A Communion hymn for the first Sunday of the Great Lent.

A Communion hymn for the first Sunday of the Great Lent.

Blessed are those who have mercy

Who give to the poor and fast and pray

The Holy Spirit will fill their hearts

The Son will show them mercy on Judgment Day.

Moses fasted for forty days

To be purified in body and spirit

To receive from God the two tablets

With the ten commandments on them written.

When Moses saw the Almighty God

His glory filled Moses with grace.

The people of Israel covered their eyes

They could not look at his radiant face.

Fasting and prayer of the prophet Daniel

Saved his life in the lions' den

The Lord kept shut the lions' mouths

For God protects His holy men.

Blessed are those who have mercy...

Elijah fasted and prayed that the sky

For three and half years would not rain

That the Israelites who went astray

Would feel hunger, agony and pain.

As they repented he asked the Lord

To bring the rain with His mighty hand.

The Lord opened the gates of heaven

Rain and rejoicing filled the land.

Fasting and prayers of Ninevah

As they appealed to God above

When they repented God forgave their sins 

And filled them with His love.

Blessed are those who have mercy...

Fasting and prayers of the disciples

Spread God's Word to every nation

Baptizing and preaching the Holy Gospel

Healing and bringing salvation.

Fasting and prayers of the martyrs

Gave them the power to stand the pain

Knowing that even losing their lives

Is nothing compared to their heavenly gain.

Fasting and prayers of the righteous

And cross bearers kept them living

In the caves and deserts and mountains

Because of their love for Christ the King.

Blessed are those who have mercy...

The great lent

Period of fasting, the holy of the holiest times of the year the church, where the holy fast of forty days as pray's of Jesus Christ for us, and we are fast with him.

  And the importance of this fast we see associated with fasting other three are:

  1 - Fast of Jonah, which is fast for three days before Lent two weeks are on the same weather in terms of disruption and repentance and prophecies and the masses later, and ending also Passover Greece (on Thursday) as an example for the Easter holiday considering that Jonah is the only personal semi-Christ himself by.

2 – Preparation week: which is which precedes the forty holy directly, and we fast compensation for the Sabbath, which included a period of forty days of fasting and there shall be without food, and thus the full forty days fast without food.

3 - Holy Week: It is the most sacred fasting the whole year and starts following the Friday of the fasting and lasts eight days, thus completing the days of Lent the whole 55 days, interspersed This week, a Palm Sunday and the days of crossing (pascha) and the Maundy Thursday and Friday Great and Holy Saturday, and ends with Mass festival Easter.

The Second sunday

"Not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God" (Gospel).

1. In this picture the devil points to the bread of fleshly desire. "Now is the acceptable time" to "ration" our self-indulgence, our worship of physical culture (Epistle), and to feed our souls with the Divine Word. This temptation calls for the mortification of self.

2. The "pinnacle of the temple" (in the upper left corner), recalls the pride of usurping God's power, of trying to live beyond His reach. We must topple ourselves from the pinnacle of pride and lift ourselves up by prayer to the pinnacle of God Himself.

3. The "kingdoms of the world," seen in the distance (in middle of picture), represent those who covet mere earthly "glory." To offset this temptation there must be almsgiving or devoting one's talents to the service of one's neighbor.

Holy lent is the symbol of victory

‎"....O Lord Jesus Christ who fasted for our sake even while you never lacked in your holiness, grant us your grace to fast according to your pleasure

Through lent the righteous pleased God becoming godly; Moses, Elijah and our Lord fasted for forty days. Glory be to you, O Lord Jesus Christ who has taught us to overcome Satan through fasting and prayers. O Lord may our fasting and prayers become fragrance, acceptable before you as sweet smelling incense

Holy lent is the symbol of victory and a weapon undefeatable before the enemy. O Lord may our prayers be pleasing to you. May our requests enter before you as sweet smelling incense......"

Never judge

It’s easy to look at people and make quick judgments about them, their present and their past, but you’d be amazed at the pain and tears a single smile hides. 

Never judge,learn to respect and acknowledge the feelings of another.