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The Holy Lent Resources

Articles

Life in Christ - Message of The Holy Lent from Holy Father (2011)
Apostolic Bull for The Holy Lent -2011
The holy gospel is a reliable record of the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ in words and deeds during His divine economy in the flesh. It does not impose on us orders. It does not give us commandments to blindly hold to. It does not list prohibitions. Rather, it presents to us Jesus Christ as a living paradigm to longue for and a model to pursue carrying His cross. We shall follow Him so that we obtain eternal life through Him.

Fasting
by HH Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Patriarch of Universal Syrian Orthodox Church and All The East
Fasting is a voluntary act of abandoning worldly life. It is a sign of man’s obedience to, and respect of God’s laws and his observance of God’s offices by his voluntary abstinence from food or drink for a specific period of time.

The Samaritan Woman at Jacob’s Well - A Lenten Reflection
A Lenten reflection based on St. John 4: 6

Are You Condemned?
My religion is Christianity. There are a set of practices that are associated with the Christian religion, but I think my Christian belief encompasses much more than a set of practices or rules of behavior.

Lenten Rumination
The Lent is meant to cleanse the whole being, both the inner and chemical by being with God. How to clean the physical man? The abstinence from food for hours and days allow the body to consume all the toxins accumulated by our day to day inherent infirmities.

The Significance of Fasting in the Struggle against Fallen Spirits
Fasting is acceptable to God when it is preceded by the great virtue of mercy; fasting prepares a reward in heaven when it is foreign to hypocrisy and vainglory; fasting works when it is joined with another great virtue – prayer.

Conversion Through Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving
Lenten conversion is not a superficial renewal. What the Lord wants is not just the change of bad habits and worldly vices; He wants a clean soul and no half-measures will do.

Fasting Enlightens the Soul
Fasting helps to have serenity of the soul because the one, who hungers in his stomach, enlightens his intellect. Therefore, the hunger is a key, which opens the door of wisdom.

The General Canons of Fasting
Bar Ebroyo depends upon the decision of the Synod of Laodicea and Patriarch Timotheos and Patriarch John III of Antioch to describe the dos and don'ts in the The Holy Lent.

Examination of Conscience
Here is a helpful examination of conscience, based on the Ten Commandments. Perform a brief examination every night, but go through a more thorough examination before confessing your sins to the priest.

Preparing for Confession - Orthodox Church
In Orthodox Church, the confession guides are typically centered around the 10 Commandments and The Beatitudes. Here is an excerpt from the Greek Orthodox Church Guide to Preparing for Confession. Similar confessionals are used in other Orthodox Churches.

Preparing for Confession - Guide for Adults
Here is a document prepared by a Catholic Lay member about preparing for the Confession. It is an excellent article to prepare for a Lifetime Confession and as a guide for the Examination of Conscience.

Mid Lent and Erection of Golgotha
The Golgotha and erection of cross in the of the church also signifies that God came down from heaven and dwelt among us in this world. This is why the Golgotha is in the middle of the church with us, the common folks, and not in the Madbaha as we normally expect to find it.

Pathi Nombu (Mid Lent)
The 25th day of the lent which is always a Wednesday is known as mid lent. This is one of the very few days during the The Holy Lent when the Holy Qurbana is celebrated on a weekday other than Sunday or Saturday.

The Holy Lent - A Time for Spiritual Renewal in Jesus Christ
The Church gives us The Holy Lent to be renewed, to escape the dreariness and weariness of life, and enter into the bright joy of life in Jesus Christ.

The Holy Lent: A Season of Renewal for All
Prophet Isaiah was emphatic in arguing that lent and fasting are not just pious "obligatory Observances" for the people of God, but a tremendous transforming force. Being mortal and feeble, humans need periodic renewal of body, mind and soul. How is this possible?

The Number and Days of Fasts - Part 1
There are a number of fasts in the Syrian Orthodox Church and often many questions are asked from the part of the believers as to the dos and don'ts in the fasts, the beginning, duration, and ending of the fasts etc.

The Number and Days of Fasts - Part 2
Other than the fasts on Wednesdays and Fridays, there are five more Fasts in a year. The The Holy Lent begins on the Monday coming closer, before or after the full moon between second February and eighth March.

The Material Benefits of Fasting
In accordance with the fact that Bar Ebroyo himself was a doctor, he underlines through a quotation from the doctors of his time that fasting improves the health of the body.

The Efficacy of Fasting and the Different Categories of Fasting.
According to Bar Ebroyo, the fasting may be defined in terms of time, of the kind of food or in terms of both time and food, and they are the three different categories of fasting.

God Shut Noah and Family in before the Flooding began
Since Noah walked with God during his life before the Great Flood, he certainly knew about this key point which made him leave God's job for God. There, we see an equilibrium between God's will and Noah's obedience or submission.

Some Thoughts On The Holy Lent In Relation To The Nature
Each rubric of the liturgy is meticulously designed in such a manner as to go in tune with the episodes of the incarnation of Christ and in tandem with the tempo of the Nature where we live. It is surprising that liturgical seasons of the church happen more or less in the same timing as that of the natural seasons.

The essence of Lent: Learning and struggling to bend our knees, mend our hearts, and lend our hands
The prayers during lent remind us that there is no use of observing lent if we do not change inside. No amount of abstinence from food and other things will help us in any way if we do not bring about a renewal inside us.

The Holy Lent in Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch
During the period of the The Holy Lent and other periods of fasting throughout the year, an individual makes a special attempt or connection to reach our God, and evaluate his calling as a Christian, to listen to the voice of the Gospels and heed its commandments.

Lent - An Explanation for Children
Fasting, prayer, confession, reconciliation, Holy Communion, charity and capping with love are the steps to reach and experience the resurrected Jesus in person.

Lessons from Zacchaeus - Importance of Lent
During this The Holy Lent, Jesus is asking us to learn from Zacchaeus to realize our weaknesses and find remedies to them as he did. We must realize our shortness in spiritual life, the falls we had in the past and the sins we committed which together made us unable to see Christ directly.

Third Friday of The Holy Lent and Annunciation to St. Mary Devotional
Humility is what we need to become faithful Christians. If we carefully examine ourselves we may observe that almost always we are trying to justify, defend, exalt or praise ourselves in our interactions with others and sometimes even before God, knowingly or unknowingly. This focus on self - our ego - can often keep us from hearing God's voice and prevent us from being faithful in our walk with God.

Fasting Guidelines during The Holy Lent for Orthodox Christians
We Orthodox Christians, in obedience to the words of our Divine Savior, and in imitation of the saints, set aside a period of intense fasting and prayer in order to purify our spiritual senses so we may see the Holy Resurrection.

Real Fasting
When we have gone through the labor of fasting, we forfeit not the crown of fasting, we should understand how, and after what manner, it is necessary to conduct this business; since that Pharisee also fasted, but afterwards went down empty, and destitute of the fruit of fasting.

The Spirituality of Lent
There are two different ways of looking at this fast because there are two different versions of these forty days, or forty segments of time, in the Scriptures. One is the blessing of the revelation of what it is that we need to do in service to God and to humanity. And the other is of the purification that needs to happen for God to set things straight in us and around us.

The Holy Lent
We Syriac Christians observe 50 days lent in preparation for the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord on Easter Sunday.

The Patriarchal Encyclical of the Holy The Holy Lent 2010
The time for the Forty Days Holy The Holy Lent has arrived. It is a golden opportunity offered by our mother holy church to examine ourselves, to refrain from vices, uphold virtues, and return to God with repentance. Like the eagle training his young ones to soar high in the air, so does the holy church is training the faithful to soar in spiritual heights, giving them the graceful means to be liberated from earthly gravity that attracts them.

Study: Monthly fasting may help heart
A study in Utah, where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is based, found that people who skipped meals once a month were about 40 percent less likely to be diagnosed with clogged arteries than those who did not regularly fast.

Fasts and Feasts in Mar Thoma Church: Fire for the Journey of Faith
There are a growing body of data from the causal conversations with members of the church indicate that approximately more than fifty percentage of members are not confident on the place of 'fast and feasts' in the liturgical life of the church.

Fasting is a Great Weapon for Christians

Read More: Spiritual/Moral Articles | Inspirational Articles | General Articles | Sermons and Essays | eBooks |

Multi Media

Subukono Service at Manarcad Cathedral, March 2011 - Part 1 | Part 2

Shubhkono - The Holy Lent - Kalpana_Kappan

Devotional Song: En..prananum.. Em Aayussum

Devotional Song: Njaan Ariyaathe

See All Lent Multimedia Resources at The Holy Lent Multimedia Resources Home

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Read the Previous Newsletters

Holy Passion Week

The Last week of the The Holy Lent is the Passion week, the most important week for Syriac Christians. We have a separate portal for the passion week. Take a peek here:

Passion Week Supplement in Malankara World - The Road to Resurrection

This Week in The Holy Lent - Week 6

Lenten Reflection 5: Lord, If Only You Had Been There - The Story of Lazarus

Lenten Webinar- Part 2: Prayer (Video)

Lenten Webinar Part 3A Fasting (Video)

Lenten Webinar- Part 3B: Giving Things Up During Lent (Video)

The Holy Lent Multimedia collection

This Week's Sermons (Week 6: Sunday of the Blind Man)

Daily Meditations and Bible Reading:

Day 40 - Friday before Hosanna (40th Friday)

Day 39 - Thursday before Hosanna

Day 38 - Wednesday before Hosanna

Day 37 - Tuesday before Hosanna

Day 36 - Monday before Hosanna

Day 35 - Sixth Sunday of the The Holy Lent

Daily Meditation and Bible Reading Archives

This Week in The Holy Lent - Week 5

Lenten Reflection 3A: Lord, Give Me This Water (Video)

Fasting - A Lenten Reflection (Video)

Lenten Webinar- Part 1: Introduction (Video)

The Holy Lent Multimedia collection

This Week's Sermons (Week 5: Crippled Woman)

Daily Meditations and Bible Reading:

Day 34 - Fifth Saturday of the The Holy Lent

Day 33 - Fifth Friday of the The Holy Lent

Day 32 - Fifth Thursday of the The Holy Lent

Day 31 - Fifth Wednesday of the The Holy Lent

Day 30 - Fifth Tuesday of the The Holy Lent

Day 29 - Fifth Monday of the The Holy Lent

Day 28 - Fifth Sunday of the The Holy Lent

This Week in The Holy Lent - Week 4

Lenten Reflection 4: The Man Born Blind (Video)

Lenten Retreat 4 - I do Believe (Video)

This Week's Sermons (Cananite Woman)

Daily Meditations and Bible Reading:

Day 27 - Fourth Saturday of the The Holy Lent

Day 26 - Fourth Friday of the The Holy Lent

Day 25 - Fourth Thursday of the The Holy Lent

Day 24 - Fourth Wednesday of the The Holy Lent (Mid Lent)

Day 23 - Fourth Tuesday of the The Holy Lent

Day 22 - Fourth Monday of the The Holy Lent

Day 21 - Fourth Sunday of the The Holy Lent

This Week in The Holy Lent - Week 3

Lenten Reflection 3: Tabor and Golgotha (Video)

Lenten Retreat 3 (Video)

This week's Sermons: Palsy - Paralytic- Sunday

Daily Meditations and Bible Reading:

Bible Readings for Week 3 of the The Holy Lent

Day 20 - Third Saturday of the The Holy Lent

Day 19 - Third Friday of the The Holy Lent

Day 18 - Third Thursday of the The Holy Lent

Day 17 - Third Wednesday of the The Holy Lent

Day 16 - Third Tuesday of the The Holy Lent

Day 15 - Third Monday of the The Holy Lent

Day 14 - Third Sunday of the The Holy Lent

Daily Meditation and Bible Reading Archives

Archives: This Week in The Holy Lent (Week 2)

This Week in The Holy Lent (Week 1)

Prayers for The Holy Lent

Prayer Book for the The Holy Lent

The Holy Lent Prayer Book - English

The Holy Lent Prayers - Malayalam- includes prayers for all 7 Yamams

The Holy Lent Prayers (Valia Nombu Namaskaram - Malayalam and English Transliteration)

Aghni Parthene - O Pure Virgin
Russian Orthodox Devotional especially chanted during the Lent Season

Prayer for Lent - Reconciliation

Psalm 51 - Repentance Prayer

A reconciliation prayer for the The Holy Lent

Lenten Prayers of St. Nersess

Saint Benedict: Prayer for Guidance

Bible Studies:

Isaiah 58 - True Fasting
Includes Matthew Henry's Commentary and John Wesley's Explanatory Notes on Isaiah 58. Isaiah 58 tells about a true lent or fasting that is pleasing to our Lord.
More Bible Studies

Devotionals

Today with Jesus - by Rev. Fr. V.V. Paulose

Daily Morning and Evening Devotionals by Spurgeon

Daily Devotional with Oswald Chambers

Wisdom from the Desert Devotional

Weekly Devotional - by Rev. Fr. Dr. Dimitri from New Zealand

More Devotionals - Devotionals from selected evangelists

Sermon for the Week

This week's Sermons based on the Lectionary of the Church

This Week's Sermons (Crippled Woman)

Fourth Week's Sermons (Cananite Woman)

Third week's Sermons: Palsy - Paralytic- Sunday

Second Week's Sermon (Leper Sunday)

First Week's Sermon (Marriage at Cana)

See more sermons at: Sermons Based on the Lectionary of the Church | Church Lectionary

Food: Selected Recipes for Lenten Times

Fresh Vegetable Juice

Tom Solomon’s Spicy Hot Vegetable Juice

Thai Vegetable Rolls

Cinco De Mayo Soup (Mexican Bean Pot)

Italian Vegetable Soup

Spicy Bean Soup

Lentil Vegetable Soup

Mushroom soup

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

Clam Chowder

Pierogi

Selected Recipes for The Holy Lent from Malayala Manorama

More Recipes

Passion Week Supplement

The Holy Lent Articles from 1stHolistic.com

Why Should We Observe the Lent and Fasting?
We should keenly look forward to the Lent- because the purpose of Prayer & Fasting is to defeat the Satan.

On Prayer: Patriach Encyclical
It is customary since ancient times for the Patriarch of Antioch to issue a lengthy encyclical for the The Holy Lent exhorting the faithful to observe the lent in its true spirit. Here is one on prayer.

The The Holy Lent- An Opportunity for Us to Cleanse Our Mind, Body and Soul
While confessing, repenting and seeking forgiveness, we too should prepare ourselves to forgive others. In that way, let us get rid of all the ill-feelings from our mind and purify it, so that the heavenly peace can enter our hearts and stimulate us, to lead a true Christian life.

True Nature of Fasting
The primary aim of fasting is to make us conscious of our dependence upon God. It is to lead us to a sense of inward brokenness and contrition; to bring to us to the point where we appreciate the full force of Christ's statement, `Without Me you can do nothing.' 

Synopsis for Sermons and Meditations During the Lenten Period
A great tool to help us cleanse ourselves of our hurtfulness. Covers faith, love, forgiveness, repentance, mercy, and more.

St. John Chrysostom on Fasting

Miracle at Cana
On the first day of The Holy Lent the Holy Church introduces Jesus as the Creator of Universe. Faithful is on a spiritual pilgrimage with Jesus Christ knowing Him as Creator, Divine healer, Lord of Sabbath, Light of the world, Life-giver, Triumphant ruler and the one and only atoning sacrifice for the redemption of humanity. The pilgrimage culminates in the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ, hope of eternal life.

Holy and The Holy Lent/Catechetical Homily
Our Church through the Holy Fathers designates that each year the season of The Holy Lent be set aside as a time for repentance. Although repentance is necessary every day and every hour, during Lent our Church invites us to experience repentance in a deeper sense.

 

 

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