THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD 2016

The Ascension by Giotto

ASCENSION DAY 2016

Homily by Abbot Paul of Belmont Abbey, Hereford (U.K.)

            The Acts of the Apostles takes over the story of the Ascension just where Luke’s Gospel leaves off. “Now as he blessed them, Jesus withdrew from them and was carried up to heaven. They worshipped him and then went back to Jerusalem full of joy; they were continually in the Temple praising God.” But before they returned to Jerusalem, the angels asked them why they were standing there looking up into the sky. They told the disciples that Jesus, whom they had seen ascending into heaven, would come back again just as they had seen him go.

            What is the meaning of the Ascension? The Gospel tells us that three things are going to happen as a result. Christ ascends into heaven and yet, (1) “Behold, I am with you until the end of time”, (2) “Not many days from now, you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit, and (3) “The Son of Man will return on the clouds of heaven”. Although Jesus has ascended to the Father, he is still here with us, in the Church, in the Sacraments, in the Scriptures, and in each one of us. He is with us through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the “other Advocate, who will remind you of all that I have told you.” He will return on the Last Day to be with us again. The Ascension is the fulfilment of the prophetic name Emanuel, God-is-with-us.

            Human beings think in linear time scales: past, present and future, but with God, who is eternal, there is no past or future, only the present. Eternity has no length and cannot be measured. Eternal life is living fully in the present moment, living in God. The Ascension is a breakthrough, where time enters eternity, just as at the Incarnation eternity entered time.

            In the Ascension hymn we will sing at the Offertory, Charles Wesley writes: “Lord, though parted from our sight, far above yon azure height, grant our hearts may thither rise, seeking thee beyond the skies. There we shall with thee remain, partners of thine endless reign; there thy face unclouded see, find our heaven of heavens in thee.” Heaven is not a place: Heaven is a person, Jesus Christ, and eternity is God’s life, which he has graciously shared with us, his children, through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

            The Gospel begins with an angel announcing the Incarnation, first to Mary and then to Joseph, and a choir of angels announcing the birth of the Messiah to the shepherds. The Gospel ends with an angel announcing the Resurrection to another Mary, and with Jesus, God’s own Angel, announcing the coming of the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, and with two angels announcing that Jesus will return.

            What, then, does the Ascension mean to us? Jesus, Word of God and Son of the Father, who took our human flesh from the Virgin Mary and became Man, thus uniting heaven to earth, God to Man, at his Ascension took into heaven, took unto himself, our human flesh, this frail, sinful body of ours. A part of us is already at the right hand of the Father, transfigured, glorified and eternal.

            The Ascension fills us all with joyful hope, because it is, of all the Church’s feasts, the feast of hope, joy and fulfilment, the feast that celebrates both a mission accomplished and a mission just beginning. When all seemed lost, Jesus rose from the dead and just when it looked as though he was leaving us for good, he tells us that he will be with us always, that he will never leave us. He promises us the gift of his own Spirit and he assures us that he will come again in glory and that all will be well, that our heaven of heavens will be truly in him.

            To Jesus Christ, our risen and ascended Lord, be all glory, praise and worship in time as in eternity. Amen. 

THE GLORIOUS ASCENSION OF OUE LORD AND SAVIOUR 

JESUS CHRIST. 

by Saint Bonaventure

TOUCHING the wonderful ascension of our Lord Jesus, it behooves thee, pious reader, to awaken thy heart, and to render thyself more than ordinarily 

attentive to all that is here said or done, relating to this subject, if thou desired to feed thy soul with heavenly comfort, and reap the spiritual unction, which plentifully flows from the devout contemplation of so divine a subject. 

On the fortieth day after his resurrection our Lord Jesus, knowing that his time was now come to depart 

from this world, and to pass hence to his Father, taking with him the holy patriarchs, prophets, and others, who after his resurrection were in the terres 

trial paradise, and blessing Enoch and Elias, who remained there still alive, he came to his apostles, who were gathered together on Mount Sion, which was the place where he made his last supper the night before his passion. There were likewise with the apostles at this place, the Blessed Virgin, and many other disciples ; and our Lord appearing to them said, that he would eat with them before he departed from 

them, as a special token and memorial of the love he bore them. And as they were all eating, being full of joy and spiritual comfort at this last refection of 

our Lord Jesus, he said to them, "The time is now come in which I must return again to him that sent me ; but you shall remain in the city till you are 

clothed with the virtue descending from above ; for within a few days you shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, as I before promised you. After which you shall be dispersed throughout the whole world, to preach my gospel, baptizing all that shall believe in 

me, so that you shall be my witnesses to the utmost confines of the earth." He likewise reproved them for their incredulity in not believing those who had seen him rise, that is the angels. This he chose to do at the time he was speaking to them of preaching his gospel, to give them to understand, that they ought to have believed the angels, even before they saw him, much sooner than they ought to be believed by those to whom they were to preach, who, nevertheless, would believe them, though they should not 

see him. This he did, that by knowing their fault they might remain humble ; showing them at his departure how much he admired that virtue, and 

that he ] 'commended it to them in a singular manner. They asked him concerning many things that were 

to come to pass ; but he would not inform them, inasmuch as it was not necessary for them to know the secrets of God, whirh his Father had reserved 

in his own power, to fulfil at his own will and pleasure. And thus they continued discoursing and eating together, with great comfort and satisfaction, 

occasioned by the presence of their Lord ; yet their comfort was mixed with some grief, by reason of his departure from them. For they loved him so ten 

derly, that they could not hear him speak of leaving them without heaviness and sorrow. 

And what can we think of his blessed mother! May we not devoutly imagine that, sitting near him, and hearing what he said concerning his departure, 

she was moved with the tenderness of her motherly affection ; and that overcome with grief, which suddenly seized, and oppressed hex blessed soul, she inclined her head towards him, and rested it upon his sacred breast ? For, if St. John the Evangelist, at the last supper, took this freedom, with much 

more reason may we suppose her to do the same on this doleful occasion. Hence, then, with tears, and many sighs she spoke to him in this manner : "Oh, my beloved son, I beseech thee not to leave me ; but if thou must depart, and return again to thy  heavenly Father, take me, thy afflicted mother, along with thee!" But our blessed Lord endeavored to comfort her, and said, " Grieve not, oh, beloved 

parent, at my leaving you, because I go to my Father ; and it is expedient that you remain here a short time longer, to confirm in their faith, those that shall be converted, and believe in me, and after 

wards I will come again, and take you with me, to be a partaker of my glory." To whom again our Lady replied, "My beloved son, may thy will always be fulfilled in all things, for I am not only contented to remain here during thy pleasure, but to suffer death for love of those souls, for which thou hast so willingly vouchsafed to lay down thy life : this, however, I beseech thee, be thou ever mindful of me." Our Lord then again comforted her, with the disciples and Mary Magdalen, saying, "Let 

not your hearts be troubled, nor fear ye anything ; I will not leave you desolate ; I go, but will shortly return again to you, and will remain always with you." At length he bid them remove from thence, and go to Mount Olivet, because from that place he would ascend into heaven, in the presence of them all : saying this, he disappeared, 

His holy mother, with the rest of the company, hastened to the said mount, about a mile distant from Jerusalem, as he had appointed, where our Lord again soon appeared to them. Behold on this 

day we have two different apparitions of our Lord. Thus being all together, our Lord embraced his holy mother, and she again embraced him in a most tender 

manner, taking leave of each other. And the disciples, Mary Magdalen, and the rest falling down to the ground, and weeping with tenderness, kissed his 

blessed feet, and he, raising them up, embraced all his apostles most lovingly. 

Let us now, pious reader, diligently consider them, and devoutly contemplate all that is here done : and amongst the rest, let us behold the holy Fathers, who being there present, though invisible, joyfully admire, and inwardly praise the blessed virgin, by whom they received so great a benefit as their salvation. They behold, with pleasing admiration, the glorious champions, and leaders of God's 

hosts, the apostles, whom our Lord Jesus had chosen from among all others, to conquer and subdue the 

world, and bring it over to the belief of his holy doctrine. 

At length, when the mysteries were all fulfilled and completed, our Lord Jesus began gradually to raise himself up before them, and to ascend by his 

own virtue and power into heaven. And then the Blessed Virgin, with the rest, fell down and devoutly worshipped him. And our Lady said, "O my be loved, I beseech thee to be mindful of me," and 

with this she burst forth into tears, not being able to refrain, when she reflected on his departure, yet 

was she full of inward joy, to see her blessed son thus gloriously ascend into heaven. His disciples also, when they beheld him ascending, said, "Thou 

knowest, O Lord, that we have renounced all things for thee, wherefore, we beseech thee not to forget us, but be ever mindful of us, for whom we have forsaken all." Then our Lord lifting up his hands, with serene and pleasing aspect, crowned with 

glory, victoriously ascended into heaven, but first blessing them, he said, "Be steadfast, and fight courageously, for I shall always be with you, even 

to the end of the world." 

Thus, our Lord Jesus, all glorious and resplendently shining, ascended into heaven, triumphantly leading with him the noble tribe of holy Fathers, and fulfilling that which the prophet Micah had said long before his ascension: "And their king shall pass before them, and the Lord at the head of them." So that they all followed him with unspeakable joy, singing canticles of praises and thanksgiving to him, for their deliverance from all sorrow, and their entrance into all joy, and never- 

ending felicity. 

And Michael, the prince of God's celestial host, going before, carried the joyful tidings of their Lord's ascending, at which the whole heavenly court of celestial spirits came forth to meet their Lord, and with all worship and reverence, they led him with hymns and songs of jubilation, repeating with inexpressible joy, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alle 

luia. 

Having paid their due reverence to the Lord, and ended the joyful canticles, which related to his glorious ascension, the angels and the holy Fathers 

began to rejoice together. And what tongue can express, or mind conceive, that which passed between them at this happy, happy meeting? The blessed spirits first began to congratulate them on their arrival, saying in this manner: "Ye princes of God's people, ye are welcome to our eternal habitation, and we rejoice and are glad at your arrival : ye all are gathered together, and wonder fully exalted with our God ; Alleluia. Therefore rejoice, and sing to him who so gloriously ascendeth to heaven, and above the heaven of heavens : Alleluia." 

To which the holy Fathers again joyfully replied, 

"To you, princes of God's people, Alleluia: Our guardians and helpers, Alleluia : Joy and peace for ever, Alleluia : Let us sing and make mirth to our 

king and our Saviour, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. Now we joyfully enter into the house of our Lord, Alleluia : to remain forever in the glorious city of God, Alleluia. As sheep of our Lord's pasture we enter his gates, Alleluia : With hymns and canticles, Alleluia : For the Lord of power is with us. Alleluia, 

Alleluia, Alleluia." For according to the prophet,  "The Lord is ascended in shouts of joy, and the Lord in the sound of a trumpet." 

Our Lord Jesus ascended visibly for the greater comfort of his mother and disciples, that they might see him as far as they could. And behold ' ' A cloud 

received him out of their sight, and in an instant they were present in heaven !" And as the Blessed Virgin and the disciples were still looking up, two angels stood beside them in white garments, who began to comfort them, telling them not to look longer after 

his body, which they saw ascend so gloriously into heaven, for that they should not see him any more in 

that form till the Day of Judgment, when he should come to judge the quick and the dead. They bid them return into the city again, and there to expect the coming of the Holy Ghost, as he himself had told them. Our blessed Lady spoke to the angels, desiring them to recommend her to her blessed son ; who profoundly inclining to her, promised gladly to fulfil her commands. And the apostles and Mary Magdalen recommended themselves in the same manner. After this, the angels departing, they went according 

as they had been appointed in to the city, unto Mount Sion, and waited there the coming of the Holy Ghost. 

Our Lord Jesus, in company with that blessed tribe of holy souls, opened the gates of Heaven, which for a long time had been shut to mankind, and as a 

victorious conqueror, triumphantly entered in, and joyfully saluting his father, said, " O holy Father, I return thee thanks for the glorious victory thou hast given me over all our enemies: behold, O eternal Father, I here present to thee our friends, who till this time have been detained in banishment and in prison ! And as I have promised to my disciples and brethren, whom I have left in the world, to send them the Holy Ghost, the comforter, I beseech thee to fulfil 

my promise, for to thy care and protection I recommend them." The Father raising him up, placed him on his right-hand, and said, "My blessed son, to thee all power is given in heaven and earth, wherefore concerning all thou hast asked, dispose and order as shall seem most expedient to thee." 

After this the angelical spirits and holy Fathers, who remained all the time prostrate before the throne of the most adorable Trinity, arose, and with all 

reverence, resumed their Alleluias and spiritual canticles, and sung joyfully to the Lord. 

For if Moses and the children of Israel, after they had crossed the Red Sea, sung a song to the Lord, saying, " Let us sing to the Lord," etc., and Mary the 

prophetess, Aaron's sister, and other women going out after her, sung to the Lord with timbrels, and with dances, with how much more reason should they do it now, after the victory obtained over all their enemies ? And when David brought the ark of the 

Lord to Jerusalem, the whole multitude of the chil dren of Israel sung to the Lord, and David played before him, on all manner of instruments, on harps, on timbrels, on cornets, on cymbals, "and David danced before the Lord with all his might." 2 Kings , 6. With how much more reason did they now do it, when present with their Lord, in the perfect enjoyment of so great happiness ? And if St. John the Evangelist, as we read in the Apocalypse, heard a voice from heaven of a hundred and forty-four 

thousand playing on their harps, and singing a new song before the throne of God and the Lamb, what 

ever that might represent, I cannot but piously imagine, that it was on this day, more than on any other, fulfilled. They all sing, they all rejoice, and exult with the utmost jubilation, and with shouts of mirth they praise and glorify the Lord, so that the whole heavenly Jerusalem echoes with joyful Alleluias, and canticles of mirth were heard throughout every parti 

Never from the beginning of time was there known so solemn a festivity, nor shall ever be again, till after the last and general day of judgment, when all the elect shall meet together in their beautiful and glorious bodies. 

And therefore this solemn feast of the ascension, if every circumstance be duly considered, is the greatest of all solemnities, which we shall find to be 

true, if we briefly consider the rest. The incarnation of God is a great feast, a day of solemn jubilation to us, but not to him, since he was then confined within the narrow compass of the small enclosure of a virginal womb. His nativity was likewise a great feast, and a day of public rejoicing to us. But he was to be pitied, who was born to such 

great poverty, suffering and penury. His death and suffering was a great feast to us, because our sins were then all blotted out ; but as he suffered most cruel torments, and a most vile death, it was not to him, nor ought it be to us, a subject of joy. 

The resurrection of our Lord Jesus was a most solemn festivity, both to him and to us, because he appeared as a triumphant conqueror over death, and we remained justified, and in the opinion of St. Augustine, was a more holy feast than the rest, which may be understood of those which preceded 

it. For the day of the ascension seems still to be more holy and greater than that, for though our Lord rose then from the dead, yet he still remained on earth, the gates of heaven were not yet open, 

nor were the holy Fathers the presented to his Father, which was fulfilled on the day of his ascension. And if we consider, whatever God wrought before this, he wrought to this end, without which his work would have been imperfect. For heaven and earth, with all things in them, were made for man ; and man was made only for God, and to enjoy him in his glory : to which glory, no one, though ever so just, could ever attain after sin, till this day. Whence you may, in some measure comprehend how great and wonderful is this day, which may properly he called the solemn and joyful festivity of our Lord Jesus. For on this day was he first 

seated in glory, in the humanity he had assumed, at the right hand of his Father, and enjoyed a perfect rest from all his labors. 

This day is also a feast of great joy and glory to the blessed spirits of heaven ; for on this day they received a new satisfaction, in the sight of their Lord, whom before they had not seen, under the veil of his sacred humanity. And on this day was begun to be repaired the ruins of their heavenly company occasioned by the fall of their reprobate brethren, some of whose vacancies were filled up by a glorious number of blessed souls, of patriarchs, 

prophets, and others, who on this day triumphantly entered the heavenly Jerusalem, and took possession of it as their own right and inheritance. 

Wherefore, as we solemnly celebrate the feast of one saint or martyr who departed this life, and entered the glory of heaven, how much more ought we to do the same for so many thousands, who entered together in company with the Holy of Holies, who is far more worthy all praise, honor and glory, 

than all the saints and angels together. 

This day is likewise a feast of special joy to the Blessed Virgin, inasmuch as she beheld her blessed eon Jesus, perfect God and perfect man, crowned with glory and triumph, ascend victoriously to heaven. 

LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

It is also a feast of joy to us, for on this day was our nature first exalted above the highest heavens ; and had he not ascended we could not have received 

the greatest of all gifts, the Holy Ghost, whom he had promised to send us, wherefore he said to his disciples, " It is expedient for you that I go, for if I go not, the Paraclete shall not come to you." 

St. Bernard saith, in his sermon on this day, that "The glorious feast of the ascension is the end and accomplishment of all other feasts and solemnities, and a blessed conclusion of the weary pilgrimage of Jesus Christ on earth." 

Hence then may you gather, pious reader, that this feast is greater and more solemn than all others, and that soul, which earnestly and truly loves our Lord Jesus, should on this day lift up his mind more fervently towards heaven, and endeavor to receive a 

greater plenitude of spiritual comfort and joy than all other festivals of the year. For our Lord said to his disciples: "Truly, if you loved me, you would 

rejoice and be glad, because I go to the Father." Whence it appears from his own words, that there was no day in heaven more joyful than this, which 

lasted till the following day of Pentecost, and we may devoutly imagine it to have been kept and solemnized in the following manner. The ascension of our Lord and Saviour Jesus was about~the sixth hour. And although the whole court of heaven made a general rejoicing in a manner beyond all ex 

pression, yet from the hour of his ascension to the sixth hour of the next day, we may piously imagine 

that the angels more particularly celebrated this joyful festival. And, in the same manner, on the second, the archangels ; on the third day, the vir 

tues ; on the fourth day, the powers ; on the fifth, the principalities ; on the sixth, the dominations ; on the seventh, the thrones ; on the eighth, the cheru- 

bims ; on the ninth, the seraphims ; which are the nine orders of holy angels, who continued their joyful solemnity till the vigil of Pentecost ; from which time, to the third hour of the day following, which is Whitsunday, the holy Fathers, with the rest of their blessed company, made the same solemn rejoicings. Thus, during the space of ten days before the descent of the Holy Ghost upon earth, they all 

continued in an uninterrupted acclamation of praise, glory, and thanksgiving to God, to whom be con 

tinued the same by every creature to the end of the world, and forever. Amen. 

  The Ascension of Our Lord: A Homily by Blessed John Henry Newman

The Ascension: Some Thoughts of the Late Father John Corbon O.P.

Ascension Sunday 2013

Prosper Guéranger: Let Us Follow Our Emmanuel, and See Him as Our High Priest Saturday. 

my source: Enlarging the Heart

Jesus has gone to heaven, not only that He may reign as King, but also that He may intercede for us as our High Priest.

[…] [T]he gate of heaven remained shut against us, until He threw it open by His own entrance into that sanctuary, where He was to exercise His eternal office of  “Priest according to the order of Melchisedech.”

By His Ascension into heaven, His priesthood of Calvary was transformed into a priesthood of glory.

He entered with the veil of His once passible and mortal Flesh, within the veil of His Father’s presence, and there is He our Priest forever.

How truly is He called Christ, that is, “the Anointed!” for, no sooner was His divine Person united to the human Nature, than He received a twofold anointing: He was made both King and High Priest.

[…] Let us, then, follow our Emmanuel, and see Him as our High Priest.

[…] Let us go in thought to the temple of Jerusalem.

[…] Man is banished from the place wherein God dwells; he is unworthy to enter into so holy a presence.

He was created that the he might see God and be eternally happy with that vision of God.

There is a veil between himself and Him who is the his last end; neither can he ever remove that veil.

Such is the severe lesson given to us by the symbolism of the ancient temple.

But there is a merciful promise, and it gives a gleam of hope. This veil shall one day be raised up, and man shall enter within.

[…] As we have already noticed, none was allowed to enter the Holy of holies; there was but one exception, and that was in favour of the high priest, who might, once a year, penetrate beyond the veil….

If he entered without holding in his hands a vessel containing the blood of two victims, previously immolated by him for his own and the people’s sins, he was to be put to death.

If, on the contrary, he faithfully complied with the divine ordinances, he would be protected by the blood he carried in his hands, and might make intercession for himself and all Israel.

How beautiful and impressive are these figures of the first covenant! But how much more so their fulfillment in our Jesus’ Ascension!

Even during the period of His voluntary humiliations, He made His power felt in this sacred dwelling of God’s Majesty.

His last breath on the cross rent the veil of the Holy of holies, hereby signifying to us that man was soon to recover the right he had lost by sin, the right of admission into God’s presence.

Prosper Guéranger (1805-1875): The Liturgical Year @ The Traditional Latin Mass in Michiana (which contains a fuller version of this reflection, in addition to other related and beautifully presented material)


.The Eucharist is...
my source: The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of America

The Eucharist is a procession of the Church following the ascension of Christ.

By Fr. Alexander Schmemann

The Eucharist is a mystery, the very mystery of joy, the mystery of all mysteries, the mystery of the Church.

The Eucharist is a joyful gathering of those who are to meet the risen Lord, and they enter with him into the bridal chamber.

The Eucharist is an action, by which a group of people become something corporately, which they had not been as a mere collection of individuals. It is the essential attitude, and the essential act of the Church, which is the new humanity, restored by Christ, one transforming act, and one ascending movement.

The Eucharist is a procession of the Church following the ascension of Christ.

The Eucharist is a journey of the Church into the dimension of the Kingdom.

The Eucharist is a real separation from the world. We always want to make Christianity understandable and acceptable to the mythical modern man on the street, and we forget that the Christ of whom we speak is not of this world, and that after his resurrection, he was not recognized, even by his own disciples. We do not realize that we never get anywhere because we never leave any place behind us.

The Eucharist is an entrance of the Church into the joy of its Lord, and to enter into that joy so as to be a witness to it in the world, is the very calling of the Church, its essential ministry, the mystery by which it becomes what it is. It is an entrance into the risen life of Christ, the very movement of the Church, as passage from the old into the new, from this world into the world to come.

The Eucharist is a manifestation of the Word of God. God will speak to us. His eternal Word will be given to us, and we will receive it.

The Eucharist is a movement, the movement that Adam failed to perform, and that, in Christ, has become the very life of man—a movement of adoration and praise, in which all joy and suffering, all beauty and all frustration, all hunger and all satisfaction, are referred to their ultimate end, and become finally, meaningful. It is real life, a movement of love and adoration toward God, the movement in which, alone, the meaning and value of all that exists can be revealed and fulfilled.

The Eucharist is an offering. It is our offering to him of ourselves, of our life, and of our whole world, “to take into our hands the whole world, as if it were an apple,” said a Russian poet.

The Eucharist is a sacrifice, but it the most natural act of man, the very essence of his life. Man is a sacrificial being. Because he finds his life in love, and love is sacrificial, it puts the value, the very meaning of life, in the other, and gives life to the other, and in this giving, in this sacrifice, finds the meaning and joy of life. It is, indeed, a sacrifice offered on behalf of all, and for all.

The Eucharist is Christ, himself. The Eucharist is his Eucharist, and he is the Eucharist. It is he who offers, and it is he who is offered. Christ is the perfect man, who stands before God. Christ, alone, is the perfect Eucharistic being. He is the Eucharist of the world. In and through this Eucharist, the whole creation becomes what always was to be, and yet, failed to be.

The Eucharist is the memorial of Christ. It is the mystery of cosmic remembrance. It is, indeed, a restoration of love as the very life of the world. Remembrance is an act of love. God remembers us, and his remembrance, his love, is the foundation of the world. In Christ, we remember. The church, and its separation from this world, on its journey to heaven, remembers the world, remembers all men, remembers the whole creation, and takes it, in love, to God. We remember his life, his death, his resurrection, one movement of sacrifice, of love, of dedication to his father, and to men. This is the inexhaustible content of our remembrance.

The Eucharist is the lifting up of our offering, and of ourselves. The Eucharist is the ascension of the Church to heaven. We have entered the Eschaton, and we are now standing beyond time and space. It is because all this has first happened to us, that something will happen to bread and wine. It is our ascension in Christ.

The Eucharist is the state of perfect man. When man stands before the throne of God, when he has fulfilled all that God has given him to fulfill, when all sins are forgiven, all joy restored, then there is nothing else for him to do, but to give thanks. When a man stands before God, face to face, when he has been accepted into his presence, when his sins are forgiven, and he has recovered his pristine beauty, the Eucharist, thanksgiving, adoration, worship, is truly the ultimate and the total expression of his whole being. It is the divine element, the image of God in us, the life of paradise, the one essential relationship with God, the only full and real response of man to God’s creation, redemption, and gift of heaven. It is a new style of life, the only real life, of creation with God, and in God, the only true relationship between God and the world. In sin, man has lost that pure Eucharist. He has directed his life, his love, his care, toward other objects. He has become incapable of Eucharist, thanksgiving, which is the state of man in paradise.

The Eucharist is the breakthrough that brings us to the table in the Kingdom, raises us to heaven, and makes us partakers of the divine food.

The Eucharist is the end of the movement. We are at the Paschal table of the Kingdom, the end of the journey, the end of time. It is the arrival at a vantage point from which we can see more deeply into the reality of the world.

The Eucharist is the mystery of unity and the moment of truth, the very expression and edification of the Church. Here, we see the world in Christ, as it really is, and not from our particular, and therefore, limited, and partial, points of view.

The Eucharist is communion with the whole Church. It is the supreme revelation of the communion of the saints, of the unity and interdependence of all the members of the Body of Christ. It is judgment and condemnation to people who do not see Christ in the Church, but see in it merely human pride and arrogance, selfishness, and the spirit of this world. It is the breaking of the bread, the one source of life that brings all to it, and redeems the unity of all men under one head, Christ, the mystery of forgiveness, the mystery of reconciliation achieved by Christ, and eternally granted to those who believe in him. It is the essential food of the Christian, strengthening his spiritual life, healing his diseases, affirming his faith, making him capable of leading a truly Christian life in this world, the gift of eternal life, an anticipation of the joy, peace and fullness of the Kingdom, a foretaste of its light. It is both partaking of Christ’s suffering, the expression of our readiness to accept his way of life, and sharing in his victory and triumph—a sacrificial meal, and a joyful banquet. His body is broken, and his blood is shed, and partaking of them, we accept the cross. Yet, by the cross, joy has entered the world, and this joy is ours when we are at the Lord’s table. It is given to me, personally, in order to transform me into a member of Christ, to unite me with all those who receive him, to reveal the Church as a fellowship of love.

The Eucharist is the mystery of the Kingdom, the fullness and manifestation of the Church as the age to come.

The Eucharist is our secret joy and certitude, the source of inspiration and growth, the victory that overcomes evil, the presence that makes our whole life, life in Christ.

The Eucharist is the beginning, and things that were impossible are again revealed to us as possible. The time of the world has become the time of the Church, the time of salvation and redemption.

THE SOULS OF ALL ARE AFLAME - ORTHODOX EASTER IN DACHAU, 1945

DACHAU 1945: THE SOULS OF ALL ARE AFLAME

Christ oppening the gates of Dachau

SOURCE: Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America

by Douglas Cramer

my source: pravoslavie.com

The Dachau concentration camp was opened in 1933 in a former gunpowder factory. The first prisoners interred there were political opponents of Adolf Hitler, who had become German chancellor that same year. During the twelve years of the camp's existence, over 200,000 prisoners were brought there. The majority of prisoners at Dachau were Christians, including Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox clergy and lay people.

Countless prisoners died at Dachau, and hundreds were forced to participate in the cruel medical experiments conducted by Dr. Sigmund Rascher. When prisoners arrived at the camp they were beaten, insulted, shorn of their hair, and had all their belongings taken from them. The SS guards could kill whenever they thought it was appropriate. Punishments included being hung on hooks for hours, high enough that heels did not touch the ground; being stretched on trestles; being whipped with soaked leather whips; and being placed in solitary confinement for days on end in rooms too small to lie down in.

The abuse of the prisoners reached its end in the spring of 1945. The events of that Holy Week were later recorded by one of the prisoners, Gleb Rahr. Rahr grew up in Latvia and fled with his family to Nazi Germany when the Russians invaded. He was arrested by the Gestapo because of his membership in an organization that opposed both fascism and communism. Originally imprisoned in Buchenwald, he was transported to Dachau near the end of the war.

In fact, Rahr was one of the survivors of the infamous “death trains,” as they were called by the American G.I.’s who discovered them. Thousands of prisoners from different camps had been sent to Dachau in open rail cars. The vast majority of them died horrific deaths from starvation, dehydration, exposure, sickness, and execution.

In a letter to his parents the day after the liberation, G.I. William Cowling wrote, “As we crossed the track and looked back into the cars the most horrible sight I have ever seen met my eyes. The cars were loaded with dead bodies. Most of them were naked and all of them skin and bones. Honest their legs and arms were only a couple of inches around and they had no buttocks at all. Many of the bodies had bullet holes in the back of their heads.”

Marcus Smith, one of the US Army personnel assigned to Dachau, also described the scene in his 1972 book, The Harrowing of Hell.

Refuse and excrement are spread over the cars and grounds. More of the dead lie near piles of clothing, shoes, and trash. Apparently some had crawled or fallen out of the cars when the doors were opened, and died on the grounds. One of our men counts the boxcars and says that there are thirty-nine. Later I hear that there were fifty, that the train had arrived at the camp during the evening of April 27, by which time all of the passengers were supposed to be dead so that the bodies could be disposed of in the camp crematorium. But this could not be done because there was no more coal to stoke the furnaces. Mutilated bodies of German soldiers are also on the ground, and occasionally we see an inmate scream at the body of his former tormentor and kick it. Retribution!

Gates of Dachau Concentration Camp

Rahr was one of the over 4,000 Russian prisoners at Dachau at the time of the liberation. The liberated prisoners also included over 1,200 Christian clergymen. After the war, Rahr immigrated to the United States, where he taught Russian History at the University of Maryland. He later worked for Radio Free Europe. His account of the events at Dachau in 1945 begins with his arrival at the camp:

April 27th: The last transport of prisoners arrives from Buchenwald. Of the 5,000 originally destined for Dachau, I was among the 1,300 who had survived the trip. Many were shot, some starved to death, while others died of typhus. . . .

April 28th: I and my fellow prisoners can hear the bombardment of Munich taking place some 30 km from our concentration camp. As the sound of artillery approaches ever nearer from the west and the north, orders are given proscribing prisoners from leaving their barracks under any circumstances. SS-soldiers patrol the camp on motorcycles as machine guns are directed at us from the watch-towers, which surround the camp.

April 29th: The booming sound of artillery has been joined by the staccato bursts of machine gun fire. Shells whistle over the camp from all directions. Suddenly white flags appear on the towers—a sign of hope that the SS would surrender rather than shoot all prisoners and fight to the last man. Then, at about 6:00 p.m., a strange sound can be detected emanating from somewhere near the camp gate which swiftly increases in volume. . . .

The sound came from the dawning recognition of freedom. Lt. Col. Walter Fellenz of the US Seventh Army described the greeting from his point of view:

Several hundred yards inside the main gate, we encountered the concentration enclosure, itself. There before us, behind an electrically charged, barbed wire fence, stood a mass of cheering, half-mad men, women and children, waving and shouting with happiness—their liberators had come! The noise was beyond comprehension! Every individual (over 32,000) who could utter a sound, was cheering. Our hearts wept as we saw the tears of happiness fall from their cheeks.

Rahr’s account continues:

Finally all 32,600 prisoners join in the cry as the first American soldiers appear just behind the wire fence of the camp. After a short while electric power is turned off, the gates open and the American G.I.’s make their entrance. As they stare wide-eyed at our lot, half-starved as we are and suffering from typhus and dysentery, they appear more like fifteen-year-old boys than battle-weary soldiers. . . .

An international committee of prisoners is formed to take over the administration of the camp. Food from SS stores is put at the disposal of the camp kitchen. A US military unit also contributes some provision, thereby providing me with my first opportunity to taste American corn. By order of an American officer radio-receivers are confiscated from prominent Nazis in the town of Dachau and distributed to the various national groups of prisoners. The news comes in: Hitler has committed suicide, the Russians have taken Berlin, and German troops have surrendered in the South and in the North. But the fighting still rages in Austria and Czechoslovakia. . . .

Naturally, I was ever cognizant of the fact that these momentous events were unfolding during Holy Week. But how could we mark it, other than through our silent, individual prayers? A fellow-prisoner and chief interpreter of the International Prisoner's Committee, Boris F., paid a visit to my typhus-infested barrack—“Block 27”—to inform me that efforts were underway in conjunction with the Yugoslav and Greek National Prisoner's Committees to arrange an Orthodox service for Easter day, May 6th.

There were Orthodox priests, deacons, and a group of monks from Mount Athos among the prisoners. But there were no vestments, no books whatsoever, no icons, no candles, no prosphoras, no wine. . . . Efforts to acquire all these items from the Russian church in Munich failed, as the Americans just could not locate anyone from that parish in the devastated city. Nevertheless, some of the problems could be solved. The approximately four hundred Catholic priests detained in Dachau had been allowed to remain together in one barrack and recite mass every morning before going to work. They offered us Orthodox the use of their prayer room in “Block 26,” which was just across the road from my own “block.”

The chapel was bare, save for a wooden table and a Czenstochowa icon of the Theotokos hanging on the wall above the table—an icon which had originated in Constantinople and was later brought to Belz in Galicia, where it was subsequently taken from the Orthodox by a Polish king. When the Russian Army drove Napoleon's troops from Czenstochowa, however, the abbot of the Czenstochowa Monastery gave a copy of the icon to czar Alexander I, who placed it in the Kazan Cathedral in Saint-Petersburg where it was venerated until the Bolshevik seizure of power. A creative solution to the problem of the vestments was also found. New linen towels were taken from the hospital of our former SS-guards. When sewn together lengthwise, two towels formed an epitrachilion and when sewn together at the ends they became an orarion. Red crosses, originally intended to be worn by the medical personnel of the SS guards, were put on the towel-vestments.

On Easter Sunday, May 6th (April 23rd according to the Church calendar)—which ominously fell that year on Saint George the Victory-Bearer's Day—Serbs, Greeks and Russians gathered at the Catholic priests’ barracks. Although Russians comprised about 40 percent of the Dachau inmates, only a few managed to attend the service. By that time “repatriation officers” of the special Smersh units had arrived in Dachau by American military planes, and begun the process of erecting new lines of barbed wire for the purpose of isolating Soviet citizens from the rest of the prisoners, which was the first step in preparing them for their eventual forced repatriation.

In the entire history of the Orthodox Church there has probably never been an Easter service like the one at Dachau in 1945. Greek and Serbian priests together with a Serbian deacon wore the make-shift “vestments” over their blue and gray-striped prisoner’s uniforms. Then they began to chant, changing from Greek to Slavonic, and then back again to Greek. The Easter Canon, the Easter Sticheras—everything was recited from memory. The Gospel—“In the beginning was the Word”—also from memory.

And finally, the Homily of Saint John Chrysostom—also from memory. A young Greek monk from the Holy Mountain stood up in front of us and recited it with such infectious enthusiasm that we shall never forget him as long as we live. Saint John Chrysostomos himself seemed to speak through him to us and to the rest of the world as well! Eighteen Orthodox priests and one deacon—most of whom were Serbs—participated in this unforgettable service. Like the sick man who had been lowered through the roof of a house and placed in front of the feet of Christ the Savior, the Greek Archimandrite Meletios was carried on a stretcher into the chapel, where he remained prostrate for the duration of the service.

Other prisoners at Dachau included the recently canonized Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich, who later became the first administrator of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the US and Canada; and the Very Reverend Archimandrite Dionysios, who after the war was made Metropolitan of Trikkis and Stagnon in Greece.

Fr. Dionysios had been arrested in 1942 for giving asylum to an English officer fleeing the Nazis. He was tortured for not revealing the names of others involved in aiding Allied soldiers and was then imprisoned for eighteen months in Thessalonica before being transferred to Dachau. During his two years at Dachau, he witnessed Nazi atrocities and suffered greatly himself. He recorded many harrowing experiences in his book Ieroi Palmoi. Among these were regular marches to the firing squad, where he would be spared at the last moment, ridiculed, and then returned to the destitution of the prisoners’ block.

After the liberation, Fr. Dionysios helped the Allies to relocate former Dachau inmates and to bring some normalcy to their disrupted lives. Before his death, Metropolitan Dionysios returned to Dachau from Greece and celebrated the first peacetime Orthodox Liturgy there. Writing in 1949, Fr. Dionysios remembered Pascha 1945 in these words:

In the open air, behind the shanty, the Orthodox gather together, Greeks and Serbs. In the center, both priests, the Serb and the Greek. They aren't wearing golden vestments. They don't even have cassocks. No tapers, no service books in their hands. But now they don't need external, material lights to hymn the joy. The souls of all are aflame, swimming in light.

Blessed is our God. My little paper-bound New Testament has come into its glory. We chant “Christ is Risen” many times, and its echo reverberates everywhere and sanctifies this place.

Hitler's Germany, the tragic symbol of the world without Christ, no longer exists. And the hymn of the life of faith was going up from all the souls; the life that proceeds buoyantly toward the Crucified One of the verdant hill of Stein.

On April 29, 1995—the fiftieth anniversary of the liberation of Dachau—the Russian Orthodox Memorial Chapel of Dachau was consecrated. Dedicated to the Resurrection of Christ, the chapel holds an icon depicting angels opening the gates of the concentration camp and Christ Himself leading the prisoners to freedom. The simple wooden block conical architecture of the chapel is representative of the traditional funeral chapels of the Russian North. The sections of the chapel were constructed by experienced craftsmen in the Vladimir region of Russia, and assembled in Dachau by veterans of the Western Group of Russian Forces just before their departure from Germany in 1994. The priests who participated in the 1945 Paschal Liturgy are commemorated at every service held in the chapel, along with all Orthodox Christians who lost their lives “at this place, or at another place of torture.”

CONTINUING TO CELEBRATE EASTER by two great Orthodox priests, FATHERS ALEXANDER MEN AND GEORGES FLOROVSKY

The Essential Meaning of the Paschal Feast

my source: pravmir.com by
ARCHPRIEST ALEXANDER MEN (+1990) | 21 APRIL 2012

The following is the text of a public talk given by Fr. Alexander on May 2, 1989, in Moscow.

It is a remarkable feature of the night of Pascha that many people appear in church who otherwise almost never go there. Something mysterious and incomprehensible, yet not always conscious, attracts them there. What accounts for this? We say: it is the festival of spring. However, there were many different kinds of “festivals of spring.” And, of course, the picture of awakening nature – of these trees coming back to life, of the earth that has awoken from sleep – all of this is near and dear to all. You city dwellers have to observe all this as if under a microscope: you see only the very smallest signs of spring, but you see them nonetheless. And the traditions of Pascha, of course, have a direct relationship to this.

But I would like to speak with you about something different. There are people who do not consider themselves Christians who unfailingly try to have at least decorated eggs, kulich, and cheese pascha at home on Pascha. But we are reasonable and civilized people, so it would not be a bad idea to figure out what is going on here, what this all means. What is the origin of the relationship of all this to the Christian tradition? Or is this simply the remnants of paganism? How fair is it to say that these are remnants of paganism?

Yes, ancient man was able to stand in reverence before the majesty of resurrecting nature. He looked at it through entirely different eyes: for him nature was both mother and sister. Man rejoiced when, after the winter slumber, nature awoke and resurrected. And not only because he received more food as a result, but because he felt something special, some special currents flowing to him from Eternity, from the Cosmos.

This is why the Church did not reject the pagan elements of the Paschal celebrations. First of all, there is the Paschal kulich itself. (In the Ukraine it is called “pascha.”) What is the meaning of this? People collected the remnants of the past year’s harvest and, as if in memory and gratitude for the completed labors, they baked these loaves, sometimes in the form of birds and sometimes in the form of a column, as we commonly do now.

And “pascha” is molded curd with the emblem of the Risen Christ: XB for Christ is Risen [in Russian]. It is called “cheese pascha” to distinguish it from kulich.

The egg is a remarkable symbol, a very ancient pagan symbol of the resurrection of the dead. The egg looks like a dead stone, smooth and unmoving, but life beats inside of it – a marvelous miracle is hidden inside. Think about how this miracle develops. The result of this is a being that is alive, that thinks a bit, that undoubtedly feels, and that moves about beautifully – and it had been hidden inside this little white oblong ball. This is why people have always valued the egg as a symbol of eternal life, revival, and resurrection.

There was also the following ancient custom: eggs were placed on sprouted grass. In advance, in early spring, a sort of garden box was made into which seeds were planted, most often oats. With the warmth of the sun the first green shoots would rise up – or, rather, get up and run – and colored eggs would be placed among them. Many nations – I will not list them, but nearly every European nation – have this custom. For children the custom of playing with eggs has remained: they roll them, judging that the winner is whoever’s egg remains intact upon collision – it is like a kind of billiards.

There were masks, carnivals, and a wide variety of Paschal games – this was a time of letting loose, of extraordinary joy. Every one of you has likely heard, and many have seen, how in these pre-festal days the courtyards of the churches are filled with people bringing their offerings: kulichi, pascha, and eggs. I remember from childhood – even though it was during Stalinist times and this was all none too easy – how as soon as the morning of Great Saturday had arrived, lines of people stretched out along the half-dark streets, each bearing white bundles in their hands. It was easy to understand where they were all headed: they were going to have their Paschal meal blessed. Why indeed is the meal blessed?

Because when someone who has observed the fast reaches the time when the fast ends, then just as God’s blessing had been upon the fasting food, so too now must God’s blessing be upon the non-fasting food. This is so that one does not think that meat or cheese is unclean in and of itself. The Lord Jesus rejected the idea that food could be unclean: it is human thoughts and actions that can be unclean.

The blessing of meals is a framework for the blessing of life – the blessing of human joy and the blessing of human labor – that allows us the opportunity to see the food that is in front of us. Such is the meaning of this rite. And just what accounts for all this? I will briefly touch on this important topic.

The earthly life of Jesus Christ, His brief witness to the world, ended in failure, in the most profound defeat and overwhelming tragedy, because His disciples – as, indeed, everyone does – sought triumph over evil, they sought external victory, they thirsted for external power. They saw that power was hidden in the nature of their Teacher, that He could restrain the possessed, heal the sick, and pass unharmed through crowds trying to seize Him. And suddenly all this ended in the blink of an eye. It was as if they had all abandoned Him in the garden of Gethsemane the night He prayed concerning His cup.

What comes next was the most difficult for them, because He was treated like the least among criminals, disgracefully, with the clothes torn off Him. He who had been held in awe was now nailed onto a pillory alongside two bandits, with a mocking inscription hung above Him. After a short time He gave up the spirit. He gave up the spirit while praying for His executioners, repeating the words of a psalm. And then it was all over. And therewith Christianity came to an end.

Some people say: yes, of course, the disciples reverently preserved His memory, which learned people passed on. But these were not the sort of people to preserve memory and doctrine: they were simply artisans and fishermen, unlearned but kind people that were faithful to Him. After all, a complete catastrophe had just taken place before their very eyes, eliminating their hopes with one fatal blow. They said: “But we had thought He was the One Who would save Israel” from the oppressors – and to save, along with Israel, the entire world from evil. “But we had thought…” Such was their condition: fear, despair, and profound disappointment. They spent Saturday without going out – by Jewish law it was forbidden to travel far on the Sabbath. They locked themselves in, silently remaining in this stupor. I do not think they spoke about anything, but just sat there in silence. They were in mourning.

This was not simply the mourning for a deceased loved one: this was a lamentation for all their life dreams, all their hopes, all the wagers they had placed on this beautiful but misled man.

Some time later, early in the morning, before the sun had risen – by our reckoning this was the first day of the week, which we now call Sunday – Mary Magdalene came running to them. We know little about this woman. Legend has it that she had been a harlot. This is often used in novels and films, although in fact nothing is known about it – all this is fiction. The Gospels simply say that she had been ill, and that He had cast seven demons from her.

She entered, saying: “I have seen Him.” They had a single response: that the poor woman has gone mad from grief. But she relates that she had been at the tomb, that the stone had been rolled away, and that she had stood and wept. Other women had also seen that the tomb was empty, which meant that the authorities had simply extracted the body and hidden it somewhere so that people would not go to the grave to pray – a natural solution.

She said: “And then someone approached me from behind, saying something to me. I thought it was the gardener.” (There was a garden there, in which the tomb was located.) “I said: ‘Sir, if you have removed Him from here, then tell me where you have laid Him.’ He spoke a single word to me: ‘Mary.’ And I recognized Him: He Himself was standing before me! I rushed to touch Him, but He told me: ‘Do not touch Me. Do not touch me because I have not yet gone there.’” There were odd words: “When I go there, then you can touch Me.” (I will explain to you later what was going on here.)

It goes without saying that none of the disciples believed her. Indeed, what might a woman reduced to despair say? But then several more women came. They had gone to perform the final rite of anointing Him. In the East the custom exists of anointing the body of the deceased with precious ointment, which is very expensive. But inasmuch as Jesus had been buried quickly (it had to be done before the setting of the sun), they did not read all the prayers or properly anoint the body. Not having accomplished this, they wanted to finish it now.

So they went. They did not even know that the tomb had been guarded. They arrived: the enormous stone – which was round and flat, moving in a groove – had been rolled away. The tomb was empty, and a young man in white clothing was sitting there. He said: “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” They were terrified and frightened: something about this young man in white clothing provoked fear in them. They ran away, deciding not to say anything to anyone. They were afraid. What were they afraid of? Horror had struck them: it was as if they had touched some otherworldly, superhuman mystery.

On that same day, two disciples were walking to a village near Jerusalem, talking between themselves and lamenting their fate, lamenting His fate, and bemoaning all this misfortune. Evening arrived. Someone joined them, walking alongside them. In the twilight the stranger asked them: “What are you talking about? Why are you so sad?” They replied: “Are you a stranger here? Have you not heard that this was Jesus of Nazareth Who died? He was executed the day before yesterday, but we had thought that He was the Savior of Israel and the world.”

Then He replied: “You are foolish; you have slow and hardened hearts. Even in the Bible, in Scripture, it says that the Savior, when He comes to the world, must suffer, die, and rise again.” He began to cite the words of the Old Testament prophets and the words of the Psalmist that speak of how the Redeemer, when come to the people, will endure suffering – great suffering, up to and including death.

Suddenly everything somehow became easier, calmer, and clearer for them. They reached their village. He was going to continue further, but they said to the Stranger: “Stay with us, be with us, and eat with us – for the day is already inclining toward evening.” He went with them into a room in the half-darkness. They lit the lamps and placed bread on the table.

He took and broke it, using the very same gesture of blessing that was so familiar to the disciples. They peered into those features – and suddenly the two of them were alone. There was bread on the table, breadcrumbs on the tablecloth – and the two disciples in the room.

They leapt up, saying: “Did not our hearts burn while He was speaking? It is He Who gave us this sign!” They rushed back from this village of Emmaus in the dark, running to Jerusalem. They knocked at the door of the disciples, who had locked themselves in for fear of agents and soldiers. When they opened the door, there were already no more tears, no more mourning. They all embraced, laughing and saying: “He appeared to Peter! The women have seen Him!”

They, too, related how they had recognized Him in the breaking of the bread, in this sacred act of bread-breaking. We call this the Eucharist; our Liturgy is at this table. We the faithful recognize His great presence through the breaking of bread.

Then they sat together, confused and anxious, but eternally joyful, still not understanding what had taken place. And suddenly they heard His voice: “Peace be unto you” – which means “salutations” or “greetings.” And He was standing among them. The doors had not been opened, and they had not heard a knock. His face changed continuously. This was an astonishing encounter, and there can be no talk of a “revived” body. The tomb was empty, but the Jesus Who appeared to them was different. He said to them: “I have been given all power in heaven and on earth.” He could be recognized, but He could also not be recognized. He could disappear as suddenly as He appeared.

But they had to go on living; they had to feed themselves by the work of their own hands.

The majority were fishermen. They went to the Sea of Galilee, cast their net, brought it up empty, and then cast it again. It was early in the morning; the sun had not risen, but the surface of the sea had already begun to turn silver. As they approached the shore someone was standing in the distance. He shouted: “Do you have anything to eat there?” It often happened that people came and bought fresh fish from the fishermen on board. They replied: “No, we fished all night, but did not catch anything.” And suddenly they remembered.

John was the youngest of them; he may not have been even twenty. He remembered that when the Lord Jesus had called them, the same thing had happened: Peter had worked all night without catching anything, but after Jesus spoke he cast again, and his nets were filled. When he was thinking about this, a cry was heard from the shore: “Cast to the right side!” They cast the nets as if asleep, but suddenly felt how it had begun to strain. They struck the oars and began moving towards the shore. The young John cast himself before Peter and whispered: “It is He, the Teacher.”

Peter was not the sort of person to reason and discuss: he disrobed immediately – they were half-naked on the boat – and began to swim to shore. When he reached the shore, a man with barely recognizable features was standing there. A fire was burning, and there was grilled fish on spits and bread – the meal was ready. “Come,” said He Who was both so familiar and simultaneously unfamiliar, “come, sit down, and eat!” They dried themselves off in silence one by one – they had come out of the water – and sat around the fire, silently passing around the bread and fish.

Suddenly everyone felt that this was as it had been before: He was among them. They hid their faces, lowered their eyes to the ground, and concealed themselves with their veils. No one dared ask: Who are You? But these simple hearts all suddenly felt that this was an Encounter, this was a Visitation.

Then He arose and, taking Simon Peter by the hand, took him aside, while the young John crept behind him. Peter heard:

“Simon, Simon, son of Jonas, do you love Me?”

“Yes, my Lord, I love You,” he said.

He then heard the voice that was infinitely familiar to him: “Then feed My sheep.”

Then He asked him again: “Simon, son of Jonas, do you love Me?”

“Yes, Lord, I love You.”

“Feed My lambs.”

And a third time: “Simon, do you love Me?”

Simon suddenly remembered how he had denied Him three times out of fear, saying he did not know this Man; how, not in order to betray Him but out of cowardice, he had denied Him three times. Grieved and sorrowful, he said: “You know everything. You know that I love You.” Then he again heard the voice:

“Feed My sheep. Follow Me. When you were young, you went wherever you wanted. When you are old, they will bind your hands and lead you where you do not want to go. Follow Me.” Follow Me along the path of the Cross ­– such was the meaning.

“And what about him?” asked Simon about his younger brother, John, who was walking behind them.

“Do not give thought to him. If I so desire, he will be here on earth until I come. You follow Me!”

Then it was the hills of Galilee once again. Everywhere there are places where He had been. He recognized every hill. You all know well just how dear places where we met with someone we love become to us. They arrived at Galilee, walking along the valleys, among fig trees, chestnut trees, and cypresses, saying: “Here He was with us, and here He said such-and-such, and on this shore He performed such-and-such a miracle.” Once they saw Him standing on a mount, and He spoke solemn words, special words, that seemed to resound through the entire world, and which have continued to echo throughout the centuries: “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and teach all the nations.” Namely: has been given.

This means that as long as He was bearing His Cross on earth, He did not have such power. He was prone to illness, human infirmity, and even death. But now He says: “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and teach all the nations, Baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to perform everything I have commanded you; and I will be with you always until the end of the ages.”

Baptism means being united into one in the spiritual community that today we call the Church. That is what Baptism is. “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Of the One God, Who appeared to us as the Creator of the world; and of Him Who was revealed as Divine Love in this world to which He came; and of the Spirit of God, Who lived, lives, and will live in mankind, in His community: the Church of Christ.

“Go and teach all nations.” The history of the Church began at this moment two thousand years ago, from a small beginning, from a small brook.

What does the Resurrection mean? The victory of Truth.  As the great Russian philosopher, Vladimir Solovyov, put it: If Pilate, the high priests, and all the dark forces had turned out to be right, then life would be meaningless, for in that case evil would have defeated and shattered the most beautiful, the most pure, the sinless God-Man. But, as the New Testament tells us, death could not contain Him. Our spirit is powerless to halt the process of death and decay, but pure and deified spirit is capable of accomplishing the victory over the decaying forces of matter.

This is the origin of that miraculous historical event: yesterday they were a handful of frightened fishermen, but today they enter the public square and shout: “Christ is Risen!” This is what they tell people, these very same ones who yesterday were afraid even to whisper about Him. Historians know this; the history of the world knows this. No one saw the mystery that was accomplished in the tomb. And there is no need to try to imagine it. But we must face the fact that an explosion burst out of this small kernel.

Many of you have likely heard that, according to modern theory, the universe came about from a small nucleus – and then there was an explosion, the Big Bang. Then the universe began to unfold. So it was with Christianity: a seed once sown explodes, Christ gives rise to the Church, and now for two thousand years these ecclesial galaxies have scattered in different directions.

This also means that He has remained with us. This is the most important thing. For example, the Church’s hymnody, architecture, traditions, books, and customs are, of course, as precious to me now as they were in my childhood. But all this would have only passing significance – no more important than the traditions of the ancient Indians or Egyptians, or of any other people or time – had I not felt that He indeed has remained, had I not heard His voice within, a distinct voice, more distinct than any human voice.

This is the mystery of history, the mystery of the earth: He has remained. The greatest moving force in history has remained intimately and profoundly in the world. “I will be with you always, until the end of the ages.” He rose in order to be present everywhere in our lives. Everyone can find Him today, too. He is not a historical figure about whom one can either remember or forget. Yes, He lived two thousand years ago. Yes, in ten years we will celebrate the two thousand year anniversary of His birth. But He not simply was, but is. This is the whole mystery of Christianity, the key to its power.

There have been many great scholars these past twenty centuries. Many minds have appeared in the spheres of philosophy and politics. On the island of St. Helena, Napoleon said that he had wanted to start a new religion in the world. But he added: alas, with my regiments and armies I could not accomplish what Jesus Christ accomplished, Who without an army taught us to love Him for centuries.

Christ has always conquered without bloodshed. When violence has been done in His name, when attempts have been made to impose the Gospel by force of arms or through coercion – then the spirit of Christ has been perverted. Why, you might think, in the history of the Christian churches have there been so many tragic pages? Why have they so often endured calamitous and grievous defeats? Was it only because there were forces of political evil or some other such forces? By no means was it only because of this.

It all started with us Christians. When we deviated from Him, therein lay the germ of future catastrophe. When today, with sorrow and pain of heart, I look at ruined churches or photographs of churches that have not survived, I appreciate that this is the work of barbarians, of cultured savages, so to speak; this is the work of totalitarianism, violence, intolerance, and black hatred. But I see the main root in something else.

A holy thing remains solid and inviolable only so long as the people gathered around it do not lose spirit. The Lord Jesus told those of His disciples who wanted to call down fire from heaven to punish sinners: “You do not know of what spirit you are.” These are words that could be addressed to our brothers: you do not know of what spirit you are. This is all very important.

There is nothing accidental in history; there is nothing accidental in life. We reap what we sow. If today we weep over ruined churches, then we should weep no less for the past sins and mistakes of Christians, our spiritual and bodily ancestors. Something had obviously gone wrong, that such tribulation might occur. It could not have occurred on its own. Because He has remained, and He continues to preside.

He said: “Now is the judgment of this world.” At the very moment of His coming, when His gaze penetrated into people’s souls, then began the judgment of each person’s conscience and fate. And this judgment continues today. This judgment is purifying. This judgment raises us up from the level of animals; it raises us up from the level of everyday dullness; and it raises us up to the level of spirituality, insight, and the fulfillment of our divine ideal in this earthly life.

Translated from the Russian.

THIS LUMINOUS NIGHT

by PROTOPRESBYTER GEORGES FLOROVSKY (+1979) | 20 APRIL 2012

my source: Pravmir.com

 “This is the day which the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad therein.” Pascha is the day of universal joy and peace. The entire world, every breath and all creation, triumphs and rejoices. For the Lord has conquered and destroyed death, abolishing the “dominion of death” – the power of death. With the Resurrection of Christ, the dawn of the coming general Resurrection has already begun to break over all creation, for we hope in “the life of the age to come.” Paschal joy is boundless, dissolving every sorrow and doubt. “Let no one lament their poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed.” All offences and distress are forgotten: “let us forgive all things on the Resurrection.” Not a single cloud of grief and dark memories should obscure the luminous and light-bearing Paschal night. Christ is Risen!

Yet the infinite and eternal joy of the Resurrection is mysterious. In its fullness it is beyond the capacity of each of us. This Divine Revelation of joy and glory so often catches us off guard, as it were, and spiritually unprepared. It is for this reason that the Church prepares us for the light-bearing day of Pascha through a long and penitential trial, leading us along the path of fasting and vigilance. Without this, the entire meaning of the Paschal victory would remain incomprehensible and inaccessible to us. Pascha completes Passion Week. And joy comes through the Cross. Eternal joy came into the world through the Cross of the Son of God, the agony in Gethsemane, and the voluntary passion and death of the Only-Begotten One on the Cross: “for behold, through the Cross joy hath come to all the world!” The Resurrection is intrinsically inseparable from the Cross, suffering, and death itself. And not only for us, but for Christ Himself, the “Prince of life.” Pascha is the mystery of the Life-Giving Tomb.

Passion Week is made up of days of agonizing memories. How painful it is to relive the entire ineffable mystery of Divine condescension anew, listening in deep spiritual confusion to the Gospel account of the Savior’s “final days of earthly life”! Everything is full of light, quietness, and Divine love: the Lord is saving the world. Therein lie our immutable trust, support, and hope. But how impenetrable, even for Divine love, is the night of sin. We are unable to feel the full measure of this utmost horror of sin, stagnation, and resistance. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not (John 1:11). Not only did they not receive Him, they rejected, repudiated, and condemned Him to death. One of the Twelve was a traitor. And how easily was the triumphant “Hosanna” followed from the very same mouths by the wild “Crucify Him”!

During the days of Passion Week the terrible abyss of fallen man’s sin, helplessness, and irresponsibility opens wide before us so clearly. The Church prompts us again and again to pass through this fright and horror. For the sin that raised the Savior onto Golgotha was not someone else’s sin, not “their sin,” but our common sin. As Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow explained, the Cross of Christ is, as it were, composed of all our sins; our unrighteousness makes up the weight that He bore. Sin is committed on earth, but it rattles the heavens. The Son of God came down upon the earth in order to raise up the Cross and to fit into a small tomb. Only when we have experienced the full extent of the inescapable gloom of sin can we draw closer to the joy of Pascha and experience the true joy of liberation: “the beginning of another life eternal.”

The Resurrection of Christ is the victory over death – over human death. For it is in man that death is the “wages of sin.” Having sinned, man began to die; that is, he began to stop being human. For man is not a bodiless spirit; and a disincarnate soul is not a whole person. God created man of soul and body, in indissoluble unity, for his eternal sojourn. Sin disrupted this unity, making human existence itself impossible. This is the true horror of death. Therefore it is the “enemy,” the “last enemy” in the words of the Apostle (1 Corinthians 15:26). Death is terrible not because it so often seems premature, suddenly interrupting our lives and the lives of loved ones, causing a sorrowful parting for us. Death is terrible because it reveals man’s doom, his inability on his own to be such as he (every man) should have been according to the creative plan of the Creator.

So, it is only in the Resurrection of Christ that this opportunity and ability were returned to man anew. The hopelessness of death has been repealed. The Lord descended into the very depths of the kingdom of death and abolished it, rising as the first-fruits of them that slept; following Him everyone shall be made alive in his own order (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23). The entire world is relieved through this victory: for all creation suffers from man’s mortality. Therefore Pascha is the universal victory and joy: the joy of earth and heaven.

For many of us this is unexpected and unusual; it may even appear to be inappropriate and vain philosophizing, inappropriate on the Bright Feast. But this is precisely what the Church sings and glorifies on this luminous night, in the entire cycle of Pentecost, and every Sunday. “We celebrate the death of death, the destruction of hades, the beginning of another life eternal.” And grief and joy are linked together: “Yesterday I was buried with Thee, O Christ; today I rise with Thine arising. Yesterday I was crucified with Thee; do Thou Thyself glorify me with Thee, O Savior, in Thy Kingdom.” Yesterday and today are inseparable: the Cross and the Resurrection. In is only under the light yoke of the Cross that we shall enter into the joy of our Lord, Risen in glory from the tomb of voluntary death.

“O Thou Who didst endure the Cross, and didst abolish death, and didst rise again from the dead: Make our life peaceful, O Lord, for Thou alone art almighty.”

Translated from the Russian.