Devotional to the Bridegroom - Christ

by ixthis 64 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

  • bohm
    bohm

    Contraceptives FTW

  • Satanus
    Satanus
  • ixthis
    ixthis

    Holy Pentecost

    Sunday June 12
    In the Church's annual liturgical cycle, Pentecost is "the last and great day."

    It is the celebration by the Church of the coming of the Holy Spirit as the end - the achievement and fulfillment - of the entire history of salvation. For the same reason, however, it is also the celebration of the beginning: it is the "birthday" of the Church as the presence among us of the Holy Spirit, of the new life in Christ, of grace, knowledge, adoption to God and holiness.

    This double meaning and double joy is revealed to us, first of all, in the very name of the feast. Pentecost in Greek means fifty, and in the sacred biblical symbolism of numbers, the number fifty symbolizes both the fulness of time and that which is beyond time: the Kingdom of God itself. It symbolizes the fulness of time by its first component: 49, which is the fulness of seven (7 x 7): the number of time. And, it symbolizes that which is beyond time by its second component: 49 + 1, this one being the new day, the "day without evening" of God's eternal Kingdom. With the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ's disciples, the time of salvation, the Divine work of redemption has been completed, the fulness revealed, all gifts bestowed: it belongs to us now to "appropriate" these gifts, to be that which we have become in Christ: participants and citizens of His Kingdom.

    THE VIGIL OF PENTECOST

    The all-night Vigil service begins with a solemn invitation:

    "Let us celebrate Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit, The appointed day of promise, and the fulfillment of hope, The mystery which is as great as it is precious."

    In the coming of the Spirit, the very essence of the Church is revealed:

    "The Holy Spirit provides all, Overflows with prophecy, fulfills the priesthood, Has taught wisdom to illiterates, has revealed fishermen as theologians, He brings together the whole council of the Church."

    In the three readings of the Old Testament (Numbers 11:16-17, 24-29; Joel 2:23-32; Ezekiel 36:24-28) we hear the prophecies concerning the Holy Spirit. We are taught that the entire history of mankind was directed towards the day on which God "would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh." This day has come! All hope, all promises, all expectations have been fulfilled. At the end of the Aposticha hymns, for the first time since Easter, we sing the hymn: "O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth...," the one with which we inaugurate all our services, all prayers, which is, as it were, the life-breath of the Church, and whose coming to us, whose "descent" upon us in this festal Vigil, is indeed the very experience of the Holy Spirit "coming and abiding in us."

    Having reached its climax, the Vigil continues as an explosion of joy and light for "verily the light of the Comforter has come and illumined the world." In the Gospel reading (John 20:19-23) the feast is interpreted to us as the feast of the Church, of her divine nature, power and authority. The Lord sends His disciples into the world, as He Himself was sent by His Father. Later, in the antiphons of the Liturgy, we proclaim the universality of the apostles' preaching, the cosmical significance of the feast, the sanctification of the whole world, the true manifestation of God's Kingdom.

    THE VESPERS OF PENTECOST

    The liturgical peculiarity of Pentecost is a very special Vespers of the day itself. Usually this service follows immediately the Divine Liturgy, is "added" to it as its own fulfillment. The service begins as a solemn "summing up" of the entire celebration, as its liturgical synthesis. We hold flowers in our hands symbolizing the joy of the eternal spring, inaugurated by the coming of the Holy Spirit. After the festal Entrance, this joy reaches its climax in the singing of the Great Prokeimenon:

    "Who is so great a God as our God?"

    Then, having reached this climax, we are invited to kneel. This is our first kneeling since Easter. It signifies that after these fifty days of Paschal joy and fulness, of experiencing the Kingdom of God, the Church now is about to begin her pilgrimage through time and history. It is evening again, and the night approaches, during which temptations and failures await us, when, more than anything else, we need Divine help, that presence and power of the Holy Spirit, who has already revealed to us the joyful End, who now will help us in our effort towards fulfillment and salvation.

    All this is revealed in the three prayers which the celebrant reads now as we all kneel and listen to him. In the first prayer, we bring to God our repentance, our increased appeal for forgiveness of sins, the first condition for entering into the Kingdom of God.

    In the second prayer, we ask the Holy Spirit to help us, to teach us to pray and to follow the true path in the dark and difficult night of our earthly existence. Finally, in the third prayer, we remember all those who have achieved their earthly journey, but who are united with us in the eternal God of Love.

    The joy of Easter has been completed and we again have to wait for the dawn of the Eternal Day. Yet, knowing our weakness, humbling ourselves by kneeling, we also know the joy and the power of the Holy Spirit who has come. We know that God is with us, that in Him is our victory.

    Thus is completed the feast of Pentecost and we enter "the ordinary time" of the year. Yet, every Sunday now will be called "after Pentecost" - and this means that it is from the power and light of these fifty days that we shall receive our own power, the Divine help in our daily struggle. At Pentecost we decorate our churches with flowers and green branches - for the Church "never grows old, but is always young." It is an evergreen, ever-living Tree of grace and life, of joy and comfort. For the Holy Spirit - "the Treasury of Blessings and Giver of Life - comes and abides in us, and cleanses us from all impurity," and fills our life with meaning, love, faith and hope.

    Hattip: Father Alexander Schmemann (1974)

  • ixthis
    ixthis

    We commemorate

    June 13

    The Day of the Holy Spirit

    ... when the fiftieth day after the Ressurection had come, the day we commemorated yesterday, all the disciples were gathered with one accord in the upper room, each having also gathered together his thoughts (for they were devoting themselves to prayer and hymns to God).

    "And suddenly,"

    says Luke the evangelist

    "there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the house where they were sitting" - Acts 2:1-11

    • This is the sound which the prophetess Hannah foretold when she received the promise concerning Samuel:
      • "The Lord went up to heaven and thundered; and he shall give strength and exalt the horn of his anointed" - I Sam. 2:10 Lxx
    • Elijah's vision also forewarned of this sound:
      • "Behold the voice of a light breeze, and in it was the Lord" - I Kgs. 19:12 Lxx

    This "voice of a light breeze" is the sound of breath.

    • You might also find reference to it in Christ's Gospel by John the Theologian,
      • "In the last day, that great day of the feast," that is to say Pentecost, "Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink ... This spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive" - John 7:37-39.

    Again, after His Resurrection He breathed on His disciples and said, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost" - John 20:22

  • ixthis
    ixthis

    On Love and Forgiveness

    Blessed is he who endures the harsh words of his brother in silence and circumspection lest there be hatred or criticism or rancor in his heart. He resembles Christ, Whom when He was casting out demons from people, the Jews criticized by saying, "He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons," (Mt.9:34) and He has a demon. Why do you listen to him?" (Jn.10:20)Do you see, my child, that they said such things even to Christ? Therefore, do not be upset. If you are patient, if you humble yourself and say, "Indeed, I have many demons---since every passion is a demon---and I am just as my brother says, and even worse"; if you try to love and obey him, the day will come when you will be freed from the passions, and then Christ will reign in your heart and give you the priceless peace of God.

  • ixthis
    ixthis

    End of days

    Great and glorious Day of the Lord ...

    " ... the form of this world is passing away." 1 Corinth. 7:31

    " ... the Lord will come as fire

    and His chariots as a storm to render His vengeance with wrath,

    and His rebuke with a flame of fire.

    For with the fire of the Lord all the earth shall be judged,

    and all flesh with His sword; many shall be slain by the Lord."

  • ixthis
    ixthis

    What does this hand gesture mean in Icons?

    To any Orthodox or Catholic Christian, Jesus' right hand in Icons is unmistakably shown as being raised to give a blessing. The arrangement of the hand is repeated by clergy when blessing others and so the Saints in icons, if they were clergy, often hold their right hand in the same way.

    Symbolism of the Blessing

    The fingers spell out "IC XC", a widely used four letter abbreviation of the Greek for Jesus (IHCOYC) Christ (XPICTOC).

    It is by the name of Jesus that we are saved and receive blessings: "At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;" (Phil 2:10).

    The three fingers of Christ - as well as spelling out "I" and "X" - confess the Tri-unity of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The touching finger and thumb of Jesus not only spell out "C", but attest to the Incarnation: to the joining of divine and human natures found in the body of Jesus Christ.

    Similarities with Buddhist Iconography

    The above meanings are worth emphasizing because otherwise there can be some confusion, or even scandal, caused by similar images of the Buddha holding his hands in a very stylized way. In response to this there are a few things which need to be considered:

    • There is meaning behind the way Christ holds His hand in Icons; there is meaning behind the way Buddha holds his hands in statues: but there the similarity ends. The symbolic hand gestures of Buddha are called mudras, and whilst they are rich in their own meaning, they are not communicating the same faith as Icons of Christ. If we rejected every medium for conveying Truth just because another religion uses the same medium then we'd be left with nothing! We must accept the similarities and discern the differences.
    • Just because a religion was around before Christ was born, doesn't mean that all its teachings predate Christianity. Of the common Buddhist Mudras, the Vitarka Mudra is the one which most resembles Christ's right hand in icons. Yet the earliest representations of the vitarka mudra show the three fingers straight, rather than curved. Much later we see images like this one, which look remarkably like Christian iconography. Yet the image is from the 8th century A.D., centuries after the iconography of Christ is established. We can be forgiven for questioning just exactly which religion is influencing the other.
    • Finally, the Buddhist mudras are didactic; they are hand gestures designed to convey a message. Yet the "IC XC" Christogram is much more than this: it is both a sign and means of blessing. A statue of the Buddha holds his hands just so and his devotees are supposed to remember a certain teaching; Christ raises His right hand and Christians receive the blessings of God. More than this, even if His servants, the Saints, holds their hands in the same way, we are assured of receiving the blessings of God, through the name of Jesus Christ
  • JustHuman14
    JustHuman14

    ixthis, you gave a very nice post regarding prayers. I must say that many things that happened to me turned me to be agnostic. There are lot of issues that I have with the Church, but still for anyone that has faith your post is great. Plus it gives a different point of view of the Orthodox Church and faith...I do love the Byzantine Icons and Churches, they hold a supernatural feeling when you enter to the Church.

    I don't agree those who post to make fun or mock. No matter what we must respect the faith of other people, even if we don't agree with them.

  • myelaine
    myelaine

    There Is A Redeemer Hymn

    There is a redeemer,
    Jesus, God's own Son,
    Precious Lamb of God, Messiah,
    Holy One,
    Jesus my redeemer,
    Name above all names,
    Precious Lamb of God, Messiah,
    Oh, for sinners slain.

    Thank you oh my Father,
    For giving us Your Son,
    And leaving Your Spirit,
    'Til the work on Earth is done.
    When I stand in Glory,
    I will see His face,
    And there I'll serve my King forever,
    In that Holy Place.

    Thank you oh my Father,
    For giving us Your Son,
    And leaving Your Spirit,
    'Til the work on Earth is done.
    There is a redeemer,
    Jesus, God's own Son

    Precious Lamb of God, Messiah,
    Holy One,
    Thank you oh my Father,
    For giving us Your Son,
    And leaving Your Spirit,
    'Til the work on Earth is done.
    And leaving Your Spirit,
    'Till the work on Earth is done.

  • ixthis
    ixthis

    Thank you JustHuman!

    This is a thread for all people who do believe to share there collective prayers to Jesus Christ and for those who dont they can look at the pretty pictures :)

    My boyfriend is ex-Jehovva and he tells me how much damage the WT does to peoples souls. He has found a lot of comfort and happiness in Orthodoxy and peace ... some people will leave the the WT and not believe and that is ok for them but others will look for God somewhere ... I pray for those people looking for Him in his true Image they will at least research or consider an Orthodox church (many parishes are not converting the language into English so it is more easy to find a church in all english) in their investigations for a Christian home for there I believe they will find peace.

    Myelaine, that is pretty! :)

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