The Catalog of Good Deeds

On February 25 – March 4, the festival “Great Lents Concerts” will take place in Minsk. It will be organized by St. Elisabeth Convent in cooperation with Belarusian State Academy of Music with the blessing of Metropolitan Pavel of Minsk and Zaslavl.

This year, Great Lent Concerts will be held under the theme “The Restoration of Ancient Traditions” and will combine spiritual and classical music concerts. Church and secular choirs, orchestras and soloists will perform in various concert halls of the city.

About Great Lent Concerts

The festival will be held in Minsk for the second time, while the idea itself of giving spiritual concerts during Great Lent has deep roots. Great Lent Concerts appeared in St. Petersburg in the end of the 19^th century – the beginning of the 20^th century. That unique for Russian musical culture event was born again in the beginning of the 21th century. During the restoration of the tradition, the organizers of the concerts invited to the cultural capital of Russia the best musical collectives from all over the world. The Festive Choir of St. Elisabeth Convent was among them.

By the initiative of Nun Juliania (Denisova), the chorister of the Festive Choir of St. Elisabeth Convent and a church composer, last year Great Lent Concerts were organized in Minsk for the first time. Spiritual music was sounding in various concert halls of Minsk during the whole week, while the sold-out concerts became the evidence that people really need spiritual food today.

Nun Juliania noted that, too: “Great Lent Concerts” are held not only for Orthodox people, but also for people who do not go to church and people of other confessions. Music is the very genre that eliminates distinctions between us and makes them insensible. At the same time, the organizers of the festival and its participants are faithful people. Their life itself and everything they do become their preaching… Great Lent Concerts is a form of contingence and cooperation: thanks to the festival, our convent comes out of the church walls and goes to city halls, to people”.

The active support of Ekaterina Dulova, the director of Belarusian State Academy of Music, allowed to extend the format of the festival. This year, Minsk citizens will hear not only choir singing, but also instrumental music performed by young and talented musicians. High level of spirituality is typical not only for Divine service chants – it penetrates the national art and the works of great composers.

January 31, 2018

St. Elisabeth Convent

The didactic imitation of the fast of Christ during the time preceding the days in which the sufferings, the death and the glorious resurrection of Christ are remembered, gives to the Holy Forty Day Fast a special meaning and value for us. The suffering of the Savior and His Resurrection grant to all of us hope even for our resurrection to eternal life. But to realize this hope of receiving an eternal blessed life, we need to imitate Christ in purity and holiness of life. We need to go through the same path of life, as also did the Savior: the way of self-renunciation and self-denial and besides this, the way of struggle against the sensuality and sinfulness of our nature.

The Holy Forty Day Fast serves as the most convenient way to follow this way. "If we shall carefully observe them", teaches the Blessed Augustine, "the Forty Days signify the life of the present age, as the days of Pascha also signify the life of eternal blessedness". In the Forty Day Fast we have contrition, and in Pascha we have joy. And in the present life we should be repentant so that in the future life we could reach eternal blessings. So, everyone, during his terrestrial life, should sigh about his sins, pour out his tears, and do works of mercy. But if the obstacles of the world often confuse us in this, then in a larger measure we shall fulfill in our heart the sweetness of the law of God during the Holy Forty Days.

During the harvest season food for the body is gathered, so that during the season of the spiritual harvest we should gather food for the soul, which could be eaten for eternal life. If we are negligent and have not prepared anything during its season, the whole year endures famine. So the one who neglects fasting, reading the Sacred Scriptures, and prayers during this period fails to gather spiritual wheat and heavenly food for the soul, and will reap eternal thirst and heavy distress. Even the Holy Church expresses a similar idea when she prays to God for us that He guide us "in these most honorable days" of the Holy Forty Days, "for the cleansing of souls and bodies, for the abstention from passions, for the hope of resurrection", and gave to us the power "through ascetical effort to strive for the good, to complete the course of the fast, to observe the undivided faith, to destroy the heads of the invisible serpents, and to be revealed the conqueror of sin". In such a way the Holy Forty Days, according to the sense and meaning for us, is a paradigm of our life as it should be, i.e. life not for the flesh and this world, but for heaven and eternity.

By Sergei V. Bulgakov

Source: www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2013/03/great-lent-imitates-fast-of-christ.html

Since late winter / early spring, I have been teaching the high school Sunday School class at the parish to which I am assigned. I have enjoyed it. At the same time, I have chosen to take a non-standard approach. So, we have discussed movies like: Divergent, Hunger Games, Twilight, The Hobbit, and Lord of the Rings. Why have I done that? In order to gain the opening to be heard. It has been an opportunity to discuss what it means to be an adult. Whether you realize it or not, every one of those movies deals with the subject of what it means to be a responsible adult in the world in which one lives. Of course, movies are filmed to make money. However, these are movies based on books that do use the subject of “becoming mature” as the backbone of their plot.

In every one of these movies, the young adult involved is living an unconcerned life when something happens that forces them to lift their view from themselves to the wider world. Sometimes the young adult is still in high school. Sometimes the young adult is already a legal adult, but has let life pass them by and are simply living a non-self-reflecting life. That is, they never reflect about what they are doing, whether they have a broader duty in the world, and whether they have a responsibility to their friends and acquaintances.

Teenagers want to be regarded as adults. But, we adults in USA culture do a terrible job of letting youngsters know when they have become adults. We have a multiplicity of both legal and cultural practices that seem to be almost designed to make it seriously unclear about when the transition from youth to adult happens. You can drive at one age, vote at another age, buy liquor at a third age, be able to rent a car and buy a house at another age. Is it any surprise that we have adults who behave like children until their late 20’s? We are responsible for that, not them!

But, discussing what it means to be an adult has proven to be fruitful. Attendance has stabilized, and so far I have had two parents compliment me that their son/daughter is more willing to go to class. At the same time, I find myself constantly questioning myself, since Scripture does not necessarily come up in each class. Scriptural allusions are made, but not necessarily direct Scriptural quotations. But, I have found out that in this confusing world, our young folk want to know when we will consider them to be an adult. But, am I taking the right approach? I trust so.

The situations found in the various movies are all extreme situations. But, they teach us something. They teach us that one of the main questions that our young folk have is precisely that of becoming an adult. When have they reached adulthood? How will they know? When will be start treating them as adults? The movies would not be popular if the themes they touch upon were not themes that are forefront in the minds of our young adults. How do we fit in?

So, the discussions have been fruitful. What does it mean to make difficult choices? Is being considered an adult merely a matter of age or also a matter of behavior? Does one have to rebel in order to be considered an adult, or is there a different path one can take? Those are all questions that we have discussed.

Now, saying “discussed” is misleading. Frankly, most of the time there is little talk from the teenagers, at least in class. But, as long as they are going home and telling their parents that they are learning something important, I am satisfied. And, if they think that there is a priest who understands them, then I am more than satisfied. The process of transitioning from youth to adult is difficult. But, perhaps I can have a small piece in helping that process to be successful.

I am beginning to believe that the discussions that we have in senior high school classes need to concentrate more on the transitions that are difficult for them to handle without some help. Would you believe that I am thinking of tackling dating next?

Source: https://www.orthocuban.com/2015/06/teens-sunday-school-and-maturity/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+Orthocuban+%2528OrthoCuban%2529

Years ago, I encountered Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s great novel Love in the Time of Cholera, which (among other things) explores the nature of harmonious relationships.

In the story, a couple has been married for almost fifty years. In the routine they have evolved, the wife is responsible of restocking the bathroom with soap. One morning, however, her husband says: “For three days now I have been washing without soap.” The wife knows that she had neglected her responsibility, but rather than admit her fault, she snaps, “Well, I use the bathroom every day, and there has always been soap!”

The dispute erupts, threatening to tear the couple’s marriage apart. The husband is banished to the living room sofa. The conflict continues for months, becoming almost a routine for them. One night, however, the husband forgets to retire to his new living room quarters, and climbs into bed with his wife. She taps him on the shoulder to remind him to leave. “Let me stay,” he replies, “There was soap.”

It’s rarely the important things that divide us. In a free society, our relationships with others usually rest on a common vision and common beliefs. God, the universe and everything—these are not the problems most of the time. Rather, it’s the little differences that threaten to wreak havoc. Different forms of Garcia Marquez’s soap dispute can often tear apart marriages, friendships, and even entire communities.

In his Epistle to the Romans, Saint Paul exhorts his gentile audience to welcome converts from Judaism, “but not for disputes over opinions.” (Romans 14:1) What opinions are these? Nothing less than the Jewish Christians’ desire to observe the Sabbath and the distinction between clean and unclean foods! Although Saint Paul disagrees—“I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.” (Romans 14:14)—he recognizes that the Jewish practices do not strike at the heart of the Christian proclamation, and so counsels acceptance, urging his audience to “pursue what makes for peace and mutual upbuilding.” (Romans 14:19)

One is tempted to wonder how the same Jewish converts might fare under today’s Christian leaders, but we won’t go there… For Saint Paul, the matter is clear: “The kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17-18) He then offers a way by which his flock can live in harmony: “We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves; let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to edify him … that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:1-2, 6)

In matters of opinion, Saint Paul tells us that we must bear with the failings of the weak. Even if the other person is wrong, our challenge is to give up our right to be right. In Garcia Marquez’s story, the husband relinquished his obvious rightness for the sake of marital harmony. One might argue that he compromised, but compromise is something one does when a cherished principle—not soap—is at stake. The facts concerning soap (or any other point of dispute) may be important, but is it essential to the heart of the relationship?

That’s a question we need to ask about anything that threatens to divide our marriages, friendships and spiritual associations. “Is this the hill I am willing to die on?” Is it essential—a matter of profound principles? If the answer is no (which it usually is), are we willing to hold onto a right opinion at the expense of a relationship? Saint Paul wasn’t. And if the most influential Christian apostle could relinquish his right to be right, then the rest of us could probably do the same, for the sake of a little more harmony.

By Fr. Richard Rene

Source: http://www.pravmir.com/right-right/

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