have "become" the very Body and Blood of Christ. This is Holy Communion, or the Eucharist, or the Holy Gifts.

"There may be no way to "test" this, but there is no indication whatsoever that anyone ever gets sick because of our communion practices."

The consecrated Lamb is then "fractured" into four separate portions. One portion is immediately placed into the chalice. One portion is reserved for the clergy; and the final two are reserved for the communion of the assembled laity. Very hot water - called the zeon- is also placed into the chalice from a cup designated for this. Both blood and water poured forth from the crucified Christ on the Cross, which this signifies. And the accompanying prayer while this is done refers to the "the warmth of faith, full of the Holy Spirit." The clergy receive Holy Communion first in the sanctuary. As the choir sings a Communion Hymn I, as the priest, having received Holy Communion, will further prepare the two portions of the Lamb reserved for the laity by cutting them into very small pieces which are then placed into the chalice. (At right is an image of the stamp on the prosphora and how the four parts of the Lamb have the Greek letters for "Jesus Christ, Conqueror" - IC XC - sealed into it).

This brings us to the reception of Holy Communion on the part of the laity, and the primary purpose behind this pastoral reflection. Everyone partakes from the one chalice by means of the one communion spoon. I again add that we have two chalices in our parish as Dn. Johnothon and Dn. Paul have the bishop's blessing to distribute the Eucharist. Many parishioners receive Holy Communion by taking it right off of the spoon (as I did my entire life before becoming a priest); while others receive it by having me "drop" it into their open mouths. Both practices are fine and I know what to expect by now from each parishioner as he or she approach the chalice. There may be no way to "test" this, but there is no indication whatsoever that anyone ever gets sick because of our communion practices.

But the question now is: As I make sure that enough Holy Communion is prepared so that all can communion, as described above, what then happens to the portion of the Eucharist invariably remaining in the chalice? According to the Liturgy Book, the priest or deacon, at the end of the Liturgy "consumes the holy Gifts with all reverence and awe." Thus, I have been doing this for almost forty years now. (Dn. Johnothon and Dn. Paul now do this for the most part as I am making the post-Liturgy announcements.)

"The Eucharist is 'life-giving' and never 'life-threatening'. It is indeed the very Body and Blood of Christ."

So, after the communion spoon has been touched by many lips; and after that same spoon has been dipped in and out of the chalice, perhaps as much as a hundred times, the clergy will nevertheless "consume" the remaining Eucharist after each and every Liturgy. And it must be totally and completely consumed without a trace remaining in the chalice. The chalice is then carefully cleaned with warm water and thoroughly dried. So, it may be "cold season;" or it may even be "flu season;" and now we are threatened by the coronavirus, but this must be done regardless by the clergy.

And yet I am convinced that in these last forty years I have never become sick because of this practice.

This is my experience and the experience of all of the members of the clergy that I know and have met throughout the years. And I believe that that is also true concerning the laity. I repeat, for obvious reasons this has never been tested; and really cannot be tested; but all indications are that the clergy and the laity have never become sick due to our communion practices.

This has never been proclaimed as a "dogma," but it is the living experience of the Church. The Eucharist is "life-giving" and never "life-threatening." It is indeed the very Body and Blood of Christ. We confess our belief in this in the Pre-communion Prayer right before we receive the Eucharist. We receive the Eucharist "for the healing of soul and body." I therefore encourage everyone to continue to do so as this unites us as the one Body of Christ.

I hope that this is helpful. What I have written above has been done with pastoral love and concern for our entire parish community. It was meant to be reassuring and perhaps in the process it was also somewhat educational. If - or as - the coronavirus continues to spread into our area, each and every one will make a decision about coming to church and then about receiving the Eucharist. Approach this prayerfully. I urge that we also use good old "common sense" when making our decisions. Any symptoms that we may be showing should of course keep us at home. The sanitizing of our hands is essential, etc. We will have sanitizing lotion available in the narthex of the church. I, for my part, always carefully wipe down the icons before each and every service, and will be all the more vigilant in doing so at the present moment. If you would rather simply bow before the icon, that is your decision and is perfectly fine. The same is true for the hand Cross held at the end of the Liturgy for veneration.

At this point I will simply say feel perfectly free to contact me with any further questions or concerns that you may have.

In Christ,

Fr. Steven