Week 5 of Lent: St. Mary of Egypt

1. First prayer for Thanksgiving for Holy Communion
2. Jesus Prayers - hand out the prayer ropes in the blue bag
3. Pascha Passports - hand out stickers and the icon of the week - Saint Mary of Egypt
4. Share prosphora
5. Intro the lesson - read pages 20-21 (on St. Mary of Egypt) in Lent! Wonderful Lent!
6. Show the laminate icons of Saint Mary of Egypt and pass it around (for them to see and venerate)

7. Below is the story of Saint Mary of Egypt ~ please read this through so you are ready to tell it to the children as their ‘story of the day’:

You can introduce this story this way:

Do you remember that two Sundays ago was the Sunday of the Cross?

And that the Cross is that which saves us, is our victory and comfort?

Well today we are going to hear about a woman named Mary

who went with a whole crowd of people to

see the real Cross of Christ in Jerusalem in a church there!

Listen, and I will tell you here story:

 "The biography of this wonderful saint was written by St. Sophronius, the Patriarch of Jerusalem. Once, during the Honorable Fast [Lenten Season], a certain priest-monk (Heiromonk), the Elder Zosimus, withdrew into the wilderness beyond the Jordan, a twenty-day trek. Suddenly, he caught sight of a human being with a withered and naked body whose hair was as white as snow and who began to flee from the sight of Zosimus. The elder ran for a long while until this person crouched down in a brook and cried out: "Abba Zosimus forgive me for the sake of the Lord. I cannot face you for I am a naked woman." Zosimus then tossed his outer garment to her which she wrapped around herself and then showed herself to him. The elder was frightened upon hearing his name spoken from the mouth of this woman he did not know. Following his prolonged insistence, the woman related her life story. She was born in Egypt and at the age of twelve began to live a life of debauchery in Alexandria where she spent seventeen years in this perverted way of life. Driven by the adulterous flame of the flesh, one day she boarded a boat which was sailing for Jerusalem. Arriving at the Holy City, she wanted to enter the church in order to venerate the Honorable Cross but some invisible force restrained her and prevented her from entering the church. In great fear, she gazed upon the icon of the All-Holy Mother of God in the vestibule and prayed that she be allowed to enter the church to venerate the Honorable Cross, all the while confessing her sinfulness and uncleanness and promising that she would go wherever the All-Pure One would direct her. She was then permitted to enter the church. Having venerated the Cross she again entered the vestibule and, before the icon, gave thanks to the Mother of God. At that very moment she heard a voice saying: "If you cross over Jordan you will find real peace!" Immediately she purchased three loaves of bread and started out for the Jordan where she arrived that same evening. The next day she received Holy Communion in the Monastery of St. John and crossed over the Jordan river. She remained in the wilderness for forty-eight years in great torment, fear and struggle with passionate thoughts as though with wild beasts. She fed on vegetation. Afterward, when she stood for prayer, Zosimus saw her levitate in the air. She begged him to bring her Holy Communion the following year on the shore of the Jordan where she would then come to receive it. The following year, Zosimus arrived on the shore of the Jordan in the evening with Holy Communion. He wondered how this saint would cross the Jordan. At that moment, in the light of the moon, he saw her as she approached the river, made the sign of the cross over it and walked upon the water as though upon dry land. After Zosimus administered Holy Communion to her, she begged him to come the following year to the same brook where they had first met. Zosimus came and discovered her lifeless body on that spot. Above her head in the sand was written: "Abba Zosimus, bury the body of the humble Mary on this site; render dust to dust. I died on April 1, the same night of the saving-suffering of Christ, after having received Communion of the Divine Mysteries." From this inscription Zosimus first learned her name and the other and awesome miracle was that, she, on that same night the previous year, when she received Holy Communion, arrived at this brook which took him twenty days to travel. Thus, Zosimus buried the body of this wonderful saint, Mary the Egyptian. When he returned to the monastery Zosimus related the entire history of her life and the miracles which he had personally witnessed. Thus, the Lord knows how to glorify penitent sinners. St. Mary is also commemorated on the Fifth Sunday of the Honorable Fast (Fifth Sunday in Lent). The Church holds her up as an example to the faithful during these fast days as an incentive for repentance. She died about the year 530 A.D."

~ from the Prologue of Ohrid found here. 

We can learn a lot from St. Mary of Egypt for when we

are seeking to love God we can be tempted by thoughts 

like she was ~ how she missed the food she had 

before she came to the desert, the nice drinks and fish.

With a lot of effort and God's help and mercy,

St. Mary was able to not give into these thoughts,

and she practiced great repentance. 

Do you remember how Lent is about repentance?

We talked about this at the beginning of Lent! 

That was over a month ago!

Do you remember what repentance is?

It is being sorry for sin and changing and not doing that sin again.

Sometimes we have to repent a lot to get over

doing something that is wrong.

What are ways you can practice repentance?

*

Have time for question and answer time here;

if they don't have any ideas you can talk about things kids 

struggle with like:

~obeying their parents

~not arguing or fighting with a sibling, parent or friend

~not lying when asked a question or telling a story

~listening to one's parents, teachers or others who

need you to do something for them

~not being jealous of a siblings or friend's toy

~loving someone who is hard to love

~forgiving someone who hurt you

~remembering to pray to God and say Lord have mercies.

Ask them:

Can Saint Mary of Egypt help us?

Can she pray for us? Can we go to her in her icon 

and ask for her help?

Reassure them:

And if we are discouraged and having a hard time 

with something or with trying to repent, 

we can go to Saint Mary like a special Mother Saint

who will help and comfort us by her prayers.

When you take her icon home, remember to treat it nice

and ask for her prayers!

Craft Idea:

Draw St. Mary and St. Zosimus talking,

or St. Zosimus giving St. Mary Holy Communion, 

or St. Mary walking over the river Jordan like 

the water was dry ground.

Sunday School Lesson for Week 4 of Lent ~ The Ladder and St. John Climacus

1. First prayer for Thanksgiving for Holy Communion
2. Jesus Prayers with prayer ropes
3. Pascha Passports - hand out stickers and the icon of the week - the Ladder
4. Share prophera
5. Intro the lesson - read pages 18-19 of Lent! Wonderful Lent
6. Examine the icon of the Ladder -

1. Do you see the people on the ladder?
2. If you fall off the ladder can you get back on? YES!!! the early desert Monks talk a lot about how in the Christian life we fall and then we get back up and try again, asking Christ to forgive us and help us.
3. Who are the ones above the ladder? (The Angels)
4. Who are the ones at the bottom and under the ladder? (the Demons)
5. Who is stronger?
6. what do we need to do? Do you see Jesus at the top of the Ladder? is He going to help us stay on the ladder?
7. What do we need to do? see the ladder on page 19 - what steps do we need to take to stay on the ladder?
8. Obedience, Repentance, prayer and love are four of these steps.  How can we have these in our lives?
9. What are the passions that are the opposite of these virtues? - disobedience, not repenting, not praying, not loving. What are ways that we can uproot these passions and start planting the virtues instead?

What you need to understand about the ladder:

1. Christ and His Angels are stronger than the demons so do not be afraid
2. You need to work with Christ and pray to be on the ladder and go higher
3. The Passions, like being selfish or prideful, will not give you lasting happiness or joy but will leave you feeling miserable, alone and unhappy - though it may not seem like this at first.. The virtues, like contentment, humility, faith, hope and love will give you lasting happiness and joy.  

Who is Saint John? show the icon of St. John Climacus

[tell the story of St. John and the monastery and how he wrote a book to guide his monks on the path of salvation, uprooting passions and planting in place the virtues]

1. THE VENERABLE JOHN CLIMACUS

John Climacus is the author of "The Ladder of Divine Ascent." John came to Mt. Sinai as a sixteen year old youth and remained there, first as a novice under obedience, and afterwards as a recluse, and finally as abbot of Sinai until his eightieth year.

He died around the year 563 A.D. His biographer, the monk Daniel, says about him: "His body ascended the heights of Sinai, while his soul ascended the heights of heaven." He remained under obedience with his spiritual father, Martyrius, for nineteen years. Anastasius of Sinai, seeing the young John, prophesied that he would become the abbot of Sinai. After the death of his spiritual father, John withdrew into a cave, where he lived a difficult life of asceticism for twenty years.

His disciple, Moses, fell asleep one day under the shade of a large stone. John, in prayer in his cell, saw that his disciple was in danger and prayed to God for him. Later on, when Moses returned, he fell on his knees and gave thanks to his spiritual father for saving him from certain death. He related how, in a dream, he heard John calling him and he jumped up and, at that moment, the stone tumbled. Had he not jumped, the stone would have crushed him.

At the insistence of the brotherhood, John agreed to become abbot and directed the salvation of the souls of men with zeal and love. From someone John heard a reproach that he talked too much. Not being angered by this, John however remained silent for an entire year and did not utter a word until the brothers implored him to speak and to continue to teach them his God-given wisdom. On one occasion, when six-hundred pilgrims came to the Monastery of Sinai, everyone saw an agile youth in Jewish attire serving at a table and giving orders to other servants and assigning them. All at once, this young man disappeared. When everyone noticed this and began to question it, John said to them, "Do not seek him, for that was Moses the Prophet serving in my place." During the time of his silence in the cave, John wrote many worthwhile books, of which the most glorious is "The Ladder." This book is still read by many, even today. In this book, John describes the method of elevating the soul to God, as ascending a ladder. Before his death, John designated George, his brother in the flesh, as abbot. George grieved much because of his separation from John. Then John said to him, that, if he [John] were found worthy to be near God in the other world, he would pray to Him, that, he, [George], would be taken to heaven that same year. And, so it was. After ten months George succeeded and settled among the citizens of heaven as did his great brother, John. http://www.westsrbdio.org/en/prologue/444-march-30

Craft idea: http://illumination-learning.com/main/2014/04/23/st-john-of-the-ladder-craft/ or drawing the Ladder on paper from scratch or to draw what it looks like to practice a virtue.

Sunday of the Adoration of the Holy Cross: the Middle of Lent

First things to do:

1. Prayer of Thanksgiving for Holy Communion

2. Jesus Prayers

3. Introduce today as the Sunday of the Adoration of the Holy Cross and that

this marks the very middle of Great Lent.

4. Do the Pascha Passport stickers for: Sunday and any other services

kids were at this week

5. Hand out Icon Post Cards of the Sunday of the Holy Cross

6. Pass around larger laminate icon of the Holy Cross for them to see and venerate

7. Hand out Prosphora to share together

*

Tell them about the Holy Cross and why it is here in the middle of Lent...

*

It is important for children to hear that

Great Lent is not always easy.

The third Sunday of Great Lent is to

encourage and strengthen us,

children and adults.

This lesson focuses on these things.

{Note the words on this third Sunday of Great Lent

by Fr.Alexander Schmemann

that are posted in full below this lesson.}

*

The Lesson:

We are now at the third Sunday of Great Lent

and that means we are half way through Lent,

halfway to Pascha!

Sometimes in Great Lent we can feel really tired

and even discouraged.

Some of you are fasting from food during Great Lent,

other of you may not fast much but you have other

things in your life that are difficult for you.

Sometimes we need something to really encourage us,

what some would call a real ‘pick me up.’

*

Now some would think a pick me up may be

a small gift or something yummy to eat

but this Sunday shows us something much

more real and sure that can truly pick us up again.

And this is the Holy Cross of Christ.

*

Ask the kids what in Church makes them look up?

what does the Priest do that makes us lift up?

Three things at least:

1. let us lift our eyes up to the Lord

2. Holy the Chalice of Holy Communion up and Processing

3. Holding the Cross up - if there is a procession with the Cross,

the Cross is one of the tallest things held and we all look up to it.

*

Fr. Fr.Alexander Schmemann says

"the theme of the Cross which dominates the hymnology of that Sunday is developed in terms not of suffering but of victory and joy. More than that, the theme-songs (hirmoi) of the Sunday Canon are taken from the Paschal Service--

"The Day of the Resurrection"-- and the Canon is a paraphrase of the Easter Canon."

He quotes from a Synaxarion:

On this Sunday, the third Sunday of Lent, we celebrate the veneration of the honorable and Life-Giving Cross, and for this reason: inasmuch as in the forty days of fasting we in a way crucify ourselves.... and become bitter and despondent and failing, the Life-Giving Cross is presented to us for refreshment and assurance, for remembrance of our Lord's Passion, and for comfort.... We are like those following a long and cruel path, who become tired, see a beautiful tree with many leaves, sit in its shadow and rest for a while and then, as if rejuvenated, continue their journey; 

 likewise today, in the time of fasting and difficult journey and effort, the Life-Giving Cross was planted in our midst by the holy fathers to give us rest and refreshment, to make us light and courageous for the remaining task....

Or, to give another example: when a king is coming, at first his banner and symbols appear, then he himself comes glad and rejoicing about his victory and filling with joy those under him; likewise, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is about to show us His victory over death, and appear to us in the glory of the Resurrection Day, is sending us in advance His scepter, the royal symbol-- the Life-Giving Cross-- and it fills us with joy and makes us ready to meet, inasmuch as it is possible for us, the King Himself, and to render glory to His victory...

All this in the midst of Lent which is like a bitter source because of its tears, because also of its efforts and despondency.... but Christ comforts us who are as it were in a desert until he shall lead us up to the spiritual Jerusalem by His Resurrection.... for the Cross is called the Tree of Life, it is the tree that was planted in Paradise, and for this reason our fathers have planted it in the midst of Holy Lent, remembering both Adams bliss and how he was deprived of it, remembering also that partaking of this Tree we no longer die but are kept alive....

****

Let's all pray to Christ to give us strength through His Holy Cross

for the second part of Lent.

Remember when we get discouraged, sad or tired,

we can go to Christ and His Cross for protection,

encouragement and strength to keep going.

****

Craft Idea:

Draw the Holy Cross and how it is the Tree of Life for us

and is that which lifts us up.

Here is the article in full from the Antiochian website that

I quoted above:

Mid-Lent: The Holy Cross

The Following is an excerpt from Great Lent, by Alexander Schmemann

From Chapter 4: The Lenten Journey

"The third Sunday of Lent is called "The Veneration of the Cross." At the Vigil of that day, after the Great Doxology, the Cross is brought in a solemn procession to the center of the church and remains there for the entire week-- with a special rite of veneration following each service. It is noteworthy that the theme of the Cross which dominates the hymnology of that Sunday is developed in terms not of suffering but of victory and joy. More than that, the theme-songs (hirmoi) of the Sunday Canon are taken from the Paschal Service-- "The Day of the Resurrection"-- and the Canon is a paraphrase of the Easter Canon.

The meaning of all this is clear. We are in Mid-Lent. One the one hand, the physical and spiritual effort, if it is serious and consistent, begins to be felt, its burden becomes more burdensome, our fatigue more evident. We need help and encouragement. On the other hand, having endured this fatigue, having climbed the mountain up to this point, we begin to see the end of our pilgrimage, and the rays of Easter grow in their intensity. Lent is our self-crucifixion, our experience, limited as it is, of Christ's commandment heard in the Gospel lesson of that Sunday: "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Mark 8:34). But we cannot take up our cross and follow Christ unless we have His Cross which He took up in order to save us. It is His Cross, not ours, that saves us. It is His Cross that gives not only meaning but also power to others. This is explained to us in the synaxarion of the Sunday of the Cross:

On this Sunday, the third Sunday of Lent, we celebrate the veneration of the honorable and Life-Giving Cross, and for this reason: inasmuch as in the forty days of fasting we in a way crucify ourselves.... and become bitter and despondent and failing, the Life-Giving Cross is presented to us for refreshment and assurance, for remembrance of our Lord's Passion, and for comfort.... We are like those following a long and cruel path, who become tired, see a beautiful tree with many leaves, sit in its shadow and rest for a while and then, as if rejuvenated, continue their journey; likewise today, in the time of fasting and difficult journey and effort, the Life-Giving Cross was planted in our midst by the holy fathers to give us rest and refreshment, to make us light and courageous for the remaining task.... Or, to give another example: when a king is coming, at first his banner and symbols appear, then he himself comes glad and rejoicing about his victory and filling with joy those under him; likewise, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is about to show us His victory over death, and appear to us in the glory of the Resurrection Day, is sending us in advance His scepter, the royal symbol-- the Life-Giving Cross-- and it fills us with joy and makes us ready to meet, inasmuch as it is possible for us, the King Himself, and to render glory to His victory.... All this in the midst of Lent which is like a bitter source because of its tears, because also of its efforts and despondency.... but Christ comforts us who are as it were in a desert until he shall lead us up to the spiritual Jerusalem by His Resurrection.... for the Cross is called the Tree of Life, it is the tree that was planted in Paradise, and for this reason our fathers have planted it in the midst of Holy Lent, remembering both Adams bliss and how he was deprived of it, remembering also that partaking of this Tree we no longer die but are kept alive....

Thus, refreshed and reassured, we begin the second part of Lent...."

~found here.

The book that is quoted from can be bought here, here or here.

St. Gregory of Palamas: Second Sunday of Great Lent

As always, 

we start the Sunday School time first

with reading a prayer thanking God for 

Holy Communion 

(we start Sunday School right after the kids have

Holy Communion and the blessing)

we do the Jesus Prayer together with the prayer ropes.

*

We now have a prosphora that we share together

after this.

We did our stickers for the Pascha Passport

and I passed around a laminate icon of St. Gregory and

post card sized icons of St. Gregory for each kid,

of which they were really happy to get.

We also had fun putting the icons, beads and crosses on

the quilted Lenten Journey Map

*

For the second Sunday of Great Lent,

when it is St. Gregory's Day,

I used small parts of this larger essay to tell the kids

about St. Gregory.

*

Here's the sections I used:

On the second Sunday of Great Lent, there is a great feast in the blessed city of Thessalonika, Greece. It is the feast of St. Gregory Palamas. On this day, the holy relics of the saint are taken from the Church of St. Gregory in a procession throughout the city, escorted by bishops, priests, sailors, policemen, and thousands of faithful. 

[I quickly told the kids St. Gregory was from a rich family and

very highly educated and then...]

He simply withdrew to Mount Athos, an already established community of monasticism. He first stayed at the Vatopedi Monastery, and then moved to the Great Lavra.

[I used this essay as a base for how to tell the story of St. Gregory,

so for instance instead of saying 'spiritual guide' I said 'spiritual father' (see below) and a sentence later said to them, "guess what St. Gregory did that we also do??!" and then told them: ]

In Athos, the novice Gregory took as his spiritual guide St. Nicodemos of Vatopedi Monastery. This holy man of prayer guided Gregory on the path of ascetic labor: prayers, vigils, fasting, continuous repentance, and monastic obedience. The young novice Gregory was especially attached to the prayer of the heart, also known as the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner” (see Luke 18:38).

[I told them that this prayer is called hesychasm which means 'quietness in the heart' and then that...] 

As a priest, Gregory did not abandon his spiritual labor and hesychasm. He spent most of the week alone in prayer. On the weekends, he celebrated divine services and preached sermons. He cared for the youth, calling them to discuss religious issues with him. 

[Here I said, so he esp. talked to young men about the faith

and imagine if St. Gregory was teaching you!

and that later some of the young men he was teaching...]

Soon, many of his spiritual sons expressed their desire to live in a monastic setting. So in the serene area of Vereia, near Thessalonika, he established a small community of monks, which he guided for five years. In 1331 the saint withdrew to Mt. Athos and lived in solitude at the Skete of St. Sabbas. In 1333 he was appointed abbot of the Esphigmenou Monastery in the northern part of the Holy Mountain. In 1336 he returned to the Skete of St. Sabbas, where he devoted himself to theological writing, continuing with this work until the end of his life.

[I quickly went over the next part, where he is captured by

the Muslims and how well he treated them and they to him, 

ending with how they wanted money and he was ransomed a year later 

and return back to Thessalonika.]

On one of his travels to Constantinople, the Byzantine ship on which he was sailing fell into the hands of the Turkish Muslims. They took Archbishop Gregory as a prisoner, but displayed tolerance toward him. Even in captivity, St. Gregory preached to Christian prisoners and even held many debates with his Moslem captors. His love and respect for all men made his captors admire him and treat him with reverence. A year later, St. Gregory was ransomed and returned to Thessalonika.

[in the next section I was calming but clearly enthusiastic in that

St. Gregory could heal people and then told them that 

the night he was dying St. John Chrysostom came to him

and that he also saw in his life:

The Theotokos

The Apostle John

St. Dimitrios

St. Anthony the Great

and The Angels of God]

St. Gregory was a living Gospel. God gave him the gift of healing, especially in the last three years before his death. On the eve of his repose, St. John Chrysostom appeared to him in a vision. St. Gregory Palamas fell asleep in the Lord on November 14, 1359. The Virgin Mary, the Apostle John, St. Dimitrios, St. Antony the Great, St. John Chrysostom, and angels of God all appeared to him at different times. Nine years after his repose, a council in Constantinople headed by Patriarch Philotheos (1354–1355, 1362–1376) proclaimed the sainthood of Gregory Palamas. Patriarch Philotheos himself compiled the life and services for the saint.

[I find when telling a story of a Saint it is OK for the kids to talk 

a bit as long as it is pertaining to the story;

so when the kids were impressed by St. John Chrysostom coming,

I commented yes, and we pray a lot of his prayers don't we?

and when another was excited about St. Dimitrios because

he has a friend Dimitri and he knows that this is his friend's

name's Saint, I let him mention is friend and I said,

yes and that is his Saint!]

When we hear in the Lenten Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, “The Light of Christ illumines all,” may we remember the call of the illumined Gregory for unceasing prayer and ascetic labor, that we be truly illumined by the light of the Resurrection.

[They really liked this ending, I broke up this part by saying,

you know in the Presanctified Liturgy we see the Priest with the Candle

saying 'The Light of Christ Illumines all'? and they did and 

I went on to finish the sentence.

I could tell the kids found this to be a satisfying story and ending].

We then had our graham cracker

and I read to them the two pages about St. Gregory in the
book published by Holy Dormition Monastery,

called Lent, Wonderful Lent!

*

It was just three boys this class but it was a really lovely time.

Sorry for lack of posts...

Sunday School is going well; 

it's just that things have been so busy that I have not been able to 

post everything here!

*

I will say that I am doing the 

Pascha Passports for Great Lent and 

the kid are just loving it.

*

We are not using them this year to thier full potential -

I have not had the time to do this plus

my kids are on the young side.

*

But they are loving putting the stickers in, 

and marking the Sundays on the Quilted 

Lenten Journey Map!
*
I hope to put more lessons up soon!