Tuesday March 4/17 ns 2026 • St. Gerásimos of the Jordan ~ Fast day ~ Sixth Hour: Pr. Is. 25:1-9; Vespers: Gen. 9:8-17; Prov. 12:8-22 ~ ON THE LAW OF GOD by St. Philaret of New York Section 22 THE ORTHODOX FAMILY ~ Q and A ~ THE HYMNS ON PARADISE ~ TODAY'S ANECDOTE

Tuesday

March 4/17 ns 2026

Great Lent

Fast Day

Saint Gerásimos of the Jordan  

Gerásimos first learned about the ascetical life in the Egyptian Thebaid. He then went to the Jordan and there founded a community in which there were seventy monks. This community still exists today. He instituted a special Constitution [Rule] for his monastery by which the monks spent five days in their cells weaving baskets, reeds and rush mats. They were never allowed to light a fire in their cells. For five days they ate only a little dry bread and dates. The monks were required to keep their cells open so that when they went out, anyone could enter and remove whatever he needed from their cells.

On Saturdays and Sundays they gathered in the monastic church. They had a common meal with a few vegetables and a little wine to the glory of God. Each monk would then bring in and place before the feet of the abbot that which he had made during the past five days. Each monk had only one robe. St. Gerásimos was an example to all. During the Great Lenten Fast he did not eat anything except what he received in Holy Communion.

On one occasion, he saw a lion roaring from pain because there was a thorn in his paw. Gerásimos drew near to the lion, crossed himself, and removed the thorn in the animal's paw. The lion became so tame that he returned with Gerásimos to the monastery and remained there until the elder's death. When Gerásimos died, the lion succumbed from sorrow for him.

Gerásimos attended the Fourth Ecumenical Council [Chalcedon, 451 A.D.] during the reign of Marcian and Pulcheria. Even though in the beginning, Gerásimos leaned toward the Monophysite heresy of Eutyches and Diascoros, he was a great defender and champion of Orthodoxy at the Council. St. Evthymios dissuaded him from this heresy. Of all of the disciples of Gerásimos , the most famous was St. Kyriacos the Recluse. St. Gerásimos died in the year 475 A.D., and was translated into the eternal joy of his Lord.

Holy Prophet Isaiah 25:1-9 KJV

25 O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

2 For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built.

3 Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee.

4 For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

5 Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low.

6 And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.

7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.

8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.

9 And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

Genesis 9:8-17 KJV

8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,

9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;

10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.

11 And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.

12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:

13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:

15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

Proverbs 12:8-22 KJV

8 A man shall be commended according to his wisdom: but he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised.

9 He that is despised, and hath a servant, is better than he that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread.

10 A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

11 He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding.

12 The wicked desireth the net of evil men: but the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit.

13 The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips: but the just shall come out of trouble.

14 A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompence of a man's hands shall be rendered unto him.

15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.

16 A fool's wrath is presently known: but a prudent man covereth shame.

17 He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit.

18 There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.

19 The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.

20 Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy.

21 There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief.

22 Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight.

Q & A

No questions today Tuesday Marcy 4/17 ns 

Saint Symeon the 'God-Receiver' said to the Virgin: "A spear will pierce your side"

The following question is submitted by the PARAGON

    What does the saint's comment mean to you?

Response from an Orthodox Christian:

    To me it means that as a mother she would view and share emotionally her sons suffering on the cross, the spear and death.

Thank you for your response.  A consensus considers your response most accurate.

The following question was submitted by an Orthodox Christian: 

    Why is the curtain drawn only half way during a portion of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts?

Thank you for your question.

Response from the PARAGON

    The partially-closed curtain indicates that the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is not a full Divine Liturgy. Specifically, it lacks the Anaphora (the consecration of the bread and wine), as the Eucharist has already taken place in a previous Divine Liturgy.

Do you have a question?  Submit it HERE

 

ON THE LAW OF GOD

by St. Philaret of New York

Section 22
THE ORTHODOX FAMILY

The basic task of Orthodox Christianity is to teach people to live according to God's will so that, through it, they will be brought to eternal blessedness. Some people vainly wish to reduce Christianity to a mere narrowly-individualized sphere of religious experiences. Christianity, however, is life; it is a new seal on all the vital relationships of people. No impartial person would doubt or contradict the fact of its influence on life. It is sufficient to point out that even though life and the behavior of people on earth have not strayed far from Christian ideals, nevertheless, their concepts and views were formulated on the Christian type. The work of many of the best artists and scientists bears a clearly Christian imprint upon them. Further, such consoling phenomena as the disappearance of slavery, the appearance of a whole series of institutions of charity and enlightenment, and much else, are undoubtedly obligated to Christianity for their beginnings. But perhaps the transforming and elevating influence of Christianity has been experienced most of all by the first cell of the order of social life - the family.

The great responsibility for an Orthodox Christian person is to choose a friend for life. God's word says of the Christian marriage, "be two in one flesh," that is, in marriage two people form one organism, one common life. An Orthodox Christian wife think first of all about her husband, and then about herself. Likewise, the husband first cares for his wife, then for himself. The Lord tempered such a Christian marital union by His Divine word, "What God unites, let man not separate." It is noteworthy that in such a Christian marriage, the love of the partners has that very same selfless, self-denying character by which purely Christian love is distinguished. With good reason, Apostle Paul compares the marital union with the union of Christ and the Church, and he says, "Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her." In Christian marriage, the unification of loving personalities becomes so all-comprehensive and full, the mutual dedication of the spouses so deep and absolute, that they resemble each other in everything, and sometimes (in old age) they even come to resemble each other externally. And their life passes in full accord, in full dedication to the will of Christ the Savior and His Holy Church.

But it becomes so heavy in our own days to see the precipitous, thoughtlessly careless and completely un-Christian disposition of contemporary youth to this most serious question. One must now repeatedly observe how marriages are concluded not through a serious, deep, examined feeling of love, but through enamorousness, a feeling which is not deep, and is very low in moral relationship. Often, the content of such an enamoured state is, alas, in essence only animal passions, only an "agitation of young blood" (and sometimes not young, but old and dirty). Together with this, in the pre-wedding time of such marriages, one constantly observes deceit and self-embellishing of both body and soul, a hypocritical desire not to be, but to seem to be better and more beautiful. Life, however, can be built only on truth; it cannot survive on falsehood. From this, there ensues the disenchantment of spouses with each other and the aberration of divorces.

Christian marriage is a single life lived by two in unification. With the years, marital life only strengthens, becomes deeper, more spiritual. Of course, passionate love, connected with each person's natural sexual inclination and purely physical attraction, also enters into Christian marital love. In a truly Christian marriage, however, such passionate love enters into the attachment only incidentally, and never has such a significance and strength as in non-Christian marital unions. In the lives of saints, we see a multitude of examples in which Christian spouses, through mutual agreement, renounced sexual life, either from the very beginning of the marriage or even after forty years. It is noteworthy that in such a marriage, when the ascetic-spouses live "as brother and sister," their mutual love is distinguished by a special strength of devotion, all-embracing fidelity and mutual respect. Thus does Christianity consecrate, elevate and transform a marriage union.

In a Christian family, not only the relationship of husband and wife is considered, but also that of children and parents. Christianity again places its imprint on this inner relationship.

In each good family there must, without fail, be a single family life. "Our" must always take precedence to the personal "my" in such a relationship. It is not in vain that all members of the family bear one common surname, for they must live a common, cordial life. The head of the family is the husband. The well-being of the family is formed on him and on his toils. The family is his first duty. Of those who do not look after their own family, Apostle Paul says bluntly and quite clearly. "If anyone does not care for his own, and especially for his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever" (1 Tm.5:8).

It often happens that, in directing their children to one or another path, parents act so strongly against the will of a child's inclinations and heart's desire that they are generally unjust. Apostle Paul speaks against this, pointedly saying: "Parents, do not anger your children so that they do not despair, but raise them in the Lord's teaching and instruction" (Col. 3:21; Eph. 6:4). To demand of children what exceeds their strength only plunges them into despondency. There is an even greater injustice: for a child, the father is the highest authority, and woe if their authority betrays that feeling of trust, a feeling which is far stronger in a child than in an adult. This is followed by a situation which is simply inescapable for the child. It is even worse, however, when the parents spoil their children too much, are too condescending toward them and often leave them without supervision. The child can receive a great moral ruin from this; as we have seen, God's word orders parents to raise and instruct children in the Lord's law.

The matter of raising children falls primarily on the mother. This is natural, since no one else is so close to the soul and heart of the child as its mother. It is not without reason that a child runs directly to its mother, crying, "Mama" when it is hurt. There is a great task before the mother: to raise a son or daughter as a believing Christian, good, responsive, work-loving, useful to the Church and society, and to raise the child thus by word and example and love and strictness. This is the sanctuary of her service to the Lord; her work is no less important than the husband's work for the family. Shame and dishonor to those mothers who shirk from the raising of their children and give them over to be cared for by hired persons, forgetting that it is so easy to ruin or soil the child's soul. Moreover, can anyone really replace a child's mother?

But children must understand their responsibilities no less than the parents. Everyone knows the fifth commandment of Gas law, about honoring the parents. Apostle Paul enjoins children to "submit to your parents in the Lord, for justice requires this." And, of course, this requirement is brought forth precisely by justice. For, children are obligated in all things to their parents who take care of them, loving, toiling, denying themselves in much, raising their children by their own love, often helping them even when they have already become adults and independent people.

How often, though, is the fifth commandment violated among us! Even those children who are convinced that they sincerely and deeply love their parents, often do not heed them, which means that they do not honor them. Love is always united with obedience. And the older children become, the more self-willed they become, alas, affronting their parents, reproaching them to their face for their "backwardness" and not considering their authority in anything. Is this respect for parents?

Thus, in its basic sense, the fifth commandment speaks of honoring parents. Nevertheless, it also speaks in consideration of all those who occupy similar positions for a Christian: teachers, educators, etc; and especially, the representatives of lawful authority who preserve the order of society. Apostle Paul directed us to pray: "for rulers and all those in authority," and in many places in his epistles, he taught to submit to the authorities. More important, of course, for the Christian, is the honoring of Church authorities - the pastors of the Church, especially the bishops, and also the pastor who is his spiritual father and answers before God for his soul. Apostle Paul says, "Submit yourselves (to your spiritual instructors,) for they watch over your souls and must give account." And the Lord Himself said to His apostles, and in their persons to the pastors of the Church, "Whoever listens to you, listens to Me, but whoever does not listen to you, does not listen to Me."

From

The Hymns on Paradise

Saint Ephraem the Syrian

Blessed is He who, with His keys

has opened up the Garden of Life

In the evening the world sleeps, closing its eyes, 

while in the morning it arises. 

He who repays is distant as it were but a night's length away; 

now light dawns and He is coming. 

Worry not, my brethren, 

nor suppose 

that your struggle will last long, 

or that your resurrection is far off, 

for our death is already behind us, 

and our resurrection before us.

T O D A Y ' S

A N E C D O T E

Yesterday, an orchestra, a great symphony or a famous band with a genius composition was required to overwhelm the listener; But today only one note is necessary.

ARCHIVED

Woman: God made her from Adam but the smile He gave is all her her own.

A measurement of God's love:  God's love is so deep that He can endure and love all of His creation - past, present and future, men and women, who pay no attention to Him at all.

Isn't it time to admit and show regret and sorrow?  We have a lifetime to do so!  How long is that?

Only He Who is beyond male or female can Create male and female.

Make no mistake, to put on Christ through Holy Baptist is a wedding garment. We can no less than be married to our Lord Jesus Christ in order to be one with Him. The pearls, jewels and embroidery on this wedding garment are the jewels and ornaments of self-denial, the Cross lying across our shoulders, the same Cross of the same love and forgiveness Christ showed all mankind no matter how brutal, no matter how hateful, no matter how estranged from Him we are.

Make no mistake, this is a garment that cannot be put on at the last moment when we meet our Creator Christ - it will not fit over the obesity of our attachments to the temporary life, to the attachments of our desire for material things, all of which must have been shed.

Make no mistake !! This life, although only somewhat of a facsimile, since it is temporary, is not a life of continual fear but one that can blossom into the love of God and neighbor - our ticket to entry into the bridal chamber called Paradise Eternal. In unfailing love, we remain clothed in our baptismal garment throughout our lives and therefore found to radiantly beautiful in the image of Christ when we meet Him face to face.

Our Lord inspired those who would hear Him with words and acts that would guard and protect, that would guide us and help us maintain our wedding garments. If you have no use for their words or example, what are you saying to Christ? Are you saying He inspired them in vain?

En guarde! Satan never sleeps and never prays. He hates God and hates every one of us. He lurks in the shadows,; silently and relentlessly attacking. He doesn't want us to hear God but wants us to hear and obey only him. He knows Christ speaks to us continually but can only be heard in stillness.

Why do you read what they saints say?  Why do you believe what thy say?  Simple:  because you believe God speaks through the prophets! No? You claim you do!  Reread the Nicene Creed! 

The Apostles Creed vs the Nicene Creed? - Ask

Love: Experienced, but has only one definition, obtained by revelation.

Anyone who has fallen in love knows that once it happens, it needs no reminding, no prompting, no reasoning, no examination because it is unfathomably simple and constantly experienced/treasured and inexplicable. You wake in it, you sleep in it, it never wavers. And in many cases, it is mutual.

Such it is with Christ. However, when we seek with all our heart to love Him, it tis the ecstasy of worship and is always mutual.

If and again if desired, a taste is given and one is on the way.

Christ gave you a head start didn’t He? How? In His love He gave you life didn’t He?

Don't judge yourself by how well you follow the rules or how poorly others do, simply love God with all your heart and you will follow Him as you should because when you genuinely love Him, He will correct any failure you make, and, in addition He will confirm for you that you have pleased Him and that you really do love Him and all others! Do you want to feel you truly love God or would you rather than He, Himself confirm it for you directly? Can we ask for more?

Now wait just a minute!

Saint John 15:5 KJV

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

If we can do nothing without Christ why do we credit or glorify ourselves for our accomplishments? He quickens all of us and all things. Pleasing Him is a great form of gratitude.

From where does fruit get its color, its sweetness, its nutrients? Is it not by accepting what comes from the vine that it becomes beautiful, delicious and nutritious! Are we who follow Christ, expected to be like Him.  Did He not say that we are made in His image? 
We must stop giving ourselves credit.  What we have, has been given as a gift otherwise why would our Lord say, "... for without me you can do nothing.".  What we do with what He gives, is what's profitable because it glorifies the Giver who is Christ our Father Who in turn glorifies us because it is His pleasure.

Monday March 3/16 ns 2026 ~ Holy Martyrs Evtrópios, Cleónicos, and Basilíscos ~ Fast day ~ Sixth Hour: Pr. Is. 14:24-32 Vespers: Gen. 8:21-9:7; Prov. 11:19-12:6

 

Q & A

And Saint Symeon the God-Receiver said to the Virgin: "A spear will pierce your side"
Submitted by the PARAGON

    What does the saint's comment mean to you?

Response from an Orthodox Christian:

    To me it means that as a mother she would view and share emotionally her sons suffering on the cross, the spear and death.

Thank you for your response.  A consensus considers your response most accurate.

The following question was submitted by an Orthodox Christian: 
    Why is the curtain drawn only half way during a portion of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts?

Thank you for your question.
Response from the PARAGON
    The partially-closed curtain indicates that the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is not a full Divine Liturgy. Specifically, it lacks the Anaphora (the consecration of the bread and wine), as the Eucharist has already taken place in a previous Divine Liturgy.

Do you have a question?  Submit it HERE

The Holy Martyrs Evtrópios,

Cleónicos, and Basilíscos

The Holy Martyrs were companions of St. Theodore Tiro. When the righteous Theodore gloriously died, they remained behind in prison, and for a long time they were not sentenced due to a change in the emperor's deputy in the city of Amasea. When the new governor arrived, more inhuman than his predecessor, he ordered that these three be brought before him. All three were youths, Evtrópios and Cleónicos were blood brothers. Basilíscos was like a blood brother in brotherly love. As such, they said before the governor, "As the Holy Trinity is undivided, so also are we by our faith undivided and in love inseparable." In vain was all the flattery on the part of the governor and in vain were his attempts to bribe Evtrópios. First of all, the deputy invited Evtrópios to dine with him. Evtrópios refused, quoting from the Psalms, "Happy the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked" (Psalm 1:1). After that, the deputy offered him a large amount of money, one hundred-fifty liters of silver, which Evtrópios also refused and reminded the governor that because of silver, Judas lost his soul.


After all attempts at interrogation and torture, the first two were sentenced to be crucified, and Basilíscos was sentenced to be beheaded. And so it was, two brothers crucified on two crosses for which they gave thanks to Christ that He made them worthy of the same death by which He Himself died. The third, Basilíscos, was beheaded. They all entered the Kingdom of Joy where St. Theodore, their commander, awaited them and who before them was glorified by Christ the Lord and Victor. They suffered honorably in the year 308 A.D.

Holy Prophet Isaiah 14:24-32 KJV

24 The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:

25 That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.

26 This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.

27 For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

28 In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.

29 Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.

30 And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant.

31 Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.

32 What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.

Genesis 8:21-9:7 KJV

21 And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

9 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.

3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.

6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.


Proverbs 11:19-12:6 KJV

19 As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death.

20 They that are of a froward heart are abomination to the Lord: but such as are upright in their way are his delight.

21 Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.

22 As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion.

23 The desire of the righteous is only good: but the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

24 There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.

25 The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

26 He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.

27 He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.

28 He that trusteth in his riches shall fall; but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.

29 He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.

30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

31 Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.

12 Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.

2 A good man obtaineth favour of the Lord: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.

3 A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved.

4 A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.

5 The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit.

6 The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.

ON THE LAW OF GOD

by St. Philaret of New York

Section 21

Christian Love as the Basic
Principle of Morality

We have observed that those systems of morality which do not found themselves upon the Gospel teaching of love are insolvent. We have also observed that Christian morality is completely established on the law of love; this law is the basis and summit of it.

What exactly is this Christian love? In its fully developed state, it is the most elevated, powerful and radiant of all human feelings. It is manifested as an experience of special spiritual and moral nearness, of a most strong inner gravitation of one person to another. The heart of a loving person is open to the one who is loved, and is ready to receive him to itself - and ready to give itself to the other. "You Corinthians," Apostle Paul wrote to his beloved spiritual children, "Our heart is enlarged for you ... there is room for you in us..." "Thus all will know that you are my disciples if you will have love among you" (Jn.13:35) said the Lord Jesus Christ to His Apostles (and through them to all of us).

Christian love is a special feeling which draws one near to God Who is Love Itself, in the words of His beloved Apostle (I Jn.4:8). In the sphere of earthly feelings, there is none higher than a love which is ready for self-sacrifice. And the whole history of God's relationship to man is a continuous history of the self-sacrifice of Heavenly love. The Heavenly King leads the sinner - the one who has opposed and betrayed Him - by the hand to salvation. For the sake of the sinner's salvation, He does not spare even His Only Begotten Son. The Son of God came down from heaven, was made Incarnate, suffered and died so that He, through the Resurrection, could give the sinner that blessed eternity which he had lost by his own betrayal. Before His sufferings, moreover, He gave His faithful a bequest, a commandment and ideal of love: "As I loved you, so you too love one another."

Such is the ideal of self-less Christian love. It embraces everyone, not just friends, but also enemies. In the Gospel, the Lord pointedly says: "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even the sinners love those who love them" (Lk. 6:32). By these words, the Lord warns us against the egoistically selfish character of non-Christian, pagan love. In such egoistic love, the main element is the personal "I," our self gratification which we receive from this feeling. The Lord commanded something else of Christians: "Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who offend and persecute you." Thus, a Christian loves other people not for their good or obliging disposition but for themselves; they are dear to him in themselves and the Christian's love seeks their salvation, even if they treat him as an enemy.

Perhaps nowhere in the Holy Scripture is the essence and nature of Christian love so clearly revealed as in Chapter Thirteen of Apostle Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians. This chapter is appropriately called "the hymn of Christian love." Here, the Apostle compares Christian love with various spiritual gifts and virtues. He calls love the most excellent path (at the end of Chapter twelve), and then explains, with unshakable conviction, how much higher it is than all the gifts and experiences of man.

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love," the Apostle says, "then I am as clanging brass and a tinkling cymbal" (like spiritless objects which only act on the external senses of man and not on his heart). And all the higher gifts and virtues prophecy, understanding all mysteries, wonder-working, faith and even struggles of self-denial and martyrdom: without love they are nothing, and only from love do they acquire their worth.

"Love is longsuffering and merciful, does not envy or exalt itself, is not proud nor unseemly in conduct." It makes one patient, meek, humble and of good-will toward everyone.

"Love does not seek its own, is not easily angered, does not think evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth."

This is a victorious force, the power of humble love, which destroys the egoism and evil which nest in man's heart. This true love always seeks truth and verity and not falsehood and obligation. Finally, "Love covers all things, believes all things, hopes in all things, Endures all things. Love never fails."

Truly, never. Nothing will break it, neither trials nor torments, nor sorrow, nor deprivations, nor disenchantment. And it will go with a Christian to a new and better world where it will blossom out in all its fullness when all other gifts have disappeared, and faith and hope have already ceased. Faith will be replaced by the sight of the reality, "face to face" and hope will come to realization; love alone will reign "unto ages of ages, forever." And thus, the same Apostle says, "Love is the fulfillment of the law" (Rm.13:10).

March 2/15 ns 2026 † 3rd SUNDAY OF GREAT LENT (THE VENERATION OF THE GLORIOUS CROSS) • Martyr Hesychios the Senator, St. Joachim the New of Ithaca ~ Wine and olive oil are permitted ~ 7th Matins Gospel: St. John 20:1-10 Heb. 4:14-5:6; St. Mark 8:34-9:1

And Saint Symeon the God-Receiver said to

the Virgin:  "A spear will pierce your side"
What does the saint's comment mean to you?

Submit it HERE

For the preaching of the Cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

+The Holy Apostle Paul

+ St. Romanos the Melodist, On the Adoration at the Cross

“The Most High planted in the middle of Paradise The thrice blessed wood, the gift of life for us, In order that, in approaching it, Adam might find eternal and immortal life, But he did not strive earnestly to know this life, and he failed to attain it, and revealed death. However, the robber (Dismas), seeing how the plant in Eden Had been beautifully transplanted in Golgotha, Recognized the life in it and said to himself: `This is what my father lost formerly In Paradise.'”

St. Dismas, The Good Thief

 H esychios lived during the reign of king Maximian in 302. He was the first and the leader in the royal palace and the Senate, because he was magistrianus by office. When Maximian ordered that all Christians who were royal soldiers ought to be deprived of their belts (which were a sign of their royal merit) and live as civilians and without honour, many Christians preferred to live without any outward honour due to this illegal order than to be honored and lose their soul. St. Hesychios was numbered with these Christians as well. When the king heard this, he ordered that the saint ought to be stripped of the expensive clothes, which he used to wear, and be dressed with a shabby mantle without sleeves woven from hair and to be as disgraced and disdained as to consort with women.

When this had been carried out, the king invited him and asked him: "Aren't you ashamed, Hesychios, that you lost the honour and office of magistrianus and that you have been debased to this kind of life? Or maybe you don't know that the Christians, whose way of life you preferred, have no power to restore you to your previous great honour and office?" The saint replied: "Your honour, O king, is temporary but the honour and glory which Christ gives is eternal and without end." Because of these words the king got angry and ordered his men to tie a great millstone around the saint's neck and then to throw him in the middle of river Orontus, which lies in Coele Syria and which is commonly called Oronge. Thus, the blessed man received the crown of martyrdom from the Lord.

Orthros Saint John 20:1-10 KJV

20 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.

3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.

4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.

5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.

6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,

7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.

8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.

9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

10 Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.

Hebrews 4:14-5:6KJV

14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

5 For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:

2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.

3 And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.

4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.

5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.

6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

Saint Mark 8:34-9:1 KJV

34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.

36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

9 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

ON THE LAW OF GOD

by St. Philaret of New York

Section 20

Insolvent Ethical Systems

All the qualities of a Christian relationship with neighbors - meekness, peacemaking, longsuffering, etc. - clearly lead us to one basic and fundamental virtue. This virtue is Christian love, and it is the root principle of Christian morality.

In addition to the moral system offered by Orthodox Christianity, there are also non-Christian, secular moral systems. While they agree in many points with the teaching of Christian morality, these systems nevertheless do not acknowledge the principle of Christian love as the basic teaching about morality. They seem to be frightened by the height of love willed by the Gospel, and they seek principles for themselves which are easier and more acceptable.

Of these secular systems of morality, the best known and most widely spread in practical life are eudemonism (Being happy by being good with yourself and by maintaining quality relationships with your environment) and utilitarianism.

For eudemonism (epicurianism), the basis of morality is the quest for that form of happiness which is native to mankind. Moreover, it understands happiness as the sum of the satisfactions and enjoyments from which one's life becomes pleasant. Eudemonists, nevertheless, differ in their opinions of precisely what satisfactions one must seek in order to be happy. Some of them (if not the majority) speak almost exclusively of coarse, sensual satisfactions. Apostle Paul described the basic ideal of such eudemonism as, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall be dead."

Other eudemonists, pointing out that enthusiasm for sensual satisfactions destroys one's body and soul, recommend that one not be captivated by them. They advise that one ought rather to obtain satisfactions which are more stable and prolonged, and also more spiritualized. Such, for example, are music, poetry and various types of art and science in general.

Naturally, neither form of eudemonism is an acceptable principle of morality for Orthodox Christians. The fundamental question of morality is the difference between good and evil, between what is good and what is bad. Eudemonism, however, speaks of what is pleasant and what is unpleasant. No one could argue the point that these are far from being the same thing. Clearly, eudemonistic people will, in practical life, always be egoists who willfully demand and take what is pleasant for themselves, refusing what is unpleasant (even when acting otherwise might be pleasant and beneficial to others). Moreover, what morality can we speak of in a situation where all people are endeavoring to obtain only that which they like?

When viewed from the strictly Orthodox Christian point of view, eudemonism becomes even more insolvent and positively absurd. Orthodoxy constantly turns one's thoughts to the immortality of the soul and to one's account of one's earthly life and behavior at the Judgment. What awaits the eudemonistic egoist at the judgment by Him Who will ask them about matters of love and help to their suffering brother? Their lot will be the fate of the rich man in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. It cannot be otherwise since a fundamental and well-known principle of Christianity is: "Enter in at the straight gate: for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in there: Because straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Mt. 7:13-14).

Utilitarianism (a philosophy of the common good) is a somewhat better system of non-Christian morality. This system enjoins one to do what is beneficial, rather than what is pleasant for one. Even so, this moral system cannot be called solvent. The concept of "beneficial" seldom coincides with the concept of "good" as something absolutely good. Medicine, for example, is beneficial in restoring health, but at the same time, weapons - a revolver or a knife - are beneficial to a thief in the fulfillment of his evil intent. Thus, the principle of usefulness, or beneficialness, cannot be established as a basis of morality. If we express this utilitarian principle in a concise form: "Act in a way that is beneficial (i.e., advantageous) to you," then it is clear that here again we have the elevation of that same coarse egoism which we have already mentioned.

For this reason, some utilitarian philosophers strive to soften this ideal by recommending that one pursue not only one's own personal advantage, but the common good, common benefit in which, they claim, the personal good of each individual is to be found. In this case, utilitarianism appears in a more ennobled and lofty form. It nevertheless retains its first basic insolvency, the fact that the concepts of "useful" and "good" do not necessarily coincide. Secondly, there are situations in practical life in which one can be restrained from crime by religious feelings - apprehension to violate the law of Highest Truth - but not by the dry rationale of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism cannot give one moral support when one is wavering on the edge of temptation.

Thus, Orthodox Christians can in no way view either eudemonism or utilitarianism as solvent systems of morality. These systems are now very widely developed, but we must note nevertheless that their adherents are often completely orderly people. Why? Because much of social morality and opinion still bear the imprint of the influence of Christianity ... It is only because of this that people who consider themselves to be eudemonists or utilitarians can, in real life, be honorable and orderly. Because of this Christian moral influence, utilitarian and eudemonistic ideas are often cloaked in a mantle of Christian idealism.

St. John 15:15 KJV

Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

Quotes from the Friends of Christ

Holy Father Saint Maximos the Confessor

'LOVE FOR ALL'

Blessed is he who can love all men equally.

Q & A

Saturday March 14 ns Question: Why, at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, does the priest have his head covered and is silent when he makes the Great Entrance?

A: Because he is carrying the Precious Body and Blood of Christ

Do you have a question?  Submit it HERE

T O D A Y ' S

ANECDOTE

WOMAN: God made her from Adam but the smile He gave is all her own.

ARCHIVED

A measurement of God's love:  God's love is so deep that He can endure and love all of His creation - past, present and future, men and women, who pay no attention to Him at all.

Isn't it time to admit and show regret and sorrow?  We have a lifetime to do so!  How long is that?

Only He Who is beyond male or female can Create male and female.

Make no mistake, to put on Christ through Holy Baptist is a wedding garment. We can no less than be married to our Lord Jesus Christ in order to be one with Him. The pearls, jewels and embroidery on this wedding garment are the jewels and ornaments of self-denial, the Cross lying across our shoulders, the same Cross of the same love and forgiveness Christ showed all mankind no matter how brutal, no matter how hateful, no matter how estranged from Him we are.

Make no mistake, this is a garment that cannot be put on at the last moment when we meet our Creator Christ - it will not fit over the obesity of our attachments to the temporary life, to the attachments of our desire for material things, all of which must have been shed.

Make no mistake !! This life, although only somewhat of a facsimile, since it is temporary, is not a life of continual fear but one that can blossom into the love of God and neighbor - our ticket to entry into the bridal chamber called Paradise Eternal. In unfailing love, we remain clothed in our baptismal garment throughout our lives and therefore found to radiantly beautiful in the image of Christ when we meet Him face to face.

Our Lord inspired those who would hear Him with words and acts that would guard and protect, that would guide us and help us maintain our wedding garments. If you have no use for their words or example, what are you saying to Christ? Are you saying He inspired them in vain?

En guarde! Satan never sleeps and never prays. He hates God and hates every one of us. He lurks in the shadows,; silently and relentlessly attacking. He doesn't want us to hear God but wants us to hear and obey only him. He knows Christ speaks to us continually but can only be heard in stillness.

Why do you read what they saints say?  Why do you believe what thy say?  Simple:  because you believe God speaks through the prophets! No? You claim you do!  Reread the Nicene Creed! 

The Apostles Creed vs the Nicene Creed? - Ask

Love: Experienced, but has only one definition, obtained by revelation.

Anyone who has fallen in love knows that once it happens, it needs no reminding, no prompting, no reasoning, no examination because it is unfathomably simple and constantly experienced/treasured and inexplicable. You wake in it, you sleep in it, it never wavers. And in many cases, it is mutual.

Such it is with Christ. However, when we seek with all our heart to love Him, it tis the ecstasy of worship and is always mutual.

If and again if desired, a taste is given and one is on the way.

Christ gave you a head start didn’t He? How? In His love He gave you life didn’t He?

Don't judge yourself by how well you follow the rules or how poorly others do, simply love God with all your heart and you will follow Him as you should because when you genuinely love Him, He will correct any failure you make, and, in addition He will confirm for you that you have pleased Him and that you really do love Him and all others! Do you want to feel you truly love God or would you rather than He, Himself confirm it for you directly? Can we ask for more?

Now wait just a minute!

Saint John 15:5 KJV

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

If we can do nothing without Christ why do we credit or glorify ourselves for our accomplishments? He quickens all of us and all things. Pleasing Him is a great form of gratitude.

From where does fruit get its color, its sweetness, its nutrients? Is it not by accepting what comes from the vine that it becomes beautiful, delicious and nutritious! Are we who follow Christ, expected to be like Him.  Did He not say that we are made in His image? 
We must stop giving ourselves credit.  What we have, has been given as a gift otherwise why would our Lord say, "... for without me you can do nothing.".  What we do with what He gives, is what's profitable because it glorifies the Giver who is Christ our Father Who in turn glorifies us because it is His pleasure.

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