Translation of Homilia in Divites by Basil of Caesarea with Annotation and Dating

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Translation of Homilia in Divites by Basil of Caesarea with Annotation and Dating TRANSLATION OF HOMILIA IN DIVITES BY BASIL OF CAESAREA WITH ANNOTATION AND DATING A Dissertation Submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY by Dacy R. Boyd December 2014 Examining Committee Members: Dr. Vasiliki M. Limberis, Advisory Chair, Religion Dr. Khalid Y. Blankinship, Religion Dr. Mark A. Leuchter, Religion Dr. Jane DeRose Evans, External Member, Art History © Copyright 2014 by Dacy R. Boyd All Rights Reserved € ii ABSTRACT This dissertation provides an English translation of Basil of Caesarea's sermon Homilia in divites based on Yves Courtonne's Greek text. I have included details of Basil's scriptural content in the notes. The searches to identify the scriptural content were done using LXX and GNT as databases and employing the search capabilities of Accordance Bible Software. Many scholars' comments on the sermon are also included in the notes. No English translation and annotation of Basil of Caesarea's sermon Homilia in divites has been available, though a devotional book with the translation appeared in 2009 after I began this project. As far as I know, Courtonne's 1935 French language version is the only commentary. While scholars have made assumptions about the date of the sermon, questions remain. I include details of a rigorous search to identify the date of composition which pulls together existing scholarly thought and an intricate search of internal data. I believe the sermon was written in 371 as Basil raised funds for his Basileiados. He invited a group of wealthy men to arrive early for a panegyris and delivered Homilia in divites in the days prior to the panegyris. Moreover, Basil's exegetical and theological writings have received much attention, while this sermon, which is neither overtly exegetical or theological, has only had limited study. Thematically, Homilia in divites is a sermon for Basil's and our times. He vividly describes the way God planned for wealth to be used: wealth is to be distributed not stored. Equally as vividly, Basil describes the consequences of storing wealth. iii To my children Ruth E. Boyd-Galezewski and Griffin D. Wright, my husband Maurice W. Wright, and my father Ernest R. Boyd, Jr. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to mention a few people whose help was consequential in completing this dissertation. "Research" entered my life when I was a high school senior in Bluefield, West Virginia. Ms. Rosanna Reaser taught me the—then entirely new—intricate details of researching and writing a proper paper. She did a great job. During that same period, the Virginia Synod of, what now is, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America accepted me as a candidate for ordained ministry. Through its programs and sheparding, which involved psychological and I.Q. testing, I was able to see the world and myself in new ways. The members of my committee have given me valuable guidance and instruction. Dr. Leuchter, who was new to the faculty when he joined my committee, immediately assessed my needs and recommended particular readings, in order to bring my knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures current, necessary because they were Basil's scriptures. He has given me support throughout the exam and dissertation process. When he teaches, Dr. Blankinship expresses a love for the subject matter in compelling ways. Both his manner and his knowledge base have been instructive for me. He is also practical and has worked with me on learning stratagems. Seeing the confluence of these elements in his teaching has freed me to consider life differently. In the fall of 2004 I attended a luncheon in the Department of Religion at Temple University. A woman stood up and said she was going to lead a Greek Readings group and everyone who was interested could join her. Since then I have been reading Greek texts with Dr. Limberis. Her expertise and guidance have been invaluable in my work v here, particularly in checking my translation, though she is not responsible for any errors you might find. She has helped me envision my larger project. Dr. Limberis manages to simultaneously be elegant and serious, a combination I find reassuring. Her ability to address a range of complex topics and also get people to laugh is top notch. My children and husband have supported me in returning to school in a variety of ways. For example, Ruth taught me Latin; Griffin taught me French. Maurice has proofread, coached, cooked, driven, and whatever else was necessary to support my study. I am fortunate to have such loving people around me. Thanks to all of you who have supported me in this endeavor. Dacy Boyd Wyncote, Pennsylvania 2014 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT.......................................................................................................................iii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS................................................................................................... v CHAPTER 1. BASIL'S SERMON....................................................................................................... 1 The Message of the Sermon.................................................................................... 1 The Date and Circumstances of Composition......................................................... 6 Translation and Annotation................................................................................... 25 Basil's Use of the Scriptures.................................................................................. 28 2. TRANSLATION: HOMILIA IN DIVITES................................................................ 35 Section 1................................................................................................................ 35 Section 2................................................................................................................ 63 Section 3................................................................................................................ 81 Section 4................................................................................................................ 93 Section 5.............................................................................................................. 122 Section 6.............................................................................................................. 142 Section 7.............................................................................................................. 153 Section 8.............................................................................................................. 164 Section 9.............................................................................................................. 178 3. CONCLUSION......................................................................................................... 208 vii BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................................................................... 218 Primary Sources .................................................................................................. 218 Secondary Sources .............................................................................................. 220 viii CHAPTER 1 BASIL'S SERMON This English translation of Homilia in divites by Basil of Caesarea is based on the Greek text collated by Yves Courtonne and published in Homélies sur la richesse,1 a commentary on two of Basil's sermons on wealth, and I have used the digital version of that text found in Thesaurus Linguae Graecae. After translating portions of In ebriosos several years ago, I wanted to translate another of Basil's sermons. Basil's Greek is eloquent and wonderful. His thinking is clear and he expresses ideas vividly. Having the opportunity to focus on translating and annotating Homilia in divites has been a treat. The Message of the Sermon Basil based Homilia in divites on the story of the rich young man who asks Jesus how to inherit eternal life. The pericope is Matt 19:16-24, though he does refer to later verses from Matthew 19 on a few occasions. Basil explicates Jesus' instruction in v. 21, "Go, sell what you possess and give to the poor." The sermon is written in nine sections 1 Basil of Caesarea, Homilia in Divites, collated by Yves Courtonne (Paris: Firmin-Didot et Cie, 1935) as published in Thesaurus Linguae Graecae, University of California, Irvine, an electronic database under a trademark of the Regents of the University of California. Courtonne's book which contains the Greek and French versions of Homilia in Divites is titled Homélies sur la Richesse, édition critique et exégétique (Paris: Firmin-Didot et Cie, 1935). which form an artful exegesis and carefully scrutinizes the pericope. The first sentence of the sermon indicates that the listeners and Basil have just heard the story about the young man read aloud. That sentence and the similarity of the subsequent sentences to Matt 19:16-24 suggest a meeting in which scripture reading and preaching took place. Based on the sermon's content, it is likely that the audience members are nearly all rich males, since Basil explicitly only acknowledges wealthy men. In section one Basil looks closely at the young man in the Matthean narrative by focusing on the contradiction between the young man's interest in what Jesus teaches, but his lack of interest in doing what Jesus instructs. Basil concludes, "This habit is a
Recommended publications
  • Bible Software on the Workbench of the Biblical Scholar: Assessment and Perspective
    Andrews University Seminary Studies, Vol. 56, No. 1, 5–45. Copyright © 2018 Andrews University Seminary Studies. BIBLE SOFTWARE ON THE WORKBENCH OF THE BIBLICAL SCHOLAR: ASSESSMENT AND PERSPECTIVE Oliver Glanz Andrews University Abstract This article pursues two objectives. First, it tries to explain why Bible software is still not accepted as an indispensable tool for textual analysis. Second, it suggests that modern Hebrew databases can truly impact the analytic methodology of biblical scholars and help to verify and falsify interpretative suggestions. To achieve these two objectives, I will first describe the role Bible software plays in today’s scholarship. By contrasting the aids that Bible software offers with the analytic needs of biblical scholars, it is possible to show clearly what current electronic tools need if they are to play an essential methodological role in the analytic work of the scholar. The second part of the article will then illustrate, in some detail, what the Hebrew database of the Eep Talstra Centre of Bible and Computer (ETCBC) could offer today to the Old Testament scholar and how a future implementation into Bible software could deliver an electronic tool that becomes indispensable for Old Testament scholarship. Keywords: Bible software, exegesis, Gen 20 Introduction Database producers of biblical Hebrew and Greek often approach their texts and digital tools in a different way than most users of Bible software. While database producers search for linguistic patterns from the smallest units (phonology: sound units) up to the highest language structures (text-grammar: grammatical backbone of texts),1 Bible software users predominantly use their databases as a digital extension of their analog tools (Hebrew/Greek texts, dic- tionaries, concordances, and grammars).
    [Show full text]
  • PDF Gospel of Mark
    The Gospel of MARK Part of the Holy Bible A Translation From the Greek by David Robert Palmer https://bibletranslation.ws/palmer-translation/ ipfs://drpbible.x ipfs://ebibles.x To get printed edtions on Amazon go here: http://bit.ly/PrintPostWS With Footnotes and Endnotes by David Robert Palmer July 23, 2021 Edition (First Edition was March 1998) You do not need anyone's permission to quote from, store, print, photocopy, re-format or publish this document. Just do not change the text. If you quote it, you might put (DRP) after your quotation if you like. The textual variant data in my footnote apparatus are gathered from the United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament 3rd Edition (making adjustments for outdated data therein); the 4th Edition UBS GNT, the UBS Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, ed. Metzger; the NA27 GNT; Swanson’s Gospels apparatus; the online Münster Institute transcripts, and from Wieland Willker’s excellent online textual commentary on the Gospels. The readings for Φ (043) I obtained myself from Batiffol, Source gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France. PAG E 1 The Good News According to MARK Chapter 1 John the Baptizer Prepares the Way 1The beginning of the good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.1 2As2 it is written in the prophets: 3 "Behold, I am sending my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way," 3"a voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make the paths straight for him,'4" 4so5 John the Baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
    [Show full text]
  • Divine Liturgy
    THE DIVINE LITURGY OF OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS JOHN CHRYSOSTOM H QEIA LEITOURGIA TOU EN AGIOIS PATROS HMWN IWANNOU TOU CRUSOSTOMOU St Andrew’s Orthodox Press SYDNEY 2005 First published 1996 by Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia 242 Cleveland Street Redfern NSW 2016 Australia Reprinted with revisions and additions 1999 Reprinted with further revisions and additions 2005 Reprinted 2011 Copyright © 1996 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia This work is subject to copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted without prior written permission from the publisher. Enquiries should be addressed to the publisher. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data The divine liturgy of our father among the saints John Chrysostom = I theia leitourgia tou en agiois patros imon Ioannou tou Chrysostomou. ISBN 0 646 44791 2. 1. Orthodox Eastern Church. Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. 2. Orthodox Eastern Church. Prayer-books and devotions. 3. Prayers. I. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia. 242.8019 Typeset in 11/12 point Garamond and 10/11 point SymbolGreek II (Linguist’s Software) CONTENTS Preface vii The Divine Liturgy 1 ïH Qeiva Leitourgiva Conclusion of Orthros 115 Tevlo" tou' ÒOrqrou Dismissal Hymns of the Resurrection 121 ÆApolutivkia ÆAnastavsima Dismissal Hymns of the Major Feasts 127 ÆApolutivkia tou' Dwdekaovrtou Other Hymns 137 Diavforoi ÓUmnoi Preparation for Holy Communion 141 Eujcai; pro; th'" Qeiva" Koinwniva" Thanksgiving after Holy Communion 151 Eujcaristiva meta; th;n Qeivan Koinwnivan Blessing of Loaves 165 ÆAkolouqiva th'" ÆArtoklasiva" Memorial Service 177 ÆAkolouqiva ejpi; Mnhmosuvnw/ v PREFACE The Divine Liturgy in English translation is published with the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos of Australia.
    [Show full text]
  • THO 3347 (H 2015) – Glossary of Terms
    THO 3347 (H 2015) – Glossary of Terms Akathist Literally, “not standing.” A hymn dedicated to our Lord, the Theotokos, a saint, or a holy event. Aposticha The stichera sung with psalm verses at the end of Vespers and Matins. These differ from the stichera at Psalm 140 (Vespers) and at the Praise Psalms (Matins), which are sung with fixed psalms, in that the psalm verses used (pripivs) vary with the day or feast, and do not end the singing of the whole psalm. See also stichery na stichovnych. Archieratikon Тhе book containing texts and rubrics for the solemn Hierarchical (a.k.a. Pontifical) Divine Liturgy. The Archieratikon also contains the sacrament of Ноlу Orders and special blessings and consecrations. Canon A system of nine odes (the Second Ode is sung only during Great Lent) sung at Matins after Psalm 50 and before the Praises. Each ode is connected traditionally with a scriptural canticle (see below for the nine scriptural canticles) and consists of an Irmos, a variable number of troparia and, on feasts, a katavasia. After the Third Ode a sidalen is usually sung, and after the Sixth Ode a kontakion and ikos, and after the Ninth Ode, the Svitelen is sung. The Canon has its own system of eight tones. Domatikon A theotokion sung after “Now…” (or “Glory… Now…”) at the end of Psalms 140, 141, 129, and 116 at Vespers on Friday and Saturday evenings, and on the eve of a Polyeleos saint or saints with a vigil in the same tone as the last sticheron of the saint (at “Glory…”).
    [Show full text]
  • The Rule of St Basil in Latin and English
    The Rule of St Basil in Latin and English The Rule of St Basil in Latin and English A Revised Critical Edition Translated by Anna M. Silvas A Michael Glazier Book LITURGICAL PRESS Collegeville, Minnesota www.litpress.org A Michael Glazier Book published by Liturgical Press Cover design by Jodi Hendrickson. Cover image: Wikipedia. The Latin text of the Regula Basilii is keyed from Basili Regula—A Rufino Latine Versa, ed. Klaus Zelzer, Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, vol. 86 (Vienna: Hoelder-Pichler-Tempsky, 1986). Used by permission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Scripture has been translated by the author directly from Rufinus’s text. © 2013 by Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, microfilm, micro- fiche, mechanical recording, photocopying, translation, or by any other means, known or yet unknown, for any purpose except brief quotations in reviews, without the previous written permission of Liturgical Press, Saint John’s Abbey, PO Box 7500, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321-7500. Printed in the United States of America. 123456789 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Basil, Saint, Bishop of Caesarea, approximately 329–379. The Rule of St Basil in Latin and English : a revised critical edition / Anna M. Silvas. pages cm “A Michael Glazier book.” Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-8146-8212-8 — ISBN 978-0-8146-8237-1 (e-book) 1. Basil, Saint, Bishop of Caesarea, approximately 329–379. Regula. 2. Orthodox Eastern monasticism and religious orders—Rules. I. Silvas, Anna, translator. II. Title. III. Title: Rule of Basil.
    [Show full text]
  • Anselm's Cur Deus Homo
    Anselm’s Cur Deus Homo: A Meditation from the Point of View of the Sinner Gene Fendt Elements in Anselm's Cur Deus Homo point quite differently from the usual view of it as the locus classicus for a theory of Incarnation and Atonement which exhibits Christ as providing the substitutive revenging satisfaction for the infinite dishonor God suffers at the sin of Adam. This meditation will attempt to bring out how the rhetorical ergon of the work upon faith and conscience drives the sinner to see the necessity of the marriage of human with divine natures offered in Christ and how that marriage raises both man and creation out of sin and its defects. This explanation should exhibit both to believers, who seek to understand, and to unbelievers (primarily Jews and Muslims), from a common root, a solution "intelligible to all, and appealing because of its utility and the beauty of its reasoning" (1.1). Anselm’s Cur Deus Homo is the locus classicus for a theory of Incarnation and Atonement which exhibits Christ as providing the substitutive revenging satisfaction for the infinite dishonor God suffers at the sin of Adam (and company).1 There are elements in it, however, which seem to point quite differently from such a view. This meditation will attempt to bring further into the open how the rhetorical ergon of the work upon “faith and conscience”2 shows something new in this Paschal event, which cannot be well accommodated to the view which makes Christ a scapegoat killed for our sin.3 This ergon upon the conscience I take—in what I trust is a most suitably monastic fashion—to be more important than the theoretical theological shell which Anselm’s discussion with Boso more famously leaves behind.
    [Show full text]
  • Qüé=Eçäó= Bìåüçäçöáçå=
    qÜÉ=eçäó= bìÅÜçäçÖáçå= Pieuxologion `eqouab <<Œ‚Ϲ]<îq÷ç¤] Table of Contents THE LAST SUPPER ii Table of Contents H. H. POPE SHENOUDA III iii Table of Contents “He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.” (Joh 6:56) “So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air.” (1Co 14:9) “If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.” (1Co 14:27-28) iv Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................................... v Vespers & Matins Incense ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Prayer of Thanksgiving ....................................................................................................................................... 2 Introduction of the Prayer of Incense .................................................................................................................. 6 Prayer of the Incense ........................................................................................................................................... 7 Offering of the Incense ......................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Entrance Procession
    Year of Renewal in Worship and Prayer Part 1—The Introductory Rites Archdiocese of San Francisco Ritual Study “B” The Entrance Procession For your bulletin or newsletter For ministers and study groups The Entrance Procession The entrance procession and entrance song are meant to The Entrance Procession in liturgical celebrations began be a movement that unites all members of the when the Church community started to celebrate in large worshipping assembly in prayer and worship. As we buildings. For centuries these processions have served as come together God’s people and God’s ministers literally visible expressions of our liturgical community gathering approach the Lord’s Table in the to remember the around the Table of the Lord in praise and worship. Each sacrifice of Christ and celebrate the resurrection. The time God’s people and the Church’s ministers come to the procession should help to focus the ministers and the altar in procession, the whole assembly is invited to be people on their act of worship, and help them identify as a attentive to the worshipping community. profound act of The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) prayer that we share. SPOTLIGHT on directs the usual order of procession as follows: the The altar, our table of thurifer (if incense is used); a crossbearer and two banquet and sacrifice SYMBOLS ministers carrying lighted candles; other ministers serving is a symbol of Christ. in the liturgy; a lector (or a deacon if one is present) who We offer reverence Consider all that makes up the entrance carries the elevated Book of the Gospels, the deacon and with a kiss by the the priest celebrating the mass.
    [Show full text]
  • Letters. with an English Translation by Roy J. Deferrari
    THE XOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY FOUNDED BY JAMES LOEB, LL.D. EDITED BY T. E. PAGE, C.H., MTT.D. E. CAPPS, PH.D., LL.D. W. H. D. ROUSE, litt.d. SAINT BASIL THE LETTERS IV SAINT BASIL, t ^e Gr. THE LETTERS WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY ROY J. DEFERRARI, Ph.D. OF THE CATHOLIC ITNIVERSITY OF AMERICA ADDRESS TO YOUNG MEN ON READING GREEK LITERATURE WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY ROY JOSEPH DEFERRARI AND MARTIN R. P. McGUIRE OF THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA IN FOUR VOLUMES IV LONDON WILLIAM HEINEMANN LTD CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS MCMXXXIV Printed in Oreat Britain PREFATORY NOTE The present volume marks the fourth and last of the collected Letters of St. Basil in the Loeb Classical Library and includes Letters CCXLIX to CCCLXVIIL Of these, the last two are here added to the corpus of Basil's letters for the first time. Furthermore, many of the later letters of this volume appear here with an English translation for the first time. Most of the dubia and spuria are included in this volume, and wherever possible I have attempted to summarize the best scholarly opinion regarding their authenticity and to add such new evidence as I have been able to find. The text of this fourth volume has been treated exactly as that of the second and third volumes. Letters CCXLIX to CCCLVI, exclusive of Letter CCCII, appear in the MS. known as Coisslinianus 237 (sig. = E), and do not occur in any of the other MSS. collated by me. Letters CCCII and CCCLVII to CCCLXVIII appear in no MS.
    [Show full text]
  • Byzantine Lutheranism!
    Byzantine Lutheranism? Byzantine Lutheranism! Through the 1596 Union of Brest, many Ruthenian Orthodox bishops, with their eparchies, entered into communion with the Pope at Rome. They did this with the understanding that they and their successors would always be able to preserve their distinctive Eastern customs, such as a married priesthood, and the use of the Byzantine Rite for worship, in a language understood by the people. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church became (and remains) the heir of this 1596 union. The region of Galicia in eastern Europe (now a part of Ukraine), inhabited mostly by ethnic Ukrainians, was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the end of the First World War. After a few years of regional conflict Galicia then came under the jurisdiction of a newly reconstituted Polish state. Soon thereafter, under pressure from the hierarchy of the Polish Roman Catholic Church and with the collusion of the Pope, the Stanyslaviv Eparchy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Galicia began to undergo an imposed Latinization. This Latinization process manifested itself chiefly in the prohibition of any future ordinations of married men, and in the requirement that the Western Rite Latin Mass be used for worship. The Ukrainians who were affected by this felt betrayed, and many of them began to reconsider their ecclesiastical associations and allegiance to the Pope. This was the setting for the emergence of a Lutheran movement among the Ukrainians of this region, in the 1920s. This movement was initially prompted by two
    [Show full text]
  • A Concise Glossary of the Genres of Eastern Orthodox Hymnography
    Journal of the International Society for Orthodox Church Music Vol. 4 (1), Section III: Miscellanea, pp. 198–207 ISSN 2342-1258 https://journal.fi/jisocm A Concise Glossary of the Genres of Eastern Orthodox Hymnography Elena Kolyada [email protected] The Glossary contains concise entries on most genres of Eastern Orthodox hymnography that are mentioned in the article by E. Kolyada “The Genre System of Early Russian Hymnography: the Main Stages and Principles of Its Formation”.1 On the one hand the Glossary is an integral part of the article, therefore revealing and corroborating its principal conceptual propositions. However, on the other hand it can be used as an independent reference resource for hymnographical terminology, useful for the majority of Orthodox Churches worldwide that follow the Eastern Rite: Byzantine, Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian et al., as well as those Western Orthodox dioceses and parishes, where worship is conducted in English. The Glossary includes the main corpus of chants that represents the five great branches of the genealogical tree of the genre system of early Christian hymnography, together with their many offshoots. These branches are 1) psalms and derivative genres; 2) sticheron-troparion genres; 3) akathistos; 4) canon; 5) prayer genres (see the relevant tables, p. 298-299).2 Each entry includes information about the etymology of the term, a short definition, typological features and a basic statement about the place of a particular chant in the daily and yearly cycles of services in the Byzantine rite.3 All this may help anyone who is involved in the worship or is simply interested in Orthodox liturgiology to understand more fully specific chanting material, as well as the general hymnographic repertoire of each service.
    [Show full text]
  • Living with Christ Great Lent at Home
    Living with Christ Great Lent at Home O LORD and Master of my life, grant that I may not be afflicted with a spirit of sloth, inquisitiveness, ambition and vain talking. Instead, bestow upon me, Your servant, a spirit of purity, humility, patience and love. Yes, O Lord and King, grant me the grace to see my own sins and not to judge my brethren. For you are blessed forever and ever. Amen. Melkite Greek-Catholic Eparchy of Newton Office of Educational Services First Monday Today we begin the Great Fast. Our Church has four Fasts every year. The one before Holy Week and Pascha is called “Great” because it is Introduction the longest and the most important of them all. Children need frequent reinforcement of any action or idea we wish to The Great Fast lasts for 40 days, reminding us that the Lord Jesus convey. To help our children grasp the concept of the Great Fast and fasted for 40 days after His baptism in the Jordan (read Luke 4:2). make it their own, we have designed the following daily program Another holy person who fasted for forty days is Moses, when he providing concepts and activities for each day of the Fast, for Holy received the Ten Commandments (read Exodus 34:28). Week and for Bright Week. Many times during the year we forget God and other people. We think It is suggested that you print each daily selection and discuss it. Family about ourselves and what we want. During the Great Fast we try to meal times are considered the most accessible time for such change by thinking more about God and others.
    [Show full text]