Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This is weekly newsletter #8 of the St Ignatius Parish in Belfast.
Contents of this Newsletter:
- Message from Fr Dmitry
- Announcements
- Homily on next Sunday’s Gospel: Are you ready to follow Christ?
Message from Fr Dmitry:
It was a blessing to spend the past weekend in Belfast and see so many of you at the divine services. I thank God that we were able to celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Unction in particular. Thank you to everyone who attended and to all who served: chanters, altar servers, those who helped with food, and those who set up and packed away the church. Special thanks to the Parish Council members and all who attended our AGM after the service on Sunday. I am also very grateful for the warm welcome you gave my wife and children, and for the kind gifts. They truly felt part of the parish family and had a blessed time.
We are now approaching the final stretch of Great Lent. This weekend we will celebrate Lazarus Saturday and the Feast of the Entrance of our Lord into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), followed by Holy Week and the celebration of His Glorious Resurrection. I wish you all a blessed remainder of the Fast. Do your best to stay strong in faith, in purity, and in repentance. May God, through the intercessions of the Most Holy Theotokos, to whom we sang the Akathist last Friday, and of St Mary of Egypt, whose memory we celebrated last Sunday, grant you peace and strength in your good efforts!
I look forward to seeing you on Bright Monday, 21st April, at 10:00 am to celebrate Resurrection of our Lord!
Announcements
- Next Service in Church: Paschal Celebration, Monday, 21st April. 10:00 AM – Giving of Light, Rush procession, Resurrectional Orthros, followed by the Paschal Divine Liturgy. After the Liturgy we will have a festive parish lunch. If you want to contribute to the table, please contact Carmel, who coordinates the catering. Carmel’s phone number: +447853911412
- Paschal Eggs – Volunteers Needed: We are looking for volunteers to help boil and dye eggs, which will be blessed at church on Pascha and distributed to the faithful, in keeping with the tradition of the Orthodox Church. If you would like to take part in this effort, please contact Carmel, who is coordinating the work.
- No online Faith & Fellowship Meeting during Holy Week: Please note that there will be no online Faith & Fellowship meeting during Holy Week (13th–20th April). God willing, we will resume our regular Wednesday meetings from the week starting 28th April. I will keep you updated.
Next Sunday’s Gospel Reading and Homily:
The reading from the Holy Gospel according to St John (20:19-31):
Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus who had died was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at table with Him. Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. But Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, one of His Disciples (he who was to betray Jesus), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” This he said, not because he cared for the poor but because he was a thief, and as he had the moneybox he used to take what was put into it. Jesus said, “Let her alone, let her keep it for the day of My burial. The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have Me.” When the great crowd of the Jews learned that He was there, they came, not only on account of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus also to death, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus. The next day a great crowd who had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying, “Hosanna! Blessed is He Who cometh in the Name of the Lord, the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young ass and sat upon it; as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on an ass’s colt!” His Disciples did not understand this at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that this had been written of Him and had been done to Him. The crowd that had been with Jesus when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead bore witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet Jesus was that they heard He had done this sign.
Homily: Are you ready to follow Christ?
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit
On the coming Sunday, known as Palm Sunday, we will celebrate the Feast of the Entrance of our Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. This feast marks the end of Great Lent and the beginning of Holy Week. On this day, the Church allows fish and wine, offering us a brief moment of festal joy in the midst of the Fast. But as we enter Holy Week, the fasting becomes more intense, and the spiritual focus begins to shift.
During Great Lent, our prayers and services have centered on repentance and purification. We have been striving to return to God with contrite hearts. But now, from the evening of Palm Sunday (13th April), the Church calls us to prepare to follow Christ on the path of His Passion: toward His Cross, His death, and ultimately His glorious Resurrection. The focus moves from our personal repentance to the final earthly days of our Lord: His suffering, His voluntary death, and the deep mystery of His victory over death.
Look at the icon of the Feast. Christ enters Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, as the crowd welcomes Him with palm branches. But notice: His eyes are not fixed on the city or the people. He is not focused on the cheers or the celebration. He knows full well what lies ahead: betrayal, arrest, mocking, scourging, crucifixion. And yet, He rides on voluntarily.
But His gaze is turned back, towards His disciples. As He journeys to His suffering, He looks at them, and through them, He looks at us. He is ready to “drink the cup” and be “baptized with the baptism” of the Cross (Matthew 20:22). And, as if He asks: “Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? Are you ready to follow me?”
And what about the disciples? Even now, they are confused. They do not yet understand what is being asked of them. And we know what will happen: most will flee from Gethsemane Garden on the night of the betrayal. Peter will deny Him. Only one disciple, John, will stand by the Cross on the day of crucifixion.
Christ’s question to the disciples is also posed to us: Are we ready to follow Him? Are we ready to follow Him into His suffering, His death, and His Resurrection? Are we ready to die with Christ and rise with Him?
Of course, we are not literally being crucified. But the question is one of spiritual readiness. To follow Christ is to follow His commandments. During Lent, we tried to repent, to purify ourselves. If, by God’s grace, we made some progress, then glory to God! But now is not the time to relax. Now is the time to redouble our efforts. And if we struggled or failed, it is not too late to turn back to Christ and follow Him.
Ask yourself: Where in my life have I not been following Christ? Have I lacked love? Have I been overcome by anger, pride, or the pursuit of pleasure, forgetting God? Have I lacked faith and failed to trust in God…?
Turn back! Do not betray Him! Following Christ’s commandments is how we follow Him to the Cross and to the Resurrection.
Attending all the services of the Holy Week does not alone in itself mean we are following Christ. The truest sign of discipleship is love. Love for Christ and love for the people around us, who are all made in His image. Of course, the services are beautiful and spiritually rich. They help us deepen our faith, prepare our hearts and come closer to God in the mystical communion. But even if we are not able to attend Holy Week services in our parish this year, we can still follow Christ by living a Christian life.
I wish you all a blessed upcoming Feast! And may God grant that we each follow Christ through Holy Week, so that together we may greet the Risen Lord with joy on Bright Monday. Amen.
Yours in Christ,
Fr Dmitry