Arriving at an orphanage in Djibouti, I greeted the nun in charge: “Hi! I am Chaplain Johnson, and we are here to help! What do you need, Sister?”

She responded, “Oh, good. You are a minister in the U.S. Forces, right? Welcome!”

“Yes, I am. We are here to see if you…”

She interjected, “Actually, I don’t need anything…but what you can do is help us love the orphaned babies from the region, and I am sure I don’t have to explain to you why.”

Christ is Risen!

Introduction:

Journeying by boat to visit their beloved spiritual father, Constantine Palamas – the father of St. Gregory – suddenly realized he and his family had forgotten to bring food with them for the monastery. While his wife and five children looked on, he raised his voice in prayer and put his hand into the sea; immediately he caught a massive fish. Taking it out of the water, he glorified God for the miracle. Out of his great admiration and respect for the monastic life, Constantine Palamas worked a miracle so that his family would not arrive at the monastery empty-handed. In this way, and in countless others, he instilled in the hearts of his children a firm love for and reverence of monasticism.

Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.” (Mark 12: 41-44)

I love weddings. I hope that admission doesn’t revoke my “man card”. It’s not the romance or the beautiful bride stirring my heart— it’s the party, the sheer, unrestrained joy and celebration of the union of man and wife. Friends and family come together in a festive atmosphere to celebrate, to enjoy one another, and to have a party. Next to the birth of a child, there are very few things in life that produce more joy than a wedding.

FACEBOOK PASCHA EXCHANGE:

FACEBOOK UPDATE: Christ is Risen!
RESPONSE 1: Indeed He is Risen!
RESPONSE 2: Again?

Not again. Once. Once and for all. It echoes through time, and every year in which we walk through Holy Week and the events leading up to Great and Holy Pascha it becomes more real to me.

“If there are devout and God-loving people here, let them enjoy this beautiful, radiant festival. If there are prudent servants, enter joyously into the Lord’s joy. Whoever may be spent from fasting, enjoy now your reward. Whoever has toiled from the first hour, receive today your just settlement. If any came after the third hour, celebrate gratefully. If any of you arrived after the sixth, have no misgivings, you have lost nothing. If some have been as late as the ninth, come forward, do not be at a loss. If any of you have arrived only at the eleventh hour, do not be dismayed for being late.

As I write this, it is the afternoon of the ninth Pascha I have celebrated as an Orthodox Christian. It was almost the Pascha that wasn't. But it turned into full joy.

The Hymn of Kassiani is a beautiful hymn chanted during the Tuesday Evening (Wed. Matins) Bridegroom service of Holy Week. It reflects the Gospel reading for Holy Wednesday morning, Matthew 26:6-16, which speaks of a sinful woman who anoints Jesus' feet with ointment. This penitential hymn is chanted only once a year and considered one of the musical high-points of Holy Week.

Usually when people hear the word Orthodox, they either think “Greek” or “Russian,” and some even think Orthodox Jewish. However, my Orthodoxy is known as Serbian Orthodoxy. Orthodoxy itself is the oldest branch of Christianity, and it spread to Serbia from Greece. The Greeks played a great part in converting us to Orthodoxy, and our own Saint Sava, a former prince of Serbia, fell in love with the religion.

When my wife first went to meet some of my relatives in Miami, she had a shock. Our family is a typical Latino family. This means that when we discuss contentious subjects, our hands start waving and our voices rise up. My wife comes from a family that is not quite that outward. My family, of course, threw a dinner at which many were present. In the course of the dinner, two of my uncles (may they rest in peace) began to argue politics, began waving their hands, and their voices became very loud. It did not help that they had dinner knives in their hands. My wife was not sure what was happening, but she feared violence. She could not figure out why the rest of the family was relaxed and laughing.