Saint Vladimir Seminary
April 21, 2024

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today, the Fifth Sunday of Lent, is the final Sunday of the fast. We will soon put the forty days behind us; this coming Friday, the last day of Lent proper, we will sing, “Having completed the forty days that bring profit to our soul…” We will still be fasting during Holy Week, but the Great Fast will be over.

In keeping with this, today’s Gospel points us forward, past Great Lent and toward the coming Passion Week. On the way to Jerusalem the Lord tells us, his disciples, everything that will happen to him during Holy Week:

Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.

There are no secrets as to how this week will end. There...

Saint Tikhon’s Monastery
April 20, 2024

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today Saint Paul offers us a sobering reminder: “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”

If we have engaged in the Lenten struggle with even a modicum of authentic effort, then we know, to some small degree, just how sinful we are, just how deserving we are of judgment and condemnation. It is when we struggle to restrain our appetites that we see how monstrous and uncontrolled those appetites are. When we strive to turn away from sin, that is when we can feel the grip it has on us.

However, this Saturday festival also reminds us of the wealth of God’s mercy, the unfailing riches of his compassion.

At the time of our baptism, or perhaps when our baptism was fulfilled and sealed by the sacrament of chrismation, we received the grace of all that is needed for our salvation. Saint Paul speaks today of Christ’s unique sacrifice, that he “was offer...

Saint Gregory Palamas is famed for articulating the distinction between God’s essence and his energies and for his discussion of the uncreated Light. His doctrines are an indispensable part of Orthodox Christian dogma. However, it must be remembered that he was not articulating these doctrines in response to abstract problems: he was defending the hesychastic method of prayer, especially as practiced on Mount Athos. As we keep the feast of this great saint, let us all renew our commitment to the Jesus Prayer, even if we can only practice it for a few minutes a day.