March 9/22 ns 2026
† 4th SUNDAY OF GREAT LENT
(St. John of the Ladder)
Fast Day
Wine & Olive oil
† The Forty Holy Great Martyrs
of Sebastia
Once, someone related to me a case involving an exceptionally high level of purity. He told me, "A certain man, upon beholding an attractive body, praised the Great Creator, and from this one glance he was brought to a love of God and a spring of tears. It was fantastic to see how something which would have been the ruin of most, was for such a one the unnatural occasion of a crown." If a person regularly acts thus and has similar emotions on similar circumstances, then he has risen eternal even before the general resurrection.
Climacos, John. The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Steps or Rungs on the Ladder to Heaven
1–4: Renunciation of the world and obedience to a spiritual father
1. (On renunciation of the “world”)
2. (On detachment)
3. (On exile)
4. (On blessed and ever-memorable obedience)
5–7: Penitence and affliction (as paths to true joy)
5. (On painstaking and true repentance)
6. (On remembrance of death)
7. (On joy-making/mourning)
8–17: Defeat of vices and acquisition of virtue
8. (On freedom from anger and on meekness)
9. (On remembrance of wrongs)
10. (On slander or calumny)
11. (On talkativeness and silence)
12 (On lying)
13. (On despondency)
14. (On that clamorous mistress, the stomach)
15. (On incorruptible purity and chastity)
16. (On love of money, or avarice)
17. (On non-possessiveness)
18–26: Avoidance of the traps of asceticism (laziness, pride, mental stagnation)
18. (On insensibility, that is, deadening of the soul and the death of the mind before the death of the body)
19. (On sleep, prayer, and psalmody)
20. (On bodily vigil and how to use it to attain spiritual vigil, and how to practice it)
21. (On unmanly and puerile cowardice)
22. (On the many forms of vainglory)
23. (On mad pride and on unclean and blasphemous thoughts)
24. (On meekness, simplicity, and guilelessness, which come not from nature but from conscious effort, and on guile)
25. (On the destroyer of the passions, most sublime humility, which is rooted in spiritual perception)
26. (On discernment of thoughts, passions and virtues; on expert discernment)
27–29: Acquisition of hesychia, or peace of the soul, of prayer, and of apatheia (dispassion or equanimity with respect to afflictions or suffering)
27 (On holy stillness of body and soul; different aspects of stillness and how to distinguish them)
28.(On holy and blessed prayer, the mother of virtues, and on the attitude of mind and body in prayer)
29. (Concerning Heaven on earth, or Godlike dispassion and perfection, and the resurrection of the soul before the general resurrection)
30. (Concerning the linking together of the supreme trinity among the virtues).
11 But Mary stood without at the sepulcher weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulcher,
12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.
14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.
Hebrews 12:1-10 KJV
12 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
Saint Mark 9:17-31
17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
19 He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.
20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.
28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
30 And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it.
31 For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.
13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.
14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.
Hebrews 12:1-10 KJV
12 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
Saint Mark 9:17-31
17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
19 He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.
20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.
28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
30 And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it.
31 For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.
ON THE LAW OF GOD
by St. Philaret of New York
Section 27
The Christian Obligation: To KNOW God
If our first and basic obligation to God is to love Him, then it follows naturally that we must know Him. Man will not and cannot love one whom he does not know.
We must observe that the necessity to know God is one of the least fulfilled of our obligations. How different it was in former times when interest in theological matters and religious knowledge was deeply felt by Orthodox souls. St. Gregory the Theologian testifies that in his time even merchants in the market place turned from their business affairs to discuss the consubstantiality of the Son of God.
Now, many intelligent people, sometimes even those who write and speak on various purely Christian themes, positively fear all theology. They tend to consider all its explanations and questions as somehow remote from life.
Because of this, an oppressive religious ignorance has appeared - a lack of acquaintance with the basic truths of the faith. Take for example, the masses of intelligent, educated Russian people. They will enumerate for you, without error, all the tsars of the house of Romanov, or the main Russian writers, etc. It is considered a disgrace for an educated person not to know this. Ask them, however, the main dogmas of the Christian faith, or to name the twelve apostles of Christ (people who did immeasurably more for mankind than any tsar or writer) and in nine of ten cases, the result will be lamentable. Even worse is the fact that no one considers this ignorance to be a disgrace, and people even admit it lightheartedly.
It is absolutely necessary that each Orthodox Christian have a knowledge of the content of his faith and of its basic truths - the dogma of the Trinity, of Divine Love, the Incarnation, the saving death and Resurrection of the Savior, and the future destiny of the world and of mankind, etc. These questions are not something distant and insignificant, rather they are vital and important to us, for the whole meaning of life hangs upon their answers.
All these questions coalesce in one: is there a God and Who is He? These are questions of singular importance even for people who barely believe. For truly believing people, to know about God is to know what He means to us and what His will is concerning all of us. This is the basic, most important and precious knowledge in life. In fact, Orthodox life itself is defined first of all by the knowledge of God, The Lord Himself, while praying to His Father, said: "This is eternal life, that they know You, the One True God and the One Whom You sent."
From all this, we see that the knowledge of God is our direct Christian duty, and the way to it, in addition to the study of theology, is the contemplation of God. Contemplation of God is the description of the spiritual mood in which man intentionally introduces into, maintains in his conscience, the thought of God, of His highest properties, the matter of our salvation and of our eternal future, etc. Such contemplation of God is especially loved by our Orthodox ascetics, but, unfortunately, it is not even familiar to most of us.
The knowledge of God is not, however, the mere rational acceptance and remembrance of our Orthodox Christian teaching of faith and life. Christianity is a living life, an experience of the human heart, and therefore it is accepted by people unequally. The more a person has experienced the truths and commandments of his faith in his personal life, in the inner experience of inner struggle and striving to live according to Christ's Gospel, the deeper does he assimilate Christianity. Conversely, if a person treats his faith dryly, with external formalism, and is not guided by the appeals of Christ's Gospel in his personal life, he will not accept Christianity into his soul and heart, and the profound content of the truths of Christ's faith will remain alien to him.
Q & A
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T O D A Y ' S
ANECDOTE
"The heart of an Orthodox Christian is filled with such divine love and radiates it everywhere and upon everyone."
Dear Orthodox Christian, Does the quote above from St. Philaret, describe you?
Archives
- What cannot be seen, can be revealed.
- I personally think that one reason all the planets are round is to send us a message, the message being that no matter where you go, you end up where you started. If you desire a destination, transcend "mammon" while you have "time".
- Being familiar with the immense power of desire, must we obey? On occasion, we wake from a dream thankful, thankful that it wasn’t real
- God gave woman a smile that is all her own
- 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 be 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!
- 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.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
THE DEPARTURE OF THE SOUL ACCORDING TO ORTHODOX TEACHING
{References the Ladder of Divine Ascent by St. John Climacos}
https://stanthonysmonastery.org/products/the-departure-of-the-soul-readers-edition?srsltid=AfmBOooxtkV72GlaywZ6E8HrRZrMMMQYH_cSde-oc37EU0soN3QsxvI0
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