The Feast of the Fallen Asleep of Our Most Holy Lady the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary8/28/2017
Dear brothers and sisters, Blessed and joyous Feast to all! To learn more about the Feast, click here. In giving birth you preserved your virginity,
In falling asleep you did not forsake the world, O Theotokos. You were translated to life, O Mother of Life, And by your prayers, you deliver our souls from death. When Peter saw the awesomeness of Christ's transfiguration, he had an all too human feeling, and said, "Lord, it is good for us to be here, if You wish, let us make here three tents here" (Matthew 17:4).
He was full of joy and amazement, but the first thing he thought about was preserving this joy, not sharing it, not running to others and telling them about it. We also have this great joy, that is our Christian faith, and we also, like Peter, tend to preserve it and hide it, rather than bring it to our family members, neighbors and everyone around us. Christ's Gospel has been preached on all continents of the earth, but we are seeing a reverse process now - people (Christians or not) are just as likely to have never heard of the Gospel, as they are to have heard about it. Let alone have any idea what it actually says. As they were coming down from Tabor, Christ told Peter, John, and James to not tell anyone about what they saw until after "the Son of Man is risen from the dead" (Matthew 17:9). We, as the successors of the apostles, live precisely in the time "after the Son of Man is risen from the dead." We have this great opportunity to "make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:27), to baptize, teach and preach the Gospel of Christ. May Christ's everlasting Light also shine upon us to give us courage and strength to be worthy disciples of Christ. Joyous Feast of Transfiguration! С Праздником! On Sunday, May 21, our teenagers and Fr Aleksey held the inaugural meeting of the Discussion Group. Father explained the vision for the group and expressed hope that we'll be able to meet at least once per month starting in September. The goal of the Discussion Group is to learn about the meaning and significance of the Orthodox worship services, learn and strengthen the understanding of our faith, and discuss any relevant issues and questions. We will begin with reading and discussing one of the classic works of C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity. If you know any teenagers who would be interested in learning about Orthodox faith and worship, send them our way :) |
