The Blessing of the Lord!

We recently had a wonderful celebration of the Feast of the Annunciation and, weekly, we are celebrating the Akathist Hymn to the Most Holy Theotokos. Our preparation for the Feast of Feasts, Holy Pascha, should be seen through the lens of the life of our Lord's Mother. Because, in reality, it is her life to which we aspire. It is the formation of Christ, in her, that we are trying to emulate. With that in mind, I offer to you three short homilies written by St. Nikolai Velimirovich which underscore the goal(s) of all of our Lenten efforts.

In Christ,

Fr. David

Homily One: The Handmaid of the Lord

And Mary said: 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord' (Luke 1.38).

Here indeed, brethren, is a true handmaid of the Lord! If a handmaid is she who exchanges her will completely for the will of her Lord, then the Most-holy Virgin is the first among all of the Lord's handmaids. If a handmaid is she who, with intent and with complete attention, beholds her Lord, then again the Most-holy Virgin is the first among the handmaids of the Lord. If a handmaid is one who meekly and quietly endures all insults and trials, awaiting only the reward of her Lord, then again and again the Most-holy Virgin is the first and most excellent of all the handmaids of the Lord. She did not care to please the world, but only God; nor did she care to justify herself before the world, but only before God. She herself is obedience; she herself is service; she herself is meekness. The Most-holy Virgin could in truth say to the angel of God: 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord'. The greatest perfection, and the greatest honor that a woman can attain on earth, is...

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