Acts 2:38-43 (Epistle)
38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.”
41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
John 3:1-15 (Gospel)
1 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nikodemos, a ruler of the Jews.
2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nikodemos said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nikodemos answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”
10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?
11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.
12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
Martyr Savva Stratelates “the General” of Rome, and 70 soldiers with him
Saint Savva Stratelates came from a Gothic tribe. For his bravery he attained the high rank of military commander or “stratelates,” and he served under the Roman emperor Aurelian (270-275).
From his youth, Savva was a Christian and he fervently followed the commands of Christ. He helped the needy, and visited Christians in prison. Because of his pure and virtuous life the saint received from the Lord the gift of wonderworking, healing the sick and casting out demons in the name of Christ.
When the emperor learned that Saint Savva was a Christian, he demanded that he apostasize. The martyr threw down his military belt and declared that he would not forsake his faith. They beat him, burned him with torches, and threw him into a cauldron with tar, but the martyr remained unharmed.
Looking on at his torments, seventy soldiers came to believe in Christ. They were beheaded by the sword. Saint Savva was thrown in prison. At midnight, while he was praying, Christ appeared to the martyr and shone on him the light of His Glory. The Savior bade him not to fear, but to stand firm. Encouraged, the Martyr Savva underwent new torture in the morning, and was drowned in a river in 272.
Bright Week: On the Spiritual Life
We do not nourish ourselves spiritually: we do not pray, or we pray poorly; we either read the Gospel poorly, or we do not read it at all; we go to church rarely; we do not read spiritual books and do not attend spiritual talks. In a word, we do not nourish ourselves spiritually. Therefore we become spiritually depleted, grow weak, and die.
Bishop Mefody of Campanie (+1974)
The Great Fast reveals our sores.
There are personal sores and the sores of many. Among them one notices impoverishment of faith, spiritual dryness, insipidity. This is a serious and dangerous condition in our spiritual lives. Its cause is, to a large degree, our own carelessness.
Imagine a garden deprived of sunlight, that is not watered or cared for. You know that nothing will grow in it, that it will wither and die.
Imagine someone who refuses food: he will fall ill of exhaustion and die.
The same thing happens with our spiritual condition. We do not nourish ourselves spiritually: we do not pray, or we pray poorly; we either read the Gospel poorly, or we do not read it at all; we go to church rarely; we do not read spiritual books and do not attend spiritual talks. In a word, we do not nourish ourselves spiritually. Therefore we become spiritually depleted, grow weak, and die.
Now that Great Lent has given us spiritual encouragement, we need to try not to lose this, we need to work at least a little bit for our own spiritual nourishment. If we could only accustom ourselves to praying daily, just as we eat daily; if we could only accustom ourselves to read at least a few verses of Holy Scripture daily, just as we read the paper daily. If only we could not be lazy in going to church, and contemplate the spiritual life at least a little bit, striving to implement it. Then there would probably be less spiritual dryness and emptiness.
Another circumstance in our spiritual lives, apart from spiritual nourishment, is sin. Sin is a murk that separates us from the Lord, darkening our spiritual life. Moreover, sin is the root of the evil we cast into the world. This evil often bears horrible fruit even in our personal lives. Sin sometimes appears attractive, almost like a good. In such cases we especially need to be guided by the clear indications of the Word of God and the instructions of our spiritual fathers.
A serious attitude towards life demands of us a more serious and responsible attitude towards our personal spiritual lives.
Having been found worthy of meeting the joyful Feast of Pascha, let us not shy away from our responsibility for our own personal spiritual lives. And may the words “thou shalt not,” according to God’s commandments, protect us from sin.
Only then will there be less spiritual darkness and all personal and general evil.
This week’s calendar reminders:
Monday 4/21: Divine Liturgy w/procession 9:15 a.m.
Tuesday 4/22: no services or events
Wednesday 4/23: no services or events
Thursday 4/24: no services or events
Friday 4/25: no services or events
Saturday 4/26: Great Vespers 6 p.m.
Sunday 4/27: Thomas Sunday, Divine Liturgy 9:15 a.m.
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Christ the Savior Orthodox Church is located in Southbury, Connecticut, and is part of the New England Diocese of the Orthodox Church of America.
Mailing address: Christ the Savior Church, 1070 Roxbury Road, Southbury, CT 06488
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Fr. Moses Locke can be reached at frmoseslocke@gmail.com