The Great Fast and Great and Holy WeekHow important is it to observe?

Are there exemptions for old or sick people?What is even the point of abstaining from Non-Great Fast food?Many view The Great Fast and Great and Holy Week, as nothing but the

refusal to eat certain foods, but this is a very superficial point of view. We often forget the spiritual aspect of The Great Fast and Great and Holy Week. A person has two natures-we have a body and a soul, we belong to two worlds, the earthly and heavenly worlds.

The Great Fast and Great and Holy Week is not just physical abstention, but spiritual abstention, holding one’s tongue, that is, avoiding condemning others, avoid idle chatter, gossip, quarrels. This is even more important than physical fasting.

Saint John Chrysostom said:If mankind refrains from meat but devour our neighbors,

This is a mockery of the fast!The real intention of fasting during the 4 penitential periods of the Church's

Liturgical Year is when we have physical restraint and keep our spirit away from temptation. You asked about old and sick people. The Great Fast and Great and Holy Week is for healthy people. Its goal is to weaken our flesh, which, enfeebled, is less prone to fall prey to temptations.

That is why a seriously-ill person (if you sneeze a couple of times, that’s not being seriously ill), when there is some chronic sickness-that is, suffering the sickness is already like observing The Great Fast and Great and Holy Week one is not obligated to observe The Great Fast and Great and Holy Week strictly.

But in the spiritual sense, observing The Great Fast and Great and Holy Week is mandatory for both the healthy and the sick. Even more so for those who are old or seriously sick, when a person may be on the threshold of the next world, for they need to think about their soul.

The Great Fast and Great and Holy Week is a genuine voyage,And interesting, event-filled voyage!

Is any one among you suffering? Let him pray.Is any cheerful? Let him sing praise.

Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church,And let then pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;

And the prayer of faith will save the sick man,And the Lord will raise him up; And if he has committed sins

He will be forgiven!Therefore confess your sins to one another, that you may be healed.The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects.

The Epistle of Saint James Chapter 5 Verses 13-16Everything in this life passes away:

Only God remains, Only He is worth struggling towards.Mankind has a choice: to follow the way of this world,

Of the society that surrounds us, And thereby find ourselves outside of God;Or to choose the way of life, to choose God Who calls us

And for Whom our heart is searching!Hiermonk + Seraphim Rose

When mankind becomes incorruptible and immortal and attain to:The blessed state of conformity with Christ, We shall be ever with the Lord,

Gaining fulfillment in the purest contemplations of His visible {Resurrection,}

Which will illuminate us with its most brilliant rays,Just as it illuminated the disciples at the time of the most divine

Transfiguration.This is the light of God, as Saint John The Apostle has said in his Revelation,

And such is the opinion of all the saints!Saint Gregory Palamas

Holy and Great WednesdayOn Great and Holy Wednesday, The Byzantine Catholic Church commemorates the

act of contrition and love of the sinful woman who poured precious myrrh-oil on our Savior's head, and, though she did not know it, "prepared Him for burial."

And in contrast we hear of the dark act of Judas, whose greed led him to betray his Master.

All the readings and hymns of the day warn us to beware of greed and love of money, which even tempted a disciple of Christ. We too can betray Him, if we let greed and selfishness get hold of us, while every deed of humility and love at once brings us near to Him.

Concerning these incidents recorded in the Holy Gospels, The Synaxarion has the following account:

Two women — say the more discerning interpreters of the Gospel — anointed the Lord with myrrh; the one, a long time before His Passion; the other, a few days before. The one was a harlot and sinner; the other, chaste and virtuous.

The Church commemorates this reverent act today. While mentioning herein the person of the harlot, it also mentions Judas' betrayal; for, according to the account in Matthew, both of these deeds took place two days before the Passover, on Wednesday.

That woman, then, anointed Jesus' head and feet with very precious myrrh, and wiped them with the tresses of her hair. The disciples, especially the avaricious Judas, were scandalized, supposedly because of the waste of the myrrh. Jesus reproved them and told them not to trouble the woman. Indignant, Judas went to the high priests, who were gathered in the court of Caiaphas and were already taking counsel against Jesus.

On agreeing with them to betray his Teacher for thirty pieces of silver, Judas sought from that time opportunity to betray Him (Matt. 26:14-16). Because the betrayal took place on Wednesday, we have received the tradition from Apostolic times to fast on Wednesday throughout the year.

It is on this day also that one of the most beautiful and compunctionate hymns ever composed is chanted in the Holy Church. This hymn, composed in the early part of the ninth century by the nun Cassiane, has as its theme the anointing of our Savior's feet by the harlot:

The Troparion of CassianeO Lord, the woman who had fallen into many sins perceived Thy divinity, and

taking upon herself the duty of a myrrh-bearer, with lamentation she bringeth Thee myrrh-oils before Thine entombment.

Woe unto me! saith she, for night is become for me a frenzy of licentiousness, a dark and moonless love of sin. Receive the fountain of my tears, O Thou Who gatherest into clouds the water of the sea. Incline unto me, unto the sighings of my heart, O Thou Who didst bow the Heavens by Thine ineffable condescension.

I shall kiss Thine immaculate feet and wipe them again with the tresses of my head; those feet, at whose sound Eve hid herself for fear when she heard Thee walking in Paradise in the cool of the day.

As for the multitude of my sins and the depths of Thy judgments, who can search them out, O Savior of souls, my Savior? Do not disdain me, Thy handmaiden, O Thou Who art boundless in mercy!

The Kontakion for this day continues the theme of contrition and remorse, and confronts us with our unworthiness before God:

The KontakionThough I have transgressed more than the harlot, O Good One, I have in no wise

brought forth streams of tears for Thee; but in silence I supplicate Thee and fall down before Thee, kissing Thine immaculate feet with love, so that, as Master that Thou art, Thou mayest grant me the forgiveness of debts, as I cry to Thee, O Savior: From the mire of my deeds do Thou deliver me.

On Great and Holy Wednesday, the Byzantine Catholic Church administers the Mystery of the Holy Unction for the bodily and spiritual health of the participants. At this Mystery, the oil is consecrated by prayer and the clergy anoint the people.

The Lord's descent into hellWhat is happening? Today there is a great silence over the earth, a great silence,

and stillness, a great silence because the King sleeps; the earth was in terror and was still, because God slept in the flesh and raised up those who were sleeping from the ages. God has died in the flesh, and the underworld has trembled.

Truly he goes to seek out our first parent like a lost sheep; he wishes to visit those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. He goes to free the prisoner Adam and his fellow-prisoner Eve from their pains, he who is God, and Adam's son.

The Lord goes in to them holding his victorious weapon, his cross. When Adam, the first created man, sees him, he strikes his breast in terror and calls out to all: 'My Lord be with you all.' And Christ in reply says to Adam: ‘And with your spirit.’ And grasping his hand he raises him up, saying: ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.

‘I am your God, who for your sake became your son, who for you and your descendants now speak and command with authority those in prison: Come forth, and those in darkness: Have light, and those who sleep: Rise.

‘I command you: Awake, sleeper, I have not made you to be held a prisoner in the underworld. Arise from the dead; I am the life of the dead. Arise, O man, work of my hands, arise, you who were fashioned in my image. Rise, let us go hence; for you in me and I in you, together we are one undivided person.

‘For you, I your God became your son; for you, I the Master took on your form; that of slave; for you, I who am above the heavens came on earth and under the earth; for you, man, I became as a man without help, free among the dead; for you, who left a garden, I was handed over to Jews from a garden and crucified in a garden.

‘Look at the spittle on my face, which I received because of you, in order to restore you to that first divine inbreathing at creation. See the blows on my cheeks, which I accepted in order to refashion your distorted form to my own image.

'See the scourging of my back, which I accepted in order to disperse the load of your sins which was laid upon your back. See my hands nailed to the tree for a good purpose, for you, who stretched out your hand to the tree for an evil one.

`I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side, for you, who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side healed the pain of your side; my sleep will release you from your sleep in Hades; my sword has checked the sword which was turned against you.

‘But arise, let us go hence. The enemy brought you out of the land of paradise; I will reinstate you, no longer in paradise, but on the throne of heaven. I denied you the tree of life, which was a figure, but now I myself am united to you, I who am life. I posted the cherubim to guard you as they would slaves; now I make the cherubim worship you as they would God.

"The cherubim throne has been prepared, the bearers are ready and waiting, the bridal chamber is in order, the food is provided, the everlasting houses and rooms are in readiness; the treasures of good things have been opened; the kingdom of heaven has been prepared before the ages.

PrioritiesWe all need to set sensible priorities,

Making sure we pay attention to our health, our family, andOur spiritual life within the Byzantine Catholic Church!

We must not let our life be so full of work that we don’t allot time to focus on the things that bring us joy. We may think we don’t have time to visit an art museum, have lunch with a friend, or take a day hike with our children, but lasting fulfillment requires time for play, for fun, and for spiritual contemplation.

Focusing only on work can lead to a restless sense that something is missing in our life.

Thoughts of where we’d rather be living, or the job we’d rather have, displace any joy that could be ours. Most of us, if we really think about it, already have everything we need for happiness right in front of us. We mustn’t wait to enjoy what you already have!

We are a microcosm of the universeWith this Great Fast and Great and Holy Week Journey upon us it is good to

contemplate the profound nature of our earthy struggle. This life is not about all the temporal things that often consume our energy and attention, but about those things that impact eternity.

Mankind is a microcosm of the whole universe because we have within ourselves the entire material world, and with it the noetic powers of the cosmos. Created as we were for immortality, it is our fallen nature that has separated us from that which God had intended.

When mankind avails ourselves to the transformational healing that comes with repentance,

Mankind shall see the Kingdom of God, Which is within each and everyone of us!

Since illnesses are cured by their opposite remedies, as we had been put to death by the wicked counsel of the evil one, we were made alive again by the good counsel of the good Lord. The deadly counselor had at his disposal pleasure, glory and comfort, which enchanted mankind and dragged it down.

So the Counselor of true life Himself led the way along the strait and narrow way which leads to life above and guided us in it.

Strive – He saith: to enter in at the strait gate, and strait and narrow is the way that leads to life, for wide and broad is the way that leads to destruction.

Elsewhere He warns more clearly against that path, saying:Woe to you who are rich! Woe to you who are full!Woe to you when all men shall speak well of you,

Thus declaring wretched all lovers of glory, pleasure and money!Saint Gregory Palamas

Annunciation: Today is revealed the mystery!Every year during The Churches Liturgical Year, we celebrate the Great Feast of the

Annunciation to the Most-Holy Theotokos on March 25.This beautiful “festal interlude” allows us to again marvel before the great mystery

of the Incarnation of the Son of God. At His conception “without seed” the “Word became flesh.” He will be born in nine months time, but the actual incarnation is marked when He entered the womb of the Virgin Mary—when she was “overshadowed” by the Holy Spirit.

Since her Son is the pre-eternal Son, Word and Wisdom of God, she becomes The Theotokos—literally, the “God-bearer”. In an extraordinarily fine passage, Saint Nicholas Cabasilas explains the role, not only of the Holy Trinity in this great mystery, but also that of the Theotokos, thus revealing to us the meaning of synergy, or of cooperating with God.

The incarnation of the Word was not only the work of Father, Son and Spirit—the first consenting, the second descending, the third overshadowing—but it was also the work of the will and the faith of the Virgin.

Saint Nicholas writes.Without the three divine persons this design could not have been set in

motion;But likewise the plan could not have been carried into effect

Without the consent and faith of the all-pure Virgin.Only after teaching and persuading her does God make her His MotherAnd receive from her the flesh which she consciously wills to offer Him.

Just as He was conceived by His own free choice,So in the same way she became His Mother voluntarily and with her free

consent.Feast Days are not just theological ideas. They are days of worship, because it is in

worship that we actualize and participate in the reality being commemorated:Today is revealed the mystery that is from all eternity:

The Byzantine Catholic Church sing on the Great Feast of the Annunciation.We celebrate the Feasts Days of the Church liturgically so that we can gather as

the Body of Christ and rejoice together over the saving events that manifest God’s mercy and grace to the world. On this feast let us praise God for the awesome mystery of the Incarnation.

Christ Is Risen! Indeed He Is Risen!Christos Voskrese! Voistinnu Voskrese!

Today we witness to the Glorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ! The empty tomb is Christ’s victory over the sources of sin and death. Our Byzantine Catholic Church is radiantly filled with joyful chants.

The festive spirit of the faithful all gives expression to this glorious event that takes place! We have all shared in the mysteries of the past several days in God’s plan for us in Christ.

The deeply moving Liturgical Services of our Venerable Byzantine Catholic Church have led us through the battle fields of self-sacrifice until the eyes of our spiritual understanding have been enlightened. We have shared in the intimate moments of Jesus with His disciples and became united with Him in the Mystical Supper.

Likewise, we have shared the agony of suffering and rejection which led to an inglorious death. Because we have been baptized into His death, we are also sharers of His Resurrection. All of this we have expressed prayerfully in these recent days…and we have been united with these events of Christ in such a way that they have truly taken place in our lives.

Today we stand New People!Words fail to express what we feel inside as the brightness of new life begins

to swell within us. We truly begin to ‘feel’ as new people, we ‘see’ with new eyes, and we can call everyone ‘beloved’ for we have all been brought together in Christ.

With the Resurrection of Christ, The whole world is changed. The light has come forth from the darkness, and death has been overcome by life. Everyone in the whole world is touched by this Glorious Event!

The Resurrection IconShows Christ coming forth from the tomb and leading Adam and Eve and the Just

ones of the Old Testament to recapture all those who had fallen asleep from the beginning of time.

The Epistle to the Hebrews Chapter 3 Verses 12-16Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing

from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said:

Today:If thee shall hear His voice, do not harden thine hearts

As in the rebellion!Failure of the Wilderness Wanderers

For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses?

Forgiveness and LoveThe capacity to forgive and the capacity to love

The capacity to forgive is directly related to the capacity to love, and it is in our act of forgiving others, that we find forgiveness. For it is in the turning away from our own self-concern, and our own self-will, that we begin to see that our salvation is directly linked to the salvation of our neighbor.

To refuse to forgive our neighbor, is do cease having the capacity to love:For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen,

How can he love God whom he has not seen?The ability to forgive others requires work on our part, for we must cooperate with

the grace that comes as a gift of the Holy Spirit. Since we have been forgiven much, we, in turn, must forgive much. The Lord Himself told us that we must forgive our brother seventy times seventy, no easy feat, to be sure.

Yet it is this same Lord Who gives us the power, and the will, to be quick to forgive those who have hurt or offended us. It is this very Christ Who demonstrated the importance of forgiving others, when He forgave those who were crucifying Him.

Lord, forgive them, for they know not what they do!

Scripture ReadingsThe Prophecy of Saint Isaias Chapter 8 Verse 13 through Chapter 9 Verse 7

The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow; let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread.

He will be as a sanctuary, but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

And many among them shall stumble; they shall fall and be broken, be snared and taken.

Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.And I shall wait on the Lord, who hides His face from the house of Jacob; and I shall

hope in Him.Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me! We are for signs and

wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells in Mount Zion.And when they say to you:

Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutterShould not a people seek their God?

Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is

because there is no light in them.They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they

are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward. Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.

The Government of the Promised SonNevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, as when at first He

lightly esteemed. The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more heavily oppressed her. By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, In Galilee of the Gentiles.

The people who walked in darkness. Have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.

You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy; they rejoice before Youaccording to the joy of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

For You have broken the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.

For every warrior’s sandal from the noisy battle, and garments rolled in blood, will be used for burning and fuel of fire.

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this!

Grant usO our Lord to rejoice in Thee,

And mayest Thou rejoice in us in the last day.To Thee is praise, from the spirit, soul and body!

And unto us be Thy mercies!Thou, O Christ our Savior,

Hast become for me the path of life which leads to the Father.There is but one path,

And it is my joy,And at the end of it is the heavenly kingdom!

Saint Ephraim the Syrian

The Book of Proverbs Chapter 8 Verses 1-21The Excellence of Wisdom

Does not wisdom cry out, and understanding lift up her voice? She takes her stand on the top of the high hill, beside the way, where the paths meet. She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city, at the entrance of the doors:

To you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men. O you simple ones, understand prudence, and you fools, be of an understanding heart. Listen, for I shall speak of excellent things, and from the opening of my lips will come right things; For my mouth will speak truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

All the words of my mouth are with righteousness; nothing crooked or perverse is in them. They are all plain to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge.

Receive my instruction, and not silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold; For wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.

I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge and discretion. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate. Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom; I am understanding, I have strength.

By me kings reign, and rulers decree justice. By me princes rule and with nobles. All the judges of the earth. I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.

Riches and honor are with me, enduring riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, and my revenue than choice silver. I traverse the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of justice. That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, that I may fill their treasuries.

Grant us: O our LordTo rejoice in Thee! And mayest Thou rejoice in us in the last day.

To Thee is praise: From the spirit, soul and body. And unto us be Thy mercies!Thy love draws me to Thee, O Savior, O praise of my life.

Thy grace makes it sweet for me to follow Thee with my mind.Saint Ephraim the Syrian

ComplainingComplaining weakens our resolve

If we are always complaining about how unfairly we are treated, we will have failed in our imitation of Christ, Who was abused by His enemies unto death. We should strive to reign with Our Lord by loving our enemies and never complain. Christ looked towards His Heavenly Father and when we are tempted to complain we should gaze upon the cross.

Complaining disturbs the heart and distracts us from the Path. Complaining weakens our resolve and interferes with the acquisition of peace and holiness. When we complain we are rejecting the role of suffering as a means towards the union with God.Complaining keeps our heart from soaring to the heavens and experiencing the

joy that can be had when we surrender ourselves into the protective arms of Jesus.

The Prophecy of Saint Isaias : Chapter 12 Verses 1-2

A Hymn of PraiseAnd in that day you will say: O Lord, I shall praise Thee;

Though Thee were angry with me, Thine anger is turned away, and Thee comfort me.

Behold, God is my salvation, I shall trust and not be afraid;For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation!

Defending The SynodikonUpon the First Sunday of The Great Fast, some Byzantine Catholic Churches

read The S ynodikon in church—well, actually just a tiny snippet of it dealing with the legitimacy of icons and that this faith had established the world, while offering a heartfelt “Memory Eternal” for those who had died defending it.

We did not read The Synodikon , because it is quite long and lists a lot of heresies unrelated to the icons we were holding in procession at the time, and it contained a lot of very unfamiliar names of people who were being anathematized. Reading the names would have felt like reading pages out of the phone book, and since both those being commended with “Memory Eternal!” as well as those being reproached with “Anathema!” were utter strangers to them so I just read the bit about the icons. Those wanting to peruse the entire text may find it.

I did not read The Synodikon liturgically that Sunday, I am still glad that it exists and that we acknowledge its worth by at least reading some of it. The point of The Synodikon is to draw very thick lines in the doctrinal sand and say that if anybody in the Church crosses those lines and strays into heresy, he or she must either recant or get out, and it is precisely this approach to truth that is necessary and saving. It is also tremendously unpopular. A modern scholar who was quoting a line from one of the Fathers who was denouncing heretics. That scholar put the word heretic in quotation marks—i.e. “heretics”—to stress that the term was the Father’s, and not hers. She did not quite add the term “(sic)” after it to indicate how foolish she thought the term was, but she might as well have. It was abundantly clear that she thought the term and the concept it represented to be archaic, harmful, and more than a little narrow-minded. It certainly flew in the face of current canons of political correctness.

Those canons are based on a form of pluralism that says I am theologically okay and you are theologically okay, regardless of what you assert. It says that there is not just a legitimate diversity of opinion (which of course there is), but also that the legitimate diversity is so broad that pretty much anything goes, at least in The Towers of Academia in which our author was writing. The idea of saying to anyone, either in those towers or out on the street, “Your opinion is heretical,” strikes the average person as not only absurd, but in supremely bad taste. They want to know if you’re in favor of reviving the Inquisition and burning witches. You can’t use the h-word in civilized company any more than you could use other abusive labels.

Undergirding this attitude is the notion that heresy is just a simple mistake, akin to someone adding up a long column of figures and getting the sum wrong, or missing a question from the game “Jeopardy.” Those enforcing the new canons of political correctness view the work of theologians with their precise definitions (such as we find in abundance in The S ynodikon ) as the work of people with altogether too much time on their hands who have produced formulas that have nothing to do with actual life. Dogma, and the Church’s insistence upon correct dogma, they say, are irrelevant to Byzantine Catholic Living. It is not so.

Here I remember the observations of Dorothy Sayers, famous as the creator of the detective Lord Peter Wimsey. In her address Creed or Chaos? she presents the case of John and Jane Doe who are considering junking Christ’s ethical teaching as impossible and impractical “because,” says John, “if He was God all the time, He must have known that His suffering and death and so on would not last, and He could have stopped them by a miracle if he had liked, so His pretending to be an ordinary man was nothing but playacting.” Adds Jane Doe: “It was easy enough for Him to be good, but it’s not at all the same thing for me. How about all that temptation stuff? Playacting again. It doesn’t help me to live what you call a Christian life.” Sayers points out that John and Jane have swallowed the heresy of Apollinarianism, which states that Christ had no soul like ours, but that The Divine Logos took the place of a soul within Him. As it turns out, heresy has practical effects on living the Christian life. That is why the theologians went to such lengths to refute it and declare it out of court for Christians. It was not just a mania for unnecessary exactitude, but pastoral care for souls like John and Jane Doe.

It is that we, Byzantine Catholics, need to retain the category of “heresy,”

whether or not we read large chunks of The Synodikon . The spirit that produced it is rare these pluralistic days in which every person does what is right in his or her own eyes. All the more reason to cling to that spirit when we find it!

The CureThe purpose of The Byzantine Catholic Church is for the cure of mankind

The heart is not simply a natural operation that serves as a pump circulating blood.

According to Eastern Christian teaching the heart is the center of our self-awareness, and the place wherein resides the “nous” (the eye of the soul). Mankind’s mishandling of the memory of God led to the fall, and the reactivation of that memory through the healing of the nous is necessary for the restoration of that memory. We must be made holy (whole) for communion with God to be restored.

Saint Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain upon Mount Athos, Greece calls the heart a natural and supernatural center, wherein resides “noetic” memory. Tapping into this noetic memory is manifested as the “incessant prayer” of the Holy Spirit inside the heart. The vehicle of “noetic prayer” leads to “glorification”, which is the revelation of “all truth” from the Holy Spirit.

The Ancient Church taught that knowledge of God comes only through the noetic science of the heart. From the standpoint of Eastern Christian theology, the mind and logic are not the same thing, since logic functions within the brain, while the mind functions within the heart.

The noetic faculty of the heart is the energy of the mind inside the heart. This important distinction results in the Eastern Church seeing herself not as a religious institution, but rather a hospital of the soul, wherein one comes for therapeutic procedures that restore the health of the soul, and allow for the ultimate goal of union with God (theosis). For those who wish further understanding of these ancient Christian teaching, the writings of the modern theologian, Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, are a worthy read.

It is within the life of this hospital that is the Church, that we enter into ascetic struggle, “working out” like an athlete, through fasting, prayer and the reception of the Holy Mysteries (Holy Communion), to be made well. Mankind is then restored to health within the walls of The Byzantine Catholic Church, and receive training for this athletic/ascetic dimension of living.

Our mishandling of the memory of God that led to the fall, is now corrected and reactivated through the healing of the “nous”, and that memory is restored. This memory is not the reclamation of something of an historical nature, but rather the opening up of a knowledge that has always been there.

This healing is not of a juridical nature whereby an angry God has decided to overlook the evil and fallen nature of our souls by the bloodletting of His Son, but by the cleansing of the nous that has been darkened, and restoring us to health and wholeness. The memory of God is thus restored, and we are again in full communion with the Most High, freed from the permanency of death by the trampling down of the power of death through Christ’s Holy Resurrection.

The purpose of the Church’s presence in the world is for the cure of mankind, and the restoration of the hearts of all brethren.

The Byzantine Catholic Church thus functions as:A therapy centered hospital,

And the priests function as therapists.This Divine-human Organism is the living Body of Christ, the Church, and is

life itself. The healing of the nous that comes within the life of the Church returns us to our true nature.

In this state of wholeness our faculties are able to use logic and reason as it was meant to be used. Our reason and logic becomes the rightful vehicle by which we can explore the universe, and behold all that God has created, and science, nature, and even the cosmos, can be seen in the light of a heart is the center of our self-awareness.

A Good DefenseFor a good defense before the dread judgment seat of Christ,

Let us ask of the Lord!Years ago, a neighbor visiting a parishioner’s home noticed our parish

bulletin hanging on the fridge. The bulletin cover declared in bold letters, “Sunday of the Last Judgment.”Fascinated and somewhat troubled by the reference, the neighbor asked, “how do you know?”

Our annual liturgical preparation for The recently concluded Great Fast included the reading of the Parable of the Last Judgment (Matthew 25). We should know, reflect upon and strive to apply the parable’s lessons to our Christian lives, individually and corporately. Indeed our ministry to others, including “the least of the brethren” with whom Christ identifies Himself, is essential to The Mission of The Byzantine Catholic Church.

The Great Fast clearly and relentlessly drives home the challenge of Christian ministry. And as our “school of repentance,” the Church teaches us that true repentance begins not merely with a self-examination that itemizes our sins but assesses our motivation by discerning what exactly it is that provokes sin in our lives.

If we are honest with ourselves, we can likely echo the words of Saint Paul as he confessed: For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do! This is a convenient excuse suggesting that we are without self-control—which, by the way, is one of the fruits of the Spirit. It means that though our intentions may be good, there’s something within us that incites us to do otherwise—like obeying the devil’s voice whispering in our ear. But can this be a valid argument for our “good defense before the dread judgment seat of Christ”?

Why, then, do we appear to insist that there are many ways to justify our sins, that there are numerous extraneous forces that cause us to sin? Why shouldn’t Almighty God cut us as much slack as the American legal system? We could even cite a number of contemporary precedents in our appeals to defend ourselves.

We could use the “insanity defense” We sin because we’ve lost good sense and have become rather fond of acting foolishly. This defense is an ancient one.

Saint Anthony the Great said:the time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone

who is not mad,They will rise up against him, saying that you are mad, because you are

not like them! (Saying 25)

We could use the improbable “Twinkie Defense,” a term coined by the media suggesting that a defendant suffers diminished capacity as a result of depression caused by increased consumption of unhealthy and sugary foods. We sin because we eat poorly, get depressed and take out our aggression against others. (Doesn’t fasting help overcome this?)

We could use the more recent “Affluenza Defense”—basically an updated version of the parable of the rich fool. It’s defined as “a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more” and refers to “an inability to understand the consequences of one’s actions because of financial privilege.” We sin because, in chasing the American dream, we invariably use and abuse people and stuff without a hint of remorse.

A “dream team” of lawyers could go a long way in presenting our defense, right!? No! There are only two possible options in Christ’s judgment of each of us, as He reveals in Matthew 25:31-46.

There’s either sheep or goats, right hand or left hand,Eternal punishment or eternal life.

There’s nothing in between and no recourse to endless appeals. As we sing in one of The Pre-Great Fast hymns:

No cunning argument or skill in eloquence can deceive Thy judgment

seat.False witnesses cannot pervert Thy sentence, for in Thy sight,

O God, every secret stands revealed!Case closed. This is how God’s justice will ultimately prevail.

What we need to do—what The Great Fast especially seeks to inspire us to do—is to strengthen our will and (re)gain self control. This is essentially the aim of all the extra prayer, worship, fasting and almsgiving of Great Lent.

Yes, our focal point is always Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.Yes, our focus in The Great Fast is His voluntarily laying down His life on the

Cross for the life of the world and its salvation.And yes, we believe “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the

dead.”Having thus testified to what we believe, however, incites the question: “What must I do?”

The Gospel of Saint Matthew Chapter 25 provides a checklist answer and, who knows—it may also be used as a “sacred scorecard. Rather than try to justify and defend our sins, our resources would be better invested in ministering to Christ through others.

Remember the adage: “The best defense is a good offense.”

Lesson in Evangelization – Become a Servant of GodBut seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, and all these

things shall be added to you. Previously in this evangelization series, we discussed the importance of prayer, reading sacred scripture and receiving the Eucharist. This lesson focuses on how to live out an authentic Byzantine Catholic faith by Becoming a Servant of God.

In one very inspiring Biblical passage, St. Paul writes, “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ. You might think, “Wow! I’m an ambassador.” You might feel like royalty – and you should. You are the adopted child of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You are an ambassador for Christ, the eternal King. That’s quite a title!

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines an ambassador as: “the highest ranking person who represents his or her own government while living in another land.” As an ambassador for Christ, you are a high-ranking representative in a foreign land. You live in an earthly kingdom, but represent the heavenly kingdom of your Master and Lord.

Your position as ambassador is exalted, not because of your own greatness, but because of the glory of the One you represent. But wait. This eternal King, your God, took on a human body and then died an ignominious death to bring your human nature into union with the Divine.

As an ambassador you are not above the one you represent. You are a servant. Ambassadors of Christ are different from earthly ambassadors. In what way? In his letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul writes that the Christian must be obedient “not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.

If you are an ambassador of Christ, you cannot seek earthly glory. Like Jesus, your Master and Lord, you are a "bondservant", but not a servant who is not at the same time free. This kind of bondservant freely thinks and acts in the service of the Lord, but not for oneself. But what about the high rank of being an ambassador? Indeed, it is the highest rank you can attain as a man, woman and child.

But you cannot be an ambassador without being the bondservant of the one you represent.

Christ saith:He that is the greatest among you shall be your servant.

The servant never questions the Master’s instructions, no matter how challenging or how difficult. The servant never seeks to do anything for recognition.

The servant does not seek to be served, only to serve.If you would be the ambassador of the eternal King,

Listen to Him!Surrender your will to His and seek to serve Him.

Third Sunday of the Great Fast - Veneration of the Holy CrossHomily By Saint John Chrysostom

Adam and Christ, Eve and Mary?Have you seen the wonderful victory? Have you seen the splendid deeds of the Cross? Shall I tell you something still more marvelous? Learn in what way the victory was gained, and you will be even more astonished.

For by the very means by which the devil had conquered, by these Christ conquered him; and taking up the weapons with which he had fought, he defeated him. Listen to how it was done. A virgin, a tree and a death were the symbols of our defeat.

The virgin was Eve: she had not yet known man; the tree was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; the death was Adam's penalty. But behold again a Virgin and a tree and a death, those symbols of defeat, become the symbols of his victory.

For in place of Eve there is Mary; in place of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the tree of the Cross; in place of the death o Adam, the death of Christ.

Do you see him defeated by the very things through which he had conquered?

At the foot of the tree the devil overcame Adam; at the foot of the tree Christ vanquished the devil. And that first tree sent men to Hades this second one calls back even those who had already gone down there. Again, the former tree concealed man already despoiled and stripped; the second tree shows a naked victor on high for all to see.

And that earlier death condemned those who were born after it; this second death gives life again to those who were born before it. Who can tell the Lord's mighty deeds? By death we were made immortal: these are the glorious deeds of the Cross.

Have you understood the victory?Have you grasped how it was wrought?

Learn now, how this victory was gained without any sweat or toil of ours. No weapons of ours were stained with blood; our feet did not stand in the front line of battle; we suffered no wounds; witnessed no tumults; and yet we obtained the victory.

The battle was the Lord's, the crown is ours.Since then victory is ours:

Let us imitate the soldiers, and with joyful voices sing the songs of victory.

Let us praise the Lord and say, Death is swallowed up in victory!O death, where is thy victory?O death, where is thy sting?

The Cross did all these wonderful things for us:The Cross is a war memorial erected against the demons,

A sword against sin,The sword with which Christ slew the serpent.

The Cross is the Father's will,The glory of the Only-begotten,

The Spirit's exultation,The beauty of the angels,

The guardian of the Church.Saint Paul glories in the Cross:It is the rampart of the saints,

It is the light of the whole world.