Me praying in the Orthodox Church (Vaasa, 2012).
This is so called Memorial Table (Finnish: vainajien
muistelupöytä, Russian: канун). At that time, I
prayed for my dead mother. Photo by Gilmore.
This is so called Memorial Table (Finnish: vainajien
muistelupöytä, Russian: канун). At that time, I
prayed for my dead mother. Photo by Gilmore.
On Sunday morning, I took part in Eastern Orthodox Liturgy called The Veneration of the Cross (Finnish: Ristinkumartamisen sunnuntai, Russian: Крестопоклонная). It is a part of the Great Lent (Finnish: Suuri paasto, Russian: Великий пост) and is celebrated on the third Sunday. The veneration comes on this day because it is the midpoint of the forty days of Great Lent.
Great Lent, or the Great Fast, is the fasting season, which prepares Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Easter, or Pascha in the Orthodox Church (Finnish: Pääsiäinen, Russian: Пасх).
"Have mercy on us, O God…" These words were repeated over and over again in the Liturgy. And these are some Bible verses sung in the Liturgy:
"If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever would save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s shall save it. For what doth it profit a man, to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? For what should a man give in exchange for his life?" (Christ's words in The Gospel of Mark 8:34-37.)
"Having then a great high priest, who hath passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help us in time of need." (The Epistle to the Hebrews 4:14-16.)
During the Liturgy, the priest brought the cross out into the center of the church, where it was venerated by the clergy and faithful. Finally, everyone kissed the cross. Very beautiful and touching event. After Liturgy, I lighted two candles and I prayed especially for three persons (one of them was in surgery last Friday). Then I had a private talk with the priest.
This was a very special day for me, and I felt God's guidance. Actually, when I look back in my life, I can recognize the Divine providence here and there along the way... I have been interested in Eastern Christianity since my mother's death in July 2011. Frankly, I am more than just interested. I feel this beautiful religion brings me a peace and light.
Great Lent, or the Great Fast, is the fasting season, which prepares Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Easter, or Pascha in the Orthodox Church (Finnish: Pääsiäinen, Russian: Пасх).
"Have mercy on us, O God…" These words were repeated over and over again in the Liturgy. And these are some Bible verses sung in the Liturgy:
"If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever would save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s shall save it. For what doth it profit a man, to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? For what should a man give in exchange for his life?" (Christ's words in The Gospel of Mark 8:34-37.)
"Having then a great high priest, who hath passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help us in time of need." (The Epistle to the Hebrews 4:14-16.)
During the Liturgy, the priest brought the cross out into the center of the church, where it was venerated by the clergy and faithful. Finally, everyone kissed the cross. Very beautiful and touching event. After Liturgy, I lighted two candles and I prayed especially for three persons (one of them was in surgery last Friday). Then I had a private talk with the priest.
This was a very special day for me, and I felt God's guidance. Actually, when I look back in my life, I can recognize the Divine providence here and there along the way... I have been interested in Eastern Christianity since my mother's death in July 2011. Frankly, I am more than just interested. I feel this beautiful religion brings me a peace and light.
✿⊱╮ ✿⊱╮ ✿⊱╮✿⊱╮✿⊱╮✿⊱╮✿⊱╮
The photo in this article is taken last summer in Vaasa. Yesterday, I had no camera with me. The video below is made by my friend Nika for two years ago. It contains an Orthodox Christian chanting. I recommend you to listen to it. Very beautiful and peaceful sacred music, which calms down our restless mind. Thank you, Nika, that I can use your lovely video again. Be blessed, my dear friend.
Blessings to everyone! :)
Greetings from cold (-18 °C) and snowy Finland,
Teisuka
Hi its peter again... nice pictures...
ReplyDeleteTotally unrelated topic... but do you have a translated version of Teresa Tang's "Ni Zenme Shuo"
Tx. Peter
Hi Peter,
DeleteThanks for your comment. Well, this topic is "irrelevant" here, relating to this article... ;) But here you are the English translation to that song of Teresa Teng. Translation is not mine. I found it from this website:
http://content.bangtech.com/jukebox/teng/teng_how_do_you_say.htm
You can get pinyin by using that Pinyin converter I gave you. I am too busy at the moment. Just copy and paste those Chinese lines one by one, and you'll get pinyin. Ok? :) http://www.pin1yin1.com/
你怎麼說
Ni Zenme Shuo
(How Do You Say)
我沒忘記 你忘記我
I haven't forgotten that you have forgotten about me
連名字你都說錯
You have even forgotten about my name
證明你一切都是在騙我
That proves you have been fooling me
看今天你怎麼說
Let's see how you are saying today
你說過兩天來看我
You mentioned that you would visit me in two days
一等就是一年多
I have waited for more than a year
三百六十五個日子不好過
365 days have not passed well
你心裡根本沒有我
In your heart there is really none of me
把我的愛情還給我
Give my love back to me.
我沒忘記 你忘記我
I haven't forgotten that you have forgotten about me
連名字你都說錯
You have even forgotten about my name
證明你一切都是在騙我
That proves you have been fooling me
看今天你怎麼說
Let's see how you are saying today
你說過兩天來看我
You mentioned that you would visit me in two days
一等就是一年多
I have waited for more than a year
三百六十五個日子不好過
365 days have not passed well
你心裡根本沒有我
In your heart there is really none of me
把我的愛情還給我
Give my love back to me
你說過兩天來看我
You mentioned that you would visit me in two days
一等就是一年多
I have waited for more than a year
三百六十五個日子不好過
365 days have not passed well
你心裡根本沒有我
In your heart there is really none of me
把我的愛情還給我
Give my love back to me.
thanks again
DeletePeter
Very nice to see you. Thank you for sharing your picture and thoughts.
ReplyDeleteHello, Mr. Sirtea.
DeleteNice to see you, too. Thank you for visiting my blog and for your kind comment. 谢谢你！ :)
I also visited your beautiful blog, and I read Psalm 63. Truly wonderful chapter, especially this verse:
"Your love is better than life."
「因 你 的 慈 愛 比 生 命 更 好 。」
Such a strong and deep thought about God's love!
Blessings to you, my friend. :)
Teisuka
Hi Teisuka,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your recent experience in a Eastern Orthodox church. I learned a lot and I'm glad to see that you can find peace and guidance through your Christian faith. You've grown a lot spiritually.-:) Also thank you for sharing Nika's video, the music is really amazing. Actually I'm listening to it while I'm writing this comment here. -:)
I like the verse "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." When I first read it, I did not quite understand it, especially the phrase "deny himself." I think right now I know better. If we can give our selves, repudiate our natural feelings about ourselves, then we will surely have inner peace. Of course, it's easy said than done. -:)
I'm surprised to learn that your part of the world is still so cold right now. I'm glad that you enjoy such a weather. But for me, I'can wait for the spring to come. -:)
Hope everything is going well for you. Hope you'll get over whatever troubles you might have right now. Enjoy the rest of the week and have a wonderful weekend ahead of you!
Bao
Hello Bao,
DeleteThank you very much for your visit and kind words again, my dear friend and brother. I agree with your view about that Bible verse. And yes: easier to say than done... :D
I'm glad to hear you learned a lot about Eastern Orthodox Church, and you liked Nika's video, too. On her behalf, I also thank you.
In my opinion, I'm not a good Christian but I can tamely say, that through Nika I have found my Christian faith again. It is true. She is humble and modest girl and never like to be "in the spotlight" but give all glory to God. But like she use to say: "We are instruments (tools) in the hands of God." Which means, God use us in this world. In this case, after my mother's death, Nika have prayed for me a lot and guided me to know this beautiful and peaceful form of the Christianity. That's why I call her angel. :)
Yep, winter is very long here in Finland, but there is spring in the air already. Of course, I also like spring. Earlier, it was my favorite season, nowadays number 2. Haha.
Thank you for your good sentiments, Bao. All the best and blessings to you and your loved ones. Have a nice rest of the week! :)
Teisuka