Monday, May 6, 2013

Great and Holy Pascha

Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered; and let them who hate him flee from before his face.

Today a sacred Pascha is revealed to us. A new and Holy Pascha. A mystical Pascha, a Pascha worthy of veneration. A Pascha which is Christ, the redeemer. A blameless  Pascha of the faithful.  A Pascha which has opened for us the gates of paradise. A Pascha which sanctifies all the faithful.

As smoke vanisheth so let them vanish away

Come from that scene O women bearers of glad tidings and say to Zion: receive from us the glad tiding of joy of Christ’s resurrection: exult and be glad, and rejoice O Jerusalem, seeing Christ the king who comes forth from the tomb, like a bridegroom in procession.

So the sinners will perish before the face of God, but let the righteous be glad.  The myrrh bearing women at breaking of dawn drew near to the tomb of the life giver. There they found an angel sitting up on the stone, he greeted them with these words: Why do you seek the living among the dead? Why do you morn the incorrupt amid corruption? Go proclaim the glad tidings to his disciples.

This is the day which the Lord hath made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Pascha of beauty! The Pascha of the Lord! A Pascha worthy of all honor has dawned for us!  Pascha! Let us embrace each other joyously. Pascha, ransom from affliction! For today as from a bridal chamber Christ has shone forth from the tomb. And filled the women with joy saying: Proclaim the glad tiding to the Apostles!

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit:
Both now and ever and unto ages of ages, Amen.

This is the day of Resurrection! Let us be illumined by the feast! Let us embrace each other! Let us call brothers even those that hate us and forgive all by the resurrection, and so let us cry: Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs, bestowing life.

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