Year: 2011

New for the old, and old for the new (although at least some parishes chant this canon weekly); we are currently chanting the Small Canon to the Theotokos in the Paraklesis service nightly, and giving short meditations on the content of this beautiful prayer.

A meditation on the 5th Ode of the Small Paraklesis Canon to the Theotokos, especially about how to understand the law of God. It is not even close to what the West thinks! The following hymns are discussed:

“Lord, enlighten us by Thy precepts and by thy commands; and by the power of Thy lofty arm bestow Thy peace upon us all, since Thou art Friend of man.”

“Dissipate the gloom of my trespasses, O bride of God, with the clear brightness of thy radiance; for thou didst bear the Light divine which was before all-time.”

“Heal me, O Pure one, of the sickness which the passions bring, and make me worthy of a guardiancy; and by thy prayers intercessions grant thou health to me.

The story of the exorcism of the lunatic son contains a very important question that all of us ask everyday – “Why?” We ask this question consciously and unconsciously and even dissatisfaction, confusion and ignorance are forms of this question. The solution is given in two parts. Firstly, our Lord tells us but we asked this question because of our unbelief, and the solution to this unbelief is given; prayer and fasting, and, very importantly, our admission of our unbelief and prayer that the Lord will help us to believe.

The Feeding of the Five Thousand has many truths that we must learn. Some are apparently obvious, but still we should take note of them, since we do not do them enough: We must cultivate compassion for everyone, give thanks for all things, and trust our Lord Jesus Christ in all things and in all circumstances. The powerful truths of this miracle can be thought of as deeper layers. They are not immediately apparent from a surface interpretation of the text. Let us look especially at these truths as the Lord teaches us about true compassion, and trust in all circumstances. Another layer of truth in this event regarding the ministry of the twelve apostles, and the government of the apostolic church.