Christians Enter the Holy Week

interfax ^ | 02 April 2007 | interfax

[kawaii]

02 April 2007

Christians Enter the Holy Week

Today we are entering the hard days, the days when we remember the Passions of Christ, when it will be not easy for us to attend long church services and pray. Many ask themselves if they should attend even if their bodies are so tired, their thoughts are so dispersed, when they feel so internally undisciplined and unconcerned in everything that happens around them?

But let us remember the events of the days of Christ’s passion. How many people there were who would have paid much for a chance to run off those days’ horror and tiredness. Those who were close to Christ - how broken were their hearts, how exhausted they were physically and emotionally during that few awful days… So hundreds of people would be probably willing to run out of this week, to get free of what was happening around them: anger, fear, apprehension...

But the life has left no way out. The most blessed Virgin had no room to step back from the Lord’s torments. Christ’s disciples also had nowhere to run away from their fear even when it seamed to prevail over them and they tried to escape public anger. There was no space to run away into, no chance to hide themselves from what was happening for Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, Jesus’ secret disciples, as well as for faithful myrrh-bearing women... There was nowhere to escape since the apprehension dwelt in the hearts of their own creeping over them in and out. However those who hatefully and persistently sought having Christ murdered also had no way out.

When you remember all that - won’t you find a place for yourself in church these days? Those people, they also had their thoughts confused, their hearts broken, their strengths exhausted... But they were living through the event. What is going to take place soon is no idle remembrance of what happened long ago. This is the event that still makes the crux of our days forming the core of our world’s life and ours.

So whatever you might feel, how little you - we - might feel, let us attend these liturgies plunging into what they present to us. Let us not press some feelings out of ourselves. Let’s just see. Just hear. And the very events - because the events and not mere memories they are - let them break our heats and minds. And if we forget ourselves and think about Christ, about what rally happens these days, we shall reach the great Sabbath when Christ rested in his grave, and his rest will come to us too. And when we hear the news of the Resurrection , we shall also be able to shake off ourselves this horrible stupor, this dreadful deadness of Christ, dieing of Christ, which we may however little taste during the passion days.

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh

[kawaii]

ping (kolo can you do an orthodox ping?)

[Kolokotronis]

Ping

[lightman]

EXCELLENT!

Our Lord’s accusation “could you not watch with me one hour?” confronts all who cannot make time to honor His Passion.

[kawaii]

well said (though with our parish starting at 8pm and going probably till 1 or 2 am its a bit more than an hour. :)

pretty much the most important event in the church calendar and history. I posted this mostly because I know I personally have a habit of blowing off a lot of the holy week services and appriciated the call to do more