Musings of an Expagan

Many out there know I am Eastern Rite Catholic, which is more akin to Orthodoxy than to Roman Catholicism (well it should be, however it seems the leadership of the Eastern Churches are hell bent on making us theologically RC than EC.)  This is NOT a slam at the Roman Catholic Church.  The East and West are parts of the same body who look at things with different views.  The base theology is the same, but in the Eastern Church it may sound different, or we may look at a different aspect of the same idea.

A very good example of this is what is called the Feast of the Epiphany and in the East we Celebrate the Theophany (the baptism of Christ in the Jordan.)  They are both sides of the same coin.  Christ reveals himself in two ways, the West looks at the revealing of Christ to the Wise men, the East looks at Christ’s manifestation of the Triune God in the baptism of our Lord.

Now we enter Holy Week, or what we call Great Week in the Eastern Churches

Beginning on the evening of Palm Sunday we enter the services of the Bridegroom.  This name is given from the parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25:1-13.

The first part of Great week gives us many themes that are based on the Passion of our Lord.  Which are centered on Jesus’ divine sonship, the kingdom of God, the Parousia, and Jesus’ contempt of the corruption of the religious elders of the time.  The first three days constitute a single liturgical unit.

The Orthros of each of these days is called the Service of the Bridegroom (Akolouthia tou Nimfiou). The name comes from the central figure in the well-known parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13). The title Bridegroom suggests the intimacy of love. It is not without significance that the kingdom of God is compared to a bridal feast and a bridal chamber. The Christ of the Passion is the divine Bridegroom of the Church. The imagery connotes the final union of the Lover and the beloved. The title Bridegroom also suggests the Parousia. In the patristic tradition, the aforementioned parable is related to the Second Coming; and is associated with the need for spiritual vigilance and preparedness, by which we are enabled to keep the divine commandments and receive the blessings of the age to come. The troparion “Behold the Bridegroom comes in the middle of the night…”, which is sung at the beginning of the Orthros of Great Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, relates the worshiping community to that essential expectation: watching and waiting for the Lord, who will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Here is the troparion for Monday Night.

Democrats just voted for the largest entitlement program in the history of our Nation, the middle class is just about to be *****d.

http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/otr.cfm?id=5243

The problem here is that the Bishops can set up all the programs they like, but the fact is that until the truth is taught in the pulpits, nothing will happen.  You still have a majority of priests that were ordained during the 60s 70s and 80s who are dealing with the baggage of CRAP seminary teaching that was going on back then.

It started to get better in the 90’s but it isn’t going to change over night.  It is going to take a while for the bad to move out of the system and the good to replace it.  I am afraid that I will not be here to see the final results.  I believe that we re looking at a good 150 to 200 years for this to shake out.

I should not be neglecting this blog as I do, but I am busy.

Good news, down 35 pounds.

Bad news… I am craving meat…