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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…