Day of Monday

Pascha readings for Monday (morning hours) focus on 2 things - the sin of Adam and Eve, and the cursing of the fig tree. 

When Adam and Eve listened to the voice of the serpent and ate from the tree they fell into sin and were exiled from paradise. 

Adam and Eve attempted to cover their sin with the leaves of a fig tree. However that was not sufficient and God gave them a cover made from animal skin. 

Thus the second Adam cursed the fig tree (a symbol of sin & hypocrisy) and through His tree (the cross) He raised us up and reconciled us to Him. He also gave us a new robe, a robe of righteousness, that is more suitable than the fig leaves (our hypocrisy) Himself (put on Christ).  

Just as by the voice of the serpent Adam and Eve bore fruit of death through the first tree, by the voice of John the Baptist those who repented bore fruit of repentance, fruit worthy of eternal life through the second tree (the cross of the Lord).

Eve of Tuesday

The Church in her wisdom, during the evening services draws our attention to our death and the second coming of the Lord. The readings for the Eve of Tuesday reflect this same theme and remind us of the need of repentance; while at the same time encouraging us by reminding us of God’s love and grace.

• (1st hour) Zechariah speaks of Gods’ plea to us to repent – “return to Me and I will return to You.” Additionally, In the Gospel, the Lord calls us to strive to enter through the narrow gate; a seemingly impossible task for the sinners (you and I) whom are still living in their “evil ways and evil deeds.” Yet the Church encourages and comforts us by reminding us that the Lord is our “salvation and glory…the God of our help…Our Savior and helper.” Ps 61:7-6

• (3rd hour) In this hour the message gets more specific and direct. God asks us in Malachi “I have loved you says the Lord…If then I am the Father, where is My reverence?” “You offer me defiled food on My Altar.”  God is gently reprimanding us, and reminding us that through our disobedience and sin we have dishonored Him and defiled His Altar (ourselves). Further, in the Gospel, Christ expresses His willingness to gather us, but in our disobedience we have rejected his continued efforts.  Yet the Church again, reminds us that in spite of our disobedience have hope in God – “Give life to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, But I have trusted in Your mercy; my heart will rejoice in Your Salvation.” Ps 13:3,5

• (6th hour) Here Hosea gives us a very vivid and ugly picture of what our sinful and disobedient soul actually mean. “Stubborn like a stubborn calf…they commit harlotry continually.” Yet in the middle of this very horrid state, God, the Bridegroom of our soul, promises that He will instruct us all. Thus, Christ instructs us in the Gospel saying, “take heed…lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life…watch therefore and pray always…that you may be worthy to stand before the Son of Man” your Bridegroom. 

• (9th hour) Here the church warns us, after instructing us to be ready and live a life of repentance, not fall into the trap of hypocrisy.  “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap love; seek the lord. You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped injustice, you have eaten the fruit of lies.” Hos 10:12-13. Similarly, the Psalm and the Gospel of the hour warn us against hypocrisy. “woe to you Pharisees….” Luke 11:37-52. 

• (11th hour) Again this hour continues with the same theme. Amos tells us to “seek the Lord and live…Seek good and not evil, that you may live.” Additionally, the Gospel reminds us to keep watch and be ready because “no one knows” the day nor the hour of the Lord’s second coming.

Day of Tuesday

The readings for Holy Tuesday of Holy Week focus on the Lord as the Bridegroom of our soul and the nature of our relationship with Him. 

• (1st hour) The prophecies of this hour focus on God’s love towards us and how we should respond to His love. Not like the Pharisees with a hard heart, but rather, with a soft heart that is ready to receive His law; the law would be written in these soft hearts (Jer 31:33). In Exodus the Lord proclaims His love to His people, “I bore you on eagle’s wings. He bore us by the Holy Spirit (eagle’s wings) and brought us to Himself to experience His love; to be His own; to be His Children; to be a holy nation dedicated to Him bearing His Holy nature.  

In Job we see the soft heart’s response; it is searching for the Lord “oh that I knew where I might find Him.” In this search he “held fast to His steps; kept His way; did not depart from His commandments. Yet he was “bruised and inflicted,” so that “when he was tested, he shall come forth as gold.” In Hosea we see the hardened heart’s response, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge I also will reject you...The more they sinned, I will change their glory into shame.”  Thus the Lord in the Gospel warns us that without a relationship with Him, without a soft heart, without responding to His love we will die in our sins.

• (3rd hour) The readings of this hour are meant to be an encouragement to us.  The Church wants us to understand that the servants of God, those whom responded to His love, will experience trials so that they may become purified as gold in the fire. In Deuteronomy we see God’s providence and His care for His people, “led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were, serpents, scorpions, and no water” yet through it all the Lord provided for His people and guarded them. Thus it is through such experiences, such trials, that we are able to know God and are purified as gold in the fire. Similarly, the psalm of this hour is a prayer of one who is experiencing tribulations and trials. Finally, the Gospel is a warning to those who did not respond to God’s love and continued in their disobedience. Those will suffer the great suffering of the final condemnation. 

(6th hour) Here the Church wants to warn us again against the dangers of having a hard and stubborn heart. The warning is stern and frightening (see Ezekiel & Isaiah), “I am against you, and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off the ….wicked from you.” – “They have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked to anger.”  Yet the church does not want us to fall into unholy hopelessness but provides encouragement again in Sirach, “do not be ashamed to confess your sins…do not rely on your wealth...do not follow your inclination and strength.” Also in the psalm, we pray for God to deliver us from this life and from this unrighteousness. Finally, our Lord Himself assures us, that He is the light, and if we follow Him we will have life. Thus no matter how hard our heart is, no matter how much we walk in darkness, if we seek Him we shall have life.

• (9th hour) In this hour we are reminded of the Lord’s second coming with a particular focus on preparing ourselves with repentance through the sacraments of the church.  In Genesis we see the flood, the Ark, and the altar. The flood is the sacrament of baptism, the Ark is the church, and the altar is a symbol of the liturgy. It is through baptism that the work of Christ on the Cross is transferred to us. It is in the church that we are saved from the turbulent and stormy world. It is in liturgy where we meet Christ and partake of His body and blood for the remission of our sins. Again in proverbs we see another symbol of the church, the sacraments, and their saving effect – “wisdom has built her house, she has hewn out her seven pillars; she has slaughtered her meat, she has mixed her win, she has furnished her table…come eat of my bread and drink of the win I have mixed.” 

Isaiah and Daniel warn us to be prepared because the Lord is coming to reward the righteous and punish the wicked.  “Behold His reward is with Him” – “A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him…and the books were opened.” Also the psalm is a call to repentance and turning to the Lord. Finally the Gospel speaks about the abomination of desolation. There are two meanings to that phrase. The first speaks to the destruction of Jerusalem which occurred in 70-72 AD by the Romans. The second meaning, the more important one to us, speaks to the second coming of the Lord, “awesome and full of glory.” The Gospel again calls us to be prepared. 

• (11th hour) This hour also focuses on the second coming of the Lord with an emphasis on the Judgment of the Lord as He sits on His throne on the Day of Judgment. The prophecies speak of how fearful and dreadful that day will be to the wicked while the psalm is a praise for God on His Holy throne. Finally, in the Gospel we see the Lord, at His second coming, judging His servants. It is important to note however, that all those mentioned in the Gospels for this hour were not associated with a specific sin. All of them however, were of no benefit at all, as St. John Chrysostom said, “Notice that none of them is accused of personal sins. They are not accused of committing fornication or perjury or any such sin at all: only not helping anybody else. The man who buried the talent was like this. His life was blameless, but he was of no service to others.”

Eve of Wednesday

As we saw earlier, the theme for the Holy Tuesday focused on the Lord as the Bridegroom. The theme of the evening hours (eve of Wednesday) focuses on, the next logical step, our soul’s wedding to the bridegroom.  First, it is important to know the Jewish tradition for marriage. 

Knowledge of this tradition will provide us with important context to aid us in understanding how the Bridegroom (Christ) deals with His bride (our soul). After paying an agreed upon price for the bride (for you were bought at a price -1 Cor 6:20) the couple was considered engaged. This agreement was binding and final, and may not be broken except by divorce or death. The woman would thus become set apart for her groom (For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified – Heb 10:14). Usually, some time elapsed between the engagement ceremony and the wedding ceremony. 

The groom would go to his father’s house to prepare a place for the bride (I go to prepare a place for you – John 14:2) while the bride would prepare herself for marriage (I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God – Rom 12:1). On the day of the wedding the groom and his friends would travel to the house of the bride. The groom would circle the villages and announce that he is getting married today; anyone wishing should follow him to the wedding. The groom usually selected the longest route, so that he could gather the greatest number of people. This would take hours and could go late into the night. That is why the bride would have to be ready at any time to receive her groom (Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect – Matt 24:44). 

Meanwhile, the bride would wait expectantly with her family and maidens. Because the bride could be waiting for several hours her maidens would have lamps full of oil to keep them awake and prepared.  Once the groom arrived, a loud cry was made announcing his arrival (But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise – 2 Peter 3:10). After the couple would travel back to the groom’s house accompanied with the wedding entourage.  On grand occasions, a host would give special garments to his guests (but when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment – Matt 22:11).

• (1st hour) In this hour, the church draws our attention to our need of a wedding garment (purity and righteousness).  In Ezekiel the Lord is as a coppersmith seeking to purify different metals in the furnace. But the ones he can’t purify he must throw them directly into the fire to melt them. Each type of metal (tin, iron, etc…) represents a different type of sin that afflicts the soul. Just as the metal must be purified and cannot contain any impurities, so too the soul must be pure and put on the garment of righteousness in order to celebrate the wedding feast in the Kingdom of Heaven (see the Gospel of this hour - Matt 22:1-14). 

• (3rd hour) This hour continues one of the main themes of all of Holy Week; readiness and watchfulness. In Amos we read about those who know of the day of the Lord but are not prepared for it. God does not desire their assemblies or their sacrifices. He does not desire their work because they are given to sin. Similarly, the Gospel warns us to be ready because we do not know the day nor the hour of the Day of Judgment. 

• (6th hour) In this hour, the church again reminds us that we must be ready for the wedding. Instead of being prepared with the wedding garment, we must be prepared with the oil; the oil of virtue; the sacraments; the Holy Spirit. First, in Jeremiah we read how the Lord wants to cause us to cling to him like a sash clings to the waist of a man. He wishes to unite with us out of his love. He wishes that we shine with Him as his garments shone on the Mount of transfiguration – Matt 17:22. This union however can only be accomplished if our lamps are full of oil and are burning (see the Gospel of this hour – Matt 25: 1-13).

• (9th hour) Here the church shows us the rejection of the people of Israel, the foolish bride who remained unfaithful to God. Hosea speaks about God’s rejection of His unfaithful bride (Side note: God commanded Hosea to marry a prostitute whom kept cheating on him and going back to prostitution, several times. This is the reality of every soul that does not maintain its sanctification while it’s waiting for its groom. Yet God in His mercy has not rejected us but continues in His long-suffering with us). Similarly, the Gospel speaks of God’s further rejection of the unfaithful soul. 

• (11th hour) In this hour we focus on the virtue of wisdom. The entire prophecy is about wisdom, “for God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom.” As we saw earlier, it was the virtue of wisdom that allowed 5 of the virgins to be prepared and enter into the wedding. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. – James 1:5.

Day of Wednesday

The overarching theme for the readings of Wednesday of the Holy Pascha focuses on two extremes – extreme love and extreme betrayal. We see the extreme love of Mary of Bethany and the extreme betrayal of Judas. We see the love that did not spare the expensive perfume and the betrayal which was effectuated through 30 pieces of silver (the price of a common slave). 

In today’s readings we also notice a recurring topic that appears throughout all of Pascha, Wisdom. As we read yesterday in the 11th hour, “God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom.” It is this wisdom that separated the wedding virgins from each other. The wise brought oil and the foolish did not. The wise entered into the wedding with the Bridegroom, while the foolish were rejected and the door was shut to them. Today we also see this manifest between the wisdom of Mary and the foolishness of Judas. Mary, in wisdom, brought with her the expensive fragrant oil of love whereas Judas, in foolishness, criticized her for wasting the money. Thus we must seek wisdom “for her proceeds are better than the profits of silver and her gain than fine gold.” – Prov. 3:14. So let us always pray that God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, grant us heavenly wisdom – James 1:5. (1st hour) In this hour we see our Lord’s actions towards us and are left with a decision to make. Do we bear fruit of love and go to Him like Mary or do we remain fruitless and betray Him. The first prophecy from Exodus, chronicles the people’s journey out of Egypt (bondage of sin) and into the wilderness (our life after baptism). We also see how God did not abandon them in the wilderness, but provided water out of a rock for their nourishment. In like manner, Christ has brought us out of slavery and has provided us with the Holy Spirit in our wilderness.  

Next Solomon sets the stage for our relationship with God. He instructs us to “trust in the Lord, to acknowledge Him, because He will direct our paths; not to despise the chastening of the Lord, because He chastens out of love; and finally he instructs as to seek wisdom. Next we read in Hosea (the great book about God’s call to us for repentance) how “Ephraim” (which means fruitful) saw his sickness and how if he “returns to the Lord…He will revive” him.  In the same way, we too after receiving the Holy Spirit ought to live as Solomon instructed us. Yet we fall many times and sin, but in spite of that, like “Ephraim”, if we see our sickness and return to the Lord, He will revive and heal us, and we will once again become fruitful.  The final prophecy of this hour is again emphasizing our need for wisdom and lays out a practical blueprint of how to attain it (See Wisdom of Sirach 1:16-3:23).

Lastly, the Gospel of this hour sets up the decision that we must make. Having heard all these prophecies and understanding God’s work in our lives how do we choose to respond. Christ is now waiting “near the wilderness” (John 11:54). Are we going to go to Him like Mary, or go betray Him like Judas? What is your response to God’s love?

• (3rd hour) This hour is focused on the character of Judas; the character that responded to God’s love by betrayal. In Exodus we read how God was present with His people in the form of a pillar of cloud in the day and a pillar of fire at night. This, as Fr. Bishoy Kamel says, is a contrast between the character of God (whom we are called to emulate) and the character of Judas (the person who betrays God). “God cares for His people so much that He walks before them and looks after them. When the enemy draws near, He comes in between them and shields His people from their enemies. But you Judas, intervened between the Lord and the Jews, not for peace, but for betrayal. Thus when we likewise commit sin or betray God, we are in complete opposition to God’s nature and character. Next, Sirach describes what a sinner is, a fool. “The life of a fool is worse than death.” As our Lord said when speaking about His foolish betrayer, “it would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” (Matt26:24). That being said, in proverbs, the church pleads with us to be wise…”Get Wisdom!” (Prov. 4:5). Finally the Gospel is the story of Judas’ betrayal. There are many points to be said here on this Gospel but in order to manage the length of this summary I will include them here. If anyone is interested let me know and I’ll share these points with you. 

• (6th hour) In this hour we are still considering the character which responds to God by betraying Him, however we are introduced to the other type of response; the loving heart which responds to God’s love with love.  The readings of this hour as a whole compare the two types of hearts and the two different responses to God’s love. For example, in Exodus we read about the difference between Moses’ heart and Pharaoh’s hard heart. We read how the end of the one was salvation while the other’s was taking stock of his all his dead soldiers. One ended in praise and the other ended in fear. Further in Isaiah, God is warning us not to have such a hard heart and is calling us to repentance. Similarly, in Sirach we are warned against remaining in this hardness of heart and are told of its severe consequences. Finally, in the Gospel we are introduced to how the loving heart responds to God’s love.  The loving heart spares no expense in serving Christ. The loving heart anoints the feet of Christ, that is to say follows in the footsteps of Christ – St. Augustine. The loving heart’s service is as a sweet smelling aroma which fills all those around and is pleasing to God.

• (9th hour) In this hour, the church again reminds us that our soul’s relationship with Christ is that of a bride with her groom. This is to encourage us to respond to our Groom’s love with love. Thus, the first prophecy is about the betrothal of Isaac and Rebecca. Next the church shows us that disobedience and betrayal of God’s love is the same as crucifying Him a new. Just as Moses struck the rock with the rod twice and God did not allow him to enter into the Promised Land. Every time we sin we crucify Christ and may become disqualified from the Kingdom if we do not repent. (Here the rod represents the crucifixion, one time was sufficient for salvation, thus the additional time is a symbol of our sin which crucifies Christ a new). Finally the Gospel of this hour is similar to the 6th hour and is again showing us the response of love and the response of betrayal. 

• (11th hour) here the church wishes to encourage us again. The church does not want us to fall into unholy hopelessness or as we pray every hour “evil grief.” Rather, the church, after warning us against having an unloving, unfruitful, hard heart, wishes to encourage us by highlighting God’s promise in Isaiah to instruct us and pass over the storm (our sin and death).  Finally, the Gospel of this hour, although it shows us the distress of the Lord because of the sufferings He was about to endure, it also encourages us by highlighting Christ’s salvation – “If I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Me… believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” John 12:27-36

Eve of Thursday  

Starting from Wednesday night and until the end of Pascha, the gospels are going to focus more and more on the events leading up to the crucifixion and burial of the Lord and the readings from the Old Testament are going to highlight the prophecies of the Lord’s passion and crucifixion. Thus on the Eve of Thursday the church readings focus on Judas’ betrayal and the Lord’s desire to go to the cross.

• (1st hour) Here we read from Ezekiel about the “inner court” of the Lord; the court where Ezekiel saw the glory of the Lord; the place where God desires and wills to live with His people forever. Yet there is a wall between God and His people because of their sin, their harlotry, and the abominations they have committed. In the cross we see this wall torn down (Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom Matt 27:51); we see the wall that separated us from the inner court of the Lord, the Holy of holies (The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy – Exodus 26:33; behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All – Heb 9:3). Thus, through the blood of Christ on the cross, Christ tore down the dividing wall of our sins and brought us to the Holiest of All to be in the presence of God – “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh.” Heb 10:19, 20.  

Having read this prophecy, about God’s desire to live with us in His inner court, the Gospel expresses to us Christ’s desire to lay down His life to save us. Yet this Gospel reading emphasizes a very important point, Christ is laying down His by His own power and out of His will. Not because the Jews and Judas are conspiring against Him to kill Him.  We see this fulfilled on the cross when our Lord “gave up His spirit.” The spirit was not taken from Him, but rather, when He saw that “it was finished” by His choice He gave up His spirit.” 

“The Word of God says ‘I have power to lay down my life, and power to take it again. No man takes it from me but I lay down my life that I might take it again.’ As the Gospel tells us, they who were present were astonished at this, that after that last word, ‘it is finished’, He immediately gave up His spirit. For those who are hung on the cross are commonly tortured by a prolonged death. Whence it was that the legs of the thieves were broken in order that they might die directly and be taken down from the cross before the Sabbath. And that He was found to be dead already caused wonder. We also read how Pilate marveled when the body of the Lord was asked of him for burial…He was not stripped of the flesh by obligation of any authority, but He stripped Himself.” – St. Augustine

• (3rd hour) In this hour, the church again wants us to see how we ought to respond to God’s love and His desire to live with us in the inner court; to His desire to save us, even by the death of the cross. Thus in Amos we read call to the transgressors to come to the Lord, to offer sacrifices, to prepare to meet God, to respond to His love with love. Similarly we read again about Mary. We read about her love and the fruit of her love, that fragrant oil which she anointed the feet of Christ with. 

• (6th hour) Again the church chooses to warn us in this hour against having a hard heart. Amos speaks of the calamities which will come upon those who betray God’s love; the punishment that awaits all those who continue in their disloyalty to Him. Likewise, we read in the Gospel how some whom have seen the work of the Lord have responded with a hardened heart, a blind eye, and a deaf ear. These people continue in their darkness and never comprehend the light, thus they never turn to God so that He may heal them. 

• (9th hour) In this hour we see another example of the response of the hard hearts to the Lord’s love. In Ezekiel we read about the people’s unfaithfulness. We read about how God dealt with love with them, “I brought them into the land, I raised My hand in an oath to give them,” yet the people responded by defiling themselves, committing harlotry and abominations. Similarly, we read in the Gospel about how the Jews, because of their hardened hearts, grabbed stones to stone Him.  “The Lords still speaks to them while they seek to stone Him.” – St. Augustine.

• (11th hour) Finally, the church in this hour calls us to renew our hearts so that our hearts of stone would turn to hearts full of love towards God. In Jeremiah God is asking the people “will they fall and not rise? Will one turn away and not return? Why have this people slidden back in a perpetual backsliding? They refuse to return.” God is eager for us to return. He is speaking as if He is surprised at our slothfulness and choice not to return to Him – Will one turn away and not return? Finally, the Gospel of this hour focuses on Christ as the Light of the world. “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” – 1 John 1:7. Thus, if we are in the light, in Him, “though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow.” Isaiah 1:18. 

“Do not despair of salvation. Remember what came in the Holy Book, that the fallen will rise, the prodigal will return, the wounded will be healed, and he who sins will be forgiven. It is time for bearing, for long-suffering, for healing, and for correction. Have you stumbled? Rise up. Do not stand in the path of sinner, Escape from sin. Strife will bring you health, and sweat will bring you salvation.” – St. Basil the Great. 

I will leave you with a prayer from St. Ephraim the Syrian, may his blessings be with us all, Amen. 

“No one can heal my disease except He who knows the depths of the heart. How many times have I set boundaries for myself and built walls between myself and sin! But my thoughts transgressed the boundaries and my will tore down the walls, for the boundaries were not secured by fear of God, and the walls were not founded on sincere repentance. And again I knock at the door, that it may open for me. I do not cease to ask that I may receive what I request; and I know no shame in seeking your mercy O Lord. 

O Lord, my Savior, have mercy on me. Save me, a sinner, O You only sinless One. Wrench me from the mire of my iniquities. Deliver me from the jaws of the enemy, who roars as a lion and desires to swallow me up. Beam your light and disperse his power, that he may be struck with fear and flee from your face. And now, O master, save me, For I flee to You!”

Day of Thursday

The central theme for the readings of Covenant Thursday focuses on preparation for the Passover; that is to say, preparing ourselves for our Passover.  “If therefore we wish to receive the bread of blessing from Jesus, who is eager to give it, we should enter the city and go into the house, prepared beforehand, where Jesus kept the

Passover with His disciples if we ascend to the ‘large furnished upper room’ where He took the cup from the Father and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them who had gone up there with Him and said, ‘drink this, for this is My Blood of the New Covenant.” The cup was both consumed and poured out. It was consumed by the disciples. It was poured out for the remission of sins committed by those who drink it. If you want to know in what sense it was poured out, compare this saying with what was written by St. Paul: ‘God’s love has been poured into our hearts – Rom 5:5. If the blood of the covenant was poured into our hearts for the remission of our sins, then by the pouring of the potable blood into our hearts all the sins we have committed in the past will be remitted and wiped clean.” – The Scholar Origen. 

• (1st hour) In this hour, the prophecies point us to symbols of the Cross and our Passover. For example, in Exodus we see the Cross is Israel’s victory over the Amalekites. However, we also read how this victory was only possible through the outstretched arms of Moses on the rock – a symbol of our victory and freedom from sin only through the outstretched arms of the Lord on the Cross on Golgotha. 

We also read in Exodus about the piece of wood which Moses threw in the better water and it turned to sweet, drinkable water in the wilderness, that is to say, live giving water. Again, this piece of wood is a symbol of the Cross of the Lord, through which, the water of Baptism turns our life from bitterness to sweetness. “The water of Maraha has been very bitter, but then, when Moses cast the tree into it, it was made sweet. For the water without preaching the cross of the Lords, is useless for salvation. But once it is dedicated by the secret of the cross of salvation, it becomes suitable to be used in the spiritual font, and the chalice of salvation. As Moses cast the tree into the water of Maraha, in the same way the priest utters, over the font of baptism the testimony of the cross of the Lord, to turn the water sweet, because of the work of grace.” – St. Ambrose of Milan. 

Finally, the last two prophecies charges us to be prepared for the Passover; to be prepared with fasting, prayer, and repentance (see Isaiah 58:1-11, Ezekiel 18:20:32). In Ezekiel God charges us to get ourselves “a new heart and a new spirit.” God expresses to us, again, His desire that we return to Him. “I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies, therefore turn and live.” – Ez 18:32 

The Gospel of this hour, reminds us again to be prepared for the Passover. Where is the room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” Where is the large furnished upper room? “Make ready” to receive Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist. Turn to Him and repent, fast, and call on His name to come into you. For when we partake of His Body and Blood, we obtain life in us, for we become as if we are one with Him; we dwell in Him, and He too reigns in us. – St. Cyril of Alexandria

• (3rd hour) Again, we see more symbols from the Old Testament readings of the Cross. In Exodus we read how Moses said, “I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” Moses attempted to make atonement by standing in between God and His sinful people – the symbol of the work of Christ on the Cross. Next in Sirach, the church placed this reading here to assure us of the Divinity of the Lord. As we are approaching the time of His suffering, the church felt that it is important to reaffirm our faith in the Divinity of the Lord Christ. Thus the reading from Sirach speaks about how the Logos proceeded from the mouth of God - “I came forth from the mouth of the Most High and covered the earth like a mist…from eternity, in the beginning, and for eternity I shall not cease to exist.” 

Finally, in Zechariah and proverbs we are reminded that our Passover does not end with simply the death of the Lord on the cross, but rather by His triumphant Resurrection. “ Because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoner free from the waterless pit…The Lord God will blow the trumpet, and go with whirlwinds from the South.” “Who has ascended into heaven or descended?”

 “The angel was sitting upon the stone with which the tomb was closed, but which had been rolled away, to teach us the Christ had cast down and triumphed over the closed places of the lower world by His power, so that He might lift up to the light and the rest of paradise all of His own whom He found there, according to the prophet’s statement, “as for also, because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoner free from the waterless pit.” – Bede. 

• (6th hour) In this Church is urging us to prepare our house for receiving the Lord, for the Passover. In Jeremiah we read how God is calling us to return from our evil ways; we read about how the people brought abominations to the house of the Lord and made it a den of thieves.  Again in Ezekiel the Lord calls His people to go to His holy mountain (His Church – Fr. Tadros Malaty) to worship Him, to receive Him. Finally, in Sirach we are warned about continuing in disobedience and sin like Judas. “Who will pity a snake charmer bitten by a serpent...so no one will pity a man who associates with a sinner and becomes involved in his sins? An enemy will speak sweetly with his lips but in his mind he will plan to throw you in the pit.”

• (9th hour) In this hour we also see more symbols to the cross. In Genesis we read about the sacrifice of Isaac. The church did not find a more perfect living portrait of the work of the cross, on which God, the Father, offers His Son as redemption of the world, than the offering by Abraham of his son to the Lord….When Isaac carried the word of the burnt offering, he was a symbol of the Lord Christ who carried the cross to the place of His passion. The two servants and the Donkey, who saw Isaac and the wood being split by Abraham, yet did not go forth to where Isaac was to be offered as a sacrifice, are the Jewish people, who saw the Lord according to the flesh and saw the cross, yet were unable to realize its power. 

Next in Isaiah, the church again affirms the Divinity of the Lord. We read in that prophesy about how the Lord Christ, is the Anointed of God, whom came to preach good tidings, heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captive, to comfort, to console, and to give beauty to His people.  Next we read about the everlasting priesthood of Christ. “Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.” 

His name: “Melchizedek”- the King of Righteousness is a symbol of the Lord Christ who reigns over the hearts by His righteousness. In other words, when the Lord Jesus reigns spiritually over the person, all his weakness will disappear and the lord Jesus will appear with His righteousness and glory. 

His work: “King of Salem” – King of peace. The Lord Jesus reigned over His church granting His believers peace with peace with the Father, with their brothers, and with themselves. Humanity has reconciled with the heavens, humans with one another, and also the person with himself. Truly the Lord Christ is the True King of Salem spreading his peace over each soul that seeks Him. 

The bible did not mention anything about the parents nor the genealogy of Melchizedek who is a symbol of the Lord Christ who has no beginning nor end. The Lord Christ has no father according to the flesh; He is the eternal Priest, immaculate and omnipotent.

The Sacrifice of Melchizedek of bread and wine has no meaning except that it is a symbol of the Eucharist sacrifice, which is the Body and Blood of the Lord Christ. The Lord Himself transformed the bread and wine to establish the sacrament. You are a priest forever, no through offering Jewish sacrifices, but rather on the order of Melchizedek.

As Melchizedek, King of Salem, offered bread and wine, You also offer your Body and Blood. This is our

Melchizedek, who granted us the divine sacrifice, for He said, he who eats my body and drinks my blood…” 

– St. Augustine & St. Jerome.

• (11th hour) We read in the last hour about how, before we partake of the Holy Mysteries, we should examine ourselves and our life of repentance. But in this hour, after Eucharist, we must continue prayer and thanksgiving. “Hear this, as many as do not wait for the last prayer of the mysteries, for this is a symbol of that. He gave thanks, and sang a hymn before He gave it to His disciples, that we also may give thanks. He gave thanks, and sang a hymn after giving thanks, that we also may do this selfsame thing.” St. John Chrysostom.  The readings for this Hour help us in this endeavor. 

All the prophecies of this hour are express prophecies about all the sufferings the Lord is about to endure. (see Isaiah and Zechariah) .  “this remarkable chapter has been always considered as one of the most beloved to believers, because it reveals the mystery of the cross and its power, as the Lord outstretched His arms in practical love to redeem humanity, according to His words; ‘ I will redeem you with an outstretched arm.” Our Christ – the arm of the arm of God – has been revealed to us, to enjoy Him as the mystery of our life, saying, “The life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us.” – Fr. Tadros speaking on Isaiah 52:13-53:12. 

Finally we read in the Gospel how the Lord, despite all of this suffering, was prepared to offer Himself as this acceptable sacrifice out of His own will. “Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Heb 12:2. Out of His Love, in spite of all this suffering, He laid down His life for us on the Cross, and gave us His Body and Blood to abide in Him and that He may reign in us. 

“What shall I render to the Lord For all His benefits toward me? I will take up the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord Now in the presence of all His people.” – Psalm 116:12-14.

Eve of Good Friday

• (1st hour) In the prophecy of the first hour we read in Jeremiah, how the sins of the people has sadden and perplexed God. He is saddened to the point of tears – “oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears. That I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people….Why is there no recovery for the health of the daughter of my people? Through deceit they refuse to know me, says the Lord.” We also see this revelation of the Lord’s saddened love throughout the gospel readings for this hour. 

This is the only time in the entire year that four gospel readings are read consecutively from the same evangelist. It is perhaps the longest continuous message of Christ mentioned in all of the gospels – even longer than the Sermon on the Mount. For this was not just a sermon, but a private lesson to His disciples. Even more, these passages contain the longest prayer from the Son to the Father. The final three words of this gospel reading, “I in them,” speaks of his desire for every believer; as if it is His final request that each soul be united to Him in glory, righteousness, and salvation through the offering of His body and Blood on our behalf. 

• (3rd hour) In this hour we read about the events that took place in Gethsemane. Gethsemane was the garden which Christ often retreated to with His disciples. In the first garden, the Garden of Eden, Adam feel to temptation, but in the second garden – Gethsemane – the second Adam prevailed. Such power to prevail over temptations and trials is only given through prayer and submission to God’s will. The first Adam was cast out of the Garden and kept out by an angel; God sent an angel to strengthen and comfort the second Adam, whom submitted to God’s will in obedience, in Gethsemane. 

In the prophecy of this hour we read from Ezekiel that the Lord will cleanse us from our filthiness, will give us a new heart and put a new spirit in us, will take the heart of stone out of our flesh and give us a heart of flesh. This is a prophecy about God’s new covenant with His people. No longer will the law be an external force written on tablets of stone, a yoke on the people. Rather we will be given a new heart, a heart of flesh not stone, a heart in which the Holy Spirit will write the law of God. “Clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.” – 2 Cor 3:2-3.

• (6th hour) For this hour I chose to focus on the prayer of the Lord in the garden. Specifically, when He says, “take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours be done.” Was then His passion an involuntary act?

Was the need for Him to suffer or the voice of those who plotted against Him stronger than His own will? “Whatever is written concerning our savior in His human nature, should be considered as applying to the whole race of mankind; because He took or body and exhibited in Himself human infirmity. – St. Athanasius.  Thus, He prayed in that manner that this should be a lesson to us to ask help in our trials from God, and to prefer Gods’ will to our own. – St. John of Damascus. 

He knew what He was saying to His father, and was well aware that his chalice could pass from Him. But he had come to drink it for everyone, in order to acquit, through this chalice, the debt of everyone, a debt which the prophets and martyrs could not pay with their death. He assumed flesh. He clothed Himself with weakness, eating when hungry; becoming tired after working, being overcome by sleep when weary. It was necessary, what the time for His death arrived, that all things that have to do with the flesh would be fulfilled then…Or it was to teach us and His disciples to confide their life and death to God. If He, who is wise on account of the wisdom of God, asked for what was fitting for Him, how much more should we surrender our will to the One who knows all things.  – St. Ephraim the Syrian.

“It is not the case that He did not know whether it was possible or not, or that He would oppose the Father’s will. This is the language of Him who came down and assume dour nature. However, this is not the language of the human nature…the passage does not mean that the Son has a special will apart from the Father. Thus the correct meaning of His statement would be, ‘not to do My own will, for there is none apart from that which is common to Me and You. Since we have One Godhead, so we have one will.” – St. Gregory Nazinzen.

His sweat became like great drops of blood…The prayer in Gethsemane was from His human nature…and this is declared by His seat and by His agony, which was so great that, as the saying goes, drops of blood fell from Him. For as the saying goes, as those who toil exceedingly sweat blood and those who lament bitterly weep blood. This is why the evangelist uses the image of seating drops of blood to show that the Lord was not merely damp, but perspired all around…In a more mystical sense, the Lord will to suffer these things in order to heal human nature of cowardice…thus making cowardice obedient to divine will.  The Bloody seat does not for one moment support the heresy of weakness. His fear was concerning us, and His prayer on our behalf, we are forced to the conclusion that all this happened on our account, for whom He feared, and for whom he prayed. – St. Hilary of Poitiers. 

My soul is very sorrowful…The Lord to test the fidelity of the human nature He had taken on truly felt sorrowful. He felt sorrowful, not because He feared this suffering that lay ahead (had He not rebuked Peter for His timidity), but because of the most unfortunate Judas, the falling away of all the apostles, the rejection of the Jewish people, and the overturning of Jerusalem. Jonah too, became sad when the plant of ivy had withered, unwilling to have his booth disappear. – St. Jerome. 

The passion of grief, or affliction or sore distress, as we may call it, cannot have reference to the divine nature of the Word, which is not able to suffer. That is impossible since it transcends all passion. We say that the incarnate Word also willed to submit Himself to the measure of human nature by suffering what belongs to it. He is said to have hungered although He is life, the cause of life and the living Bread. He was also wear from long journey although He is the Lord of powers. It is also said that He was grieved and seemed to be capable of anguish. It would have been fitting for Him who submitted Himself to emptiness and stood in the measure of human nature to have seemed unwilling to endure human things. The Word of God the Father, therefore, is altogether freed from all passion. For the appointed time’s sake, He wisely submitted Himself to the weakness of humankind in order that He might not seem to refuse that which the time required. He even obeyed human customs and laws. He still did not bear this in His own divine nature. – St. Cyril of Alexandria

• (9th hour) In this hour, we read of the capture of our Lord in Gethsemane; the kiss of Judas (the prophecy from Jeremiah); the cutting off of the ear of the servant of the High priest (the prophecy from Ezekiel). 

Why did He chose Judas, and make him a steward? To show His perfect love and His perfect mercy. It was also that our Lord might teach His church that, even if there are false teachers in it, it is nevertheless the true seat of authority. It was also to teach that even if there are evil stewards, the stewardship itself is true. He therefore washed his feet…Jesus kissed him which gave the signal for the death to those who apprehended Him. He reach out and gave bread into the hand that reached out and took his price and sold Him unto slaughter. – St. Ephraim the Syrian. 

Look at the hypocrisy! I think it is exposed through the question that accuses the traitor with the compassion of love: Judas do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss? That is like saying do you wound the pledge of love, shed blood in the duty of charity, and give death with the instrument of peace? Do you, a servant, betray your Lord, a disciple his master, a chosen one, the creator? He kissed Judas, not that Christ should teach us to pretend, but that He should not appear to flee from betrayal. Hence he did not deprive Judas of the dues of love. As it is written, I was peaceful among those that hated peace. St. Ambrose of Milan. 

Saint Peter cut the right ear of the servant of the chief priest. This act was a sign of the inability of the Jews to good listening, for they did not listen well to the words of Jesus. They have rather honored the left ear, this is, they obeyed their impulses that sprung up from their fanaticism. They have become thus ‘deceiving and being deceived.’ (2 Tim 3:13). As the book says ‘and in vain they worship me, teaching as…the commandment of men.’ (Matt 15:19). It is as if St. Peter has revealed what is in their depths that the spiritual right ear has been cut off, since they paid more attention to the left ear and listened to falsehood. But the Lord has come to hear the right ear and to make it listen to spiritualties. – St. Cyril of Alexandria.

Good Friday

The Science of Crucifixion by Cahleen Shrier, Ph.D

It is important to understand from the beginning that Jesus would have been in excellent physical condition. As a carpenter by trade, He participated in physical labor. In addition, He spent much of His ministry traveling on foot across the countryside. His stamina and strength were, most likely, very well developed. With that in mind, it is clear just how much He suffered: If this torture could break a man in such good shape, it must have been a horrific experience.

After the Passover celebration, Jesus takes His disciples to Gethsemene to pray. During His anxious prayer about the events to come, Jesus sweats drops of blood. There is a rare medical condition called hemohedrosis, during which the capillary blood vessels that feed the sweat glands break down. Blood released from the vessels mixes with the sweat; therefore, the body sweats drops of blood. This condition results from mental anguish or high anxiety, a state Jesus expresses by praying “my soul is deeply grieved to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38). Hemohidrosis makes the skin tender, so Jesus’ physical condition worsens slightly.

Traveling from Pilate to Herod and back again, Jesus walks approximately two and a half miles. He has not slept, and He has been mocked and beaten (Luke 22:63-65). In addition, His skin remains tender from the hemohedrosis. His physical condition worsens.

Pilate orders Jesus to be flogged as required by Roman law before crucifixion. Traditionally, the accused stood naked, and the flogging covered the area from the shoulders down to the upper legs. The whip consisted of several strips of leather. In the middle of the strips were metal balls that hit the skin, causing deep bruising. In addition, sheep bone was attached to the tips of each strip. When the bone makes contact with Jesus’ skin, it digs into His muscles, tearing out chunks of flesh and exposing the bone beneath. The flogging leaves the skin on Jesus’ back in long ribbons. By this point, He has lost a great volume of blood which causes His blood pressure to fall and puts Him into shock. The human body attempts to remedy imbalances such as decreased blood volume, so Jesus’ thirst is His body’s natural response to His suffering (John 19:28). 

If He would have drank water, His blood volume would have increased. Roman soldiers place a crown of thorns on Jesus’ head and a robe on His back (Matthew 27:28-29). The robe helps the blood clot (similar to putting a piece of tissue on a cut from shaving) to prevent Jesus from sustaining more blood loss. As they hit Jesus in the head (Matthew 27:30), the thorns from the crown push into the skin and He begins bleeding profusely. The thorns also cause damage to the nerve that supplies the face, causing intense pain down His face and neck. As they mock Him, the soldiers also belittle Jesus by spitting on Him (Matthew 27:30). They rip the robe off Jesus’ back and the bleeding starts afresh. Jesus’ physical condition becomes critical. Due to severe blood loss without replacement, Jesus is undoubtedly in shock. As such, He is unable to carry the cross and Simon of Cyrene executes this task (Matthew 27:32).

Crucifixion was invented by the Persians between 300-400 B.C. It is quite possibly the most painful death ever invented by humankind. The English language derives the word “excruciating” from crucifixion, acknowledging it as a form of slow, painful suffering. Its punishment was reserved for slaves, foreigners, revolutionaries, and the vilest of criminals. Victims were nailed to a cross; however, Jesus’ cross was probably not the Latin cross, but rather a Tau cross (T). The vertical piece (the stipes) remains in the ground permanently. The accused carries only the horizontal piece (the patibulum) up the hill. Atop the patibulum lies a sign (the titulus), indicating that a formal trial occurred for a violation of the law. 

In Jesus’ case, this reads “This is the King of the Jews” (Luke 23:38). The accused needed to be nailed to the patibulum while lying down, so Jesus is thrown to the ground, reopening His wounds, grinding in dirt, and causing bleeding. They nail His “hands” to the patibulum. The Greek meaning of “hands” includes the wrist. It is more likely that the nails went through Jesus’ wrists. If the nails were driven into the hand, the weight of the arms would cause the nail to rip through the soft flesh. Therefore, the upper body would not be held to the cross. If placed in the wrist, the bones in the lower portion of the hand support the weight of the arms and the body remains nailed to the cross. The huge nail (seven to nine inches long) damages or severs the major nerve to the hand (the median nerve) upon impact. This causes continuous agonizing pain up both of Jesus’ arms. Once the victim is secured, the guards lift the patibulum and place it on the stipes already in the ground. As it is lifted, Jesus’ full weight pulls down on His nailed wrists and His shoulders and elbows dislocate (Psalm 22:14). In this position, Jesus’ arms stretch to a minimum of six inches longer than their original length. 

It is highly likely that Jesus’ feet were nailed through the tops as often pictured. In this position (with the knees flexed at approximately 90 degrees), the weight of the body pushes down on the nails and the ankles support the weight. The nails would not rip through the soft tissue as would have occurred with the hands. Again, the nail would cause severe nerve damage (it severs the dorsal pedal artery of the foot) and acute pain. Normally, to breathe in, the diaphragm (the large muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity) must move down. This enlarges the chest cavity and air automatically moves into the lungs (inhalation). To exhale, the diaphragm rises up, which compresses the air in the lungs and forces the air out (exhalation). As Jesus hangs on the cross, the weight of His body pulls down on the diaphragm and the air moves into His lungs and remains there. Jesus must push up on His nailed feet (causing more pain) to exhale. In order to speak, air must pass over the vocal cords during exhalation. The Gospels note that Jesus spoke seven times from the cross. It is amazing that despite His pain, He pushes up to say “Forgive them” (Luke 23:34). The difficulty surrounding exhalation leads to a slow form of suffocation. Carbon dioxide builds up in the blood, resulting in a high level of carbonic acid in the blood. 

The body responds instinctively, triggering the desire to breathe. At the same time, the heart beats faster to circulate available oxygen. The decreased oxygen (due to the difficulty in exhaling) causes damage to the tissues and the capillaries begin leaking watery fluid from the blood into the tissues. This results in a build-up of fluid around the heart (pericardial effusion) and lungs (pleural effusion). The collapsing lungs, failing heart, dehydration, and the inability to get sufficient oxygen to the tissues essentially suffocate the victim. The decreased oxygen also damages the heart itself (myocardial infarction) which leads to cardiac arrest. In severe cases of cardiac stress, the heart can even burst, a process known as cardiac rupture.6 Jesus most likely died of a heart attack. After Jesus’ death, the soldiers break the legs of the two criminals crucified alongside Him (John 19:32), causing suffocation. Death would then occur quicker. When they came to Jesus, He was already dead so they did not break His legs (John 19:33). 

Instead, the soldiers pierced His side (John 19:34) to assure that He was dead. In doing this, it is reported that “blood and water came out” (John 19:34), referring to the watery fluid surrounding the heart and lungs. While these unpleasant facts depict a brutal murder, the depth of Christ’s pain emphasizes the true extent of God’s love for His creation. Teaching the physiology of Christ’s crucifixion is a constant reminder of the magnificent demonstration of God’s love for humanity that was expressed that day in Calvary. This lesson enables me to participate in communion, the remembrance of His sacrifice, with a grateful heart. I am struck every time with the stunning realization that as a flesh and blood human, Jesus felt every ounce of this execution. What greater love than this can a man have for his friends?

"By nothing else except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ has death been brought low:

The sin of our first parent destroyed, hell plundered, 

resurrection bestowed, the power given us to despise the things of this world,  

even death itself, the road back to the former blessedness made smooth,  

the gates of paradise opened, our nature nature seated at the right hand of God,  

and we made children and heirs of God.

By the cross all these things have been set aright.

It is a seal that the destroyer may not strike us,

a raising up of those who lie fallen, a support for those who stand,

a staff for the infirm, a crook for the shepherded,  a guide for the wandering,

a perfecting of the advanced,  salvation for soul and body, a deflector of all evils,

a cause of all goods, a destruction of sin,  a plant of resurrection, and a tree of eternal life."

-St. John of Damascus

In the 11th hour of Great Friday we read from the Old Testament concerning the Passover lamb.

The Passover first began with the commandment of the Lord given to Moses, that the blood of the lamb be placed on the door posts of the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. It continued that through the shedding of the blood of the lamb, there came forgiveness. "And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission" -  Hebrews 9:22.

According to the instructions the Lord gave Moses (Exodus 12) the Lamb was: (1) without blemish (Christ, in whom was found no guile or deceit); (2) a young male (Christ was a young male, approximately 33 years old); (3) examined 4 days from the selection on 10th of Nissan (Christ entered Jerusalem on the 10th of Nissan and was examined for 4 days by the Jews); (4) slain in public (Christ was crucified on a high rock during one of the most crowded times of the year); (5) roasted in the fire (Christ endured the fire of extreme sufferings); (6) none of its bones was to be broken ( Christ was crucified without any of his bones being broken - john 19;36); (7) the blood of the lamb was placed on the door posts for their salvation from the angel of death (how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? - Hebrews 9:14).

On the night of their exodus, the lord commanded them to road the lamb, and eat unleavened bread with bitter herbs. The meat had a sweet smell, but a bitter taste. Such is the great reminder of sin -- however pleasing it may seem to our senses, however alluring it may be to us, we must never forget the bitter sadness of its consequences. This bitterness lies within the cross - "He has filled me with bitterness, He has made me drink wormwood" lam

3:15.  

The Christian life is full of bitter herbs that bring forth a sweet saintly aroma. One type of herb comes from loving our enemies. Another from serving the Lord in difficult circumstances, such as family conflicts. There is also a garden of bitter herbs awaiting you in times of prayer and vigil, in times of weakness, sorrow, or confusion. When you fast you taste these bitter herbs...in all these sufferings you experience the cross (the fellowship of His suffering - Phil 3:10). By choosing to take this narrow and difficult path, by submitting to travel along the Via Dolorosa, "we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being save and among those who are perishing." -2 Cor

2:15.  

Fr. Bishoy Kamel

The lamb was slain and the door posts sprinkled with His blood. The destroying angel, fearful and terrifying, passed over us for we are protected by the precious Blood.  

This day we wholly departed from Egypt and from Pharaoh, its cruel tyrant, and his oppressive overseers. We are freed from laboring with bricks and straw and no one forbids us from celebrating our passing over, our paschal, and to celebrate not with the leaven of malice and wickedness but with unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. "Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. - 1 Cor 5:8.  

I was crucified with Christ, thus I'm glorified with Him. I died with Him thus I'm given life with Him. I was buried with Him and I will rise again with Him.  

May the blessings of Pascha and this glorious day of crucifixion and Passover be with you!