-
ANEEDE SUNDAY (Remembering all the departed believers)
Aneede Sunday is to remembering all the departed believers. The Church wants the faithful to remember those forefathers and mothers who nurtured and maintained the true faith. Last Sunday the church remembered all the departed clergies. This Sunday is to remember all the departed faithful; our forefathers and mothers, brothers and sisters. How blessed are we! How unique our faith is! This is the only Christian faith where you are a part of the continuum; a continuum that begins with the birth to the second coming of the savior Lord Jesus Christ. Physical death is not a separation from the continuum and the departed believers are continuing their journey of…
-
KOHNE (SUNDAY REMEMBERING ALL THE DEPARTED CLERGY)
Today is Kohene Sunday- A special day to remember all the departed priests. It’s good to remember at least once in a year our forefathers who helped us to sustain in true faith. Let’s take a couple of minutes to remember them. We have already attended countless holy Qurbanas. We have participated in Holy Communion numerous times. Just take a moment and try to remember the names of the priests, imagine their faces, and recollect the images of the holy altars where they offered the holy Eucharist for us. Especially, remember the priests who are deceased. You know they are with their master; participating in the worship and holy Qurbana…
-
THE FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY
“Follow me…” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. The disciples’ fishing nets represent their income, their sense of accomplishment and their identity as enterprising fish catching businessmen. They’ve probably handled these nets most of their lives. No wonder they find it difficult to let go of them. How about imagining ourselves clutching the tightly woven cords of fishing nets- how familiar they feel, how secure? But remember, Jesus is standing near to us, gazing at us with a look of invitation that’s somehow irresistible. He’s asking us to let go of the nets and find our security in him. Jesus walks daily through our life, calling…
-
Ma’ Altho: The presentation of infant Jesus
Ma’ Altho is an important feast-day celebrating the presentation of infant Jesus to the Jerusalem temple. The presentation of infant Jesus is an analogy of “giving away” of children to God. They no longer simply belong to their parents, but they belong to God. In Orthodox tradition the sacrament of Baptism is a kind of a “giving away” of children to God. This “giving away” of children in baptism implies that the parents/ god-persons are not just raising their own child, but a child of God. This is also an assurance that God will help in the complex process of child-rearing. So we have to trust that God’s hand is…
-
THE THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY: Nicodemus Visits Jesus
Nicodemus was seeking Jesus under the cover of darkness because he has much to lose- his security, position and power. But Jesus asks him to be “born from above”; which was far beyond his comprehension. We also find it difficult to understand many divine things as we are just another God’s creation. The plans and purposes of the creator are far beyond our comprehension. Orthodoxy is a way to make sense and connect with the creator God, who is beyond the human intellect and comprehension, through worship. Gospel Reading: John 3: 1-12 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2 He came to Jesus…
-
THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY: A personal invitation to “Come and See”
“Come and see” is a personal invitation by Jesus. His disciples also invite others into discipleship saying, “come and see”. This phrase, in short has become a personal invitation to God’s dwelling and into discipleship with him. Can we invite Jesus to come and see where we are dwelling? How about inviting him to our living space, kitchen and bedroom? How about talking to him as we show him around? The imagination goes like this; if Jesus accepts our invitation ask him to sit with us. Show him those aspects of our home, collections, valuables, achievements and our possessions that delight us. But if he asks, “where your sprit…
-
THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY
To start his ministry Jesus left Nazareth (symbolic of leaving our old ways of living to start a new!) and began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Repentance is not only turning away from our sinful ways, but it also calls for turning towards God. As St. Paul says, a new creation is what matters! Gospel Reading from St. Mathew 4: 12-22 Jesus Begins His Ministry in Galilee: 12 Now when Jesus[a] heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so…
-
Martyrdom day of St. Stephen
January 8th is the Martyrdom day of St. Stephen, the chief of deacons and the first Christian martyr. The word deacon is derived from the Greek word diakonos, which means “servant”. In the Christian Church, a deacon is believed to be a “servant of the church”. In the Malankara Syrian Orthodox faith, deacons assist the priests when they administer the Holy Sacraments. The origination of this office can be traced back to the early church in the Book of Acts when seven men were selected to serve the church. Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of…
-
My dearest Ignatious Family, Special thank you to all
Once upon a time two disciples named James and John, they came to Jesus and asked for a favor; grant us that we may sit one on your right hand and the other on your left! Jesus smiled at them and said “guys you don’t know what you are asking for. Can you drink the cup that I drink and be baptized with the baptism that I’m baptized with? They do not understand what it mean by drinking the cup or being baptized; so they just said yes! But Jesus continued, you guys are thinking like ‘gentiles’, like the rulers of ‘gentiles’; asking for the left and right position in…
-
Epiphany: The Baptism of Jesus
We need to “get baptized every day” to live a meaningful Christian life, as baptism is a process of reaching back to the beginning of the adventure. The Baptism of Jesus: Luke 3:15-22 (NRSV) 15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,[a] 16 John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with[b] the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his…