the domestic zoo

Great Lent should be regarded as an invaluable divine gift. It is a sacred time of divine grace, which seeks to detach us from things material, lowly and corrupt in order to attract us toward things superior, wholesome and spiritual. It is a unique opportunity to remove from the soul every passion, to rid the body of everything superfluous, harmful and mortal. Accordingly, then, it is a time of immense rejoicing and gladness. A genuine feast and exhilaration!

- Catechetical Homily On the Commencement of Holy and Great Lent

There is a tribe in a Africa that has a culture rich in tradition. However, this tribe lives in fear of evil spirits who they believe bring ill fortune to their villages. They use the word “Mingi” to describe persons they consider cursed or otherwise imperfect. Those deemed Mingi face severe consequences, as they believe the presence of these children on their land curses the tribe. Their solution to this perceived threat is to drown Mingi children in the river. Last year, 7 percent of the children in this tribe were associated with Mingi, resulting in the deaths of at least 77 children. If the two other nearby tribes practice the Mingi tradition at the same rate, then combined 3,000 children would have their lives at risk.

We are passionate about rescuing and providing for tribal children in Africa who are facing culturally mandated infanticide.

www.drawnfromwater.org

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More and more children are being saved everyday, and now the volunteers at Drawn From Water are looking for people who would be willing to set aside just $25 a month to go toward the day-to-day costs of helping these kids. Just 76 people giving $25 a month. I’m one of them. Will you be?

Five Years Ago.

I walked into an Orthodox Church. I experienced that truly otherworldly worship.

And I knew.

The turmoil had stopped. My wandering had ceased.

A great weight had been lifted. It wasn’t up to me anymore. This wasn’t what I had come from. This was so much more than that. I had found something deeper, truer and more wonderful than anything I had known. Because I had found it – the pearl of great price. The Fullness of the Faith.

I felt something in my soul that I’ve never felt before. Like breathing deeply for the first time.

Glory to You, O Lord. Glory to You.

Bright Week (or Renewal Week; in Greek, Diakaimsimos) is the first week following the Resurrection. It ends the following Sunday. For Orthodox Christians Bright Week begins a period of celebration that continues for fifty days until Pentecost.

This celebration includes the practice of the faithful joyously greeting each other with the salutation of Christ is risen, followed by the response indeed He is risen or truly He is risen, as the whole of creation is renewed by Our Lord and Savior. The services of Bright Week are done with the Royal Doors fully open. This unblocked view of the altar symbolizes the open door of Christ’s empty tomb as well as the rent veil of the Jewish Temple, which was torn apart at the moment Christ died. Also, fasting is completely prohibited to all Orthodox during Bright Week so that the faithful may recover their strength after the eight weeks of Great Lent and Holy Week.

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And now, full of food and exhausted from a marathon week of services…I am going to take a nap. Happy Bright Monday!