Wednesday of Great Week

"Behold the Bridegroom comes in the middle of the night; and blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching. But unworthy is he whom He shall find asleep. " (From Matins).

Great and Holy week is finally upon us! We have reached the last, but most intense, portion of our marathon. This is what we have trained for all of Lent! We now enter into the life, suffering, death and (SPOILER ALERT) Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

On Palm,or Flowery Sunday, as it is known in many Eastern Churches, Fr. Tom said in his homily that this journey "is not our history it is our REALITY!". I couldn't agree with him more. St. Paul said in his letter to the Romans "Are you not aware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?... If we have been united with him through likeness to his death, so shall we be through a like resurrection" (Rom. 6: 3-11).

In the Eastern Churches another name for Great and Holy Week is "The Week of the Bridegroom". Christ is the Bridegroom and the Church is his Bride. On Great Friday Christ will bestow upon us the most profound gift of his love, he will lay down his life for us. That is why Monday-Thursday of this week we celebrate a morning prayer service called Bridegroom Matins. As I quoted above, we sing 'Behold the Bridegroom comes in the night and blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching!". This comes from the parable of the ten virgins in the Gospel of Matthew. Five of the virgins were wise and had enough oil to light their lamps when the bridegroom came, but the five foolish virgins did not. When the bridegroom (Christ) came they had to go out of the home and buy oil late at night in order to light their lamps and when the bridegroom came he said to them " 'Truly I say to you, I do not know you'. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour" (Mt. 25: 12-13).

On Holy Wednesday the theme is our very human need for forgiveness and healing. This healing can be found when we enter into a relationship with God through his Son, Jesus Christ. In an great description of Holy Week from the website lent.goarch.org it says this about Holy Wednesday and the service on Wednesday evening: The the Sacrament of Holy Unction, the faithful are anointed and thus, healed both physically and spiritually. They are also reconciled to God and one another so that they might receive the gift of the Holy Eucharist instituted by Christ at the Last Supper."

On Wednesday afternoon I will be traveling home to attend Holy Week services at my parish. I'm fortunate to attend a parish that really goes all out. Anointing Service on Wednesday Night, Bridegroom Matins on Thursday Morning, Divine Liturgy on Thursday night, weekend long retreat, Twelve Gospels Friday Morning, Royal Hours Friday Afternoon, Vespers Friday Night, Guarding the Grace, Jerusalem Matins on Saturday morning, Vespers with Divine Liturgy Saturday night, and Matins and Liturgy Sunday morning. If you are scratching you head saying "huh?!", don't worry, I will gradually be explaining all of this through posts and pictures. I'm not sure how much internet access I will have while at church (I don't think we have managed to get wireless internet yet) but just be patient and it will eventually show up!

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Do you ever stop to recognize the small joys that happen in our lives on a day to day basis? Today was not an extraordinary day for me, but it was all of the little things that added up to it being a good day. I found cheap books at a book sale, was able to eat lunch and catch up with a friend, was told I was doing good work at my job, and was able to go shopping at one of my favorite little places: the dollar store.

I was never a fan of the dollar store, until I came to college and became a resident adviser. I never knew that it had so many cute and CHEAP decorations. They are just perfect for a dorm room and a dorm bathroom shared by many girls. On this particular trip tonight, my friend and I decided to browse through the entire store. I remembered that I needed some more votive candle that I'm not supposed to light on my prayer corner. That led to me wondering if they had any cute placemats. I use placemats on my prayer corner table because they are often cheap and are the perfect size. I wanted a gold one and a white one, but my expectations weren't high, I mean, this is the dollar store we are talking about, right? Well I got to the aisle and began thumbing through they collection. I actually found exactly what I was looking for. A satiny white one and a lovely gold one. To make matters better, the white one (which I will put on for the Paschal season) was only .25 cents!

Just as I thought my shopping trip could not get any better we went down the arts and craft aisle. I've been looking at Hobby Lobby and Michael's (two local craft shops) for a plain wooden cross that I can decorate and paint to put in my prayer corner with no luck whatsoever. Once again, I found exactly want I wanted! I couldn't believe it! I brought it home and painted the cross you see above on it. It took about two hours of work altogether, but it was worth it! I can't wait to get it blessed.

I don't mean for this to be a pointless post filled with me gushing about how cool my day was or how I am a great shopper. I am just trying to encourage everyone to look for the little joys in life. Not only the little joys you find in your own life, but the ones you can provide in another's life. I can't think of how many times my bad day has gotten better because a friend stopped to say "hello" or even just smiled at me. Mother Teresa once said "Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing."

I also found a little joy in one of today's readings from Proverbs 13:19-14:6. In this passage we find the famous line "he who spares the rod hates his child." Don't worry, I'm not some sort of violent person who waits for the day when she can use this quote against her future children. This quote brings back memories of a beloved teacher I had throughout my junior high years at St Patrick's School in Joliet. Mr. Paul would always bring this quote up as a sort of joke. I'm sad to say that he passed away a few years ago, but it's memories like this that remind me that we carry those we've lost in our hearts.

Before I close out my post, I want to inform everyone of a great event that is happening next week at my parish of Annunciation of the Mother of God Byzantine Catholic Church in Homer Glen, Illinois. On Thursday March 18th at 7pm we will be celebrating the service of the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete. This is a lovely (albeit long!) penitential service and it will likely last upwards of three hours. We are encouraging people to come for any part of it. You don't have to stay the whole time, but we would love to have people come and experience what it is like. Confessions will also be heard throughout the service. For more information, please visit www.byzantinecatholic.com

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of the Fast

I'd like to start this post with an apology. I know it has been too long since I last posted, and I'm sorry for that. Midterm season is upon us here at the University of Illinois and I fear I have fallen victim to it. If I wasn't studying for an exam or writing a paper, I was relaxing because I had just finished up an exam or paper. Sometimes, in the mix of everything going on, it can be difficult for people to find a peaceful moment in which to pray.

I don't mean to say that I'm just too busy to pray, that is not the case at all. At times, however it can be difficult to get into the routine of praying regularly. I have been listening to Frederica Mathewes-Green and I feel like she has some really great insights to offer us (you can find her podcast on iTunes for free!). When she talks about the Jesus Prayer- one of the most ancient prayers in the church- she advises her listeners to work it in to something you already do. Pray when we are going to sleep, try to concentrate and pray when you are doing mundane tasks. Sometimes when I am walking to class I put my headphones and play a version of the Jesus Prayer that my local choir recorded a few years back over and over again.

Creating a set prayer time is also a good way to get into the habit of praying. Lately, as I think I mentioned a few posts back, I have been praying my little daily Lenten prayer book each night before I go to bed.

What happens when the unexpected happens? What if you fall asleep while reading and miss prayer time. What if you have guests staying over and you miss prayer time. To me, the important thing is to not get discouraged if we miss our prayer time. Many people allow this gap to form between themselves and God. It goes something like this: I forgot to pray/go to church, God is angry with me and so I can't pray/go to church right now, etc. We need to try our best to get right back into our routine. If we accidentally miss our morning prayer time but think about it in the afternoon, then we should say a short prayer the moment we think about it. God will never be angry with us for praying to him with earnest hearts.

I also think it can be helpful to have a prayer buddy. Many times, we won't miss or skip out on something if we know that someone else is counting on us. Prayer buddies can help each other stay on schedule.

Now that we are in the middle of the Fourth Week of the Great Fast, we are about halfway through. This is the point of the race when we really start to feel the burn. It seems like those things we gave up are lurking around every corner. If I see one more commercial for Red Robin Restaurants featuring a juicy burger, I might just flip out. This is the time when it is easy for us to get relaxed, but we must not let down our guard! There is a line in Mathewes-Green's book Facing East where she quotes the Lenten Triodion and says 'At all times it is essential to remember that "you are not under the law but under grace" (Rom. 6:14).'

I am a firm believer in the wisdom of the Church and I see it working even now. The church knows that this is the time of the Fast that really starts to get at people and so next week it places before us one of the most beautiful penitential services: The Canon of St. Andrew of Crete. This is a service filled with hundreds of prostrations, recounting almost the entire Old Testament. Also during this service we read the life of St. Mary of Egypt. I've learned over the past few years that there is nothing like an awesome case of floorburn to reinvigorate my Lenten Season!

Yesterday we celebrated the feast of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste. Here is their story (according to Wikipedia): According to St. Basil, forty soldiers who had openly confessed themselves Christians were condemned by the prefect to be exposed naked upon a frozen pond near Sebaste on a bitterly cold night, that they might freeze to death. Among the confessors, one yielded and, leaving his companions, sought the warm baths near the lake which had been prepared for any who might prove inconstant. One of the guards set to keep watch over the martyrs beheld at this moment a supernatural brilliancy overshadowing them and at once proclaimed himself a Christian, threw off his garments, and placed himself beside the thirty-nine soldiers of Christ. Thus the number of forty remained complete. At daybreak, the stiffened bodies of the confessors, which still showed signs of life, were burned and the ashes cast into a river. The Christians, however, collected the precious remains, and the relics were distributed throughout many cities; in this way the veneration paid to the Forty Martyrs became widespread, and numerous churches were erected in their honour.