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Dear Parish Faithful
Paschal Meditation - Day Twenty Five
CHRIST IS RISEN!
INDEED HE IS RISEN!
On the feast of Mid-Pentecost, marking the mid-point of our journey from Pascha to Pentecost, we celebrate these words said, nay, cried out, by our Lord to all of us: If “anyone” thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
That also means me, if I recognize that I do, indeed, “thirst” for the Holy Spirit; if I am “poor in Spirit,” rather than self-sufficient (a.k.a. “full of myself”). Today let me once again join the thirsting Church, not the full-of-ourselves Church, that I may re-focus on my cross-carrying journey, toward the “glorified” Lord. He has been “glorified” in His death and His new life, in which He invites me to participate, also today. So let me come to Him this morning, and drink of His life-creating Presence, in some heartfelt prayer and reading of His word, because I can. “Anyone” can. And we can all have “rivers” flowing out of us of “living water,” – of compassion, kindness, wisdom, creativity, courage, patience, humility and love, in the generous Self-offering of the Holy Spirit in our world. “Come and abide in us” today, Lord, as we choose to come and abide in You.
COFFEE WITH SISTER VASSA - Wednesday, May 29
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The word is out there that the Orthodox Church in America has been experiencing significant growth in this "post-Covid" era that we are living through. That means that thoughtful persons are "thirsting" for the words of life that flow from Christ; and for the sacramental life that flows from His pierced side while dying for the "life of the world" on the Cross. The Church, in turn, is not offering a haven for progressive or conservative politics; or a protective wall in today's current "cultural wars." Entering the Church with this "thirst" is to enter the living Body of Christ. If we focus on the voice of the Good Shepherd, then all the "protection" that we need is offered to us as an unmerited gift that we remain ever thankful for.
