How to learn to forgive. Sunday of Forgiveness, 2012

On Forgiveness Sunday, on the precipice of Great Lent, we hear in the Gospel the last important piece of essential information for preparation for Great Lent and salvation in general. Forgiveness is the most important topic here, after we have been taught about in the preceding Sundays about the Judgment, the process of sin and repentance, and the deadly sin of judging others. The first and last Sundays of preparation are like bookends, because the man who judges will not forgive, and the man who forgives will not judge. We talk about, mainly, how we can learn to forgive others. This is mostly from us knowing ourselves. This skill is not optional, because our Lord said “if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses”.

A personal note: I get very little feedback about my homilies, but this one “felt good”, and later I was told by someone whose opinion I trust that this was one of my best homilies

Forgiveness Sunday And Cheesefare Sunday. Instructions For Great Lent. Romans 13:11-14 Matthew 6:14-21

The Epistle and Gospel for today provide excellent instructions for the beginning of Great Lent, as a thorough exegesis of these readings shows. Let us understand what the purpose of Great Lent is and understand how we can “make no provision for the flesh” in order to learn to forgive completely.

Forgiveness Sunday And Cheesefare Sunday. The Triodion teaches us how to think.

An exposition of two hymns from the Triodion for Forgiveness Sunday, after Vespers. It is important to know how to think about ourselves and God, and how to approach God in prayer. More than any other season, the Triodion teaches this in almost every hymn. We look in detail at the hymns:

“Adam was cast out of Paradise through eating from the tree. / Seated before the gates he wept, / lamenting with a pitiful voice and saying: / ‘Woe is me, what have I suffered in my misery! / I transgressed one commandment of the Master, / and now I am deprived of every blessing. / O most holy Paradise, / planted for my sake and shut because of Eve, / pray to Him that made thee and fashioned me, / that once more I may take pleasure in thy flowers.’ / Then the Savior said to him: ” and

“O Master, Guide to wisdom, / Giver of prudent counsel, / Instructor of the foolish and Champion of the poor, / make firm my heart and grant it understanding. / O Word of the Father, give me words, / for see, I shall not stop my lips from crying out to Thee: / I am fallen, // in Thy compassion have mercy on me.”

The Liturgical Theme of the Sunday of Forgiveness, The Casting out of Adam from Paradise. The prerequisite for true forgiveness.

What is the dominant liturgical theme of Forgiveness Sunday? This is not a trick question. It is NOT that we would forgive our brethren. The theme is concerning the absolute prerequisite for us to be able to forgive others. Without this virtue, we are lost, having darkened understanding, and blindly stumbling through life. …

St Mary of Egypt. Two ways to learn to love. Audio Homily 2010.

LISTEN NOW If the "LISTEN NOW" link does not work, copy this URL into your browser: http://www.orthodox.net/sermons/great-lent-sunday-05_2010-03-21.m3u If this file does not work for you, try the direct link to the actual mp3 file:http://www.orthodox.net/sermons/great-lent-sunday-05_2010-03-21.mp3 RSS feed of Sunday and some weekday homilies:http://feeds.feedburner.com/OrthodoxChristianSermonsOnTheGospelsEpistlesAndOtherTopics Archive of Audio and text homilies:http://www.orthodox.net/sermons

Sunday Of Forgiveness 2009. “Now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.”

LISTEN NOW If the "LISTEN NOW" link does not work, copy this URL into your browser: http://www.orthodox.net/sermons/great-lent-sunday-before-great-lent-05_2009-03-01+sunday-of-forgiveness.m3u If this file does not work for you, try the direct link to the actual mp3 file:http://www.orthodox.net/sermons/great-lent-sunday-before-great-lent-05_2009-03-01+sunday-of-forgiveness.mp3 RSS feed of Sunday and some weekday homilies:http://feeds.feedburner.com/OrthodoxChristianSermonsOnTheGospelsEpistlesAndOtherTopics Archive of Audio and text homilies:http://www.orthodox.net/sermons Romans 13:11-14:4 11 And that, knowing the… Continue reading Sunday Of Forgiveness 2009. “Now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.”