Preparing to Receive Holy Communion (Part II)

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

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PREPARING TO RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION (Part II)
By Reverend Father Avramis

Sacrament OF Holy Repentance/Confession

In general, two views emerge concerning the Mysterion (Sacrament) of Repentance/Confession and the Divine Eucharist. The first sees the Sacrament of Repentance/Confession as necessary before each participation in the Divine Eucharist. The second sees the Sacrament of Repentance/Confession as a periodic practice not required before every participation in the Divine Eucharist (Holy Communion).

The result of viewing the Mysterion (Sacrament) of Repentance/Confession as a pre-requisite to every participant in the Divine Eucharist (Holy Communion) is that it does not enhance one's spiritual life but hinders it. It hinders it because Confession becomes an excuse not to take Holy Communion, much like fasting becomes an excuse to stay away from the Chalice.

The Mysterion (Sacrament) of Holy Confession itself, of course, is not a hindrance, but people make it a hindrance. It is not uncommon to hear from individuals that they are not regular participants in the Divine Eucharist because they have not been to Confession.

The Church, does not require a Confession from her people every time they wish to partake of the Divine Eucharist (Holy Communion). However, if it is your practice to receive the Divine Eucharist (Holy Communion) a few times per year at certain times, your Priest may rightfully insist that you go to the Sacrament of Repentance/Confession. If it is your practice to partake of the Divine Eucharist rarely, it is probable that your whole approach to the Divine Eucharist could, and should, be questioned.

If you resolve to be a regular participant in the Divine Eucharist, as every Orthodox Christian should be, you should plan on periodic participation in the Mysterion (Sacrament) of Repentance/Confession. This is defined by your Priest and/or Spiritual Father and usually, it means anywhere from once a month to once every six months.

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Frequency of Participation

Did you know that the first Orthodox Christians took Holy Communion every day? That's right, they could not think of going through a day without taking the Divine Eucharist. So strongly did the early Orthodox Christians feel about this that they introduced the 9th Apostolic Canon that anyone who did not stay for prayer and Holy Communion must be excommunicated. This shows how seriously the Divine Eucharist should be taken when offered on Sundays. 

Christians sin constantly. Sin (Amartia) is a tragically part of our life. Therefore forgiveness must also be a part of our life. Constant sin requires constant forgiveness. "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth in not in us" (St. John 1:8).

The Divine Eucharist, approached in the correct manner, takes away our sin and gives us the strength to draw closer to God. What is the correct manner? The answer is found in the Divine Liturgy itself when the Priest presents the Chalice and intones, "With The fear of God, faith and love, draw near". Therefore, if you do not have a valid reason for not partaking, you are obliged to receive the Divine Eucharist.

If you have kept the Divine Eucharistic Fast (i.e., not eaten or drunk anything after waking up in the morning), and if you approach with "fear of God, faith, and love", and there is no moral or canonical reason to impede you-you must go forward when you hear the call.

To live a life of infrequent participation in the Divine Eucharist means spiritual sickness. It may be you fail to be regular in your partaking of the Divine Eucharist because you feel unworthy. In this case, the question must be asked; when will you be worthy? Of course, if you wait until you are worthy, forget it, you will never approach the Chalice. One of the reasons we must constantly go forward is precisely because we are unworthy.

Should you still not be able to accept the fact that you should be a regular participant in the Divine Eucharist, you must question yourself. Why do you feel this way? Are you aware that there does exist someone who stands to gain by your staying away from Christ? That person is the Devil. The longer you stay away from the Divine Eucharist, the stronger the devil's influence in your life. Do you want to overcome the devil? Then receive Jesus Christ. The Holy Body and Precious Blood of God both deifies and nourishes. It deifies the spirit and nourishes the mind. It heals, purifies, enlightens and sanctifies the body and soul. It helps us to turn away from every fantasy, evil practice, and diabolical activity which work subconsciously in our members. It increases virtue and perfection for Holy Communion with the Holy Spirit as a provision of salvation and eternal life.

If you know that you will receive the Holy Body and Precious Blood of Jesus Christ on Sunday then during the week you will begin to discipline yourself and make a determined effort to overcome your passion. You will make every effort not to sin. You will pray and fast with relative ease for you are preparing your body and soul to receive Christ. You clean and tidy your house (your heart) to receive the King to Whom no other king can be compared. And once you receive the Divine Eucharist (Holy Communion), Christ gives you the spiritual gifts to ward off the temptations of the devil which war continuously against you and assist you to climb the ladder of Divine ascent. (By Fr. Avramis (with the approval of Bishop Anthony of San Francisco) from The Truth, March 2004), Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, Christian Missionary Society of the Ascension of our Lord publication, Perth, Western Australia)

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" -- Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia,

The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

Preparing to Receive Holy Communion

MY beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

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PREPARING TO RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION

The most important element in the spiritual renewal of the Orthodox Christian is the Sacrament of Holy Communion. It is the one sacrament that transcends all other sacraments. When we receive Holy Communion we receive Jesus Himself into us. So great is this Mystery that we are left without any possible response which would express what God has done. Therefore, we offer the only answer we can, 'Thank you.'

The Greek word for Thanksgiving is "Eucharisto". We refer to Holy Communion as "the Eucharist" and offer thanksgiving to God for this great Mystery whereby God not only sanctifies the bread and wine but also changes them into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.

The bread and wine do not change into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ until the blessing and thanksgiving has been completed. This happens at every Divine Liturgy. "We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we give thanks to Thee, O Lord, and we pray to Thee, O Our God". While the choir or chanters sing the above him, the Priest prays for the descent of the Holy Spirit, Who transforms the elements (consecration) on the altar into the Holy Body and Precious Blood of Christ.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood you have no life in you...For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed" (St. John 6:53, 55).

Therefore, if receiving the Divine Eucharist is receiving Jesus, we must take care to approach the Eucharist in a proper manner. The way we approach this awesome Mystery determines whether our participation will be a blessing in our lives, or whether we are condemning ourselves.

Fasting

• Fasting is a spiritual discipline which was and is intended to enhance our participation in the Divine Eucharist - it is not to be seen as an excuse to keep away from the Chalice.

• Fasting is a discipline which is not restricted only to food.  It is more than simply not eating. It is also not lying, stealing, cheating, committing adultery, gossiping,  quarreling etc. We must abstain from all forms of evil. To think that by only setting a few days aside to omit certain foods from our diet makes us worthy to receive the Divine Eucharist is to be spiritually naive.

• It is not uncommon to hear Orthodox Christians say they are fasting on Wednesday and Friday because they plan to take Holy Communion at Sunday Liturgy. In reality, the practice of Wednesday and Friday fasting has never been purposefully linked to participation in the Divine Eucharist. Orthodox Christians are required to fast on those two days of the week regardless if they are going to take Holy Communion or not. [The Holy Apostles Sixty-Ninth Canon of the Church]. This same Canon requires that fasting be maintained throughout Great Lent also. No mention is made of the Divine Eucharist. In other words, regular fasting must be a way of life.

• Many Orthodox Christians extend the Wednesday and Friday fast to Saturday. They reason that if they fast on Wednesday and Friday in preparation for the Divine Eucharist on Sunday, it does not seem right not to fast on Saturday, the day prior to receiving Holy Communion. However, in so doing, they violate the Sixty-fourth Canon of the Holy Apostles which specifically forbids ever fasting on Saturday, the day God rested after creation. Exceptions to the holy Canon - Holy Saturday and a few other major feastdays should they fall on a Saturday. 

• The Eucharistic Fast involves total abstinence from any food or drink in the morning prior to receiving the Divine Eucharist. If therefore, you keep the Divine Eucharistic Fast, and there exists no moral reason for you to stay away from the Chalice, you become obligated to come forward and receive Christ as He is offered at the Liturgy.

• To assert that one has not fasted on the previous Wednesday and Friday and therefore cannot come forward for Holy Communion, is, by itself, an insufficient cause to abstain from the Eucharist.
  So strongly did the Church feel about this that we find in the Ninth Apostolic Canon of the Holy Apostles, the following: "All those faithful who enter and listen to the Scripture, but do not stay for prayer and Holy Communion must be excommunicated, on the grounds that they are causing the Church a breach of Order". The early Orthodox Christians attended the Divine Liturgy for one reason - the Eucharist.

• Saint John Cassion, writes, "We must not avoid Communion because we deem ourselves to be sinful. We must approach it more often for the healing of the soul but with much humility and faith considering ourselves unworthy. Otherwise, it is impossible to receive Communion once a year, as certain people do such people manifest pride rather than humility for when they receive, they think of themselves as worthy."

• Fasting was never intended to be a barrier to keep us from Christ, but a bridge to lead us to fuller participation in the life of Christ. (Source: By Father Abramis from The Truth, March 2004, v. 18/3, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia)

(To be continued)

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" -- Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

The Inner Unity of the Triodion: The Pre-Lenten Period (Part II)

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

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THE INNER UNITY OF THE TRIODION: THE PRE-LENTEN PERIOD (Part II)

(e)   The Sunday of the Last Judgment (Gospel reading: Matthew 25:31-46). The two past Sundays spoke to us of God's patience and limitless compassion, of His readiness to accept every sinner who returns to Him. On this third Sunday, we are powerfully reminded of a complementary truth: no one is so patient and so merciful as God, but even He does not forgive those who do not repent. The God of Love (Agape) is also a God of righteousness, and when Christ comes again in glory, He will come as our judge. 'Behold the goodness and severity of God' (Romans 11:22). Such is the message of Lent to each of us: turn back while there is still time, repent before the End comes. In the words of the Great Canon:
"The end draws near, my soul, the end draws near; Yet thou dost not care or make ready. The time grows short, rise up: the Judge is at the door, The days of our life pass swiftly, like a dream, like a flower."
This Sunday sets before us the "eschatological" dimension of Lent: The Great Fast is a preparation for the Second Coming of the Savior, for the eternal Passover in the age to come. (This is a theme that will be taken up in the first three days of Great and Holy Week). Nor is the judgment merely in the future. Here and now, each day and each hour, in hardening our hearts towards others and in failing to respond to the opportunities we are given of helping them, we are already passing judgment on ourselves.

(f)   On the Saturday in the week before Lent ('Cheese Week'), there is a general commemoration of all the ascetic Saints of the Church, both men and women. As we set out on the journey of the Lenten fast, we are reminded that we do not travel alone but as members of a family, supported by the intercessions of many invisible helpers.

(g)            The Sunday before Lent. The last of the preparatory Sunday's has two themes: it commemorates Adam's expulsion from Paradise, and it is also the Sunday of forgiveness. There are obvious reasons why these two things should be brought to our attention as we stand on the threshold of the Great Fast. One of the primary images in the Triodion is that of the return to paradise. Lent is a time when we weep with Adam and Eve before the closed gate of Eden, repenting with them for the sins that have deprived us of our free communion with God. But Lent is also a time when we are preparing to celebrate the saving event of Christ's death and rising, which reopened Paradise to us once more (Luke 23:43). So sorrow for our exile in sin is tempered by the hope of our re-entry into Paradise.
The second theme, that of forgiveness, is emphasized in the Gospel reading for this Sunday (Matthew 6:14-21) and in the special ceremony of mutual forgiveness at the end of Vespers (Esperinos) on Sunday evening. Before we enter the Lenten Fast, we are reminded that there can be no true fast, no genuine repentance, no reconciliation with God, unless we are at the same time reconciled with one another. A fast without mutual love is the fast of demons. As the commemoration of the ascetic Saints on the previous Saturday has just made clear to us, we do not travel the road of Lent as isolated individuals but as members of a family. Our asceticism and fasting should not separate us from our fellow men but link us to them with ever stronger bonds. The Lenten Ascetic is called to be a man for others.  (Source: The Lenten Triodion)

(To be continued)

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" -  Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

The Inner Unity of the Triodion: The Pre-Lenten Period

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

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THE INNER UNITY OF THE TRIODION: THE PRE-LENTEN PERIOD

The Triodion possesses an inner coherence and unity that are not at once apparent. Why, for example, should Saint Theodore the Recruit be commemorated on Saturday in the first week, the holy icons on the first Sunday, and Saint Gregory Palamas on the second? What special connection do these three observances have with the ascetic fast of Lent? Let us consider briefly the pattern which links into a single whole the different commemorations during the ten weeks of the Triodion. We shall not enter into details, but shall simply seek to indicate the place of each observance in the general structure of Lent.

(1) The Pre-Lenten Period.

(a)   The Sunday of Zacchaeus. One week before the Triodion enters into use, there is a Sunday Gospel reading which looks forward directly to the coming fast--Luke 19:1-10, describing how Zacchaeus climbed a tree beside the road where Christ was to pass. In this reading we note Zacchaeus' sense of eager expectation, the intensity of his desire to see our Lord, and we apply this to ourselves. If, as we prepare for Lent, there is real eagerness in our hearts, if we have an intense desire for a clearer vision of Christ, then our hopes will be fulfilled during the fast; indeed, we shall, like Zacchaeus, receive far more than we expect. But if there is within us no eager expectation and no sincere desire, we shall see and receive nothing. And so we ask ourselves: What is my state of mind and will as I prepare to embark on the Lenten journey.

(b)  The Sunday of the Publican And the Pharisee (Gospel reading: Luke 18:10-14). On this and the following two Sundays, the theme is repentance. Repentance is the door through which we enter Lent, the starting point of our journey to Pascha. And to repent signifies far more than self-pity or futile regret over things done in the past. The Greek term metanoia means 'change of mind': to repent is to be renewed, to be transformed in our inward viewpoint, to attain a fresh way of looking at our relationship to God and to others. The fault of the Pharisee is that he has no desire to change his outlook; he is complacent, self-satisfied, and so he allows no place for God to act within him. The Publican, on the other hand, truly longs for a 'change of mind." he is self-dissatisfied, 'poor in spirit', and where there is this saving self-dissatisfaction there is room for God to act. Unless we learn the secret of the Publican's inward poverty, we shall not share in the Lenten springtime. The theme of the day can be summed up in a saying of the Desert Fathers: "better a man who has sinned, if he knows that he has sinned and repents, than a man who has not sinned and thinks of himself as righteous."

(c)   The Sunday of the Prodigal Son (Gospel reading: Luke 15:11-32). The Parable of the Prodigal forms an exact icon of repentance in its different stages. Sin is exile, enslavement to strangers, hunger. Repentance is the return from exile, to our true home; it is to receive back our inheritance and freedom in the Father's house. But repentance implies action: 'i will rise up and go..." (verse 18). To repent is not just to feel dissatisfied, but to take a decision and to act upon it.

(d)  The Saturday of the Dead. On the day before the Sunday of the Last Judgment, and in close connection with the theme of this Sunday, there is a universal commemoration of the dead "From all the ages". (There are further commemorations of the dead on the Second, Third, and Fourth Sundays in Lent). Before we call to mind the Second Coming of Christ in the services on Sunday, we commend to God all those departed before us, who are now awaiting the Last Judgment. In the texts for this Saturday there is a strong sense of the continuing bond of mutual love that links together all the members of the risen Christ, whether alive or dead. For those who believe in the Risen Christ, death does not constitute an impassable barrier, since all are alive in Him; the departed are still our brethren, members of the same family with us, and so we are conscious of the need to pray insistently on their behalf. (Source: The Lenten Triodion)

(To be continued)

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" -- Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

Saint Photios the Great, Patriarch of Constantinople-February 6

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

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ON FEBRUARY 6TH OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH COMMEMORATES THE FEAST OF SAINT PHOTIUS THE GREAT, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE.

As the thrice-blessed Photius, the great and most resplendent Father and teacher of the Church, the Confessor of the Faith and Equal to the holy Apostles, he lived during the years of the emperors Michael (the son of Theophilus), Basil the Macedonian, and Leo his son. He was the son of pious parents, Sergius and Irene, who suffered for the Faith under the Iconoclasts Emperor Theophilus; he was also a nephew of Saint Tarasius, Patriarch of Constantinople (see Feb. 25th). He was born in Constantinople, where he excelled in the foremost imperial ministries, while ever practicing a virtuous and godly life. An upright and honorable man of singular learning and erudition, he was raised to the Apostolic, ecumenical, and patriarchal throne of Constantinople in the year 857 A.D.

The many struggles that this thrice-blessed one undertook for the Orthodox Faith against the Manichaeans, the Iconoclasts, and other heretics, and the attacks and assaults that he endured from Nicholas I, the haughty and ambitious Pope of Rome, and the great persecutions and distresses he suffered, are beyond number. Contending against the Latin heresy of the filioque, that is, the doctrine that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son, he demonstrated clearly with his Mystagogy on the Holy Spirit how the filioque destroys the unity and equality of the Trinity. He has left us many theological writings, panegyric homilies, and epistles, including one to Boris, the Sovereign of Bulgaria, in which he set forth for him the history and teachings of the Seven Ecumenical Councils. Having tended the Church of Christ in holiness and in an evangelical manner, and with fervent zeal having rooted out the tares of every alien teaching, he departed to the Lord in the Monastery of the Armenians on February 6, 891 A.D.

Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn of Saint Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople. Fourth Tone

As a teacher to the world, being one with the Apostles, intercede with the Lord of all, O Photius, that He may grant the world peace, and to our souls His great mercy.

Kontakion Hymn of Saint Photius. Plagal of the Fourth Tone

Far-reaching beacon of the Church and God, inspired Guide of the Orthodox, you are now crowned with the flowers of song. You are the divine words of the Spirit's harp, the strong adversary of heresy and to whom we cry, "Hail all-honorable Photius."

(Source: Holy Transfiguration Monastery -  Brookline, MA)

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"Glory Be To GOD For all Things!" - Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

Our Orthodox Christian Duty

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

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OUR ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN DUTY

The Mystery (Sacrament) of Baptism

In the first place in the series of Mysteries (Sacraments) of the Holy Church stands the Mystery (Sacrament) of Baptism. It serves as the door leading into the Kingdom of Grace, or the Church, and it grants access to participation in the other Mysteries (Sacraments). Even before the establishment of the Mystery (Sacrament) of Baptism, the Lord Jesus Christ in His conversation with Nicodemus indicated the absolute necessity of it for salvation: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. When Nicodemus expressed his perplexity, "How can a man be born when he is old? The Savior replied that the new birth would be accomplished by water and the Spirit: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh, is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (Saint John 3:3-6).

However, it is indispensable in this matter that the persons who offer the infant for Baptism should recognize all their responsibility for the raising up of the baptized infant in Christian faith and virtue. We read an instruction concerning this, for example, in the work On the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, known under the name of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, which has always been highly respected by the Church: "it was pleasing to our divine instructors to allow infants also to be baptized, under the sacred condition that the natural parents of the child should entrust him to someone among the faithful who would instruct him well in divine subjects and then take care for the child as a father, given from above, and as a guard of his eternal salvation. This man, when he gives the promise to guide the child in pious life, is compelled by the bishop to utter the renunciation and the sacred confession."

How important for us is this instruction which comes from the ancient Christian Church! From it, we see what responsibility the sponsor or godfather or godmother of the baptized person takes upon himself or herself. How careful the parents of the child must be in choosing a sponsor! Of course, in a normal Christian family, the parents themselves usually teach their children the truths of faith and their moral duty. But the contemporary breakup of the foundation of social life compels one to be on guard so that the child will not remain without Christian guidance. And even under favorable conditions a sponsor (godparent) should keep close spiritual contact with his godchild and be ready at any needful moment to come to him with heartfelt Christian help.

The tenth paragraph of the Symbol of Faith (Creed) reads: "I confess one baptism for the remission of sins." This signifies that Baptism in the Orthodox Church, as a spiritual birth, if it has been performed as a sacred rite correctly through triple immersion in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, cannot be repeated.  

Baptism: the Door to the Reception of Other Grace-giving Gifts.

As we see from the above-cited statements of the Holy Apostles, and likewise from the whole teaching of the Church. Baptism is not only a symbol of cleansing and washing away the defilement of the soul, but in itself is the beginning and source of the Divine Gifts which cleanse and annihilate all the sinful defilement and communicate a new life. All sins are forgiven, both ancestral (original) and personal sins; the way is opened for a new life: opened is the possibility to receive the gifts of God. Further spiritual growth depends upon the free will of man. But since temptation is capable of finding sympathy in the nature of man, who from the day of his first fall into sin has had an inclination to sin, therefore spiritual perfection cannot be accomplished without a battle. A man finds help for this inward battle in the whole Grace-given life of the Church. The Holy Church opens up further Grace-given help to the newly baptized in the Mystery (Sacrament) of the Mystery (Sacrament) of Chrismation. (Source: Orthodox Dogmatic Theology by Protopresbyter Michael Pamazansky)

In order to emphasize the responsibility of the Sponsor/s to their godchildren, we request that we observe the godparent/godchild Sunday with the help and cooperation of our Church School teachers and parents at least twice a year. We, as a way of honoring the beautiful spiritual bond in our Lord that is the relationship of God's love between godparents and godchildren, dedicated a specific Sunday/s a year. We must, however, come to worship on this day, properly and spiritually prepared to receive Holy Communion by participating in the Mystery (Sacrament) of Repentance/Confession and through fasting. Godparents and godchildren should receive the divine Sacraments together on that special Sunday because it is through the Holy Eucharist that we become one with Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and with one another.

Our Church School will announce which Sundays of the year we will observe godparents/godchildren Sunday.

Thank you for your understanding and support.

In Christ God,

+Father George